Normally I wouldn't believe such nonsense, but seeing the old ma- no the devil smite a person out of existence gave me no other choice but to believe that this was actually hell.
Was I a bad person ?
Why else would I be in hell ?
But why I don't think I'm a person that deserves to be in hell.. maybe it's because I don't have any of my memories.
I could be a mafia boss or a serial killer.
….
What ?
It's very possible.
Some of the people raise their voices after the old man's proclamation. It seems that they forgot about what happened just a few moments ago. The devil ignores them and snaps his fingers, the people who were making a ruckus shuts up instantly.
It seems that they're unable to speak,,, upon closer inspection I noticed that their mouths had been sewed shut.
Shuddering, I warn myself to never go against this man.
"I'm sure that all of you have many questions, but I need all of you to calm down, so that I can explain the situation to you. If I kill everyone right now… that wouldn't be fun would it?''
From the look in his eyes, I knew that he meant what he said.
He would kill every single one of us if we disobeyed him.
There was no chance to escape.
I'm doomed.
I mean, I'm not an anime protagonist who trains for a few months and succeeds in defeating the century old demon king.
I'm just an ordinary guy, I think ?
I felt overwhelmed at the thought that I was going to be suffering in hell for eternity.
"As you all might have guessed by now, you're all sinners… complete pieces of trash. Everyone here deserves to suffer an eternity of suffering for their sins committed in the upper world."
The devil was insulting all the people in the room with that smile still on his face, while his face expressed happiness... his voice was void of any kind of emotion.
The devil continued on after stopping to catch his breath,
"Usually sinners like you are thrown into the deepest corners of hell and left there to suffer for eternity. But the thing is… hell is very boring, not for you all. But for me and my minion's hell has become way too boring. We have no source of entertainment. Isn't that a bit sad, hmm ?"
What's he trying to say ?
Does he want us to entertain him ?
"We complained about this to our boss, you know the big guy up there.", the devil says pointing his finger up.
Was he referring to God ?
Goosebumps rise up on my skin at this thought.
I mean it's only reasonable to assume that God would be real if the devil existed. But still…
The Devil continues with his speech,
"God felt pity for us and decided to grant a single wish of ours. You know what I wished for ?"
Seeing that no one was speaking, the devil lets out a little sigh and says,
"I wished to host a game for the damned souls…. a game that can only have one winner and guess what the most fun part is?"
Seeing that no one was responding to his question this time as well, he let's out another sigh and mutters under his breath, "Tough crowd, huh?"
" The most fun part is that… the winner gets to leave hell, but as a damned soul can't return to Earth, the winner will be reincarnated into a whole new world ! A world that is similar to the one's in the fantasy novels that many of you might have read."
Leave Hell ?
Hope started to bloom in my heart which was despairing just moments ago. If I had the chance to leave hell then I would do my all to take it and I could tell that everyone around me felt the same way from the various looks on their faces.
"All your memories have been wiped clean to make things a little more interesting, just because your memories have been wiped clean doesn't mean that you rotten personality will change. Remember that everyone present here are people who have done things unimaginable to people with a sane mind."
At his words all the people turn around to look at the people near them, I do the same. Near me, stood a young girl with brown hair and eyes that had a green hue. She looked normal.
Our eyes meet. I give out a nervous smile and the woman does the same, it seemed that she at least had good manners.
While looking at the woman, a thought suddenly intrudes into my panicking mind.
' I don't remember what I look like.'
It's true. I have no idea what I look like.
As there weren't any mirrors near me, I couldn't find out now either. I suppose how I look isn't that important.
"All your disabilities and wounds both mental and physical have been healed. As you pass each round of the game, you will regain some of your memories and finally after winning the last round. The winner will regain all his memories."
That means that if I win the devil's little game… then I'll know who I am.
I listen more closely to the Devil,
"There will be three games in total. For the first game, you will have to make groups of ten. Now, I know that you all are confused right now, you may feel overwhelmed. If some of you die a useless death because the reality hadn't sunk in yet... then that would be a pity."
There was clear condescension in his voice, as if the thought of us dying felt amusing to him.
"Since I'm so kind, I'll give you 24 hours to prepare yourself. You'll stay right in this room untill then, When the time ends, I hope that you all make groups of ten."
The devil turns around to leave but stops and turns around to face us again,
"I forgot to mention this, but if you say the word 'status' or think about it, a screen will appear, this was done since you humans love playing games so much. Well then I wish you all good luck."
The devil once again turns around to leave but one of the people in the crowd call out to him before he can leave,
"Excuse me, sir?"
The devil turns around, surprise evident in his face. He observes the one who had spoken up before saying,
"Yes?"
The man who had called the devil was tall, very tall. He looked very young as well, he looked to be in his twenties. He had black hair and eyes that were of a purple hue. Even when facing the devil, he didn't look that afraid.
The man stares at the devil for a few seconds and asks him in a curious voice,
"Why us ?"
The Devil laughs out loud and says,
"You were all chosen at random… it's not like there's a shortage of sinners in this world."
With those words, he leaves the room.
~~~~