“Tee-hee, I see it’s about time for Ms. Prim ’n’ Proper to finally lose her virgin—” “Quiet, you walking obscenity.” Crunch. “Owieee, I don’t wanna hear it from a pervy deviant like you—AAAaaack!” Expressionless as ever, Celes clamped her best clawhold on to the succubus’s face, administering her punishment for pouring fuel onto the fire. Shinichi chuckled as he watched the good-natured fight and urged the horse-drawn cart forward. The Demon King’s castle stood on a strip of land that was narrow and rock-strewn—the long-abandoned Dog Valley, left to its own devices due to its barren soil. Now, however, tilled patches of soft, brown soil stretched across the terrain in the form of potato fields. “Shinichi, welcome home, oink,” cried Sirloin, a pig-headed orc. Wielding a plow, he ambled up to the horse-drawn cart the moment he saw them approaching. By his feet was the pet pig that the demons had taken in. He’d gotten quite plump while they were gone. “Why the plow? We’ve finished planting the seed potatoes, and it’s too early to harvest them,” Shinichi noted. “We were gathering food from the forests, moo,” replied Kalbi, the bull-headed minotaur, trudging behind Sirloin. On his back was a basket filled with treasures from the mountains: bracken, butterbur, and bamboo shoots. “My brother here found all of this, oink!” “Squee!” announced the pig proudly as the orc stroked him. “I’ve heard of people using pigs to find truffles, but I didn’t realize he’d be one of them.” Shinichi marveled at the pig he’d originally bought for slaughter. “He’s gotten huge in the blink of an eye.” When Shinichi’d bought him, the cute little piglet was just over a foot long. But not even a month had passed, and he’d filled out into a full-size adult—three feet long and weighing in at over two hundred pounds. And he didn’t seem like he was done growing, either, as he gulped down the weeds sprouting up in the fields. “It’s because he eats everything! No preference for taste, oink.” “He doesn’t even have any problems eating parbegut or beossla from the demon world. He’s amazing, moo!” “Squee!” rejoiced the pig as the minotaur showered him with compliments, but Shinichi’s expression turned grim. “This…is a bit too fast, even for a pig. He’s not turning into a monster, is he?” A monster, the mutilated form of normal animals that soaked up too much magic. In most cases, they grew larger and their muscles became stronger than normal animals, but there were some that had even been able to cast magic. Shinichi fretted that this was happening to their pet pig, but all the demons looked blankly at him in confusion. “Has the little piggy turned into a monster?” Ribido questioned. “Don’t ask me. Monsters might be commonplace in the demon world, but I don’t know if an animal from the human world can turn into one,” explained Celes. “I don’t even know the difference between the two, oink.” “I thought the strong ones were monsters and the weak ones were animals, moo.” If Celes didn’t know, no one did. After all, she was the most knowledgeable one in the demon clan, who were all indiscriminately meatheads. The former hero and monster hunter Arian was the person who’d told Shinichi about this theory, which she’d pieced together from rumors through the grapevine. Meaning she didn’t really know the underlying principles. She said they change when they’re exposed to too much magic, but what exactly is magic? At its base, he knew it was the power necessary to cast spells. And that it could be used up and gradually restored with proper R & R. He’d experienced that much with his own body. But he didn’t know the scientific details at all: What was it made of? What were its properties? What kind of energy did it use? And it’s not just inside the bodies of humans and demons. It seems to exist in the air. Is that how I should think of it? What was the source of this mysterious power? His best guess was that they were mana or aether particles—things that were only in myths and legends on Earth. By absorbing that in their bodies, the cells of the organisms in this world turned it into energy, which must be what they called magic. A body part that takes in these particles and converts them to magic, huh… I’ll just call them the magic organs for now. Shinichi was living proof that humans without magical abilities could cast spells if they were exposed to magic for prolonged periods of time. Based on that, it seemed that all living creatures were born with this magical body part. But, save for demons, the ability was dormant in most organisms. They were only able to use magic if it was activated by an external force or awakened within. That’s how magic users were born. So would it be more accurate to call them spell-casting animals? To go back to the basics, magic was a way to alter reality to match your imagination. Humans could create complex phenomena by unleashing this energy to launch fireballs or heal wounds. But that was only possible because they’re highly intelligent creatures. On the other hand, animals were only able to form simple images: to defeat their enemies and catch prey to survive. As a result, they became bigger, stronger, faster, tougher. A creature modifying itself based on its instincts is a monster… Shinichi met the pig’s gaze as he came to his conclusion. Around the castle, there should be a higher concentration of magic in the atmosphere than usual since there are a lot of demons who can use magic—and in particular, the almighty Demon King. Is that what’s causing this? “Squee?” Shinichi stroked the pig’s head as it looked at him in confusion. A certain fear ran through his mind: If animals can become monsters from prolonged exposure to magic, then humans can become— “I don’t have a problem if you need to think over our dishes for dinner…but shouldn’t we take care of something else first?” Celes interrupted. “…Ah yeah, you’re right,” said Shinichi, returning to Earth and patting Celes on the shoulder. “Dinner?! But you said we weren’t going to eat my brother, oink!” “Squeee—!” “Calm down. We’re not gonna.” He flashed a wry smile at the orc shielding his brethren with his body before he urged the horse toward the castle. When they reached their destination, Shinichi and Celes moved their most recent purchases into the cellar and headed toward a room with a magic circle drawn on the floor. “All right, I’m counting on you.” “Understood. To where we wish to go, to go where we are needed, Teleport,” chanted Celes. The moment she finished her incantation, a pure white light illuminated their bodies, accompanied by a feeling of weightlessness, as if they were drifting in space. But it quickly passed as the scene in front of their eyes suddenly shifted. The sunlight dripped through the skylight and bathed the sparkling statue of the Goddess in the center of the prayer room, dignified yet lavishly decorated. Three beautiful girls were healing the injured. “Rino, I see you’re hard at work.” “Ah, Shinichi, I didn’t think you’d come to pick us up!” squealed Rino, the Demon King’s daughter. After she finished healing her patient, she dashed up to Shinichi with a wide grin, leaping into his arms. “There was an accident in the caves today, and some people died, but everyone’s feeling much better now.” “Good girl,” Shinichi praised as he stroked her hair. Her eyes crinkled in delight. Nearby, the redheaded ex-hero Arian pouted with envy. “I worked hard, too. I helped pull people out of the rubble…” “Yeah, yeah, you did good, too.” Shinichi chuckled dryly as he patted her head. She burst into giggles and a happy, crooked smile. “As dumb as always, I see,” Celes observed with a hint of annoyance. “I find her simplicity charming,” objected the pale-haired ex-saint Sanctina. After she’d betrayed the church and joined the demons, she’d been here in the Tigris Kingdom Cathedral, supporting her beloved Rino by healing the sick and injured. There was just one problem. “Lady Sanctina, the next patient is ready,” announced a holy warrior who was into little girls and had denounced the church, too. Sanctina turned around, face plastered with the fake smile of a seasoned pro. “Is it a woman?” “No, a man.” “Rino, the next patient is ready,” she echoed, attempting to pass him off to Rino without so much as a flinch. “Hey you! Yo, Saint! You can’t cherry-pick your patients,” Shinichi warned. Cold sweat sprung to her brow. “Y-yes, but…when I go near men, my whole body goes numb, and I can’t breathe…!” “Wow, what a serious malady,” he replied in monotone exasperation at Sanctina, who was pale and on the verge of collapsing. “I thought you healed men before, no problem. What happened…?” “I’m pretty sure it’s because of you,” quipped Celes. After all, she’d been traumatized by Shinichi, who had psychologically broken her to within an inch of her life. This, compounded by her hatred of men, must have spurred a change in Sanctina. “What if you used an Illusion spell to make all men look like Rino?” Shinichi offered. “…I hadn’t considered that before.” “Hey, I’m obviously just kidding.” As the ex-saint beamed in delight imagining a world full of Rinos, blood started to drip from her nose. Shinichi couldn’t help but recoil in disgust. While they went on with their banter, Rino finished healing the patient, and the day’s work was over. “All right, let’s go home,” Shinichi proposed. “Yessiree! Juda, please take care of things here while we’re gone,” Rino asked. “Leave it to me!” replied the holy warrior, Juda, with a vigorous nod. His eyes sparkled as he was handed a task from his idol. He saw them off as they went to stand on the magic circle. “Shinichi, why’d you come to pick us up today?” asked Arian suspiciously. (Which was shorthand for “It’s usually just Celes.”) Shinichi answered with a tense expression on his face. “Nothing major. I have something important to talk to you about.” “Huh?! Is it—?” Just as she started to ask him, Celes finished the incantation for the Teleport spell, washing them over in light and whizzing them back to the Demon King’s castle. “We’re going to take up a fight with the church,” declared Shinichi. This was the first thing out of his mouth after the necessary agents had gathered in the dining hall. “We’ve fought off the heroes three times now, but I don’t think the church will let up. They’ll keep sending them in.” After all, the church had decided that they needed to destroy demonkind. As long as that was the case, a handful of losses wouldn’t be enough for them to back down from the good fight. “With His Highness’s strength in mind, it wouldn’t worry me if they attacked us—even if they sent in every last man. But things could get bad if they sent their troops to Tigris Kingdom.” The young king of Tigris, Sieg, had broken off all ties with the church, after enduring their abuse for many long years, and joined hands with the demons. He had yet to make a formal announcement, seeing that this change of heart might cause his subjects to dissolve into chaos. But anyone who was the slightest bit observant would notice that the holy warriors had all but disappeared from the cathedral. Not only that: Rino and Sanctina were on friendly terms, performing healings and treating patients side by side. There was obviously a huge change underway. “Today marks the fourth day of our alliance,” Shinichi announced. “I doubt word has reached the Archbasilica, but it’s only a matter of time.” If the cardinals found out about what had happened, they’d surely send heroes or their troops to storm the Tigris Kingdom under the guise of suppressing heretics. “They can’t let Tigris cut off their ties without a fight. Otherwise, more countries might follow their lead and pull away from the church. I imagine they’d kill off all the ruling class, including the king, and take over, subjugating the citizens to heavy taxation—at the very least.” “Likely,” Sanctina bolstered. “When the first pope destroyed the heretical capital of Mouse, the church rounded up the criminals. They’re forced to work in the fields until they die of exhaustion. The church is essentially harvesting slaves.” “Absolutely diabolical…,” muttered Shinichi. Not that he could talk. Two hundred years prior, slavery remained at large on his home world of Earth. Even now, prisons in developing countries had horrendous conditions. In truth, he had no grounds to act all holier-than-thou toward the church, but it wasn’t something that he could accept, either. “They’re all humans… Why would they do such terrible things to one another…?” whimpered Rino. Her eyes glistened with tears as she imagined this cruel scene. Celes pressed a hand to her own chest, clearly holding something back, then kindly offered a drink to Rino to calm her. “Don’t forget: There are some demons that act the same way. It’d be an oversimplification to blame the humans alone.” “I guess you’re right…” “I cannot allow anyone to make my daughter sad! I will annihilate every corrupt person, human or demon!” the Demon King boomed. “That’s exactly the kind of thing an evil villain would do,” joked Shinichi, breaking out into a cold sweat upon seeing that the Demon King was raring to carry out a genocide in the name of parental love. There were dictators on Earth attempting to do the same thing with their political authority, but they had their work cut out for them. With the Demon King, however, it was no joke. He actually possessed the power to massacre millions. “Anyway! It’s a pain to keep fighting off the heroes. I want to defeat the church and end this ridiculous war before trouble hits Tigris,” said Shinichi. “I have no interest in the affairs of humans, but it would besmirch my honor as the Blue Demon King to abandon those who have come to rely on my power.” The Demon King nodded deeply in agreement. “I don’t like fighting, but it would be even worse if the captain and everyone else in the city got hurt,” Rino remarked, supporting Shinichi with a grimace. As for Arian, she had been silent this entire time. “When you said you had something important to talk about, I thought…,” she trailed off, embarrassed at herself for her romantic flight of fancy, turning beet-red as she collapsed on the table. “I’m not saying that you can’t daydream, but I think it’d do everyone good if you could regain some of your esteem as a hero,” Celes scolded as she handed Arian a damp towel. “Ugh, I’m so sorry…” She wiped and cooled down her burning face as Shinichi looked at her in wry amusement. With that, he continued to explain his plan: “By ‘fighting the heroes,’ I’m not talking about Your Highness reducing the Archbasilica to ash or anything. ’Cause the heroes won’t die anyway.” “Absolutely aggravating,” grumbled the Demon King through clenched teeth, recalling with visible vexation the time when Ruzal’s party kept resurrecting over and over again. “That’s why we’re gonna keep feeding them the same underhanded methods to break their spirits and manipulate them.” “You dirty scoundrel,” Celes spat back without missing a beat. Insults had become a normal part of their conversations. Shinichi just waved it aside and turned to look at the former saint. “Our targets are the four people who run the church: the cardinals. I want you to tell me everything you know about them.” “Anything for Rino.” Sanctina sighed without batting an eye at the prospect of stabbing her adoptive father and his colleagues in the back. The Demon King grimaced. “Shinichi, will we gain anything from listening to this girl? This could just be a trick to lead us astray.” “I don’t think she’s the type to lie to us at this point.” “It’s true, Daddy! How could you doubt Sanctie!” cried Rino crossly as she jumped to Sanctina’s defense. “Oh, your saintly kindness never fails to surprise me…,” marveled Sanctina. As she leaned against Rino’s small frame, a vein popped up on the Demon King’s forehead. “You tramp! I can’t believe my daughter uses a cute pet name for you!” “That’s what you’re angry about?! Not for making Rino cry or anything?!” Shinichi protested. “Of course, I haven’t forgiven her for that, either! A hundred deaths would not be penance enough!” “Welp, that came back to bite me in the ass.” “But a nickname! I simply won’t allow it! She’s only called me Daddy her entire life!” “What else would she call you?” Shinichi retorted. He was genuinely flabbergasted by the Demon King and his unreasonable helicopter parenting style. “The name Sanctina is just so long,” Rino argued. “Was it bad for me to shorten it?” “Of course not. It’s the first nickname I’ve ever been given. It makes me very happy,” Sanctina assured her. “Ooh, I want one, too. I don’t have any…,” Arian lamented. “I suppose the nickname ‘Red’ isn’t very endearing, even though the demons think very highly of it,” Celes remarked. The girls prattled among themselves, chattering on in an animated way…meaning there was no one to back up the Demon King. “Aaagh—!” he growled. “Seems Rino’s already forgiven Sanctina, so don’t let a stupid nickname upset you. How about it, pops? Or should I say, father-in-law?” Shinichi jested. “…Shinichi, have you finished writing your death poem?” “My sincerest apologies. I took my jokes too far,” Shinichi spouted, hastily kneeling on the ground and bowing in apology upon seeing the murderous look flash across the King’s face. He sighed instead of giving a response and jabbed his finger at Sanctina again. “In conclusion! This girl displeases me!” “Daddy…” Rino balked at her father’s childish tantrum. Upon seeing her gloomy expression, Sanctina suddenly stood up. “Your Highness, I realize I have committed grave crimes. I cannot expect you to pardon me. But is there any way I can prove my loyalty toward Rino?” She was in front of the great Demon King—a matchless figure and, on top of that, a man. But her face didn’t betray any emotion though she must have experienced full-body chills. And yet, she was composed when she knelt in front of his towering body. He looked down at the ex-saint coldly. “Well then, would you die for Rino?” “Happily,” she chirped. Shinichi didn’t even have time to open his mouth before she placed her right hand at the base of her own throat with a gentle smile— “Wind Cutter.” Her head flew off her body. “Aah?!” screeched Rino. The blood spurted out of the severed neck and painted the dining hall a brilliant crimson. Sanctina’s head was still smiling faintly as it rolled away. Shinichi and Arian were frozen in place, unable to respond to the sudden act, but the Demon King stood quietly from his seat, picked up Sanctina’s head, and placed it in line with her body on the ground. Before her brain cells completely died from lack of oxygen, he held up his hands and spoke an incantation. “Full Healing.” Light blanketed her body and severed neck, joining the two together as if time had been turned back. Sanctina continued to smile when she was pulled back from the deep abyss of death, her face pale from blood loss. “Would a million more deaths be enough?” If that wasn’t enough, she’d die a million and one times. To Sanctina, this act amounted to nothing. If this was all it took to prove her love for Rino, so be it. She smiled boldly back at the Demon King, steadfast in her resolve. The corners of his mouth twitched in amusement, and he waved his large hand. “That will not be necessary. I acknowledge your loyalty to my daughter.” After all, the demons valued strength above all else. And not just physical strength. It was the same for spiritual and emotional power, too. The Demon King was impressed by Sanctina’s insanity and happily changed his mind. “I’m very grateful,” she replied, bowing her head deeply. In truth, she was happier than she’d ever been, more than when she’d received the Goddess’s blessing. Now she was being accepted for her true, authentic self. What a truly moving scene— Er, well, they were the only ones who thought that. “…Yeeeah, the people in the Goddess’s church are actually insane,” Shinichi griped, cringing. “…I doubt many are as bad as Sanctina,” Arian objected, but her argument was pretty weak. Up until then, Rino’s face had been white as a sheet, stiff with surprise. But she’d broken free from her initial shock to run up to Sanctina in a frenzied panic. “S-Sanctie, wh-why would you do something like that?!” “My life is a small price to pay to prove my loyalty to you.” “And you’re a hero, so you’d be resurrected anyway,” Shinichi bluntly cut in. Rino glared at him and raised her voice. “It doesn’t matter if she’s a hero! Pain is bad, and treating life with indifference is even worse!” “…I’m very sorry,” Sanctina replied. Of course. That was common sense. But that might be why it resonated so strongly with Sanctina. All her life, she’d spent time in the church where injuries, disease, and even death were no problem. For the first time in her life, she was being seriously admonished for dismissing life and inflicting pain—to herself or otherwise. Rino was the first person to point that out. “I was right all along! Rino is my goddess,” Sanctina extolled, looking absolutely blissed out. “Erm, did she…level up?” Shinichi groaned. “Never mind that. Could you please do something about this blood?” Celes hissed to Sanctina. After she cast a Purification spell to tidy up and ate dinner to replenish her excessive blood loss, they eventually got back to the topic at hand. “Right. I think we left off at the point when you said you’d like to know more about the cardinals and their weaknesses?” Sanctina said through gulps of wild-boar steak. Color was gradually returning to her face. “Yup. But I think it’ll be a good opportunity to learn more about the church itself,” Shinichi proposed, asking the questions he’d been waiting so long to ask. “When did the religion start? What’s its doctrine? What’s their general history? I want to know everything.” It might not be necessary for their plan to overthrow the cardinals, but there could come a day when it’d be useful. I mean, something as small as a termite can bring down an entire palace. It could help me if the Goddess ever decides to show her face. It might be good to get a better understanding of the hand behind the system that resurrects heroes again and again. If he could just get a better peek into the secret behind these resurrections, he could end this pointless battle. But he wasn’t expecting to glean that much information. Sanctina silently thought for a moment before she began talking calmly. “Well then, I guess I’ll tell you the story from the beginning, based on our holy book. Long, long ago, when the world was one—” Long ago, gods of righteousness and virtue created this world of Obum, making one great continent. The people lived in resplendent prosperity. Even in the dead of night, their cities were bathed in light. Residents filled their stomachs with bountiful food and drink. They sang and danced day after day. In essence, it was paradise. But something appeared that would destroy it: the diabolical Evil God and its demonic kin. The Evil God led its hordes and the Evil Dragon, waging a war against the humans. It was hell on Obum—humans shredded and crushed by the Evil God’s magic, the Evil Dragon’s breath, the demons’ fangs and talons. When humanity was teetering on the precipice of destruction—with a survival rate of one in ten—the Good Gods descended from the heavens to save humanity. Goddess Elazonia led them in a raging battle lasting ten days and ten nights. Its ferocity tore the single great continent into three. Dust and soil erupted into the sky and plunged the world into a harsh winter. The Good Gods found a bitter victory and sealed the Evil God, Evil Dragon, and the demons deep below the earth, but the victory came at a steep price. Most of their kin had been slain, and Elazonia, having exhausted her power, returned to the heavens and fell into a long slumber. The Good Gods were all but gone, the sunlight was choked out by debris, and the remaining few humans withered from hunger and cold. Yet, they continued to scrape a life from the bleak land for many years— “—and so, that’s the creation story according to the holy book,” Sanctina wrapped up. “Interesting, sure, but there are a ton of plot holes,” Shinichi objected. He knew it was absurd to expect a myth to make perfect sense, but he just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. “First, the story about the creation of the world is weak, slipshod at best. I get that the Good Gods created it, but is that all you know?” “Yes. The holy book only says that Goddess Elazonia and the other Good Gods created Obum, leaving it in the humans’ care before disappearing to the heavens.” “I was told the same story at church. What’s wrong with it?” asked Arian. The pair were confused that Shinichi questioned it. “Don’t you think it lacks details—no? Am I the only one?” Shinichi tried to reason with them but realized something partway through. He had a point of reference—other creation myths—which was why he could observe it was weak. There would be no reason for people of this world to question it, especially if they’d been hearing the creation myth from the Goddess’s church all their lives. “Okay, listen to this as an example: In some religions on Earth, it’s said one god created the world in six days and then rested on the seventh, and he made the first human from soil. Then there are myths about how Chaos was born from nothing, then Gaia was born from Chaos and later gave birth to a bunch of different gods.” “Wow, those are supercool,” Rino gasped. “Oh, the island country that I’m from is said to have been born from two gods, a brother and sister,” he added. “An island born from incest. What a perverted legend,” Celes scoffed. “Save that for Greek mythology: Brothers, sisters, parents, children, even animals and sculptures do it. Plus, the main god was the epitome of a chronic cheater.” The myths were written long ago, before moral restrictions. Of course they’d be packed full of sexual, grotesque nonsense. “Anyway, I just thought that story’s a bit sloppy, that’s all.” Why does the world exist? The age-old question. It was a question that all people carried with them. It made them uneasy to not know the truth. That was where religions and myths came in, filling the role of a teacher, explaining that it was “created by the gods” or whatever to give them peace of mind. It was also the reason that many iterations of creation stories were passed down as myths. But the Goddess’s holy book seemed to cut it out, missing this chunk entirely. As if to say, There’s no need to explain how the world was created after all these years, or something… There was something about it that bothered Shinichi, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He returned to the main topic. “Okay, so if the Good Gods created this world, where’d the Evil God and Evil Dragon come from? Did the Good Gods create them? Why did the Good Gods let them be until they almost destroyed humanity?” This was a common argument on Earth: An omnipotent, omnipresent god wouldn’t just let a devil to do his own thing. “On Earth, some people claim that God came and saved humanity from the devil that tried to manipulate them, for which the people were grateful. And God let the devil be so he could keep taking credit for doing good, yada yada,” continued Shinichi. “Are you trying to tell me that it’s not just the humans who are twisted? That the gods are, too?” Celes asked, looking put off by the stories. “Don’t you think the humans and gods here are pretty dirty, too?” retorted Shinichi with a wry smile. Beside him, Sanctina tapped a finger to her lips as she thought. “Where did the Evil God and Evil Dragon come from…? Now that you mention it, it is strange, but I’d never put much thought into it before. I was taught that the beginning of the holy book is the Goddess’s own words, recorded by the first pope, so it is wrong to question them.” “…I see,” said Shinichi with a slight frown, catching glimpse of the extent of their brainwashing tactics. “But it can’t be just me. I bet scholars would have something to say about it, too.” “I’m not sure of other cities, but anyone who doubted her teachings in the Holy City would be thrown in jail,” Sanctina explained. “Wow, unbelievable! But hang on… If we spread rumors that they doubted the holy book, we could take them down like—” “No, if they had a Liar Detector spell put on them and gave testimony, the truth would come out. I don’t think it would work,” interrupted Sanctina. “No false testimonies?! Ever?! Zero percent?! Glad justice has got something going for it.” “That doesn’t mean a judge hasn’t lied about the truth, even after he knows everything using Liar Detector.” “Just kidding! They’re really friggin’ corrupt!” It was a perfect example of the splendor of magic rendered totally worthless if the caster was a rotten scoundrel. “Well, if you aren’t stupid enough to pick a fight with the cardinals, you won’t have to deal with anything so corrupt,” Sanctina assured him. “Yeah, but we have to be that stupid…,” said Shinichi, his head in his hands at her uncomforting words. “Anyway, the story about the demons being led by the Evil God and killing off the humans… Did that really happen?” It was likely that the church had twisted the creation story to fit their agenda. They had free artistic rein, seeing as it was about an event that supposedly happened long ago. Shinichi was asking to hear the demons’ side of the story, but the Demon King just shook his head. “I have never heard such a tale. I hadn’t even heard of the Goddess until we came here.” “They cast our grand Black Dragon in the role of their Evil Dragon. I must say, it’s quite offensive,” Celes added. “It was so far back that I don’t know anything about it, but I don’t want to believe that my great-great-ancestors did such horrible things to the humans…” Rino shuddered. They didn’t have any proof to rebuke it, but both Celes and Rino seemed to think it wasn’t true. “I see… By the way, does the demon world have a creation myth, too?” Shinichi asked. “Yessiree, we do,” Rino confirmed with a nod before standing from her seat and dashing out of the dining hall. She returned carrying a book. “It’s written in this book.” It looked like a picture book titled The God Who Became the Sun. “One of the nice dvergr ladies made it for me,” Rino exclaimed. “Those guys can make anything, huh?” “Because every dvergr—young or old, man or woman—is a craftsman. Sir Ivan is a master of the forge, but others exceed in their own arts, including pottery or painting,” Celes explained. “On the other hand, they refuse to assist with projects that disinterest them,” the King lamented. “Sounds about right. Artists through and through.” Shinichi gazed at the book constructed with such skill that it was hard to imagine it was handmade. “Can I read it?” “Yessiree,” replied Rino, reaching out to pass it to him. “Stop right there. I think this would be a perfect opportunity to hear Rino read aloud,” Sanctina suggested, extending her hand to stop him from taking the book. “You’d like me to read?” “Yes, if you read it in your clear voice, it will flow through the world as gospel, reaching deep into our souls.” “Hmm, a fine proposal indeed,” the Demon King agreed. “Yo, reel it in. Same goes for you and your helicopter parenting,” Shinichi chided. But Rino blushed at all the compliments, bashfully opening the book to read. “Long, long ago, a great calamity came to Obum—to the place where the demons lived.” “Calamity, huh…?” murmured Shinichi. “God appeared before the panicked demons, telling them, ‘I have created a new world below the surface of the earth where the calamity cannot reach. Everyone come with me to safety.’” Guided by God, the demons trudged down below the surface of the earth to begin their new lives there. There was one major problem: There was no sun underground. “No one could see in the inky darkness. No grass or flowers sprung up from the ground. That is when God became the sun.” God turned itself into the sun, illuminating the land underground with blue light. “And so, the demon world was created, and the demons lived happily ever after. The end.” “What a beautiful performance!” wept Sanctina. “Bravo! I’d expect no less from my daughter!” boomed the King, clapping his hands with the concussive force of a bomb, but Shinichi ignored them, lost in thought. There’s a slight overlap with the origin story taught by the church. Other than the obvious difference between this calamity and the hordes of evil creatures, it was pretty obvious that something big and serious had happened a long time ago. He still couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but it had resulted in the majority of humans perishing and the demons moving underground. I can’t really take them at face value. I mean, who knows how much of the stories have warped over the years, especially since they were passed down for generations… But I wonder if there’s some truth where they overlap. Like an archaeologist uncovering long-lost ruins, Shinichi let his mind run though the possibilities. Reminds me of Noah’s Ark for some reason.
Chapter 36
29 min read