1991, early spring yet to arrive, Tokyo, Japan.
Deep beneath the city, in a vast underground cavern untouched by light, something stirred—an amorphous chaos of despair and desire, a mass of pitch-black filth.
Its existence alone was an abyss. The being that writhed in the dark was the very condensation of the world's malice.
"…"
The black sludge let out a sound that resembled a sigh, gazing up toward the high concrete ceiling of the sewers.
With that sigh, the entire dark sea beneath the city began to boil.
It was like the "black wave rising without wind" described in the Book of Revelation.
That black mud had a name—Kaelith.
He hadn't always been this way. Once, he was just an ordinary human.
Thanks to an excellent system, Kaelith had successfully crossed into the Type-Moon universe.
That was rare enough in itself.
Motivated by the spirit of a desperate last-minute student, Kaelith got himself a job right after transmigration.
His workplace: Tokyo's underground sewer system.
Who could've thought that even after reincarnation, he'd still be condemned to spend his life in a sewer?
But that wasn't even the worst part.
On his very first day of work, ignorant of the sufferings of the Tokyo populace, Kaelith was devoured by a mass of unknown black mud.
An early death and early reincarnation—so it seemed.
But even after being swallowed, Kaelith's soul did not perish. It struggled on, refusing to yield.
Perhaps because he was a soul from a higher dimension… or because his spirit naturally resonated with the black mud.
Whatever the reason, after six days and seven nights of struggle, the will of the black mud was extinguished.
Kaelith's consciousness had taken over.
At that moment, he came to understand exactly what he had become.
Throughout human history, this existence bore many names that inspired terror across the ages:
The Beast of Revelation.
The Number of the Beast.
Master Therion.
The Seven-Headed, Ten-Horned Antichrist.
The False Messiah.
The Beast of Sodom.
Satan.
The Great Red Dragon.
But within the Type-Moon world, there was one title that fit best—
The embodiment of desire and gluttony, the King of Blasphemy, the one who holds the Authority of Murder.
The Sixth Beast — Beast VI.
That said, right now Kaelith was only a larva—an unhatched cocoon.
He would have to collect seven Heroic Spirits through the Holy Grail War before his seven heads of sin could be born and his ten crowns of blasphemy awakened.
"…But I don't really want to destroy the world."
Kaelith sighed again.
He was so hungry.
Since becoming the Sixth Beast, an endless hunger gnawed at him every moment.
He had long since lost his sense of time.
A day? Three months? Ten years? Sixty-five million years?
Without proper senses, even the concept of time slipped away.
Then, one day—
Though no one uttered the words "Let there be light," a sudden radiance pierced the darkness.
"Huh? That's strange. I'm sure I placed a barrier to keep ordinary people out."
A clear, melodic voice woke Kaelith from his slumber. He lifted his faceless head and looked upward.
A girl stood there, glowing faintly amidst the blackness. She was small and slender, wearing a green dress.
Her pale-gold hair reflected her sky-blue eyes. Her doll-like face showed nothing but confusion.
Like a radiant flower blooming in filth—her name was Manaka Sajyou.
Through memories from both his past life and the "core of the demon god" within him, Kaelith understood everything.
This girl had stolen a Christian relic from the Church and buried it beneath Tokyo—to serve as the egg of the Beast.
Manaka Sajyou was one of the culprits who had turned him into a monster.
Yet, oddly enough, Kaelith didn't feel hatred toward her.
After all, this girl—more beautiful than any flower—was gazing upon a grotesque abomination like him with a gentle smile.
"You've been a good child, haven't you?" she said softly.
The fairy-like song echoed through the cavern, and even though Kaelith had no organs, he could feel his nonexistent heart pounding violently.
The fading will of the devoured black mud sent one final ripple outward—an overwhelming surge of inhuman desire.
It wanted to devour.
To violate.
To destroy.
To kill.
To defile.
To fall.
No—before all of that, there was something more primal.
The original, fundamental desire that preceded all others—
To be born.
Yes… I want to be born.
Then, the black mud made a sound—the very first sound every human being learns to make after birth.
A word that transcended nations, races, and colors—
"Mama."
The cavern without wind roared like a tsunami of darkness, releasing its newborn cry.
"...Impossible."
Manaka blinked in disbelief at the Beast who had already gained reason and language—then smiled.
"There are still three years before the Fuyuki Holy Grail War. You really can't wait to be born, can you?"
She smoothed her skirt and crouched by the edge of the black pit, resting her chin on one finger as she tilted her head.
"That's troublesome. To hatch, you'll need seven Heroic Spirits—or thousands of human souls as sacrifices. Can't you wait a little longer?"
Mama. Mama. Mama.
The black cocoon quivered.
I want to be born. I want to be born. I want to be born.
The formless sea of flesh boiled and screamed. Manaka, however, smiled serenely and reached out her hand toward the darkness.
"…Hehe. Such a willful child."
But the moment her pale fingers touched the mud, they began to dissolve.
"Eh?"
She looked curiously at her melting fingers and the bright red blood that followed—not in pain, but in wonder.
"Oh, I see."
Speaking half to the child and half to herself, the mother murmured softly—
"If a living sacrifice is needed… then isn't there one right here?"
"Mama… Mama…"
Realizing her intent, Kaelith convulsed in horror, his body rising in a desperate wave.
You must not cross this line.
Yet the girl who called herself his mother mistook the violent thrashing for joy at imminent birth.
She knelt down and spread her arms.
"Hehe… Can't wait anymore? Come now—eat me, my good child~"
Smiling, the girl embraced the mountainous black mud.
"...Ugh."
Her pained expression lasted only an instant before she was dissolved.
Her beautiful dress, her pale skin, her slender limbs, her lovely face—everything disintegrated the moment it touched the mud.
Even the Mother of Babylon, the so-called Empress of the Root, was as fragile as salt before the authority of the Beast.
The angel once told John:
The beast with seven heads and ten horns will seize the mother's treasure, strip her of her garments, devour her flesh, and burn her bones.
Thus, the prophecy of the Book of Revelation was fulfilled.
After the girl was devoured, the sea of flesh grew calm again, as if nothing had ever happened.
"…I see."
Then, in the silence, a boy's voice echoed above the dark sea.
"Though this human shell feels a bit restrictive… this sense of constraint isn't unpleasant."
And from the depths of the abyss, two figures slowly rose.
The newly born boy held Manaka in his arms as he stepped out of the dark tide.
The Beast VI, now in human form, had manifested.
Kaelith looked down at the girl in his embrace—she had opened her dazed eyes. The exhausted mother raised a trembling hand and touched the boy's face.
"…Kaelith, let's go home."
After leaving the sewers, Kaelith and Manaka walked together through the bustling streets of Tokyo at night.
Kaelith had somehow managed to find a blanket, which he wrapped around their bare bodies.
The two heads poking out from under the blanket leaned against each other, hand in hand, walking in sync on their way home.
From a distance, they looked like a pair of cloaked wanderers—utterly out of place amid the modern cityscape.
Having taken on human form, the Beast known as Sodom's Beast now appeared as a young boy.
A boy, about 150 centimeters tall—his skin pale, his short hair black as ink, his cold black eyes giving off a quiet, indifferent air.
"Why did you do something so reckless?"
There was a trace of reproach in Kaelith's tone.
"If I hadn't spat you out in time and reconstructed your body, you'd be dead right now."
"Reckless? No, you're mistaken," Manaka said softly, resting her head against his shoulder and giving a small shake.
"I intended for this from the very beginning—to be eaten by you… and to let you consume my world."
…
Kaelith's creator—Manaka Sajyou—was a girl who embodied truth itself.
She was the girl who could accomplish anything.
When she wished for life, life bloomed.
When she whispered death, death spread.
You could say the world was connected to her—and she to the world.
The omniscient, omnipotent girl.
Everything could be controlled, achieved, or destroyed at her whim.
Yet precisely because of that, she could find no joy in anything. So she set a single rule for herself—
[Never look upon your own future.]
A being on par with the world itself, she deliberately limited her own omnipotence.
A rule. A restraint. A chain.
Without limitation, omnipotence was far too boring.
And in the end, her decision had been correct.
She managed to keep on "living." But that was all it was—just existing.
She saw all, owned all, understood all.
At the end of her selflessness, gazing upon the pure-white purgatory from the throne of divinity, she was, for all intents and purposes—a god.
But aside from living like a ghost, she had no other choice.
For her, there was nothing to expect from the future.
After all, this was "a world where the prince will never appear."
Though Manaka was the ruler of this world, she was never its protagonist.
To live was to suffer endlessly.
To live while dying.
To die while living.
No pain. No sorrow. No joy. No hope.
Day after day, a walking corpse going through the motions.
Eventually, her mind reached its breaking point.
And then, Manaka made a decision that defied her own creators—
Let it all perish.
This dull, meaningless world.
Along with the entire history of mankind—its very foundation, human order itself—let it all be destroyed.
"The result of that decision… is you, my precious child."
Manaka stopped walking. From beneath the blanket, she reached out and cupped Kaelith's face in her hands.
"You are a Beast—born from the tainted Holy Grail, the incarnation of calamity."
In Christian legend, there once existed two Holy Grails.
The first was the true Holy Grail—the cup that held the blood of the Savior, said to perform miracles.
The other, however, was the Cup of Abundance—the one that appeared alongside the Beast and the Whore of Babylon in Revelation, symbolizing mankind's greed and pride.
They looked exactly the same—only the contents they once held were different.
One held holy blood. The other, filth.
A certain Cardinal of the Holy Church had unknowingly kept the latter, mistaking it for the true Grail.
Manaka stole that false Grail from him—and buried it beneath Tokyo.
Using it as a catalyst, she nurtured a demon king strong enough to annihilate this tedious, agonizing world.
That demon king was Kaelith, the Beast VI.
And what is a Beast?
If Manaka was the princess who possessed the world, then Kaelith was the Beast destined to destroy it.
"When you roar, people will wail, and cities will burn. The earth will crumble, the seas will turn red with blood. When you open your jaws, everything woven by life—The world, history, dreams, wishes… even time, space, and causality—will all be devoured by you."
Her flawless face glowed faintly with joy as she spoke, her eyes moist and shimmering.
"So, I once longed for you—to eat me, to eat my world."
"…Once?"
"Yes. Once."
Manaka nodded gently.
"But not anymore. There's no need to destroy the world—or to kill me. None of that matters anymore."
"…"
Kaelith fell silent, lost in thought.
What could have caused such a change in her heart?
She had been in utter despair about the world only moments ago.
"…Did something good happen?" Kaelith asked.
He suspected the reason—though it felt a little self-congratulatory to admit it.
It was probably something like, 'Because of your existence, Manaka realized this world isn't entirely meaningless.'
He waited expectantly for her to say those words.
"Yes, something good happened. Today is a special day… the most important day of all."
Suddenly, Manaka let go of his hand, her bare feet tapping lightly as she skipped away from him.
She spun. And spun again.
"You who gave me a heart—my beloved child!
You who saved my life—my noble one!"
In the dim alleyway, lit only by fragments of scattered city light, Manaka twirled joyfully, innocent and radiant as she danced.
Her slender, fair body glowed under the faint light—elegant, dazzling, and impossibly beautiful.
"Happy birthday, Kaelith!"
"Hey! Wait—don't run off like that! Put the blanket back on! What if someone else sees you?!"
Ah, girls… I give up.
Kaelith threw the blanket over her and managed to catch her in time.
Manaka crouched down, a bit flustered, the blanket forming a small hill around her curled-up body.
Kaelith stood over her, arms crossed, looking down sternly.
"Enough fooling around. I'd rather not spend my birthday in jail for public indecency—with my mother, no less."
"...Mmm… it's so dark. I can't see anything."
A few seconds later, Manaka lifted the edge of the blanket like a kitten poking its head out.
"Sorry, Kaelith. I think I misjudged your nature. You're not a Beast of Calamity after all."
Kaelith blinked, puzzled.
"Huh? Then what am I supposed to be? Aren't I Beast VI—the Antichrist?"
Manaka met his eyes and nodded softly.
A faint blush spread across her cheeks as she whispered—
"Kaelith… you must be my own Messiah—the Savior born for Manaka alone."
After leaving the sewers, Kaelith and Manaka walked together through the bustling streets of Tokyo at night.
Kaelith had somehow managed to find a blanket, which he wrapped around their bare bodies.
The two heads poking out from under the blanket leaned against each other, hand in hand, walking in sync on their way home.
From a distance, they looked like a pair of cloaked wanderers—utterly out of place amid the modern cityscape.
Having taken on human form, the Beast known as Sodom's Beast now appeared as a young boy.
A boy, about 150 centimeters tall—his skin pale, his short hair black as ink, his cold black eyes giving off a quiet, indifferent air.
"Why did you do something so reckless?"
There was a trace of reproach in Kaelith's tone.
"If I hadn't spat you out in time and reconstructed your body, you'd be dead right now."
"Reckless? No, you're mistaken," Manaka said softly, resting her head against his shoulder and giving a small shake.
"I intended for this from the very beginning—to be eaten by you… and to let you consume my world."
…
Kaelith's creator—Manaka Sajyou—was a girl who embodied truth itself.
She was the girl who could accomplish anything.
When she wished for life, life bloomed.
When she whispered death, death spread.
You could say the world was connected to her—and she to the world.
The omniscient, omnipotent girl.
Everything could be controlled, achieved, or destroyed at her whim.
Yet precisely because of that, she could find no joy in anything. So she set a single rule for herself—
[Never look upon your own future.]
A being on par with the world itself, she deliberately limited her own omnipotence.
A rule. A restraint. A chain.
Without limitation, omnipotence was far too boring.
And in the end, her decision had been correct.
She managed to keep on "living." But that was all it was—just existing.
She saw all, owned all, understood all.
At the end of her selflessness, gazing upon the pure-white purgatory from the throne of divinity, she was, for all intents and purposes—a god.
But aside from living like a ghost, she had no other choice.
For her, there was nothing to expect from the future.
After all, this was "a world where the prince will never appear."
Though Manaka was the ruler of this world, she was never its protagonist.
To live was to suffer endlessly.
To live while dying.
To die while living.
No pain. No sorrow. No joy. No hope.
Day after day, a walking corpse going through the motions.
Eventually, her mind reached its breaking point.
And then, Manaka made a decision that defied her own creators—
Let it all perish.
This dull, meaningless world.
Along with the entire history of mankind—its very foundation, human order itself—let it all be destroyed.
"The result of that decision… is you, my precious child."
Manaka stopped walking. From beneath the blanket, she reached out and cupped Kaelith's face in her hands.
"You are a Beast—born from the tainted Holy Grail, the incarnation of calamity."
In Christian legend, there once existed two Holy Grails.
The first was the true Holy Grail—the cup that held the blood of the Savior, said to perform miracles.
The other, however, was the Cup of Abundance—the one that appeared alongside the Beast and the Whore of Babylon in Revelation, symbolizing mankind's greed and pride.
They looked exactly the same—only the contents they once held were different.
One held holy blood. The other, filth.
A certain Cardinal of the Holy Church had unknowingly kept the latter, mistaking it for the true Grail.
Manaka stole that false Grail from him—and buried it beneath Tokyo.
Using it as a catalyst, she nurtured a demon king strong enough to annihilate this tedious, agonizing world.
That demon king was Kaelith, the Beast VI.
And what is a Beast?
If Manaka was the princess who possessed the world, then Kaelith was the Beast destined to destroy it.
"When you roar, people will wail, and cities will burn. The earth will crumble, the seas will turn red with blood. When you open your jaws, everything woven by life—The world, history, dreams, wishes… even time, space, and causality—will all be devoured by you."
Her flawless face glowed faintly with joy as she spoke, her eyes moist and shimmering.
"So, I once longed for you—to eat me, to eat my world."
"…Once?"
"Yes. Once."
Manaka nodded gently.
"But not anymore. There's no need to destroy the world—or to kill me. None of that matters anymore."
"…"
Kaelith fell silent, lost in thought.
What could have caused such a change in her heart?
She had been in utter despair about the world only moments ago.
"…Did something good happen?" Kaelith asked.
He suspected the reason—though it felt a little self-congratulatory to admit it.
It was probably something like, 'Because of your existence, Manaka realized this world isn't entirely meaningless.'
He waited expectantly for her to say those words.
"Yes, something good happened. Today is a special day… the most important day of all."
Suddenly, Manaka let go of his hand, her bare feet tapping lightly as she skipped away from him.
She spun. And spun again.
"You who gave me a heart—my beloved child!
You who saved my life—my noble one!"
In the dim alleyway, lit only by fragments of scattered city light, Manaka twirled joyfully, innocent and radiant as she danced.
Her slender, fair body glowed under the faint light—elegant, dazzling, and impossibly beautiful.
"Happy birthday, Kaelith!"
"Hey! Wait—don't run off like that! Put the blanket back on! What if someone else sees you?!"
Ah, girls… I give up.
Kaelith threw the blanket over her and managed to catch her in time.
Manaka crouched down, a bit flustered, the blanket forming a small hill around her curled-up body.
Kaelith stood over her, arms crossed, looking down sternly.
"Enough fooling around. I'd rather not spend my birthday in jail for public indecency—with my mother, no less."
"...Mmm… it's so dark. I can't see anything."
A few seconds later, Manaka lifted the edge of the blanket like a kitten poking its head out.
"Sorry, Kaelith. I think I misjudged your nature. You're not a Beast of Calamity after all."
Kaelith blinked, puzzled.
"Huh? Then what am I supposed to be? Aren't I Beast VI—the Antichrist?"
Manaka met his eyes and nodded softly.
A faint blush spread across her cheeks as she whispered—
"Kaelith… you must be my own Messiah—the Savior born for Manaka alone."
"Kaelith, how've you been lately? It's already been three years since you came to Tokyo—are you used to life here yet?"
It was a bright morning. The Sajyou family sat together at the dining table, quietly enjoying breakfast.
The man sitting at the head of the table and striking up a conversation with Kaelith was Sajyou Hiroki, a black mage.
He was the father of Sajyou Manaka and Sajyou Ayaka—yet despite his rather intimidating profession, he was simply a friendly, ordinary middle-aged man you could find anywhere.
The boy sitting at the far end swallowed the dumpling in his mouth and answered:
"Mm, I've gotten used to it. Thanks to Manaka and Miss Ayaka taking care of me… and to you as well, Lord Hiroki. I'm very grateful."
"You don't have to be so stiff. Just think of this as your home. Ayaka thinks the same, right?"
"...Mm."
Sitting directly across from Lorde, the younger daughter—who would enter middle school next year—gave a small nod.
At first glance, Ayaka looked like a quiet, soft-spoken, brunette girl.
However, that gentle, introverted demeanor was merely a façade she maintained in front of her beloved father and the elder sister she felt inferior to.
Whenever Hiroki and Manaka weren't around, Ayaka would instantly turn chatty, arrogant, and domineering.
It was as if her petite body housed both Sakura and Rin—two personalities she could switch between at the press of a button.
Hiroki took a sip of miso soup and smiled warmly.
"Speaking of which, Manaka is definitely going to get upset if she hears you call her by name again. How about this—feel free to call me 'Grandfather,' if you like."
"N-no, that's… hahaha…"
Since the day they met, Kaelith had become a foster child of the Sajyou family.
However, on paper he wasn't adopted by Hiroki, but by Manaka.
Kaelith never quite understood how a fourteen-year-old girl managed to adopt a foreign stranger with no identity background—only that she made a trip to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and the whole matter was somehow approved.
The other two members of the Sajyou family, Hiroki and Ayaka, had absolutely no objections to suddenly becoming his grandfather and aunt.
On this matter… it was best not to think too deeply.
Magic was just that convenient.
"I already heard you."
From the far end of the dining room came the slightly annoyed voice of a young girl.
Walking toward them was a girl with breathtaking beauty and brilliant golden hair.
Her petite frame was dressed in a maid-like house outfit. Her exposed skin was pale as snow, and below the short skirt stretched a pair of long legs wrapped in white thigh-high socks.
This was Kaelith's legal mother—Sajyou Manaka.
Due to the side effects of being swallowed and tainted by black mud, her body hadn't changed at all over the past three years.
Though she was already seventeen, she still had the physique—and openness—of an elementary schooler.
Standing next to Ayaka, who was in sixth grade, they looked almost like twins. In a few years, Ayaka might even look older.
Manaka placed a large stainless-steel bowl of broccoli salad in front of Lorde with a thud.
"Kaelith, eat this. You never eat your vegetables. As your mom, I'm very worried."
"Doesn't look as nutritious as dumplings…"
Not even glancing at the salad, Kaelith continued devouring his dumplings.
"Manaka, humans did not ascend to the throne of primates for the sake of eating plants," he said solemnly.
Arms akimbo, lips puffed out, Manaka huffed,
"If you're going to stay this stubborn, I'll use my own countermeasure—your allowance for the week is now gone."
Kaelith jolted upright instantly.
"Allowance… oh hell nah—please don't."
He obediently began consuming the mountain of salad in front of him.
"Fine, I'll eat it, okay?"
Ever since living with the Sajyou family, Kaelith had been collecting a weekly allowance of 1.5 million yen from Manaka—and spending every last bit within five days.
But he had his reasons.
The Lord said: Do not store up earthly treasure.
When false prosperity collapses into nothingness, the new millennium will dawn.
Wealth is the symbol of man's seven sins.
The filthy Golden Grail exists only to open Heaven's Gate.
Kaelith was the larval form of Beast VI—no, not even a larva. He was merely an insect, a pre-larval creature.
As the proto-form of the seven-headed, ten-horned Red Dragon, he fought every moment against the impulse to evolve.
To kill, to devour souls, to evolve into a complete form, to destroy the world—
To suppress that seething, monstrous desire, Kaelith lived like a Roman tyrant.
Nightclubs, bars, horse racing tracks, pachinko parlors.
Looking back, his life in Tokyo wasn't "debauched every night," but rather "eat, drink, gamble, indulge—repeat."
Through this lifestyle, he barely managed to suppress the "sin of gluttony." In a twisted way, he was even protecting humankind.
But such days would end today.
He was about to participate in the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki.
Not for the Grail—not for any wish.
Just for fun.
A beast of the Apocalypse choosing to live in modern society—as a professional troll.
"I'm heading to Fuyuki today to make some last preparations for the Holy Grail War," Kaelith said.
Manaka immediately looked gloomy.
"Eh? Why didn't you say so earlier? If you told me earlier, I could've made you a bento."
That's exactly why I waited until this morning, Kaelith grumbled inwardly.
"A bento made by 'mom'… what am I, a grade-schooler on a field trip?"
"Kaelith!! Did you just call me 'mom'!?"
Manaka's eyes sparkled as she grabbed his arm and shook him vigorously.
"Nope. You misheard."
"I did NOT mishear! Manaka heard it loud and clear!"
"I didn't say 'mama,' I said Mara."
"...Lewd."
Ayaka, who had been eating quietly this whole time, suddenly turned red.
(Note: "Mara" in Japanese is slang for the male's penis.)
Manaka puffed up her cheeks again, louder this time:
"Not Mara—Mama! I heard it perfectly!"
"...Ahaha…"
Seeing his daughter shouting indecent words so early in the morning, Hiroki could only give a wry smile.
Her little sister kept her head down, face burning red.
The dining room atmosphere instantly became awkward.
Kaelith frowned and muttered under his breath, "So noisy… annoying woman…"
"Uu… Kaelith is so mean… Mama is heartbroken…"
Manaka pouted in frustration.
Kaelith set down his chopsticks and pressed his palms together.
"I'm done. Thanks for the meal."
Hiroki looked up.
"Oh right, Kaelith—since you're going to Fuyuki, say hello to Mr. Matou for me."
"Understood, Lord Hiroki."
Kaelith stood up, glanced at Manaka who was still sulking, and placed a hand gently on her golden hair.
"...Hmph."
Eyes half-closed, cheeks puffed, Manaka grumbled softly.
"If you think Manaka is that easy to coax, you're—"
"I'll be back before dinner tomorrow."
Kaelith paused, then added,
"Also, I'm craving squirrel-shaped sweet-and-sour fish. Could I trouble you, Mother?"
"Of course… of course~! Leave it to Mama! Manaka will do her best!"
Too easy.
As one of Japan's most renowned mage families, the Sajyou household was naturally quite large.
And among all the facilities on the estate, none stood out more than the garden.
From the washroom, one would pass through a corridor, exit through a side door, continue onward, open the glass door at the far end—and finally arrive.
The garden had been built by the late matriarch of the Sajyou family, a witch from England.
Lush greenery, brilliant blossoms, and countless doves overflowing with life filled the place.
The freely roaming doves served as sacrificial offerings for Sajyou Hiroki's black magic.
"Black magic cannot be separated from sacrifices. The pain they feel becomes its power source," Hiroki had once said.
The moment Kaelith pushed open the door to the garden, the doves scattered like frightened rabbits.
All but one.
A single gray dove flew straight toward him and perched on his shoulder.
"You're the only one who ever approaches me, huh?"
Petting its soft feathers, Kaelith calmly called its name.
"Good morning, Yahweh."
Cooh—coo, coo, coo!
The gray dove lifted its neck and chirped happily.
"You want to come to Fuyuki too? Fine. When the war starts, I'll bring you along."
Coo!
Yahweh fluttered its wings and flew off, leaving Kaelith to turn toward the glass door.
"You're talking to the doves again? Father said you're not allowed to."
The younger daughter of the Sajyou family—Kaelith's "aunt" on paper—approached him with her usual overbearing attitude.
"I don't know what trick you used… but even if you fooled Father and my sister, you can't fool me. You, sneaking into my garden… you're a d–demon."
The tiny black magus glared at Kaelith with her clear, water-blue eyes, and he found himself momentarily dazed.
To allow Kaelith to live in the house, Sajyou Manaka had implanted hypnotic suggestions into her father using magic.
She didn't bother doing the same to her obedient little sister, however, so Sajyou Ayaka became the only one in the household who noticed something was wrong.
The elder sister Manaka was a perfect genius who managed the entire home flawlessly.
Ayaka adored her, learned magecraft diligently, and even helped with housework whenever she could.
Their father, Sajyou Hiroki, not only provided the family income but helped with chores daily—almost too gentle and domestic for a Japanese man.
Meanwhile, Kaelith never did chores, stayed out late every night, and asked Manaka for money every couple of days.
To anyone, he looked like the family parasite—no wonder Ayaka disliked him.
Kaelith felt an unreasonable wave of tragic heroism wash over him.
Hmph… if only you knew I've been protecting mankind from the shadows—specifically, in nightclubs.
"You—what exactly are you? What's your relationship with my sister?"
Father once told Ayaka that Manaka didn't need the garden, so she treasured this place fiercely.
Kaelith frequently wandering here probably only deepened her resentment.
Watching the little girl act far older than her age, Kaelith couldn't resist teasing her.
"Mmm, being the adopted child is a lie. My real identity is… I'm actually Manaka's biological son."
"…biological son."
Ayaka's expression froze.
Kaelith wasn't technically lying. Before he transformed from black mud into a human, he had only consumed two people:
Manaka.
And himself.
Half of his current body's genetic material came from his "mother."
And the other half… well…
Wait...
Was he his own father?
Holy Mary, full of grace. Father, Son, and Spirit… united in one being? Even sci-fi wouldn't dare go this far.
Right, Yahweh?
"I—I don't believe you! There's no way my sister would have a child! You must be a demon who infiltrated our house!"
"So? What are you planning to do about me?"
"Hmph, don't get scared when you hear it…" Ayaka puffed her chest proudly. "Once I save up enough allowance, I'm going to mail-order holy water and a cross from the Church catalogue—and purify you!"
"Hahaha, please spare me."
If it were genuine Church-produced holy water, it might actually work on him—in food, he'd probably get stomachaches or allergic reactions.
"…I—I might spare you, actually."
Suddenly, Ayaka turned her face away shyly.
Intrigued, Kaelith raised an eyebrow. "Oh? A noble magus like yourself is willing to forgive me?"
"Yes, but on one condition."
"What is it?"
Ayaka lowered her head.
Five seconds later, she looked up again, cheeks pink.
"If you… if you pat my head like you did to my sister in the dining room… then I'll accept that you're Sister's child."
"…huh?"
Kaelith blinked.
Wasn't this girl supposed to hate him?
Everyone knew the truth:
The elder sister was a siscon.
The younger sister was a dadcon and a siscon.
For someone trusted by their father and spoiled by Manaka, Ayaka should want nothing to do with him.
"Why?" he asked without thinking.
Ayaka pouted, face burning red.
"B-Because you're a boy, okay!? I just want to know what it feels like to have a boy pat my head! Father's never done it, so you'll be the substitute! That's all! Really, that's all!"
"…I see."
Kaelith nodded vaguely, raised his hand, and began gently patting her head.
"…mm."
Ayaka closed her eyes in bliss.
But slowly… something felt off.
Her scalp grew warm.
"Yoshi yoshi yoshi, yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi—"
Ayaka lifted her head in annoyance.
"…I feel some kind of subtle malice. Is that just my imagination?"
"It's your imagination. What's coming from your head is the heat of sincerity," Kaelith replied confidently.
Children her age were simple. She accepted that answer and murmured shyly:
"By the way… next time… could you teach me how to talk to the doves?"
"That's easy. After I finish things in Fuyuki, help me out here in the garden."
Ayaka's expression brightened instantly.
"Hmph… hmph, very well. From now on, I'll allow you to enter my garden… uu… b-but only because I'm your aunt."
…
…
…
In the Sajyou kitchen after breakfast, a beautiful fairy in an apron was hard at work.
Graceful limbs, elegant motions.
Her green sleeves rolled high, revealing snow-white arms dusted with shimmering soap bubbles.
Even though she was merely washing dishes, from an outside perspective, Sajyou Manaka looked like a scene from a picture book.
"Kaelith patted my head… hehe, that was a first."
A rosy blush colored the girl's face. Her pink lips parted slightly, releasing a dreamy whisper.
"How can I get him to do it again…?"
At 7:13 in the morning, Kaelith left the Sajyou family residence in Tokyo's Suginami Ward.
At 8:03 in the morning, he slipped into a private home in Chiyoda Ward.
As an aside:
Although Asians in the real world are often said to look younger than western people, that rule absolutely does not apply in the world of 2D.
In the 2D world, foreigners with bright hair and eye colors tend to look even younger.
Standing before Rod now, Elza Saijo was the perfect example.
A Japanese German mix, she had blazing red hair like fire and vivid emerald eyes.
Even though she was nearly thirty and already a mother, her baby face looked about the same age as a high schooler.
"And her figure's also about the same as a high schooler's."
Muttering under his breath, Kaelith followed behind her through the entryway.
"Kaelith, dear, what was that you just said?"
Feeling a chill from ahead of him, Kaelith quickly shook his head.
"No, nothing."
Don't let her gentle smile fool you. Elza Saijo might seem warm and kind, but she was absolutely the type who could do what normal Masters couldn't.
In a parallel-world Tokyo Holy Grail War, Elza once dumped all three Command Spells on her Servant Arash at once, forcing him to fire Stella at NP 300 percent.
Though, that had been after she'd been mentally contaminated by Sajyou Manaka.
"Elza."
Kaelith sat down on the sofa, took a thick bundle of envelope-wrapped cash from his small bag, and placed it on the table.
"This is this month's share. I probably won't be able to come here for a while."
"Thank you for the trouble." Elza carefully gathered the money, then lowered her head deeply with a guilty expression. "Sorry. If I were more capable... if I could earn a little more on my own…"
"No. You're already doing more than enough. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm the one who pushed all this responsibility onto you."
Hearing that, Elza smiled brightly.
"I don't think of that child as a burden at all, you know? If not for her… I don't even know what kind of person I'd be now. I honestly don't know how to thank you, Kaelith. If it weren't for you..."
"Ah, the ATM's here… that's rare."
A girl's voice floated in from the adjacent room. Kaelith frowned and looked toward the door that swung open.
"You brat, who are you calling rare!?"
…That's the part he finds offensive?
Elza froze for a moment, then placed her hands on her hips with a pretend-scolding expression as she chastised the girl who'd entered.
"Caren, you shouldn't talk to Rod like that."
…
…
Snow-white skin like the first winter frost, deep golden eyes gleaming with intensity.
Soft silver hair in gentle waves, paired with a simple black home dress.
The little girl standing there wasn't so much a pretty doll as she was an angel removed from the mortal world.
Her name was Caren Hortensia.
One year ago, Kaelith had stolen this girl from a church somewhere in Southern Europe. She'd lived a tragic childhood.
Her mother had committed suicide, her father had deserted the church, and Caren had been raised by a strict priest.
Suicide was a grave sin in Christianity, and as the child of a sinner and a traitor, Caren had been relegated to household chores, not allowed any education.
Until she turned nine and manifested stigmata. Only then did the church value her, setting her on a path perhaps even harsher than that of ordinary people.
But thanks to Kaelith's impulsive crime, her original destiny was utterly derailed.
"Her body naturally attracts demons, and she purifies them after contact."
With a self-destructive desire to test it out, the Beast boarded a plane and flew across Eurasia to the church where she lived.
The result? Nothing happened.
To Kaelith, the girl standing before him was simply a quiet kid with a habit of giving adults a look of contempt.
As for why he stole Caren from the church? Pure impulse at the moment.
"Little girl, wanna come with me? I'll take you somewhere fun."
"..."
Caren silently walked to Kaelith's side and took his hand.
And that was how Kaelith brought her back to Japan.
In the end, two lines that were never meant to intersect somehow crossed.
Elza, a single mother whose five-year-old son had died years ago.
Caren, a five-year-old girl abandoned by her father soon after her mother's suicide.
Thanks to Kaelith's arranging, they were now like mother and daughter, relying on each other in Tokyo.
By the way, Manaka steals Holy Grails, Kaelith steals holy maidens.
Like mother like son, I guess.
"Kaelith, are you leaving Tokyo?"
Caren walked over and sat directly on Kaelith's lap.
Lifting her head, those magical golden eyes stared straight into his.
"My, my. Caren, this is unusual of you. Trying to make him stay?"
Caren shook her head, silver hair swaying beautifully.
"Kaelith, don't die. When you come back, take me to Disneyland."
Apparently, she thought Kaelith was someone who'd eat a Big Mac meal and then go look for death just to kill time.
Kaelith agreed immediately.
"Promise."
"…Okay."
A little light flickered in the depths of her golden eyes.
Silently, she hopped off his lap, plucked a 10,000 yen bill from the envelope on the table with practiced ease, and headed for the entryway.
Elza and Kaelith both looked at her in shock.
"Caren, where are you going?"
"I promised my friends I'd meet them at the sandbox in the park."
Caren-san, using money to buy friendship doesn't count, Kaelith thought with a wry smile.
Elza raised an eyebrow, displeased. "Caren, Kaelith doesn't come often. Can't you stay home longer today?"
"Seeing Kaelith alive is enough. It's not like he's the kind of man who abandons kids."
The five-year-old with terrifying self-management skills sat obediently by the door, kicking her little shoes as she continued without looking back:
"Besides, you two are going to the bedroom to 'get intimate' after this, right? If I stay home, I'll just be in the way. Elza won't relax either. The person in the way should leave."
"Wh… wh-wh-wh-what!"
In an instant, Elza's elegant face turned bright red, matching her scarlet hair. Lowering her gaze, she stammered,
"C-Caren, don't tease adults like that!"
"I'm leaving. Don't go into my room."
Watching her small back, Kaelith felt a chill.
…This kid's five?
The door shut with a thud.
Caren had barely stepped out before Kaelith rose from the sofa.
"Well, I should go too. My train's at 9:30."
After several seconds of quiet, Elza suddenly spoke.
"I'll drive you to Shintoshin."
Kaelith blinked.
"Huh? With gas prices? That'll cost a fortune."
"But… we can't disappoint that child's thoughtfulness." With a rosy expression, Elza grabbed Kaelith's wrist and pulled him sharply toward her.
Then the mother pushed the technically 3 year-old boy down onto the sofa.
Her tongue traced her lips lightly as she leaned in, warm breath brushing his ear.
"I've been waiting a whole month for this moment…"
As one of Japan's most renowned mage families, the Sajyou household was naturally quite large.
And among all the facilities on the estate, none stood out more than the garden.
From the washroom, one would pass through a corridor, exit through a side door, continue onward, open the glass door at the far end—and finally arrive.
The garden had been built by the late matriarch of the Sajyou family, a witch from England.
Lush greenery, brilliant blossoms, and countless doves overflowing with life filled the place.
The freely roaming doves served as sacrificial offerings for Sajyou Hiroki's black magic.
"Black magic cannot be separated from sacrifices. The pain they feel becomes its power source," Hiroki had once said.
The moment Kaelith pushed open the door to the garden, the doves scattered like frightened rabbits.
All but one.
A single gray dove flew straight toward him and perched on his shoulder.
"You're the only one who ever approaches me, huh?"
Petting its soft feathers, Kaelith calmly called its name.
"Good morning, Yahweh."
Cooh—coo, coo, coo!
The gray dove lifted its neck and chirped happily.
"You want to come to Fuyuki too? Fine. When the war starts, I'll bring you along."
Coo!
Yahweh fluttered its wings and flew off, leaving Kaelith to turn toward the glass door.
"You're talking to the doves again? Father said you're not allowed to."
The younger daughter of the Sajyou family—Kaelith's "aunt" on paper—approached him with her usual overbearing attitude.
"I don't know what trick you used… but even if you fooled Father and my sister, you can't fool me. You, sneaking into my garden… you're a d–demon."
The tiny black magus glared at Kaelith with her clear, water-blue eyes, and he found himself momentarily dazed.
To allow Kaelith to live in the house, Sajyou Manaka had implanted hypnotic suggestions into her father using magic.
She didn't bother doing the same to her obedient little sister, however, so Sajyou Ayaka became the only one in the household who noticed something was wrong.
The elder sister Manaka was a perfect genius who managed the entire home flawlessly.
Ayaka adored her, learned magecraft diligently, and even helped with housework whenever she could.
Their father, Sajyou Hiroki, not only provided the family income but helped with chores daily—almost too gentle and domestic for a Japanese man.
Meanwhile, Kaelith never did chores, stayed out late every night, and asked Manaka for money every couple of days.
To anyone, he looked like the family parasite—no wonder Ayaka disliked him.
Kaelith felt an unreasonable wave of tragic heroism wash over him.
Hmph… if only you knew I've been protecting mankind from the shadows—specifically, in nightclubs.
"You—what exactly are you? What's your relationship with my sister?"
Father once told Ayaka that Manaka didn't need the garden, so she treasured this place fiercely.
Kaelith frequently wandering here probably only deepened her resentment.
Watching the little girl act far older than her age, Kaelith couldn't resist teasing her.
"Mmm, being the adopted child is a lie. My real identity is… I'm actually Manaka's biological son."
"…biological son."
Ayaka's expression froze.
Kaelith wasn't technically lying. Before he transformed from black mud into a human, he had only consumed two people:
Manaka.
And himself.
Half of his current body's genetic material came from his "mother."
And the other half… well…
Wait...
Was he his own father?
Holy Mary, full of grace. Father, Son, and Spirit… united in one being? Even sci-fi wouldn't dare go this far.
Right, Yahweh?
"I—I don't believe you! There's no way my sister would have a child! You must be a demon who infiltrated our house!"
"So? What are you planning to do about me?"
"Hmph, don't get scared when you hear it…" Ayaka puffed her chest proudly. "Once I save up enough allowance, I'm going to mail-order holy water and a cross from the Church catalogue—and purify you!"
"Hahaha, please spare me."
If it were genuine Church-produced holy water, it might actually work on him—in food, he'd probably get stomachaches or allergic reactions.
"…I—I might spare you, actually."
Suddenly, Ayaka turned her face away shyly.
Intrigued, Kaelith raised an eyebrow. "Oh? A noble magus like yourself is willing to forgive me?"
"Yes, but on one condition."
"What is it?"
Ayaka lowered her head.
Five seconds later, she looked up again, cheeks pink.
"If you… if you pat my head like you did to my sister in the dining room… then I'll accept that you're Sister's child."
"…huh?"
Kaelith blinked.
Wasn't this girl supposed to hate him?
Everyone knew the truth:
The elder sister was a siscon.
The younger sister was a dadcon and a siscon.
For someone trusted by their father and spoiled by Manaka, Ayaka should want nothing to do with him.
"Why?" he asked without thinking.
Ayaka pouted, face burning red.
"B-Because you're a boy, okay!? I just want to know what it feels like to have a boy pat my head! Father's never done it, so you'll be the substitute! That's all! Really, that's all!"
"…I see."
Kaelith nodded vaguely, raised his hand, and began gently patting her head.
"…mm."
Ayaka closed her eyes in bliss.
But slowly… something felt off.
Her scalp grew warm.
"Yoshi yoshi yoshi, yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi yoshi—"
Ayaka lifted her head in annoyance.
"…I feel some kind of subtle malice. Is that just my imagination?"
"It's your imagination. What's coming from your head is the heat of sincerity," Kaelith replied confidently.
Children her age were simple. She accepted that answer and murmured shyly:
"By the way… next time… could you teach me how to talk to the doves?"
"That's easy. After I finish things in Fuyuki, help me out here in the garden."
Ayaka's expression brightened instantly.
"Hmph… hmph, very well. From now on, I'll allow you to enter my garden… uu… b-but only because I'm your aunt."
…
…
…
In the Sajyou kitchen after breakfast, a beautiful fairy in an apron was hard at work.
Graceful limbs, elegant motions.
Her green sleeves rolled high, revealing snow-white arms dusted with shimmering soap bubbles.
Even though she was merely washing dishes, from an outside perspective, Sajyou Manaka looked like a scene from a picture book.
"Kaelith patted my head… hehe, that was a first."
A rosy blush colored the girl's face. Her pink lips parted slightly, releasing a dreamy whisper.
"How can I get him to do it again…?"
After leaving the sewers, Kaelith and Manaka walked together through the bustling streets of Tokyo at night.
Kaelith had somehow managed to find a blanket, which he wrapped around their bare bodies.
The two heads poking out from under the blanket leaned against each other, hand in hand, walking in sync on their way home.
From a distance, they looked like a pair of cloaked wanderers—utterly out of place amid the modern cityscape.
Having taken on human form, the Beast known as Sodom's Beast now appeared as a young boy.
A boy, about 150 centimeters tall—his skin pale, his short hair black as ink, his cold black eyes giving off a quiet, indifferent air.
"Why did you do something so reckless?"
There was a trace of reproach in Kaelith's tone.
"If I hadn't spat you out in time and reconstructed your body, you'd be dead right now."
"Reckless? No, you're mistaken," Manaka said softly, resting her head against his shoulder and giving a small shake.
"I intended for this from the very beginning—to be eaten by you… and to let you consume my world."
…
Kaelith's creator—Manaka Sajyou—was a girl who embodied truth itself.
She was the girl who could accomplish anything.
When she wished for life, life bloomed.
When she whispered death, death spread.
You could say the world was connected to her—and she to the world.
The omniscient, omnipotent girl.
Everything could be controlled, achieved, or destroyed at her whim.
Yet precisely because of that, she could find no joy in anything. So she set a single rule for herself—
[Never look upon your own future.]
A being on par with the world itself, she deliberately limited her own omnipotence.
A rule. A restraint. A chain.
Without limitation, omnipotence was far too boring.
And in the end, her decision had been correct.
She managed to keep on "living." But that was all it was—just existing.
She saw all, owned all, understood all.
At the end of her selflessness, gazing upon the pure-white purgatory from the throne of divinity, she was, for all intents and purposes—a god.
But aside from living like a ghost, she had no other choice.
For her, there was nothing to expect from the future.
After all, this was "a world where the prince will never appear."
Though Manaka was the ruler of this world, she was never its protagonist.
To live was to suffer endlessly.
To live while dying.
To die while living.
No pain. No sorrow. No joy. No hope.
Day after day, a walking corpse going through the motions.
Eventually, her mind reached its breaking point.
And then, Manaka made a decision that defied her own creators—
Let it all perish.
This dull, meaningless world.
Along with the entire history of mankind—its very foundation, human order itself—let it all be destroyed.
"The result of that decision… is you, my precious child."
Manaka stopped walking. From beneath the blanket, she reached out and cupped Kaelith's face in her hands.
"You are a Beast—born from the tainted Holy Grail, the incarnation of calamity."
In Christian legend, there once existed two Holy Grails.
The first was the true Holy Grail—the cup that held the blood of the Savior, said to perform miracles.
The other, however, was the Cup of Abundance—the one that appeared alongside the Beast and the Whore of Babylon in Revelation, symbolizing mankind's greed and pride.
They looked exactly the same—only the contents they once held were different.
One held holy blood. The other, filth.
A certain Cardinal of the Holy Church had unknowingly kept the latter, mistaking it for the true Grail.
Manaka stole that false Grail from him—and buried it beneath Tokyo.
Using it as a catalyst, she nurtured a demon king strong enough to annihilate this tedious, agonizing world.
That demon king was Kaelith, the Beast VI.
And what is a Beast?
If Manaka was the princess who possessed the world, then Kaelith was the Beast destined to destroy it.
"When you roar, people will wail, and cities will burn. The earth will crumble, the seas will turn red with blood. When you open your jaws, everything woven by life—The world, history, dreams, wishes… even time, space, and causality—will all be devoured by you."
Her flawless face glowed faintly with joy as she spoke, her eyes moist and shimmering.
"So, I once longed for you—to eat me, to eat my world."
"…Once?"
"Yes. Once."
Manaka nodded gently.
"But not anymore. There's no need to destroy the world—or to kill me. None of that matters anymore."
"…"
Kaelith fell silent, lost in thought.
What could have caused such a change in her heart?
She had been in utter despair about the world only moments ago.
"…Did something good happen?" Kaelith asked.
He suspected the reason—though it felt a little self-congratulatory to admit it.
It was probably something like, 'Because of your existence, Manaka realized this world isn't entirely meaningless.'
He waited expectantly for her to say those words.
"Yes, something good happened. Today is a special day… the most important day of all."
Suddenly, Manaka let go of his hand, her bare feet tapping lightly as she skipped away from him.
She spun. And spun again.
"You who gave me a heart—my beloved child!
You who saved my life—my noble one!"
In the dim alleyway, lit only by fragments of scattered city light, Manaka twirled joyfully, innocent and radiant as she danced.
Her slender, fair body glowed under the faint light—elegant, dazzling, and impossibly beautiful.
"Happy birthday, Kaelith!"
"Hey! Wait—don't run off like that! Put the blanket back on! What if someone else sees you?!"
Ah, girls… I give up.
Kaelith threw the blanket over her and managed to catch her in time.
Manaka crouched down, a bit flustered, the blanket forming a small hill around her curled-up body.
Kaelith stood over her, arms crossed, looking down sternly.
"Enough fooling around. I'd rather not spend my birthday in jail for public indecency—with my mother, no less."
"...Mmm… it's so dark. I can't see anything."
A few seconds later, Manaka lifted the edge of the blanket like a kitten poking its head out.
"Sorry, Kaelith. I think I misjudged your nature. You're not a Beast of Calamity after all."
Kaelith blinked, puzzled.
"Huh? Then what am I supposed to be? Aren't I Beast VI—the Antichrist?"
Manaka met his eyes and nodded softly.
A faint blush spread across her cheeks as she whispered—
"Kaelith… you must be my own Messiah—the Savior born for Manaka alone."
At 7:13 in the morning, Kaelith left the Sajyou family residence in Tokyo's Suginami Ward.
At 8:03 in the morning, he slipped into a private home in Chiyoda Ward.
As an aside:
Although Asians in the real world are often said to look younger than western people, that rule absolutely does not apply in the world of 2D.
In the 2D world, foreigners with bright hair and eye colors tend to look even younger.
Standing before Rod now, Elza Saijo was the perfect example.
A Japanese German mix, she had blazing red hair like fire and vivid emerald eyes.
Even though she was nearly thirty and already a mother, her baby face looked about the same age as a high schooler.
"And her figure's also about the same as a high schooler's."
Muttering under his breath, Kaelith followed behind her through the entryway.
"Kaelith, dear, what was that you just said?"
Feeling a chill from ahead of him, Kaelith quickly shook his head.
"No, nothing."
Don't let her gentle smile fool you. Elza Saijo might seem warm and kind, but she was absolutely the type who could do what normal Masters couldn't.
In a parallel-world Tokyo Holy Grail War, Elza once dumped all three Command Spells on her Servant Arash at once, forcing him to fire Stella at NP 300 percent.
Though, that had been after she'd been mentally contaminated by Sajyou Manaka.
"Elza."
Kaelith sat down on the sofa, took a thick bundle of envelope-wrapped cash from his small bag, and placed it on the table.
"This is this month's share. I probably won't be able to come here for a while."
"Thank you for the trouble." Elza carefully gathered the money, then lowered her head deeply with a guilty expression. "Sorry. If I were more capable... if I could earn a little more on my own…"
"No. You're already doing more than enough. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm the one who pushed all this responsibility onto you."
Hearing that, Elza smiled brightly.
"I don't think of that child as a burden at all, you know? If not for her… I don't even know what kind of person I'd be now. I honestly don't know how to thank you, Kaelith. If it weren't for you..."
"Ah, the ATM's here… that's rare."
A girl's voice floated in from the adjacent room. Kaelith frowned and looked toward the door that swung open.
"You brat, who are you calling rare!?"
…That's the part he finds offensive?
Elza froze for a moment, then placed her hands on her hips with a pretend-scolding expression as she chastised the girl who'd entered.
"Caren, you shouldn't talk to Rod like that."
…
…
Snow-white skin like the first winter frost, deep golden eyes gleaming with intensity.
Soft silver hair in gentle waves, paired with a simple black home dress.
The little girl standing there wasn't so much a pretty doll as she was an angel removed from the mortal world.
Her name was Caren Hortensia.
One year ago, Kaelith had stolen this girl from a church somewhere in Southern Europe. She'd lived a tragic childhood.
Her mother had committed suicide, her father had deserted the church, and Caren had been raised by a strict priest.
Suicide was a grave sin in Christianity, and as the child of a sinner and a traitor, Caren had been relegated to household chores, not allowed any education.
Until she turned nine and manifested stigmata. Only then did the church value her, setting her on a path perhaps even harsher than that of ordinary people.
But thanks to Kaelith's impulsive crime, her original destiny was utterly derailed.
"Her body naturally attracts demons, and she purifies them after contact."
With a self-destructive desire to test it out, the Beast boarded a plane and flew across Eurasia to the church where she lived.
The result? Nothing happened.
To Kaelith, the girl standing before him was simply a quiet kid with a habit of giving adults a look of contempt.
As for why he stole Caren from the church? Pure impulse at the moment.
"Little girl, wanna come with me? I'll take you somewhere fun."
"..."
Caren silently walked to Kaelith's side and took his hand.
And that was how Kaelith brought her back to Japan.
In the end, two lines that were never meant to intersect somehow crossed.
Elza, a single mother whose five-year-old son had died years ago.
Caren, a five-year-old girl abandoned by her father soon after her mother's suicide.
Thanks to Kaelith's arranging, they were now like mother and daughter, relying on each other in Tokyo.
By the way, Manaka steals Holy Grails, Kaelith steals holy maidens.
Like mother like son, I guess.
"Kaelith, are you leaving Tokyo?"
Caren walked over and sat directly on Kaelith's lap.
Lifting her head, those magical golden eyes stared straight into his.
"My, my. Caren, this is unusual of you. Trying to make him stay?"
Caren shook her head, silver hair swaying beautifully.
"Kaelith, don't die. When you come back, take me to Disneyland."
Apparently, she thought Kaelith was someone who'd eat a Big Mac meal and then go look for death just to kill time.
Kaelith agreed immediately.
"Promise."
"…Okay."
A little light flickered in the depths of her golden eyes.
Silently, she hopped off his lap, plucked a 10,000 yen bill from the envelope on the table with practiced ease, and headed for the entryway.
Elza and Kaelith both looked at her in shock.
"Caren, where are you going?"
"I promised my friends I'd meet them at the sandbox in the park."
Caren-san, using money to buy friendship doesn't count, Kaelith thought with a wry smile.
Elza raised an eyebrow, displeased. "Caren, Kaelith doesn't come often. Can't you stay home longer today?"
"Seeing Kaelith alive is enough. It's not like he's the kind of man who abandons kids."
The five-year-old with terrifying self-management skills sat obediently by the door, kicking her little shoes as she continued without looking back:
"Besides, you two are going to the bedroom to 'get intimate' after this, right? If I stay home, I'll just be in the way. Elza won't relax either. The person in the way should leave."
"Wh… wh-wh-wh-what!"
In an instant, Elza's elegant face turned bright red, matching her scarlet hair. Lowering her gaze, she stammered,
"C-Caren, don't tease adults like that!"
"I'm leaving. Don't go into my room."
Watching her small back, Kaelith felt a chill.
…This kid's five?
The door shut with a thud.
Caren had barely stepped out before Kaelith rose from the sofa.
"Well, I should go too. My train's at 9:30."
After several seconds of quiet, Elza suddenly spoke.
"I'll drive you to Shintoshin."
Kaelith blinked.
"Huh? With gas prices? That'll cost a fortune."
"But… we can't disappoint that child's thoughtfulness." With a rosy expression, Elza grabbed Kaelith's wrist and pulled him sharply toward her.
Then the mother pushed the technically 3 year-old boy down onto the sofa.
Her tongue traced her lips lightly as she leaned in, warm breath brushing his ear.
"I've been waiting a whole month for this moment…"
After leaving the sewers, Kaelith and Manaka walked together through the bustling streets of Tokyo at night.
Kaelith had somehow managed to find a blanket, which he wrapped around their bare bodies.
The two heads poking out from under the blanket leaned against each other, hand in hand, walking in sync on their way home.
From a distance, they looked like a pair of cloaked wanderers—utterly out of place amid the modern cityscape.
Having taken on human form, the Beast known as Sodom's Beast now appeared as a young boy.
A boy, about 150 centimeters tall—his skin pale, his short hair black as ink, his cold black eyes giving off a quiet, indifferent air.
"Why did you do something so reckless?"
There was a trace of reproach in Kaelith's tone.
"If I hadn't spat you out in time and reconstructed your body, you'd be dead right now."
"Reckless? No, you're mistaken," Manaka said softly, resting her head against his shoulder and giving a small shake.
"I intended for this from the very beginning—to be eaten by you… and to let you consume my world."
…
Kaelith's creator—Manaka Sajyou—was a girl who embodied truth itself.
She was the girl who could accomplish anything.
When she wished for life, life bloomed.
When she whispered death, death spread.
You could say the world was connected to her—and she to the world.
The omniscient, omnipotent girl.
Everything could be controlled, achieved, or destroyed at her whim.
Yet precisely because of that, she could find no joy in anything. So she set a single rule for herself—
[Never look upon your own future.]
A being on par with the world itself, she deliberately limited her own omnipotence.
A rule. A restraint. A chain.
Without limitation, omnipotence was far too boring.
And in the end, her decision had been correct.
She managed to keep on "living." But that was all it was—just existing.
She saw all, owned all, understood all.
At the end of her selflessness, gazing upon the pure-white purgatory from the throne of divinity, she was, for all intents and purposes—a god.
But aside from living like a ghost, she had no other choice.
For her, there was nothing to expect from the future.
After all, this was "a world where the prince will never appear."
Though Manaka was the ruler of this world, she was never its protagonist.
To live was to suffer endlessly.
To live while dying.
To die while living.
No pain. No sorrow. No joy. No hope.
Day after day, a walking corpse going through the motions.
Eventually, her mind reached its breaking point.
And then, Manaka made a decision that defied her own creators—
Let it all perish.
This dull, meaningless world.
Along with the entire history of mankind—its very foundation, human order itself—let it all be destroyed.
"The result of that decision… is you, my precious child."
Manaka stopped walking. From beneath the blanket, she reached out and cupped Kaelith's face in her hands.
"You are a Beast—born from the tainted Holy Grail, the incarnation of calamity."
In Christian legend, there once existed two Holy Grails.
The first was the true Holy Grail—the cup that held the blood of the Savior, said to perform miracles.
The other, however, was the Cup of Abundance—the one that appeared alongside the Beast and the Whore of Babylon in Revelation, symbolizing mankind's greed and pride.
They looked exactly the same—only the contents they once held were different.
One held holy blood. The other, filth.
A certain Cardinal of the Holy Church had unknowingly kept the latter, mistaking it for the true Grail.
Manaka stole that false Grail from him—and buried it beneath Tokyo.
Using it as a catalyst, she nurtured a demon king strong enough to annihilate this tedious, agonizing world.
That demon king was Kaelith, the Beast VI.
And what is a Beast?
If Manaka was the princess who possessed the world, then Kaelith was the Beast destined to destroy it.
"When you roar, people will wail, and cities will burn. The earth will crumble, the seas will turn red with blood. When you open your jaws, everything woven by life—The world, history, dreams, wishes… even time, space, and causality—will all be devoured by you."
Her flawless face glowed faintly with joy as she spoke, her eyes moist and shimmering.
"So, I once longed for you—to eat me, to eat my world."
"…Once?"
"Yes. Once."
Manaka nodded gently.
"But not anymore. There's no need to destroy the world—or to kill me. None of that matters anymore."
"…"
Kaelith fell silent, lost in thought.
What could have caused such a change in her heart?
She had been in utter despair about the world only moments ago.
"…Did something good happen?" Kaelith asked.
He suspected the reason—though it felt a little self-congratulatory to admit it.
It was probably something like, 'Because of your existence, Manaka realized this world isn't entirely meaningless.'
He waited expectantly for her to say those words.
"Yes, something good happened. Today is a special day… the most important day of all."
Suddenly, Manaka let go of his hand, her bare feet tapping lightly as she skipped away from him.
She spun. And spun again.
"You who gave me a heart—my beloved child!
You who saved my life—my noble one!"
In the dim alleyway, lit only by fragments of scattered city light, Manaka twirled joyfully, innocent and radiant as she danced.
Her slender, fair body glowed under the faint light—elegant, dazzling, and impossibly beautiful.
"Happy birthday, Kaelith!"
"Hey! Wait—don't run off like that! Put the blanket back on! What if someone else sees you?!"
Ah, girls… I give up.
Kaelith threw the blanket over her and managed to catch her in time.
Manaka crouched down, a bit flustered, the blanket forming a small hill around her curled-up body.
Kaelith stood over her, arms crossed, looking down sternly.
"Enough fooling around. I'd rather not spend my birthday in jail for public indecency—with my mother, no less."
"...Mmm… it's so dark. I can't see anything."
A few seconds later, Manaka lifted the edge of the blanket like a kitten poking its head out.
"Sorry, Kaelith. I think I misjudged your nature. You're not a Beast of Calamity after all."
Kaelith blinked, puzzled.
"Huh? Then what am I supposed to be? Aren't I Beast VI—the Antichrist?"
Manaka met his eyes and nodded softly.
A faint blush spread across her cheeks as she whispered—
"Kaelith… you must be my own Messiah—the Savior born for Manaka alone."