I have no past.
My body, my name, it was all determined by a consciousness greater than mine before placing me on this mortal plane.
✦ ✦ ✦
My dad is an adventurer. I love him lots and lots.
But one day, he went out as a bodyguard for a caravan of merchants and never came back. One of his fellow adventurers told me they were attacked by a giant swarm of monsters. He told me it was because of the war. They wouldn’t have gotten involved if not for the war.
The war. The endless war between the yellow-eyed vampires and the white-eared elves. Apparently both races are strong, so they incite monsters to attack their enemies. To them, it’s just a minor irritation because they’re so strong, that they don’t think much of it.
That’s why I’m all alone now.
That’s why I had to come to the Frontier to work. Today, a lot of monsters attacked. A nice old man helped me escape. I don’t think I’ll ever see him again. I ran into a church, which ended up surrounded by monsters. I thought I was done for.
“There’s no need to worry anymore, everyone!” the slightly overweight priest smiles. But the look in his eyes isn’t the usual glazed-over and distant one. Real, tingling joy flows from them. I’ve never seen him like this before.
“Anyone who can still move, take the hand of your fainthearted brothers and sisters. It’s okay. It’s okay. We are pious lost sheep, gathered in the house of God. Believe in Him without doubt, for He is before us all.” God. A human god? Is this the same God I prayed and prayed to, but never returned Dad to me? I don’t want to hold anyone’s hand, so I walk over to the window instead. What a stupid thing to do. What am I expecting to see outside? Dad and the nice man are not coming back.
God doesn’t exist.
Wait. Why are so many monsters dying? They look so weak. But that can’t be true. These things ate Dad. Is that raven-haired girl super strong? I don’t get it. She’s so strong, and she can kill so many monsters. So why does she not look happy? Why doesn’t she smile? She doesn’t even raise her voice. She’s not scared or angry. She’s just very serious. Serious and focused, with a somewhat empty gaze. It’s almost like she’s praying.
Is God there? Is that why the knights are sortieing too? Are they going to fight with all they have? They look so energetic. They seem stronger than usual, like they can actually defeat monsters.
Is that also because God has arrived? I think I understand that. I’d always try a little harder when cooking or cleaning if I knew Dad was watching. Huh? That raven-haired girl... the one who’s stronger than everyone... When did she pick up a sword?
That sword. It’s wrapped with black leather on the grip so it doesn’t slip when your hand gets sweaty. And that red tassel—it’s the one I tied onto it because he said it looked too plain. That’s Dad’s sword. What is it doing here? Why is it being used in battle?
Wow. Wow! Dad’s sword is killing monsters. One by one, they fall to its edge. With every swing the tassel flutters, the girl’s raven hair dances, and the monsters die, die, die.
“Wait! Where are you going?” Someone grabs my shoulder. Their fingers are like the branches of a withered tree. Who is this man with a scary face? Oh, right. He showed me a magic trick once. He lit a fire with his fingertips, and I thought he was going to burn himself to a crisp.
“Stay here. There’s no telling where monsters might be hiding.” He’s shaking. He’s afraid. But not for himself. For whom, then? I know those eyes. When I was running here, someone was carrying an injured person on their back, face paler than the one who was on death’s doorstep. They were pulling a small girl by the hand, too. This man reminds me of Dad. So I won’t go outside. I’ll wait here. I’ll wait for that raven-haired girl to come. I won’t move a muscle until Dad’s sword returns to me. Then I’ll finally say it.
“Welcome back, dad.”
✦ ✦ ✦
We won. My dear Kuroi was totally victorious! Wow. With Accept Blade, I could mow down an infinite number of monsters. This is closer to work than actual play, though. And wow, I’ve never actually successfully defended this place before. Whew. Honestly, this battle in the Frontier is basically a lost cause. That’s why I was planning on defecting to the vampires.
As an aside, one of the basic tenets of DDR is that elves and vampires normally don’t attack humans. Their battle strength is such that annexation, even genocide, would be a simple affair. But they don’t attack. Why? The answer is simple: their Guardian Gods don’t condone it. When I attempted to kill humans during a vampire playthrough, the Demon God sent down an oracle who chewed me out for it. Some ethical reasoning about “bullying isn’t cool” or whatever. Also, when I tried to disobey I was viciously killed. Same ethics.
On the other hand, the elves put me on trial and turned my character into a dark elf. I was basically excommunicated, which eventually screwed me over hard. They also cursed me. Scary stuff.
Which is why human territory is considered a buffer zone. But there is a loophole: they can get monsters to do their dirty work. They use magic and their underlings to rile up the monsters and set them rampaging amongst the humans. Then, once everything’s in chaos, they can join in without repercussions. They drive away the monsters and station their troops in the area in the name of “security.” With self-assured good intentions, they instantly grab land for themselves. Brilliant plan, right?
It’s clearly all a ruse, though. Yes, thank you sooo much. The Frontier is their goal. It’s the most defenseless place, after all. And this battle is, without a doubt, that sort of event. So, who’s the mastermind this time? The cavalry should be introducing themselves any time now.
But I digress. My dear Kuroi, what has happened to you? Looking at her stats, her job has changed to Apostle. That’s a very rare job. That basically means you’re a super elite that serves a Guardian God. What in the world? No wonder she can use Accept Blade. With enough faith points, she can even use Call and Summon magic. It’s the most uncommon job. If she were an elf or a vampire, she’d be given a court rank or castle. How did this happen?
Devil God... Devil God, huh? Is that the Guardian God for the humans? Was this a feature added in the deluxe edition? Well, it wasn’t advertised, and I haven’t experienced this before so I’m not sure what to do. If this is new content, there’s no way something this cool wouldn’t be making waves on the internet.
Still, it’s exciting to be playing with the unknown! Kuroi, the raven-haired Apostle of the Devil God... My heart’s racing just thinking about it! I’m gonna try and survive as long as I can now, and that means I have to take care of a few things before the enemy forces arrive.
First, I have to set my companion. An apostle can have a servant, and I can choose from the NPCs with the highest faith. So, whom should I choose? Oh, I can’t pick the hot knight? He doesn’t believe in the Devil God at all. His stats and skills are so good, though. Darn.
Oh! I see two people with high faith. Very nice. One is a short and fat priest. Hmm, his smile is super fishy, though. He’s hiding something. But his stats aren’t bad. And this skill, Speech, would be good for administration and strategy... Oh! What the heck? He’s a Valkie? He’s royalty! What is he doing on the front lines?
The other one is... Oh, yep. This is it. I pick this one. A silver-haired little girl? I can’t possibly pick anyone else. Sira, huh? All right, it’s settled!