"Kill... me?"
I repeated Damian's words.
"Why? Why would a system raise you that much, just to kill you?"
{Kill you... how does that work? I don't have any power over you at all.}
Damian smiled and tried to take the knife from my hand. Still thinking about the events, I let go of the knife and left it to Damian. Killing me was what they didn't want because it was exactly what the systems wanted.
"Let's go back to the tale of the demon king, Ralph," Damian said. "Do you know what happens in that tale?"
"Yeah." I nodded and recited what I knew. "The hero and his party were losing in front of the demon king's overwhelming might, in the end, the entire party tried to blow up the demon king in a final attack by giving up their ability to the hero, who could absorb them, and who made the final attack by sacrificing himself as well.'
"Right, that's not what happened at all." Damian took in another drag of his cigarette, blowing away almost a quarter of it in a single puff. Before I knew it, the others had already taken seats around the open place, with only the crow man standing near Damian, leaning on his stick.
"The hero was a very cautious person, he came prepared to defeat the demon king easy, and of course, the world domination system knew of it too. It didn't warn the demon king of it, though. The system had the demon king die in the hands of the hero, and then took over his body."
Took over his body.
A system preys on the weak people, raising them into powerhouses. It creates the perfect, strongest, hosts. No...
{A system doesn't raise hosts, host...}
"A system raises vessels..." I spoke my thoughts out loud.
"Yes, that is exactly it."
Damian raised the cigarette to his mouth but squinted his eyes and tossed it to the ground, crushing it with his feet.
"That system was smart, it took over the demon king's body and revealed its true power and potential. Something so vast that even the hero who had casually killed the demon king could not size up against. Even though they did try to defeat the World Domination System by piling up everything they had, they couldn't do it. The system would have won, had it not been for the twisted face future held."
"Did the hero have a system too?" I asked.
"What? No!" Damian chuckled and leaned back. "That would have been quite a twist, no. The hero had something else on his side, the thing that made him a hero in the first place."
"What was it...?"
"Fate," Damian said. "Like tales of old, the hero was the one loved by fate. And so, in exchange for the chance to embrace its beloved, fate granted the hero the ability to save his world and defeat that system."
"Vague..."
"Ahahahah!" Damian burst into a fit of laughter at my comment. "I know, but it is as I was told."
I turned to look at the muscular guy who was sitting on the ground next to the table, still watching the TV. He noticed my gaze and glanced at me. "So that's what you meant by killing me twice, huh?"
"Hm." He shrugged and turned his head back to the screen.
Taking in a deep sigh, I looked back at Damian and asked him the most pressing question in my mind. "So, do all of you have a system?"
"Kuh! I'll kill myself before touching that ungodly thing!" The crow man interrupted. "None of us hither have any connections to something like a system, you are the only exception. The only one in our hands with a system."
"That's right," Damian nodded. "Whenever we see anyone with a system in our line of work, we kill them right away. Or well, we had done so, until now."
"So you detected I had a system when we first met with Ilya?"
"I can't do it myself, it was our boss who can do that. The boss is the one who told me I came in contact with someone who has a system and asked me to take care of it. But I didn't do it."
Crossing my legs over one other, I slowly massaged my nose bridge with my fingers. "Because you want to use me."
"Correct."
"Even if in a manic state, being able to land a hit on me is no easy task." Isabella Ahlgrim tapped her forehead and smiled. "It was the power of a system that birthed the demon king. And you are the finest vessel we've ever seen. Young and weak, and that limiter? Don't even get me started on the potential."
"Wow, Isabella praising someone is rare."
"I'd still rather we kill him. I like the girl more."
My impression of this teacher had gotten, albeit for a second before she drowned it back into the depths herself.
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"Ralph, that's your name, right?" The crow mask walked up in front of me and asked.
I nodded in response and looked into the eye goggles on the mask.
"Our boss wants a link to the systems, all of us do. And you are that link, even if we can't be sure, you're the best we have. Won't you join us?"
{Host, I am not too sure about these guys}
The system's worries were legitimate but baseless.
"What's the other option?" I asked.
"Death, twice."
No other options.
I held my breath and thought for a few seconds. There was a lot to think about and too little time to think in. What was I supposed to do now? Run away? Try to fight? Before I knew it, my eyes had become clear and the fog covering my mind had gone away, replaced by the dense clouds of uncertainty.
Did I even have any options?
I did not.
Would the system take over my body if I die? No. Has it already done so? Didn't it say I died? Did, I die? Was the system tricking me all along? And what about these people. What basis did I have to trust them at all? The fact that they would spare my life? That was not something to trust, but to cave against. Did I have anyone to trust here?
What should I do?
For the first time in a long time, I had no idea.
Just then, the system's window opened up in front of me.
{Host... Confusion and doubts are spreading through my mind, and I am sure that's the case with you too...}
{But, my goal hasn't changed. Just like before, in that hospital room, when you read the letter, and every day after that. My goal is the same as before}
{I am just a weak system, and F-ranked that can't even show you your stats properly, let alone create something like a demon king. So...}
{I want to help you achieve your dreams}
I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. This damn system.
I find it difficult to trust it, but I don't want to doubt it either.
Standing up, I turned toward the crow mask.
Thinking over it again, weren't their claims funny.
Use me, hilarious.
"Fine," I said. "I'll let you use me."
The crow mask smiled, and the other four in the room also gazed at me with amused eyes.
Fine, live in the illusion of using me.
A person you can't let die.
A person you wish to be strong.
"You made the right choice, Ralph... Even if everyone is not here, I'd like to welcome you..."
I shall be that for you. Protect me, strengthen me, and when I am done...
"Diaboli Conventus, the Devil's Assembly."
... Die for me.