At the time, the Salvation Church was essentially a clan living within the Demon Realm.
Alongside humans corrupted by the lingering thoughts of the Demon God, there were others who joined them.
Whether they were converted and recruited, or kidnapped and coerced, remains unknown.
Regardless, they spent a long time in the Demon Realm, forming their own society and living as a clan.
It is said that countless Riftborn inhabited the Demon Realm, thanks to the Salvation Church's ability to briefly open the dimensional gates.
However, the Riftborn couldn't leave the Demon Realm. The Demon God's energy, which had once spread across the outside world, had significantly diminished.
Thus, the Riftborn lived within the Demon Realm alongside the members of the Salvation Church.
At the very least, this suggests that, unlike now, the Riftborn were either controlled by the Salvation Church or considered the Church members their kin.
When tens of thousands of Riftborn gathered, the Salvation Church launched invasions from the Demon Realm. They gradually expanded the Demon Realm's boundaries, allowing the Riftborn to move freely.
But that wasn't enough to conquer the world.
Humanity had grown stronger over the centuries, and the dragons mercilessly exterminated anything that escaped the Demon Realm.
In fact, humanity was preparing to join forces with the dragons to eradicate the Demon Realm.
Then, a genius appeared within the Salvation Church.
He could manipulate the Demon God's energy with unparalleled ease and understood it better than anyone else.
He systematized methods of harnessing the Demon God's energy and taught them to others. Most of the Salvation Church's techniques were developed during his time.
He became the Church's last hope. Naturally, the Salvation Church elevated him as their king.
Until then, the Church had only been able to create small, temporary rifts.
But the king was different.
He was so powerful that he could open rifts by himself—and they were immense.
Countless Riftborn poured out at once. Even the monstrous creatures lurking within the rifts emerged.
The first beast the Demon God created to conquer the world, Equidema, began expanding its territory.
Massive beasts from the otherworldly rift also emerged.
Thanks to the king and the monsters spreading their energy, a staggering number of Riftborn moved without restriction.
It was a calamity.
Once again, humanity faced a horrifying calamity.
A massive, winged white serpent strangled dragons to death. A giant with the head of an elephant, adorned with countless ornaments, trampled the earth.
Beasts of unknown names and origins swept across the world. Even the mighty dragons couldn't fend them all off.
Around that time, people realized something.
The Salvation Church's king had not originally been one of them.
He was a human filled with rage against the world, who had willingly entered the Demon Realm and harnessed the Demon God's power.
The king of the Salvation Church had absorbed the Demon God's condensed will into his human body.
A traitor to humanity, bent on destroying the world.
A foe to the goddesses themselves.
Humanity called him The Adversary.
Despair and agony filled the world. The power of the Demon God, wielded by such a genius, was beyond anything humanity could withstand.
The world seemed destined for annihilation.
Then, at last, the goddesses intervened.
Defying the natural order, they bestowed power upon humanity to oppose the Salvation Church.
Thus, the first saintess appeared.
A hero emerged to wield a blade in her name.
The elven Grand Chieftain and the dwarven king led their people to join the saintess.
Many other great warriors rallied around the saintess. Even the dragons gathered to protect her.
The rulers of the world brought their armies to follow the saintess.
With the saintess and hero at the center, humanity fought back once more.
The saintess, as the goddesses' representative, was granted immense power by the goddesses.
The hero, as her protector, was beloved by the world and commanded its will.
And the brilliant companions who fought alongside the hero.
Even the Adversary and the Rift Beasts couldn't easily overcome them. United, humanity was immensely powerful.
Though countless lives were lost, humanity ultimately triumphed.
Most of the massive beasts from the otherworld were slain, and the survivors fled back into the rifts. The rifts were sealed, and the Demon Realm collapsed.
This was because the human alliance succeeded in sealing the Demon God's corpse deep within the earth.
The war that had plagued humanity for so long finally ended. Most members of the Salvation Church were killed, with only a few survivors scattering across the continent.
They lost their accumulated knowledge and territory, barely clinging to survival.
But the Adversary did not die so easily.
With his remaining strength, he cursed those who had fought against him.
The weakened goddesses could not stop the Adversary's curse.
Because of this curse, the elves and dwarves, once allies of humanity, became slaves to humans.
Dragons were hunted by humans or trapped in unknown places, dying without understanding why. They became little more than forgotten legends.
Many who had fought the Adversary and saved the world perished or vanished in torment.
Despite saving the world, they met a miserable end.
And the Adversary declared:
— I will return. I will annihilate all of humanity.
This was the war that took place a thousand years ago.
***
Erenes spoke with a calm expression.
"I was the elven Grand Chieftain who fought in the war a thousand years ago. Because of the Adversary's curse, I was bound by restrictions and unable to act, which is why I've lived far beyond my natural lifespan."
"..."
The people sat in stunned silence. The tale was so absurd that it was hard to process, yet also difficult to dismiss. After all, the person before them, who claimed to have lived through that war, spoke with such conviction.
Claude whispered to Wendy.
"She's gone mad. Completely lost it. This makes no sense."
"..."
For once, Wendy couldn't dismiss Claude's words.
The idea that the person in front of them was a figure from myth, someone who had lived for over a thousand years, seemed far less believable than Claude's skepticism.
Ghislain thought for a moment before asking,
"If all of this is true, then why is there no record of it?"
A thousand years. It wasn't a short time, even by the standards of human history.
No matter how long ago it was, the lack of records or evidence was suspicious.
Erenes answered with the same calm expression.
"In the end, the world was ruled by humans. The rulers erased all records of the war and hid the truth. They destroyed all traces of it."
"Why?"
"... I don't know. Perhaps because the empire fell and countless kingdoms rose in its place. Each one may have altered the records to assert their legitimacy."
'Lies.'
Ghislain narrowed his eyes. He had glimpsed that era in his dreams.
The power of the saintess and the hero was extraordinary. There was no reason why their deeds would go unrecorded.
And erasing all records of a dangerous group like the Salvation Church?
Not even a king could achieve that. It would require a unanimous agreement among all the world's rulers.
'Now that I think about it... there are no records of Lutania's founding or the three noble families, either.'
It had always seemed strange to him. No one even acknowledged their existence.
While human records might have been lost over time, someone like Erenes, who had lived through that era, should have known why the records were gone but seemed to be withholding that information.
Parniel growled.
"Because it's a fabricated story. Even if the rulers wanted to suppress it, no cleric in the Church would agree to hide such a glorious tale."
"....."
"Tell me. Why are you spreading such lies?"
"Believe it or don't. It doesn't matter to me. I'm merely recounting the facts, so you might understand."
Boom.
Parniel gripped her weapon tightly and took a step forward. Ghislain hurriedly intervened, speaking up.
"Alright, I get the gist about the Salvation Church and the Adversary. You're saying that the Adversary who vowed to return is Yulian?"
"...That's what I thought."
"On what grounds?"
At Ghislain's question, the others also turned their curious gazes toward Erenes, wondering why she believed Yulian to be the Adversary she had fought.
After a brief hesitation, she answered.
"The Adversary's name was also Yulian."
"...Just because of a name? Do you know how many people in this continent might have similar names?"
"He also looked exactly the same."
"...It could just be someone who resembles him."
Ghislain didn't fully trust Erenes's claim. In his dreams, Yulian was a hero. The Adversary's face was never shown.
Naturally, he trusted his own vision over her words.
Erenes frowned, frustrated.
"The name is the same, and he looks the same. Granted, his hair color and a few details are slightly different, but..."
"..."
The others had nothing to say. Accusing someone who fought for humanity of being the Adversary just because they resembled him?
Claude leaned toward Wendy and whispered again.
"People get stubborn as they age. They can't admit when they're wrong."
"..."
Wendy simply ignored him this time.
Erenes rubbed her forehead. She was fully aware of how she must look right now.
To people of this era, she must seem ridiculous. The myths and stories of ancient wars she shared could easily be dismissed as nonsense.
But she had no choice. She was confused and frustrated herself, almost to the point of madness.
Watching Erenes struggle, Ghislain decided to approach the problem step by step, based on what he knew.
"Alright, let's focus on the pressing issue. You said a dragon is going to attack soon. How do you know?"
Ghislain didn't question the truth of it. He knew from his previous life that the dragon's invasion would happen.
Erenes bit her lip a few times before answering.
"I heard it directly."
"What do you mean...?"
"That dragon and I were comrades and friends long ago. The purpose of my recent journey was to meet that dragon."
The group was startled. They knew she was extraordinary, but to be friends with a dragon?
Claude nervously bit his nails and muttered to Wendy.
"Everything she says is absolutely true. Every word."
"..."
Claude was genuinely scared. Friends with a dragon? Erenes was already among the continent's strongest, and her friend was likely even more fearsome.
Erenes looked around at them and continued.
"The dragon's name is Artherion. He is a White Dragon who resides in the Shadow Mountains of Turian."
"The Shadow Mountains?"
"Yes. The reason the monsters there are so aggressive is because of him. He believes the Adversary has been reborn in the Turian Kingdom and has been sending monsters to destroy it."
At that, Yulian's gaze darkened.
The struggles his kingdom faced had been due to a dragon?
If killing that dragon could resolve everything, wouldn't that end all their problems?
Sensing the tension, Erenes glanced at Yulian and sighed before speaking again.
"He holds a deep grudge against the Adversary. To kill the Adversary, he is willing to destroy the entire Turian Kingdom."
Ghislain's expression turned incredulous. Destroying an entire kingdom to kill one person?
"What if the Adversary isn't in Turian? Or hasn't even been reborn yet?"
"If he doesn't find the Adversary, he plans to destroy everything. He's not in a sane state anymore."
Ghislain let out a dry laugh. It was true that the dragon had been utterly unhinged in his previous life.
Erenes spoke with a grave expression.
"If we hand over this Yulian to the dragon, his rage might subside. After all, he would also see him as the Adversary."
If Erenes's claim was true, it meant the dragon had also fought the Adversary a thousand years ago.
Naturally, it would react the same way she did.
Ghislain thought back to his memories from his past life.
'That dragon definitely…'
The dragon had unleashed its wrath upon humanity.
At the time, it hadn't been clear who the anger was directed at, since so many people had gathered to hunt the dragon.
It did seem like Yulian was targeted more, but Ghislain had assumed it was because Yulian was the strongest.
Even if the dragon's rampage had been because of Yulian, Erenes's suggestion still sounded insane.
Who would sacrifice a comrade who had fought alongside them? Everyone would oppose it, and the soldiers' morale would plummet.
However, Yulian seemed to have a different perspective.
"If what you say is true, then that's the better option. It will ensure everyone else's safety."
"What?"
Erenes frowned, staring at Yulian. She hadn't expected him to say such a thing.
But Yulian seemed unconcerned as he continued.
"I'll go to the Shadow Mountains. Tell me the location."
"What do you think you'll accomplish by going alone?"
For a moment, Yulian's gaze turned dark and heavy, like an abyss capable of swallowing everything.
A cold voice escaped his lips.
"I'll kill the dragon."
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