Summoning the Sins (I)

“Welcome, humans, to my world.”

When I open my eyes, I find myself in a realm of darkness.

I look around and find nothing but a dark void, stretching seemingly into infinity, and a few other people standing near me. Within the darkness, I can barely make most of them out. The only one I can see somewhat clearly is a girl who looks around my age.

“Where am I…?”

She asks as she also begins spinning her head around.

I’d love to answer her, but I don’t know either. I don’t know where we are nor do I remember how I even got here. It’s like I just woke up here – except it doesn’t feel like I had been sleeping either.

What was I even doing before I ended up here again? It feels hard to remember for some reason. If I dig deep, I think I vaguely remember being on my way home from my after-school job…

“I thank you all for gathering. It pleases me to see all seven of you have made it here in one piece.”

The voice from earlier rings out again. All of us immediately turn to its direction and find something that wasn’t there before.

A large throne and a person sitting comfortably on it. A woman in a black dress with jet black hair and horns sprouting out of her head. Despite the darkness, I’m able to see here extremely clearly for some reason, as if a non-existent spotlight were on her.

“Who are you? Are you the one who brought us here?” One of the people I can’t see, a girl from the sound of it, asks aggressively.

“You have horns and wings… are you a d-demon?” Another girl I can’t see asks, terrified.

“You are both correct. I am the one who summoned you here and I am a demon. Specifically, I am known by many as the Demon King.” The woman on the throne confirms confidently.

“The Demon King? You mean, like in videogames or anime?” Another person, a guy with a serious tone, questions.

“And what do you mean by summoning us? Is this one of those scenarios? Are we being summoned to another world right now?” Yet another, a guy with an excited voice, cries out.

“Wait, but doesn’t that mean… are we all dead?” The one girl I can see wonders.

“Ahahahaha, you’re all correct once again. I’m glad to see you’re all so quick to catch on.” The so-called Demon King laughs. “It is exactly like the scenario you are all familiar with from the media that you consume. All of you have just died and are now being summoned by me to another world.”

What? We’re dead? I’m dead? How can that be…

No… no, I do remember it now. On my way back home, I was crossing the street when this truck suddenly—

“Ah… ah… I really died…”

The realization hits me like a truck… poor phrasing aside.

The others seem to be feeling the same as various reactions and gasps spread among them. No matter, it can’t be easy to be suddenly told that you’re not dead…

“Sounds great. So we all get to go to another world?” Someone suddenly says nonchalantly.

The voice belongs to the final person present, the only one who hasn’t spoken up yet besides me. It is a deep masculine voice with strength and confidence behind it, making me think that he might be a little older than the rest of us.

“What? How can you be so calm? Aren’t you sad that you just died?” The aggressive girl from earlier asks him.

“So? The fact that we’re here talking means we’re not completely dead. She just said we’re being sent to another world.” He points out. “Frankly, I’m excited about this. I’ve always wanted to be summoned to another world just like in the stories. Isn’t it the same for you guys?”

Shocked silence washes over the rest of us, as if confirming his question.

It’s true. After watching and reading such things, I’ve always dreamt about getting to be summoned as a hero in another world. I would regularly fantasize about what a wonderful life I would have there.

But that was daydreaming. A little fantasy to escape the mundanity of my regular life. I’m not sure I truly desired for it to actually happen. Not if it meant actually dying in the real world.

Even so… the moment I start thinking about going to a new world, a part of me now does feel a little enthusiastic.

“… I agree. I don’t mind leaving the old world behind, if it means getting to live out my fantasy.” The excited dude declares.

“Really, you guys? I dunno… I still feel like I don’t wanna never see my friend and family again…” The terrified girl remarks.

“Hmph. It doesn’t matter how any of you feel. You’re already dead, one way or another. You cannot and will not be able to return to your former lives.” The Demon King states. “Whether you accept it or not, your deceased selves are being sent to another world. There is no discussion involved.”

That’s true. However we feel, we are all dead. We can grieve and regret, but we cannot go back. The only path forward is the new world we are headed to.

“Hold on. Isn’t something weird here?” I suddenly realize. “How come the one summoning us is the Demon King? If we’re going to be heroes of another world, shouldn’t it be some sort of God or Goddess? And aren’t you the bad guy that we all need to defeat?”

“Yeah, wait, he’s right. You’re the Demon King. You’re supposed to be our enemy.” The girl next to me agrees.

“Hahaha, you fools. You are completely mistaken.” The Demon King chuckles. “Who ever said you were being summoned as heroes?”

“What!?”

“Allow me to explain it all from the beginning…”

With a snap of her fingers, various floating screens appeared around her, showing images of different places, people, and maps.

In particular, my eye is immediately drawn to a picture of a really pretty girl swinging around a cool-looking sword while being surrounded by some monster-looking creatures.

“The World you are all being summoned to is called Ordeau and I am the Demon King trying to destroy it. Or at least, I was. Just as I was about to win the war, those wretched humans pulled out one final desperation move: they summoned heroes from another world to stop me. Your World, that is.”

Seven of the screens float forwards so we can take a better look, including the one with the pretty sword girl.

“These seven otherworlders became known as the Heroes of Light. With their immensely powerful, cheat-like abilities, they were able to halt my advance and seven-handedly turn the tide of the war. Eventually, they reached my castle and combined their powers to slay me once and for all. That was what happened a year ago.”

“What. But then, doesn’t that mean you are already dead?” The serious guy points out.

“Indeed. I’m super-duper dead now. I got killed and I’m not coming back. What you are speaking to is merely a remnant of my remaining existence. An echo of myself etched into the fabric of the world. Something similar to what you guys currently are, actually.” The Demon King explains.

Huh, I guess that makes sense. If we can be here after dying, so can she.

“But if you’re already dead… then why are you summoning us? Doesn’t that seem pointless?” The girl next to me remarks.

“Well, that’s the thing. You see… I’m a really sore loser!” The Demon King giggles, like a little girl. “I’m super petty and I hate that I got killed. So, just as I was dying, I had a crazy idea. What if I used my remaining power to also summon a bunch of otherworlders and had them do evil in my name?”

“““WHAT!?”””

Almost all of us cry out in shock and disbelief at her ridiculous reveal.

We’re being summoned not to save the world as heroes, but to do evil instead?

“Hahaha, the reaction on your faces alone almost makes this idea worth it.” The Demon King laughs jubilantly. “That’s right, from now on, all seven of you are my children and you shall render my evil will upon the world that killed me.”

She lifts her hand and points towards us all with a wicked and smug smile.

“From now on, you shall be the Seven Demon Lords. To each of you, I grant a portion of my power with which you can fulfill all of your wishes.”

One by one, she points at each of us in turn and begins granting us our new identities. As she does so, each of them suddenly becomes visible to me as well.

“Ikari Asuka. I grant upon you the Crest of Wrath. Use it to destroy all that angers you. From now on, you shall be known as Asmodeus.”

She says to the aggressive girl. Now that I can see her, she appears to be a serious and sporty-looking girl around my age.

“Ikutsuki Ruka. I grant upon you the Crest of Pride. Use it to show the world who you truly are. From now on, you shall be known as Lucifer.”

She says to the strong-voiced dude. As I expected, he is a big, muscular dude who looks a few years older than me.

“Midorima Reiji. I grant upon you the Crest of Envy. Use it to become what you’ve always wanted. From now on, you shall be known as Leviathan.”

She says to the excited dude. Surprisingly, he has a rather reserved appearance, with messy hair that covers his eyes and a nervous-looking posture.

“Bessho Naruki. I grant upon you the Crest of Sloth. Use it to deny everything you abhor. From now on, you shall be known as Belphegor.”

She says to the serious dude. With thick glasses and evenly parted hair, he looks like a total bookworm and teacher’s pet.

“Okui Beni. I grant upon you the Crest of Gluttony. Use it to break everything restraining you. From now on, you shall be known as Beelzebub.”

She says to the terrified girl. Amazingly, she is a really pretty and stylish gyaru-like girl, the type I could always only look at from afar during class.

“Rindo Ririka. I grant upon you the Crest of Lust. Use it to explore the pinnacles of pleasure. From now on, you shall be known as Lilith.”

She says to the girl next to me.

No way, such a prim and proper honor student-looking girl is Lust?

“And finally, you. Tokunaga Mamoru.”

She says to me, the average and ordinary highschooler you can find anywhere.

“I grant upon you the Crest of Greed. Use it to obtain everything that you desire. From now on, you shall be known as Mammon.”

And just like that, my fate is sealed.

That is the beginning of my new life as the Demon Lord of Greed.

「 You have been given the Crest of Greed 」

「 The Crest of Greed denotes you as the Demon Lord of Greed 」

「 You now have access to the following Unique Abilities 」

「 Monopoly 」

Allows user to make any item belong to him. Can be used to steal items equipped to other people and claim ownership of items that are not. All items that belong to the user cannot be stolen or used without the owner’s permission under any circumstance.

「 Perfect Appraisal 」

Performs analysis on a target to calculate its monetary worth. Allows user access to all data gained through this analysis. Blueprint data can be used to enhance or customize other objects.

「 Bottomless Vault 」

Grants access to an infinite inventory space in which the user can store any object he owns. All objects inside the vault are considered equipped and grant their passive effects to the user. Inventory space can be partitioned and given different custom settings.

「 Absolute Owner 」

Grants complete control over all items. Allows user to give any command to an object he owns. These can include commands such as “Enhance”, “Customize”, “Repair”, “Summon”, etc.

「 Slave Master 」

Allows user to own other people. Can be used to place a Slave Crest on a person. The Slave Master has full command and control over all of their Slaves. All other Abilities can be used on slaves as if they were an object. Slave Crests cannot be removed by any external method.