CHAPTER 6: THE TRUTH ABOUT THE HUMAN SAINT

**Greg**

Now that it was peaceful, this was the first time I noticed the Cherflammen night sky, and it was, rather, a dark one. There was nothing in the heavens, not even a single speck of star. Imagine it as if I was looking at the ‘black side’ of a big illustration board; I couldn’t make out whether or not I was moving once I stared upwards.

However, navigation was still possible, for one could tell in what direction he/she was going, simply by referring to the twilight which lay to the west. Cherflammen’s ‘days’ and ‘nights’ were different from ‘Earth’; while a person could stand in one spot and wait for a complete ‘day/night’ cycle on Earth, here, you had to move from one place to another to experience day and night.

Yes, those are fixed in position. It’s as if the god of this place forgot to rotate whatever it is—planet, or some flat rock—that Cherflammen was placed upon.

And so, just as its name suggests, the city of Darkmoor lay in the ‘night’ regions of Cherflammen.

One thing that I noticed in our convoy as we dived deeper into the ‘night’ was that we had no source of light as we travel, saved for the single torch in our carriage. What’s even worse was that, since I got used to the ‘undying’ light of Chersea, I’m uncomfortable with Cherflammen’s darkness.

“Sir, are you alright?” Lady Noir checked on me. Perhaps she saw my expression and was worried.

“Well, the night is kind of new to me now…”

“Night?” the demon lady peered outside, “Oh, you mean the darkness?”

I nodded.

“It’s the feature of this region,” the chamberlain spoke. “Westshore is the perfect place for us, the people from House Usarved.”

“You mean?”

“The House Usarved loves darkness, Sir,” Lady Noir explained. “In fact, you can see it from our skin: we’re all pale white!”

Indeed, that’s true. Listening to them made me remember some animals back in my world which evolved into ‘albino’ versions of their species because of their dark habitat. I couldn’t keep myself from thinking that the demons of the House Usarved went through the same, because of their love for the ‘night’…or is it the other way around?

Ah, in any case, it’s not like I’m a stranger to the night. Back when I was on Earth, I always preferred walking outside during the late hours of the night. Not only was I ‘relatively’ alone, the silence of my surroundings as my neighbors slept was helpful in my daily meditation.

Of course, it always ended with me stepping inside a nearby convenience store and buying something.

“…”

“Do you have something on your mind, Sir?”

“Hm? Well, I just remembered something from where I came from.”

“Your own world?”

I smiled at her, “Yes, I realized that I’m missing a lot of things back there that I didn’t even notice before. Like for example, walking under the moon-lit night sky, alone.”

“Indeed, that’s a real beauty, Sir,” Lady Noir chuckled. “I experienced it too, before, when I was at the city of Helfan to the north. There was a beautiful garden in one of my brother’s palaces in that place, and I would spend hours walking around it, feeling the gentle breeze coming from the east. One of the best moments of my life…”

The poignant smile on the demon princess’ lips meant something, I’m sure of it. Nevertheless, I knew I had no business of asking about it, so I tried changing the topic.

“You also have a moon here?”

“That’s the light in the dark sky, right?” she asked. “Yes, we do have it here, but you have to journey to Helfan to see it. The demon folks of old call it the ‘palelight’, before Lady Cassandra David gave its ‘moon’ name. Legend says it reminds her of her own moon…”

“…”

“By the way, Sir…”

“Yes?”

“I’ve been curious ever since I heard you speak Filipino,” Lady Noir said. “Can it possibly be that you and Lady Cassandra David know each other, since you came from the same world and speak the same tongue?”

“Good thing you asked, milady,” I smirked. “Lady Cassandra David is my old student.”

“Wha—” Both of my companions inside the carriage nearly fell from their seats.

“I’m not asking you to believe me, for I also find our situation strange,” I admitted. “But, yes, she’s a student and a close friend of mine who disappeared from our world a year before I was summoned here. I never thought that she would become a legendary hero of another world, who came to this place hundreds, or thousands, of years ago…her full name is Alexa Cassandra David, by the way.”

“Wow…” Shevaun and Lady Noir looked at me as if I’m someone awesome. I could tell from their eyes that they had a mountain-ton of questions ready to throw at me, but for some reason, they’d been holding back.

“If you want some answers, I can tell them to you, as long as my memories allow it. You know how wonky it became after the ‘Academy’ incident, though.”

“No,” the demon princess also gestured to her chamberlain to not ask, “it would be best if my brother hears this first; he’s the one that’s more interested in Lady Cassandra David’s life. Besides, I won’t impose on you, Sir, you’re my valuable guest. Please take a rest first before you tell stories.”

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I took Lady Noir’s offer of rest before I get on to my stories about their revered hero. After all, with what had just recently happened, it’s only now that fatigue and the desire to sleep came upon me. Nevertheless, there’s this small part in me that I wanted to go on and start talking. As a result, I was restless while waiting for our convoy to reach our destination.

“Hm…how many ‘long sleeps’ till we arrive at Darkmoor, then?”

“Rather than long sleeps, the travel to Darkmoor would take several hours, milord,” I heard Shevaun speak to me. “If you want to rest, you can take a blanket and lay your head here.” She was referring to her lap.

“…”

“Err…you don’t like resting your head on my lap?” the chamberlain asked. “How about here?” She pointed at her…uh…bosom.

I couldn’t help but be surprised at the offers; my cheeks were getting warm. I mean, not that I didn’t like it, but the lap and chest pillows were intimate gestures, meant only for the ones you love. Surely, this demon chamberlain didn’t have any feelings for me, yes?

“Ah, it’s just Shevaun offering her usual hospitality,” Lady Noir quipped, able to read my thoughts. “I know it’s kind of surprising to you humans, but for us demons, we’re not bothered by this kind of thing. In fact, you can ask us to strip down naked, and we won’t be embarrassed.”

“I-I w-won’t do that, especially to my student.”

Lady Noir and Shevaun were chuckling, “Look at his red face! Aren’t humans fascinating with all their ‘shame’ and stuff?”

“You guys are doing this on purpose?” Our conversation was taking a weird turn.

“On one side of the answer, it’s a yes,” the demon princess confirmed, “and on the other side, it’s also the truth.”

“O-Oh?”

“Is it strange to you, Sir?”

“Well, yes…”

“Ah, that’s where our races are different, Sir. While you humans are always concerned about your ‘ethics’ and ‘values’, we demons have already shed that part of us eons ago. See, we love to find the answers to everything, and I mean, EVERYTHING…so in order to free ourselves from the control of anyone or anything, we discarded what limits us, and now, here we are.”

“Hoh…”

“Well, for example, I can always knock you down and dissect you alive, Sir,” Lady Noir suggested with a smile. “But of course, I won’t do it. You’re a precious person to me…though, if you die, I can do a taxidermy, so you’re always by my side even though your spirit is already walking in the afterlife.”

“…”

The conversation had taken a really weird turn, and it’s making me uncomfortable, seeing the demon princess talk about death and taxidermy nonchalantly like that. Deep inside, I was wondering whether or not I did the right choice of entrusting myself to this demon girl.

“…”

The sudden silence inside our carriage was deafening, made even worse by the soft sand outside that muted the hooves of the guards’ horses. Then, with no warning, the demon princess of House Usarved burst laughing.

“Haha! Of course, I’m joking, Sir!” she slapped my knees, “You’re always so serious!”

“Haha…” I let out an awkward laugh just to diffuse the tension. Honestly, I don’t have an idea on which part of what she said was the joke, and which part was true. At this point, I’m afraid to ask.

“Shevaun,” Lady Noir then turned to her chamberlain, “it seems that the Lord Greg is tired. If you please?”

“Milord,” Shevaun fixed her clothes and invited me, “please rest your head on whichever part of my body you prefer.”

“N-No, thank you! I prefer sleeping in this position,” I politely refused them and grabbed a blanket behind me. If I had to sleep in an upright, sitting pose, then so be it. I’d been a veteran sleeper of public transports in my Earth life, anyway. Besides, after all of what had been said, I don’t think I could sleep that well…my guard’s unintentionally up, but it’s for my safety in the end.

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***The border crossing of Chersea-Cherflammen***

Once their group reached the demon outpost on the Chersean side of the crossing, Umberto left for the kingdom of Nerfes immediately. Like Seirna, he had no love the demon-kind, though unlike her, he could work with them when the situation called for it. However, now that his cover was blown, the former prince of Amaranth had to reestablish contact with the Saint of the Flame as soon as possible.

“Yes, that’s true. And we really need to change our course of action this time.”

Umberto stopped in his tracks. He was in the middle of the forest path, north of the kingdom of Nerfes. Hearing that disembodied voice of his employer echoed from every direction nearly caused his heart to skip a beat. The former prince searched for Seirna…

“Look no further. I’m here, right behind you.”

“!!!” Umberto turned towards the direction she told him, and indeed, she was there, appearing out of thin air. He said nothing else; he just went straight to the topic at hand, “What’s our next step?”

“I’m still waiting for the Lord Gaius’ guidance,” the Saint of the Flame revealed to him. “Those foul demons…they’d really violate anything that piques their interest, even heavenly decrees.”

“What are you talking about, Your Holiness?”

“I’m reading your mind,” she said. “Your memories tell me that the leader of the ‘Knights’ is already aware of your duplicity long before you previously thought, that’s why he sent one of his disciples to kill you. It must be because of that monster he created that he could see through your ruse.”

“Monster? You mean that ‘hydra’?”

Seirna nodded, “It’s a creature from another land, and another myth. And that demon made it exist in this place, given it additional powers, in direct violation of heavenly decrees about ‘summoning’.”

“Summoning?” the former prince’s eyes widened, “You mean, we’re forbidden to summon anything or anyone?”

“Ever since the Lord Gaius summoned that old hero, Cassandra David, there has been a ban from the heavens about summoning creatures from other realms.”

“Then, that otherworlder…”

“You guessed right,” the Saint of the Flame smirked, “the Human Saint and the Demon Saint violated the heaven’s decree when he was summoned. Lady Rubinforth by being the one who made it possible, and Lady Bellingsen for goading the former to doing the deed and creating the magic circle that caused the summoning.”

“Damn…”

“Now you get the reasons behind my actions before…”

“It’s all falling into place,” Umberto nodded. “Well, at least, one of the mysteries in my life is already answered.”

“What are the others?”

“Hmm…one is that, if the leader of the ‘Knights’ already knew about my deception, then why he didn’t kill me when I was in his chambers?”

“That demon is one sneaky bastard,” Seirna chuckled, “he purposefully let you think that you’re successful in deceiving them, until that demon princess appeared in Chersea.”

“Demon princess? Are we talking about Lady Noir?”

“Yes, can’t you connect the dots? Think about it. See, he sent you to do his bidding, along with the Lord Themis. When the right time comes, the demon he assigned to you would kill you, along with the other humans whom he deems expendable, right in the middle of the demon desert. Add a few corpses of the demons you killed in your battle, and we got ourselves a nice, convincing casus belli for Cherflammen to march to war against Chersea.” (1)

“And of course, that would lead to humankind’s destruction, as we are not prepared to fight another human-demon conflict, yes?”

“Not only that…” the Saint of the Flame turned her head towards the direction of the Holy Palatial Gardens. “Aside from men being woefully fragmented—thanks to the actions of that otherworlder and the Human Saint, bloodshed is the last thing we need right now.”

“For someone who loathes and advocates the destruction of the demon-kind, that’s fresh coming from you, Your Holiness.”

“Again, my duties and loyalty lie with the Lord Gaius. And as he wanted to protect the realms he made, so will my heart and soul be alike with his, even if I have to give my life to his cause.”

“You speak as if you’re going to battle, Your Holiness.”

“I’m always fighting lately, Umberto, though it’s a different kind of battle. A difficult one, if I may say…more than what I faced before,” Seirna told him. “You don’t know how hard it is to struggle against an ancient evil that is about to consume everything in this land, and the other realms, too.”

“Ancient…evil? What are you saying?”

“She has returned, Umberto. That entity from the Void that even the Lord Gaius is wary about…the Seductress,” she revealed to him. “And the Human Saint, her daughter, is her conduit to return to Chersea.”

“Huh? You mean the Lady Erika Annie Michelle Rubinforth, the wife of the Iron Duke of Nerfes? She’s someone else?”

“That’s one of her identities. She’s also known throughout Chersea as Lady Arame, the Lord Gaius’ beloved wife of ancient times.”

“Damn…the holy books didn’t say that part!”

“Of course, they won’t,” Seirna grinned. “After all, everyone—except for me—was smitten by her!”

The former prince was silent for a while, but then he muttered, “I know I should’ve killed my niece before…but you, you know all of these things for the start?”

Seirna nodded, “That’s the other reason the Imperial War happened.”

“If so, then why didn’t you kill Madelaine Rubinforth before she became the Human Saint? These things wouldn’t have happened if you acted early on!” Umberto’s voice suddenly went up, and he grabbed the Saint of the Flame by the collar of her turtleneck dress. “Is the Lord Gaius you spoke so highly of stupid enough to let a dangerous person like her live?”

“Silence!” Seirna brushed aside his hand from her neck. “I may tolerate this disrespect of touching me without permission, Umberto, but I won’t tolerate foul words against our god, an ally you may be!”

“Ally? You hid these things to me up ’till now, and I’m an ally? These ‘preventable’ things if only you and that stupid former god did something before! If Madelaine Rubinforth died when she was young, my family would still be alive today!”

“You’re missing something, Umberto. Her mother is the Seductress, though her powers were severely weakened after Cassandra David’s actions. That malevolent entity had seen through the future and its possibilities—and she won’t take her chances. After she was banished, she plotted her return, using the last vestiges of her power to create other false identities—that of a certain ‘Erika Annie Michelle’, and a ‘child’, who was later named ‘Madelaine Ann’.”

“That Madelaine Ann Rubinforth…are you saying she’s not human?”

“Lady Madelaine is human, though I’d say she was not ‘born’ in the same way humans sire their children, but rather, ‘created’. And your memories of ‘Erika Annie Michelle’…they didn’t happen in the first place; it is a ruse, designed to provide a convincing ‘background’ for her ‘daughter’!”

“You and your god knew all of this, yet it is only now that you’re doing an effort?”

“Umberto, we’re fighting an entity that can influence hearts and minds,” Seirna was getting agitated as well. “She took advantage of the Lord Gaius’ limitations after he became mortal. Under her false identity as ‘Erika Annie Michelle Rubinforth’, she befriended the previous Human Saint, who protected her from me, and ensured the succession of her daughter, the Lady Madelaine, to the saintly throne.”

“Still, you could’ve prevented this! You knew her deception! You could’ve killed Madelaine Rubinforth when she was young!”

“Are you dumb? Has your irrationality clouded your thoughts, you’re unable to understand what I just said? Again, she is the Seductress; a creature from the Void, mother of all temptations! Even the Lord Gaius—in all his heavenly glory—fell for her and ended up becoming a mortal! How much more can a mere saint, given limited god-powers, fare against her unworldly charms? Though I know of the truth, the others just won’t believe me! They fell right unto the palm of her hands, waged war against me, and she used them to protect herself and her ‘child’!”

Another round of silence reigned between them after that. Umberto was trying to keep his calm and composure, while Seirna had nothing else to say. Eventually, the tension subsided, and it was the former prince who broke the ice.

“So, what’s going to happen now?” he asked.

“We have no choice but to pick ourselves up from the broken pieces,” she replied. “For now, Lady Madelaine is unconscious and only a seal is keeping that accursed creature from totally manifesting. I doubt my power would last long, so we need to find another mole to infiltrate the ‘Knights’ in your place. We have to destroy those demons first, before we can face this threat…or we may end up being stabbed in the back, and the Seductress grows even more powerful because of the bloodshed.”

“Are you sure we can’t kill the Human Saint? Can’t we reverse our mistakes from the past?”

“What for? We’re not murderers, Umberto. The Seductress, though her physical form hasn’t appeared yet, has already entered this realm. Even if I erased Lady Rubinforth’s existence, the damage has been done. That vile entity is like the gods—she’s timeless! She wouldn’t be affected by the paradox resulting from the use of my god-powers over life! We’re only delaying the inevitable; we will surely have to fight her. Kill her or not, Lady Madelaine’s elimination won’t make a difference…and we’d only strengthen her by murdering one of the Saints.”

“Won’t the daughter side with her when that confrontation happens?”

The Saint of the Flame shook her head, “I highly doubt it. Though we may have stood on the opposite sides of the fence before, Lady Madelaine Rubinforth is truly concerned in humankind’s future. And with that otherworlder by her side, he’s her moral compass to what’s the best decision to take.”

“Now I really wish that I ended her life when I had the chance,” the former prince heaved a sigh; his fists were clenched tight. “What’s up with this ‘Seductress’, anyway? Going to eat all of Chersea and be done with it?”

“How I wish it’s that simple, but no…” Seirna shook her head. “That entity’s goal is the same as to why the Lord Gaius is protecting the otherworlder: the god-powers.”

“You mean, your powers?”

“It’s not ‘ours’ in the first place. We Saints are just ‘caretakers’ after the god of this land, the Lord Gaius, stepped down and became mortal. It’s meant to be given to someone worthy enough to wield it. So yes, if a person got all the six god-powers, then that person has the right to claim godhood.”

“And the Lord Kuro…he possesses two of those powers already!”

“That’s why the Lord Gaius’ favor rests on that man, for the otherworlder is the only hope of salvation for Chersea, and the other realms,” the Saint of the Flame had a tired smile on her face. Her hand unconsciously went for the scar hidden behind the collar of her turtleneck dress, “Even so, I hated him…and I will never forgive that otherworlder for what he has done to me.”

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**Greg**

I woke up when I felt that our carriage had stopped. Thinking we already arrived at our destination, I got up. After all, I wanted to see what the city of Darkmoor looked like.

“…”

“Oh? So, you’re finally awake, Sir!” I heard Lady Noir greet me. “We’re almost at the city gates, it’s just that we’re held up because of the checkpoint. My brother set those up so we can screen those who are coming in and out of our city—even the members of our noble clan; we can never be sure of our security nowadays, see?”

“Ah, yes, I understand. By the way, thanks for the nice, soft pillow you gave me…?”

Wait, what pillow?

Dread overcame my chest as I turned towards Shevaun. Much to my horror, I’d been sleeping on her lap this whole time. I immediately apologized for my mistake, to which Lady Noir replied,

“Sir, you’re being funny,” she was laughing. “It’s just a lap pillow!”

“Please do not despair about it, milord,” Shevaun backed her statement. “It’s part of my job to keep our guests happy, and that includes you.”

“Yes, I know. And it’s precisely why I’m apologizing,” I countered. “This should only be done between lovers, see?”

“Lovers?” the demon princess of the House Usarved thought for a second, “Oh! You mean that mating ritual you humans do before you take an oath of eternal bondage?”

“H-Ha?” the conversation suddenly took a weird turn. “What ‘mating ritual’? What ‘eternal bondage’ are you saying?”

“You know, that mar—meri…err, something…thing…” Lady Noir stared at Shevaun, as if asking for help in getting her words across.

“It’s called ‘marriage’, milady,” the chamberlain corrected her. “Humans pledge an oath of eternal bondage to the person they like, after a prolonged period of mating rituals they collectively call ‘engagement’. These include activities like eating together, walking together and spending idle time together.”

The what? Hearing Shevaun’s explanation made me feel like I’m listening to a female David Attenborough narrate a nature documentary about human relations. It sounds so wrong while technically it’s so right!

“Pfft! That’s really stupid!” Lady Noir snorted. “You humans have so fallen deep in-love with slavery, you created ‘marriage’ to—ow!”

“!!!” I couldn’t hide my surprise when Shevaun suddenly smacked her mistress’ head with a newspaper she pulled out from somewhere.

“What happened to ‘respecting other cultures’, milady?” she asked in an indifferent tone.

“Aaah…my apologies, Sir.”

“I-It’s fine…” Yes, I did say that but honestly, a lot of things were going on that I’m having a hard time understanding what’s happening. Nevertheless, there were some words from Shevaun that piqued my interest. “Err…actually, there are some matters I’d like to ask you guys about.”

“Go ahead, Sir.”

“Well, you said earlier that our ‘marriage’ is ‘an oath of eternal bondage’ to you, which I can tell from your reactions that you don’t view favorably in your society. Now, my question is, how do relationships work in a demon society?”

“Shevaun?” Lady Noir was quick to pass the burden of explaining to her chamberlain.

“Ahem. If you’re looking for relationships like ‘friends’, or ‘lovers’, we have none of that, milord,” was her answer.

“Err…as in, nothing?”

“Hmm…let me rephrase that for you, milord,” Shevaun paused for a bit to prepare herself. “We do have relationships here, but it’s different from the ones you have in Chersea. While yours have various types, here in Cherflammen, we only have one: ‘connections’.”

“Connections, huh?”

“Yes, milord. You may say that we demon-folk ‘freely connect’ to one another.”

“Freely…connect?”

“You know, sexual intercourse.”

“…” I was left speechless by that revelation. It took me about a full minute of silence before I could fully comprehend what she just said, “Oooh…”

“We demons are free-spirited and curious folk, Sir,” this time, it was Lady Noir who spoke, “And that extended to interpersonal relations, too. Those whom you call ‘acquaintances’, ‘friends’, ‘siblings’ and ‘parents’, are the same to us: they are our ‘connections’.”

“So, you mean…”

“Yes,” Shevaun confirmed what was in my thoughts, “we don’t care about those classifications. We ‘connect’ to the person we want to ‘connect’.”

I had no idea of what to say to those, other than, “You guys…do you even love those people whom you ‘connect’ with?”

“Love?” Lady Noir’s eyes had a curious glimmer in it. “You mean that pleasant feeling in the chest whenever we see someone?”

“That’s ‘attraction’, as far as I know,” I replied. “It’s different from ‘love’, but it is so interchangeable that ‘attraction’ can eventually lead to it. However, ‘love’ is something much deeper. It’s like a commitment, a decision of a lifetime.”

Lady Noir and Shevaun exchanged odd looks. It was the chamberlain who continued the talk, “Milord, I think this ‘love’ thing you’re talking about is a human concept. As for us demons, we ‘connect’ with anyone we like at the heat of the moment, then go on our separate ways once we’re done. We have free will, and no one should bind us to a single person, unless we ourselves decided to.”

This is a radically strange land, I’d say…

“I think the Lord Greg is in shock, Shevaun.” I could hear the demon princess’ words under her breath.

“He is, milady. If you remember, humans consider having ‘connections’ with your siblings and parents as taboo.”

Indeed, those concepts were not only considered taboo in my world and in Chersea, those were viewed as an affront to the heavens. But to think that those practices were normal here…I’m having difficulty in understanding those things. Nevertheless, I guess I should open my mind on such matters; after all, I’m the one who was foreign in this land.

I thought before that Chersea is weird, but Cherflammen is—hands down—even weirder; in fact, it’s one big Sweet Home Alabama! (2)

Author's Note:  (1) Casus Belli is a Latin term that meant 'occasion for war'. In modern sense, it is the act or event that provokes or used to justify war. One great example of this was the 'Gleiwitz Incident' on the night of August 31-September 1, 1939, on the eve of the beginning of World War 2 in Europe. The Gleiwitz incident is a 'false flag' operation mounted by the German Schutzstaffel (SS) to provide the casus belli for Germany to declare war on Poland.

(2) Sweet Home Alabama is a joke term to refer to incestuous relationships among a community. Originally a title of a 1970s song, it became a phrase associated with sexual relationships within family members.