A distant past.
Can a human tossed into the Demon Realm survive well?
The Demon Realm was similar yet vastly different from the continent.
It was a war-torn wasteland, monsters ran rampant through the treacherous terrain, and a thick mana that could easily suffocate any human floated in the air.
How weak humans were in such a malicious environment.
Arcne didn’t even know she was human at first.
She naturally thought she was a demon race.
Like a cat thrown into a pack of wolves, she firmly believed she was a wolf as well. It was a fleeting thought from a heart so young.
Still, her life was comfortable enough, if only comfortable.
— “Lady Arcne, it’s time to absorb energy.”
In reality, it was no different from a massive prison, but Arcne was fairly content living in a splendid castle with her servants. There was no danger, after all.
The Demon Lord periodically fed her like a pet. That was the level of it, but the girl was oblivious.
Since she had been living this life from the moment she came to her senses, she had no complaints or dissatisfaction. She thought everyone lived this way.
Arcne regularly received the energy of maidens. It was because of the Demon Lord’s orders.
The demand was to absorb plenty, as it suited her constitution, and later rise in realm to unleash great power.
But, when did it start?
As the girl gradually grew up, she began to realize.
— “The Demon Lord appointed this mere human girl as a goddess? I can’t fathom why.”
— “Not even a human who has reached a realm, completely a puddle of blood, right? I can’t understand it myself either.”
— “It’s the Demon Lord’s will. Accept it.”
— “I’ve already accepted. However, I don’t like this goddess girl. Should I give her a little check-up sometime?”
The seven demons of the Demon Realm, except for Arcne.
They hurled words filled with disdain towards Arcne, standing brazenly in front of her. Naturally, the girl had no choice but to harbor questions.
Why do they hate me?
Perhaps because I’m human.
…What is a human? Wasn’t I a demon race?
From then on, she observed her own birth closely and soon found out. She was distinctly different from the demon race.
It was painful. The more she knew, the more it hurt.
After a while, she realized she was human.
The girl considered it an endlessly despairing matter. At the same time, she understood that being human made it infinitely difficult to survive in the Demon Realm.
Most demons gained energy by taking the lives of other races. It was a unique method of energy absorption known as “absorption” among demons.
However, Arcne had to eat food, and she had to sleep regularly. By the time she was almost eight years old, she was driven to madness from loneliness.
— “Lady Arcne, it’s time to absorb energy.”
A daily routine just like any other, but the girl was already deeply depressed. Being the only different-born among the demons was truly lonely.
The Demon servants in the castle treated Arcne very formally, but once she went outside, she received nothing but disdain and scorn from other deities.
— “If it weren’t for the Demon Lord’s favoritism, you’d be doing manual labor like the others, what makes you think you’re special?”
— “Stay cooped up in the castle. Every time I see you, my desire surges. It’s simply unbearable.”
Being inside the castle was unbearably dull and lonely, yet going out meant being bullied. The girl even contemplated dying.
Then one day, she couldn’t hold back any longer.
Why am I human, unlike the other demons?
Why am I human of all things?
And why did the Demon Lord appoint me, who is so despised, as a goddess? What could the reason possibly be?
To ask all this, she sought out the archives of the Demon Realm.
“I greet the goddess.”
The archivist, who had no eyes, greeted Arcne quite kindly. It was a delightful encounter.
After hearing Arcne’s request, the archivist let out a small sigh as if feeling quite sorry.
“Knowing the truth isn’t always a good thing.”
The first words were significant.
“Although you were born human, thanks to the Demon Lord’s special protection, you are living comfortably in the Demon Realm, aren’t you? You could just continue living like that.”
However, Arcne hated her current life too much.
Receiving the energy of maidens was accompanied by immense pain, and every time she trained to draw mana from her human body, she suffered from a severe fever.
But truly, the hardest part wasn’t the physical pain.
It was the fact that the demons treated her with utmost care under the Demon Lord’s command. This was just from the lesser demons; the gods openly showed their dislike.
Discrimination, disdain… this was too hard to bear.
With earnestness, the girl parted her lips.
“I do feel gratitude towards the Demon Lord. However, I want to know why I’m a human in the Demon Realm. Humans reportedly grow up on the continent.”
Then, a look of concern appeared on the archivist’s face.
“Hm, so you’ve come to know how other humans live here in the Demon Realm.”
“Yes. They were all treated like livestock.”
What the girl said was indeed true.
Humans drawn to the Demon Realm in their soul form suffered through hard manual labor all day long.
It was said that after living, they sold their souls and gained strength, only to work endlessly after death.
This made her even more curious.
Why was she not in a spirit state, but instead fell into the Demon Realm alive, and why did the Demon Lord grant her the title of goddess, unlike other humans?
The archivist shook his head.
“Records forbidden by the Demon Lord. For the sake of avoiding unnecessary misfortune, please return.”
“…Please. Tell me.”
A desperate request slipped from the girl’s lips.
“It’s about myself. If I don’t know this, I feel like I won’t be able to do anything due to the constant worry.”
The archivist looked pitying yet was firm. In the end, he didn’t change his stance.
“I’m sorry. This is also the Demon Lord’s command.”
It was unavoidable. The girl still lacked the strength to forcefully view the records.
However, the archivist’s words kept gnawing at her.
As soon as Arcne asked, his expression darkened, warning her profusely. This meant that the stories surrounding her were only ones of misfortune.
The girl wasn’t clueless. Thus, it hurt.
“I’m so curious… I feel like I’ll go crazy…”
“You can start trying to forget from now on.”
The archivist said kindly.
“Those who come seeking me are always filled with themselves. They believe they can accept any truth, that they are prepared. Yet, I’ve rarely seen someone who can endure it. The same goes for you, goddess.”
The archivist suddenly brought his hands to his forehead. It was a posture taken when offering a prayer to the Demon Lord.
Arcne simply listened.
She couldn’t do anything. She was weak.
“If the goddess were to fall, it would be lamentable, and at the same time, betraying the mercy of the Demon Lord who believed in you, wouldn’t it? Please understand.”
In the end, Arcne had to retreat.
Even after retreating, she loitered long outside the archives. She felt a frustrating sensation of having reached right before the truth but not being able to grasp it.
It felt like she might go mad. There was no way she could give up. She only thought about how there might be another way.
Hence, one night spent at the archives, unexpectedly, she was called by one of the demons.
“Goddess, you look quite troubled.”
Startled, Arcne looked at the owner of the voice. Where there should have been a head, there was none. Only a purple candle was burning in its place.
A bizarre appearance, yet powerful mana.
The pain that one desperately desires yet cannot obtain. Hatred.
It was Han-shin, the God of Hatred.
Arcne had heard of Han-shin. He would slyly whisper to release someone’s grudge while approaching, and in doing so, he would create endless other hatreds.
Arcne hurriedly tidied her clothes.
“Oh, I was just about to return to the castle.”
However, the next moment, Han-shin reacted.
“If you desire to know your past, I shall inform you.”
The very words Arcne had longed for.
“However, should you completely break afterward, don’t blame me. How about it? The choice is entirely yours.”
Han-shin was also one of the demons who looked down on Arcne. In other words, he likely wanted her to break and become irreparable, hence why he made this proposal.
Even knowing this clearly.
“…I want to know.”
Arcne nodded.
Indeed, she had no idea whether the truth would be poison or delight to her.
Unbeknownst to her at all.
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