Ch.398Story (1)

“Slaves?”

I opened my eyes wide at Clark’s words. I wasn’t the only one surprised—Father also had a somewhat bewildered look.

This was something I never would have imagined. That my ancestor was actually a slave yearning for freedom.

What is a slave? The bottom of the bottom, a class where human rights don’t exist.

Currently, slavery has been abolished, but illegal slave trading still occurs under the direction of demon worshippers.

Among these slaves, men are mostly used for labor like farming, while women are used differently depending on their appearance.

Thus, slaves are alive but not living beings. To think such a being was my ancestor is shocking in many ways.

[Yes. It’s exactly the kind of slave you’re thinking of.]

At Clark’s confirmation, I was momentarily dumbfounded, but quickly thought of our family, including Father.

Unless they were a general or hero of a country, our family seemed a million years removed from slavery.

We inherited magnificent physiques for generations, and most of us were born with tremendous strength like Nicole, despite being female.

Add to that our mana cultivation methods and martial arts that don’t fall behind other knight families. We’re not lacking in anything.

Moreover, in the distant past, humans couldn’t even use mana, so only physical prowess determined victory. Yet we were slaves? There must be a complicated story behind this.

“…I still can’t understand how we were slaves. Did we commit some crime in the distant past?”

Father seemed to share my thoughts, wearing an expression of disbelief. Others would probably think similarly.

Assuming the Mayshall family’s ancestor had the same strength as we do now, could any force capable of enslaving them have existed?

Clark seemed to understand our feelings and nodded. Then, looking around at us, he made a request.

[This story might get a bit long, so may I ask for one favor?]

“What favor?”

[Just one cigarette…]

“What cigarette with a child present? Just tell the story.”

Like a true smoker, he asked for a cigarette but was shut down by Father’s scolding. With Ariel present, asking for a cigarette was crossing a line.

Clark clicked his tongue in disappointment, but soon gathered his thoughts and began speaking in his characteristically gruff yet weighty voice.

It was similar yet different from a grandfather telling old stories—a peculiar feeling.

[Where should I begin… Right. How much do you know about how people become stronger?]

“Are you talking about physical strength, or everything included?”

[In our case, I suppose it’s physical strength.]

“Then it’s limited. Cultivating mana, building muscles, or mastering techniques and so on. If we’re just talking about physical strength, that’s about it, right?”

Clark closed his eyes and nodded in agreement with my answer. The light in his eye sockets moved like real eyes.

[You’re right. But those are methods that don’t deviate from human principles. What about methods that do?]

“Are you talking about human sacrifice?”

Human sacrifice is one way demon worshippers gain power quickly. A method of gaining strength by abandoning all conscience and principles one should have as a human.

I didn’t think our family had become slaves because of human sacrifice. If that were the case, we’d deserve worse than slavery—we’d be unfit to be human.

But what came out of Clark’s mouth was far from what I expected.

[That’s right. Human sacrifice. But we didn’t perform it directly.]

“Then…”

[Fighting dogs artificially created through human sacrifice. Hair dyed red with the blood of thousands, and in the process, gaining the brilliantly shining eyes of a beast.]

Just hearing it is chilling. I grabbed my long hair and looked at it.

To think this color was obtained through the sacrifice of thousands. Not a single line about this was mentioned in books, making it hard to believe.

Meanwhile, Clark continued to reveal the history of the Mayshall family in a calm voice.

[As time passed, the color faded somewhat and brightened with divine power. But most people who inherit our family’s blood have red hair.]

“So Nicole is the exception.”

[Yes. But even she has a subtle red tint, doesn’t she?]

Clark is right. Nicole’s hair is navy blue but has red tints here and there.

It seems that having red in our hair is unavoidable for our family.

And this is after it has faded over generations. In the past, it must have been completely red.

Anyway, now that my curiosity about the Mayshall family’s red hair symbol has been somewhat satisfied, what remains is the matter of slavery.

What kind of madman captured our ancestor as a slave and used them as a human sacrifice experiment, and how did this result come about?

Just then, Clark opened his mouth as if he was thinking of talking about that very thing.

[But really, can’t you give me just one cigarette?]

“No. Can you even smoke in that form?”

[I can. I found it quite fascinating too. I could show you, but would that be okay?]

“Not now, later.”

[Tch.]

Men are just big children—even Clark seems to lose his composure when it comes to his beloved cigarettes.

He scratched his head, or rather his smooth skull, and began to share stories that would naturally capture our attention.

Naturally, these were things not recorded in any book—the kind that would make a history lover like me light up with interest.

[Do you know about the Kingdom of Gerios?]

“I know about it. It was once a powerful nation but was the first to fall during the Demon War.”

During the Demon War, most records were lost except for those in Alfheim. But there’s still some information about which kingdoms existed.

I also roughly know what kind of country the Kingdom of Gerios was from the records left in Alfheim’s holy land.

It was once a kingdom that excelled in various fields, even surpassing the Kingdom of Teres, but sadly perished in the Demon War.

In fact, Gerios was where demons first tore through dimensions and appeared. They probably couldn’t do anything but be overwhelmed.

[You know well. Our ancestor was a gladiator from Gerios. One so skilled that the king himself would summon him. That’s why he became a subject of human sacrifice experiments.]

“I heard the last king of Gerios was a conqueror—is that related to human sacrifice?”

[Indeed it is. Even now, but especially then, military power was determined by the presence of strong individuals. The King of Gerios would bring in skilled people he had his eye on, strengthen them through human sacrifice, and gradually expand his territory.]

In simple terms, a super soldier project conducted at the national level. I slowly organized it in my mind.

Under the direction of the King of Gerios, gladiators he had been watching were brought in and assigned as subjects for human sacrifice experiments. As a result, they gained tremendous power.

The gods probably didn’t intervene either. Gods don’t interfere unless extremely heinous crimes are committed.

“Was our ancestor the only one who succeeded in this projec… I mean, experiment?”

[That’s right. Putting thousands of souls into one body—it’s remarkable just to survive. That’s why the King of Gerios kept him close.]

“Isn’t that quite far from being a slave?”

[Hey, why so impatient? Listen slowly.]

I scratched my head, feeling a bit embarrassed by Clark’s scolding. The story was so interesting that I got excited.

Clark, either understanding my feelings or simply finding his grandson cute, smiled slightly.

[But the glory ended there. When the Demon War broke out and the Kingdom of Gerios was the first to fall, he fell back to being an experimental subject. The demons were also curious about what kind of person our ancestor was, having grown stronger through human sacrifice.]

“I guess he didn’t become a demon.”

It’s common knowledge that demons are the origin of the demon race. And it’s also common knowledge that they were experimental subjects of demons.

So I naturally thought our ancestor would have become a demon too, but apparently not.

[I find that a bit puzzling too. Whether it was because the body containing thousands of souls resisted, or for some other reason. Anyway, even after the Demon War ended, our ancestor lived as a faithful fighting dog of demon worshippers.]

“Didn’t he rebel? Looking at our family’s temperament, I would have expected plenty of rebellion.”

This time it was Father who asked the question. Indeed, our family is usually gentle but can become aggressive in certain situations.

Not just in battle, but we also have a tendency to flare up when someone touches our pride. I’m no different in this regard.

That’s why Dave and Nicole have caused trouble at the academy a few times. But the damage was never serious.

[Rebellion… I wonder if it was even possible.]

“What do you mean by that?”

[Let me ask you all a question. Do you know how the Demon War broke out?]

“How it broke out…”

Not just me, but everyone else looked puzzled at Clark’s question. The Demon War is now almost mythical history.

That one war caused almost all previous records to be lost, and while there’s a little information in Alfheim’s holy land, it’s not clear.

History, though objective in nature, is recorded subjectively. The more records there are, the more objective it becomes, but the holy land has too few.

My finding records about the Kingdom of Gerios was almost by chance. And according to Arwen, with exchanges not being as active as they are now, people might not have even known such a country existed.

In fact, ancient Europeans thought India was the end of the world, so it’s not completely unreasonable.

“Aren’t demons beings that crossed over from another dimension and invaded? That’s what I know.”

“Me too. It was also the decisive reason why gods intervened in the mortal world.”

“And they’re the ancestors of the demon race.”

Everyone shared facts about the Demon War. Looking at each one individually, they’re all correct.

Records or documents related to the Demon War can be easily found anywhere. We even learn about it at the academy.

It’s an unprecedented history where all races united to fight, and afterward, gods began to directly care for humanity.

Until then, gods only communicated with elves. But after experiencing the Demon War, their thinking changed and they began communicating with other races as well.

Humans benefited the most from this. Humans, who had only relied on sorcery, grew stronger after gaining divine power.

Although magic was still only possible for the chosen ones, divine power alone was enough for humans to make great progress.

[No. I asked how demons invaded this world—what path they took. Not the impact of that war.]

But Clark didn’t seem satisfied with our answers. As he shook his head in disagreement, we looked at each other.

Actually, only I looked around. I’m the only one here well-versed in history.

However, unfortunately, even I don’t know exactly how demons entered this world. There’s only mention that they tore through dimensions.

“Um… didn’t they invade by tearing through dimensions? That’s what I know.”

[Dimensions… that’s also correct. Then who performed this act?]

“Wasn’t it demon worshippers?”

[No.]

Clark answered firmly, then revealed a shocking fact.

[It was done directly by the last king of Gerios, Morgan Yurk Via III. As a ceremony led by the king himself, it was conducted at the national level.]

“…What?”

This alone was surprising enough, but what followed was even more shocking.

[Moreover, demons are not beings from another dimension.]

Because.

[They were citizens of the Kingdom of Gerios.]

That explained the reason for the existence of the demon race in one stroke.