They’re asking me for forgiveness. From here, it’s just one step to swearing loyalty to me.

  This is bad. I don’t want a bunch of cultists under my command.

  I’m here because rune magic would be really useful in Convergence, so Ronan can keep learning from them.

  Of course, it’s not like it hadn’t occurred to me that this could happen, or that it would be more than likely.

  Ronan, I think, if they start asking for vassalage, you’ll have gotten me into a real mess. I don’t want them in Convergence.

  Why not, my lady? They could be useful to you. Mages with dark magic. Loyal if the system accepts their oath. They will never betray you. That said, you need to order them that the human sacrifices are over.

  What? I don’t even shake my head, confused. I’m way too into my role as a barely-moving demon king. I’ll ignore the sacrifice thing for now.

  What if they don’t swear?

  If they do not, I can kill them or we can let them go. If we kill them, you’ll get a nice secret base in the capital. And if not, they do not know who you are and, as for me, I am now their High Priest. Betraying me would be betraying themselves and the church. There is no reason for them to do such a thing.

  Then a pop-up window appears before my eyes, just as I hear one of them ask for exactly what I fear.

  Valent Lortale wishes to swear loyalty to you. Do you accept? Yes/No.

  This Valent guy seems to be like a catalyst triggering a cascade of more notifications. Fifteen more, to be exact, where only the first and last names change.

  Fuck. I’m not sure if I’m thinking that to myself or to Ronan.

  My lady, decide.

  Decide what?

  There are 21 hooded figures and I only have 16 loyalty requests.

  The seed, which has jumped from my cloak without me saying anything, has grown to his maximum size as a pup.

  Doesn’t he realize they could recognize me through him?

  But it’s the same thing. Exposing the divine beast would end up exposing their church and, even if they don’t want to believe in me as the Demon King, the truth is the divine beast is sacred to them. They wouldn’t go against him.

  I sigh.

  I don’t think I have much time to decide. From the depths of my hood, I look at the seed of darkness. Because I warned him about this long ago: if I don’t want to accept someone, he’d better kill that person or I’ll just press “no” and reject them.

  And he dies.

  I sigh again. I don’t want to do it like this. I liked savoring the power when I buried them, but I’m not going to kill them if they don’t ask for loyalty. I realize that’s exactly what it looks like: that I’ll increase the pressure of the earth to crush them or finish burying them, including their heads, if they don’t swear the oath to me. Maybe that’s why this Valent guy decided, and why the others rushed to imitate him.

  Ronan, I’m going to free them. Tell them they don’t have to ask for loyalty to keep living.

  As you wish, my lady.

  This time more slowly, I manipulate the earth again. I make sure everyone returns to their original position and that the grassy ground is left as it was. Then I release the earth control spell.

  Curiously, it doesn’t seem like I have to decide right now whether I accept them or not. It feels as if the system understands that I’m simply giving them a new stance from which to choose whether they truly want to become my vassals.

  “The Demon King is generous. He does not desire loyalty based on fear. You may withdraw your request for vassalage and continue serving our Lord from the Church.”

  Well, Ronan has really gotten into his role as High Priest.

  Four requests disappear. Twelve remain.

  However, thirteen kneel before me to make the oath. One of them is Benedict Bloodwynne. I recognize him easily, not only because he’s in front, but by the red threads on his hood and robe. According to the system, he isn’t asking me for any kind of vassal oath.

  I look at the rest of the notifications. His son isn’t there. He wasn’t before either.

  Are we really going to let him go?

  What I’m clear about is that I don’t want Bloodwynne if he swears falsely.

  Ronan, the count isn’t really asking me for vassalage. I’m not getting any system notification.

  Let me take care of him, my lady.

  Take care of him? This is in case I had any doubts that what he said before about killing them was serious.

  However, before I can answer him, the pup launches one of his new spells, the shadow claws. He’s very fast.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  One moment he’s standing on the platform, next to me, in an apparently relaxed attitude, and the next his claws, covered in shadows, are slashing Bloodwynne’s throat.

  Count Bloodwynne has powerful magic and what any LoL player would call an ultimate: his magic nullification.

  If he casts it, could it even prevent me from summoning the shadow wolf as a last defense, or not because it’s not a spell as such even though it uses mana? Actually, it’s a unique ability granted to me by the contract I signed with the seed of darkness, but it uses mana and I cast it as if it were a spell, pronouncing the word “awaken.”

  In any case, his magic does him no good. I think because he doesn’t expect it. There’s no powerful darkness barrier or any half-prepared spell to prevent the pup from slitting his throat.

  I see how he falls to the ground, also how several of those present stir. I imagine they’re controlling their horror and surprise so as not to be next.

  As for me, I notice no new notification arrives. That’s wonderful, because I wouldn’t want to have to accept anyone whose reason for being my vassal was to avoid getting their throat slit.

  I see the pup, whose claws are still covered in ominous shadows, looking at me. He tilts his head slightly, his muscles are tense, trying to tell me something.

  I think I know what it’s about: that I just have to give him a gesture and he’ll take care of the rest.

  His quick attack made me think that, like me, he knew Bloodwynne was trying to make a false oath and that he killed him to protect me.

  Or maybe to spare me from having to make a decision that could strengthen or weaken my newly acquired darkness?

  Ronan’s words pull me from my thoughts.

  “Only a fool would pretend to swear falsely before the Sacred Beast of our Lord and his Demon King,” he states in a threateningly low voice.

  In the total silence of the night, everyone hears him.

  The notifications start blinking, as if warning me that I must accept or they’ll be considered rejected.

  I hesitate no more.

  What choice do I have!

  Quickly, one by one, I accept them.

  Maybe if their leader had truly intended to be my vassal, I would have only gotten one notification, like what happened with the goblins and the bears.

  Congratulations, future dark lord, you have just obtained your fifth vassals. +24 influence points.

  Fifth, because so far I have Ronan, the bears, the goblins, and Petunia.

  By the way, curious that an adult priest gives the same as an adult goblin. I imagine that if their leader had truly made the oath, he would have given me more points. What I don’t know is if they’re all priests or if there’s some believer of the Church who gives the same influence.

  Quickly, I check to see how many influence points I have in total.

  188 influence points.

  Next, I stare at those who didn’t swear.

  With the scarce light here and their hoods, I can’t make out their faces; even though they don’t cover them with a mask like I do.

  Maybe it’s better, because I don’t even want to imagine the emotions that must be going through Damien’s right now.

  The divine beast killed his father and I didn’t even react in time to stop it.

  Nor did I answer Ronan about him taking care of it.

  Ronan, this shouldn’t have unfolded like this.

  It went very well, my lady. We have stopped a possible trafficking ring of peasants for sacrifice. And on top of that, with only one death, many are loyal to you. Do you want me to take care of the rest?

  No, I rush to answer him, horrified. Of course not. How can you talk so lightheartedly about ending other lives?

  Well, my invisible friend gave me permission. He does not mind.

  I don’t shake my head because I’m playing the role of Demon King and I doubt he would do that. But I need to talk to Ronan about this. Killing is not right. And the responsibility for what just happened here is mine because I’m the one who agreed to come.

  I’ll still have light magic, right?

  I even check it.

  Yes, I have it. And the darkness one is still at low affinity.

  I’m not going to tell you to apologize on my behalf because that’s not what a good leader would do. That way I’d only make them regret an oath they can’t break, which would make their lives miserable, having to obey someone whose principles they didn’t share. Just tell them that those who haven’t sworn can leave, that they’re still priests of their church, that I know they know that keeping silent about this is the only thing they can do. And give Damien my condolences for his father, explain that his oath was false.

  My lady... There’s a certain sadness in his voice whose cause I don’t know if it’s me or Damien.

  Then, I hear how Ronan’s voice resonates powerfully beyond my head. Not because he raises it, which he’s still speaking quite low, but because of what the crushing certainty of his words implies.

  “Those of you who have sworn vassalage, welcome, you may rise. Those who have not, do not worry. The Demon King is generous and understands that you have chosen a parallel path to serve Him. Both groups will continue to be brothers within the Church. The Demon King knows that betraying him would be betraying yourselves, seeking your own ruin and that of your families, as well as losing the support of your Lord and becoming enemies of your Church.”

  No one says anything. Those who were kneeling, yes, they stand up.

  “Damien.” Ronan takes a few steps toward one of the hooded figures standing at the back. “Your father had not truly sworn loyalty. He was trying to make a false oath. That is treason. The divine beast itself detected and punished it. Feel honored that the consequences do not extend to his county house.”

  “But he had been blessed,” Damien murmured, his voice broken by what seemed like a mixture of incomprehension, anger, and pain.

  “And he chose to betray that gift from Our Lord.”

  Ronan is talking as if he really were one of them. As if he hadn’t infiltrated the church. But his invisible friend is the dark god.

  I’d say things are getting complicated but, actually, they’re becoming terrifyingly simple.

  My right hand, under the cloak, closes into a fist without pressure. I just want to feel the outline of the ring of resistance on my fingers. The one that can pull me out of an unwanted fate.

  I wonder, once again, what I have to do to unlock its requirements. Preferably before all this goes to my head, like it seems happened to Bloodwynne, and I no longer want to do it.

  Two deaths. An assassin by my own hand and a count who was the leader of a sect for the return of the dark god.

  I don’t know why, but the first one marked me more than this one.

  Could it be true, as Catrina didn’t tell me but did suggest, that you end up getting used to it?

  In any case, Ronan is talking to me.

  Thank you very much, my lady. I will take care of the rest. You can return to your fiancé now.

  Ronan, we’ll talk when we’re alone in the goblin village. Agreed?

  Of course, my lady.

  The golem begins to levitate, slowly the first few meters and then faster, until it’s lost from sight. Once high enough, it stops and the two zombie birds approach me. I tie the cords to their little legs.

  I am not very clear on how I feel after this. From the rush of power when burying them in the earth, from the realization that I enjoyed it, from the fact of having cultists under my orders and that Damien’s father’s death is noted in my account.

  For now, I think I must be experiencing some kind of dissociation mechanism, because it’s as if right now I don’t feel anything anymore.

  The return to the palace passes without complications. I go back to bed. I have trouble falling asleep because my mind keeps going over what happened.

  I have nightmares about the assassin again and, this time, my hands are also stained with Bloodwynne’s blood and, worst of all, I’m laughing as if I didn’t care, as if it were part of my villain plan. My face, for a moment, transforms into Sol’s.