The letter Yuel Razian had sent was simple.

「I hear you have earned two stars.」

「Congratulations.」

「I hear you are heading to the Outer Lands. Before you go, how about a round of demon hunting with me?」

That was not a three-line summary. It was the entire letter. The rest? All blank space. A famous mathematician had once written, “I have proved this, but the margin is too small to contain it.” Had that mathematician seen Yuel’s letter, he would surely have written an entire paper on the spot.

There was that much room.

Three lines were all that occupied the large sheet of paper.

Fortunately, if that was the word for it, there was a map drawn on the back. Various symbols marked the map, and a postscript appeared beneath it.

「Writing at length is a bother, so I will keep this short.」

「Show this letter to a nearby church, and they will guide you. I shall be waiting.」

Najin did as instructed. Taking Yuel’s letter, he headed to the adventurer city’s only church. The moment the nun there saw the letter he had brought, her eyes opened almost impossibly wide.

“P-please wait here a moment!”

The nun hurried off, and before long, a minister came running back with her to inspect the letter. The elderly man’s eyes widened just as hers had, and he contacted someone else. The exact same scene repeated several times.

After that, well... Today, Najin discovered for the first time that clergymen, who always seemed so unhurried and composed, could move that fast.

Within just a few hours, a carriage had arrived before him. Blood-red embroidery adorned the clothes of the priests who stepped out. They were none other than inquisitors.

“Are you Najin?”

A few questions followed. Once the priests had checked the letter, they immediately bowed to him, treating him as though he were their superior.

“We will escort you. Would you like to leave now?”

Najin climbed into the carriage they had brought. Why turn down an offered ride? Once he was inside, the inquisitors watched him nervously, trying to gauge his mood.

“Um, Master Najin?”

“Yes?”

At some point, they had begun addressing him as “Master Najin.”

“When and how did you receive this letter...?”

“It arrived in the mail this morning.”

At his answer, the inquisitors turned deathly pale. As Najin later learned, Yuel’s letter had not reached him through the Order of Starblood. It had gone straight into his mailbox.

For the Order of Starblood, this was a deeply awkward situation.

Normally, a figure as important as an order’s executioner acted through the order, even when contacting someone. After all, the executioner represented the order alongside its High Priest.

Apparently, even their smallest gesture or most casual remark could be taken as the opinion of the entire order. That was why figures such as an order’s executioner, Incarnation, or Lighthouse Keeper had to be extremely careful about their words and actions. But...

Yuel Razian was not careful. Nor did she care what anyone else said.

She steadfastly maintained the attitude, “Why should I concern myself with that? If there is no legal issue, I see no reason to comply.” Her proposal to Najin had likewise been made entirely on her own initiative, without consulting the order at all.

But what did it matter if she had acted on her own? The order’s executioner had decided to do so. Who would dare disagree with her?

Ultimately, the only thing the Order of Starblood could do was accommodate Najin. That was also why the inquisitors treated him with such scrupulous courtesy.

“We will ensure your journey is comfortable.”

“Pardon? Oh, thank you.”

“Not at all. There is no need to thank us. You are the executioner’s guest, after all. It is only natural. Entirely natural.”

The boy before them was an honored guest of the order, personally invited by its executioner. Whether Yuel intended it or not, there was no other way to interpret the letter. Of course, Najin had no way of knowing that.

‘Demon hunting. That sounds interesting.’

“Doesn’t it? I wonder what sort of demon it is.”

While the inquisitors, who had suddenly found themselves joining a demon hunt, remained tense, Najin looked perfectly calm.

‘This is a good opportunity.’

After all, that was how he viewed Yuel’s offer: a chance to loosen up his stiff body before venturing deep into the Outer Lands, and an ideal opportunity to check the changes his body had undergone after earning his stars.

2.

During the carriage ride, Najin spoke with Merlin. There were a few things he wanted to know.

‘Why does the Order of Starblood hunt demons?’

“Because their patron deity hates demons.”

‘Does anyone like demons?’

“Well, it goes beyond simple dislike. What should I call it? Loathing? Hatred? Contempt? Anyway, she’s a woman who wants to grind every last member of the demon species out of existence.”

Merlin rubbed her chin as she spoke.

“Nowadays, she goes by a mild name like ‘the Martyr of the Thorn Vines,’ but back in my day, she was called something like ‘She Who Foams at the Mouth at the Sight of Demons.’ Her other names included ‘She Who Bathes in Demon Blood and Flesh,’ ‘Demon Slayer,’ and ‘Slay Evil on Sight,’ I think.”

Those were rather violent epithets. As Najin blinked, Merlin continued.

“Arthur and I hunted demons because they were a threat to humanity. She killed them simply because she hated them. Though she had good reason.”

‘Good reason?’

“Yes. Originally, she was the princess of a little kingdom called... Rapelli, was it? Something like that. Demons utterly destroyed her country. Most of its people became demon contractors, and the rest became demon worshippers.”

Come to think of it, Najin believed he had seen that in a history book. Rapelli, a country destroyed by demons roughly a thousand years ago. It was invariably cited as an example when explaining the danger of demons and why dark mages attempting to summon them had to be hunted down and dealt with.

‘That would explain her hatred.’

“Right? But the interesting part comes next.”

‘Next?’

“Yes. What do you think she did after that?”

Najin tilted his head, and Merlin grinned.

“She killed them all.”

Najin barely stopped himself from blurting out, “What?” Aloud. Seemingly amused by his reaction, Merlin went on.

“There were about thirty thousand, I think? She killed all thirty thousand demon contractors. All by herself, too. She even hunted down and killed those who had made contracts with demons and fled abroad. Over ten years, she didn’t miss a single one of the vermin.”

Every last one, without a single survivor.

By the time that blood-soaked chapter of history ended, Merlin said, the woman had become a Constellation. That was why history books did not record Rapelli as a nation of demon worshippers, despite its fall into demonic hands.

“She washed it clean with demon blood. A star was born atop the corpses of countless demons and their worshippers. Rapelli became sacred ground.”

A starbirth site, where a star had been born, and the holy land of the Order of Starblood.

“Was it when Arthur and I were fighting a Demon King? In the middle of the fight, I looked over and saw some girl I’d never met stabbing the Demon King in the gut. I asked, ‘Who are you?’ and she answered, ‘Demons. Kill.’ So I said, ‘Oh, you’re on our side,’ and we fought together.”

Only later did Merlin discover who the girl was. Recalling the incident, she spoke with an air of disbelief.

“She’s out of her mind in all sorts of ways. A butcher. A pitiful girl who knows nothing but killing demons.”

‘How did someone like that become the patron deity of the Order of Starblood?’

“Because the doctrine she put forward was simple. Ask the fellow sitting across from you. I doubt it’s changed much in a thousand years.”

Najin asked the inquisitor seated before him.

“May I ask about the doctrine of the Order of Starblood?”

“Ah, of course.”

The inquisitor smiled broadly as he answered.

“Kill demons. Burn everything associated with demons. Eradicate the demon species from this world. Whatever your station, whatever deeds you have committed, our patron deity cares not. She asks only one thing of you.”

He struck a fist against his chest with a thump.

“As long as your heart beats, slaughter demons.”

“That is all,” the inquisitor concluded. A faint madness lurked in his eyes.

“See? I doubt she ever intended to found a religion. She just wanted to kill demons, and since she couldn’t kill them all alone, she gathered followers. A religion formed naturally from that.”

Hatred of demons. No faith could be simpler or more powerful. Muttering that, Merlin’s expression grew conflicted.

“The reason that girl is still the patron deity of a massive organization like the Order of Starblood must be that, now as then, so many people have lost something precious to demons.”

The Martyr of the Thorn Vines.

That was her widely known Constellation name, but Merlin said that those who had lived in the same era as her now called her this:

“The Fire That Has Burned for a Thousand Years.”

And a fire that would continue to burn. A flame of hatred that would not die down until it had burned every demon in the world to ash. As Merlin explained this, her expression seemed somehow detached.

“Well, I’m hardly one to talk.”

She smiled.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to close my eyes for good until I slit that bitch’s throat—the Witch of the Abyss.”

3.

After several days of travel, the carriage stopped at a city straddling the Boundary of the Outer Lands.

Valdernos, a city of a forgotten nation.

Originally, the city had stood close to the Boundary. But some three hundred years ago, the Boundary expanded, and roughly seventy percent of Valdernos was swallowed by the Outer Lands. In the process, every resident vanished as though evaporating.

Of course, only the people had disappeared; the buildings remained intact. But no one could live in a city more than half swallowed by the Outer Lands. As a result, Valdernos became a ghost town.

To dark mages, an uninhabited ghost town was an ideal place to live. Apparently, its proximity to the Outer Lands also made summoning much easier. With all those advantages combined, Valdernos was considered the finest of locations among dark mages.

Naturally, the Order of Starblood knew this.

The order regularly monitored developments in Valdernos. In doing so, it had discovered traces of dark mages—and even evidence of demon summoning. This was no small problem. And a major problem naturally called for major force.

Yuel Razian, the order’s asymmetrical military asset.

She had headed to Valdernos not long ago. That was the background to the current operation.

“I see. So that’s what happened.”

“Yes. Now, allow me to explain the operation.”

Najin nodded as he listened.

“Originally, the executioner was the only person dispatched here. She was to conduct this purge alone, but circumstances have changed.”

Having arrived at the site of the operation, the inquisitor began his explanation, pointing to the symbols on the map.

“Lady Yuel will enter from Valdernos’s rear gate on the opposite side, inside the Outer Lands. You, Master Najin, will enter through the front gate ahead.”

According to his explanation, the plan was as follows: Yuel would advance from the rear gate toward the front, while Najin would advance from the front gate toward the rear, eliminating any dark mages they saw. As they proceeded, they would meet somewhere around the Boundary of the Outer Lands.

‘It sounds simple enough.’

Najin raised his head and looked at the city, divided by an opaque membrane—the Boundary separating the Outer Lands from the continent. Everything beyond the membrane was blurred and difficult to make out, but even the visible portion of the city was quite large.

This would not be as easy as it sounded. With that thought, Najin began warming up.

“Let me know once you have finished preparing to enter. Then I will signal Lady Yuel—”

“I’m ready.”

“Pardon?”

The inquisitor, who had been gathering holy water and silver weapons imbued with divine power, looked at Najin. Apart from a few light stretches as he answered, Najin seemed to have made no preparations at all.

“Um, Master Najin? Forgive my presumption, but Valdernos is a city encroached upon by the Outer Lands. Entering it is no different from entering the Outer Lands themselves, where the body deteriorates rapidly. Without sufficient preparation...”

“That applies to us. He won’t need it.”

Another inquisitor interrupted his subordinate and gestured toward Najin with his eyes. As though responding to that glance, Najin spread his hand wide. Two stars rose above his palm and shone.

“Ah.”

The inquisitor let out a brief sigh of realization. Then he dropped to one knee and bowed his head. Not to Najin. He offered a prayer to his patron deity, who would be watching from the heavens above.

A twinkle.

As though answering his prayer, a constellation of eight stars hanging in the sky began to shine. The Martyr of the Thorn Vines had answered.

“Master Najin?”

“Yes?”

“I recommend covering your ears.”

Najin blinked. Looking around, he saw that all the gathered inquisitors were crouching with their ears covered. Though puzzled, he did the same.

Before long, he learned why.

A moment earlier, the inquisitor had prayed to his deity to announce the start of the operation. Through that deity, the message had then reached her champion, Yuel.

The operation had begun.

Upon receiving the signal, Yuel Razian moved.

Far away, beyond the Boundary separating the Outer Lands from the continent, she stood at the opposite entrance, across the enormous city. An entire city lay between Najin and Yuel.

Yet Najin knew she had moved. Not because his senses were particularly keen. Her movement was simply that immense.

SCREEEEEEEEEECH!

The sword’s chilling cry rang out, a sound like a human screaming and writhing in agony. It crossed the Boundary of the Outer Lands and swept across the city, disregarding thousands of meters of distance to assail Najin’s eardrums.

The sound came first. What followed came after.

The vast membrane separating the Outer Lands from the continent heaved. It was not difficult to guess what was happening beyond the wavering Boundary, on the far side of that hazy membrane.

The city was being dismantled.

By one human being and one sword.