Erina's eyelid twitched as she fixed Saeko with a piercing stare.
"You don't know Lord Morpheus?"
Saeko shook her head. "I've never heard of this Morpheus, Commander."
Erina studied her for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle.
"Commander?" Saeko suddenly noticed a shift in Erina's gaze.
Erina let out a long breath. "You almost had me fooled there. I was starting to think you were telling the truth."
Saeko blinked, confused. "???"
What was going on? Why did Erina suddenly stop believing her? Everything she said was true.
"Commander, I'm not lying!"
Erina sneered. "I'll admit, you're quite the talker. You almost had me convinced with how real it sounded. I don't know how you learned about Gourmet Cells, but you made one critical mistake."
Saeko was utterly lost, not understanding what she meant.
Erina continued, "Your biggest flaw is not knowing Lord Morpheus. If what you said was true, if you really were my subordinate in the future, you would definitely know Lord Morpheus."
"That's your biggest slip-up."
Saeko was dumbfounded. Who was this Morpheus? Why did mentioning him change the Commander's entire demeanor?
"Commander, I—"
"Enough!" Erina cut her off with a cold huff. "I'm not interested in listening to your nonsense. Hisako, escort her out. I still have to prepare dinner for Lord Morpheus."
"What a waste of my time."
With that, Erina gave Saeko no chance to explain and turned to leave.
Hisako sighed and said to the stunned Saeko, "Please leave, Miss Busujima."
As Saeko watched Erina's retreating figure, she slowly rose from the sofa and followed Hisako out of Totsuki Academy.
As she stepped outside, she suddenly asked, "Miss Arato, who exactly is this Morpheus the Commander mentioned?"
She had realized that the Commander's disbelief stemmed entirely from this Morpheus.
She needed to figure out who this Morpheus was.
Truthfully, Hisako didn't fully believe Saeko either, but perhaps it was the sincerity in her gaze.
After a moment's hesitation, Hisako revealed Morpheus's identity.
"Lord Morpheus is the deity Miss Erina and I serve!"
"What?"
Saeko was floored. A deity?
She had never heard that the Commander or Hisako followed any deity. And if they were truly devotees of this god, why didn't they mention Morpheus at all in the future?
More importantly, if a deity truly existed, why did Japan still fall in the future?
Saeko's eyes flickered as realization hit her.
Could the Commander and Hisako have been deceived by this so-called Morpheus?
Perhaps after the zombie outbreak, this fraud was exposed by the Commander and Arato.
That would explain why neither mentioned him in the future.
It must be their dark history.
The more Saeko thought about it, the more convinced she became. If deities truly existed, why didn't a single one appear to save the world after Japan's fall?
So, this whole "deity" Thing had to be a scam.
But she couldn't just tell the Commander and Hisako outright.
From their reactions, they seemed to trust this Morpheus implicitly.
She needed to find an opportunity to expose this fraud and make the Commander and Arato believe her.
With only a few days left before the biochemical crisis erupted, she had to act quickly to unmask this imposter.
Saeko took a deep breath and said to Hisako, "Miss Arato, may I meet this Lord Morpheus? Perhaps he can prove that what I'm saying is true."
Hisako hesitated, about to refuse.
But Saeko dropped to her knees with a thud, performing a full dogeza.
"Please, Miss Arato. This concerns the safety of billions. Let me meet this Lord Morpheus."
Hisako was stunned. She hadn't expected Saeko to go so far as to perform a dogeza.
Especially when she mentioned the safety of billions.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, Hisako relented.
"I understand. I'll contact Lord Morpheus."
With that, she clasped her hands and began to pray.
"Lord Morpheus, Lord Morpheus, can you hear me?"
…
Meanwhile, Morpheus had only just parted ways with Miko and Hana. After learning from Miko about the impending biochemical crisis in Japan, he had set out for the Umbrella Corporation's Tokyo branch.
But as he made his way there, he suddenly heard Hisako's prayer.
"I'm here. What's the matter?" Morpheus responded while continuing forward.
Hisako glanced at the kneeling Saeko and explained her presence and her claims of being reborn from the future.
The more Morpheus heard, the brighter his eyes gleamed.
He had just learned of the disaster from Miko, and now Erina had encountered someone who had lived through it.
What was this?
A cosmic alignment of fortune?
"Wait there. I'm coming right now."
Morpheus glanced at the Umbrella Corporation's Tokyo branch, just steps away, then turned around.
The company wasn't going anywhere.
He'd rather meet this reborn person first. Perhaps she could provide more detailed information about the disaster.
Before long, Morpheus arrived at Totsuki Academy.
As he reached the main gate, he saw Hisako and Saeko waiting.
He took a good look at Saeko. She was much as he remembered—outwardly a Yamato Nadeshiko, but with eyes that were exceptionally sharp and fierce.
Even sharper than in the original story.
The current Saeko was like an unsheathed blade—touch her, and you'd get cut.
Meanwhile, as Morpheus studied Saeko, she was sizing him up.
This was the deity the Commander and Hisako served?
No matter how she looked at him, he seemed like an ordinary man, with no divine aura whatsoever.
Definitely a fraud.
She had to expose this man here and now, to warn the Commander and Hisako and make them believe her.
They needed to be fully prepared before this disaster struck.
This time, she would not let history repeat itself.
With that thought, Saeko stepped forward. "Are you Lord Morpheus?"
---
Hi guys, Elenea here! I just want to announce that starting now I'll be trying to focus on my own original fanfic, which I've been thinking about for the past few days (lol I really mulled this over briefly for a few days and decided I'm going to make it a full novel).
[Worse Than the Devil (DxD)]
Synopsis:
Devil.
An evil and chaotic creature, born from hell, which are often a scapegoat for humans. Blamed for the atrocities they themselves commit.
"The devil made me do it."
A phrase always uttered by humans after committing crimes, casting blame and responsibility for their wrongdoings onto the devil.
But not all humans are like that, for there is one man who would gleefully commit atrocities that would be condemned by all of human history and accept the blame and responsibility for those wrongs with open arms.
His name is Michael, but in stark contrast to the meaning of his name 'Who is like God' he is not a devout man who draws near to God's embrace. Instead… he is the one who sends lost sheep to meet God's embrace much faster.
---
Btw, a quick note before you decide to read, if you have a heart as pure as glass, I suggest you don't read this because it REALLY gets dark to early. The first chapter will give you a little idea of what I might explore later on in this fanservice harem-themed world like DxD.
Adios!