───Once upon a time, a baby was born.
His name was Zenovis, a son of an ordinary farmer, and grew up with all the love and affection of his parents.
However, the boy who was born into such an ordinary family was also the most out of the ordinary in the world of "Argena."
The first glimpse of his abnormality was seen when he was five years old.
The boy, who normally ran around in the fields and mountains like other children in the village, realized that he was alone, swinging a wooden stick in his hand.
Everyone thought that the child was just swinging a wooden stick around, yearning to be a knight.
But… the boy never got tired of swinging.
And a week after, the boy started swinging at targets.
To everyone's surprise, he cut down a tree in the forest with just a wooden stick.
At first, no one thought the boy had actually cut down the tree. In the first place, it was impossible for a child to cut down a tree, and moreover, the cut on the tree was so smooth that it looked as if it had been cut by a sharp sword.
The boy had wielded a wooden stick and not a sword.
That is why the adults in the village tried to treat this incident as one of the strange happenings.
However, when the trees in the forest continued to be cut down for two or three days from there, a commotion broke out in the village, saying that this was not a normal occurrence.
So when the village adults tried to find out who was cutting down the trees, they found the boy going out to do his usual pretend play.
And when they followed the boy… the boy, with his wooden stick, cut down the mountain.
Amazingly, the boy had gotten tired of cutting down trees with the wooden stick and finally cut down the mountain in one fell swoop.
The scene was so unrealistic that the boy came to be treated as an eerie presence in the village. However, the boy's parents remained affectionate toward him.
This had a positive effect on him.
They learned of the boy's unusual talent and began to try to encourage him to do whatever he wanted to do as much as possible.
And when the boy showed interest in magic, they managed to save up enough money to buy him a tattered book about magic.
The book was not the kind of book a child would read, and its contents were so crude that it was hard to believe that the boy could learn to use magic from this one book.
However, the boy read the book, and after his own interpretation and research, he found himself becoming a great magician.
It would be a waste for the boy's life to remain in this village.
His parents decided to enroll him in a famous magic school of the time.
The parents, who lived in a rural village, could not afford the tuition fees, but the school had a system for special students, which allowed them to enter without paying any tuition fees if they achieved excellent results in the entrance examination.
The boy naturally became a special student and attended the magic school.
Moreover, not only in the entrance examination, but even after entering the school, the boy's talent was demonstrated beyond measure, and he always maintained the top grades in his school year. His combat skills soon became the best in the school.
However, even such a perfect boy was not very good at socializing with others.
Because of an incident when he was five years old, he was never treated normally by anyone other than his parents, and because he was not a very outgoing person, he was always isolated at school.
However, the boy himself did not regret his inability to socialize but instead began to explore all areas of life, always following his curiosity.
He was interested in martial arts other than swordsmanship, and also studied weapons, armor, and other tools, as well as the arts, such as singing and painting.
It would take a lifetime to master a single art form for an ordinary person.
If one seeks too much, one will end up only becoming half accomplished.
That was the norm.
──Except for him.
By the time the boy turned into a young man, he had mastered every field.
Swordsmanship, magic, blacksmithing, art. There was not a single thing he could not do.
Even if he saw something unknown, he could learn it instantly and sublimate it into his own skill.
…Why was such a being born?
Even Argena, the planet on which the young man lives, doesn't know.
It is genuinely a heresy to humanity.
After graduating from magic school, there was nothing he could not already do, so he decided to travel around the world.
In the course of his travels, he beat up a rampaging dragon, mastered all kinds of martial arts, acquired all the "Holy" titles, and defeated an "Evil" king all by himself.
If you think his stories are always so wild, he also rescued an exiled princess and fought alone against a country to fulfill a certain child's wish.
The path he took was truly legendary.
His legend was spreading more and more.
And eventually… people began to call him "The Sage."
However, no one knows about his later years.
There is nothing left in history except for the fact that there was a "Sage" who established such legends.
There are many speculations about his last days, such as that he was defeated by the gods, that he traveled to the end of the sky, and so on…
Many researchers have tried to predict his end based on the traces of "The Sage."
However, as long as people believe he was an extraordinary being, they will never know his end.
He just wanted to die, as a person.
──No one would ever know that he wanted to be normal more than anyone else because he was more abnormal than anyone else.
＊＊＊
This was when such a Sage was alive.
──[Dragon Valley].
Surrounded by steep mountains, the valley is inhabited by all kinds of dragon species. In this place, various dragon species are always fighting for territory, and ordinary monsters can not even set foot in the land.
This is because the powerful magic waves emitted by the dragon species make it impossible for ordinary monsters to approach.
This is why the competition for food source is so fierce among the dragons in [Dragon Valley].
The level of danger is comparable to that of the [Great Devil's Nest].
In contrast to the ecological struggle among a wide variety of monsters in the [Great Devil's Nest], the struggle between dragons are different – they are few in number but can be considered the pinnacle of monsters, and are always fighting each other here.
Dragons raised in this land boast overwhelming power compared to dragons that inhabit other lands.
If even one dragon were to wander out from this [Dragon Valley], several countries would be destroyed in an instant.
However, dragons do not leave the valley. This is because they were forbidden to leave the valley by a single dragon.
That dragon was quietly closing its eyes in the deepest part of the valley.
"….."
Sunset-colored scales and sharp claws. Its size was nothing compared to that of the "Genesis Dragon" that would later be named Ouma.
"…This is as far as you go?"
The sunset-colored dragon mutters quietly. Its voice sounded somewhat empty.
"I've been watching over this world with him for many years, but… nothing has changed. Mankind is just corrupt."
Not meaning for anyone to hear, the dragon continues in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Humanity is what causes harm. They claim this planet as their own and fight amongst themselves. They couldn't break the negative chain of continuity they created…!"
The dragon's eyes lit up with fury.
"They are the reason this planet is out of balance! To make this planet a peaceful place, humanity must perish!"
The voice, spewed out with fury, shook the valley. Hearing the dragon's voice, even the other dragon species, which normally fight over territory, gasped in fear.
"I… must destroy mankind for the sake of this world, Argena! But…"
The dragon looked abhorrent as he paused in his speech.
"…I cannot defeat him now. Even if I teamed up with "Evil," it would be impossible. Then…"
Then, a strange aura, different from magic power, rises from the dragon's body.
Staring at that aura calmly, the dragon muttered quietly.
"Hmmm… this is the power of those who live in the upper dimension…?"
The aura was not the power of this planet, nor was it the power of "Holy" or "Evil," as Yuuya knew it.
"It's a shame to rain on the parade, but… it's also a surefire way to save the planet."
The dragon quietly fired up his ambition and said to himself.
"More… I must familiarize my body with this power… and I'll be sure to make [The Sage]──!"
For the sake of his own ambition, the giant dragon continued to build up his strength in the [Dragon Valley] in preparation for the coming time.
＊＊＊
Then, far in the future in the era in which Yuuya and the others live.
"So this is the [Great Devil's Nest]…"
The man, the founder of the evil cult, was staring at the forest spread out before him. Behind him, there is a line of followers of the evil cult who are accompanying him.
The reason they had visited the [Great Devil's Nest] was to search for Yuuya, who was said to be living here.
But…
"Nu…"
Facing the [Great Devil's Nest], the founder was unable to take the first step.
There was a powerful presence wafting from the [Great Devil's Nest].
"Founder! Why are you standing still? The enemy is now within our reach!"
"Right! Come on, let's get going!"
"H-hey!"
A few believers, getting impatient with such a founder, step into the [Great Devil's Nest] without hesitation.
Immediately after, the founder tried to stop them, but… that did not succeed.
"Kah──."
"…Eh?"
It was only a moment.
The moment he stepped into the [Great Devil's Nest], the upper body of one of the believers disappeared.
Blood spurted violently from the remaining lower half of his body, and collapsed lifelessly as it was.
Without knowing what had happened, the death of their companion caused the believer, who had also stepped into the land, to stop.
"Hey! Run away quickly!"
The founder shouted frantically, but his thoughts were in vain as the body of another believer disappeared once again.
The believers, finally realizing that they had entered a terrible place here, screamed.
"U-uwaaaaahhhh!"
"N-no! I don't want to die──"
──From there, it was carnage.
The believers, who did not heed the founder's warning and entered the [Great Devil's Nest], died without understanding what was happening.
"W-what happened…?"
One of the believers, who just now witnessed the scene where his friends were killed in an instant, muttered to himself as if he were trying to squeeze it out.
Then, the founder, with a grim expression on his face, pointed his finger.
"…That's it."
"Eh?"
The founder pointed to a seemingly ordinary tree.
However, they noticed that the vines hanging from the branches of the tree were stained reddish-black.
"It's an [Assassin Tree]… an A class monster."
"S-such a monster…"
"…The monsters that inhabited this place never leave the [Great Devil's Nest]. This is because the [Great Devil's Nest] is an ideal place for monsters, a land full of magic power. However, living in such an ideal land requires strength. As a result, the monsters here have evolved in their own unique way, minimizing their appetites and sexual desires, and instead honed their ferocity and the desire to fight. And that [Assassin Tree] has also evolved to suit this land. The only saving grace is that they are few in number, but all the monsters that lost in this race for survival in this land and flee will fall prey to it… Listen, don't forget that the [Great Devil's Nest] is overrun with such monsters."
"Ugh…"
After the founder's explanation, the believers are left to their own devices.
However──.
"O, believers! Do not be afraid! For the sake of the resurrection of our God, we must turn to the divine enemy that lies ahead! For the sake of our scattered brethren, we must press forward! Our future awaits us after we overcome this grueling ordeal!"
The light in the eyes of the believers, who had been depressed by the situation, lit up once again.
The light was somewhat dark and fanatical.
"Come on, let's go! The divine enemy, Yuuya Tenjou, is right ahead!"
"Ooooohhh!"
The members of the evil cult raised a war cry and finally set foot in the [Great Devil's Nest].