Judging by the fancy coffin, it seemed safe to assume that the person inside was royalty—or at least a noble. Someone really, really important must have gone to battle with the Holy Knights and died.

The Knights would definitely panic once they realized the coffin was missing. I had only one thing to say to Dotta.

“Take it back where you got it, numbskull,” I said, removing the lid to check the body.

Even I wasn’t sure why I opened it.

Maybe it was morbid curiosity. If the person inside was a royal or a noble, I might know them. I had a whole list of such people I wanted to kill. I felt a wave of dark, illogical anticipation.

I didn’t have any solid, specific reason for what I did, though. It was simply in my nature to be reckless.

“Dammit.”

I immediately regretted removing the lid.

There was someone inside: a young girl—and she was frighteningly beautiful.

She was wearing the white military uniform of the Holy Knights. Her silky golden hair and snow-white skin made me think she was from the north. Her face was like a work of art, but what captivated me the most was the seal on her left cheek that stretched down to her neck. The marking likely continued all the way to her heart. I knew what it meant.

It looked similar to the sacred seals on our necks, but it was something very, very different.

“Dotta, this is bad.”

“Figured. She’s royalty, isn’t she?”

“No. She isn’t even human.” I felt a stinging sensation in my head. “This kid’s a goddess.”

“Huh? A what?”

“A goddess. Do I have to spell it out for you?”

She was one of mankind’s last hopes: a life-form created for war using the wisdom of the ancients. That was the exaggerated sales pitch anyway. But I knew the truth, and the truth was…that the sales pitch was exactly right. Goddesses were the strongest weapon we had against the demon lords.

The Holy Knights were an organization meant to protect and use these goddesses as weapons. There were only twelve goddesses in existence—well, eleven now. The fact that Dotta had managed to steal one was frankly amazing. In any other situation, he’d probably have gone down in history as the greatest thief who ever lived.

“Take it back to where you found it. Now. You’ve really outdone yourself this time. Even you know what goddesses are, right?”

“Huh? I mean…I’ve seen one from far away before, but…is this girl really one of them?”

I could tell from his face that he was clueless. Right. I guess the general public has no idea what goddesses are supposed to look like.

“She’s just a little girl. I mean, the goddesses I saw were like a humongous whale or a big hunk of iron or—”

“It’s hard to explain, but there are goddesses like that, too.”

Goddesses were superweapons created in ancient times, now beyond our understanding. Some took bizarre forms incomprehensible to humans, while others did not. Furthermore, while they were called goddesses for the sake of convenience, not all of them had a female body, at least as far as I knew. Not that I knew all that much.

“Dotta, listen up.”

It was going to be a hassle, but I decided to give him a brief explanation. That is, until I heard a roaring in the dim twilight.

It was the sound of horns and drums.

The human army—our allies. The Demon Blight Army didn’t use instruments like those.

“What?” cried Dotta. “They’re already here?”

I reflexively clenched my fists, then opened them again. On my palms and wrists, from my elbows to my shoulders, my skin was completely covered in sacred seals meant for battle. They had a really long-ass name—Super Multipurpose Bellecour Mobility Thunderstroke Seal Compound—and they were the only possessions that weren’t stripped from me when I was sentenced.

“Sounds like there’s a throng of faeries over there. Can you see them, Dotta?”

“Hold on.”

Dotta opened his eyes wide and peered into the depths of the twilight. His eyes were extra sharp thanks to years of training them as a thief, so he had excellent night vision.

“…Yep, they’re already on the move.”

“All right, let’s do this.”

“H-hold on. I need to mentally prepare.”

“You really think there’s time for that? Try asking the sacred seal on your neck. First, we’ve gotta meet up with the others.”

I was referring to the guys with the horns and drums. They didn’t sound far, and judging by the volume, it probably wasn’t the Knights’ main unit of more than two thousand strong. These were most likely scouts or some other detachment.

“H-hey! Wait for me!” Dotta cried.

“Hurry. Don’t forget the goddess, either. You stole her, so you carry her!”

“Huh?! Uh… Seriously? It’s really heavy. Plus, I don’t think taking it with us right now is the best idea, since—”

He started to argue, but I glared at him to shut him up. He loaded the coffin onto his back and followed me.

We traveled silently and at a brisk pace. I could feel the countless enemies lurking in the forest. Sounds of shouting and metal scraping filled the air as the horns and drums slowly died off. I had a bad feeling about this. We had to hurry. They shouldn’t be much farther. I was sure of it.

It wasn’t long until we reached an exposed slope. Then, right as I was about to slide down…

“Wait! Xylo, this is kind of b-bad!”

…Dotta suddenly grabbed me by the arm, almost sending me toppling over. I glared at him, about to yell…but stopped myself when I saw his serious expression. He was holding out a spyglass to me.

“We’re already too late. Look.”

“Hmph.”

I crouched, spyglass in hand, peeking through the darkened trees. While I wasn’t able to see clearly like Dotta, I could make out a little thanks to the lit torches scattered on the ground. That’s when I realized what he meant.

The faeries beat us to them, huh?

The Knights must have been a detachment. There were only about two hundred soldiers, each one of them already dead or at death’s door. There were signs they’d fought back, but the swords in the corpses’ hands were broken, and giant frog-like monsters—faeries—were devouring them as we watched. I arrived just in time to see one gobble up a sword, complete with the arm holding it, chomping the limb clean off the body. These types of faeries were known as fuathan, and they were frogs transformed into monsters by the Demon Blight. They stood as tall as an adult human and had exceptional maneuverability.

Ribbit. Croak. Crrroak.

Their eerie cries could be heard coming from the darkness as their fiercely glowing eyes bounced into the air. The Knights’ detachment was being trampled by them. One soldier screamed frantically as a monster bit his leg and swung him around. Another held up his shield, only for a faerie to jump onto it, crushing him as it chewed off his head. The soldiers had no chance. Blood, guts, and dirt scattered into the air.

“Th-there’s nothing we can do, Xylo,” cried Dotta, now white as a sheet. “Let’s get out of here and hide somewhere until it’s over! The faeries have already made it this far. They’ll reach us any second now.”

“You’re right. They’re moving quickly.”

The detachment seemed to have been decimated mere moments after noticing the enemy, even though they were expecting an ambush. It was a testament to the faeries’ superior mobility.

“But there are still survivors. Time to rescue them, Dotta.”

“What?!” His eyes went wide as he stared at me, as if he thought I was a total idiot. “There’s no way.”

“Some of them are still hanging on.”

Perhaps a little less than twenty. They were forming a circle as they tried to fight off the attacking fuathan.

“We’d be in a far better position if we helped them and had them join us.”

“Yeah, if by ‘better,’ you mean ‘dead’!”

“Listen, dum-dum. Our mission is to help at least half of the Holy Knights escape, and every person saved increases our chances of succeeding. Besides…”

“Besides…?”

“I’m in the mood to fight already, dammit.” I smirked. I had more than enough reasons lined up. “Let’s do this. We’re saving them.”

“F-fight…”

I jumped at the sound of a voice. It wasn’t Dotta’s. It was faltering and tinny. That was when I realized the lid to the coffin had been removed and the goddess was sitting up, emerging from the box. Her eyes flickered the color of flames as she pierced me with her glare.

“Fight… S-save… Yes,” murmured the goddess as she calmly rose. “What wonderful…words. It appears…you are…my knight.”

She paused here and there as she spoke, breaking up her words. Her golden hair danced in the wind, shooting out sparks, and she looked me over from head to toe with her fiery eyes. Eventually, she raised her eyebrows slightly, paused for a few seconds, and nodded.

“Very well.” Her speech gradually became more fluid. “I will give you a passing grade.”

“What?”

“The battle is about to begin, yes? And not just any battle—a battle to save others. As a goddess, I shall grant you victory. Therefore…” The goddess brushed back her golden hair, sending powerful sparks into the air. “When every last enemy has been defeated, you are to shower me with praise and pat my head.”

There were various types of goddesses, each with their own unique personality, but they all had one trait in common: They were proud warriors with a strong desire for approval. I knew this very well because I had once been responsible for operating one.

“…Dotta.” I wrapped my arm around the neck of the small man standing to my side and began to squeeze. “You were right for once. You are done for.”

“Gaaah… You think so? Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

It was all Dotta’s fault. I squeezed my arm tighter around his neck.

“She’s a goddess, no doubt about it. And…she’s probably the thirteenth goddess. The one who’s never been activated…until now.”