16~The Truth About the Demon Race
“What’s wrong with you?” On the road, Tillysha kept looking back, often glancing over her shoulder at the burning city. Yimi puckered her lips. “You got turned away; you still want to go back for a second look?”
“Besides, those humans might not be worth saving anyway.” After a moment of reflection, Yimi voiced her honest thoughts.
“…” Tillysha stopped in her tracks, gazing into the distance. She recalled the way that Imperial officer had looked at her and the citizens, filling her with unease.
She suddenly remembered one important thing: this wasn’t her original world. This was a magic-filled world akin to medieval times, but even worse than that era. Because of magic’s existence, commoners without noble lineage or the ability to use magic were treated even worse, practically treated as property of the nobility, like livestock.
Would the capital really send troops to rescue a bunch of low-class livestock?
Thinking of that, Tillysha’s unease deepened, and a familiar image flashed through her mind.
Once, she’d hesitated, and a tragedy had happened…
Turning around, she still decided to go back for a look.
“Idiot.” Seeing Tillysha heading back, Yimi expressionlessly remarked and fell into step with her.
When they returned to Furnace City, it looked eerily calm, as if nothing had happened.
The desolate wind fluttered the flying-eagle banners on the city walls, stirring up clouds of dust. Mud covered the dried-up bloodstains, damaged walls, collapsed beams, and burnt ashes—it was a scene of complete desolation.
Though the place was never filled with people when they first arrived, it now seemed like a ghost town devoid of life.
Anyone who could have fled had, and those who couldn’t… remained in the city forever.
Tillysha stepped into the fortress, seeing everything at a glance.
The bodies on the ground were still fresh—not strangers either. A few of them had been yelling orders at her just hours ago, arrogantly instructing her to save their endangered wealth.
Clearly, these weren’t the work of heretics. The arrows piercing the bodies told the real tale.
These arrows had pierced their chests, abdomens, and heads. Their deaths were gruesome. Additionally, Tillysha noticed after examining further that these bodies also bore signs of spear stabs.
After the people were shot with arrows, the assailants had used spears to ensure no one was left alive. Then they left without any care for burying the dead.
In the eyes of the nobility, commoners were not considered human. Only the nobility mattered.
When Tillysha first arrived in this world, she didn’t understand this concept until now.
The city was piled high with corpses, rivers of bl**d flowing. Most of these deaths were not the work of heretics but were the product of human infighting.
“What an ironic race.” Though Yimi didn’t like these humans, seeing what had once been lively lives extinguished by the hands of their own kind moved her a little.
This disaster wasn’t caused by nature—it was a man-made calamity.
Tillysha knelt on the ground, sitting silently for a long time. A flicker of unusual melancholy flashed in her eyes.
It was too late again.
Always too late.
The sound of heavy hoof-iron echoed from the inner city. Yimi looked up and pulled Tillysha’s clothes slightly.
The wind blew, lifting Tillysha’s silky golden hair. She lifted her face, devoid of any emotion, as dust swept around a towering silhouette on horseback becoming visible.
“Heaven has no path, and hell opens its door. You came back for d*ath?” The thick smoke cleared, revealing an imposing Imperial officer riding a muscular warhorse, slowly leading his army forward.
“Are you planning to let us go or make us d*e?”
“Are they not your own kind?” Tillysha ignored the officer and confronted him directly.
“My own kind?” The Imperial officer hesitated for a moment, then chuckled. “Little girl with the golden hair, just because we’re both human, should I cut them some slack?”
“Should I call you stupid or naive? Groups in this world are never divided by ‘sameness.’
“You are in what position, saying what things? Don’t compare me with those consumables. I come from the divine clan in the capital, while they are nothing but miserable peasants from the hinterlands. Without the protection of the empire, they would all be dead long ago. Living this far is already due to the grace of the empire. The empire can withdraw its blessing whenever it pleases.”
“Would you feel sorry for your livestock at home?”
“But they’re human, and most of them have nothing to do with heretics.”
“So what? The order I received is to root out heretics at all costs. I don’t care how many of them are innocent. If they pose a threat to the emperor, the senate, or the empire, I have the duty to eliminate them.” The officer sneered.
“Letting them d*e in their hometown instead of leaving their bodies out to rot in the wilderness, I’m already being merciful. Anyway, their homes are gone. If they survive, they’ll only become unruly refugees, which is meaningless.”
“Those who can’t contribute to the productivity of the empire don’t deserve the protection of the empire.”
“You two have merely read books for a few years in an extravagant academy; you don’t know the first thing about politics and governance.” The Imperial Officer said coldly.
“Actually, I was thinking of teaching you two a lesson. After all, so many people have died or gone missing on this trip; two more students from Coleman Academy wouldn’t hurt.”
Tillysha looked at the officer calmly.
“But forget it…I can’t be bothered with complications or trouble. The show is over; the two of you can go back where you came from.”
“Are you not afraid we’ll expose what you’ve done?” Yimi spoke up suddenly.
“Expose? Hahaha! Who would believe you? Who would trust the word of two strangers? Even if someone does believe, what’s it to the elves? Their arms don’t stretch long enough to intervene in the empire’s affairs.” The Imperial officer mocked.
“What, you’re not leaving? Are you waiting for us to line up and see you off?”
With that, the Imperial officer rode his tall horse, accompanied by his subordinates, and left the ruins.
“Is this part of the teachings of Kartelo?” Just as the Imperial officer passed Tillysha, she murmured as if to herself.
“The teachings are meant to restrict the common people, not the noble ones. It’s the same concept as the law.” The officer chuckled. “Besides, the ultimate right to interpret the teachings lies with the emperor.”
“If Kartelo knew you were doing such atrocious things in his name, he would surely be furious and punish you.”
“Sir, those who repeatedly commit injustices will inevitably be destroyed. Haven’t you purged heretics for years?”
“Have you ever thought about why no matter how you suppress them, how you oppress them, the heretics keep coming back like weeds after a fire? Blown by the spring breeze, they grow again.”
The Imperial officer halted and glared at Tillysha with narrowed eyes.
“Is it possible that you yourselves have driven the citizens to become heretics?”
“An interesting theory,” the officer said dismissively. The only reason he hadn’t touched Tillysha and Yimi was because it would be troublesome if Coleman Academy decided to investigate later on—it could even result in diplomatic incidents. The cost would not justify the action.
Soon after, the triumphant imperial army marched out of Furnace City, leaving behind the desolate ruins.
Tillysha began to understand. When heretical troubles arose, the imperial rulers’ first thought was not about what would happen to the common people; the sole concern was if it could affect the foundation of imperial rule. If it could, they would snuff it out before it took root, no matter how many innocents suffered or what price was paid.
Looking at the scene before her eyes, Tillysha was deeply dispirited. Yimi approached a few steps but, aware of her own identity, ultimately kept quiet.
Footsteps grew louder in the empty city tower, and Tillysha turned back out of a sudden sensation.
No one was at the empty city gate, but an extraordinary figure was walking slowly toward her.
It was Pian.
Though this conjecture had no basis, Tillysha just felt that Pian knew everything about this event.
“Did you find your answer?”
“…” Tillysha shook her head and then nodded.
She recalled many fragments of images, but these images were so broken that she couldn’t piece anything together.
But she was confident that she was getting closer to the answer.
The reason why the empire so violently persecuted heretics was because they were afraid that they would shake the foundation of their empire and rule.
Why did they spend so much effort on this, believing that only heretics can undermine the empire rule? Though Tillysha didn’t know the answer, she had suspicions.
“Miss Pian, how much do you know about the Demon race?” Tillysha asked suddenly.
“The Demon race?” Pian thought for a while. “I think your textbooks should have pretty detailed information.”
“That’s not what I’m referring to,” Tillysha said, looking at the monsters lying dead in the ruins. “These monsters have never appeared in any historical records. It’s as though…”
“…They appeared suddenly on this continent.”
After hearing this, Yimi raised an eyebrow.
“Suddenly appeared.” That description sounded familiar.
“Like the Demon race back then.” Tillysha said carefully, voicing her conjecture.
Combined with the fragmented memories in her mind, she came up with a bold hypothesis:
“Caleburn, Demon races don’t actually exist. They are not from other dimensions like those scholars conjectured.”
“So far, what the demons in Ruglien were before were humans, demi-humans, even the Light races like Elves.”
“By some chance, they underwent irreversible transformation.”
“This chance was the birth of the Corpse Flower.”
“Four hundred years ago, during a time of oppression like today, this Corpse Flower grew in the hearts of the oppressed citizens, causing mutation, thus creating the first batch of demons.”
“This explains why the once-prosperous empire was suddenly defeated by an unknown force—because the enemy came from within and destroyed the empire internally.” Tillysha looked into the distance with a dazed expression, and the words came out involuntarily.
“Not only that, but the demons were born within different races around the same time. These demons, full of hatred for their own rulers, gathered in groups and destroyed their own clans’ cities and armies.”
“They overthrew the dynasties that oppressed them and built today’s Ruglien, driving the oppressive Light races to the south of the continent.”
“This is the truth about the ‘Demon race.'”
“However, the empire didn’t learn the lesson. They chose to blame the heretics who followed false gods, and since then, began to incessantly persecute these heretics, having zero tolerance for them, to strictly prevent them from seizing power.”
“They were so sensitive to the term ‘heretics’ at all levels.”
“They believed that with this high-pressure and zero-tolerance policy, they could prevent the growth of heretics and set an example, unknowingly causing officers to use this as an excuse to oppress the commoners without limits.”
“As a result, in less than five hundred years, the Corpse Flower bloomed again.”
“New demons were born.”
Yimi listened carefully, her pupils shrinking. She opened her mouth, lowering her head, lost in thought, while Pian remained expressionless, calmly hearing Tillysha’s conjectures.
“Miss Pian, am I right?” Tillysha stared at the transcendent silver-haired girl in front of her.
As a human capable of living for hundreds of years, possibly even a thousand, this girl was clearly extraordinary.
“This is the law of nature.” Pian didn’t answer whether Tillysha’s guess was right or wrong.
“Humans, out of arrogance, always think they can rule the world, never understanding that every action they take follows the laws of nature.”
“When the people cannot survive, they lose the support of the masses. A new king shall overthrow the old one, a new regime will replace the corrupt one.”
“The process continues.”
“This is the law of nature, objective rules and inevitabilities, unaffected by individual will.” Pian spoke in a calm and almost cold tone.
“Guess how long this country can survive?” Pian looked at the broken city walls.
“I don’t know.”
“I don’t know either, but I can already smell the end of its fate.” Pian’s eyes were calm, as if they’d once witnessed countless regimes and families rise to prominence, peak, decline, and finally fall into dust.
In a repetitive cycle, no exception.
“Miss Pian, would you tell me who you are?” Tillysha looked at Pian seriously. Their eyes met.
[img=700,547]https://rss.sfacg.com/web/novel/images/UploadPic/2023/06/1ffaa4c2-187d-4bc7-856d-721ec2bb506b.jpg[/img]
(Picture, Bilodis (Left) and Tillysha (Right), both barefoot and wearing black stockings.)
(Artist: Xian Yu)
