This again.

I dreamed once more. However, the memories that my dreams displayed were distinctively different this time. It started with the sight of a boy, a young tailed demon, finding a sword in a ruin.

I am the Demon King! Picking up this sword made me regain my past memories! Hahaha!

It’s the thoughts of that ‘Malachi’ I killed. Right when I melted his body away, I felt a similar sensation, not unlike that time when I killed the mysterious red-eyed beast. As if his life essence were sucked into me.

As the Demon King Malachi, I shall lord over this village. See my power, fools! I will rise again to destroy the humans, to win our unfinished war of 300 years ago.

What a fool. What would that do for us? Fighting a war again? Driving this continent further into ruin? What the hell is good about lording as the Demon King just to do that? I hate this guy with every fiber of my being. No, beyond that, I hate this goddamned Demon King Malachi. You don’t understand anything. Someone like you is better off disappearing…

This boy… Just what the hell is he? Am I going to die right here? I’m the Demon King! I can’t die here! I… don’t want to die.

The memories of the youth who called himself Malachi came to an end at his death by my hands. The dreams gave way to a deep, empty slumber, leaving me in silence once again.

But that silence was interrupted by another foggy memory that descended upon me.

I was on the ground, battered and ruined. The cold, hard stone floor gave no comfort to my weary body. No matter how much I tried to move, I couldn’t will any part of my body to even move slightly, and I was left to stare at the ground in front of me. I had my hand on top of some… pattern.

It shone with a bright hue.

[Transmigration of the Soul]

What?

How embarrassing… If this spell truly works, they’ll know all the thoughts that ran through my head… including this one. Take care to listen to the thoughts of my pathetic last moment.

That voice…

Hear this, my reincarnation, if you will. Learn from the mistakes that plagued my life. Protect the ones precious to you. Work to understand the others around you. Live a life unlike mine.

My reincarnation…

Something clicked.

The final piece of the puzzle was placed in front of me. It seemed so obvious now.

A boat leaving a continent. Killing that king in cold blood. A supreme intuition for magic. Black wings. Scattered memories. Lingering regret. Sorrow at seeing the wastelands. Familiarity with the black flames conjured by that youth. A ruthlessness to the ones I deemed my enemies.

“I’m… Malachi.”

As [Transmigration of the Soul] finished its actuation, I felt my body reduce to ashes and my soul split into fragments. Into fragments.

That’s exactly it.

The fragments of my soul scattered into the sky, left to wander for years to converge when a suitable vessel came. But that suitable vessel never came. Eventually, they wandered down into the earth, each finding their own place, never reuniting as one.

***

“Hey, he’s awake.” Lucia’s green eyes were up close to mine.

“Luqa, ya feelin’ alright?” Tavarius hovered over me with worry. I found myself on a warm bed, my body feeling weary. I slowly sat up.

“Yep… just feeling really sleepy…” My eyelids still felt heavy as I struggled to open them and look around. I was back at home.

“Where’s mother?” I asked.

“Aunt Clara’s busy healing people in the village. A bunch of people got really hurt during the fighting,” said Lucia.

“I see.” A headache pierced through me as if my head threatened to split open. I recalled everything that happened, the dreams I saw today. The realization felt surreal.

Yes. I myself was the reincarnation of Malachi. But the youth I fought was also a reincarnation of Malachi. And that red-eyed beast was also a reincarnation of Malachi.

In my last moments as Demon King Malachi, there was the sensation of my soul being fragmented into many pieces so the spell had failed. The transmigration of Malachi’s soul was not carried out to completion. I only inherited a part of my past self’s soul. Who knows who else… or what else were also reincarnations of Malachi. Or if all fragments of Malachi’s soul even made it back down into the world of the living.

In a way, I was responsible for the mess that happened today. That youth had inherited a piece of Malachi’s soul, granting him knowledge and power, allowing him to not only terrorize his village but also threaten ours. I couldn’t help but pitying him a bit. What if he was only consumed and controlled by Malachi’s soul fragment?

And also that monster wandering the wastelands from two years ago, too. That was also my fault.

All my fault.

Who knew how many beings had inherited a piece of my soul — of Malachi’s soul? Were there monsters and demons, with my soul, wreaking havoc across all these lands? Endangering the lives of unknowing people across the continent? If that’s the case, that’s also my fault.

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I cried for the second time today. I was in a mess of emotions.

It came rushing in all at once. My past self’s relief at having my spell somewhat succeed, a second chance at life, a happy, relaxed childhood in this village that Malachi never got. On the other hand, I saw for myself how the world still lay in ruins after my pointless war, the once beautiful northlands tainted by demonic magic, never recovering even after centuries.

Have I really gotten a chance to live again? To redeem myself? To truly live?

“What’s wrong, Luqa? Don’t cry…” Lucia started tearing up as well. She wrapped her small hands around my neck. “Don’t disappear, okay?”

Don’t disappear… Could I even stay in this village? I’d found happiness here temporarily, but so much suddenly weighed on me. Living a quiet life here? That’s no longer possible. The pressure of my own guilt would kill me.

While embracing Lucia, I looked up at Tavarius, who had started sniffling too.

“Thanks for protecting us, Luqa,” he said promptly while turning away to hide his tears.

“I’m glad you guys are okay. I’m glad you guys are safe,” I said. “You two are my precious friends, no matter what.”

“Urk…” he no longer bothered to hide his tears.

Tavarius joined in our embrace as well.

These two… I’m so glad I was born as Luqa. That I had a loving mother. A peaceful place to appreciate every day. A comfortable life without lacking. Two friends to grow alongside. I’d been gifted. I can’t recall a moment from Malachi’s life where he had lived like this.

“Heh, also you were pretty strong back there, man. How did you take that bastard on?” Tavarius asked.

“I don’t know. My body just kinda acted on its own.”

“You seemed… different. Scary,” Lucia said in a wispy voice.

She… wasn’t wrong. Ever since I realized I was Malachi, years of experience flowed into me. Emotions cascaded into me, emotions that I couldn’t distinguish whether they belonged to Malachi or Luqa. Was I really still the same?

But, I was Malachi, the Demon King, the Enemy of Humanity, only in a previous life. Now I was Luqa, proud son of Clara, a resident of the village of Wehrau. And that fact wouldn’t change.

“Don’t worry… no matter how strong I get, I’ll always be me. You don’t have to be scared of me,” I said.

She looked up at me with teary eyes. “You promise?”

“Do I break my promises?”

“Yuh-huh, you do!” Tavarius complained.

Oh, man. Not the moment, my friend.

I chuckled at his silliness and lack of good timing.

“Well, I won’t break this one.”

Tavarius broke away from our embrace and stood up, looking at me with shining eyes. “Don’t forget about our other special promise, then,” he said.

“…Yes. That promise. We’ll become famed adventurers, known throughout the continent. We’ll see the world with each other.” It was a genuine wish I wanted to see through to fulfillment. I needed, or, rather, wanted to travel the world in any case. To see for myself the effects of the war I waged 300 years ago throughout the whole continent. “What’s something you especially want to see?”

Tavarius paused at my question for a few moments and then suddenly laughed. “Heh, I don’t know.”

Oh, never change, Tavarius.

“You never thought once about it?” I asked.

“Hmmmm… oh wait, I remember, uncle told me once about this city far to the north, by the mountains!”

A city far to the north, by the mountains. Sounds familiar. That may have been the capital of the former Norlaender Kingdom, whose last king I had personally killed out of spite… We demons ended up staying there, huh?

“Uncle told me that he visited that city once, and he told me there were tens of thousands of demons there all living together. And apparently, he said the food there was much better than here in the village! They have all sorts of exotic meats that we don’t have access to here!”

“Exotic meats…” Lucia drooled at the thought.

I’m happy to hear that, at least according to Ersham, there is a thriving city in the land of the demons. Sounds like Tareh’s work. Seeing a place where thousands of demons live together, a peaceful but busy life in a bustling and thriving city… It’s been so long since I — since Malachi — saw a sight like that.

“It's decided then. We’ll go on and see that city one day. Though, that sounds like a few weeks’ journey. We’re probably not ready for something like that yet.”

“Then, let’s keep getting stronger until we can beat uncle to submission and force him to let us go. Wait, we could probably already do that!” Tavarius said excitedly, only half-joking.

“I… don’t know about that method of persuasion,” I chuckled.

***

A robed man ran through the tight streets of Sainville, the densely populated capital of the Millieun Empire. Heavy rain poured down during the stormy evening, drenching the cobblestone paths and alleys of the city in rainwater.

Little rat, where are you?

His target was an auburn-haired woman, who weaved through the arteries of the city with graceful, swift movements. She had been deemed by the Experimental Corps of the Holy Knights as an enemy to be silently taken care of.

The man followed the woman, twisting through every corner and turn.

Sweet little rat, run, run as fast as you can. It’s better that way.

The pursuer treated the chase as a game, simply to pass the time. It had been a while since he had been tasked with taking care of such suitable prey. Usually, he disposed of bloated nobles who opposed the church or dissenting members threatening to reveal their secrets. Rare prey like this woman was something he liked to take the time to savor.

Oh, poor you, a dead end. Will you find yourself cornered with no room to run — or have you set up a clever little trap?

The man followed his target into the cul-de-sac, only to find an empty dead end, with no trace of the woman.

As expected. A little rat like her would appear—

He turned around and raised his dagger to deflect the woman’s surprise attack from behind.

—right here! I know all your tricks.

The woman jumped back and suddenly threw her dagger with lightning-quick speed, aimed right between the man’s eyes. The man tilted his head to dodge it while dashing forwards to stab the now unarmed woman. He caught a glimpse of the woman’s face.

Wait… auburn hair… green eyes…

Before the man could realize anything, he found his arm was broken, folded backwards, the bone just barely poking out from the skin, the dagger that was in his hand now on the ground. He felt no pain as his body was now being driven unconsciously purely by instinct.

She’s still alive? What is someone like her doing her—

Darting his eyes around, he realized she was nowhere in sight. And in one swift moment, his neck was snapped by the woman, instantly killing him.

Helena watched as the man’s body dropped to the ground with a hard thud. She clicked her mouth, frustrated by today’s turns of events. She had gotten rusty after a slow life in the village, causing her investigations to be noticed by the wrong pair of eyes. At this rate, she would be forced to flee the city without having gained all the information she needed.

***

In the dead of night, a squadron of Holy Knights watched the silent village below them.

“Captain Alphons, the divine mages have made all their preparations. Should I finally give the order?” A blond man asked.

“Yes, Claude. Be ready in ten minutes. Don’t underestimate these demons, but try to keep as many intact and alive as possible,” responded a bearded man.

“Yes, gotcha, cap.”

The captain was filled with excitement. Tonight was a lucky catch for them. His vice captain had reported seeing an extra one hundred demons staying overnight in the village, and better yet, many had been injured by the fighting from earlier today. The captain spared no thought to ponder why.

He imagined his own future ambitiously. With enough effort and some luck, they may recognize him as the successor of the Paladin Julian. Vice Captain Claude waited in anticipation as well, eager to lead tonight’s mission, not due to an ambition similar to that of the captain, but due to the pure enjoyment of what would await him. Of what would await the villagers.

The captain turned around, watching a small group of divine mages chant together, forming a circle around a bejeweled grail.

“I pray upon the power of the Blessed Goddess, grant me the strength to defeat evil…”

As they said their final words, magical energy overflowed from the grail. Each knight of the squadron watched as the magical energy flowed towards their feet and blessed them with a holy radiance.

Justice and virtue were on their side; their actions on this night would purely be out of the love of the Holy Goddess.