The Purifier Clan
"I have something to ask of you," said the deity in the shape of a woman.
At the sound of that voice alone, so lofty it was almost unbearable, everyone bowed their heads.
How could they dare look up at the one who had created them, the mother of all things, while she spoke?
After hearing only that much, I said to Edel, "…Aren't you exaggerating a little too much?"
"No! Everyone reacts like that when they face my true form!"
"Hmm…."
…Why, though?
She looked, no matter how I examined her, like a goddess missing three or four screws.
"You're the strange one!"
In any case, the goddess standing before the beings she had created granted them a portion of her authority.
The power of purification—the power to return what was dirty and corrupted to its original form.
"If you had power like that, why not do it yourself?"
"Being a god keeps you busy, you know. Just keeping an eye on whether the system's running properly, whether some bastard is trying to invade, is enough to keep me swamped."
"But you didn't stop them."
"…Do you want me to keep going?"
"Sorry. Continue."
As she bestowed that authority, she also gave them a sacred duty.
It was a noble task: to cleanse polluted magi and return it to the world.
To be granted power by the goddess herself, and on top of that entrusted with the exalted duty of preserving the world….
Overcome with emotion, the beings swore to the goddess, in tears, that they would fulfill their duty no matter what.
And so, according to her will, they remained in place for decades, centuries… perhaps even more than a thousand years, carrying out that sacred charge.
Then one day, they sensed that the power they had received from the goddess was weakening.
The authority that had once been strong enough to purify any corruption gradually grew feeble, until it could no longer cleanse even a speck of dust, and at last vanished from within them forever.
They were confused.
But more than that, they were devastated.
"They think losing that power was their own fault," said Edel.
They believed the goddess had taken it back because they had grown lazy in fulfilling their duty.
But the truth was different.
As Edel was pushed back in battle against the dimensional beasts, her power steadily weakened.
The power of purification had originally been hers.
The strength of the Purifier Clan had come from Edel, to whom they were connected, and as Edel weakened, the authority she had given them weakened with her, until it finally disappeared altogether.
Edel only discovered the truth much later, after struggling to hold back one onslaught after another.
"I do feel sorry for them. Because of my inadequacy, they had to suffer that pain…."
Laxia was the place where polluted magi gathered.
Once the power of purification that would have washed it clean and returned it to the world vanished, magi began to slowly consume Laxia.
If they had been ordinary living things, they would not have survived. They would have died.
But the Purifier Clan was different.
Created in the first place to purify polluted magi, and having spent so long wielding the power of purification, their bodies gradually changed until they could resist magi.
Their hair, once touched by magi, turned black, and their eyes followed.
In contrast, their skin paled to a ghostly white, and two jet-black horns grew from either side of their heads.
Those black horns helped their bodies handle magi more smoothly.
Because of that, they were able to live even in Laxia, which had been swallowed by magi….
But as time went on and the magi deepened, some began to reach their limits.
Even among the Purifier Clan there were differences in ability, and those born after the loss of the power of purification were more vulnerable to magi than the previous generation.
With each generation, their bodies grew less resistant to magi, while the magi itself only thickened as time passed.
It was obvious what would happen if things continued like this: the clan would disappear.
So the Purifier Clan made a decision.
"Edel… please forgive us for abandoning our duty and leaving."
They loaded themselves onto ships, leaving behind only those who could still endure it, and those who vowed they would never turn their backs on the sacred task even in death.
And they set out.
Across the sea, toward a continent where they could survive.
The result was—
"So war broke out."
That was the full story behind the First Species War, and the Second Species War that followed it.
Having heard the whole truth from Edel, I still found it hard to understand.
Was a duty really so important that they would throw away their lives for it?
"I told you, you're the strange one. They're children born through my hands, so when they see me, they can't help but feel instinctive reverence."
"…I don't really get it."
Was it like the feeling one had toward a parent?
As I thought of Garid, the face of my biological parents followed, and I wrinkled my nose.
Edel nodded as if she understood, then folded her arms.
"It's the instinct of the soul, so of course you don't get it. Anyway, is that enough explanation to understand the situation?"
"For now. So what do you want from me?"
"Simple."
She unclasped her hands.
Like a butterfly released from a grip, divine power fluttered from her fingers.
"Set those children free."
Free them from the heavy shackles called duty, which had been wrapped around them.
"Can't you just do it yourself?"
"If I could, I would have done it long ago. Unfortunately, my power has already grown too weak to affect Laxia. Besides, if I acted directly, things could get worse, and there’s also the chance the bastards would notice."
"…Useless."
"Yes~ yes~ I'm sorry for being a useless goddess~ So maybe capable Kana-chan could help useless me~?"
"…What's with 'Kana-chan' now?"
"It's a trendy Earth expression these days. Isn't it cute?"
"Ugh."
"…."
Edel's expression soured in an instant.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"Kana?"
"Ah, yeah."
Lost in my conversation with Edel, I returned to reality at Daeun's voice calling me.
Edel calling me "Kana-chan."
The more I thought about it, the more horrifying it was.
"Then should I call them demons… ah, I guess I should call them the Purifier Clan?"
"Call us whatever's comfortable…."
"Ah, yes. Then is the demons' long-cherished wish to return to Laxia and carry out their original duty?"
"Well… for now, yes…."
"For now?"
Not only Daeun but I, too, voiced my doubt at Atisha's answer.
"The youngsters these days don't really feel any particular sense of duty…. Some of them even resent Lady Edel…. I wonder how the world will turn out…."
Tsk.
Atisha clicked her tongue.
She had started with "the youngsters these days" and somehow smoothly flowed into worrying about the state of the world.
"You feel familiar, somehow, even though you're a stranger…."
"…Why? What."
"Ah, n-no! I never thought you were like Kana!"
Daeun, who had been glancing at me, jumped at my words.
Like Kana, indeed.
For the crime of making baseless slander, I added the offense of lying to her list of sins and passed judgment.
"Ack!"
Daeun let out a strange scream and fell dramatically in battle.
Atisha didn't spare even a glance for Daeun, who was doubled over and clutching her side.
"If my horn hadn't ended up like this, I would have stayed in Laxia too…."
The horns were the organ that allowed demons to endure magi.
With one still intact, she could survive in magi, but in other words, the broken horn meant Atisha would not have been able to withstand the dense magi spread across all of Laxia.
"And yet… for a human, not even a demon, to hear our wish and try to fulfill it…."
How curious.
Atisha sipped her tea as she spoke.
"Lady Kana isn't just any human."
"A human is a human. What's the difference…."
"She's the one who met Lady Edel in person and received a request from her."
"…Lady Edel did? She asked this little kid for help…?"
"Yes. It's true."
"…."
…Little kid.
Well, that made sense.
Given how young I looked for my age, it was understandable that Atisha would react that way.
I forgave her for calling me a little kid to my face.
So what I'm about to say now isn't because I'm holding a grudge over being called a little kid.
"Why? Can't you believe it, old lady?"
"…Old lady?"
"Ah, sorry. It slipped out."
"…What an ill-mannered little kid…."
"I never got proper home training when I was young."
"…Gasp! Y-you used a finishing move!"
By then Daeun had gotten back up, and I saw her clap both hands over her mouth.
"…."
Atisha, too, was rendered speechless by my self-deprecation.
Yet I didn't feel embarrassed at all.
It wasn't something to be ashamed of, so why would I back down?
"She's still young, so that can happen…."
Atisha quietly backed off.
A bead of cold sweat rolled down her pale forehead.
"M-more importantly, Kana! What's with 'old lady' for someone so young! You weren't looking at me that way, were you…? Gasp, then does that mean you also didn't call me older sister because…!"
"What do you mean, 'because'?"
I grabbed Daeun by the hair and dragged her down from the train of delusion she'd boarded.
"Demons live much longer than humans. Their aging is very slow."
So even if she looked young, she might not actually be young.
Of course, she could genuinely be young, so I still had to ask.
"Like Kana?"
"Huh?"
"Kana also looks younger than her real age."
"…Yeah. Like me."
Even though one of her horns had been cut off, the force she gave off earlier had been formidable.
Through that alone, I could guess what she must have been like in her prime.
She was probably among the stronger demons.
According to Edel, there were limits to how powerful a life-form belonging to the world of Silia could become.
That probably didn't differ for demons, either, which meant Atisha must have devoted a great deal of time to reaching that level.
…That was my guess, and judging by how indignant Atisha looked when she heard me, my guess seemed correct.
Once Atisha backed down, the fight entered a lull.
…Should we make up?
Yeah….
Atisha and I exchanged looks and nodded at the same time.
"It's still hard to believe, but I'll trust you."
"So you'll help us?"
"I'll hear you out first…."
How could I agree to something before knowing what kind of help they needed?
Atisha's words made Daeun, who had half-risen from her seat, awkwardly scratch her head before sitting back down.
"What we want comes down to two things."
"Two things…?"
"A ship to sail to Laxia. And a captain who knows the route and can steer it."
Finding their way once they were inside Laxia would somehow work out.
We couldn't ask someone who had run away because they couldn't endure the magi to do that.
"If it's something like that, I can do it… We have plenty of ships, and I can handle the sailing myself…."
"You can drive a ship yourself, Atisha?"
"Is that a problem…?"
"No! Not at all, it's just… you're the lord, aren't you? It's kind of surprising that a lord would know how to sail a ship."
"I'm not what you imagine when you think of a lord. It's just that I don't have a proper title to call myself by, so that's what people say…."
"I see…. Still, is it really okay for you to leave your post?"
"Honestly, it'd be hard to find anyone strong enough to withstand the magi near Laxia…."
And it'd be even harder to find someone there who could actually steer a ship.
Atisha yawned deeply as she spoke.
"Then may I ask you to—"
"Ah, but not right now…."
"…Huh?"
A sentence that cut off the smoothly flowing mood right in the middle.
I tilted my head and waited for Atisha to continue, and before long, her lips slowly opened again.