Leading the army of demons and monsters covering the horizon, stood one single young man clothed in jet black armor .

 

However, nobody would be able to call him as such if his full figure was seen.

 

At the back of his armor, four extra arms could be seen sticking out. Even though their heteromorphic shapes were all distinct, they were called as arms. In front of him was the last line of defense of the humanity.

 

Even though it was a heroic moment where the soldiers would decide the fate of the mankind, the only expression that could be seen was that of despair.

 

“Advance.”

 

The man commanded. He was the one who brought forth the monsters and demons that never existed in the world.

 

Even as he commanded to exterminate the last survivors of the humanity, his expression remained that of a boredom.

 

Hearing his command, the demons and monsters advanced. To the swarming despair, the last command of the mankind was given.

 

“Fire!”

 

In the middle of raining cannonballs, bullets and explosions, the demon army advanced, as if nothing was standing in their way.

 

The expression of soldiers didn't change. After all, they knew it would happen. They only came to look for a place to die.

 

“In heaven, we will meet again.”

 

Somebody murmured, but nobody responded. After all, they were all of the same mind.

---

When all hope was lost, a bright light descended to the battlefield from the sky.

 

Once it got closer, the shape inside became recognizable.

 

Warped in a pure white dress, with six beautiful white wings in her back, it was a beautiful woman with a long blonde hair.

 

To that majestic sight, all beings — humans and demons alike  — stopped moving.

 

“Goddess Irris, have you come to stop me?” The deep voice of the man resounds.

 

“Astaroth! Stop this right now. Do you know what they call you? The demon god Astaroth!” With her beautiful face distorted in a bitter rage, the woman exclaimed.

 

“Why are you defending them? You should know well enough they are only pests to be exterminated.” Astaroth folded his arms.

 

“That is not true. You should be able to understand them as well, right?” Irris protested desperately.

 

“What a pointless argument.” He snickered.

 

“If what you are saying is true, then what about you convince me the usual way?”

 

Hearing that, Irris' expression distorted with displeasure.

 

“Is that the only way?”

 

“Like how it has always been.”

 

“... Fine, I'll do it.”

 

With that, Astaroth's form disappeared from everyone's sight. At the next moment, a huge shock wave swept the whole battlefield.

 

Flesh and metal alike, everything shattered and flew away. The efforts of survivors of the attack who tried to flee were of no avail.

 

In the battlefield which soon became a wasteland, the clash between the two gods continued.

 

Wielding a holy sword, the Goddess Irris fended off Astaroth's punches.

 

Using her six white wings, she blocked the beams coming from his four aberrant arms.

 

There was nobody to observe the scene, but if one was here to witness it, he would say this:

 

“I couldn't see anything.”

The battle continued for days and for months.

 

Surviving humans ran away to the end of the earth.

 

Having lost all their military power, only thing they could do was pray.

Oceans overflowed and mountains peaked. It was as if the land was saying that it could not handle the shock anymore.

 

When the battle ended, the map had changed. There were five continents in the shape of a four petal flower.

 

The mankind that was driven to the very edge of the Southern Continent let out a sigh of relief. However, they were soon driven into desperation once again.

 

With a red moon rising along with the usual blue moon, the demons and monsters seek to eliminate them once again.

 

Their struggle had only just begun.

 

---

 

“Is what is passed down in the history.” A green haired woman in her late teens smiled brightly as she explained.

 

“What is that? It's scary.” A two years old baby on her lap responded, narrowing her eyes. Sharing the exact hair color of light green and same emerald eyes, it could be seen that she was her daughter.

 

“Did you like it?” The woman chuckled.

 

“No, if you are going to make up a story, then do it realistically! That's what I want to say to the writer.” The girl exclaimed. Albeit her age, her pronunciation showed no sign of immaturity.

 

“But it is true, you know? The demon god Astaroth really existed! And so does the goddess Irris.” She patted her head as she spoke.

 

“There is no wa...” As the baby looked into her eyes, she became unable to finish her sentence.

 

“Really?” She asked in a small voice.

 

“Yes, it's true. While it might have been exaggerated, the demon god Astaroth really existed. If you do bad things, he might come and get you.” The woman giggled.

 

“...”

 

Seeing her baby becoming silent, she bend her neck to check her face.

 

“Have you fallen asleep?”

 

From the baby's round eyes, a teardrop rolled down.

 

“Hehe, are you scared? I was joking when I said he would come and get you.”

 

She held her in her arms to comfort her, but then she realized.

 

Her baby was trembling uncontrollably.

 

“It's okay, Mama is here, there is nothing to be scared of.” She patted her gently on the head.

 

“B..but, g..god that exterminated the mankind. No way... Were the stories about the dragons and such also all true?” The baby couldn't hold back her trembling voice.

 

“Ah.. That is... Yeah, but it's okay. Mama will protect you.” The woman hugged her baby to share her warmth with her, as if she was showing her with her body that what she just said was true.

 

“That... that's right. Liz is here, after all. There is nothing to be worried about.”

 

Looking at her baby now smiling once again, the woman patted her gently on her head.

 

“Now, what other story do you want to hear?” Seeing that her baby had calmed down, the woman asked her. However, there was no response from her.

 

“Are you already asleep? Mama will get bored?”

 

The woman tried pinching the baby's face, but a smile on her face was all there was. Seeing that, she laid her on her bed, and sat down beside her.

 

“To protect your smile, I'll do anything.”

 

A small voice of the woman reverberated in the room, before quickly disappearing.