From the very beginning, the world knew of four continents separated by vast stretches of salty water, their combined size exceeding that of the four continents themselves.
Northama, Southema, Westhima, and Easthoma—such were the names of the four continents inscribed on the world map. Although the writing and language were the same across all four continents, each was known for its unique characteristics. There were no other continents besides these four.
Northama, or the Northern Continent as it was commonly called, was two-thirds covered in ice. Southema was its opposite, with two-thirds of its area covered in desert. Westhima had more lakes than the other three continents combined. Easthoma, popularly referred to as the Eastern Continent, had more mountains than there were days in a year.
This world was divided into two realms: the upper world and the lower world—also known as hell. These two realms were separated by a thick layer of magma, impenetrable to either side. Each realm remained a mystery to the other.
Humans and various animals lived in the upper world, while demons ruled the lower world. The two had never interacted since the dawn of life, nor were they meant to. Demons were born from human souls unable to enter the eternal realm—souls filled with sin, regret, and emptiness.
No human knew what the lower world looked like or what form demons took. However, exactly two thousand years ago, for the first time since life began, a demon managed to escape from the lower world into the upper world. Along with the army it brought, the dominance of humanity was called into question. That day changed everything.
The upper world, which had previously only experienced conflict among its own inhabitants, now became the target of demonic savagery. Demons grew stronger by consuming human souls. Some even claimed that after consuming a certain number of souls, demons could free themselves from the chains of hell. As a result, all demons saw humans as prey.
Lukhiel was one of the many demons in the upper world. He had spent more than a thousand years traversing the realm of humans and other living beings. Because of that, Lukhiel was no longer an average demon. He had consumed a total of one million two hundred thousand souls—he had long been freed from the chains of hell. Beyond that, Lukhiel was one of the eight demons categorized as Primordial Demon.
The man, with chest-length white hair combed backward, had an aged appearance. By human standards, he looked to be in his 50s or 60s. But that was no surprise. Lukhiel was no longer bound by the chains of hell; nothing stopped him from aging. Of course, Lukhiel could have remained youthful if he hadn't stopped consuming human souls. However, his battle with the wielder of the "Sword of Salvation" three hundred years ago had changed him.
Despite being one of the eight Primordial Demons, he had become a fugitive among demons. He was branded a traitor. Lukhiel was hated by both demons and humans. Humanity could not forget the atrocities he had committed in the past, and demons refused to accept his actions in saving humans and slaughtering demons.
If anyone accepted Lukhiel after learning of this, it was only the Serenity Organization—a group formed to shelter half-demon, half-human individuals. Like Lukhiel, they too were shunned by both sides. However, even though they offered him a place, Lukhiel declined to join and continued to wander.
Lukhiel was determined to fulfill his promise to the woman who had changed him: he would find a human worthy of inheriting the "Sword of Salvation."
Thus, despite being a demon, Lukhiel's body moved to save a seven-year-old human child who was about to be killed by other humans. He caught the flaming sword slash of one of them with his right thumb and forefinger. Shock overtook the man, but his mouth had no time to react. Lukhiel had already severed his neck with his left hand.
"Glanz, you've already—"
Lukhiel ended the other man's life before he could finish his sentence.
And as he had done before, he did not consume their souls. Not only because Lukhiel had changed, but consuming human souls only strengthened demons that still bound by the chains of hell. For those who had already been freed, consuming human souls no longer provided any benefit other than replenishing life energy—the energy responsible for delaying aging and extending life.
"For anyone who kills, one day they will also be killed. That is an inevitable truth. A karma. Even I… will one day be killed."
Lukhiel then shifted his gaze to the seven-year-old human child who had almost been killed.
The child remained motionless, staring at his mother's head, which was no longer attached to her body. Lukhiel did not remember what his life had been like before he died and became a demon; nor was he a half-demon born from some experiment. Thus, he could not say he truly understood what the child was feeling. All Lukhiel knew was that it must hurt.
For a while, Lukhiel stood silently, watching the child. But the child paid him no attention. Even if Lukhiel hadn't intervened earlier, the child still wouldn't have cared. Perhaps he still didn't fully understand what had happened, or maybe he thought his mother was pretending to detach her head. Lukhiel didn't know. What he did know was that the child was now utterly alone.
Lukhiel couldn't just leave the child behind. He had saved him. If he had intended to abandon him, then there would have been no point in saving him in the first place. However, they were currently in a forest, not far from a cliff; there were no nearby settlements where Lukhiel could leave the child. And even if there was, Lukhiel doubted anyone would take him in.
The only reasonable course of action was to take the child to the city, where there was an orphanage he could visit. However, Lukhiel himself had just left that city. His departure had been prompted by the presence of two Level 1 Sterminatore there. No matter how skilled Lukhiel was at concealing his demonic presence, he feared they might still detect him.
Lukhiel could take them both down if necessary, but he preferred to avoid trouble.
Sighing deeply, Lukhiel crouched and gently patted the child's shoulder. He hadn't thought a day would come when he would decide to take care of a human child. But here he was. Lukhiel had no other solution but to take the child and hide him. He could sense that this child possessed a strong will within him. Perhaps, if he trained him, this child could wield the "Sword of Salvation."
Lukhiel nodded to himself and made a decision. "Come on, get up," he said softly. "Let's bury your mother."
It took a considerable effort to pull the child out of his despair. But Lukhiel was patient, and that patience paid off. The child finally looked at him after half an hour of convincing, and it took another half hour for Lukhiel to persuade Mariel—that was what the child called himself—to stand up and agree to bury his mother.
Of course, Lukhiel did all the work. He only allowed Mariel to carve and place the headstone at the top of his mother's grave.
The grave was located ten meters from the edge of a cliff, right beside a tree with thick leaves but no fruit. Mariel knelt before the grave, refusing to move even half an hour after the headstone had been placed. Lukhiel had tried to coax the child to leave, but Mariel ignored him. In the end, the demon decided to rest by sitting against the trunk of the tree.
Apart from the sound of the wind and the noisy creatures of the night, nothing else disturbed the silence. Lukhiel closed his eyes. He wasn't trying to sleep, just resting his eyes. He didn't know when the child would be tired of kneeling, so he couldn't allow himself to fall asleep. Lukhiel planned to leave with the child as soon as Mariel succumbed to exhaustion.
"Why…?"
Lukhiel's closed eyes snapped open, his gaze shifting toward the child. Mariel wasn't looking at him; his eyes were still fixed on the grave. But Lukhiel knew the question was directed at him. However, he didn't respond immediately. He waited for the boy to clarify.
"Why did my mother have to die?"
Was it normal for a seven-year-old to ask such a question? Lukhiel couldn't say. Though he had lived a long time, he had never involved himself in human relationships. From his perspective as a demon, the question was unusual. Demons almost never asked why someone had to die.
Even so, Lukhiel understood the intent behind the boy's question. And he had an answer: "Everyone who lives will one day die. You will die someday. So will I. Everyone will. Just as the sun rises and eventually sets, those who live will inevitably die."
Lukhiel didn't know what trouble the boy's mother had caused to warrant mercenaries being hired to kill her. Therefore, he couldn't provide a precise answer. Even so, Lukhiel was certain his answer was appropriate. The boy was still young, and the truth would do him no good. When he grew older, he could seek out the truth for himself.
"Why must we suffer?"
The boy asked again, this time looking directly at the demon. His gaze was filled with expectation.
Lukhiel straightened from his resting position. He sat cross-legged, his eyes meeting the boy's. "Do you believe in the gods?" he asked for confirmation—he couldn't provide a satisfying answer without knowing whether Mariel was a follower of the gods. "Did your mother teach you about them?"
"My mother didn't like the gods, but she still prayed to them. I followed her. I prayed too."
Lukhiel nodded in understanding.
"In this world, there is such a thing as fate and karma," the demon explained. "The gods determine who suffers and who is happy. They decide who is rich and who is poor. They decree the existence of men and women—of mothers and fathers. Perhaps your suffering is simply because the gods want you to suffer. Or perhaps it is karma. Karma is the natural effect of one's actions: if you do good, you will reap good; if you do evil, you will reap evil. Perhaps your suffering is a result of some wrongs your mother committed."
Mariel turned his gaze back to the grave. Lukhiel didn't know if his answer satisfied the boy's expectations. However, in his own view, he had provided the best possible answer. Lukhiel couldn't think of a better response. Mariel seemed like a smart and unusually mature child for his age, so he might not be satisfied. But Lukhiel had no other answer to give. What could be more appropriate? He doubted anything could be.
Silence dominated for several tens of seconds. Mariel eventually turned his gaze back to the demon. "…Why do the gods decree some to suffer and others to be happy?" he asked uncertainly. "Can't they decree that everyone lives happily?"
Lukhiel let out a long sigh at the question. Though it seemed simple and easy to answer, the response was the complete opposite. Even for Lukhiel, who had lived for over a millennium, the answer to that question was beyond his understanding. No matter how long he contemplated it, Lukhiel had no answer.
"Only the gods themselves can answer that question."
That was all Lukhiel could offer as a response. If this had been before his change of heart, Lukhiel would have laughed at the question, mocking and ridiculing the gods. Most demons he knew (who had freed themselves from the chains of hell) would have done the same. However, for the Lukhiel who had changed, there was no other answer he could give.
"How can I ask the gods?"
"There is no how," Lukhiel responded quickly. "It's impossible. At least, I think it is. But I am not someone with infinite knowledge. Perhaps there is someone else who knows the answer. You would have to travel to find them."
"Tra…vel?"
Lukhiel seized the opportunity to stand and approach the child. Perhaps he would have waited for hours if he had to wait for the child to fall asleep. Therefore, he decided to use the child's curiosity to influence him slightly.
"Yes, travel." Lukhiel crouched by the grave, facing the child. "This world is vast. There are a total of four continents. Right now, we are on the continent of Westhima. You would need to travel across every region of this continent. If you don't find the answer, you could journey to another continent. Would you travel to ask the gods?"
"Can I…travel?"
Lukhiel's lips curved into a smile. However, before he could answer the question, he sensed two sources of prana approximately half a kilometer from their location. Without a doubt, the prana belonged to the two Level 1 Sterminatore he had seen earlier in the city. The situation would become troublesome if they discovered him. Thus, he struck Mariel on the back of his neck, rendering him unconscious, and then ran toward the southern cliffs with Mariel slung over his shoulder.
Not wanting the two to find Mariel's mother's grave, Lukhiel destroyed part of the trees with the wind element after running several hundred meters from the grave. Then, he leaped off the cliff. He converted his prana into wind to slow his descent. Approximately four minutes later, he landed gracefully by the riverbank.
If he had previously been in the territory of the Neiracia Empire, Lukhiel was now within the Great Kingdom of Camelot—the kingdom ruled by the king of knights, Arthur IV Pendragon. Although the laws in this land were stricter than in Neiracia, everyone here was said to have equal rights under the law. At least, that was true unless someone caught in trouble bore demon blood in their veins.
Lukhiel carried Mariel along the riverbank.
He walked upstream, searching for a cave where Mariel could rest. The next morning, they could look for a settlement. Though Lukhiel had set foot in this land once before, it had only been in Pendragon (Camelot's capital), and his stay was brief. The Knights of the Round Table had been too troublesome to deal with. As a result, Lukhiel knew little about the Camelot region.
Lukhiel finally found a cave suitable for use after nearly an hour and a half of walking. He laid the still-unconscious Mariel on a pile of leaves and then sat down to meditate beside the child. His eyes closed, but he didn't fall into a full sleep; he would immediately awaken if anything approached.
Lukhiel's eyes opened about four hours later—it was already somewhat bright outside. He saw that Mariel was still unconscious, deeply asleep. He likely wouldn't wake unless he forced him to. Had he struck him too hard? Or perhaps what had happened the previous night weighed on him so heavily that it caused him to sleep longer?
Hmm, he's human. It makes sense if his mind is burdened.
Deciding to let Mariel wake naturally, Lukhiel stood and stepped out of the cave. He intended to catch some fish for them to eat. Demons didn't require human food, and only those freed from the chains of hell could enjoy the taste of it, but Lukhiel found the activity called "eating" rather enjoyable.
However, he couldn't leave Mariel unguarded. So, before leaving, he created eight wind spears and planted them at the entrance of the cave. That way, no wild animals could enter and threaten the child's safety. Only then did he head toward the river.