Ch.355Chapter 355 – The Purpose of God (2)

# The Demon War

It was the war I’d heard about most since coming here.

“The war began with a surprise attack by the demons,” Kris said quietly.

“The demons summoned beings from another world—later to be called Demon Gods—into the space created by Prometheus. Then the Demon King slowly gathered power by making Prometheus’s power his own, waited for the right moment, and made his move.”

“The gods failed to respond properly and lost the initiative, resulting in many casualties. Due to the surprise attack, several countries were reduced to ashes in an instant, and those who barely survived were either killed or captured during the demons’ pursuit.”

Not only were there people who died, but also those who were taken by the demons.

Could that be related to something?

Sia’s expression darkened slightly.

“Of course, the gods didn’t just sit idle. After Prometheus disappeared, Eugenia, the strongest remaining god, immediately gathered the remaining gods, and the eight deities mobilized their followers to fight against the demons.”

Kris let out a small sigh before continuing.

“…The gods were arrogant then, believing they would easily defeat the demons. In their eyes, the demons were a weak race that hadn’t even received their care.”

“And they were soundly defeated. Because of the Demon Gods summoned by the demons, the gods couldn’t freely intervene on the battlefield, and taking advantage of this gap, the demons, led by the Demon King, thoroughly ravaged the followers of the gods.”

Sia spoke quietly.

“As the price for usurping a god’s power, the demons gained the weakness of being vulnerable to other gods’ divine power. However, Prometheus’s power still flowed through the other demons. Most of it went to the Demon King, so the rest were mere fragments, but it was enough to greatly strengthen the demons… With that power, demons gained physical abilities that overwhelmed the gods’ followers and could use special techniques, which the divine followers couldn’t handle.”

“Preparation and mindset for war were also issues. While the demons had been constantly preparing, sharpening their blades, the gods were unprepared. Yet the gods still underestimated the demons, making it impossible to properly defend against them.”

Due to these overlapping factors, the gods suffered a major defeat in the first battle.

“The gods barely managed to escape from the Demon Gods, and many followers were sacrificed…”

“And the demons, riding their momentum, began attacking numerous lands.”

I remembered when Beatrice had told me about the history of Florence and the kingdom.

She had mentioned that many countries were responding to the demons’ invasion and being destroyed.

Beatrice hadn’t specified the exact timing, but judging from Kris and Sia’s words, I could guess it happened after the crushing defeat in the first battle.

“After the first defeat, the gods began to weaken progressively. Because…”

“Because their followers died, and faith weakened.”

Kris nodded at my words.

Since the gods grew stronger by consuming faith, if the number of believers decreased and faith in them weakened due to defeat, it would directly lead to their weakening.

“Even as the world was engulfed in war, the dragons largely remained bystanders. There were mainly two reasons.”

“What was the first?” Sera asked.

Kris looked at Sera.

“From the dragons’ perspective, this situation arose because the gods failed to properly manage their followers. In fact, broadly speaking, that wasn’t wrong.”

Tracing back to the beginning, it was a rebellion by those who had been abandoned because the gods hadn’t properly taken them in.

Of course, one couldn’t view the demons who killed the god who tried to care for them entirely positively, but from the dragons’ perspective, the gods were the source of the problem, and it wouldn’t be strange to see this as them paying the price.

“And naturally, there was the fact that dragons didn’t like the gods. They were beings created from the beginning to check the gods’ power. If the gods were destroyed because of this, it wouldn’t be bad for them… I suppose.”

“That’s why most dragons remained neutral.”

Sia emphasized “most” as she spoke.

“On the other hand, some dragons pitied those caught up in the gods’ war. So they protected those who caught their eye within their territories and taught them magic—their weapon—to defend themselves against demons.”

“In this way, those under dragon protection became a third force that neither demons nor gods could freely interfere with.”

Thus, a minority could escape the war somewhat under the protection of merciful dragons.

Most dragons still maintained a passive attitude toward the demon war, while the gods fought the demons in an increasingly desperate attempt to survive.

But as always, when one side believes they’re winning, someone starts dreaming of what comes next.

“The demons, who had almost secured victory, along with the Demon Gods, became even more greedy.”

“They began targeting dragon territories. Some demons attacked dragons with the purpose of provoking them.”

The demons began attacking the dragons who had merely been observing.

“Already, among the dragons, there were opinions that they should fight alongside the gods, even temporarily, because the demons’ momentum was becoming threatening.”

“When they realized that the arrogant demons had begun targeting dragons as well, the dragons immediately decided to join the war.”

Content I was familiar with started to emerge.

If this continued, soon…

“When their territories were attacked, the Dragon Lord of that time attacked the demons in fury. And the demons realized they had made one crucial miscalculation.”

“Their preparations were very effective against the gods and actually pushed them to the brink of defeat. However, they shouldn’t have underestimated the dragons.”

“The demons didn’t know the true strength of a race created to check the gods.”

Kris sighed softly before continuing.

“The demons’ offensive weakened under the dragons’ attacks. And the dragons, enraged by the demons’ provocation, declared to the gods…”

“Declared what?”

“Um… that they would tear apart these fools who had lost their minds, and that the gods shouldn’t interfere but prepare to pay the price…”

Kris seemed slightly embarrassed as she reproduced the less-than-elegant tone.

“…Regardless of what words were exchanged, you could say that dragons and gods formed an alliance that way.”

Kris quietly added that perhaps only the gods saw it that way.

In any case, the demons foolishly attacked the dragons, which became the catalyst that brought the dragons into the war.

At the same time, the gods, who had been on the verge of defeat, could finally catch their breath.

“Of course, although the dragons’ momentum was fierce, the demons continued fighting using what they had prepared. The battle became fierce again, and the combat, which had been one-sided, reached a stalemate.”

“I heard it was a back-and-forth battle. The demons were pushed back significantly, but because of the Demon Gods, the dragons couldn’t maintain their initial fierce offensive.”

“…So next, as everyone knows, the dragons used their trump card.”

I knew this card very well.

I quietly spoke its name.

“The Hero Summoning.”

The story Lumen had told me long ago.

The dragons had summoned someone from another dimension.

“I should keep the rest brief since the story gets too long.”

“Yes… After being summoned, the Hero gathered companions. Or rather, they gathered around him.”

Kris said with a slight smile.

“A star-gazing priestess from the north, the great magician Lumen who was a dragon’s disciple, Roxanna—the first saint who fought on the front lines with firm faith and was revered by all, Abies who left the forest to protect the elves, Dvel who set out on a journey to arm the hero’s party, Spring Heart—a beastkin who suffered as a demon slave until freed by the hero…”

“And the daughter of the Dragon Lord.”

Sia said quietly.

“According to someone who witnessed their valor up close, that was the composition of the hero’s party.”

“Of course, there were also people who helped the hero’s party from outside the story. For example, the princess of Florence who supported them from behind.”

Kris said with a smile.

“…And afterward, the war ended when the hero succeeded in killing the Demon King, and the Demon Gods died or vanished, allowing the gods to seal the demons back in the demon realm.”

There’s no need to talk about the small episodes that happened within or after that.

After a difficult battle, the Demon War ended with the demons’ defeat.

“And the dragons extracted their price from the gods as victors. They would manage the boundaries between dimensions.”

“How is that a price?”

In response to my question, Kris smiled and said:

“…Managing the boundaries means that dragons control who comes and goes from this world. And it means they will protect this world. But interpreted differently…”

Kris carefully continued.

“It also meant they wouldn’t allow any more gods in this world.”

“No more gods?”

“Unless beings from other worlds arrive, there can be no more entities that could become gods.”

Kris answered Kara’s question with a smile.

Thinking about it, Kris was right.

From the beginning of the story, beings from other worlds became gods.

The otherworldly beings summoned by the demons were called Demon Gods.

Guarding and managing the dimensional boundaries meant preventing more gods from entering this land.

“…That’s the end of the Demon War. But the wounds left by the war were deep.”

I nodded at Kris’s words.

Even the story of the birth of today’s Alfheim and the World Tree began with the elves facing a crisis after the war when their homeland became polluted.

‘…And after that came the story of power struggles.’

That’s what the guardian of the first seal had said.

At first, everyone was busy with recovery efforts, but after a few years, they fell into power struggles.

‘I guess it’s about time for that story.’

I looked back at Kris, waiting for her to continue.

Meanwhile, Kris had received a water flask from Sera and was drinking from it.

She must have gotten thirsty from talking so much.

“Whew, thank you, Sera. I talked too much.”

“This much is fine, Kris.”

After catching her breath, Kris looked around and asked:

“That’s the end of the Demon War story… Do you have any questions?”

“Not particularly,” Eve said after looking around.

Since the Demon War was something everyone here knew well, there didn’t seem to be much they were curious about.

Kris nodded and continued.

“Then I’ll continue. …The Demon War inflicted tremendous damage on this world, and for several years afterward, everyone was busy recovering from the wounds of war.”

Kris said quietly.

“But that didn’t last long—another chaos soon visited the continent.”

“…Chaos, huh.”

Kara spoke softly, seemingly unfamiliar with the content.

Kris smiled slightly.

“After the Demon War ended, while the world was groaning from the wounds of war, there were beings who were greatly shaken by the injuries they sustained in the war.”

“The gods.”

Kris nodded quietly at Beatrice’s words.

“As I mentioned earlier, the gods stood in an absolute position. And during the Demon War, they were nearly pulled down from that position. That defeat was a great shock and terror to the gods. And they lost much in that war.”

Kris’s expression darkened slightly.

“After experiencing a bitter defeat and falling into shock, the gods… failed to unite a second time. They began fighting, blaming each other. And they started power struggles alongside their followers.”

The gods’ followers fought for post-war leadership.

The gods fought while blaming each other.

A muddy battle unfolded.

“But after the power struggles began, something even more terrible started to happen.”

“Terrible?”

“One of the gods began actively devouring other gods.”

Kris looked at me.

“I think you can guess who it was, Kei.”

The moment Kris said that, I could identify the god.

There was only one god I would suspect.

“Emiris.”

“That’s correct,” Kris nodded.