Ten years ago.
The world faced a sudden upheaval due to the existence of a single being, and the power of the Demon Tribe, which wielded overwhelming authority, was significantly diminished.
Its identity was none other than the vampire that the Demon Tribe had long despised and ignored.
With her appearance, the powerful and unshakeable system of the Demon Tribe began to tremble in an instant.
Her influence spread rapidly in unexpected directions.
Eventually, it became an immense power that even the current Demon King could not easily disregard.
However, the fortunate aspect was that she had never set foot in Necrosis, the land of the Demon Tribe.
She only stayed in a dilapidated church building deep within the Elm Forest.
The Demon King contemplated.
He wondered why she, who had far surpassed the limits of a vampire, had never entered Necrosis and remained only there.
Why was she mercilessly hunting the Demon Tribe while leaving humans completely untouched…?
The history, magic, and military might that had accumulated over thousands of years could not simply collapse because of a single existence.
During this time,
Germondi Nadine, who had secretly been shaking human society, returned to Necrosis and conveyed various information she had discovered directly to the Demon King.
Only then did the Demon King realize that the children she had with her were not food.
It was evident she was scheming something using the children, and he could intuitively sense that it would pose a great threat to the Demon Tribe in the future.
“I see, it seems she still doesn’t have the power to oppose me. Immediately summon the executives and head to the Elm Forest.”
Upon hearing Nadine’s words about raising the children to utilize them for her own power, the Demon King found an answer.
Judging that her strength was still not complete, he ultimately summoned all the executives and subordinates he controlled and headed to the Elm Forest.
However, the Demon King’s complacent judgment became the worst move that turned the tide of the world.
Levinia, a mere vampire, eventually evolved into a progenitor.
“──.”
Despite deploying the largest military force in the history of the Demon Tribe, only Nadine returned alive from the Elm Forest.
She was intentionally spared by Levinia and was used as a messenger to deliver her final warning to the Demon King.
《It was quite troublesome this time. But I hope this doesn’t happen again. It should be the children who defeat the Demon King, not me.》
The words conveyed by Levinia to the Demon King were both a warning and a notification.
However, among her exceedingly arrogant words,
What troubled the Demon King the most was the part that indicated the children he was caring for should play that role.
In that moment, the Demon King narrowed his eyes upon hearing those words.
The notion that the children should defeat the Demon King was something he could not comprehend at all.
He could not accept concepts that deviated from the laws and order of the world he had dominated.
The idea that children, particularly insignificant humans, would try to surpass him scratched at his pride and threatened his authority.
“…….”
However, after the events of that day, the Demon King’s power was greatly diminished, and for a time, he could not exert the same formidable presence as before.
Among the Demon Tribe under his rule, anxiety spread, and those who cast suspicious glances at his orders gradually increased.
The moment the existence of the Demon King was no longer absolute as it once was was the moment his influence began to wane, with followers of Levinia starting to emerge one by one.
Thus, in an unstable climate, ten years passed…
*
– Rustle
The power that had been suppressed by the Demon King’s extreme reign of terror began to spread again, and the world faced yet another change.
However, even so, my daily life did not particularly change.
From the beginning, I had little interest in the Demon King, nor did I have a strong ambition to draw some line.
Now that the children had grown to a certain degree, I had nothing else to worry about.
– Scratch, scratch
Sitting under the World Tree, I was spending a peaceful time setting up a small table.
As the sunlight softly descended, the wind passing through the leaves of the tree sounded like music.
“Hu-.”
Recently, news of the children achieving great success as adventurers frequently appeared in the newspapers.
The names of the children had become so famous that no one was unaware of them, and their achievements seemed to spread widely among many people.
“Hehe… All the hardships were worth it.”
When the children I had raised were chosen as the Messiah, it could be said that this fate was almost predestined.
Still, I couldn’t help but feel proud.
Just because they had been chosen as the Messiah didn’t mean their personalities matured instantaneously.
So whenever articles about the children appeared in the newspaper, I would clip them and keep them aside.
“I truly feel nostalgic… I can’t believe how much effort I put into leveling them up…”
In the past, I had made sure to bring almost-dead monsters or demon creatures every day so the children could land the finishing blow to level up.
The World Tree reacted to my mumbled thoughts and dropped a branch to the ground.
“When I first saw them, they were such helpless little kids, and now they’ve grown so much…”
“Levi, what are you doing here?”
Just as I was in the midst of reminiscing and basking in my pride, a large shadow suddenly loomed behind me, accompanied by a familiar yet mature voice.
“…You’re not out yet?”
“Yeah. I decided to take a break today.”
“Why?”
“You’ve been out working hard lately. You’ve completed many requests.”
“The world still needs you guys. It’s not the time to be relaxing.”
“What does it matter? The world isn’t going to fall apart just because we take a few days off.”
“…….”
Though it was nice that they grew up proudly, it was peculiar that for some reason, the children hadn’t yet become independent and were still residing in the church.
By now, they should have left the church and established themselves in the royal capital.
Despite gaining enough fame and honor, it was very strange that they were still here with me.
“Doesn’t it bother you to come and go here so often?”
“Hmm? No, actually, it’s nice to have a place to go back to.”
“If you stayed in the royal capital, you could get a much better house than here.”
Aizen, who had once been much smaller and frailer than me, had now grown like a storm.
He had already surpassed my height, and his physique was sturdy enough to be popular wherever he went…
“But you wouldn’t be there, Levi.”
“Aizen, I don’t think that’s something a 20-year-old adult man should say.”
“?”
Strangely enough, his inner self seemed not to have matured at all.
Although he displayed quite a mature side outside the church, to my eyes, he still resembled the 10-year-old Aizen.
“Sister─!!”
Following that, Ellie’s bright voice echoed.
After letting out a big sigh towards Aizen, I slowly turned my head toward the direction of the voice with a somewhat displeased expression.
“How is this──?!”
“I’m not wearing that.”
Bringing me a terribly embarrassing outfit without hesitation, Ellie, who had become the saint praised by everyone, had indeed grown as I had feared.
Ellie hated the calm and demure image of a saint intensely.
Especially in the saint’s outfit she was currently wearing, her stubborn personality was clearly evident…
“Ellie, I told you to refrain from wearing such revealing clothes as much as possible.”
“What?”
“What do you think people will think?”
“But I prefer wearing this. The saint robe is too restrictive for movement.”
“Even so, that’s….”
“Would you like to try it on, Sister? You must be getting tired of wearing the same clothes all the time.”
The once clingy Ellie had also grown explosively, similar to Aizen.
Her cute appearance from childhood had completely vanished.
Now, she boasted a perfect figure that could pull off any outfit.
“I brought back so many clothes from the royal capital, and it’s a bit disappointing you haven’t worn any of them.”
“Because all the clothes Ellie brought are torn and butchered.”
“They’re designed that way from the beginning…”
“I absolutely won’t wear such clothes.”
Although I felt a slight disappointment that the children’s innocent old selves had vanished,
I was still satisfied that they had become respectable hero party members.
“Don’t keep forcing your taste onto Levi. Plain clothes suit Levi the best.”
“How would you know that? I’m sure Sister would look good in any outfit.”
“Honestly, who else would wear clothes like this besides you? They all look ridiculous.”
“What’s wrong with that?! They all look pretty to me!!”
“And that’s why people say you’re a bit off. Where in the world is there a saint like this?”
“Where did you learn such mean words, you dimwit? You only go to the smithy, so you can’t possibly….”
Ignoring the endless bickering among the children, I calmly resumed my steps and casually stepped out of the shade of the World Tree.
Under the bright sun, I stood there in the open, warmly receiving the sunlight on my bare skin.
A few years ago, I inadvertently evolved from a vampire into a progenitor.
Now, I no longer feel the pain I once did from sunlight.
“Where are Iris and Rune?”
“…Ah, they’re probably in the kitchen right now.”
Progenitor.
Just seeing the word felt suffocating.
Although several years had passed since that term became a part of me, I still couldn’t get used to the fact that I was a progenitor.
Everything had changed from the time I was a vampire, and it couldn’t be said that those changes were entirely good.
Things that I could never have imagined in my previous life had become commonplace.
Mysterious sensations I had never felt before began to permeate my body.
“It’s fine to squabble like usual, but don’t take it too far.”
An undying body, an enhanced physique, instincts that surpassed senses.
An overwhelming existence that couldn’t be compared to an ordinary vampire.
Because of this, the children often began to secretly doubt me.
While they didn’t show it, I could still faintly discern the children’s thoughts and actions.
Especially since ten years had passed, rather than aging, I maintained my previous appearance.
For the children, aside from Rune, it was only natural that I would be suspicious.
There was a truth I hoped they wouldn’t discover until the end.
But considering I’m no longer at an age where I can simply play tricks, I think it’s about time to prepare myself mentally to some extent.
“They’ve all grown up now─.”
