It turned out that the Demon called Blake was not merely posturing.
No… that wasn't quite accurate.
From what Arthur knew, Blake was genuinely powerful. He could eliminate several high-ranking Demons on his own, his agile frame perfectly suited for polearms. A true battlemaster... skilled in combat arts, sharp in instinct, terrifyingly well-rounded. Even Arthur could not confidently claim victory in a direct confrontation.
Luck, as the companion of the Evil Blood Maiden Muschika, Blake currently harbored neither hostility nor hunger toward humans.
For now.
Deep within, however, he longed for the day the world's so-called "restraints" would shatter. Like the Grand Duke at Goldy Pond, he ultimately viewed humans as prey. If not for Muschika's presence restraining him, he would undoubtedly stand as a deadly enemy.
"So that's how you escaped that place," Muschika said softly.
By then, the other children had eaten and fallen asleep, curled together near the fading warmth of the fire. Arthur sat across from the small Demon girl, conversing quietly, while Blake remained nearby, his sharp eyes never leaving the human boy.
He could smell it clearly...
The thick scent of Demon blood lingering on Arthur's body.
Not ordinary blood.
It carried the aura of a powerful high-ranking Demon… and two fairly strong Beast Oni besides.
Had this child truly killed them all?
Could humans reach such strength?
Blake's fingers twitched slightly around his weapon as excitement flickered in his gaze. Ah… how he wished for the restraints to break. To hunt such powerful humans would be exhilarating.
This kid was clever, too.
Under Arthur's gentle guidance, Muschika gradually lowered her guard. She revealed her identity as an Evil Blood Maiden and the unique properties of her blood. To her, humans had always been equals. This was the first time she had spoken face-to-face with one as such, and even after learning she was a Demon, Arthur's expression had not changed in the slightest.
That steady gaze moved her more than she expected.
She found herself explaining everything without concealment.
As she spoke, Arthur silently filled in gaps in his understanding of this world's deeper truths.
Demons, at their core, were the byproducts of genetic mutation, existences not entirely unlike zombies. They did not consume humans for pleasure but out of biological necessity. Their bodies degraded without it. Without regular intake of human flesh, they regressed... physically and mentally.
Strength diminished. Size shrank. Intelligence faltered. Reason eroded.
In a sense, Demons devoured humans to appropriate those very traits for themselves.
But Evil Blood Maidens were different.
They were born anomalous.
No matter what they consumed, their form never deteriorated. Even without human flesh, they maintained their shape, their intellect, their sanity. That was why other Demons referred to them as "Children of Miracles."
More importantly...
A single drop of Muschika's blood could transmit those properties to another Demon. One sip was enough to grant them the same stability, freeing them from dependence on human flesh.
In Demon society, that made her an outcast.
Her existence was more destabilizing than any human vegetarian.
Because she could turn others into "vegetarians" as well.
And yet, anyone understood the consequences. If ordinary humans abruptly abandoned meat without preparation, their bodies could weaken. Former carnivores forced into vegetarianism might suffer psychologically.
For Demons, the transformation was even more profound.
It meant severing themselves from the foundation of their entire culture—the hunt.
Resentment was inevitable.
Fear was inevitable.
And so persecution followed.
As the fire crackled softly and shadows swayed along the cavern walls, Arthur watched Muschika's small figure illuminated by warm light. In this cruel world, she was both salvation and heresy—a miracle that terrified the very race it sought to free.
From a human perspective, Muschika's existence could be called saintly, a lone figure standing against the current of the world in pursuit of peace. From a demon's perspective, however, her actions were betrayal, a denial of her race's very nature. Unfortunately, Arthur was human, and because he was human, he acknowledged her without hesitation.
"Muschika, I need you."
The sudden declaration struck her completely off guard. Just moments ago, they had been discussing how to resolve the conflict between humans and demons. How had it turned into something that sounded so dangerously close to a confession? Demon society was not so different from human society—emotions and bonds existed there as well... but Muschika, despite living more than seven hundred years, had never experienced such direct words face-to-face, especially not from a human child.
For a brief, mortifying instant, her thoughts spiraled in the wrong direction, until Arthur calmly clarified his meaning, pulling her back to reality and leaving her flustered beneath her hood.
Yet what he said next stunned her even more.
He did not want to rely on the so-called God who established the rules of this world. He wanted to use her blood to change the world directly.
"You mean… alter everything without seeking divine intervention?" she asked uncertainly.
Her original hope had always been that the Edible Children would search for the Seven Walls, find that transcendent being, and request a miracle to rewrite the world's laws. But Arthur's eyes held neither reverence nor hope when speaking of that existence—only cold skepticism.
"To hell with this world's god," he said evenly. "Why trust a being who can rewrite reality at will? The world became like this because of that 'god' in the first place."
After a brief pause, he continued.
"After centuries of slaughter and hatred, if everything can be erased just because one wish is granted, then what meaning did all that suffering have? Wouldn't that make this entire world a joke?"
His voice did not rise, yet every word carried weight.
"You've hidden for seven hundred years, rejected by demons and feared by humans. Was all of that just to wait for a god to appear and tell you the future will be better?"
He shook his head slightly.
"What belongs to us, we claim ourselves. If this world is wrong, then we fix it with our own hands. Humans have never feared struggle."
His gaze burned steadily in the firelight.
"What we should fear is placing hope in something distant and forgetting to act. Humans are human because we possess a heart that rebels endlessly against fate. Demons may devour countless humans, but they will never obtain a human heart."