Chapter 5 – Take Destiny into Your Hands
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
As if she had lost consciousness, all strength left her slender body.
Ewaldt raised his head as he picked her up again.
He found himself in a peculiar structure, like a bed and yet a coffin, with people kneeling on the floor near him with their heads low.
Among them were two familiar faces.
“Alexia, Wilhelm, how much time has passed since then?”
When he called their names, they looked up.
“It has been 824 years since you were sealed by the hand of the Saint, Illumina.”
“We have waited for you to awaken from your eternal slumber. We congratulate you on your resurrection.”
Ewaldt mutters, “Hmm.”
“It seems my slumber was a little too long.”
But he didn’t feel bad.
In fact, it was the best he had ever felt.
He looked down at the presence in his arms.
Her name was Rachel, she was a very beautiful girl with soft blonde hair and bright pink-red eyes.
By focusing on her, he could see the color of the girl’s soul in her chest.
A beautiful white soul with a slight bluish tint.
Although it was engulfed in reddish-black flames of hatred and anger, it was still a beautiful soul.
This was the second time he had seen a soul of this color.
The first time was with Saintess Illumina Felburn.
This girl is the reincarnation of Saintess Illumina.
…… interesting, that a Saint would become a Lich.
“Lord Faust, may I introduce you to the other two?”
Alexia, one of the progenitor vampires, says.
Alexia, Wilhelm, and Alexia’s younger brother Farren had been in the Demon Lord’s army since before Ewaldt fell asleep, and were by his side as his good friends and subordinates.
“What of Fahlen Thein?”
“I sent him to get your room in order. Well, I thought he wouldn’t mind not being there for Lord Faust’s awakening, given his character.”
“I see, as long as he’s alive, that’s good.”
Some of the Demon Lord’s army executives from that time are probably no longer in this world.
Either they died in battle with humans, or they died of old age.
Not many of the demon races can live for hundreds of years.
“Allow me to introduce Rodolphe, the werewolf, and Hilde the succubus. Despite their appearances, they are both leaders of their clans.”
Alexia’s words were met with a bow from both of them.
“We have waited with bated breath for your return.”
“Congratulations on your revival, My Lord.”
Ewaldt gave a small nod.
“Raise your heads.”
Ewaldt looked at them both.
A small crack appeared on Ewaldt’s forehead, revealing a vertically aligned third eye.
Ewaldt’s third eye can read the minds of those it gazes upon.
He then closes his third eye.
“Your allegiance seems certain.”
“Hohho, I wouldn’t have chosen them as executives otherwise.”
Alexia smiles at Ewaldt’s words.
“Rodolphe, Hilde, stand up.”
The two of them stand up, looking nervous.
Wilhelm spoke.
“Lord Faust, have you taken a liking to the Lich girl?”
Ewaldt chuckled at this.
“Yes. This one is my ‘destiny’.”
As he stroked her glossy blonde hair, it felt silky and soft to the touch.
As he twirled the slightly wavy strands around his fingers, they wrapped lightly around him and then unraveled gently.
Alexia asked Ewaldt, who was enjoying the sensation.
“What do you mean?”
Ewaldt smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth.
………………
…………………………
824 years ago.
The time when the conflict between demons and humans was at its fiercest.
In a certain country, the daughter of a noble family rose up.
The girl possessed mana of the Holy Attribute and acted as the vanguard of the battle to fight against the Dark Attribute wielding Demons.
A girl with holy attributes was called a Saint by the humans.
To the dark attribute demons, the holy attribute is troublesome.
At that time, the demon army had the upper hand, but after the appearance of the Saint, they lost their momentum.
If it weren’t for the Saint, the humans would have long perished.
The Holy Attribute magic used by the Saint weakened the Demons.
Despite this, the demons, including Ewaldt, did not relent.
They would fight even to the last man.
They would never surrender to the humans.
Such was the pride of the demons.
All demons have a connection with the Demon Lord.
Even when they die, it is not a complete death.
They believed that as long as the Demon Lord lived, they would one day be reborn as demons.
That’s why demons don’t fear death.
To the demons, the Demon Lord was a God.
However, the power of the Saint was great.
Many demons were defeated and scattered in battle, leaving the Demon Lord’s army at a disadvantage.
One lone Saint turned the tide of the war.
The Saint reached the Demon Castle, and then defeated Alexia, Wilhelm, and the others to finally make her way to Ewaldt.
“You have come, Saintess Illumina.”
Saintess Illumina was a beautiful girl.
She had pale blonde hair and unusual pink-red eyes.
It seemed as if her slender body would break easily, but Ewaldt knew that would not be the case.
“I am Illumina Felburn. I am here to defeat you, Demon Lord.”
The Saint was alone, as her other companions were unable to keep up.
Ewaldt was also alone.
The Saint excelled in both swordsmanship and magic, and she and Ewaldt fought evenly, neither ever backing down.
Ewaldt stood for the future of the demon race.
The Saint stood for the future of humanity.
They fought with all their might.
By this time, however, Ewaldt’s powers had been weakened by the deaths of other demons.
The bond between the demons and the Demon Lord is a special one.
The power of the Demon Lord is proportional to the number of Demons.
The more demons die, the weaker he becomes.
When he faced the Saint, Ewaldt was unable to exert even half of his original power.
Not necessarily for that reason, but Ewaldt was defeated.
But there is no such thing as death for the Demon Lord.
No matter how many times she killed the Demon Lord, he would always return to life, so the Saint placed a seal on him.
“In time, I will awaken and destroy humanity.”
Both the Saint and Ewaldt were in tatters.
The Saint responded.
“To prevent this from happening, I will leave behind a child. And so she will have more children to carry on my bloodline and my magic. As long as my descendants endure, you will never awaken.”
Ewaldt laughed at that.
“Humans die eventually.”
“…… Yes, I suppose they do.”
The Saint seemed a little frustrated as she answered.
“Even if the seal is about to be undone, my descendants will come to seal it again. Only my descendants will be able to break it.”
Ewaldt groaned softly as the seal was cast upon him.
His connection to the other demons was violently severed.
“Your fate, and that of humanity, will rest in the hands of my descendants… though it is a pity that they must bear this burden.”
The Saint spoke as her consciousness faded.
“I wonder if there will be a future where demons and humans join hands.”
…… It was the humans who rejected the idea.
In ancient times, there was no boundary between humans and demons.
It was none other than humans who first tried to eliminate Ewaldt and his kin.
It was the humans who first oppressed Ewaldt.
…… at this point, we no longer entertain thoughts of coexistence.
And Ewaldt was sealed away and fell into a long slumber.
…………………………
………………
824 years have passed since then.
He was only vaguely conscious.
He could faintly hear the voices of his friends and subordinates, Alexia and Wilhelm, who often visited him and spoke of the situation.
However, his connection with other demons was severed, and he was sealed away, unable even to move his body.
It’s been a long, long time for Ewaldt.
At first, he was overcome with anger and hatred, fearing that his brethren would be weakened and face extinction, but over the course of 800 years this had changed to feelings of near-resignation.
Suddenly, however, he heard the voice of a young girl he did not recognize.
From the magic chanting he realized she was human.
At the same time, he remembered the words of Saintess Illumina.
…So, a descendant of the Saint has come to seal me…
If the seal placed upon him was strengthened further, perhaps even this faint consciousness would sink into darkness.
Ewaldt’s resignation, as he thought this would be the end, was instantaneous.
His whole body was enveloped by Holy mana, and he felt pain.
However, it quickly melted away and disappeared.
Instead, he was enveloped by a terribly pleasant dark mana.
The Holy seal weakened and then broke.
Ewaldt instinctively absorbed dark mana, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a human girl.
She has soft, lush blonde hair and pink-red eyes, much like those of Saintess Illumina.
Not only from these eyes, but also from the fact that Ewaldt could not read her mind, it was clear to see that the girl had a deep relation to Saintess Illumina.
The only person in Ewaldt’s life whose mind he couldn’t read was Saintess Illumin.
Still, he could see the color of this girl’s soul.
A beautiful white flame with a slight bluish tint.
It looked exactly like the soul of the Saintess Illumina.
No, it was the soul of the Saintess Illumina herself.
Human life spans are short, so the girl was not only a descendant of Saintess Illumina but also her reincarnation.
But her soul was enveloped in the reddish-black color of anger and hatred.
A descendant and reincarnation of the Saint, with contradictory colors.
This girl was the one who broke Ewaldt’s seal.
Ewaldt laughed at the miracle.
…… Saintess Illumina! You have lost.
Fate is on the Demons’ side.
“This girl is the descendant of Saintess Illumina, and her reincarnation. She is the only one who can seal me away.”
Though he saw her with his third eye, he still couldn‘t read her mind or scry for her memories.
Alexia says, “I see.”
“So, you are saying that as long as Rachel is here, Lord Faust will never be sealed?”
“Yes.”
Ewaldt nodded, and Wilhelm asked back.
“However, on the human side, there is a saint summoned from another world. Isn’t it possible that she could also seal you, Lord Faust?”
Suddenly, he remembered that.
But Ewaldt laughs.
“If the seal had simply been broken, I might have been sealed again by that saint from another world, but that is not the case now. Thanks to this girl offering her own mana to me to the utmost limit, I feel my strength surging just like in the old days. Even if I am sealed again, I will be able to break it now.”
Simply offering mana was meaningless.
He needed the same pure Dark mana as the Demons.
…… Perhaps this is fate.
The girl, the descendant and reincarnation of the Saint, possessed Dark attribute mana, and thus when she unsealed the Demon Lord, Ewaldt, she offered her Dark attribute mana to him.
“Who brought this girl here?”
“That would be me.”
“Well, Alexia, you’ve always had foresight, but this time I commend you for a job well done.”
Alexia laughed, “Hohohoho”.
“Your words are too kind.”
Ewaldt carried the girl, Rachel, who was sleeping soundly and deeply in his arms.
She introduced herself as Rachel, the Lich.
In this way, he sensed that she was indeed not human.
Cold body, pale skin, no breath.
He didn’t know how it had happened, but it was most fortuitous for Ewaldt that this Rachel had become a demon.
The threat to the Demon Lord is no more.
“Ah, I feel quite pleasant today.”
He also felt a stronger connection to his compatriots than ever before.
Dark mana permeated his whole body, making him feel surprisingly light and in good spirits.
If he were to fight Saintess Illumina in this current state, Ewaldt believes he would have emerged victorious.
“Listen well, my dear brethren.”
Everyone focused on Ewaldt’s words.
“I will take Rachel as my Queen.”
If destiny has fallen into his hands, he will hold on to it.
At Ewaldt’s words, everyone prostrated themselves.
“Know that this girl is mine.”
He has a good hunch about it.
This girl will become an important figure to the demons.
Not just because she is a descendant of the Saint. Or her reincarnation.
He felt like there was something more to it.
And Ewaldt’s instincts are often right.
Ewaldt himself was fully aware of that.
“…… Rachel, you are my destiny.”
She is the one who will decide whether to let the Demon Lord Ewaldt live or die.
But he will never let her return to the human side again.
＊ ＊ ＊ ＊ ＊
Sads Translates 