Chapter 2 : My child is good

It is usually not the person themselves but the people around them who suffer from a cult.

While the believers devote their bodies, minds, and wealth to their faith and become intoxicated with religious ecstasy…

“Yoanna, hurry and greet the priest.”

“Yes, he is the savior who will guide Anna onto the right path.”

Those around them are dragged into something they never wanted.

After her gentle parents started attending strange gatherings, Yoanna’s life fell into ruin.

Her parents chose faith over their family.

They stripped their household of all wealth for offerings and sacrificed their own lives in service.

And then—

“Grace, grant me more grace…”

“I have offered my wife and daughter. Please, grant me the grace of our Father…!!”

“Do not worry. When you reach the afterlife, our Father will bestow upon you endless grace.”

Having lost their money and youth, her parents met their end as sacrifices, like livestock in a slaughterhouse.

As young Yoanna watched her parents’ final moments, she thought—

If our Father is truly omnipotent and merciful, as the priest claims, then why did my parents have to die?

If He is truly worthy of worship, why does the Empire not revere Him?

Why… was my family happier when we knew nothing of this so-called true faith?

‘Mother, Father… and everyone… you’re all liars.’

The day her parents’ heads sank into a pool of blood with blissful expressions on their faces,
Yoanna’s world also drowned in that pool of blood.

Even if they were foolish parents, there were still happy times that remained as memories for both them and their child.

Their deaths were enough to shatter the child’s world beyond repair.

“Here, eat this. It’ll make you feel better.”

“Look over there! With our Father’s grace, even a cripple can walk again!”

‘It’s all… lies.’

Left all alone, the child learned how to survive in her broken world.

The lies of others, malice disguised as goodwill, the venomous fangs hidden behind gentle tongues—

Yoanna only gained the ability to discern truth after losing her parents.

But what could a ten-year-old child possibly do with such a power?

She spent six years in the underground temple, hidden from the Empire’s gaze.

With no way to escape, no means to resist, the only thing she could do was refuse “grace” in defiance.

However—

“What a shame. You take after your parents, and your beauty is exceptional. I had thought to raise you as a servant, but… prepare her as the next offering.”

With just a single sentence from Albert, who had lost interest in her resistance, even that lost all meaning.

The only thing left for her to do was curse her enemies until the moment she drew her last breath…

Until—

“Is this… the mortal realm?”

Something answered her curse.

Drenched in a pool of blood, Yoanna could do nothing.

Or rather, it was more accurate to say there was nothing left for her to do.

“P-Please, spare me!!!”

The woman who whipped her every night screamed as she tried to flee.

The very woman Yoanna feared the most, the one who increased the number of lashes each time she resisted—

Crunch!

Without a single struggle, the woman vanished in an explosion of blood and flesh.

And that was only the beginning.

The fanatics she loathed screamed as they were reduced to mere splatters of blood.

And then—

“S-Salvation!?”

Albert, whom she thought she could never defeat, met the most gruesome end of all.

Yoanna understood.

Among the hands that dragged Albert away, her parents’ hands were there too.

That’s why—

“You must have been so afraid.”

The voice in front of her was gentle.

Yet the sight of the being who spoke filled her with terror.

Unconsciously, Yoanna wet herself as she stared at the entity before her with trembling eyes.

‘I’ve read about this in books. A horned being that preys on the souls of the dead…’

A demon.

The moment she saw its grotesque grin filled with fangs, Yoanna was certain—this was a demon.

At that moment, her body defied gravity and lifted into the air.

“Kyaaah!?”

“My, you must have been truly terrified by such a gruesome sight. Are you cold?”

Flinch!

Yoanna suddenly recalled the image of Albert, his face burned beyond recognition while still alive.

The sickening stench of melting flesh flashed in her mind, draining her face of all color.

“N-No, I’m fine! Not cold at all, absolutely not!!”

“You say that while trembling like a leaf. Not very convincing.”

Snap!

The demon snapped its fingers, as if her response didn’t matter.

A flicker of light bloomed from the friction of its fingers.

Fearing what was to come, Yoanna squeezed her eyes shut—

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong? Are you afraid of fire?”

The flame that spread from the demon’s fingers danced around her as if possessed by a spirit.

It was so beautiful that, without thinking, Yoanna reached out her hand.

‘N-No! If I touch it, I might burn!’

But then she reminded herself—touching fire was foolish.

No matter how beautiful, flames ultimately consume everything.

And then—

The demon, hiding its fangs, spoke to her.

“If you wish to touch it, you may.”

Yoanna looked up at the demon.

It had no eyes, no face, making it impossible to read its intentions.

But at the very least, she couldn’t sense any malice from it.

After hesitating for a moment, she reached toward the dancing flame—

“Aah…”

As it danced in her palm, a smile formed on her lips.

The warmth she had longed for, waited for, and prayed for was finally in her hands.

Fearing that it might leave, Yoanna gently cradled the small flame in both hands.

“What… are you doing to me?”

“You are a perceptive child. Why do you assume I want something?”

“Well, everyone wants something.”

Just like Albert, who brainwashed her parents in pursuit of divine blessings.

Just like her parents, who gave up their wealth and their child in search of greater ecstasy.

And just like herself, who had clung to the temple, craving her parents’ affection.

Every being moves only for what they desire.

She had simply realized this truth faster than others.

“That is true, but it is not something a child your age should be saying.”

“Huh?”

The demon’s hand patted her head.

Its hand, shaped like molten rock, was surprisingly warm—no, more than warm, it was soft.

Maybe it was because she had yearned for such pure affection for so long…

“W-Wait a moment.”

Tears streamed down her ruined face.

The hot tears she thought she would never shed again flowed endlessly.

The demon did not scold her.

It merely continued to gently stroke Yoanna’s head.

But time is never kind.

Drip… drip…

“D-Demon, your arm… it’s disappearing!”

“Ah… It seems I don’t have much time left.”

As the molten glow faded, the demon’s arm slowly crumbled away.

Unlike the panicked Yoanna, the demon simply wiped away her tears with its remaining hand.

Calming her with its warmth, it said—

“Yoanna, this world is stained with far too many sins. You may be just one of the many tragedies that occur here.”

Yoanna wanted to deny it.

She wanted to scream that no one had suffered more than she had.

But she couldn’t.

Because she realized—her time with this being was running out.

Perhaps pleased by her understanding, the demon stroked her head once more before continuing.

“But, unlike the countless others who will end in tragedy, you have seized a special opportunity.”

“What… do you want from me?”

She was ready to give anything—her body, mind, even her soul.

But—

Fwoosh.

“Take this.”

“What is… this?”

Even though she had been forced to learn about the world in the harshest way, Yoanna understood well the relationship between gods and their followers.

However—

“You don’t need to worship me.”

“What?”

He denied the obvious and gently pushed the flower bud into Yoanna’s chest.

Like planting a seed in the soil, the flower bud sank into Yoanna’s body and disappeared.

Fwoosh!

The flower, which had taken root in her body and soul, bloomed in full and spread its power.

Her body, broken by years of abuse, regained vitality, her twisted muscles and bones returned to their proper places, making her stronger than before.

Most importantly…

‘It’s warm.’

Inside her empty heart, a flower bloomed.

Yoanna had never felt such fullness before, and a smile spread across her face.

Realizing that all of this was thanks to him, she lifted her head—

“Ah…!”

“I want you to…”

She saw him turning to stone.

Still in the position of stroking her head, he continued speaking as his body hardened.

“Reduce the sins of this world… Then, we will meet again…”

“Demon? Demon!!!”

His voice was no longer heard.

He had turned completely to stone, frozen in the very posture of caressing her.

Unknowingly, Yoanna shed tears.

She roughly wiped them away.

‘We will meet again…’

The demon—no, my god—had promised.

For that day to come, Yoanna wiped her tears and stood up.

At that moment, the last sinner, who had been hiding and watching, attempted to flee the temple.

Clang!

“Gah! Guh!?”

A crimson chain shot from Yoanna’s fingertips and coiled around the sinner’s neck.

With a yank, the sinner was lifted off the ground and flung before Yoanna’s feet.

She looked down at the woman and spoke.

“You’re the infamous courtesan from the city, aren’t you?”

“Hiiik!? Y-Yes! That’s right! Please don’t kill me! I-I’ll donate to charity, I’ll live righteously, I swear…!”

Yoanna’s gaze toward the courtesan was anything but kind.

She wanted to kill those who had sworn loyalty to Albert.

But—

‘I’m still young. At least until I can survive on my own, I need a guardian.’

Fulfilling the duty given by her god required time.

“What’s your name?”

“M-Messalina.”

“Alright, Mesela, from now on, you will be my guardian. Understood?”

“It’s not Mesela, it’s Messalina…”

“What did you say?”

Flinch.

Messalina trembled as she met Yoanna’s gaze.

Those were not a child’s eyes.

They were deeper and darker than Albert’s—and filled with a burning desire.

Facing that desire, Messalina instinctively curled her lips into a stiff smile.

She must not resist.

The moment she resisted, she would suffer a fate far worse than the massacre she had just witnessed.

Messalina—no, Mesela—was certain of that.

“H-Hehehe! My name is Mesela!”

“That’s a good girl.”

This child was something far more terrifying than a demon.

Dantalion stared at the shattered mirror with a sulky expression.

The phrase sulky expression might have been odd since he had no face, but either way, he was in a bad mood.

Seeing this, Sitri spoke.

“You should’ve acted faster. This was a rare otherworldly mirror I got from Mammon’s firm.”

“This was supposed to be connected to the best passage? It broke too easily.”

“That’s because our great Grand Judge used too much power!”

Sitri grumbled as he used magic to clean up the shards of the broken mirror.

He never expected the carefully borrowed passage from Mammon’s boss to be destroyed so easily.

As he cleared the remnants, Sitri handed Dantalion a canned coffee and asked,

“So? Did you achieve your goal? I heard you were playing an angel.”

“I’m not sure what playing means, but… I believe I did.”

Dantalion nodded as he opened the can.

The connection had become unstable at the end, so some of his words might not have gotten through properly.

But the important message should have been delivered.

Besides, reducing sin wasn’t that difficult.

‘The key to reducing sin is morality, compassion, charity… Those noble virtues naturally lead to fewer sins.’

And the one entrusted with this role—Yoanna—was undoubtedly a good child.

Dantalion had judged countless sinners over the ages, and his eyes never failed him.

He was sure—

Yoanna would grow into a righteous child.