Prologue

Contents

“Wh-What’s going on!?”

The country was in flames. The cloudy skies dimly reflected the red light of the flames engulfing everything, from the castle they grew up in, to the small castle town they mischievously snuck out to play in, to the wonderful city sitting below their home. Every street, nook, and cranny was spewing thick black smoke toward the skies above.

On top of the hill that normally granted a clear view of the city, soldiers wearing unusually gaudy armor were wordlessly watching the complete destruction of their homes. Someone in the center of the group of soldiers, the only one in plain armor, took three steps forward.

“Why...? Why did this...?”

Their clear voice, along with the clinking of their armor, boomed over the hill with no regard for the steel helmet they wore.

“Inquisitor Kanon.”

A single soldier kneeled down behind Inquisitor Kanon and gently called out to them.

“I step out for a few days and this happens... Who in the world dared to...?”

Kanon’s homeland, Eshantel, was a much smaller country than its neighbors, but its military power rivaled that of the Empire’s. But just in a few days, while they were out exterminating bandits, the country somehow fell into an unspeakable ruin.

“Hehehe, how unsightly, Eshantel’s Inquisitor.”

The mocking, nerve-wrenching whisper came from behind Kanon.

“Who’s there!?”

“Stop, Toshisaka!”

The soldier paid no heed to Kanon’s orders and drew his sword while turning around. Putting all his rage into his blow, he swung toward the target, but...

“Hehehe, too slow. Way too slow... and way too weak.”

The tip of the sword was stopped by a single snow-white finger.

snap!

It snapped in half, seemingly without any resistance.

“Wha--!? My sword!”

Toshisaka made sure he wouldn’t kill his target. He checked the enemy’s position before the strike and planned to stop the blade before it could cause a lethal injury. But that didn’t explain how an ordinary person could stop it with their bare hands. Not to mention his sword, which was an expertly crafted masterpiece. No ordinary person should have been able to break it in half with just one touch. He was standing there in utter shock, switching his gaze between his broken sword and the pale-skinned, blonde-haired girl that appeared out of nowhere.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t think it’d actually break.”

The girl casually dropped the broken blade before her while apologetically waving her hand.

“Hey, you. Are you a Diva?”

Contrasting Kanon’s casual tone, their orchid eyes gleamed with tension. Kanon clenched their teeth, bent their body, and unsheathed their sword.

“Hehehe. Why yes, I am. I’m the Empire’s Diva, Eleanor, and he is our commander-in-chief, Gil.”

“Eh!? When did he--!?”

Words escaped their clenched teeth. Kanon should’ve been on high alert, but somehow, they missed the person standing right behind Eleanor.

He’ll be quite the handful himself.

Kanon thought, licking his parched lips. They realized the chance they had been granted and had no intention of letting it slip. The Empire was their greatest enemy, meddling with Eshantel’s business at every chance they got. Now that the commander himself had appeared on the battlefield, there was no doubt that they were behind the destruction brought upon their land.

“Then I’ll take your head and mount it in front of the graves of my fallen comrades, Commander!”

And the one responsible was standing right in front of them.

“There!”

Overtaken by rage, the steel-clad Kanon sprung toward the enemy with such speed that not even Toshisaka, a veteran soldier, could comprehend it. Eshantel’s victory was secured with this physics-defying attack. Or so they thought, but...

“Gahhhhhh!”

As if a meteor had struck the hill, the earth shook below their feet. Desperate cries filled their ears and a massive amount of dirt and sand clouded their vision.

“Inquisitor!”

Not even Eshantel’s army, the strongest on the continent, could do anything in the face of such a sudden, mysterious attack.

“Hehehe, did you expect me to leave anyone foolish enough to try laying a finger on my dear brother alive?”

Eleanor said in a charming voice from behind the curtain of dust.

“Heh... I suppose the name Blonde Demon isn’t just for show.”

As the rain of pebbles and dust settled, the figures of Eleanor and Gil appeared in the middle of the impact.
Right next to them was Kanon, taking Eleanor’s long spear with their sword.

“Hehehe, this is a bit of a letdown. I expected more from the Inquisitor who can supposedly match the Divas. Not only that, but this power is...”

“What do you mean by that!?”

Kanon sneered at the smiling Diva while struggling to keep her spear at bay. The thick bloodlust surrounding the two was practically visible.

“Sheath your weapon, Eleanor. Inquisitor, may I ask you to do the same? We have come to talk.”

In the midst of that tense atmosphere,
Gil casually walked up to them, as if he was taking his afternoon stroll.

“Tch!”

Kanon once again failed to pick up on his presence.

“You want to talk after wreaking havoc on my country!? Don’t bother.”

Kanon collects themselves and takes a step back, firing their palpable bloodlust at Gil, who’s completely unfazed by it.

“M-My dear brother!”

“Worry not.”

He held Eleanor back with one hand and walked toward Kanon.

“Let me preface our discussion with a simple fact: Your country wasn’t destroyed by us.”

”...”

Gil began his explanation despite Kanon’s seemingly unchanged attitude.

“It is certain that we, the Empire, want this country. Do you understand? The country!”

“What does that mean?”

Kanon took a step forward without hiding their anger, but Gil stopped right in front of them and put on a dead-serious expression.

“The country. That means its citizens, its land, its resources, its culture, its buildings. We want everything. Do you think we’d bother with your land in its current state, devoid of life and value?”

Gil shot a sharp gaze at the Inquisitor.

“A ravaged land...”

Kanon said painfully.

“I came here to warn you of the Demon King, but it seems I was too late...”

Kanon finally saw the mysterious crystal in Gil’s hands,
which had an emerald green flame burning inside.

“The Demon King? And what the hell is that crystal?”

What nonsense is he spouting?

Kanon’s eyes were drawn to the crystal.

“Althos’ new ruler is the Demon King. Or so the rumors say...”

Of course, those rumors were spread by the Empire themselves, but Gil continued with a straight face.

“Seeing what happened here, I suppose we can’t call them rumors anymore.”

“You’re saying that Althos’ king, who is, in fact, the Demon King, came here and destroyed my country? Sounds like a fireside tale to me.”

“So does the existence of Divas. If the rumors are true and Alnoa is indeed the Demon King, then it’s my duty as the resident of this continent to rally the Divas and seal the evil as prophesied.”

Kanon wanted to sneer at him again, but he remembered something.

“Wait, if Althos is...! Feena... What happened to Subdera’s Diva!?”

Kanon accidentally let her nickname slip. Gil walked up to the stunned Inquisitor and whispered the answer into their ear.

“Who knows... But rumors say that both Freiya’s and Subdera’s Divas were either imprisoned or subjected to mind control after accepting Alnoa’s marriage proposal.”

“No... Then Feena...”

Hearing the possible dangers Feena may have fallen into, Kanon absentmindedly whispered her name with their eyes fixated on the crystal.

“The revival of the Demon King is a danger to every living being on this continent. As such, I have a proposal for you: Let’s put our little quarrels aside for the time being and form an alliance to subdue the Demon King. Of course, the Empire is more than willing to lend a hand.”

“Okay. I agree.”

The steel helmet nodded in agreement to the meek, innocent-sounding proposal.

“Inquisitor Kanon! We’re dealing with our sworn enemy, so please be more cautious--”

“Toshisaka. Don’t forget that I’m your master while Father’s whereabouts are unknown! Do you still have any objections?”

Kanon answered him in a quiet but sharp tone.

“Inquisitor Kanon...”

He nodded, cursing his own impudence. It was already too late. While he was standing there silently, Kanon fell into the Empire’s carefully laid trap. Gil’s words reverberated through the crystal, creeping into the young Inquisitor’s ears right as they were mourning the loss of their country and their failure toward their friends. As if the devil himself had enticed them using their biggest weakness...