_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Inside the dim church, no one knew when the lights had been turned on.
But the scene inside felt like it belonged to another world entirely.
Snow-white peaks stacked one after another, and on them bloomed a single crimson flower.
Crystal-clear water trickled down the mountain stream, creating a dazzling, almost dream-like sight.
But right now, Edgar wasn't paying any attention to any of that.
It was like he had fallen into an abyss, with tough, unyielding restraints wrapping around his whole body.
He had no choice but to push his power higher.
Luckily, he'd been through countless battles and knew the importance of keeping his body and stance in sync.
He also knew the truth of "strike in one go, the second time's weaker, the third time's exhausted."
Pouring all his strength into one burst, he finally shattered the restraints in one blow.
By the time Edgar broke free from the abyss, Rinali—who had been fighting alongside him—was already gravely injured and unconscious.
"Ahhhhh…!"
The fallen angel Kalawarner screamed in agony, like her very soul was being torn apart.
She collapsed to her knees without needing any more words, begging for mercy.
Edgar pressed a hand on her shoulder, his expression icy and indifferent."As a fallen angel… do you now realize the kind of mistake you've made?"
Feeling that soul-deep pain, Kalawarner's tears began streaming down uncontrollably.
"I… I know I was wrong. Please, forgive—"
Before she could finish, Edgar cut her off.
"If you want to make up for a mistake, it's not about what you say—it's about what you do."
"You betrayed God, so you should be punished."
"Clean away the filth. That's also part of your atonement."
"I… I know I was wrong too…"
The 1.4-meter-tall Mittelt rolled over quickly like a little dog, all dignity and pride already abandoned under the soul-ripping torment.
Under the hard work of Mittelt and Kalawarner, the church slowly became spotless and bright again.
Only the red petals on the ground seemed even more eye-piercing now.
The onlookers stared with jaws hanging open.
The way things had turned out… was way beyond anything they expected.
The once ruthless trio of fallen angels… now could only bark like dogs.
Gulp!
Asia swallowed hard and glanced at the statue of God in the church.
She clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and prayed, "Almighty Lord, please forgive—Ow ow ow!"
Before she could finish, she clutched her head in pain and yelped.
"…." ×N.
This girl was on another level.
How many times had this happened already? She really never learned her lesson.
Shiho Miyano and the others glanced at Asia, then at Edgar.
The contrast between those two was… something else.
"Alright, this place is handled. Time for us to go."
Edgar snapped his fingers.
In the next instant—
A flash of light, and everyone vanished.
...
The next day.
Though it was morning, the sunlight felt unusually harsh.
Edgar opened his eyes and looked around at his followers.
As usual, Belmod and Shiho Miyano had been dragged into it.
"Mmm…" ×2
Sensing Edgar's gaze, the two women mumbled and opened their eyes.
Shiho Miyano looked at him with a strange, slightly sulky tone."Master, you've only been back one day… and you've already added four more followers."
Edgar stroked his chin, counting in his head."Actually… it's six."
Shiho Miyano's eyes went wide in disbelief.
The color drained from her face in an instant.
"Master… then why didn't you bring them here?"
Belmod also sounded a bit jealous.
"Oh, they're in another world."
"Another world?" ×2
Both women blurted it out without thinking.
Edgar nodded and began explaining.
The more they listened, the more shocked they looked, their mouths slowly falling open.
"So that's how it is…"
They'd been demons for a while now, and their understanding of the world had grown.
They knew all too well—
This seemingly peaceful world hid an unbelievable amount of mystery and danger.
And the more they learned, the more they understood just how hard certain things were.
Like traveling to another world.
It was already proven to exist, but countless factions were after it.
For demons especially, it meant a huge potential population to convert.
Even demon kings had tried to find it… and all had failed.
Yet their master had done it.
And not only that—
Their reincarnation ritual had been special too.
From what they understood, it had completely surpassed the "demon chess piece" method even the demon king used.
It was overwhelming.
Their master had accomplished two feats greater than a demon king.
Suddenly, their jealousy felt… kind of petty.
Their gazes toward him grew more respectful.
"What's with those eyes?"
Edgar blinked, a bit confused.
It almost felt like their affection for him had gone up again.
At that moment, Rinali and the others stirred and began waking up.
When they saw Edgar, their bodies froze.
The memories of yesterday came rushing back—
Their bodies trembled instinctively with fear.
"Since you're awake… shouldn't you say hello?"
"H-Hello." ×3
"Still half-asleep? Call me Master."
His calm voice hit their ears like a thunderclap.
With a thud, all three dropped to their knees.
"Good morning, Master." ×3
"Mm, very good."
Like he was petting kittens, Edgar gave each of them a head-pat.
The crushing humiliation in their eyes flared—
But before the thought could grow, they shivered again.
Yesterday's lesson was still burned into their minds.
They didn't dare cross the line.
Satisfied, Edgar asked, "Which one of you knows how to take a Sacred Gear from a human body?"
"I-I do," Rinali answered quickly, smart enough to read the room."Does Master want me to prepare the ritual?"
"Yeah. After breakfast."
"..."
________________________________________________________________________________________________________