Chapter 1: The Awakening of Evil

[O Evil, awaken!]

An ancient civilization that vanished with the world’s end long ago.
Deeper and deeper beneath the earth.
In the cold, silent tomb of ‘It,’ where even lava had dried up, a voice echoed.

[O Evil, behold the world!]

This wasn’t the first time ‘It’ had heard such a voice.
Over the long ages, the voices that reached It were varied.
However, the names they used always changed.
O God. O Savior. O Redeemer.

When the voices called It by such names, they usually prayed for the same things:
Please, save the weak.
Please, watch over the world.

Waking to such wishes, It would descend upon the world as a god, fulfill their purpose, and fall back asleep.

But It wasn’t always summoned as a god.
Sometimes, It was called a demon or disaster itself.
And what those voices demanded was entirely different:
Kill them all!
Let me have my revenge!
I offer my soul—burn them to the ground!

When awakened by such voices, It was called a Demon King, a Devil, or on a grander scale, a Demon God.
The last time It had opened Its eyes had been no different.

It had been a long time since It had heard a voice.
[O Evil! Please, awaken!]

It no longer knew how much time had passed.
Now, another voice was calling It.
This time, the voice said:

[O Evil!]

It thought,
Those who call me a god usually pursue a great cause, and those who call me demonic pursue desire.
Is this another human consumed by intense desire, calling for me?

It listened once more.

[This world is steeped in peace and love!]

…Huh?
Peace and love?

I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before.
Usually, it’s all about a world steeped in malice and selfishness.
What a strange one.

A voice that calls for a god, yet demands something befitting a demon.
In any case, it was an intriguing voice.

Feeling hungry for the first time in a long while, It opened Its eyes.

[Please, bring this world to ruin!]

And so, It—
No,
Evil—awoke.
To watch over the world, upholding someone’s intense will.

Rattle. Rattle.
Several carriages sped across a wasteland where not a single blade of grass grew and not a drop of water could be found.
This was a dangerous place, unprotected by the Holy Knights of the Holy Empire.

Commonly called the Outside of Order.
So named because it lay beyond the Empire’s dominion.
It teemed with monsters, which made even wild animals scarce—and settlements, rarer still.
A place truly without order.

Ordinary people would never dare to cross it.
But those who did were likely up to something illegal.

“Hey! Stop for a moment!”
The carriage, which seemed like it would never stop, suddenly halted. The horses snorted, displeased to be halted on this cursed land.

“What’s this? There’s someone here?”
The man in the driver’s seat rubbed his eyes, not trusting what he saw.
From the carriage behind, another man stepped out.

“Are they lost?”
“How could anyone get lost in a place like this?”
“No, it looks like some bastards had their fun and left her here.”

The men stared at the woman lying in the wasteland. Her entire body was caked in dirt, and she wasn’t wearing a single piece of clothing. The man’s crude assumption, sadly, seemed plausible.

But even in that state, the woman’s appearance was striking.
Her silver hair, undulled by the dusty wind, and her distinct features—still sharp despite the grime—added weight to the assumption.

“Is she dead? What a waste. She’d be top-grade product.”
“Who cares? With looks like that, they’d line up even if she were a corpse.”

The men chuckled crudely. A burly one nudged the woman’s body with his foot.

“Ugh…”

“Ooh, she’s alive?”
“She’s awake, boss!”
“Wow, we’re lucky! Just picked up a product like this off the road!”

At the sound of boisterous laughter, It—no, Evil—opened Its eyes.
Evil was in a foul mood.

Rightfully so. The place where It had slept had once been full of lava.
Now, after countless ages, that lava had cooled, the earth hardened. Evil had to dig through stone and dirt just to reach the surface. Not difficult, but bothersome.

And normally, when Evil was summoned, It received a sacrifice—
But this time, those who greeted It were not what It expected.

There was no sacred temple. No crowds in reverent awe.
No bloody battlefield filled with hatred and fear.

Before It stood greedy, bloated men—eyes scanning It like a possession.

So Evil had no choice but to ask—
Of those eyes, so dull and grotesque:

[Was it you who called me?]

“What’s with this woman? What’s she saying? Is she nuts?”
Evil had been asleep for too long.
Its language was ancient—no longer understood by the people of this era.

That was a problem.
It needed a proper sacrifice to learn the modern language and culture.
But there didn’t seem to be one.

“Don’t even mention it, boss. I heard some fanatics were roaming around here not long ago.”
“Tch. Those crazies creep me out…”

Though they couldn’t understand Evil, Evil could understand them.
And it was clear—they weren’t the ones who summoned It.

They pointed at Evil and the carriage, whispering about high-grade “product.”
The carriage was full of people.

[Are those the sacrifices offered to me?]

Evil’s body was cold—likely from being underground so long.
And It was hungry.

In the past, sacrifices had included freshly slain livestock, rare jewels, or human lives. Some even offered themselves willingly.

In the cargo bed were numerous women.
Many had dull, lifeless eyes. A few stared defiantly, but even they were worn down.
It seemed this time’s sacrifice was human.
But not voluntary. They’d been taken.

Evil, until now expressionless, frowned.

[…The quality of the sacrifices is poor.]

“She seems like a madwoman, doesn’t she?”
“Who cares? If a woman has a good face and body, that’s all that matters. Some guys even prefer ’em crazy.”

One of them chuckled as he grabbed Evil’s arm.
Soon, Evil was shoved into an iron cage with the other women.

“She doesn’t even resist. Makes it easier.”
“Still… a woman found where fanatics were seen. Feels wrong.”
“What does it matter? We’re not eating her.”

The man dusted off his hands and laughed.

The women in the cage quickly moved to cover Evil.
Though they wore rags themselves, they couldn’t leave her exposed.
The eldest removed a few layers to wrap around her.

Their kindness, even in this state, irritated a nearby slaver.
He kicked the cage.

Thud!
The women flinched at the noise.

The man laughed and returned to his seat.
Only when the sound of hooves and wheels returned did the women exhale.

“Those… those goddamn bastards…”
“Sister, what do we do about her?”
“Her body is so cold…”
“Is this really the time to worry about someone else?”
“What if we get transported with a corpse?”

A woman with large, rabbit-like eyes whimpered as she tried to warm Evil’s body.

It was cold. That much was true.
Evil had just emerged from the deep earth.
It had only been trying to warm itself in the sun when these people came along.

More than that, It had expected a sacrifice.
But nothing was offered. Disappointing.

It could have warmed Its body easily, but the hunger came first.

As Evil pondered, the women muttered:

“We’re going to become slaves, aren’t we?”
“…It’s better than dying.”

Slavers.
They existed in the world when Evil last awoke, too.
It seemed the world hadn’t changed.

Such people were tasteless—even as sacrifices.
But right now, there were no alternatives.

Evil stood and gripped the iron bars.
The women stared up at It powerlessly.

“It’s no use. Only those bastards have the key—”

Screeeech.
With barely any effort, the iron bars bent like soft taffy.

“Hic!”
“…Gulp!”

The women, who had been trying to stop Evil from wasting Its strength, recoiled in fear.