Demons were once slaves that rebelled. I guess from the point of view of humans and elves of the time, it was like a coup d’état.
Demons who wanted freedom, and humans and elves who didn’t accept that revolution. It would make sense that the conflict just escalated.
And then…
“Do elves hate demons and want to exterminate them because they don’t like this part of their history?”
“That would be it. Elves have been like this for a long time. Elitism runs deep in them, and after demons went into hiding, they have had skirmishes with humans many times.”
“We don’t know that history either. Did people hide it because it’s inconvenient?”
“Yes. But I imagine royalty and some scholars know about it. It was probably because the king of Arcadia knew of the discord between humans and demons that he was able to start dealing with it so quickly.”
“I see. Now I understand.”
At this point, there’s no option to solve this conflict peacefully.
For demons, humans are the hated beings who once persecuted them, and for humans, demons are murderers taking important people from them.
Even if there was peace, I can see elves stepping in. They’re going to keep fighting in this bog until one is no more.
I understand why demons do whatever it takes too. For them, this is about survival of their race.
“You know a lot about this, Durandal.”
“Do I?”
“You said it yourself, only royalty and some scholars know about this. How come you do too?”
“My former master studied history.”
“Takeshi?”
“Yes. He had a good relationship with elves. He spent quite a bit of time in their country.
It was there that he heard from scholars and read through books to study history. And since I was also there, I also learned.”
Elven country… I’m not good at dealing with their elitism, so I’ve never been there.
Should I go there to learn history too? If I could learn the history of demons, I might get information about the demon king too.
Not that I can move around that easily in the position I’m in now, but if I had the chance…
“Do you know anything about the demon king, Durandal?”
“Like I said, the demon king was the leader of slaves, and basically, a revolutionary leader.
But I guess you could say that the demon king was also a slave.”
“Even the demon king? So humans and elves really held a lot of control.”
“Yes. Although we use the term demon king now, at the time, even said demon king was just another slave. Not remarkably strong either. Humans and elves never gave anyone the chance to gain power and knowledge.”
I would assume not. A slave with power would revolt.
From the point of view of the ones in power, a slave should stay without knowledge or power. Maybe knowledge would make them more efficient workers, but that would mean nothing if they revolted.
They wanted to show off that they ruled over the demons.
“If there was anything that set the demon king apart from other demons, it would be charisma and the thirst for knowledge, I guess.”
“Thirst for knowledge?”
I get charisma. You need something to make people believe they will be all right if they stick with you.
A lot of the time that thing would be accomplishments, but the demon king was just another slave at the time. Without accomplishments, voice and thoughts would play a big part.
But thirst for knowledge… I guess I get it.
If one is going to resist someone more powerful, all they can do is make the best out of knowledge. And therefore, the demon king wanted more of it.
“I’m getting off track, but it feels weird to me that demons didn’t have power.”
“That is because you are using current demons as a baseline. Demons rank among the strongest of all races.”
“All the ones we fought were strong. I can’t think of any that were easy to beat. I would understand if humans of the time were stronger than we are now…”
“I think they were. But still, demons were not like they are now. Basically, demons became stronger as time passed. And demons of the past were simply weak.”
So the past is the past, and now is now.
“Demons of today possess something they did not at the time. That is why they were weak.”
“What is it?”
“Magic.”
“Demons without magic? I’ve never even imagined such a thing.”
That’s their most distinctive feature. They have physical characteristics like wings and tails, but their darkness magic trumps that.
And since each individual tends to be strong, they have the potential for massacres.
“There were only six attributes at the time.”
“So no darkness.”
“Yes. Darkness was not discovered yet, and no demons could use it. They thought it was only the six attributes.”
“But couldn’t they use magic other than darkness then?”
Even without darkness magic, they are a race with a lot of magic energy, so they could still pose a threat.
Durandal is surprised to hear my question, and shakes.
“Master, you are not aware?”
“Of what?”
“Demons can only use darkness magic.”
“Is that right?”
Is that why the ones we fought only used that? I thought they did it by choice because it’s strong.
“How about I take this opportunity to tell you the history of magic?”
“I don’t know a lot about it, so please do.”
That’s too technical for me. Maybe it would be different if I became a scholar and not a mercenary.
“Since when do you think humans use magic?”
“Well… I’ve never thought about it, but I imagine it’s at least since the time when they enslaved demons.”
“It was in the distant past. When beings called gods still descended on this land.”
“Gods…”
Mirabel comes to mind. Was she around back then?
“Furthermore. How do you think people learned about magic?”
“Someone was born with magic inside them. Or someone taught humans about it.”
“It’s the latter. Someone taught magic to all races but demons.”
So it had to be someone who didn’t like demons.
“The god the church worships.”
“Correct.”
So the hatred elves feel for demons is a more fundamental problem. The god they worship hates them. That’s enough of a reason for that hatred.
God chose elves, and abandoned demons. That’s why they are seen as impure.
“When god first gave them magic, they were unable to use it well, so it did not turn into a big uproar.”
“And it was humans and elves who strived to learn how to use it?”
“Yes. As time passed and research was done, they realized one race was unable to use magic.”
“And that started the enslavement of demons…”
So basically, it’s a history of persecution started by a god.
