"Sigh."
Ghislain paused, lost in thought.
How could Erenes know about this? She hadn't regressed like he had.
Ghislain had long suspected that Erenes was hiding something. But she had never directly warned him of a danger like this before.
Since the topic had come up, he figured he should press for more details.
Ghislain gathered everyone and moved to a larger meeting room. Once they were settled, he asked, "Explain in detail. Why is the dragon attacking humans?"
Even in his previous life, he hadn't known the reason. One day, the dragon had simply appeared, filled with overwhelming malice toward humanity.
Dragon attacked indiscriminately, destroying everything in his path. Alongside the monsters of the continent, he assaulted humans.
Naturally, the Salvation Church wasn't spared either. The dragon targeted the Church and the Rifts without mercy.
Theoretically, he could have become allies, but by the time humanity tried to resist, the dragon had already annihilated several human kingdoms. The human alliance had no choice but to fight back.
Ghislain was curious about the dragon's motive, but what intrigued him most was the timing. In his past life, the dragon had appeared years later than this.
'Have I changed the future again? But I haven't done anything related to the dragon…'
He knew that altering the future shifted the timeline forward. The Salvation Church's emergence had been quicker than in his previous life, which allowed him to eradicate them before they grew too powerful.
But he had done nothing to provoke the dragon.
As Ghislain questioned Erenes, she took a moment to gather her thoughts before responding.
"The dragon wants to kill someone."
"Who?"
"The one called the King of the Salvation Church. In the ancient war, we called him the Adversary."
"So the dragon is going to slaughter humans to kill this so-called Adversary?"
"Yes. If the dragon can't find the Adversary, he'll wipe out all humans."
Erenes glanced at Yullian briefly as she spoke.
"Hmm..."
Ghislain folded his arms, sinking deeper into thought.
It was clear that Erenes still suspected Yullian. But before addressing that, there was something else he needed to clarify.
After organizing his thoughts, he asked, "We don't know your past. What's the Salvation Church's real goal? What exactly is this King, this Adversary they're searching for?"
"…"
"And what do you mean by the ancient war? We need to understand your story to make sense of why you and the dragon are so hell-bent on killing the Adversary. Is it as simple as wanting to take over the world? That doesn't add up."
Everyone knew that Erenes despised the Salvation Church. She had appeared suddenly and aided Ghislain in his fight against them.
At the time, she had mentioned that she'd been fighting the Salvation Church for a very long time. But she hadn't shared any details.
It hadn't seemed important then. But now, things are different. They needed context to understand her words.
Ghislain was asking her to share that context.
"..."
Erenes remained silent for a moment. She had never felt the need to explain herself since humanity was already fighting the Salvation Church.
But for the battles ahead, she needed to share what she knew.
She let out a long sigh before speaking slowly.
"Let me tell you about a myth and a war, long forgotten by your people."
***
A long time ago, this land was a prosperous and peaceful world governed by four goddesses.
Everyone revered the goddesses and enjoyed a life of abundance, free of conflict.
It was a utopia, an ideal paradise.
That peace was shattered when an uninvited guest arrived from a faraway place.
The intruder was a God from another realm.
This otherworldly god sought an audience with the four goddesses, pleading for their aid.
He claimed that his world was on the brink of destruction and that his creations were in grave danger.
To reach them, he had even exhausted his divinity to break through what was thought to be an unbreachable dimensional barrier.
The goddesses, moved by his plight, decided to help. They allowed the beings of his world to migrate to this one.
Those pitiful beings were very similar to the humans of this world, and the goddesses believed they could coexist without issue.
Although they were driven by strong wills and desires, the goddesses thought such traits could serve as another force to drive the world forward.
But problems arose.
The beings from the other realm couldn't withstand the great cosmic order of this world. Crossing the dimensional barrier caused them to lose their sense of self, leaving only their destructive instincts.
They transformed into hideous monsters and began destroying everything in their path.
The goddesses were forced to close the dimensional gate. They couldn't let this world fall into ruin as well.
The otherworldly god was enraged. To him, those hideous creatures were still his creations, his children.
He believed the goddesses had broken their promise and forcibly reopened the dimensional gate.
Countless beings from his realm poured into this world. The residents of this world suffered terribly as they fought to survive.
People began calling the otherworldly god by a new name:
The Demon God.
The Demon God became a symbol of terror. Lower gods and beings from his world continued to flood into this one, and the goddesses had no choice but to oppose him.
Thus began the war.
The armies led by the Demon God clashed with those led by the goddesses.
It was a cataclysmic war that tore the world apart. Countless lives were lost, and the conflict seemed endless.
But after a long struggle, the goddesses finally emerged victorious. Their holy power saturated this world, giving them the upper hand.
The dimensional gate was sealed once more, and the invading beings were eradicated.
However, it wasn't a complete victory.
The Demon God was incredibly powerful. Though defeated, the goddesses lost their physical forms in the battle, leaving them unable to directly intervene in the world.
Only their will remained, guiding the world through a handful of chosen priests who could barely communicate with them.
Without the goddesses' active protection, the paradise crumbled.
Survival became the new norm.
The Demon God's body lay lifeless on the land, his soul vanishing into the cosmic order.
But his corpse was no ordinary one.
The energy and malice emanating from his remains began to change the world. Animals and plants were affected, transforming into creatures later called monsters.
Humanity suffered anew, fighting to survive against these new threats.
But that wasn't the worst of it.
The lingering will of the Demon God filled the world with a single purpose: to reclaim this land and save his creations.
Over time, some humans became tainted by this will.
These individuals sought to reopen the dimensional gate and perform rituals to resurrect the Demon God.
Thus, the 'Salvation Church' was born.
Their goal wasn't to save the people of this world.
They aimed to rescue the inhabitants of the Demon God's realm, who had been trapped in the rift for eons.
The Church's origins lay in the land where the Demon God's corpse rested.
That cursed land, filled with hatred and despair, came to be known as The Demon Realm.
Followers of the Salvation Church were safe within the Demon Realm but couldn't easily venture into the outside world.
The goddesses had created the ultimate lifeforms to counter the Demon Realm's threat: dragons. These creatures monitored the area vigilantly.
Even so, the dragons couldn't enter the Demon Realm lightly, as its malevolent energy was overwhelming even for them.
Over centuries, the Salvation Church discovered ways to harness the Demon God's power.
They gained the ability to partially reopen the dimensional gate.
And so, the war resumed.
The history of humanity became a tale of endless battles against the Demon Realm.
But it wasn't only the Salvation Church that grew stronger.
The elves expanded their forests, and the dwarves built vast underground cities.
Humans built empires across vast lands, cultivating brilliant civilizations.
They pondered how to seal the Demon God's land and eradicate the Salvation Church.
Meanwhile, the Salvation Church sought ways to resurrect the Demon God and take control of the world.
For thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years, they had opposed each other,
Until the war that broke out a thousand years ago.
***
"..."
The people listening to Erenes's story were left in a daze, their faces blank with disbelief.
The tale was too absurd, too far-fetched.
Though it sounded somewhat plausible, it was too fantastical to accept as reality.
Erenes nodded, as if understanding their skepticism.
"It's just a myth, explaining why this world became the way it is. Naturally, it's not entirely logical, and there may be distortions. But I told it to help you understand the Salvation Church's motives."
After a brief pause, she continued.
"The Salvation Church has a slightly different version of the myth. They claim this world originally belonged to them and that we drove them out. But their ultimate goal aligns with what I just told you."
The listeners nodded. Myths were usually like that. They couldn't be taken at face value. Most brushed it off as an interesting story that provided some insight into the Salvation Church's behavior.
But for one person, it was clearly different.
All eyes turned to a single figure, a person radiating an overwhelming aura and seething with anger.
It was none other than Parniel.
"How dare you... bring up such nonsense in my presence?"
Boom!
Parniel, the devout servant of the goddess and a figure revered as a saintess, was genuinely enraged.
A myth, after all, was the foundation of a religion, the very basis for worshipping a god.
It was not something to be fabricated or distorted. To do so was a challenge to divinity and a denial of the Church's authority.
Parniel had never heard of such a myth. For an elf to invent such a tale—one even the saintess of the Church was unaware of—was outrageous!
"You... are a heretic."
Erenes responded with a mocking smile.
"It was a common myth known by everyone a thousand years ago. The Church deliberately erased and hid the records."
"How dare you speak such blasphemy!"
Boom!
Parniel's massive mace descended toward Erenes. Yet Erenes did not even blink.
Boom!
Ghislain drew his sword, blocking the strike. But the impact caused his body to stagger, forcing him to one knee.
'Is she insane?'
The strength behind the blow was far beyond her usual power. It was clear she was utterly furious.
He needed to calm her down. If they started fighting here, they wouldn't be able to get the answers they needed.
"Lady Parniel, hold on."
"Step aside."
"Let's at least finish listening. We haven't even gotten to the part about the Adversary yet."
"...Hmph."
Parniel glared at Erenes for a long moment before finally lowering her mace.
The people of Fenris covered their mouths, stifling giggles as they watched Ghislain.
'You understand how we feel now, don't you?'
'The one mediating always has the hardest job.'
'Ah, this is so entertaining.'
Ghislain was the only one capable of managing these powerful outsiders, and this situation had arisen because of that.
Seeing the others laugh, Ghislain's lips twitched in annoyance.
He didn't need to guess what they were thinking—it was all too obvious.
Resolving to address it later, Ghislain turned to Erenes and asked,
"According to this myth, the Riftborn are residents of another world?"
"That's correct. And the light that creates the Mutants comes from their souls, trapped in the dimensional rift."
"They're crossing over because they want to live in this world?"
"Yes. They believe this world is their promised land, their paradise."
"Hah. This place is exhausting enough as it is. They must be seriously mistaken. Then again, the grass is always greener on the other side."
"......"
"Fine, let's leave the myth as it is for now. What about the Adversary and the war from a thousand years ago?"
Erenes fell silent for a moment before speaking again, slowly.
"After countless years of humanity's struggle against the Demon Realm, a new threat emerged. A figure of unparalleled genius appeared within the Salvation Church."
And so, Erenes's tale resumed.
The story of the Adversary, who was stronger than anyone else, a thousand years ago.
[T/L: I need your support, dear readers. I will give discount to all those who will buy the rest of the chapters all together, so please support me the reader on my webnovel platform and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]