Unknown: *gasp*
Muse: *screams*
Soldier 1: Commander, what should we do with the baby?
Commander: Throw it in.
Soldier 2: Any last words? Hm, guess not.
Michael: You bastards!
[later, as Michael walks away from Muse]
Muse: Stop... Don't kill him...
Edit: This dialogue was retained in the light novel.
very much unverified machine translation bc i kind of don't want to look at it for too long, except for the lines that merit that content warning (thanks mauro for suffering with me)
😅 i didn't know a less blunt euphemism in English and i couldn't make the softer definition work, so i ended up omitting that phrase entirely, but the implication is there so. content warning for that.
---
The former Shepherd, Michael, named the village "Camlann".
The village was created with the eager help of the devout who had not forgotten the seraphim, and Michael's younger sister, Muse.
A few years prior, Michael had stopped being the Shepherd. He felt limited by the role of Shepherd, and told Lailah, whom he travelled with, what he felt inside his chest. Michael told Lailah about wanting to spend the rest of his life in peace, and to live quietly with his important secret, thus Lailah ended their pact and told him about a land in the north of Rolance.
That pure land, uninhabited and lacking in malevolence, suited Michael's wishes.
Michael thanked Lailah and bid her farewell, to spend the rest of his years keeping his secret on that land--or so he had planned.
The situation changed completely, when Camlann became occupied by the Rolance army, led by general Heldalf.
---
"General... How much longer do you plan on making us live like this?"
In the large public square of Camlann, Michael glared at the man standing before him, General Heldalf.
The general was said to have an impressive military record, greatly trusted by the Emperor, but on the other hand, his strategies were ruthless and without hesitation. He was an opponent you could not let your guard down around.
"You've besieged our village and put up this fence for half a year now, when will you stop trampling on our way of life?"
Michael suppressed his anger, and placed his hand against the fence. Immediately, the soldiers on the other side of the fence pointed their spears at him.
Michael, and the villagers who came with him to complain about the soldiers, could not help but tense up. At that, General Heldalf expressed a scoffing smile.
"What are you displeased with, Shepherd?"
He raised a hand, and the soldiers drew back their spears. Like comforting a misbehaving child, he made a slight grimace.
"We are protecting you from invasion by Hyland. You should be grateful."
"This isn't protection! It's house arrest!"
Michael glared at the soldiers stood in a row on the other side of the fence. Their eyes never looked outside the fence, but rather always looked in, like they were making sure the villagers of Camlann didn't escape.
"Would Hyland have acted if the Rolance army hadn't taken over this village to begin with?"
"That's not true, Shepherd. This village has strategic value. That cannot be dismissed just because a Shepherd founded it. It would be the same no matter the country."
"... So you mean to say, it was only a matter of time?"
General Heldalf laughed and turned to leave.
Frustration twisted the faces of the villagers gathered around Michael.
"Michael-sama, is this really okay?!"
"They've even turned the shrine into their fortress! How much more must they blaspheme the seraphim?!"
"Could it be that they know the secret of the shrine...?"
"Shhh! What'll happen if they hear us?"
The villagers' voices revealed uncontrollable anger, irritation, and anxiety. Michael felt the same way. But, as the village chief, Michael controlled himself, not letting the rage inside of him run free.
"Camlann is indeed situated at an important place on the northern border. By controlling this area, either country could freely enter both capital cities. Neither side can ignore that."
"Do you really believe what that general says?"
Michael spoke calmly to the disbelieving villager, who was shaking his head.
"Don't concern yourself with what they believe in, we can't forget what we ourselves believe in."
Seeing Michael's kind but lonely smile, the villagers sensed his true feelings, and had nothing else to say.
Do not forget what you believe in. That was the basis for the village, and the very reason why the village was created.
Michael commanded the villagers disperse from the area and returned to his home.
On the way back, he passed the front of the shrine. The vast shrine of Camlann contrasted the small village in scale.
Everyone had made great pains to construct a dignified shrine suitable for enshrining a seraph, but under the thumb of the Rolance army, it became a fort for General Heldalf and his soldiers' use.
Michael frowned at the completely changed shrine and returned home.
Upon returning home, he found his younger sister, Muse, in the middle of offering a quiet prayer.
In her arms was a newly born baby. He didn't appear disturbed by his mother's prayer, as he was sound and fast asleep.
Noticing Michael's return, Muse turned her head and smiled.
"Welcome home, brother."
"I'm home. I’m sorry to disturb your prayer."
"It's okay. I'm almost finished," Muse said, rubbing her cheek to the cheek of the baby in her arms. "Truthfully, I would have gone to the shrine's altar to pray, but... Well, I want this child to meet him soon."
"Mhm, I'm sure Maotelus is also waiting impatiently at the shrine..."
From the inside of his house, Michael couldn't help but turn his eyes towards the direction of the shrine.
Camlann's biggest secret. That was to say, that Maotelus lived there.
He was originally enshrined in the Pendrago shrinechurch, but following the dwindling faith, Maotelus gradually became susceptible to malevolence.
Distressed by this, Michael secretly moved Maotelus from Pendrago to Camlann.
Only those who shared Michael's thoughts, the villagers of Camlann, knew of this secret.
However, the malevolence generated by General Heldalf and his soldiers' were causing the village to lose Maotelus' blessing.
"Brother, how were negotiations with the Rolance army?"
At Muse's inquiry, Michael shook his head feebly.
"They refused to listen to me. They would only repeat that the usual story that it is to protect the village from invasion by Hyland. However, I think that in truth, it's a show of force against the country to the north, that they want a pretext for war. Heldalf wants to make a name for himself only on the battlefield. The way things are right now, he probably thinks he can't get that just by glaring down the enemy."
Muse's brows fell in sorrow.
"Maotelus is said to use the earth itself as a vessel to extend his divine protection over the entire continent, but if Camlann has already lost his blessing, if this goes on any longer, even Maotelus will become corrupted..."
"That won't happen."
"Brother..."
With both hands, Michael grabbed the anxious-looking Muse firmly by the shoulders.
"If Maotelus were to become a hellion, the world would end. I won't let that happen. Even if it costs me my life. I won't let your son's future be destroyed."
Michael gave a reassuring smile, and Muse too hid her anxiety, giving him a brave smile in return.
"Of course. I believe in you, brother. I know you can do it."
Michael ate the meal Muse made, then left the house. Perhaps because he'd eaten, his empty heart felt like he'd regained a little bit of energy.
However, more than anything else, what revitalised him was the sight of his newborn nephew. His pure nephew was a symbol of the "future". He had to protect that child’s world.
Michael headed towards the shrine, hoping to at least to be allowed to return to the shrine's inner altar.
"...What?"
As Michael ascended the last of the stairs, something made him feel uneasy.
He twisted his head to looked up at the shrine. Though he didn't want to get used to it, he had become accustomed to the fortress the shrine had been turned into, and it looked the same as ever.
However, something else had changed.
Soon, the source of his unease became apparent to him. Michael blinked.
"That's right... the soldiers aren't here."
The numerous soldiers who had loomed over the shrine only yesterday had disappeared.
But, when on earth did they...? As Michael retread his memories, the smell of smoke carried on the wind hit him. He stopped, looking around his surroundings for the source of the smoke, and gasped.
Smoke was rising from the northern end of the village, the wind carrying with it the sound of yelling and shrieking.
It was the start of a calamity.
---
"Kill them all! This is an enemy village! We must destroy it completely!"
The Hyland soldiers invading Camlann raised their swords overhead and without hesitation, cut down on the villagers attempting to flee.
"Rolance scum, you thought you could sneak away into the mountains, did you?"
"Don't spare any woman or child! Rolance must be taught a lesson! Exterminate them all!"
Without any ability to fight back, the people of Camlann could only run for their lives.
Michael arrived in the public square, to see the pure land dyed red with the bodies of his friends.
He rushed over to a fallen villager on the ground, and checked for signs of life, but soon realised he was too late.
"Why... What is Heldalf doing?!"
"Heldalf..."
Hearing a small, feeble voice, Michael raised his head. Nearby, a young man on the brink of death said, his lips trembling:
"Heldalf... abandoned the village... he ran away..."
"What?! Then--"
Michael rushed over to the youth, but the young man perished.
"Why... Why is this happening...?"
In the midst of Michael's shock, an injured villager ran up to him.
"Shepherd! Muse-sama went to the shrine!"
"What?"
"She went to ask the Rolance army for help!"
"But Heldalf's already--"
As Michael spoke, the reality of the situation sunk in. He got to his feet at once and ran for the shrine.
As the shrine had been converted into a fortress, anyone who saw it would see it as a stronghold for the military.
Hyland soldiers would have already rushed into the shrine. If a woman like Muse had gone there alone, then--
"Muse! Please be safe!"
Taking a shortcut only known to the villagers, Michael avoided the Hyland soldiers and headed for the shrine. But--
"How could this have happened...?"
By the time he finally struggled to the shrine, Michael's body felt entirely drained of energy. He fell to his knees.
The shrine he and his friends had worked so hard build was burning.
And not only that.
Malevolence was overflowing. The very last remnant of Maotelus' blessing had been extinguished.
"Maotelus... Even you..."
He had become a hellion.
Michael hung his head, heartbroken. Then, a shriek, and Michael stood on instinct and ran to the inside of the shrine.
That shriek had been Muse's voice, screaming for her beloved child.
"Muse!"
Michael could not believe his eyes once he reached the altar.
The altar enshrining Maotelus was burning.
Hyland soldiers held Muse down as she screamed. Beside them, a soldier appeared to be enjoying dangling Muse's baby in the air like a pendulum.
"What should we do with the baby?" the soldier asked his superior, who had Muse pinned. The superior officer answered without raising his head.
"Throw it in."
'Stop it!' Michael wanted to shout, but his dry throat made no sound.
Instead, the sound of something snapping rang out inside of his head.
Eventually, he found himself holding a sword in his grasp. The bodies of Hyland soldiers surrounded him.
Somehow, he had stolen the sword of the one of the soldiers and slain each of them one after the other.
“M…use…?”
His empty eyes turned towards his sister, drenched in the dead soldiers' blood. She was dragging her injured body, reaching her hand out towards the growing flames.
"The baby! The baby--"
Beyond the reach of Muse's hand, the flames engulfed the silhouette of the child.
"!"
Michael quickly jumped and rushed into the fire, heedless of the burning against his skin, and picked up his beloved nephew in his arms.
"He's..."
His nephew, the symbol of the future. He dedicated everything he believed in for the sake of this small life.
But the newly born skin, once soft, was now burning hot and blistered, about to extinguish the flame of life.
"I... I was going to show you the future... and..."
Michael hugged the baby tightly to his chest.
Then, the massive flames around them flared even higher. The red fires suddenly turned black. The black flames thundered and coiled, and from it rose a single silhouette--that of a dragon.
"Maotelus..."
Michael looked up in despair and exhaustion at his friend's transformation for the worse.
No, it wasn't only his friend who had changed. Something had changed in himself as well.
Michael's eyes fell as he felt malevolence overflowing from him.
"Brother!"
Michael slowly turned his head towards Muse's voice.
On the other side of the flames, Muse looked at him crying. Was his sister crying because her son couldn’t be saved? Or, was it from seeing her brother stained in malevolence?
An emotion Michael had never felt before arose from him, a muddy stream that took over his entire body with its force.
Burning. All of his blood burned with violent emotion, and Michael staggered to take one first step.
"All is lost... Maotelus has become a hellion... and this child is already... All because of one man's foolish ambitions..."
"Brother...?"
Michael held the baby tightly to his body, and advanced towards the burning recesses of the altar.
"Wait... What are you doing with that child...?"
With Muse's fearful voice at his back, Michael rested the dying baby on the altar. No matter the time or place, great wishes need an offering in order to...
"Stop! Please! Don't kill him--!"
Muse, guessing Michael's intentions, screamed. But Michael's will did not change.
Drawing a dagger used for self-defence, Michael exclaimed:
"To you who caused this calamity, I bring upon you an [eternity of solitude]!"
He raised the dagger over his head and brought it down on the offering.
Muse screamed, and the black flame howled with her, whirling up from the center of the altar.
Malevolent fire consumed the former Shepherd, becoming a great force that broke through the ceiling and overflowed.
In the middle of the fire, the man murmured softly:
