Memory of Chaos: Demiurge

Memory of Chaos: Demiurge was a character scenario released in Mass for the Dead, featuring the character Demiurge.

Episode 1: Missing Throne
Where the Throne of Kings once sat, a mysterious Crack lies in its place, tarnishing the majesty of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and Forty-One Supreme Beings who built it——in place of its former glory there are signs of battle, and shame.

Demiurge standing near the Crack with Albedo and Shalltear Bloodfallen sees that the time of when the Chaos Beasts will soon emerge is near. From what the two have learned in their experiments, the fumes produced by the Cracks do not appear to have any ill effect on the inhabitants of Nazarick nor to any of its summons. Despite this immunity, Demiurge denies that they are safe, especially in this kind of unexpected situation and should tread carefully with their experiments.

As the Crack glows signalling the Chaos Beasts will arrive, the three Floor Guardians prepare for the oncoming swarm of monsters. After they fight, Demiurge thanks the two ladies for their cooperation in the Chaos Beast subjugation. Just as the two female Floor Guardian start to leave the Throne Room, Albedo sees that Demiurge is staring intently at the Crack. Asking him what is wrong, Demiurge approaches the remains of the throne several times, avoiding Albedo's gaze before he asks her and Shalltear what they think of the missing Throne of Kings. The two admit that they feel a sense of loss and sadness that the symbol of their master's power and glory is gone. Nothing can be more true, and Demiurge states that he will not do anything else until he resolves this issue. Albedo though questions if it is even possible to find a throne comparable to the Throne of Kings. On the other hand, Shalltear is all for the idea of replacing the wreck of the throne for a new one as they just need a replacement that is suitable for the Supreme One even offering her body to the task. Shalltear's comments soon gets her into an argument with Albedo who contests this statement as she feels that her body is more than worthy enough of such an honor. Demiurge tells them to be quiet as he felt annoyed by their antics and so he states that he will make a new throne for their master to his colleagues' shock. The first step he needs to do is start by collecting the essential materials needed to make it.

Later in a corridor on the 9th Floor, Abyss Demon reports to Demiurge that he has found those that meet his master's condition. Currently, the prisoners have been captured and are awaiting Demiurge's inspection. Demiurge thrilled by the news hurries to view his specimens. At a undisclosed remote cave, a group of four sleeping men are inspected by both Abyss Demon and Demiurge. Abyss Demon explains to Demiurge that these four men are bandits that were based in the cave and are the ones responsible for killing peddlers and travelers, stealing from their victims to survive. They meet the qualifications stated by Demiurge as they are an antisocial small group that won't be missed by the rest of society. To make sure that the bandits have no other allies in the area, Demiurge then asks Abyss Demon to direct him to the leader of the bandits and awaken him.

Once the bandit leader stirs awake, the demon brightly welcomes the human to the waking world. Seeing the demon, the human demands to know who Demiurge is but was quickly silence by the demon's mental command. The bandit now under his control, Demiurge interrogates the man. From him, he learns that the man was an orphan who's only family was the gang of thieves he is in present company with. That being enough, Demiurge thanks his subordinate for finding such good "materials". Troubled by what he heard, the bandit tries to ask what the demon meant, only for Demiurge to tell him that he need not be concerned. Demiurge does though advises him that he should maintain relationships with others as much as possible as it would be a pity for no one to miss him if he were gone without care from anyone. The demon tells the bandit that he is not a bad person and takes out a knife and begins to dissect the man despite his pleas. As he works on carving the human for parts, Abyss Demon praises his master's work, to which Demiurge states that he learned from Pulcinella in taking joy with doing it. As for the other bandits, Demiurge chooses to keep them alive for now until he's collected and processed the materials he need for the new throne.

Episode 2: Material Collection
In place of the Throne Room, a temporary meeting area was set up in the Round Table Room, where Momonga, the supreme ruler of the Nazarick, and other Floor Guardians gathered. There, Momonga addressed Demiurge on his progress in securing people who can be used as sources of information. The demon updated his master on his work in capturing bandits and other such dregs from society. Their disappearances in the world would leave Nazarick with much needed information with minimal risk and in addition test subjects to test the effects of magic on the human body. The news satisfied Momonga who expects to hear more progress from the Floor Guardian.

Outside in corridor, Albedo secretly speaks with Demiurge, asking him on his work on the replacement throne. Demiurge relays to the Overseer Guardian that he has yet to collect all the materials necessary for making the throne the way he wants it and that it will take some time before completion. Albedo understands that much, though expresses her curiosity as to why Demiurge did not divulge to their master about his work on the throne. There are two reasons for this, one being that Demiurge wanted to prevent Momonga from feeling useless as their master is the kind of person who constantly thinks about the positions of his subordinates. If he was aware that Demiurge was making a throne for him, Momonga would have thought it would be too troublesome. And secondly, according to a passage written in a book from Ashurbanipal——it seems that people are more happy when they are given a surprise present.

Back at the cave, a bandit with a blind eye awakens and sees Demiurge. He reacts in horror but the demon is ready to work on him and begins flaying his skin. The man is barely left alive but Abyss Demon uses healing magic to restore the man back to full health. Demiurge tells his guest that he should be proud that he is helping him as his suffering is allowing him to determine the viability of healing magic and also the potential use of his skin as scroll material. The man curses the demon, which to Demiurge is a sign that he has yet to break him and decides to increase the level of his captive's torture. Mutilating him again, Demiurge finds that the bandit has fainted from the pain. However, his attention is soon directed at his subordinate Abyss Demon who has been silent throughout the torture session. Demiurge then orders the demon to speak honestly to him, wondering if he has any comments on his method. Abyss Demon asks his master if the torturing is necessary as there are more effective means to gather information. So he asks if there is another purpose for these actions besides pure enjoyment from doing this. That is not the case however as Demiurge tells his minion that torture is an art that requires advanced techniques to crush the heart of a victim without killing. Though he does love torturing as a hobby, he is currently working to acquire materials for a throne for Momonga. Now aware of his master's intent, Demiurge asks Abyss Demon what kind of throne would be regarded as worthy enough of their master, to which Abyss Demon states that throne of the dead would be appropriate. The idea sparks inspiration in Demiurge who envisions the ideal throne packed with all kinds of symbols of death which he believes will be able to please his master. But first as the base for the throne, he would need bones and a covering for the seat. A special leather is needed, which Demiurge thinks that the faces of those who died in anguish and despair just before death would be suitable pieces to use for decorating the throne with. Finishing explaining to Abyss Demon, Demiurge restarts his work. Waking up his victim, so that the man can display a face of ultimate fear before it can be used to carve from his body at that moment.

Successfully acquiring a perfectly face of terror, the bandit is healed once again by Abyss Demon. As for the bandit, Demiurge promises the human that there will be no more torture after this. The man fears that he will now be killed. Demiurge asks if the man has any last requests, but the bandits spits on Demiurge's offer as he remains doubtful that a demon would ever fulfill his wishes. Demiurge though reminds the human that demons like the former were originally intended to fulfill the wishes of humans, but at the expense of their souls. Upon hearing that, the man makes one last request to be allowed to hold a woman at the end of his life. The Floor Guardian then calls forth Solution Epsilon and asks the maid to allow the man to hold her. The bandit is in disbelief that his wish came true, but just as he tries to hold her in his arms, he finds that he is slowly being swallowed and absorbed into Solution's body. Once he vanishes in Solution's embrace, the maid thanks Demiurge for the meal. Abyss Demon thinks now that Demiurge has all he needs to complete the throne. Despite that however, Demiurge still isn't satisfied with what he got even with the skins of ultimate fear he was able to harvest from the human. What he desires beyond that is more supreme material for his work.

Episode 3: Experiment
One of the remaining bandits awaken with Demiurge greeting him. Seeing that he is not human, the bandit backs away in fear. Alone and scared, the man demands to know where his boss and brothers are at. Demiurge tells the bandit that most of them are no longer around in this world anymore. The bandit initially does not believe the demon, but Demiurge bluntly tells him that what he says is the truth. However, Demiurge offers the man a chance to live. If the bandit shows the demon that he has value in being kept alive then he might decide on sparing the man's life. Though the offer is held with suspicion, the man wants to continue living and survive. Demiurge them proceeds to take out a blade before his prisoner much to his surprise.

Later on, the bandit is running through the caverns and to his utter shock, end up finding one of his bandit brothers unconscious in the cave. Shaking his fellow comrade awake, the bandit is relieved to see that his friend is still alive and well. Quickly, he informs the other bandit about the horrible situation they're currently in and how they have been kidnapped by a demon and that they are the only two survivors left of their band. The other bandit tries to stand but finds his limbs chained to the ground. Luckily, the first bandit managed to steal the key from Demiurge and releases his brother from his bonds. The bandit then tries to get his brother to follow him to the exit, but the other bandit remains motionlessly still. His comrade ask how did the other bandit manage to steal a key from a demon thinking it was convenient. The bandit tells his suspicious brother that he is here to save him and that he would never betray him as they are family. But the issue is still pressed by the other rogue, causing the former to admit that he was invited by the demon to join his side. But he refused to accept the offer as he owed his "family". After Demiurge heard his answer, he was disappointed and left giving the bandit him the key. Finally accepting the truth of his brother, the other bandit agrees to follow the former. Just as the former turned his back to guide his former suspicious comrade out of the cave, he is slashed from behind with a dagger. The other bandit revealed that the demon had ordered him to strike him when he was vulnerable as he accepted his offer to join the demon. To his dying breath the bandit tells his friend that he never was planning on betraying him as he valued loyalty over the demon. The other bandit is unimpressed thinking it was a lie. But as he investigate the body of his dead comrade he is shocked to find the other man had no weapon on him. Demiurge then appears to congratulate the man for his task stating he will be accepting in the demon's fold. The man is soon stabbed in the chest by Demiurge who intends to allow the man to join Nazarick as an undead via his corpse. Demiurge tells his victim did he honestly believe that he would be accepted into the fold after betraying a loyal comrade? Now having all that he needs, Demiurge then has Abyss Demon clean the area of bodies.

Episode 4: Decoration
At the Amphitheater on the 6th Floor, Aura Bella Fiora meets with Demiurge, having heard of the rumors that he was crafting a throne for Momonga. Demiurge tells the dark elf that he has all the basic parts of the throne, but the bones and skin weren't all that gorgeous. So he asks Aura if she could provide any ornaments like colorful materials such as beast fur and bird feathers offering to compensate her for the items. Such payment is not required as Aura supports the project as it is for Momonga's benefit and wants to help. Though she does ask for one thing: "strength". Feeling the need to recover her lost power, Aura asks Demiurge to do a mock battle with her as payment for the materials. Since both have lost their levels since they were revived both are in need to restore their former power. And since Demiurge has been in logistical support for the most part it would be a good opportunity. The two then clash their skills against each other in the arena.

Once they worked up a good sweat, Mare Bello Fiore approaches and asks what they are doing. After Aura explains to her brother that she was sparing with Demiurge, the demon then asks Mare if he could help with crafting his throne. Still feeling that he needs a certain ornament for his work, he asks the dark elf if he has ant idea of what kinds of ​​flowers and plants are suitable for decorating the throne. Before Mare states that he would do it, Aura tells him to first train with Demiurge as payment for the service. Though confused he is pressured to do a mock battle with the other Floor Guardian. Once the duel is done, the two dark elves agree to fetch the needed decorations for Demiurge. But another duel is called for by Aura, this time with Aura fighting alongside Mare and the three engage in another spar session before they commit to their tasks for the new throne.

Episode 5: Complete
In the former bandit cave, Demiurge is busy crafting together the throne, carefully placing the right bones in order and decorating it with poisonous plants and the hides of beasts. His goal is to create a masterpiece that expresses the image of "death" effectively for the new symbol of the ruler of Nazarick. Once putting the last piece in place he hails his creation as the Throne of Death.

Later at the Round Table Room, Momonga, with the rest of the Floor Guardians, appears distressed which Albedo inquires out of concern. Momonga tells her it is nothing, but it seems that he has not seen Demiurge in the last few days. Albedo is uneasy on this topic as she can't tell him about the throne Demiurge is making. But when Momonga asks her directly if she knows anything about Demiurge's strange absence, she is answered for by Demiurge who then presents the Throne of Death to her and Momonga.

The demon declares that it is his gift to his master to serve as a replacement for the Throne of Kings that was destroyed by the creation of the Crack. The Floor Guardians in the room are impressed by the artistry and design of the throne. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the reaction by Momonga who finds the creation to be disgusting as it is made of human bones and its ornaments vile and unnerving. His negative reaction is unnoticed by the Floor Guardian, and Demiurge asks him to accept it and to take a seat. Keeping his distaste for the chair hidden, Momonga states that it is a wonderful gift and he could not be happier. However he finds that he cannot sit on the fixture as it is too gross. His hesitation is noticed by the Guardians who ask if there is a problem. Momonga tells them that he finds the gift acceptable as does their allegiance in preparing the throne for him, but feels that it is not the right time to sit on a throne yet. Currently Nazarick is still recovering from its ordeal, but the essence of the issue is that rather than a ruler be sitting on a throne, viewing a scene, he should instead be viewing it from the same viewpoint as all of them. As a throne does not dictate his rulership. The other Floor Guardians commend that what he speak is true. Even Demiurge admits that noble idea is pure and is ashamed that he tried to make a replacement for the Throne of Kings. Momonga states that his intentions were good, and that the new throne will stay, promising that once all of Nazarick's problems have been resolved, he will sit upon it. Demiurge looks forward to that day, though Momonga looks sourly at the throne an the inevitable future where he must sit on it. Since the throne will not be used anytime soon, Demiurge vows to improve its design in secret.

Trivia

 * This character scenario was released alongside the Memory of Chaos: Sebas Tian, Memory of Chaos: Pandora's Actor, Memory of Chaos: Aura Bella Fiora, Memory of Chaos: Mare Bello Fiore, Memory of Chaos: Cocytus, Memory of Chaos: Shalltear Bloodfallen, Memory of Chaos: Albedo, and Memory of Chaos: Momonga.