My past self and Hermina.
Immediately after seeing the two enter “The Seventh Demon Obstacle Research Institute,” I heard the sound of a page turning again.
My vision blurred with colorful light, as if I were looking into a kaleidoscope.
It was exactly the same as before with the “Allied Nations.”
Here in “Fanian” too, timelines overlapped in all sorts of places and at all sorts of times, passing by simultaneously.
The townscape of Fanian spread out before my eyes, and I saw the construction underway to introduce the “Magic Stone Line” developed by Hermina—or so I thought, and then I saw the scene of the people of Fanian celebrating its completion.
I saw a ceremony being held throughout the town to transfer the Bishop of Fanian from the “Artofel Religion” to “Revannism”—or so I thought, and then I saw a priest succeeding in a Curse Technique 《Level Up》 in a simple hospital ward.
With the trade route to Fuziaze connected, the town’s vitality gradually increases—or so I thought, and then I saw the town’s market bustling with traveling merchants from distant lands.
My hometown’s history flowed like water, and my eyes couldn’t keep up.
However, what was common was clear.
In every scene, my past self was present at the edges, a slight smile on my lips.
I, who had “returned home” for the first time in three years, seemed genuinely happy.
I had dyed my hair black with a disguise and was accompanying Lord Hermina, the liege, on town inspections as her assistant.
A welcome unexpected bonus here was how the knowledge I had accumulated while wandering the continent proved useful everywhere.
For example, when Hermina, in the blacksmith’s forge, stated with the stern opinion of a former researcher, “If we adopt this new technology, we will surely achieve this much profit. It has been proven many times,” I, her assistant, would immediately interject, using the historical failures of various places as evidence, “Hermina-san. Theoretical calculations don’t work out the same way in every situation.”
After that, we would all put our heads together and find a solution that was both scientifically and practically viable.
It was balanced.
It was going surprisingly well.
—More than anything, it was my “happiness.”
Hermina and I, sharing the same gaze, cooperated to utilize the knowledge and research we had learned for everyone. It was undoubtedly the time I had dreamed of since childhood.
It wasn’t just work, either.
Sometimes, I would enjoy reading books from other countries, obtained through abuse of power, in the quiet of a familiar basement room. The cleaning girl was also there, and the three of us, who had been together three years prior, were gathered in the room. And the research and studies we had accumulated together were to be put to use in this new era.
When a dangerous, large Monster approached the town, I would even sneak out and deal with it. Even the power from that “Demonization” experiment was not wasted in this time.
It was truly enjoyable.
Naturally, as the hardships until today had all borne fruit.
If this enjoyment wasn’t “happiness,” then I didn’t know what was.
There was nothing in this world more “happy” than the time spent with the person I loved.
—And so, as “Thief of Principles” Kanami, I savored this past “happiness” through the mirror.
I, who liked religious phrases, naturally came to think of Hermina as my “The One and Only Destined Person.”
I wanted to continue this work together with her until we became old grandparents.
I wanted to spend the rest of our lives with her and be buried in the same grave.
If possible, I even hoped our family names would be together—
“—I loved Hermina.”
“Yes. Hermina loved you too. However, her idea of ‘happiness’ was a little different from yours. …Let’s read a bit further into Hermina’s story.”
The reader of the book added that to me, who had inadvertently let my feelings slip out.
—”Thief of Principles” Kanami turns the page.
Suddenly, without moving a step, my vision shifted.
From the “town” to the depths of the “Institute’s” basement. Passing through the intangible building, the scene shifted as if falling into an abyss.
What awaited there was the place where all of Fanian’s debts were concentrated.
The lowest floor of “The Seventh Demon Obstacle Research Institute.”
—The “Sacred Vessel Storage Room” of the New Calendar Year 4.
At this time, the room was still clean, and there was no bloodstain on the floor or walls.
A cleaner with a wooden broom was diligently performing her cleaning duties.
Hermina dipped her hands into the pool of blood in the center and hummed an off-key tune.
Although it looked like madness at first glance, I recognized it as “Writing” onto the blood pool using “Curse Technique.” After all, I would later decipher the knowledge “written” in that blood.
“—You look happy, Hermina-sama. Happier than ever.”
While moving her wooden broom, the cleaner casually made small talk.
Though I had begun to suspect it, this girl did not speak crazily when alone with Hermina. On the contrary, she possessed an intelligence deep enough to qualify as Hermina’s assistant.
“Yes, I am happy… Because so many things that were unimaginable five years ago have happened, and they are all connected…”
“Indeed. The Fanian of today is unimaginable compared to five years ago. Who would have thought that in addition to the ‘Lord Flame God’ and ‘Dark God,’ so many other gods would appear… Moreover, even Apostles of the ‘Hih’ would descend… Everything is unplanned and beyond imagination. It’s incredibly stimulating.”
“Isn’t it?”
They spoke to each other so normally.
They laughed together like old friends.
They were as close as sisters.
I could confirm, in Hermina’s story without me present, that the cleaning girl’s crazed talk was a survival tactic for living in the “Institute.”
However, it also meant that I was a stranger to them, not family, which made me feel a little lonely.
As my thousand-year-older self was engulfed in a sense of loneliness, their conversation continued.
“…Truly, these past five years have been fulfilling. And finally, the various research efforts of the Neisha Family, which were scattered, have coalesced into one great line, reaching into the profound. The results of that—
Apostle Diplakla praised me.
She said the descendant of the Neisha Family is a genius and that their ‘blood power’ is necessary for us.
Apostle Legacy confided in me.
He said that the creation of artificial ‘Thief of Principles’ would be impossible without me.
Apostle Sis made me a promise.
She vowed that our lives would surely become the foundation for saving the world.
Truly, ‘Hih’ scripture, verse one, section one: ‘You who are here are of yourself!’
Yes, ‘you’ was me! Ah, hahaha—!!”
Hermina’s cheeks flushed as she splashed in the blood pool, chatting animatedly.
—Her appearance was that of a fanatic completely devoted to an Apostle.
I knew she could recite scriptures.
I knew the “Hih” was special to the Neisha Family.
However, I had believed that Hermina, a pure scientist, had only a superficial faith, barely ranking among believers.
But that was a mistake.
I understand now. That’s why the blood pool in this “Sacred Vessel Storage Room” was filled with the teachings of the “Hih.” Even if Hermina herself didn’t intend it while touching the blood, as she became lost in thought during the “Writing” process, each verse became etched into the blood.
“Surely, everything the Neisha Family has done until today was meant to reach those three Apostles… And with this, the people who sacrificed themselves until today can finally rest in peace… I too will have completed my role and can descend to hell with my great ancestors…”
Hermina played with the blood pool, her eyes looking distant.
Perhaps she was envisioning the pioneers of Fanian’s research in the distance. The cleaner called out, as if to hold her back from that deathly pull, with a smile.
“It will be lonely when you’re gone, Hermina-sama. If you’re gone, I’ll be all alone.”
“No. There’s nothing lonely about it. Because you, who have listened to my story until today, are now me. No, all the research results until today are me. If magic spreads through the ‘Five-Stage Thousand-Year Plan’ a thousand years from now—that world itself is me! By becoming the foundation for saving the world, everyone becomes me! Oh, don’t you think it’s truly wonderful…!?”
“…Indeed. If you think of it that way, it might not be lonely after all.”
The cleaner seemed overwhelmed by the conversation and could only nod.
She continued to communicate with her Master without ever giving up on their understanding.
“But if it were me, or Lady Hermina, couldn’t I become a ‘Thief of the Law of Blood’? You must have kept me close, letting me live for so long in a state of madness, for times like these.”
“That cannot be… Hermina Neisha falling into hell is the key to completing the artificial ‘Thief of the Law of Blood.’ The Neisha Family all falling into hell and vanishing is the most crucial ‘Price.’ …Furthermore, the sins the Neisha Family has committed are simply too numerous. It’s impossible to be forgiven if only I survive in comfort. I too must bear the experiments I’ve conducted until today within my own body… my voice won’t stop.”
As she murmured these words with grave solemnity, Hermina shifted her gaze.
At what lay beyond, both I and Kanami from a thousand years later could glean and see.
—Though faint, a human-shaped mist seemed to hover.
It didn’t look like a cleaner, and from the phrase “Hermina Neisha saw the dead she had sacrificed, beyond her blood-stained vision. Among them were cherished family members—,” I understood it to be a ‘specter’ that Hermina could see.
Hermina could not only see but also hear.
She occasionally spoke to the writhing specters, nodding and communicating with them.
Was it a ‘Price’?
Or was it a ‘Curse’?
Regardless, what became clear was—
Hermina’s world had continuously been submerged in blood red, a hell itself.
And I hadn’t noticed.
That’s why, even when I was with the person I loved, we weren’t seeing the same world.
In a story without me, I would finally come to know this.
“Lady Hermina. There are many other clans of researchers who conduct human experiments. I don’t think you need to feel so guilty.”
The cleaner chose his words carefully, trying to calm his Master, whose eyes, filled with a maddened red, darted about.
However, Hermina cupped her hands, scooped up blood, and gazed intently at the water’s surface.
“Heh, heh, heh—Father, Grandfather, Great-Grandfather, Great-Great-Grandfather, and even all the ancestors from long, long ago, the entire Neisha Family were exceptionally brilliant and terrible scientists… That’s why I was often threatened as a child.”
Within the blood she scooped, it was as if a specialized book, Fania’s research records, were inscribed.
The precise numbers of ‘Demons’ sacrificed in Fania up to this day.
While counting these murders and experiments, Hermina traced her own family tree.
“If I stop the research, all the sacrifices of these ancestors marked in this blood will be in vain. Therefore, even if I fall into hell, I must fulfill the Neisha Family’s duty—those were the voices of Father and Mother, whispering to me, which I always feared. But now I understand. It wasn’t a threat, but kindness. —These specters clinging to my ears will only cease if I become the same kind of victim. Falling into hell is the only salvation for a researcher born into the Neisha Family, as everyone has always taught me!”
“………… Are the voices that have continuously tormented you, Lady Hermina, finally going to disappear?”
“Yes. By becoming the foundation of research, I will be saved. And that, for a researcher born into the Neisha Family, was ‘happiness’.”
The cleaner, who had been with her for a long time, could tell her Master was not lying.
From her fanaticism towards the Apostles earlier, he understood that she prioritized world contribution over her own life. However, even so, he could not easily accept it.
Seeing the perplexed cleaner, a sliver of lucidity returned to Hermina’s eyes.
“…Of course, I wish for you too to grasp ‘happiness.’ If possible, I want you to live the rest of your life enjoying it as another me.”
“Me too…? Live enjoying it until the end…”
“Is it because it’s the end? I’m saying things that are completely unlike me. Like Fafnir, I’ve even recounted my family’s history.”
“Fafnir… Are you not telling Fafnir anything? He still doesn’t know you’re going to die.”
As if struck by an idea, the cleaner mentioned my name.
However, Hermina’s answer was unwavering.
“Eh, I told him? Everything important.”
“Huh? Ah, ah…”
The cleaner’s confusion deepened. However, he somehow managed to carefully digest his Master’s words and understood that she no longer cared about her own life or death.
“The foundation of the Neisha Family’s research has been thoroughly passed on to Fafnir. Without a doubt, he will become the world’s best scholar, a gem who will leave his name in Fania’s history. Although it pains me, he is already surpassing me as both a researcher and a ruler. ‘Innate Differences’ must be what they call this. Once he knows the basics, he will undoubtedly go further on his own. That is precisely why I was able to resolve to conduct the ‘Thief of Principles’ experiment.”
“…Surely, if he learns that you’re conducting the ‘Thief of Principles’ experiment using your own body, he will try to stop you. At worst, he loves you enough to follow suit.”
“Follow me? He has already gone further than me, how could he?”
The conversation wasn’t aligning.
No matter the topic, Hermina’s answers always revolved around research, causing the conversation to drift.
Accepting that this was unavoidable, the cleaner asked.
“Don’t you love him?”
“I love him very much. —Because his return signaled the end of my role. Seeing my once cherished disciple return as an adult truly made my heart race. After all, he’s mixed with ghosts, mixed with ghosts! A ‘Soul Demon,’ rarer than higher-ranking demons! After tens of thousands of ‘Demons’ sacrificed themselves, and thousands of ‘Demons’ failed adaptation, finally, the culmination of the Neisha Family, born in only one person! He returned, having accumulated more knowledge than even I! When he said he would become the hope for all ‘Demons,’ I was convinced! The Neisha Family didn’t just connect to Lady Tiara or the Apostles! We were connected to various people, even in unseen ways!”
Hermina was not lying, and she was using the same words as us.
However, the conversation wasn’t flowing well, and the cleaner’s reactions gradually became dulled.
Even during this time, Hermina continued to happily report to the Neisha Family specters.
“Ah, ancestors… Fafnir is truly wonderful. With him around, I am undoubtedly no longer needed by the world. Unlike us weaklings, he, being strong, can become the cornerstone to save the world. I am deeply, deeply grateful for the fate that such an intelligent, robust, and ‘strong person’ like him became a long-lived species…”
“Lady Hermina, he will follow you. Even if that path is wrong, because he loves you, he will definitely follow.”
“…Huh? Even if it’s wrong… why?”
Hermina was genuinely puzzled.
Seeing her expression, the cleaner struggled to find his next words — the only door in the ‘Sacred Relic Storage Room’ was violently opened.
The man who appeared from it threw out alternative words.
“Continuing to talk is futile. A cracked vessel is just that.”
“…Lo, Lord Romis?”
A man with short, dark brown hair, wearing the white coat of the research institute.
Romis Neisha, who was once the lord, had interrupted his concealment and revealed himself to Hermina Neisha.
Romis, a man of extreme caution, appearing meant that the time had come.
As I read the story from a thousand years ago, where this scene unfolded as “—Romis, unable to give up on the power of ‘Miracle,’ returned to Fania. To reclaim his position as lord once more, he would kill his relative, Hermina,” my face contorted.
Then, in the lowest level, the ‘Sacred Relic Storage Room,’ a tremor could be heard.
It wasn’t the screams of the experimental subjects.
A variety of disturbances were occurring simultaneously on every floor above.
An event equivalent to the ‘First Lord Succession Incident’ three years ago was about to happen here and now. Although the noise should have reached Hermina’s ears, she welcomed her family’s appearance as if nothing were amiss.
“Welcome back, Lord Romis. …It seems you have shaken off that ‘Curse’ of betrayal on your own. With this, I can rest easy about what comes next. If you and Fafnir both become ‘Thieves of the Law of Blood’ and utilize me, Fania will be secure from here on.”
Hermina showed no surprise at Romis’s sudden appearance.
The cleaner’s eyes widened in shock, having known about his prior lurking.
“Lady Hermina? Did you know beforehand that Lord Romis was hiding in this ‘Seventh Demon Obstacle Research Institute’?”
“Beforehand? No, I didn’t. However, I always believed he would return. I promised Lord Romis that I would ‘take care of Fanian in his absence.’ I always thought the time would come to hand everything over to the true lord who had overcome the ‘Curse.'”
Everyone already knew Hermina’s true calling was as a researcher. They’d all look at her and wryly smile, thinking, “She’s probably not satisfied with the current situation and just wants to get back to her research.”
That was true. However, no one had grasped the extent of her passion. Perhaps only Saint Tiara, who had seen through her act of concealing her madness, could have.
Looking at Hermina Neisha, the lord who was both her successor and predecessor, Romis scowled and announced his plan.
“Preparations for the lord’s succession are complete. It was done according to your, the ‘Thieves of Principles,’ schemes. …Thanks to that, the situation is far from perfect.”
“Thank you, Lord Romis. This will be the second time the lordship has been usurped.”
Hermina smiled, reminding him of the first usurpation. Romis recalled the scene from five years ago when he was sent to investigate the “Lord Flame God” and encountered the “Apostles,” where his only “Childhood friend” was turned into the “Dark God.” He showed a flicker of hostility.
“You are just like Teeda. You were taken advantage of for your weakness and became a puppet pulled by the strings of fate. …Pathetic.”
“Those puppets, one by one, will eventually form a path reaching the heavens. …Lord Romis, I will wait for you in hell.”
Hermina’s dramatic reply clearly contained teachings from the Pillar White Sect. Romis grimaced, quickly giving up on any meaningful conversation, and switched his target.
“My people are currently active upstairs. The lord’s succession should be completed quickly with the cooperation of the North. However, the problem lies with the artificial transformation into ‘Thieves of the Law of Blood.’ Unlike ‘Thieves of the Principles of Light’ made from scratch, the materials here are full of impurities. …You, the failure, help me.”
The unexpected person he addressed was the cleaner.
At the command, she froze. It wasn’t a matter of language barriers. Since only people from the Neisha Family, who knew of her act of madness, were present, she could speak freely without resorting to the ‘Madman’s Manual.’
However, assisting her long-time lord in suicide was something even she couldn’t immediately agree to. Romis, however, showed no mercy and pressed for her decision.
“…I understand this is sudden. But the time has come. With Fafnir Helvishein’s ‘return home,’ the Neisha family’s research is over. If the nobles connected to the North push me to become the lord, Hermina will undoubtedly be beheaded. Before that happens, we need to bring this to a conclusion that everyone will accept. …You understand what ‘everyone’ means, don’t you? Fundamentally, this ending was her long-held vow.”
Having been by her side for so long, the cleaner understood. It was Hermina Neisha who, five years prior, requested the investigation of the regional “Lord Flame God” and led Teeda and Romis to the “Apostles.” Three years ago, when the research on the “Lord Flame God” stalled, it was also Hermina Neisha who brought Teeda, now the “Dark God,” to the Town of Fanian. At the end of the “First Lord Succession Incident,” she became close with the “Light God” and “Saint,” even managing to secure joint research with the country of Fuziaze. No one benefited more than Hermina Neisha.
—Everything in Fanian up to this day began from Hermina Neisha’s vow.
She wanted to be a “real” researcher. She wanted to fall into hell to be with her family, as the voices of the dead were agonizing. Everyone, including Romis and the cleaner present, had been manipulated for the sake of her wish.
Faced with this truth, the cleaner had no choice but to make a decision. Even if she wanted to help Hermina escape, hide her, or save her now, Hermina herself did not wish it. Making her into a “Thief of the Law of Blood” was the only escape, protection, and salvation.
“Yes… If it is Lady Hermina’s ‘happiness.'”
The cleaner nodded, convinced. Romis nodded back, and preparations for the lord’s succession immediately proceeded.
During that time, Hermina continued to immerse her hands in the pool of blood. She seemed to be looking at things unseen, hearing voices unheard, and speaking with people who weren’t there.
—After this, Hermina Neisha’s heart would be removed.
With the cooperation of the person committing suicide and Romis’s cold efficiency, the procedure was completed without a hitch. And so, everything ended without my knowledge.
When I learned of the commotion in the Town of Fanian concerning Lady Hermina’s inhumane experiments and corruption, I was surrounded by torches and “Blood Dolls.” Trusting the nobles who had colluded with the North led to my swift capture.
At first, I was told, “Lord Romis has retaken Fanian from the wicked lord; he highly regards my talents,” and was recruited. However, I became enraged and refused to listen. As a result, my tendons were severed, I was stripped of everything, and ended up in that room.
In the “Divine Body Preservation Room,” stained with blood overnight, I reunited with a changed Hermina—
“—■■My■Quid■■, gnaw■numerous■pleasure■■■—”
“Ah, ahhh… ah, ahhh, ahhhhaa—”
Consumed by despair, I collapsed in tears. I wept, unaware that this was what Lady Hermina herself had desired.
No longer able to trust anyone, I began to focus only on “my world.” Just like Lady Hermina, I reached out towards the pool of blood.
“Lady Hermina… please… again… I beg you…”
“Wa, I—■■blood flesh■liquid■■■, blood gnaw count■place—”
I continuously believed those were groans seeking salvation. However, the truth was different. Lady Hermina was trying to tell me that she was “happy.” She wanted me to move forward, using the sacrifice of this “Thief of the Law of Blood” as a foundation.
Yet, I became a proxy, even though no one wanted it, even though we weren’t suited for it. Wanting to understand the feelings of Hermina, who died without saying a word, I even started pretending to be a “Thief of the Law of Blood.” I made the most “unfortunate” choice for Hermina. I know it better than anyone, as I feel it more acutely than anyone now—
“—Kanami, it’s alright now.”
A thousand years later, I acknowledged it while watching the back of my foolish past self and mused on this story.
“I understand ‘Lingering Desire’ now… and that ‘Happiness’ for me and Hermina was misaligned…”
The hands turning the pages of Kanami, the ‘Thief of the Principles of Dimensions,’ stopped. Abruptly. Simultaneously, the world that had been continuously reflecting the past froze. As the air in the “Divine Body Preservation Room” stopped, so did the resonating voices. The flow of blood, the flow of time, everything in the past world ceased.
If I wished, ‘Thief of the Principles of Dimensions’ Kanami would respond to it to the greatest extent. He would never do anything I disliked or force me. But in that frozen world—
“—Welcome home.”
A third voice, neither Kanami’s nor mine, reached me from behind. I turned. There stood the past cleaner, frozen, watching over the past me. But beside her, there was another. A single “Blood Doll” was watching over the thousand-years-later me.
A terrifying appearance, as if all its skin had been peeled off. At first glance, it was indistinguishable from other “Blood Dolls.” But I knew. We were friends, trapped in the same hell, sharing the same solemn vow. That’s why I understood that “Blood Doll” was that cleaner.
*(Following the comic adaptation, I have a happy announcement to make. For Comiket, a second joint publication was made for me… Additionally, I received an amazing MAD… (the Chapter 2-focused MAD really got me fired up). Gratitude + recommendations! That’s all for now.)*
