Asoko Side

Maou-mama screams in rage, as she is forced to watch while the human army is killing the innocent citizens of the capital. There is a barrier surrounding the demon castle, and it's strong enough to withstand anything we throw at it. She can't use space magic to teleport herself out, either. In other words, we can't do anything to help them down there.

"You cowards, let me out and fight with me!" She roars at the hole she blew into the side of the castle in her impotent wrath, bashing her hands against the translucent force field just outside it with all her might. However, no matter what she tries, it shows no signs of cracking open, and the people surrounding the castle do not seem to take notice of her struggle at all. Sound is most likely being blocked as well.

I know that some of the maids have their families down there, and I see their desperate attempts to break through the barrier alongside maou-mama. However, considering even the demon queen's power isn't enough to do so, they obviously can't put a dent in it either. I can't think of any way to get out of here either, and can only watch as the human soldiers walk through the city, killing demons and burning down houses.

Kamii is holding onto the hem of my shirt and watches alongside me, scorching the sight into her mind with wide open eyes. I can see that she's trembling, but instead of fear, it seems to be caused by anger. Yes, I'd wager that anyone in their right mind watching this one-sided slaughter would feel that - or at least realize that the humans' actions are wrong.

Rolan Side

This is wrong. This is not how it is supposed to go.

I stand in the ash-laden streets of the capital of the Demon Continent, watching as the elite soldiers of the Empire of Terminus slaughter every demon they come across. On the ground before me lies a young girl with red skin and a single horn protruding from her forehead, a stuffed doll just outside of her slack hand's reach. Her lifeless eyes seem to be staring at me, their empty gaze a silent reproach of my inaction that allowed such a young soul to perish.

This is not what I was fighting for.

Mustering all my willpower, I look away from the all too young and innocent corpse before me and turn to see a soldier of the empire breaking down the door to a home. From within emerges a high-pitched scream and I immediately run towards it. Inside, the soldier is just in the process of pulling out his axe from the chest of a man with gray skin and silver white hair. With her back against a large wardrobe, a similarly gray-skinned woman seems to be backed into a corner. In her desperate eyes I see the hint of something familiar. Lifting his axe, the soldier prepares to swing it down on the demon's head.

"Sto-" I rush forward and try to shout, but the magically enhanced armor of the soldier allows him to move faster than normal. My eyes are fixated on the red bloom before me, as the innocent woman's blood is spilled. The lifeless body falls to the floor, never to rise again.

"Mama!" A young boy emerges from his hiding place inside the large wardrobe, which his felled mother tried to shield with her body before being so mercilessly cut down. The soldier reacts quickly and turns to swiftly behead him, but this time I am faster. Drawing the Ajura clan's treasure sword Roshanee, my strength and speed are enhanced to their limits, causing me to practically zoom between the boy and the weapon coming down on him.

I cut off the axe's head, but hold myself back from letting the sword run rampant on the soldier. Kicking him in the chest, I get some distance between us, and quickly sheathe the blade again. The man looks at the handle he is holding with what must be a dumbfounded expression - he is wearing a close helmet so I cannot see his face. The axe was one of the enchanted, and most likely very high quality weapons of the empire, and my blade cut through it as if it was made of cheap wood.

"What are you doing?" The man asks and drops the handle to draw his sword.

"No, what are you doing?!" I shout at him and cover the demon boy. "Can't you see that these are innocent citizens?" Through the visor of his helmet I can see that he stares at me in incomprehension with his eyes wide open.

"Innocent citizens? Those are demons." He states, showing that he feels neither remorse nor apprehension at killing a child, solely based on the fact that this is not a human. Drawing his sword fully, he moves forward with the intent to kill this little boy. "Step out of the way. If we don't kill it now, it'll come back with a revenge."

I realize that he speaks with a hint of fear in his voice, and his eyes look slightly frantic. It would appear that the fear of demons has been deeply ingrained into the minds of the people from the empire, considering the fact that they are the ones who periodically send campaigns against the demon continent and were historically those to sustain the most losses in the resulting wars. He must have lost family or friends in the last campaign.

Still, it does not excuse the slaughter of civilians who are clearly not fighting back.

Gram Side

I'd say that my hatred for demons and their corruption has pretty much smoldered out over the years. Ever since coming to the Demon Continent, I've learned that they're not much different from humans in their personalities, habits and daily activities, even if their appearances are. One would think that the Ajura clan's warlike nature can't be found among humans, but there are mercenary groups just like them. The only difference would be their overwhelmingly more powerful physique and otherworldly strength.

But the same can't be said about the men from the Empire of Terminus. Their hatred burns bright, indoctrinated into them by their education, based on experiences with corrupted beasts, many lost campaigns and repeated skirmishes on the sea and their shores. They're swinging their weapons with an ardent fervor, believing righteousness to be on their side. Yet, when I see their targets, I can't help but feel horrified.

They are slaughtering civilians who are barely fighting back, if at all. Young and old lie dead in the streets, their differently colored blood mixing into a black sludge washing around my boots, as I'm rooted to the spot at the sight. The soldiers are neither filled with joy nor coldly methodical, but rather appear to be fearfully careful in their conduct, as they systematically move through the city streets and round up the demons from inside their houses, killing those who show even remote signs of defiance. The mages are walking behind them, setting fire to the emptied houses in case there are some remaining hidden.

I'm confused. I swore to protect the innocent from the violence of corrupted beasts and evil demons. But before me, innocent demons are being killed by humans who are the origin of one-sided violence. What use is my shield, if I can't make good of my conviction to use it for those who are unable to protect themselves? I can't stand against my kind to shield the demons, but at the same time I can't just watch idly while the innocent suffer.

"This is wrong..." I hear myself mutter, my voice sounding strangely distant.

Runa and Sigurd are speechless, watching as humans spread dread among demonkind in a seemingly twisted act of self-justified revenge. Rolan has already sprung to action and is following the scream of a woman, and I feel compelled to follow him, even if only to see what decision he will come to now. Will we try and protect these innocent demons, knowing full well that they may bring disaster upon mankind if they survive? Or will we avert our eyes from this reality, concentrating on the task we are here for.

I look up to the castle and see the demon queen standing at a broken wall, banging her hands against the barrier the gods erected. No sounds are transmitted, but her desperation and anger are clearly visible from her movements and features. This is the appearance of a ruler who cares for her subjects' lives - it's something I thought was a purely human emotion before meeting Chloe and Chandra.

I can't help but think that this massacre in the presence of the demon queen is a show the gods are putting on simply to spite her and break her will. If that's the case, I can't in clear conscience call these the gods I prayed to for all my life.

Thorvadis Side

I had to accept the emperor's condition to give his soldiers free reign during our preparations around the castle. It does not mean that I agree with their actions; in fact, I condemn them, because it is clear that the city has no garrison to speak of and those who live here are only civilians. After all, the demon queen and her combat servants are looming over the city, so nobody would be so audacious as to attack it directly. However, the barrier cast by the gods is holding firmly, showing no signs of breaking even under the heavy blows and spells cast by the demon queen, effectively locking her out from helping her people, as they are being slaughtered before her eyes.

The only thing I can do is hasten our preparations so that the soldiers need to be pulled back sooner. When I think back to the academy and the demons attending it, my mind wanders from the task. While it is true that most demons living in the human territories are those who no longer have a place on the Demon Continent or have fled from the demon queen's reign, it is still possible that their family and loved ones they left behind are among those who are now being killed.

However, the ritual we are preparing will take some time, even with the help of the Guide of Tomorrow and the Mage of the Beginning. They neither chant nor use visible catalysts for their magic, making it clear that their powers are far beyond human comprehension. After all, they are gods, and the ones who created magic. Of course, they would possess the most original and pure form of it, which we could never hope to replicate.

I realize that my awe for their presence is superseding the feeling of apprehension regarding the killing of the demons in the city all around us. But as a human who has experience with some of the most dangerous demons, sympathy and especially hesitation when facing an unknown - and unknowable - being has always been the cause of needless deaths of my brothers and sisters in arms. When I have to choose between the lives of my kind and theirs, the answer is self-evident.

Runa Side

The smell of blood and death tortures my nose as I am watching the slaughter unfold before me, speechless at the atrocities man can commit. Even though they are demons, none of them are fighting back, only trying to flee or protect their families as the onslaught of soldiers from the empire rolls through the streets like an unstoppable tidal wave. Elderly, women and children alike lie dead on the ground and houses are burned down one after another, as if the empire is trying to erase the fact that this city ever existed.

Where are the demon soldiers? Why is nobody fighting back? I thought all demons were physically stronger than humans, and even the women possessed greater strength than any human male. Yet, those who do try to fight back out of sheer desperation are cut down mercilessly without offering much resistance. I fully expected it to be a difficult battle, but even with the enchanted equipment this is nothing but a one-sided massacre.

"This is wrong..." Gram mutters beside me. The big man is doubting the righteousness in this campaign, and so am I. Rolan runs into a house from which a high-pitched shriek has emerged after a soldier broke down the door. My feet move on their own before I notice and I follow him, running through the pools of blood that are beginning to form in the streets.

Inside, I see just in time how Rolan stands before a young boy with gray skin, shielding him from the soldier wielding a sword. Witnessing his actions I gain conviction that what the soldiers are doing is wrong. No matter what the history between the Empire of Terminus and demonkind is like, these are civilians that are unable to fight back. This is no different from what I heard the demon armies supposedly did throughout the ages when they invaded human territories. Yet, I always thought we are better than them.

"Breath of Frost." I quickly chant and point my staff at the soldier's back. In my time at the academy, the one thing I spent the most time on was to optimize my incantations. The original spells I invented, which are oftentimes more powerful versions of already existing ones, always took too long to take effect, after all.

An icy wind sweeps through the room and swirls around the man's legs, freezing them in place so that he cannot move forward to attack Rolan and the boy. Since I am not causing any damage to the armor, the anti-magic enchantment does not nullify the spell's effects. The soldier tries to lift his leg and take a step, but is unable to do so. Turning his head, he looks at me through his visor and I see his eyes fill with anger.

"What's wrong with you?! Why are you saving a demon?!" He swings his sword but is unable to reach Rolan, who has lifted the boy into his arms and is rounding him with a wide margin. "Let me out of here! Hey, come back!"

We exit the house together and walk towards Gram and Sigurd, who are coming towards us after hearing the commotion inside. I know that saving this one boy cannot atone for our inaction so far, but we will move to save even more people before the battle against the demon queen starts. After all, we are not here to exterminate all of demonkind, but only to bring down its queen and stop her overwhelming corrupting presence across the world.

"What is your name?" I turn to the boy and ask him. He is shivering and clinging onto Rolan's chest, his sapphire blue eyes looking downward to avoid making contact with anyone's. "I am Runa. Everything is alright now, you are safe with us." My voice is a little shaky at the sight; he is just a boy, no different from a human child. I could never imagine that he is one of the beings described as man-eating monsters.

He turns his eyes towards me, hesitantly and retreating back into staring on the ground several times before finally gathering his courage. I understand that he just witnessed his parents being killed right in front of him, so he must be shaken to the core. All I can do for him now is try to take his mind off of that memory for the time being.

"My-" Just when he opens his mouth, a light bolt pierces his forehead.

"Wha-..." I open my mouth and stare in disbelief. The boy's body slackens completely and Rolan catches him before he falls to the ground, but he is already dead.

"I made it just in time, huh?" A familiar voice echoes through the streets and I turn around to it. Floating in the air above us is Shelnir, the Guide of Tomorrow, pointing her finger at us. It is clear that she shot the magic bolt. Her sleepy eyes and the nonchalant smile give her a sinister appearance, now more than ever before. "It would have cast a spell and hurt you."

She is referring to the child as if it was an animal, her tone suggesting that he is a lesser being. I doubt this young boy - and anyone from his family - had any knowledge of magic, because he would not have ended up in a situation where he needed to be rescued.

"We cannot have the hero become incapacitated before the true battle even starts, now can we?" Her smile widens even further and a shiver runs down my spine when I realize that her eyes remain cold, not a hint of friendliness in their red glow.

Is this really a god?