Prologue
"Your Holiness, we have observed the Demon King's resurrection."
A man clad in white robes reported the reappearance of the Demon King.
The Avia Kingdom possessed the means to detect the Demon King's return. That was because the entity known as the Holy Church—based in the Kingdom—was the very one that had created the Demon King.
They had captured a human who had inherited the power of the Spirit King, subjected them to inhumane experiments, and eventually birthed the Demon King. The Holy Church had created a common enemy of humanity to bolster its own power. It was the Pope who had twisted the teachings of the Goddess to serve his own ends.
The Pope was immortal. Only he knew his origins—no one else alive did. For over many years, he had seized control of the Church and murdered all those who knew the truth.
"Oh? So the princess has fallen. It would’ve been better to claim her first, but this works. The Demon King appearing in Arland is quite convenient. Let us begin a Holy War."
The Pope chuckled darkly.
"Also, the seal on the Mind Blade appears to have broken at the same time."
"Wonderful! We’ll seize the Mind Blade at once and have our sanctified Hero destroy the Demon King!"
The Pope dreamed of unifying the world under ordinary humans. The impure demi-humans must be exterminated.
He would employ any means to achieve that goal. Delighted, the Pope began drafting his declaration of holy war himself. It was more enjoyable that way.
However, a few hours later, an impossible report came in.
"Urgent news! The Demon King—he's been destroyed!"
"Too fast!!"
Never in recorded history had a Demon King been vanquished so quickly after appearing.
Still, since the Demon King had emerged at the same time the Mind Blade’s seal was broken, it was clear they had been slain immediately. Apparently, this Demon King had been the weakest ever. They had potential to become the strongest, but the timing of their resurrection was the worst possible, and besides, Alicetia had been overwhelmed by worldly desires.
She simply couldn’t resist the pudding...
The unexpected outcome sent confusion rippling through the Pope’s entourage.
"Another report: the Imperial army has been defeated. The Crown Prince is missing. The Arland front-line fortress has also completely collapsed."
"Too fast!!"
The Pope’s aide shouted in disbelief.
He could understand the Imperial army losing—after all, the Demon King had appeared. But for even their rear military bases to be wiped out defied belief.
"And… Arland forces have launched a surprise attack on the Imperial capital, inflicting damage."
"Where would they find the strength to do that? Reverify the report!"
"It’s true. Apparently, bombs were dropped from a mysterious flying object. The otherworlders are calling it an airstrike. Upon hearing this, even the otherworlders among us have panicked."
After seeing sketches sent from the Church in the capital, the otherworlders realized Arland had bombers. The implications shook them deeply—until now, they’d viewed this world as primitive. But this revelation meant Arland could potentially kill them. No matter how powerful their abilities granted by the Goddess were, there was no guarantee they could survive a rain of bullets from above. Their assumption of safety—based on this world being less advanced than Earth—was crumbling.
"We may need to wait and observe before launching a Holy War against Arland."
"Don’t be ridiculous. Arland must be weakened now, right? This is the perfect time. With the Empire weakened as well, they’ll have no choice but to obey us. That’s what they get for getting greedy."
The Pope still retained some composure. After all, Arland had fought the Empire at full strength. Even if they had repelled the invasion, they must be hanging by a thread.
But he had forgotten—within the Empire itself lurked a far greater enemy.
"Your Holiness! Darskemona is holding a rally in the Holy Capital!"
"What?!"
"My beloved believers! The Holy Church is corrupted! Behold the proof! The Church has defiled our faith!"
Stein, now transformed into Darskemona, scattered documents exposing the Church's corruption in the public square. As frightened citizens picked them up and read the contents, they began trembling with rage.
A parade of corruption and misconduct. The Church had defiled their sacred beliefs.
"The Goddess’s teachings are not wrong. But it is humans who convey them! And humans are creatures prone to sin. Then is it not our duty as the faithful to correct those sins ourselves?! Rise up, brothers and sisters!"
In the shadows, Darskemona’s comrades were restraining Church Knights.
"Come now, let me make you fluffy."
"N-No! Stop!"
One comrade held down a Church Knight and poured a potion into his mouth.
"Aaaaargh!!!"
The knight transformed into a beastman, tears streaming from his face.
"This is what comes of plotting to oppress us beastmen. Spend some time as one of us, and maybe you’ll learn the difference between your kind and ours."
One of the comrades laughed heartily. A former high-ranking Church knight, now reduced to a persecuted beastman. He would suffer the consequences of his past deeds.
To the kemono people, regardless of whether one was human or demi-human, they were all still people. The Holy Church's persecution of demi-humans made it the enemy of all beastfolk.
Why had the beastfolk turned against the Church? It was the Church’s own failure.
The kemono people had always supported other races and even helped them escape to Arland when necessary. This made them an annoyance to the Church. So the Church initiated a beastfolk purge.
But that was a terrible miscalculation. The oppressed beastfolk went underground and began organizing. As an organized force, they became even more effective at providing aid. And most importantly—they now saw the Church as the enemy.
Darskemona welcomed them into his cause. His passion for fluff and his heart of atonement united them.
Stein, now Darth Fluffman (from chapter 190), had deep knowledge of the Church’s inner workings. He was also highly capable. Under his guidance, the kemono organization became more agile and effective than ever.
They outwitted the Church’s information network and steadily gathered evidence of corruption. Across the Empire, massive exposés rocked the Holy Church’s credibility.
When the Church leadership learned that Darth Fluffman was actually Stein, they immediately forgot all about Arland. Traitors must never be forgiven—that was the Church's creed. Even if the Pope ordered an invasion of Arland, eradicating the traitor took top priority. With most clergy demanding purges, the Pope’s hand was tied.
Thus began the Darth Fluffman Rebellion, a series of uprisings that would shatter the Holy Church’s authority.
The Empire was no longer in a position to invade Arland. If they had launched an invasion at that moment and deployed their Hero unit, they might have been able to kill Alicetia. One of the Heroes possessed an absolute counter to magic. That Hero could’ve finished off the wounded Alicetia and her clones as well.
… But then, Arland had kept one final trump card in reserve. Had they retaliated, the Empire might have been wiped from existence.
"Sorry about that."
The blackened Iris sulked as she apologized to Alicetia.
"Really now. I understand your lingering attachment, but taking that thing into yourself? That's insane."
It was only natural that absorbing the Demon King would distort her. Even the blackened Iris hadn’t wanted to destroy the world—she just wanted to see her family again.
"I didn’t want to give up… just one more time, that’s all I wanted. Even if they ended up hating me afterward, resenting me, I didn’t care. I just didn’t want to say goodbye like that. I was happy… those days were enough for 'me.' I didn’t want anything more than that.
I had my family, my friends, Takuto, and myself. That’s happiness, isn’t it? I didn’t want anything else."
The blackened Iris muttered, her head bowed.
"Yeah. Those days still shine in my memory. But I think we have to face forward now. That’s why the ‘former’ me split herself, I think. So that I could accept you… when the time was right."
Iris hadn’t simply cut her off. Someday, when she accepted the past, the blackened Iris would naturally become part of Alicetia again.
"There’s no need to stay in the darkness anymore. Let’s live together. I’m not saying forget the past—but a new family isn’t a bad thing. And Takuto and the others came to this world too."
"Yeah… it’s okay now."
"That’s right. There’s no need for hatred anymore. Let’s share the same time together."
"Mm."
The blackened Iris melted into Alicetia. In that moment, a complete reincarnation was achieved.
"Ugh… this is kinda rough."
The despair and rage the blackened Iris carried—Alicetia accepted it all and groaned under its weight. But she steadied her heart to keep from being swept away.
She hadn’t lost everything. And she had gained new things too. That’s why she could accept it. She clung to that belief, so as not to lose herself.
And then the two became one.
"What a magnificent sight."
A round of applause echoed. There should have been no one else in this world but Alicetia and the blackened Iris. Yet, there was someone else.
"Who?"
"You're awfully blunt for someone who used my soul without permission. Does the name Arthur ring a bell?"
When the man who called himself Arthur snapped his fingers, the white world transformed into what looked like a grand audience chamber.
"Welcome to my castle, descendant."
Alicetia tilted her head, the place seemed somehow familiar.
"Ah, so you remember a little. We hardly got to talk last time we met.
Now that the fragment of the Evil GOd has been purged from within you, I can talk with you a bit. Don’t worry. I’ll be gone soon."
"My soul has already begun to collapse," Arthur added with a lonely smile.
"I see… that explains why you looked familiar. Were you trying to influence me too?"
"I have no such power. I only wanted to warn you about the danger of the broken Spirit King. I never expected that power to be stolen from my soul.
By the way, aren’t you a descendant of Lycoris? If possible, could you tell me about the nation she built? I know nothing… What became of that child—my daughter?"
Alicetia spoke of Arland’s history, as told by Draconia. Arthur listened, tears streaming from his eyes in remorse.
"If only I hadn’t let my emotions control me back then, I might not have shamed my homeland… So the country perished, huh."
"Also, there are no more non-human nations left on the continent."
"I figured. Being sealed away, I came to know everything. That’s why I want to entrust you with something. Set this twisted world right!"
Arthur waved his hand, and a crystal appeared before them. It began to display images.
"These are memories left in the power of the Spirit King. The fates of those who inherited that power."
"… This is awful."
At first, it was a power of hope. In a world where humanity had lost their nations and all reason to live, devoured by monster domains, the power of the Spirit King was used to expand the human sphere and fight against annihilation. Though they never returned to their former glory, humanity was able to survive.
But at some point, those who would misuse the Spirit King’s power emerged.
When they realized the power was tainted, they tried to exploit it. Originally, fragments of the Evil GOd should’ve been gradually purified and vanished with time. But these people tampered with it carelessly, and in the end, gave birth to the Demon King.
"So the Demon King is…"
"Yes. An enemy of mankind deliberately created by human hands. They wanted an external enemy to unify humanity. As humanity rebuilt itself, it splintered into numerous nations. I suppose they aimed to recreate a unified state like the Ancient Magic Kingdom. Utterly foolish."
The Demon King was a global threat. To oppose it, everyone would have to cooperate. And those who didn’t fall in line would be destroyed by the Demon King.
"What an outrageous self-made crisis. There’s no justice in the Holy Church."
The video showed people conducting horrific experiments—each one wearing the pendant that marked them as members of the Holy Church.
"We can’t let the world fall into the hands of those who throw it into chaos like that."
"Yeah… Sooner or later, this will come to threaten Arland too. I understand. I’ll do something about it."
"Can you?"
Arthur hadn’t really believed Alicetia would be capable. He had only wanted to let more people know the truth.
"Teth probably reincarnated me for this very reason. Besides—this is the real problem."
It was the Spirit King’s final memory. He had warned that someday, the Evil GOd would once again try to invade this world.
Upon seeing it, Alicetia understood why she had been reincarnated with her memories intact.
She stared at her small hands.
"It’s okay. I’ll do it. And my friends will too. So you don’t need to regret anything. Your will—Avalon’s will—has been inherited by Arland."
Arthur smiled through his tears at her words. It was as if a weight had lifted from his soul. His body began to fade, and so did the world around them.
"Farewell, my descendant."
And so Arthur vanished too. Left alone in the white world, Alicetia murmured,
"First of all, I’m going to give Teth a serious scolding."
She made a note to call Teth out later.
What do you think about this chapter?
