Crimson Servant

Headache.

I have a terrible headache.

I opened my eyes and felt that my vision was blurry. I thought it was the severe pain in my head that oppressed my eyes. After a while, when the pain subsided, the scenery in my eyes became clear.

"It's this familiar sky again..."

The blood-red sky of Juancrete, I came back here again. If returning here is regarded as a necessary condition for the [Advent] ceremony, then this assumption can be overturned. Because this time, I did not arrange a ceremony. Instead, I awakened a giant dragon.

A blood-red vortex suddenly appeared in the space in front of him. The red mist dissipated, and sharp sin chains shot out from the vortex. His white robe was stained with blood, and a gloomy-looking Seclonfas walked out of it.

[You don’t think you can escape from my hands like this, beloved one. 】

The god who had driven me into despair not long ago came after me. I took a closer look at his appearance and praised him, "Nice trick."

"Viltis."

The angry expression of "Seclonfas" disappeared without a trace, his appearance was distorted, and all the terrifying manifested divine power disappeared. Vertis changed his form, He became another me.

Me with an evil smile.

[Unexpectedly, he can't even arouse John Camp's fear. What a failed god. 】

Every time he puts his consciousness into this world, he will come into contact with the evil crimson god. As expected this time, this demon god had his identity stolen once by Seclonfas, and he must steal it back. Vertis's shaping of Seclonfas is completely consistent with my impression of the god of ritual sacrifice, even the angry and ferocious face is exactly the same.

It completely matches my inner imagination, so similar. I don't think Seclonfas would have made such vivid facial expressions if it were real, that sacrificial god has the baggage of a god's idol. Unlike Wiltis, the wanton exaggeration after his transformation is not his own face after all.

Even without thinking logically, I can easily determine the existence of Vertis. This has manifested itself in the past as a vague intuition that there was a connection between the Crimson God and me. I once thought this was the link between the Beloved and God, but now the truth has been revealed.

After opening the door to the soul, my consciousness found Merlin's consciousness in the soul network. At that critical moment, the mind flayer's ability also allowed me to successfully discover another consciousness deep in my spiritual network.

Vertis has always existed in my spiritual network, and our spirits are connected.

So close yet so unfamiliar, it’s like we are standing on two sides of a mirror, treating each other’s behavior as our own illusions. I felt this way unilaterally, and Vertis's wicked expression made me understand that He knew better.

"What would have happened if I had not chosen Merlin at that time, but had chosen to summon you?"

Wiltis smiled with my face, a smile of disdainful disdain.

[I will not hesitate to dismantle your consciousness and merge it with Secronfas to become a complete crimson god. 】

Did it turn out that you were the wrong choice?

"Why?"

Wiltis did not answer, but asked a new question.

[How are you absorbing the knowledge that bastard Merlin instilled in you? 】

I held my head and struggled to recall the source of the pain.

"Part of it has been absorbed, but there seems to be some gaps."

Wiltis nodded, "Normal, dragon knowledge is instilled in the entire brain."

I noticed His special word, "whole," which means...

I raised my head and looked at "myself" wearing a blood-red robe.

"It turns out that [you] are the shadow area in my mind."

This was the most straightforward expression I could think of, and I soon realized the derogatory meaning contained in it. I thought Wiltis would angrily refuse to acknowledge this, but instead he showed a look of approval.

"Oh? Are you so understanding? In my opinion, [伱] is the stumbling block that prevents me from controlling my body."

It has become quite obvious that Vertis is my split personality. A personality who controls the power of crimson and calls himself a god.

Controlling the body? A strong sense of crisis arose in my heart. This was not a threat from Seclonfas, but a declaration from another personality, and this bastard kept his word.

"Do you want to take my body too?"

[Seize, stop being funny, John Camp. It’s still hard to determine who this warlock’s body belongs to between you and me? Between you and me, who came into this body first? 】

I first thought this was another bad joke by Wiltis, and then I tasted the deeper meaning of His words.

"you mean……"

[John Camp, when was the first time you experienced, not saw clearly, but felt the world? Rather than reading the memory that exists in the mind, memory cannot represent consciousness. The first time you witnessed the world and felt the emotions in your heart...]

[It was when you met three people, Francis, Nora, and Mariana. They bring you back to your senses, you see it as a rescue, you see them as your family, and that's the basis of gratitude. 】

[Changing a consciousness from madness to sanity is such a superb mental manipulation skill, right? How difficult do you think it would be for a woman with such skill to re-create from chaos a person named John Camp to dominate the body? 】

[You are not the true body of the Crimson Beloved. You are a rational personality born from emotions and beliefs taught by those three people with words. Neither you nor I are the main characters. The cowardly and sluggish boy who was forced by the cultists has already given everything he has in the first sacrifice ceremony. 】

[I descended from the sacrificial consciousness and control this body. 】

[Then there is you, you who were born in accordance with the wishes of those three people. 】

[If we really count from the time, I came much earlier than you, do you understand? John Camp. 】

I felt stunned for a while, but my innate rational thinking and Mariana's teachings suppressed my inner collapse. I thought about Veltis's words, and I couldn't find any mistakes at all. His words can be explained by logical thinking.

He was right.

I, John Camp, am just a personality in this body, a personality trained by Mariana and others.

What's going on, I actually feel a little happy.

"Wait!" I suddenly remembered my poor body and my resentment towards Vertis' torture.

"All my pain is caused by you! You are another me, I torture me? I hate me?"

"Not a worse Crimson God, but a worse me?"

Bad taste, evil, contempt for mortals, and words and methods that are annoying but feel familiar.

Damn it, it’s really me.

Vertis sensed the thoughts in my heart, showed that familiar evil smile, and shook his finger again.

[No, the pain of the Crimson God is real, and it all stems from cognitive errors. 】

[You are more rational than me. You absorbed the memory of your predecessor and created a terrible demon in your mind. The sequelae of the sacrifice, the changes in your body have made you aggravate this perception. 】

[You are a thief, John. You hate the Crimson God but don't want to give up his power, so a bad demon personality and a Wiltis personality who likes to play with you appear in response to your needs. 】

[The Crimson God is just a rule, and Veltis is your excuse to use the Crimson Power with peace of mind. All reasonable explanations for the cause of your pain are your own imagination. Only pain is real. 】

[Use power, think that blasphemy will be played by the evil god, put the blame on the crimson god, and use the crimson power wantonly. This is you, John Camp, a despicable warlock. 】

[And I, Vertis, satisfy all the other me’s requests for help, and fulfill John Camp’s ‘wishes’ at all costs, the true master of the Crimson Power. I am the real blasphemer by pretending to be the Crimson God and executing the punishment game on my other self. A being like me who is always willing to help others is actually called an evil god because of your accusation. I am such a kind and kind God. 】

I covered my head, feeling confused.

The previous assumption was wrong. Vertis was not amused by my impiety and tortured me with all kinds of evil intentions. The truth is that the Crimson God doesn't care about my blasphemy at all. I gained divine power by using the rules of sacrifice, but the divine power corroded this body and caused pain. And I used my own way of thinking to construct a Vertis who took pleasure in toying with me.

I raised my head and looked at Vertis. His evil smile changed because he sensed my thoughts changing.

"I have a bold idea..."

[You'd better not say it. 】

"You also said that Vertis is the devil of evil taste based on my imagination, and you are Vertis. In other words, even if I am not the original personality of this body, you are only created by my imagination. Personality. You are after me.”

[No, I just thought it was fun to be Vertis, and playing the evil god within you seemed like fun sacrilege to me, so I made the change. In essence, I am still the chaotic personality that I descended from during the first sacrifice. 】

"You can't prove it. What disappeared in the first sacrificial ceremony was the first personality, which was the original master personality. The second personality was the chaotic personality of the Crimson Beloved who controlled the body's actions descended from the ceremony. The third personality was the Mariana and the others awakened me, and you are the Wiltis, the fourth personality, that was split out of my imagination.”

"The second personality is the shadow area of ​​the brain produced by the sacrificial ritual. This is proven by facts, but as the fourth personality, Wiltis is equal to the chaotic consciousness of the second personality. This is just your assumption."

"Virtis, what is not proven is just a lie."

The other I narrowed my eyes.

[No, I am the second personality. 】

"Where's the evidence?"

【I can really torture you. 】

I shut my mouth, and at the same time I became more convinced that this was just Wiltis' irritation.

[Our minds are connected by the web of the mind, John Kemp. I regret that the torture I gave you before was just your imagination, but I promise that your imagination will become reality next time. 】

I am so powerless against the other me.

"Do you hate me that much?"

Wiltis shook his head.

[Just a slap on the wrist for cowards who spew arrogant words. 】

[It is our consensus to hate the Crimson God and want to retaliate against the Crimson God for hurting us physically and mentally. It is our consensus to blaspheme and become blasphemers. 】

[Give up the power in your hands and the answers you are thinking about, feeling that at the critical moment, as long as you make a false wish to Vertis, the evil god will use his violence to destroy all difficulties. 】

[Don’t rely on yourself, pray to the gods. 】

[Belief in the power of God is the greatest devotion to God. 】

[This cannot be called blasphemy. 】

[I have both sides of John Camp and the Crimson God. Depending on your perception, I will be biased towards the blasphemous warlock or the perverse evil god. 】

[Just like this time, if you don't trust the truth obtained by researching with Merlin, and just like in the past, come to me and make a wish. I will completely become Vertis, merge with Secromfas, and become the complete crimson god you think of in your heart. 】

I opened my mouth.

"And I managed to trust my companions and myself, so you revealed the truth about the other me. You favored us, the blasphemous warlock."

Wiltis showed his standard evil smile, the blood on the red robe squirmed as if alive, and the crimson divine power turned into chains, red mist, lightning, and a storm that shook the world.

[Of course, compared to the fusion of consciousness with the Crimson God...]

【I prefer to be my complete self. 】