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Even though I was still four years old, I couldn’t help but feel intrigue and curiosity about the war, including all the bloodshed and stuff that had happened there. Obviously, that wasn’t something that parents should tell their children. However, I wanted to know the truth, or well, the truth regarding this. I knew that the information I would obtain might be too much, but my parents were willing to reveal such a truth to me because they loved me.
I knew that I might be acting pushy but… I wanted to know.
My parents and Aquarina’s parents had given a brief introduction to what had happened back then, how they slayed the demon generals and pushed forward against the demon armies.
With the help of the kingdoms from Gallatea, or more specfically, the biggest one named the Uegenne Kingdom, they were able to make the demons leave the continent…
However…
“Like any war, we had to fight to survive and protect our people… even if it meant taking the lives of these soldiers, thousands of them… However, they were prepared for it. After all, soldiers are prepared to die,” mother said.
“As we defeated the generals, prompting the demon army to finally fall back, an all-out attack against the Demon Continent began…” father continued.
“At first, we really didn’t think too hard about it. We thought it was the natural course of action. We now had to slay the Demon King to end this constant struggle against the demon forces, but this also ended up making us go… a bit too far,” mother said, sighing.
“The Holy Kingdom ended up pushing themselves too ahead of their own established boundaries. The fanatics from the church of gods showed off their true colors, while the aristocrats also began to show their true intentions, colluding with them who seek to conquer this new land for the extraction of resources like Demonite, a highly magical material that only grows in the Demon Continent…” father narrated.
“The conquest was not only for the sake of bringing peace and saving humanity… it was also for the sake of making money and growing rich out of mining Demonite. The aristocrats and the church colluded together and manipulated us, using our strength to destroy the demon fortresses, convincing us that it was the good thing to do to weaken the Demon King’s army…” mother said.
“I don’t really want to say we were manipulated. At the end, we still did it willingly. I am at fault for all of this and more…” father said, seemingly ending the explanation. My mother patted his shoulder as she also seemed to be engulfed in sorrow. My mother, who always showed herself to be super serious and mature, was now filled with a certain sorrow I couldn’t completely fathom. On the other hand, my father, who always showed himself to be a valiant and strong warrior, was also saddened, as if destroyed by remembering a past, a very traumatic past.
“We… were foolish. We could have done something… we could have helped those people, but instead of that, we left the Kingdom Alliance and the Church to deal with the aftermath,” Shade lamented with a sigh.
“Each time we defeated a fortress, many demon cities filled with… people, were left unprotected. They were all swallowed by the armies behind us as we continued our charge. At that time, I was filled with rage and the desire for revenge. Many of our companions had given their lives for the war at that point. I had lost many friends, even other Heroes died while we battled the powerful demon generals…” Nepheline said with a sigh.
“The loss of our companions drove us to the brink of insanity. Consumed by wrath and the desire to end this malicious war once and for all, we ended up charging recklessly without looking back… at the massacre that unfolded behind our backs, sponsored by ourselves,” father lamented with a long sigh.
“When we realized it… it was already too late,” mother murmured.
“W-What? What happened?” I asked.
“…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
At my question, everyone fell silent. Aquarina suddenly grabbed my hand, tightly grasping it. She seemed concerned, worried about the answer. I knew what might have happened.
Seeing how the aristocrats from the Kingdom Alliance desired the precious resources such as Demonite from the Demon Continent, and how the Church of the Gods was so brainwashed and fanatical that they despised demons, going so far as to treat them no less than monsters… I can see what might have happened. I can see it clearly… I’ve already participated in battles before. I’ve participated in war, and had died myself. Although my previous life was short, I’ve also faced some of the most horrendous sides of human beings.
“That’s what Hell spoke about. The massacres,” my mother said.
“The Kingdom Alliance and the Church used our names to slay all demons for the “greater good”… we were fine with slaying the demons that fought against us in the war, those soldiers willingly came to war to die the same way our soldiers did… that’s how war worked, after all,” father added.
“But it wasn’t fair to kill the citizens of those demon settlements. We thought that they would be taken care of in another way, not… by being… exterminated.” At this point, mother’s eyes were brimming with tears.
“A bloodbath like we had never seen before. The number of innocent demon people killed couldn’t even compare to the paltry number of demon soldiers we had slain. The population of civilians in the Demon Continent was surprisingly big. The Demon King and the demon generals nourished them and taught them how to survive. Civilizations were being born there, people, children, families… they didn’t participate in the war, but they were the thing our foes were protecting, the thing they risked their lives for. They were the reason why they charged forward against our continent beforehand to slay us so we wouldn’t be a threat to the Demon King,” father added, his voice slightly wavering.
“At the end, Demons are not monsters like the humans love to talk about. They’re people, the same people as us. They were born from the world and are said to be their children. They come in all shapes and sizes as they develop all sorts of appearances representing nature at its purest form. This is why they’re often called monstrous as they possess even greater animalistic traits than beastkin. However, they’re also even more connected to nature than elves,” mother said.
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From what was said in this chapter, it seems like the heroes didn't find out about any of this until after it all happened. While I do think they might have been a bit too careless and trusting of their allies, I wouldn't go as far as to say they let it happen like Sylph's father. Saying they let it happen implies a heavier degree of responsibility and they had some knowledge or were in charge. I have a feeling they said that they let it happen to their children due to guilt. I hope Sylph helps them to not solely carry this blame.
Guilt and grief are complicated things.
Yes, needed something to read urgently, thanks a lot
I wonder how all this is gonna end. From what I've seen it looks like Sylph was given the ultimate power to make a choice that will affect the entire world. The choice to continue the cycle of war, or oppose the Gods and destroy it. But that begs the question, what will be the fate of humanity and all those that stemmed from the Gods if the Gods were to fall?
I can see this going in two ways:
1. Humanity and other creatures made by the Gods don't actually take or steal too much of whatever the world is activating its defense mechanisms (Demon lord) for. The Gods are the main source of the problem, and with them gone, humanity and other God made creatures has a possibility of peace with the world.
2. They've done too much damage already that peace is an unlikely possibility, and so with the Gods gone, they too shall be as well.
I'm probably just speculating too much since I see Sylph's true gift, the system, as something from an outer God. Or a being that is, or is on par with a God. From what I see, the Chief Goddess of Sight is the only one that can vaguely see or know about the system. My theory's basically that the system is something that wasn't given or expected by any of the Gods and is a power that can overthrow them. But so far these are only speculations and a lot of this info dump is probably wrong. Hell, the system might just be a power given by a God and isn't designed to overpower them. But eh I like my theory, a God giving a power that can overthrow world-leeching Gods to someone with high karma to do just that.
You're almost right in a few things about the "outer god". The System was given by Sylph bby a God that doesnt belong to the group of gods that have invaded this world, so an "outer god of reincarnation" fits the name of this entity. And yeah, her powers pretty much defy a lot of the concepts already established in this world, such as the hard magic system and physique cultivation which all are overshadowed by Skills alone
Really heavy way to end the war.... wonder what Sylphy would do once she is strong enough to actually have a voice on the matter.
heavy stuff.
It’s a pretty interesting and standard global war, but I am more interested in how the gods and dragons factor into all this mess.
It seems to me like it was a case of two peoples simply waring and the onesthat won carried out the heinous acts not because they were worse, but because they won.
The real question is if there is any truth to the invasive species thing or what's going on there. It could be like demon propaganda, but many of the other races seem to agree with it.
To be fair, the demons made a stupid mistake in giving the humanoids causus belli on this entire thing. If you want to protect, protect yourselves. Build better defenses invest in ways to prevent invasion. Don't go into a war of extermination and then have a surprised Pikachu face when they come and exterminate you back.
Where the nobles greedy? Yes. Was the church fanatical? Yes. Had the demons not started an invasion would they have had any reason to invade back? No.
They premptively attacked because of the Heroes. They were already chosen by the gods and growing since kids just to kill the Demon King, who was born a few years before them. Knowing that overpowered heroes are coming his way, the Demon King was desperate to get them first. If they attakced or not doesnt mean anything beause Allan and his party would had charged towards the Demon Continent eventually, to kill him by the orders of the Gods.
War are driven by greed. The one who suffers a lot are the people themselves, all because of one decision, from one man.
Thanks for the chapturr~