Chapter 376: Fragments of the Past That Shape the Present
"..." Shizuka and I make our way to the castle of the Queen of Angels. Strangely, there's almost no one to stop us. It seems the Queen of Angels herself has decided to end this.
My tiger enters through her castle window, walking toward the direction where it senses her magic. I stay cautious of traps, but incredibly, there are none. Absolutely nothing. Which makes the path to her disturbingly peaceful.
Soon we reach the throne room, and I see the Queen of Angels and the King of Angels. Both are, in fact, quite beautiful.
The Queen of Angels is a tall girl with blonde hair and golden eyes like gold itself, with a strong, slender body, large breasts, and a sharp gaze. She has two pairs of large white wings with a floating golden halo above her head.
An "egalitarian" contrast to the King of Angels, who is a man with a slender, muscleless body but a strong, dangerous aura. He has long white hair and a well-defined face that highlights his fierce golden stare. He has two pairs of large white wings and a large golden halo floating above his head.
Both are dressed in light silver plate armor with golden details. I sense a great deal of magic from the armor.
"So you're the Demon Queen... I suppose we should maintain proper formality, shouldn't we? I am Qyraen Gabriella Radkiell." She introduces herself, rising from her throne.
"And this is my king, Raguion Raphael Radkiell." She speaks with a sweet smile on her face, and as I already knew, they are blood siblings. Literal kinship. Unlike me and Esther, where we aren't considered sisters because of our birth through magic.
"I'm Evelyn Ashcroft, the current Demon Queen... you're... polite, very polite," I say as I dismount from the tiger. Shizuka also dismounts, staying behind me in silence.
"Of course, politeness is important, isn't it? Since we're going to fight to the death, why don't we talk first? Let's see each other's sides." She rises and comes toward me while I sense nothing dangerous.
'Is she trying to disarm me and catch me off guard?...'
"Yeah... we can talk," I tell her. Shizuka looks confused while the Queen of Angels stops in front of me.
"Come with me." She walks past me and I follow her. Shizuka and the King of Angels follow us in silence. The situation is somewhat uncomfortable.
"..." We soon stop in front of a window. From here, you can see the outside, and you can see the war too.
"What do you think of this result? Interesting, isn't it? War has never before reached our kingdom directly, that's why I say it's interesting. It's an opportunity. War will always be an opportunity for powerful people like you and me." She speaks in a way that makes it clear she's a complete sociopath.
"You don't care about your people?"
"As you just said, they are 'my' people, and since they are my people, I choose whether they die or not. They're like sheep. We raise the flock to slaughter it in the end when we need to." Her analogy is terrible.
"Aren't you the same? You're using angels and even demons to create those puppets you now use as bombs." She questions, raising an eyebrow at me.
"Yes... it is similar." She's not wrong, although I don't feel good doing it, and she feels absolutely nothing, making her worse than me.
"Since we're talking, Queen of Angels, why this war? Why attack the demons constantly?" I ask, not understanding the reason for it.
"Because it's a way to maintain peace in our kingdom. War is good for our people, economically, culturally, and politically. Although, if you ask the reason that started it all, I won't say just yet..." When she says that, I look at the King of Angels.
"You're pretty corrupt."
"Corrupt? My people lived in perfect peace for years until you invaded us. Is that really corruption? Peace has a price. All these civilian angels took advantage of the perfect life they had. Now they can't complain if I use their lives as payment."
"They never asked for your help," I say seriously.
"They did. Oh yes, they did. When you invaded, they begged for help, for resources, for protection. They need me, and they beg for me."
"..." I already summon Eve, feeling the tension rising. Eve is teleported to my side and immediately looks at the King of Angels. The Queen of Angels gives me a dirty look.
"You want to fight already?"
"Not yet, but those two can fight now, don't you think? Eve, could you go kill the King of Angels?" I give the order, and the King of Angels flashes a scornful smile.
"Your confidence in your toys is quite impressive. So be it. Qyraen, I'm going to fight this toy. I should finish this quickly unless I decide to play a little." The King of Angels starts walking down the corridor. I give a nod to Eve.
"I'll finish this quickly, Evelyn-sama." Eve follows the King of Angels, leaving just me, Shizuka, and the Queen of Angels.
"Hmmm... Demon Queen, would you like to visit my personal vault? By the way, you can just call me Qyraen." Qyraen makes a strange proposal.
"...Sure, that's—"
"But only you. That girl stays out. I don't want her filthy blood reaching the royal vault. Only you, who are a Queen, have that permission." I think a little about what she said.
"Fine. Shizuka, wait outside the vault, okay?" Since I can summon Shizuka, it doesn't matter if it's a trick. Shizuka nods her head while Qyraen guides us. We go to the castle's underground, to a secret point, and we reach a vault.
Qyraen cuts her hand and spills blood on the door, which opens. I'm a little curious about this vault. I didn't expect her to bring me here out of nowhere, but as "promised," Shizuka stays outside while the door closes with me inside.
The inside of the vault is immense, full of treasures and several scrolls. A very rustic style of paper that even uses animal hide, showing many historical things.
"It's wonderful, don't you think? Unlike demons, we Angels record and keep everything that mattered to our history in this vault. We have records from over 30,000 years ago here."
"..." I point at her and try to use my powers, but I feel absolutely nothing. I look at my hands, confused.
"Don't waste your time. I can't use magic, or blessings, or even my domain either. The material of this vault is a relic of the past, something made by the first Queen of Angels."
"In this place, we are incapable of doing anything. It was made to prevent important things here from being destroyed. All papers here have protection magic. Physical force isn't enough to destroy them. She was brilliant, don't you think?" When she says she can't use magic, I feel calmer.
'I still feel my connection to other bodies. It seems my powers haven't been nullified. Everything still works, I just can't use it...' It means I'm still immortal. I still have soul backups in case she tries to kill me.
"Why did you bring me here?"
"Obviously because it matters. It's the first time a Queen of Angels can surpass a Demon King or Queen. Unlike demons, who have a king or queen, among angels, only the Queen of Angels holds all the power each generation."
"We were always considered inferior to the demonic ruler, but you? You're weak. Your defeat will be an important historical milestone. I need to take full advantage of that..."
"And what would there be to take advantage of? It's just a fight," I ask, joining the conversation.
"Ah, there's a lot... do you know something interesting?"
"In the past, specifically 29,000 years ago, did demons and angels live together?" She picks up a paper from a shelf and opens it, showing some engravings. For a moment, I'm in shock.
Our races, which hate each other so much, once lived in harmony? It sounds like a lie, a fairy tale everyone knows to be false, but the papers she shows really depict demons and angels, although they aren't very well drawn.
"We were a united people. Have you ever wondered why there is only one Demon King or Queen? Why isn't there a partner? You, you're married, right? Your wife doesn't have any power as an official ruler."
"If you had married a man, he wouldn't be the Demon King. Only one demon has the power."
"Have you never questioned why?" When she says that, I connect the dots. Angels only have one ruler. Demons too.
"They were... a couple?!" I'm shocked.
"Exactly. Demon King and Queen of Angels, both were supposed to be husband and wife. Even if both were women, it was a king and a queen. Both are predestined... but... something happened. A war that divided the two sides."
"Something that broke the bonds between demons and angels. In the end, biology doesn't change, and neither does history. Demons only have one ruler and angels too, because by status, we were always meant to be a united race."
"There isn't much about the war that separated us, unfortunately, so I don't know the reason. But do you know something I do know? That the Queen of Angels who was the partner of the [Demon King] would have more power."
"Both complemented each other. Both strengthened each other's existence. A True Angel and a True Demon. Racial forms that could only be achieved by uniting bonds."
"What do you mean? Are you saying we're false?"
"No, no. I'm saying we're primitive. A True Angel, the pinnacle of the angelic race, and a True Demon, the pinnacle of the demonic race. Neither of us is those races, but we both can be. We can transcend our fragile races and become superior races."
"...I want nothing to do with you," I deny immediately. I don't trust her, and even if I did, I don't want to change anything.
"I imagine so, but it doesn't matter, you know why? Because guess what? Culturally, did you know that the forced cultural relationship of demons came from the angels? And the culture of incest among angelic families came from the demons." When she says that, I get a little confused about the topic.
'She talks too much. I didn't even ask, even if it's interesting... why does she talk so much?'
"I don't get it."
"...Angels were initially an aggressive, destructive, and sadistic race. Does that remind you of something?" When she says that, I get chills, because it's the best possible definition of the current demonic race.
"...Are you saying we demons became culturally similar to angels and vice versa?"
"Exactly. Culturally, angels should be more like current demons, and demons more like the current state of angels. Do you know what that means?"
"No? I think it hardly matters, right?" What good is it knowing it was like that in the past? I just feel uneasy with all this chatter of hers.
"Haaa... I see you have no thirst for more power... I brought you to this vault so that I can become a True Angel. Unfortunately, as a consequence, you will become a True Demon."
"You think I'll let you perform some kind of strange ritual on me?" I say, alarmed.
"Ritual? How simplistic. That's not how the system works, girl. I suppose that's to be expected from a demon who knows nothing. I just explained it. Connecting the dots shouldn't be hard, right? The Queen of Angels and the Demon Queen were supposed to be a couple."
"So I'm going to rape you. If I use that word, will you understand? I need your body. I need us to become one, even if temporarily. I brought you to this vault because here I can do it without you being able to fight or call for help from your toys."
"I'm an excellent hand-to-hand fighter and I'm wearing armor. Do you think you can beat me?" When she says that, I turn pale.
'I-I've been tricked!!' I try to summon Shizuka, which isn't a magic spell, but it doesn't work as I expected. I feel the connection. I feel the thread that connects us, but it's locked, as if there's a wall in the middle.
"Y-You'd betray your king?"
"Yes. For the chance to become a True Angel, I don't care. He'll understand. He already knew about this desire of mine. He probably already imagined it. Why do you think he went so peacefully to fight with your servant?"
"You fucking bitch, you're a crazy degenerate!!" I say, trying to grab a sword from my storage ring, but I can't use it either.
"Don't worry, Demon Queen. We're on equal footing. I have no magic, and this armor is unpleasantly heavy. Grab a sword or any other weapon from the treasures and fight."
"Our ancestors also fought a lot over things like this. We're just returning to our origins. Isn't it good? Connecting with our bloody past? Where the Queen of Angels or the Demon King would have to force the other into a forced bond." She pulls a spear from a pile of gold.
"...Y-You know what? It's an opportunity. You don't have magic, right? I'll kill you myself," I say, trying to put fear into her. It's a chance. I don't know how to fight, and I'm weak, but it shouldn't be that hard, right? She's wearing armor, so she should be a lot slower than me.
I grab a random weapon from the piles of gold. It ends up being a short Katana, which is good because it's light and I can hold it well, besides already being used to a Katana.
"Let's begin, Demon Queen. And may the most skilled fulfill her desires." She gains an extremely cruel smile, looking at me as if I'm an object she urgently needs.
"So be it. I'll cut your head off," I threaten her, taking a deep breath despite the fear of losing this. My greatest fear isn't being raped. It's that Esther finds out about it. She isn't stable. If she finds out, she'll become even more insane.
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[Notice from Galaxy:
Hello, readers!! I know the subject matter got absurdly heavy, since it involves an obvious attempt at—and in plain words—rape! Obviously I do not condone that, and I'd like to say that it's deeply tied to the story of the angels in this work.
It may not seem like it, but the demonic and angelic culture plays a fundamental role here, especially because these are things Evelyn doesn't know since they weren't in the game.
There were hints about the things the Queen of Angels spoke of—things like the fact that only one ruler truly exists and their marriage partner gains no title at all.
I can't say whether Evelyn will lose or win. She has a 50% chance either way, and it will be up to you to read and see what happens.
But I'd like to remind everyone that this is a medieval-style world, and that the Queen of Angels has zero interest in Evelyn. She literally sees Evelyn as a bridge to transcend into a higher form of life.
The Queen of Angels represents egocentrism, the desire to be superior to everything, and the will to feel above all else like a God. I think that's been somewhat implicit in the work already, but I felt it was important to explain.
Because I know there are readers who might find it disgusting, repugnant, and criticize without understanding the context, but all of this is still connected to the story, and it should not be fetishized—this is something serious! So much so that Evelyn clearly repudiates the idea.
And the Queen of Angels shows in her gaze that she sees Evelyn as an object. It will be a very tense part coming up next, and I hope everyone will be open-minded about either outcome of the fight! Whether Evelyn wins or loses—and yes, she can win, since neither of them has powers at the moment.
I thank everyone who has made it this far, and if Evelyn loses, I would understand if you skipped the scene, because yes, if Evelyn loses, the scene will happen and be described as a direct part of the work. I won't force anyone to read it; I know some may have triggers.
I only ask that you read the fight and see how it goes, and if Evelyn loses, the scene will take place in a chapter after the battle, with the R-18 Tag written in the title, so each person can choose whether or not to see the scene if it exists, and will know whether she won or not.
I deeply apologize for any prior discomfort, because I myself know it's very heavy, but this is not done with the intent to shock—rather, to get closer to a more tribal and savage culture.
Even if you go back to earlier parts, you'll see that some characters have the race [Tribal Demon], which is connected to the entire context of the demons' past.
As you can see from the rustic paper and engravings, 29,000 years ago, despite being united, it's obvious that angels and demons were a more tribal, more savage, and less developed people, and the Queen of Angels is trying to recreate the traditions of those people in the present day in order to "transcend." Now I'll stop talking so I don't give spoilers, and because I'm sure many of you who've made it this far understand the context well even without me explaining.
Have a great read and... let's hope Evelyn wins!!]