Via heard a strange term from her father’s mouth.
She really had not expected this mysterious stone to have such an origin.
“What is this thing? And Father, who exactly are you?”
“It’s a long story… But if you want to know, I can tell you slowly.”
Constantine organized his thoughts and recalled the past.
He began with a shocking fact.
“In the very distant past, demonkin and humans were the same race.”
“Demonkin were humans?”
“That’s right,” Constantine nodded. “The Desolate Fallen Continent wasn’t the way you see it now. It was once a land bursting with life.”
Long ago, a vast and powerful ancient human kingdom had existed in the southern part of the Theia Continent. Its strength was overwhelming; none of the surrounding foreign races could rival it. One could even say it had the qualifications to claim dominance over the entire continent.
Yet at the height of the ancient kingdom’s prosperity, a cataclysm occurred.
A mysterious meteorite descended from beyond the heavens, trailing purple light that nearly illuminated the whole continent in the darkness of night. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, it crashed into the southern region of the ancient kingdom.
The meteorite’s fall triggered a horrifying disaster. The aura spreading from it expanded rapidly.
These eerie auras possessed an extremely strong corrosive property. They caused plants to wither, turned ordinary beasts into frenzied creatures, and transformed the humans who came into contact with them. Most of those humans became monsters, while a small portion retained their sanity. Yet even their temperaments underwent earth-shaking changes, becoming bloodthirsty and warlike. They even began attacking their own people.
Although the ancient kingdom tried its utmost to contain the disaster, pouring in vast amounts of manpower and resources, it still failed in the face of a heavenly calamity.
The spreading disaster made the kingdom’s situation completely uncontrollable. War broke out between the south and the north, ultimately causing the ancient kingdom to collapse entirely.
In the end, the Yamar River became the dividing line, and the south and north formed two separate nations—and two separate races: demonkin and humans.
…This was the origin of the Desolate Fallen Continent and the demonkin. The humans who could not withstand the abyssal aura back then became abyssal beasts, while those who endured it became the later demonkin. After adapting to the abyssal aura, the demonkin lived on this land and renamed it the Desolate Fallen Continent.
Constantine recounted this unknown stretch of history to Via.
“Then… Father, you are…?”
“When the meteorite from beyond the heavens fell, I was living in the southern part of the ancient kingdom. I was also the person closest to the impact site, and I immediately led others to the scene.”
Constantine explained:
“I was the first human to come into contact with the meteorite from outer space. Perhaps my constitution was special, but after touching it, I gained extraordinary power. All my other companions died. Only I survived… The world at that time was far too chaotic. There was no leader, tragedies unfolded every day, and everyone needed a leader to stabilize the south. Otherwise, the infighting on this land would never end. Moreover, the humans in the north wanted to wipe us out completely. So I stepped forward and became the first Demon King.”
“The first Demon King?” Via realized something. “Father, did you create the Demon King Armament?”
“No wonder!” Constantine nodded.
Via understood.
That was why the Demon King Armament’s system had verified her and assigned her the number 001. It was because she had inherited Constantine’s bloodline—her father was the original Demon King.
“My original intention was to lead those infected humans—the demonkin—in building a new order on this barren land. However, as my strength grew and my authority increased, I gradually lost my original heart! I was no longer satisfied with the status quo,” Constantine sighed. “At the time, a mad idea even sprang up in my mind. The meteorite from outer space wasn’t a disaster—it was a gift. If I continued to spread the abyssal aura and infect all races, then as the Demon King I could completely rule the entire continent. Under that temptation, I began this plan.”
“That really was too insane.”
Via felt her father had gone a bit overboard. If that plan had truly been carried out in full, countless foreign races would have died.
Fortunately, before I was completely lost, I woke up. I realized my mistake and stopped the plan in time. To atone, I gave up my position as Demon King and decided to seal the meteorite from outer space with my own body, so this ominous object would not tempt others into repeating my error.
Constantine raised his head and gazed at the meteorite from outer space.
“I gathered a large number of abyssal beasts into the Thousand Sea Abyss and used the abyssal aura of the meteorite to make them active in the surrounding area, creating a natural protective belt to prevent others from approaching. At the same time, I sealed myself to the greatest extent possible, turning my entire being into a single command dedicated to sealing the meteorite from outer space.”
“After that, did something unexpected happen?”
Via guessed.
If everything had gone according to Constantine’s plan, her father should never have met her mother.
“Indeed, it was a case of many small mistakes piling up,” Constantine said somewhat helplessly. “Although my sense of self had become extremely faint, a little remained in order to carry out the command. Over the long years of wear and tear, countless tiny errors accumulated until the command to seal myself finally stopped executing.”
Via felt her father had endured too much. He had received the gift of power, yet he had also shouldered a heavy mission.
“I left the Thousand Sea Abyss and lost my past memories, becoming a newly born demonkin. Everything in the outside world felt both bewildering and fascinating to me. After experiencing all kinds of things and learning from other demonkin about the human nations to the north, curiosity drove me northward to the Yamar River. I crossed the border that separated humans from demonkin and arrived in the Saint Luo Empire.”
Could it be…?
Via had already guessed something.
“You’re very smart, Via. You must have already figured out what happened next, right?”
Constantine smiled faintly.
Recalling that period of his past, he still felt boundless happiness.
“Just as you thought, it was in that state that I met your mother—the person I love most—Sylvia Shirleyford.”