She was afraid. So, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so afraid. But still, Analissia resolved to fight. She studied magic with an obsession that bordered on madness. She learned every scrap of knowledge she could get her hands on, stole forbidden grimoires, and even polished her combat techniques and mastered martial abilities. And one day, when she was past ten years of age, her father stole into her bedroom, only to be caught and killed by one of her traps. Analissia used her abilities to turn her father into a doll, and sent him to kill her mother in turn.
“Ah ha ha ha ha... Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Eee hee hee! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” She laughed. For the first time in her life, surrounded by her parents’ freshly spilled blood, Analissia laughed from the bottom of her heart. She gazed fondly at her two precious dolls. Finally, at long last, she was free. For the first time in her life, she was truly free.
But that alone was not enough to bring Analissia peace. Suddenly, she heard a voice. “What’s this?” it said as a shockingly young and gloomy-looking girl appeared in front of her. “What happened here?”
This girl was one of the hated and reviled ancient demons spoken of in humanity’s most terrifying legends, an ancient and mighty wellspring of demonkind. She was a real demon—a being of a higher order than Analissia. Her name was Lady Scarlet, and the blood of the dead Lord of Calamity flowed through her veins.
“Oh?” the girl said, spotting Analissia. “Did you kill him? Hm... Well, no matter. Starting today, I’d like you to please kindly fill in as his replacement.” Despite her words, it didn’t seem to be an offer Analissia was allowed to refuse. Once more, she found herself wishing she were dead.
And so Analissia obtained another face: that of the demon woman Analissia Reigen.
~ ‡ ~
“I believe you asked me if I understand what I’ve been doing?” Analissia said. “If you must know, I have been acting as a mediator between demonkind and humanity. That is all.” She spoke without emotion, as if to tell Tina that she had no sentimentality for what had happened in her past.
“I don’t believe it...” Tina muttered. “An ancient demon... I thought they were fairy tales...”
Since long before Analissia became the prime minister of Estoll, a nation of demons had existed in the shadows of the world. Up until today, Tina had been wholly ignorant of this fact of the world.
“The ancient demons, a mere legend?” Analissia asked. “Absurd. As much as you may wish to deny reality, they certainly exist. The simple study of history should make that clear enough. They were subjected to cruel persecution by humanity and made to be scapegoats for the horrors of the world. They were robbed and their prosperity was eventually brought to an end. But although the Order of the Elect teaches that they were utterly exterminated, the truth is different. The ancient demons left their area of control and fled to the south, to the other side of the continental divide.”
Analissia spoke with factual coldness. As much as Tina hated it, her words made sense.
“Well, then,” the prime minister went on. “Have I given you enough hints yet? By your face, I would say you still do not understand. Then let us continue. What do you suppose the demons who were driven out of the human realm have been doing for the past two thousand years?”
Tina swallowed audibly. It was like a nightmare was flashing before her eyes. Among all the stories Tina knew, the ancient demons were spoken of with the most horror.
“They have been sharpening their claws,” Analissia continued. “Claws to gouge out the throats of their most hated enemy. And soon, the age of humanity will come to an end.”
The ancient demons were said to hold power on the scale of the dragons. If that power were brought to bear for the sole purpose of revenge against humanity, there was nothing ahead for them but devastation. The situation was worse than Tina had imagined.
“Th-Then I was right...” Tina said. “You’re here to destroy us...”
Analissia, however, laughed uproariously at Tina’s words. “Pff! Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! You truly are an idiot. Didn’t I tell you that I am half human? I was not raised as one of them. I never learned to hate humanity the way they did, nor do I feel any particular sympathy for the ancient demons. If anything, I would say that humanity of the present day is the wiser and stronger race.”
“So then why?!”
“Isn’t that obvious? Humanity faces a future of persecution at the demons’ hands. Between the two, which would you side with?” Here, too, Analissia’s speech was dispassionate and matter-of-fact. “Personally, I’ve decided to treat my own possessions with care. I refuse to even consider letting someone take them from me. Estoll, my position as nobility and prime minister, this mansion, my life of luxury, the dolls I have made... I do not wish to have them thrown away.”
It didn’t sound like she was lying. But that just made her actions even more confounding. “But why?!” Tina demanded. “You’ve done all kinds of cruel things, haven’t you?! Turning the king into your puppet, trapping the people in their own dreams, even what you did to me!”
“I did those things because I had to, of course,” Analissia answered. “Who do you think the demons see as their greatest enemy in this world? Obviously, it’s the Order of the Elect, the religious organization responsible for their persecution. Therefore, my first objective has been to eliminate the Order of the Elect by taking away their promise of salvation and putting an end to their practice of brainwashing the masses through their schools. To that end, I replaced some particularly useless politicians, gathered the capital I needed, and created the special development zone. The phantom dolls were a byproduct of that effort. At first, Belseirre and Izuna were enough, but unfortunately, their power is not well suited to controlling the masses. As such, I decided to use the laborer dolls I had made to build the special development zone as pleasure dolls as well. Although I must say that most people awaken from their dreams the moment the dolls are out of sight. The majority of them remember the encounters as actual dreams as well, so I don’t believe it’s causing any major problems.”
Tina stayed quiet, letting Analissia finish her explanation.
“Humans fear what they don’t understand, hence the necessity of religion. But the Order’s doctrine of human supremacy and their persecution of demons are not acceptable. Rather than a god created by the whims of humanity, I would prefer that we worship beings that actually exist. Humanity needs a new religion, Tina. And for that, I need you.”
“What about the invasion of Sindoria...?” Tina asked.
“That was not by my will,” said Analissia. “But am I wrong for doing as my superiors tell me? I do not wish to die, and perhaps doing this can help curry favor with the demons. The land that is now Sindoria was once governed by the demons of House Grimwall, you know. If they can retake even a part of it, perhaps it can improve relations between humans and demons in the future.”
“And Aisha’s friend?”
“I keep her on hand in case I suddenly need the firepower. Of all the people in this kingdom, there are four whose talents make them especially useful tools: Izuna; the chief court wizard, Reanna; Gyria, the most despicable man in the assassin’s guild; and you, Tina, priestess of the fire dragon. I needed the nobles and knights and powerful merchants as well, of course. After all, if the country is not in order, our power will be lessened. When the time comes that we must fight, do you wish for us to waste our strength squabbling?”