'Can these beings truly be called human…?'
As Elric watched the war between the Melvinger family and the demons, he couldn't help but wonder.
It was like witnessing a scene from a mythological creation story.
The demons were darkness itself. Every time the Great Demon Kings cast a spell, darkness surged, threatening to engulf the world in pitch-blackness.
The Melvinger side responded by striking down the darkness repeatedly with bright, blinding light, like lightning tearing through the shadows.
Fire, water, wind, and earth—the four elements that form the foundation of physical properties—manifested as natural disasters, sweeping across the land again and again.
The cliff where the Melvinger family had initially stood was completely destroyed, while mountains unseen below rose and fell repeatedly.
It was a battle on a scale far beyond what Elric could even comprehend.
And yet, he found something curious.
'Somehow... they seem similar?'
Only after being overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the magic did Elric notice the similarities between the two sides. Upon closer inspection, the magic used by both factions had strikingly similar features.
Melvinger's magic was noticeably different from typical human magic systems, and the Great Demon Kings' magic was far from the black magic that demons usually wielded.
However, despite the differences in color and temperament, their magic shared many similarities in form.
Though the mana arrays and energy flow within the magic were different, the "shape" of the spells looked remarkably similar!
If he had to describe it...
Yes. It was as if twin siblings born from the same source had grown up in entirely different environments, resulting in completely different personalities.
–At some point, they became tainted by demons, in the quest for greater power, and caused great harm to the world, but they later came to realize their mistakes…
–In order to correct the wrongs of the past and atone, we were created and our family was born.
The voice embedded in the magical amulet had said that before.
They were atoning.
Perhaps the meaning of those words was...
"That's right, that's exactly it."
At that moment, Otto Han's voice sounded from behind, as if reading Elric's thoughts.
His voice was much calmer and more dignified compared to his younger self.
It seemed that the immature Otto Han of his youth had grown with time, expanding his understanding.
Elric turned to look behind him.
Otto Han, now in his seventies, was gazing at him through his glasses with sad eyes.
Those eyes held a wide range of emotions—longing, desperation, sorrow...
All swirling violently before eventually settling into a calm.
Looking into his past, Otto Han's feelings could be summed up in one word:
Regret.
"We are atoning. By devouring, consuming, and drinking all the demons in the world. We sought to eradicate and obliterate every non-human existence from this land."
"Was the Melvinger family originally non-human?" Elric asked, finally voicing the question he had been suppressing for a long time.
It was a question he had wanted to ask but never dared to.
Perhaps he had buried this question deep within because, in his heart, he had feared the answer.
After all, if the beings he had been taught to hate and regard as enemies were revealed to be their ancestors, it would be a deeply shocking revelation.
He had intentionally avoided it.
But now, he was somewhat prepared.
After seeing this scene, he felt he could understand.
However, Otto Han simply smiled faintly and shook his head calmly.
"No. That wasn't the case."
"Then…?"
"It's something even more fundamental."
Elric narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"What do you mean by that?"
"Our Melvinger family, and the beings you refer to as demons, are two sides of the same coin, originating from the same source."
"…!"
"The origin of magic is widely known today... you could say it stems from that."
This was a realm of thought Elric had never considered.
"So, the Progenitor and the Demon God…"
"They, too, are two sides of the same coin. Though they started from the same root, they eventually pursued different paths and came into conflict. Our Melvinger family is guilty of having unleashed non-humans into the world, and that's why we've tried to wipe them out."
Elric was stunned.
Did this mean that the Progenitor had also attained the same divine status as the Demon God?
Blood of God.
Hearing a term he had only ever encountered in legends brought a bitter smile to Elric's face.
"Then what exactly is the origin of that magic?"
For a moment, Otto Han's smile took on a familiar mischievousness.
"That's a secret."
"…What?"
Just when Elric thought he was finally about to get answers, Otto Han was teasing him again.
"You don't need to know that yet. Revealing such information to you now would be too heavy a burden. We are not fools, and we will open these doors for you in due time, so don't rush."
There wasn't much Elric could say in response to that.
Yet, somehow, he felt as though he had an inkling of what that origin might be.
It was something everyone "knew," and yet, because it was so familiar, it was easy to overlook.
"Anyway," Otto Han continued his explanation.
"Melvinger and non-humans share the same origin, and because of that, we've been locked in a tragic struggle to annihilate each other. That war dragged on and on…"
Otto Han's gaze drifted down to the fierce battle raging below between the Four Great Vassals and the Four Great Demon Kings. Elric's gaze naturally followed.
"We won in the end."
Boom!
The tide of the battle was shifting in favor of the Four Great Vassals.
The first to fall was the Demon King of Insanire, Azazel, who was torn apart and disintegrated. Lilith, the Demon King of Fornicationes, lost all of her once-beautiful wings and plummeted to the ground. Shaitan, the Demon King of Finis, raged as his limbs were severed, only to have his head cut off by Christina.
The Demon King of Est Originale Peccatum, Mephisto, managed to escape, though severely weakened, exploiting the confusion.
'Did he target the Jewel Dragon to regain his lost power and end up sealed because of it?'
The darkness surrounding the Great Demon Kings was pierced by shafts of light, and soon, the shadows were completely washed away.
It felt like witnessing a passage from the book of creation—the forces of light triumphing over darkness in the war between good and evil.
Or perhaps…
'Maybe this is the true meaning behind the creation story adopted by the Holy Alliance.'
Elric thought to himself. The religious institutions would surely call him a heretic for this idea, but he couldn't shake the thought.
And if his memory was correct, the following passage went like this:
"The darkness that had engulfed the world vanished, and the grace of light spread across the land."
"Though darkness had brought the unknown and disbelief, from that moment, light brought forth civilization."
"From the seed of that civilization, humanity grew and flourished."
"But there was a problem," Otto Han said suddenly, in a heavy tone.
Elric frowned.
Everything seemed to have ended well. What could the problem have been?
"A problem?" Elric asked.
"Though we won the war, we lost the battle."
Elric was completely caught off guard by that statement. His eyes widened in alarm, and he turned his head to look elsewhere.
There, the Progenitor and the Demon God were still locked in fierce combat.
At some point, dragons had been summoned from the sky, breathing fire, while giants roamed the earth, cutting down the Demon God's minions.
It was clear to anyone watching that the Demon God was being pushed back.
It seemed as though the battle would soon be over... but then the Demon God burst into laughter and pointed something at the Progenitor.
Flash.
That's all it was.
A shadowy flash of darkness, and then the dragons and giants started bleeding, collapsing one after the other.
Elric had no idea what had just happened.
All he knew was that some kind of curse had spread through the wounds of the dragons and giants, driving them into a desperate situation.
And the Progenitor was no exception.
Already wounded from fighting the Demon God, he now coughed up blood.
The once-smiling Progenitor was now gravely injured.
『So, you are human after all. In the end, you made that choice.』 the Demon God sneered.
Though his form was fading, and though the Progenitor had clearly won the battle, the Demon God seemed to act as though he had claimed victory.
And his words...
They were the same words Mephisto had said to Otto Han before Elric had entered this realm.
『But that arrogant choice will ultimately lead to your death. I may vanish, but I will remain somewhere in this world. You, however, will not.』
With those words, the Demon God disappeared.
A bitter smile crept across the Progenitor's lips as his robe swayed in the wind.
It was only then that Elric understood what Otto Han had meant.
"When you say we lost the battle, you mean the Progenitor was defeated by the Demon God?" Elric asked.
"That's right. In the end, the wounds—no, the curse he received led to his death. Meanwhile, the Demon God always has the potential to return. Non-humans are like that."
The inexplicable.
The unexplainable phenomena from which non-humans are born.
It wasn't impossible to imagine the Demon God returning somehow, just as Azazel, thought to be destroyed, was preparing for his resurrection.
"And before he died, the Progenitor made several prophecies. He predicted that though it would take time, non-humans would rise again, and the Demon God would return as well."
Elric was about to mention that thirty years ago, the demons had caused great chaos.
The Great Demon War. A terrible war that had caused many kingdoms to collapse and nearly destroyed the empire—wasn't it the Melvinger family that had ultimately brought it to an end?
But
'No… it wasn't everything.'
Elric couldn't finish his sentence.
A sudden thought occurred to him.
Perhaps.
The Great Demon War was only a prelude.
"And during that time, our family would face ruin, only to miraculously revive. A descendant would stand before that revival."
Elric's mind snapped to attention.
The prophecy.
It was obvious who the prophecy was referring to, unless one were a fool.
"And so, he left us with his final will, asking us to help guide that descendant to walk the right path."
Otto Han said as the world around them began to fast-forward.
The Progenitor, lying on his deathbed, closed his eyes, and the Four Great Vassals wept.
Otto Han stepped forward and declared that, for the sake of preserving the family, he, as the youngest, would take charge.
He asked the other three to prepare for the fulfillment of the Progenitor's prophecy.
Christina and the other two nodded and scattered to make their own preparations, while Otto Han, now the head of the family, led the family toward prosperity.
It was all part of his preparation.
His preparation to fulfill the Progenitor's prophecy.
Otto Han knew better than anyone that in order to keep the family alive for over a thousand years, the foundation had to be solid.
And so, he left preparations for "winter" in various places.
The Ice Mountain King's tomb.
The Black Snowfield.
The Temple of Flowers.
His touch could be felt everywhere, and the legacy of these places remained within the family.
Time passed once again.
Otto Han, once in his forties as Elric had always seen him, grew older, entering his sixties. Wrinkles formed around his eyes, and his gaze deepened. The reckless youth was gone, replaced by the image of a wise, dignified sage who led the family.
Had he wanted to, he could have defied time, but he chose not to.
Instead, he seemed to welcome its arrival.
And so.
As Otto Han entered his seventies, he became the man he was now.
After the passing of the Progenitor, the once-boisterous and vibrant world of Otto Han had been replaced by one of loneliness and solitude.
It was a path as cold and desolate as the "winter" that symbolized him.
He had never even been able to be with his beloved.
Severe Winter Cold.
The cold that swept across the land in the deep snowy winter could not have been so chilling.
People said Otto Han had lived his life to uphold the Progenitor's will, but to him, it had also been a desperate attempt to cling to the fleeting, joyful memories of his youth.
And now.
At last, his mission was coming to an end.
He no longer had to dream of his youthful days in loneliness.
"That's right."
He had finally met the descendant the Progenitor had spoken of, and he could pass everything on to him.
"You are the 'child of prophecy.'"
[T/L: You can read ahead chapters and support me here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]