After the previous attack, the door to Yasou’s house laid in total shambles. A large hole was present, having even struck one of the door hinges. When moved, the door would creak loudly, sounding similar to a screech of agony. Splinters were strewn about on the floor, with small and large chunks of wood scattered across the room as if a small bull had barged right through it. She was amazed that a single attack from an inquisitor could do this much damage.

The girl stared at those pieces for a few moments before deciding that she’d better conclude her business outside. The air shown outside the gap that used to be part of the door was still dark, making her realize that she’d probably hadn’t slept for long.

But now that she had some semblance of rest, she was eager to go somewhere, anywhere. Whether for cleanup duty or just exploring, even if there wasn’t much for her to see.

In the first place, it wasn’t within her nature to remain in one place for a long time, especially when being inside of a human village.

Well, with a certain exception, that is.

She glanced back at the house of her benefactor.

It was by no means a big house, and from the entrance, one could basically see the entirety of the building; A short hallway lead into to the TV room, where the human male was currently asleep on the floor, along with two other small rooms off to the back seemingly serving as a storage room and a lavatory. The walls were stained yellow, parts of it showing signs of decay, as cracks could be seen spread around if one observed closely.

Rather than a house, a hut or a shack might be a more accurate description of this place. It was much too run down and dilapidated to be considered proper housing.

To a demon, who sometimes spent a long period of time in nature, moving from one place to another, the mere concept of needing a roof over one’s head was bizarre, so it might be considered a luxury. At best, some demons would have temporary dwellings, in forests or caves, when needing to stay low.

But to a human, it was a ‘home,’ a place where someone was supposed to feel safe. A place they considered to be a part of them.

Briefly, she wondered how it would feel to have one herself.

That aside, for a human like Yasou, the wide, gaping hole might leave him a sitting duck, especially after a bunch of inquisitors raided his house earlier. It could arouse suspicion if left alone. Skirmishes were occurring everywhere recently, so it was unlikely for the recent killings to be linked to a human possessed by a demon, but that wouldn’t mean the church wouldn’t be on the lookout for abnormalities like these.

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She sighed.

I can’t be discovered yet, so I better not leave any trail that can be easily traced back to me.

Thus, she sacrificed some of her remaining magic to fix it. Both huge chunks and smaller pieces of what used to be the door flew, arranging themselves like a puzzle. It was almost as if they rewound to a time before they were blasted off.

Afterwards, she gently shut the door behind her and made her way towards her destination.

—Towards the highest place in that village.

***

It wasn’t difficult at all, because by being in Yasou’s house, she was already halfway there.

She had noticed it earlier, when she made her return after the cleanup duty.

Although most of the villagers lived near each other, with their houses essentially flocked together, for some reason, that man lived on a hill away from the rest of the people, in one of the few old houses there. Though that only worked to her advantage.

From where she was, all she had to do was keep following the upward path. Due to the passage of time, and neglect from the village, half of the road became basically a forest. Passing through the rows of trees and tall grass, she kept going straight. If her memory served her right, she would reach the top soon.

“—There it is...”

As she anticipated, moments later she had reached the top of the hill.

Since it was seldom visited, the wooden fence around the edge of the cliff was mostly broken, parts of it almost dangling over the edge. Still, without a care, she approached the railing.

The hill itself was overlooking that very village, offering her a bird’s eye view of the whole village, along with the surrounding ones—her actual purpose for going there.

Yet, instead of looking down, as she rested her hands on top of the broken picket fence, she looked up at the sky above for the nth time that day.

The moonless sky was as dark and gloomy as always, with no stars in sight.

“...Father truly was an awful liar.”

She wistfully mourned under her breath.

Only then did she lower her gaze below.

The first thing that caught her attention was the marble white cathedral at the center of the village, with its needlessly tall spires rising towards the sky, glowing unnecessarily bright with holiness. The landmark of that village, symbolizing their allegiance.

The church was a showy bunch, after all.

The mere sight of it made her sick.

But soon, her scowl was replaced with a grin.

The spot didn’t only offer her the view of that village, but also the surrounding two.

The brilliant light from the cathedral cast a shadow over the village. What set it apart from the rest was that, while each village had it, the one in this village was much higher than the other two. Though because of that shared holy aura, the area was referred to by the people as the ‘Holy Trinity.’

Now, that wouldn’t be the case anymore, seeing that only one remained standing tall.

The invasions have been a success.