*The Memory of a Young Anser*
"Mom, why do those people point at us and bully us?"
Anser's tearful expression looked as if just a gentle prod would make her burst into sobs.
The reason was painfully simple.
In an era when tensions between other races and humanity burned fiercely, she was born in the countryside, where she faced blatant ostracism from both children and adults alike.
Perhaps things would have been better if she had been born with a more human-like appearance, like an elf or a vampire.
But her striking violet eyes and blue skin were enough to make her a target of fear and rejection.
And as if her gentle and timid personality weren’t enough, it made her stand out even more among her kind, the demons.
Little Anser couldn’t help but carry the scars from the blind violence that was directed at her.
In those moments when she teetered on the edge of breaking her promise to her mother and becoming a demon who hated humans,
her mother gently embraced her and said:
"That’s because those people are hurt themselves."
"They’re hurt? Those people?"
"Yes. This is an age where hatred gives birth to more hatred, a time where it spirals out of control. People want to hate before they can be hated."
Her mother continued, patting Anser’s back as she murmured:
"They are pitiable people, choosing to hurt others rather than endure being hurt themselves."
"But I haven’t done anything wrong..."
Unable to hold back her tears, Anser buried her face in her mother’s arms like a child seeking solace. Her mother, letting out a small, resigned laugh, stroked Anser’s head and spoke softly.
"And it’s also understandable that people dislike demons. Most demons are terribly greedy. When they see a soul shining brightly, they can't resist their foolish desire to take it. Even when the Great Demon of the Infernal Palace set restrictions on soul contracts, they just came up with all sorts of ways to exploit loopholes. It’s laughable, really."
"...Mom, what’s the Infernal Palace?"
"Ah... It’s like a palace for demons in our homeland. It probably doesn’t exist anymore. Are you curious about it?"
"Yeah! Tell me about it!"
Her mother picked her up, sat her gently on the sofa, and began recounting stories from the past.
From the fantastical tales of a land where rivers of molten lava flowed to the exciting romantic story of how she first met Anser’s father in a life-or-death battle.
No matter how many times she heard it, Anser’s eyes sparkled as her mother shared these stories, each one making her heart race.
Looking into Anser’s shining eyes, her mother spoke with a nostalgic look.
"Our Anser will one day meet someone with a soul so beautiful you’ll want to cherish it. Just like when I met your father."
"Really?"
"Of course. Though, ending up married and having a child like I did is pretty rare. But someday, you’ll encounter such a moment. And when that happens... I hope you won’t cling to their soul like other demons do."
"Cling to their soul? What does that mean?"
"You know, things like demanding someone’s soul as payment for a contract or enslaving them by exploiting their weaknesses. It’s the kind of thing demons typically do. I don’t like it. Souls are beautiful when they shine as they are."
Young Anser tilted her head in confusion at her mother’s words. She couldn’t grasp the meaning, having never seen a soul so beautiful it evoked such feelings.
Even if she didn’t understand now, her mother assured her that one day she would.
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After that final promise, time in Anser’s memory flowed quickly.
Her mother, stricken by illness, passed away not long after.
But even after her mother’s death, the bullying didn’t stop.
Once Anser reached adulthood, she fled her village, taking on all sorts of odd jobs to make ends meet.
Yet discrimination against other races, especially demons, remained. If anything, it seemed to grow worse with time.
Demons, subjected to discrimination, retaliated with crimes born of frustration. Those incidents only deepened the prejudice against them, creating a vicious cycle.
After being fired from her last job within just a few months, left with nowhere else to turn, Anser set her sights on Night Haven as her final opportunity.
But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t shed the prejudice attached to her identity as a demon.
Having never held anyone’s hand except her mother’s since birth, her heart was filled with nothing but despair.
Even her promise to her mother, the determination she held onto, was reaching its limits.
When the cowardly demon finally wanted to give up on everything, Anser truly understood her mother’s words.
“...?”
For the first time, two girls extended their hands to her without any judgment for her demonic appearance.
One of them, the masked Yuria, possessed a soul unlike anything Anser had ever seen in her life.
A radiant, blazing white sun—so intense it seemed she might burn just by approaching it.
Anser realized that this was the kind of soul her mother had described: so beautiful it made one want to possess it.
But Anser, timid by nature, couldn’t bring herself to desire it.
The thought of damaging such a beautiful soul was unbearable.
All she could do was give everything she could to help them and treat this meeting as a new beacon of hope in her life.
“Hmm, that’s strange. Compared to the last time we met, it seems like the depth of your despair has lightened quite a bit. I thought your despair would’ve consumed you completely by now, pushing you to the brink of death.”
“Well... regardless of what happens, wouldn’t this help widen the rift between the other races? Let’s proceed with the plan as is.”
“Click your tongue all you like. This was your plan, not mine.”
“Argh, g-grrk...”
“Shhh, don’t move. I’ve aimed directly at your heart. Struggling will only worsen the wound.”
As she was returning home after being rejected from yet another job interview, Anser found herself suddenly ambushed by a pair of strangers. Caught up in the schemes of the Invaders, she ended up in her current predicament.
Through Anser’s memories, I witnessed her life flash by in vivid detail, as if watching a long movie condensed into a moment. It didn’t take me long to recognize the identities of her attackers.
‘So, they were active even at this point... The masterminds were already operating from behind the scenes here too. I guess, considering the events with Drakel, I shouldn’t be surprised.’
They were fanatics intoxicated by the power of the Invaders, working to enable their invasion of Earth.
Earth’s peculiar environment, almost devoid of ambient magic, had thus far prevented the Invaders from crossing over.
These fanatics, however, sought to break that barrier, instigating conflict between humans and other races to weaken their collective strength as much as possible.
One of their activities involved abducting and modifying other races for their own purposes.
‘So Anser wasn’t just a random new character but one of their many victims...’
As I returned from her memories and found myself standing before Anser once more, I bit my lip.
A tangled mix of emotions swirled within me. Now that I understood the full story, hesitation bubbled up in my heart.
The fanatics who caused this situation had likely fled long ago, avoiding any suspicion that might lead back to them.
So, if I were to remove the fragment lodged in Anser’s chest, what would happen next?
Would Anser die, bearing all the resentment and pain, leaving her story to end in tragedy?
‘I don’t want that. Anser deserves better than to die in despair. There must be another way....’
Standing before her motionless, statue-like figure, I racked my brain, thinking so hard it felt like my head might burst.
And then, suddenly, I felt a faint poking sensation near my chest.
What was this? Curious, I reached for the spot and found, to my surprise, none other than the Tesseract.
When I hastily pulled it out from under my clothes, the Tesseract spun in place, as if greeting me cheerfully.
[ Mama! ]
“...?!”
I pushed back the white tablecloth hiding its form and held the Tesseract up to my eye level. For the first time, it moved with clear intent, an unmistakable sign of awakening.
How had this happened? Thrilled yet puzzled, I blinked rapidly, recalling how the fragment's energy had surged when I touched it earlier.
Surely this awakening wasn’t caused solely by that one moment. It was likely the result of the prolonged warming process inside Raven’s closet. Effort, after all, never goes unrewarded.
“...!”
[ Teehee! That tickles! ]
The Tesseract spun happily in its little cube form as I poked at it with my telekinetic power. Its laughter echoed brightly, filled with joy.
I still didn’t understand why it called me “Mama,” but at least it seemed healthy, which was a relief.
‘Wait a second... If the Tesseract is awake now...’
Holding the Tesseract carefully in both hands, I glanced over at Anser.
The Tesseract’s power had healed my grievous injuries without leaving a scar and had even restored Drakel to his prime. If this power worked, it might just save Anser from her current state.
But there was a catch: the Tesseract adhered strictly to the principle of equivalent exchange.
In my case, the Tesseract had paid the price itself, while Drakel had replenished his loss by drinking blood. But for Anser, what could be used as payment? Restoring her would be meaningless if the cost was one of her vital organs or her life force.
I didn’t want to ask the Tesseract to bear the cost again unless absolutely necessary. That would be a last resort.
‘...Wait, could this work?’
Suddenly, something caught my eye: the fragment lodged firmly in Anser’s chest, still radiating Invader energy.
Come to think of it, there was something odd about how the Tesseract had managed to heal my battered body.
If I considered the possibility that the Tesseract consumed Invader energy to awaken itself, the mystery became much clearer.
The Tesseract, being an artifact of the Invaders, could utilize their energy as payment. In that case, what if it drew on the energy leaking from the fragment embedded in Anser?
If this worked, it would save Anser and deal a blow to the enemy—a perfect plan!
The key now was to communicate my idea clearly to the Tesseract.
Praying this would work, I gently pressed my forehead against the Tesseract and focused all my thoughts on it.
‘Tesseract. Can you use the energy from that fragment as payment?’
[ Hmm? Hmm... I’ll give it a try! ]
Was my intention successfully conveyed? After spinning in place for a moment as if contemplating, the Tesseract responded with determination.
Following its request, I brought the Tesseract close to the fragment embedded in Anser.
As soon as I did, a massive current of energy burst forth, scattering the red glyphs etched in her eyes into the air like dust.
The Tesseract emitted a gentle, radiant white light that enveloped Anser like a warm cocoon. The glow was so blinding that I could hardly keep my eyes open.
‘Ugh... I have to hold on...!’
Instinctively realizing that losing my grip now would ruin everything, I gritted my teeth and used my telekinesis to anchor myself.
Every muscle in my arms screamed with pain as if they might snap under the strain, but this was no time to complain.
Endure it. Don’t give up. Fight back!
Perhaps my resolve paid off because the explosive energy gradually began to subside.
Eventually, I collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air.
[ I did it, Mama! ]
“....”
When the light faded, I saw Anser lying peacefully, her disfiguring wound gone, as if she had simply fallen asleep.
I’d done it. The tension that had been suffocating me finally melted away.