Prologue Part 3

{Listen carefully creations of Ishta, for I will not repeat myself twice.}

{These are my demands.}

{My first condition. All countries that participated in the war against us (basically everyone on Solaris) must unconditionally surrender and recognize us as their new rulers. However, they may keep their thrones and titles, for they shall act as my proxies. I will not ask for tributes but send some of my most trusted subordinates to monitor you all.}

{My second condition. All countries must have their armies disarmed and disbanded. Anyone found with a weapon will be punishable by death. All weapon production facilities must be registered. Otherwise, they will be treated as rebel forces and be forcibly shut down. If anyone is found with a weapon apart from necessary tools like shovels, pickaxes, sickles and the like, they will be immediately put to death under charges of rebellion.}

{My third condition. All research and practice on magic, alchemy, medicine and other related studies must be strictly monitored by members of my personnel so that you will all refrain from researching abominations like the Homunculi you wish to use as weapons to overthrow me.}

{My fourth condition. All whom you label as Demons or Monsters are to be treated equally. Those who discriminate against them will be punishable by the law. Those who kill or harm them in the name of your Goddess will be punishable by death.}

{My fifth and final condition, which is related to your religion. The abolishment of the Ishtaris Church, all members must step down from their positions. However, the practice of the faith will still be allowed only in certain countries and areas.}

{These are my conditions, so long as they are met, not one drop of blood will be spilled, and you may all forever live in peace.}

The conditions the Demon King offered were all very enticing, but Charles sensed there was something amiss.

As if reading his thoughts. Demon King Notoros offered them time to consider his offer.

Right now, Charles was seated in a tent alongside other leaders of the Coalition Army at a round table to decide their answer.

Besides Izelia, who was seated on his right, there were several others.

Sir Crow, a blonde-haired, bulky paladin with high status wearing silver armour from the Kingdom of Taran. A Saint of the Goddess.

Restina, a girl dressed in gold and white priest robes, although not affiliated with the Church, she was known as the Healing Saint, her healing powers were so great that she could resurrect the dead. Funnily enough, she was a Saint of the Goddess.

Arkises, a silver-haired woman in black tights and a loose-fitting tunic of white silk. Arkises also wore ornaments that depicted the moon and carried a beautifully decorated scythe. She was the leader of the Nocturnes, a group that have obtained eternal youth by worshipping the moon. She was also a Saint of the Goddess.

Mina Asami, a brown-haired girl glass-wearing girl who wore a thick maroon sweater and a short light blue skirt. She was the President of the Academy city state Macchina. Despite lacking in mana and strength, she made up for it with the destructive technology she uses that came from another world called Japon or something. Despite her being an atheist, she was also a Saint.

[Author's Note: FYI, Izelia is also a Saint. I forgot to mention that at the beginning. Saints and the Chosen will be explained later in the novel.]

Aside from the Saints and Charles (the Chosen), there were several other prominent figures.

The mature nun queen Ardiene of Ezra.

The petite pink-haired head priest of the Ishtaris Church, Angelina.

Young warrior queen Chloette of Solaru.

Bazaar, a dark elf that was the world's number-one merchant, he provided the Coalition Army with well over 50% of its funds and supplies.

There were several others, but none of them had enough political influence to participate in the meeting.

Charles started off the meeting with a quick analysis of the situation.

"Alright, everyone, as we are all familiar with each other, I will skip the formalities and get straight to the point."

"Right now, we have two options."

"The first option is for us to agree to the Demon King's terms. No blood will be spilled, but that also means we will forever live under the control of a tyrant as he spreads his evil influence to other continents."

"The second option is to fight. This will result in blood spilt and many lives lost. There is also no guarantee that we will defeat the Demon King, who has already slain six Chosens. If we lose this battle, the Demon King will force harsher demands on the survivors. However, if we win this battle, we will forever rid ourselves of this great evil and live in freedom and peace for a long time to come."

"I personally already came to a decision, but I would like to hear others' opinions."

Everyone quietly discussed among themselves for a while before voicing out their opinions.

The first to do so was Crow.

"Sir Charles, I am no thinker, but after fighting alongside you for the past few years. I have already decided I will follow you to the ends of Solaris."

Ardiene, Angelina, Chloette and Bazaar followed suit.

"Without your aid, I could never have ascended the throne of Ezra, so I will go with what you decide."

"Normally, the Church would immediately try to exterminate the Demons without a second thought, but since you're the Goddess' Chosen, we'll let you decide."

"Although I'm still a kid, I'm going follow whatever path you choose, just like with Ardiene. Without your help, I would become a puppet or overthrown by those corrupt nobles and schemers."

"I already invested a lot into this war, so I can't back down now. If we win, I won't just be the richest merchant but the richest man in the world! However, I wouldn't be a merchant if I don't meet my customers' demands, so I'll leave it to you, my employer."

This left only Restina, Arkises, Izelia and Mina.

Mina was fiddling with some weird gizmo of hers. Meanwhile, Restina was busy stuffing cookies into her mouth.

Charles could already guess that Izelia will go along with whatever decision he makes, so the only one left was Arkises.

Despite Charles being the leader of the Coalition, Arkises was one of the first Saints that fought alongside the First Chosen of the Goddess and had the most seniority out of all of them. This meant that her opinions carried a lot of weight and influence.

Arkises' sad golden eyes stared into space with melancholy, most likely recalling the past wars she fought against the Demon King and how each one would end with a draw and the death of the Chosen she had once sworn to serve.

Her trauma ran deep from witnessing the deaths of all her friends and comrades she once fought alongside with. If it weren't for her best friend's/Restina's begging and Charles' inspirational speech, she would have remained in her shrine on Moonlit Mountain for the rest of her eternal life.

The traumatized Saint looked at Charles and asked him a question.

"Charles, have you ever had any regrets."

"Yes, I had many regrets."

Arkises' eyes stared into Charles', gold meeting gold.

"Do you ever wish to travel to the past to make a different choice?"

"Many times."

(Especially with Vilitor, where had I gone wrong with him? Perhaps if I had talked to him more, I could have found out the reason why he chose to go astray. Sadly what's done is done.)

"How do you do it?"

Arkises' next question broke Charles out of his thought

"How do you move on from the loss of your friends and comrades?"

Charles leaned back in his chair and stroked his mustache, thinking.

Everyone just looked at him and couldn't help but think he looked exactly like an old grandpa trying to find the best way to explain the birds and the bees to his grandchild.

[Author's Note: Not the best example, but go with it.]

"I don't move on."

Arkises was surprised by his answer.

"You don't? Then how can you be so calm and level-headed all the time?"

"It is but a facade. In my heart, I sorely miss them. However, if you forget the pain their loss brings, then you will soon forget them as well. Therefore, I will never forget the pain."

"As for how I am able to move forward? It's because I know that they would want me to continue on, so until I fall, I will continue to proudly march onwards carrying the dreams and wishes of my friends and comrades."

After listening to his speech, Arkises contemplated Charles' words for a while before bursting into laughter.

"Pffft!"

"Hahahahaha!"

Everyone in the tent just stared at Arkises as though she were a mad woman.

After all, this was the first time anyone had seen her laugh.

"Ha, for me who has lived for centuries to be lectured by a youngster, the world is either entering a new era or coming to an end."

"Thank you, Charles. If not for your words, I would still have dwelled in the cage of sorrow I built around myself."

"As for my opinion about the Demon King's proposal, I believe the one who should make that decision is you, and I think Restina and Mina agree as well."

Restina and Mina simply nodded or gave a thumbs up in confirmation.

The only ones remaining who haven't voiced their opinions were Charles and Izelia.

Everyone waited silently for Izelia's response.

Izelia remained unruffled by the stares and gave her opinion.

"Sir Charles, you should already know my answer. Whatever you wish to achieve, I will always remain by your side and support your goals. For life until death."

Charles chuckled.

"Hohoho! It seems that my worries were groundless. Don't worry, I have already made my decision. I shall reveal it in public in front of everyone."

"Now then! Let us reminisce about the embarrassing stories of our past before the main event!"

[Few Hours of Drinking Later]

Everyone, except for Chloette and Restina, lay in their spots feeling inebriated.

Thankfully Restina's healing abilities purged the alcohol muddying their senses and returned them to normal.

However, the healing process involved a lot of regurgitation.

Soon enough, the whole tent was filled with the pungent smell of vomit and alcohol.

Thanks to the Blessing bestowed upon him by Ishta, Charles was the first to recover.

After everyone recovered and cleaned up the mess they made, Charles addressed the group.

"Everyone, we have shared our stories, mourned our fallen comrades, and laughed at fun and foolish times we shared together. Let us have no regrets as we march forward to a new era! Come! Let us go and meet the Devil!"

[A Few Minutes Later On The Battlefield]

Demon King Notoros and Charles stood face-to-face once again with both their armies present to witness the negotiations.

Everyone stood watching as the two held a staring contest, as though sizing each other up before fighting.

Notoros was the first to break the silence.

{Chosen of Ishta, have you and your lot decided to accept my demands?}

Charles took a few seconds to think before replying.

"Demon King Notoros, you offer a very tempting deal. However, do you mind telling me the penalty for breaching the contract again? My age is really getting to me."

{Hahaha! If you weren't actually nearing the end of your pathetically short lifespan, I would have ripped you limb from limb and fed your carcass to the hounds!}

{Listen carefully, although you are quite entertaining, my patience has its limits.}

{The penalty is simple, if a person from your side were to violate the deal, you will all die. If a person from our side violates the deal, then we would all die.}

{Now then, do you accept?}

Everyone waited with bated breath for Charles' answer that will forever change the world.

Charles smirked and gave his verdict.

"Normally, I would accept such a deal if it leads to the least amount of suffering and death."

"However, do you think I wouldn't know about the sleeper agents you planted among our ranks?"

"Don't think I don't know what you are doing, after we sign the Death Contract, you plan on activating the sleeper agents to purposefully break the contract and cause the death of all the Creations of Ishta!"

Everyone was shocked by this sudden revelation and loophole in the contract that would have sealed their doom.

Notoros looked at Charles with interest. Before their armies clashed, the Demon King asked Charles a question.

{How did you figure it out Chosen of Ishta? It should have been foolproof.}

"There were three things that tipped me off."

"The first reason was Vilitor."

{Oh? So he betrayed us?}

"No, as far as I know, he's on your side. However, for you to be able to corrupt one of the Solaris' finest knights to come to your side shows that you could corrupt others as well and leave them hidden until the time was right."

{A plausible reason, what else?}

"The vagueness of the contract. Although it seemed solid on the outside, what counts as breaking the contract is loosely defined."

{True.}

"Lastly, you're a Demon, and Demons want nothing more than the destruction of all creations of Ishta. I could easily tell from the murderous intent in your eyes."

The Demon King was stupefied by this last reason, and after recollecting himself, he laughed.

{HAHAHAHA! Brilliant! To think you would see my true colours! Very well Chosen of Ishta! Let us not waste more time playing childish mind games and move on to the main show!}

"Yes, let us commence the final act."

Both leaders yelled at their respective factions.

{Men! Let us crush these insects and purge the world in eternal Hell Fire! Attack!}

"Everyone! For the future, our freedom and the Goddess, charge!!!"

This was it, negotiations had completely broken down.

A legendary battle for the future of Solaris takes place.

Only one side can come out on top.

On this fateful day that would forever change the world of Solaris, Charles Integra...

Died.

[Author's Note: Sorry for the late post, had a lot on my plate. The next chapter will be the first official chapter of the series.]