Centuries ago, when the Demon King lost his war against the Star Constellations and was thrown down to this realm, becoming a fallen constellation, he refused to hide or quietly build his strength.
Instead, he began winning over territories with his demon army. No one could defeat him; a fallen constellation was still far too powerful for any mortal to stand against.
He conquered many kingdoms, and even those lands not under his direct rule were like puppet states. He could give any command, and they would have to accept it without a doubt.
But to increase his influence and truly fight back against the Star Constellations, he needed more than that. He needed more powerful people serving under him. That's why he decided to marry and have children—kids with exceptional powers.
He hoped that one of them might even become as powerful as he was. And so, he married different species and had children with them. This included a female devil from hell, beast-women, vampire, human, and more.
The children were called the Witches.
But for one reason or another, one by one, all of the witches died. Only the youngest, Jeanne D'Arc, remained.
Of course, many had already accepted that sooner or later, she would die, too. She was half human and half demon, and because of this, she faced challenges everywhere. Because she was in the demon realm, a place of great rivalry and constant fighting, all the demons hated her for being half human. To them, she was just a human spy.
Although she was only sixteen, she could already understand it all clearly. She knew exactly what the situation was.
"Mother said she was only going to check on her father's health and would be back in a month," Jeanne thought, rubbing her hands together nervously as she lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. "It's already been eight years. Father is just too busy to care."
For her, it felt like human society was the only place where she would truly belong, a society that might accept her for who she was. That's why she had wanted to go with her mother, but those were the words her mother had said to her.
But she couldn't just blame her mother for not coming back, because she knew her mother must have faced the same harsh treatment from others here, too.
Maybe she was just waiting for her daughter to reunite with her.
"Yes. Tomorrow's my birthday. I'll tell Father that I want to visit Mother!" she agreed with herself, her face setting with determination.
A birthday wasn't something celebrated in the demon realm, but Jeanne had read many things about human culture and thought her father might understand.
The next day, she went to her father and told him about it. The Demon King was sitting on a sofa. His shoulders were broad, his waist was thin; he was well-built but not bulky. He had a sharp jawline, long black hair that reached his shoulders, and piercing red eyes.
Jeanne's appearance matched his almost perfectly.
Aurora looked through some documents, clearly busy. Without even looking up, he said, "You can go. I'll arrange some guards to go with you."
"Huh?" Jeanne was completely flabbergasted. Even she hadn't expected him to agree so easily.
"T-thank you, Father!" she bowed and immediately left, her heart soaring with happiness.
Her smile was small at first, but it soon stretched wide across her face as she skipped and jumped around the hallway, bubbling with pure excitement.
--
A few days later, Jeanne set off in a carriage with a few demons towards her mother's kingdom. Her mother, Isabelle D'Arc, was no ordinary woman; she was the sole Princess of the Kingdom of Arc. In the present day, it was called the Anastasia Kingdom, ruled by the Thorne family.
Back then, teleportation portals were very rare, and the journey was very long. It would take them at least two months to get to the Kingdom of Arc. But she had already waited for eight years. These two months felt like nothing.
Although these guards were not exceptionally strong, they were more than enough. This was an era ruled by demons. Anyone who dared to go against them was the same as going against the Demon King himself, and that meant certain death.
But two months later, a news spread across the entire world. Everyone who heard it was dancing in joy, celebrating in the streets. Because the hero's party had officially defeated the Demon King , sealed him, and become the saviors of the world.
The era of demons was finally over.
In the Kingdom of Arc, in the grand throne room, the King of Arc sat with his old, frail body. On the lower ground were other seats, and on the closest one sat Isabelle. She had beautiful blonde hair and gentle green eyes, and a bright, hopeful smile was on her face.
"The hero's party might be coming here in a few hours. Are all the preparations for their welcome ready?" she asked her father, her voice buzzing with excitement.
"Of course, they deserve the most grand welcome one has ever received—" he was saying, but then a knight came running into the room, his face full of concern.
He knelt on the ground and bowed down, but instead of facing the king, he faced Isabelle.
"My lady, your daughter has come to visit you!"
As he said the words, Jeanne came running into the throne room, her face filled with a deep sadness. The very day she finally arrived, the first thing she heard was news of her father's defeat.
Her eyes had small tears in the corners, both because of her father's loss and from seeing her mother after so many long years. She ran towards her mother, while the two demon guards arrived behind her.
"Mother!" she cried, running towards Isabelle with her arms wide open, desperate for a hug.
Isabelle also stood up, her eyes locking onto Jeanne. But before she could hug her—SLAP!
Isabelle's hand flew out and connected with Jeanne's face in a tight, stinging slap, so hard it sent her falling to the ground. The sharp sound of the slap echoed in the now-silent throne room.
Jeanne literally froze from the sudden shock, her mind completely unable to process what had just happened. The sting on her cheek was nothing compared to the pain shattering her heart.
"Don't you dare touch me!" Isabelle shouted, her voice filled with a venom Jeanne had never heard before.
"W-why? It's me, your daughter," Jeanne said, her hands trembling as she pushed herself up from the cold floor.
"You are NOT!" Isabelle screamed. "You are a scum born from him! Every time I look at you, it reminds me of him! Why did you have to come here at the worst possible moment? You also like to crush my happiness, just like your father, aren't you?" Isabelle shouted all those words at once, each one a dagger stabbing directly into Jeanne's heart.
"You dare to say such shameful things!" the two demon guards immediately roared, their faces twisting with rage.
"Kill them!" the king ordered.
At once, several knights jumped forward, and in just a few seconds, both demons were beheaded, their bodies falling to the floor with a sickening thud.
Tears flowed freely from Jeanne's eyes as she stared at their still forms. "Kora, Kagaz... why?" she whispered, her voice breaking. She looked back at Isabelle, her vision blurred with tears. "Isn't he your husband?"
"As if!" Isabelle spat, her own eyes turning red with fury and sorrow. "The marriage was forced! He's no different from a rapist! Just get out of my sight!" She sat back down angrily, covering her face with her palm as if she couldn't bear to look at Jeanne for another second.
"Father," Isabelle demanded, her voice thick with pain. "I don't care if she dies or what. Just take her away from my sight."
The king nodded. With the Demon King's threat gone, there was no longer any reason to fear him.
"Take her and execute her before the sun falls down," he ordered coldly. By that time, the hero's party would have also arrived, and he couldn't afford to let them see such a shameful sight.
Guards quickly arrested her and dragged her out of Isabelle's sight. Jeanne didn't even struggle.
Her world had already crumbled down around her; what more could they do to her?
She was taken to a public execution ground, a place where the whole town could watch. To make a spectacle of it, they had already announced that the Demon King's daughter was going to be beheaded. A huge, angry crowd had gathered to see it.
The two demon guards who had come with her were already dead. The remaining few who had been captured were executed one by one.
Then, it was Jeanne's turn. Her head was forced down onto a wooden plank with a half-circle cut out to fit her neck. The moment the sharp iron axe blade came down and severed her head, a sickening sight unfolded.
Her muscles and veins started oozing out in a disgusting way, and then they began to regenerate. In just a few seconds, her head was good as new, reattaching itself to her neck.
All the bystanders were stunned into silence.
"A-a literal monster!" someone in the crowd finally shrieked, their voice trembling with fear and shock.
"Kill her!" another person yelled.
"Kill this witch!"
"Kill her!"
The crowd's anger and fear erupted like a volcano. It wasn't just anger at her, but a deep, burning hatred for the Demon King Aurora, and a primal fear of her unique powers. Many people even started throwing rocks at her, and some even threw cow dung.
Jeanne only looked at them with lifeless, empty eyes. She felt no emotions at all. She was waiting for her death, too.
When beheading didn't work, they tried hanging her, but the rope simply snapped. They tried boiling her alive, but she climbed out of the cauldron, her skin bubbling and healing. Later, they even tried to burn her alive at the stake.
As the fire burned her skin away, it regenerated again, but the pain was still there. Her screams were so loud they felt like they traveled for miles, her sobbing and agonizing cries of pain were in everyone's ears, yet death would not come.
"Not much time left! She just won't die!" a knight with a light helmet stomped his foot on the ground in frustration.
But then, a broad man, well over six feet tall, came forward. From his attire, he definitely looked like a captain. "I have an idea," he said in an authoritative voice, "but let's not kill her here and pollute our sacred capital city!"
They led Jeanne far away, to a particular village, and tied her down to a large tree.
"This time you'll die for sure. Any last wish?" the tall man asked.
"A harp," Jeanne said, her voice barely a whisper. "I want to play a harp."
The man didn't refuse. He gave her one, and Jeanne started to play. As her fingers touched the strings, a beautiful, haunting melody filled the air. For a few precious moments, she forgot all the pain she was feeling, lost in the music.
The man flickered his fingers, and a special kind of fire erupted from the base of the tree, immediately consuming Jeanne in its flames.
"Nirvana fire?" the other knights looked in amazement. No wonder he was so confident he could kill her.
Jeanne continued to play the harp as she was burned alive. This time, she didn't scream or cry out. It was a silent death as her body slowly turned to ashes, the music fading with her.
The next moment, she opened her eyes. She was greeted by the beautiful, peaceful sight of heaven.
Of course she would be in heaven. She had never done anything wrong in her life.
"I finally died. The pain finally ended," she sighed to herself. "Although my life was short, I guess it's better than living anymore."
But as she took her first step forward into the heaven, an angel immediately descended in front of her, blocking her path.
"Stop right there! Demons are not allowed in heaven! Especially not the Demon King's daughter!" the angel said, her voice cold and unwelcoming.
"But I'm half human!" Jeanne pleaded, a flicker of hope in her chest.
"Just come with me!" the angel ignored her words, Grabbing her wrist and took her to the judgement gate.
Her case went on for years, In hat time, She stayed in level 3 prison waiting for justice but the justice wasn't recived .
She was ordered to be sent to hell.
Few angels took her to the entrance of hell.
Jeanne didn't really mind going to hell; she just wanted to find the reincarnation gate and be born again.
But the guardian of hell immediately rejected her in first glance.
"No," he boomed. "She is too good to enter here. Her sins aren't even close to being enough to get her entry in hell!"
At this point, the angels became increasingly confused. They led Jeanne back to the judgment gate, and once again, she was sent to the level 3 prison. Jesus was also inside the level 3 prison.
The angels hoped to monitor their interaction, to see if he said something to her or tried to help her. But surprisingly, he and Jeanne never had any conversation.
To be frank, Jesus slept most of the time, trying to not let the crushing stress of endless time take over him. His instincts would wake him up if there was any need, yet he never woke up for her.
A few years later, the high-ranking angel Raguel, acting as the judge in this case, finally announced her initial judgment.
"Make her drink from the River of Salvation," Raguel declared. "Once she takes out all those negative feelings from her heart and mind, she will be welcomed in heaven."
The angels did as they were asked. Jeanne didn't resist either; she went with them to the River of Salvation and drank the water from it.
But the moment the holy water passed her lips, it started turning dark, like a sickening mix of red and black. The corruption spread through the water like a disease. All the angels panicked immediately and arrested her again.
"I did not do anything!" Jeanne tried to explain, her voice trembling with confusion, but no one listened to her.
The high-ranking angels immediately arrived and stabilized the situation, but the anger and fear towards Jeanne did not go away.
Thus, another judgment came from Auriel, the other high-ranking angel. "With no choice left between heaven or hell, she should be sent to the Hollow Land to crumble to pieces and dissolve bit by bit into natural essence," he announced, his voice cold and final.
***
The Hollow Land was the place where non-awakened people went. It was like a vast, deserted area with white sand stretching on into an endless sight. Above, there was nothing but a dead black sky full of despair.
"Help me! Someone! Help, I don't wanna dissolve!" souls screamed as they slowly sank into the ground, their soul bodies shattering piece by piece like a fragile mural.
"Why? Why me? Just because I'm not an awakened?" others screamed in agony.
Their souls were dissolving slowly, becoming nature's essence, like fuel for the world.
But this process was slow and incredibly painful. But to make up for that, unlike heaven and hell, whose timeline was the same as Earth's, the Hollow Land was the opposite. A few days outside was a few years in here.
Between the countless screaming souls, Jeanne was also one of them.
Being an awakened person, her soul was a lot stronger than everyone else there. Thus, her dissolving process was even slower and far more painful.
Yet she didn't scream once, Her lifeless eyes stared up at the dead black sky.
"Rejected by heaven. Rejected by hell. Rejected by parents and society..." she whispered, her voice cracking with pain. She clenched her fist, her nails digging into her ethereal palm.
"I hate. I hate this world. I hate humans. I hate demons. I hate heaven. I hate hell. I hate good. I hate evil..."
"I FUCKING HATE EVERYTHING!"