The Knight of Humanity.
Saint Milis.
Born around six thousand years ago, he was an incomparable genius of humanity.
A man driven by righteousness and justice in his heart. A warrior capable of manipulating magic at divine levels, and whose swordsmanship was so powerful and sacred that it could only be described as peerless.
In his time, Milis was the most powerful figure among humans, the bright sun born in an era of prosperity.
The Demon Empress had not yet resurrected.
The demons had already lost the First Great Human-Demon War long ago, defeated by the efforts of humanity led by the Hero Ars and his group.
It was during that period, when humanity walked with ever-growing confidence, that the one who would one day be known as Saint Milis was born.
His path was marked and crowned by the fall of countless monsters, beasts, and powerful demons. In the time when the Ringus Sea did not exist, and the world had not yet been divided by Laplace, Milis traveled across the lands of the continents, heroic and unrestrained, carrying with him his sword, his magic, and his faith.
Any beast, demon, or non-human race feared his presence.
Some fled, others hid.
Others were simply crushed before they could understand the difference between themselves and that blessed human.
Milis carried the blessing and personal guidance of the Human God in his dreams.
He was invulnerable to blades and disease.
Untouched by fire and ice.
A warrior angel, protected by a sacred aura that seemed to place him above the common limits of human flesh.
But even that mighty fighting angel suffered from the most common illness among men.
Passion.
Milis fell in love with a human woman named Morgana.
Or, at least, that was what he thought at first, since years later, he discovered that she was a half-breed.
A girl born from a human and a demon.
His first instinct was denial. It could not be true. It should not be true.
Everything he believed, everything he preached, everything he had built, pointed toward a single conclusion: someone like Morgana should have been on the other side of his sword.
But love, as intense as it is, was overwhelming enough to pierce even the fanatical justice of that young Milis.
His passion and love for his beloved were enough to, little by little, melt the firmest barriers around him.
Many would wonder, with reason, how such a powerful and divine being had finally fallen.
And that was the answer.
Milis trusted his passion. Trusted his love.
But, just like his own nature, love is as wonderful as it is cruel.
His excessive confidence in being the Miko of Transparency made him believe that his partner's love was real.
And, for that very reason, it blinded him to the small but constant signs that something in that relationship was not right.
Morgana's love was true.
While hiding Morgana's existence and leading his subjects to ever greater heights and ever more glorious victories, Milis lived that secret romance with his beloved.
Until, one day, the true personification of that love appeared.
Morgana was expecting a child.
Theoretically, a half-breed like her.
Milis's feelings became complex beyond measure.
For the first time in his life, his certainty encountered something he did not understand. The child was his. It was Morgana's. It was the fruit of their love. And, at the same time, it was everything his faith had taught him should not exist.
That was the moment of greatest uncertainty in his entire journey.
And, just as before, in moments of uncertainty, Milis sought the guidance of his God.
The absolute God of the world.
The Human God.
When he heard his counsel in dreams, involving an extremely dangerous bloodline purification ritual, Milis followed it faithfully.
Strictly.
Just as he always had.
Morgana, the beloved of the most powerful human, finally saw her chance when she observed the vulnerability in Milis's actions.
Her long path of revenge had reached the desired point.
From brainwashing applied to herself to the conscious decision to truly fall in love with the man she hated, everything had been done to successfully reach a special place in the eyes of the Miko of Transparency.
She needed to be seen as true. So she became true.
She loved the man she hated. Hated the man she loved.
And carried both feelings until the bitter end.
Her revenge was against the human who had completely annihilated her country, killing her demon father and her human mother.
As a faithful defender of the purge of non-human races, of course he would do it again.
Without hesitation.
And so, as her greatest act of violence and madness, Morgana killed her son in her own womb before her beloved.
On another occasion, Milis might have been able to reverse that action with magic.
But not during the ritual.
Morgana, amid tears of love, hatred, and madness, killed Saint Milis slowly, cruelly, and painfully.
Then took her own life.
Exploiting perhaps the only true moment of vulnerability of the so-called strongest human being in humanity.
Thus, in a remote and silent place, Milis perished alongside his family.
And, together with him, died any remaining trace of doubt in his belief.
Demons.
Beasts.
Half-breeds.
All should perish.
Only humanity was unique.
Only humanity was truly pure.
Even at the moment of his death, when Hitogami mocked him and blamed him for his foolishness in his dreams, the bitterness in his heart only became firmer.
More solid and unbreakable.
And, just like his belief in his final moments, the Milis Religion remained for thousands of years.
Implacable. Carrying its own justice.
That was why, as he observed his opponents in that battle, Milis's disgust intensified more and more.
Who would have thought that even a filthy demon woman would dare show herself before him without the slightest fear?
In his era, that would have been absolutely unthinkable, except for a few lunatics among them.
But now it was not only a mad demon woman challenging him. There were strong half-breeds on all sides, and even humans standing beside them.
He observed his attackers.
Jino was beside Aisha.
He seemed to be talking to her while his wounds disappeared little by little, a green light running through his body.
Aisha, on the other hand, had a distant look in her eyes.
As if she were looking at something far beyond that battlefield. Even so, Milis realized that she was aware of everything around her.
Instinctively, Milis felt that this young woman was especially dangerous.
Then he noticed one of her eyes, one of those corrupted eyes. A Demon Eye.
On the other side was the demon woman.
Atoferatofe flew over the battlefield with a manic smile, the enormous sword resting on her shoulder. She looked like a rabid dog ready to attack at the slightest order.
There was no fear, nor hesitation.
A short distance from them, there was a man wearing enormous armor.
At first, Milis thought he was human.
But the demonic aura in his mana made him doubt it for a second.
In any case, Milis did not recognize the strange weapons of that armor. The structure, the machine gun, the strange blade. None of that belonged to his era.
So he decided to be cautious.
And then there were Sándor and Kalman.
Unlike his father, who wore a Golden Armor, Alek wore simple leather armor with a tattered cloak. His weapon was a black blade.
Even so, Milis felt that this new half-breed would be even more troublesome.
The battle aura of the warriors present made the atmosphere increasingly oppressive.
Although it was already in pieces, the cracked ground of the Ever-White Desert began to tremble once again.
Perhaps because of their battle intent, or perhaps because of the accumulated mana.
A gentle breeze blew between them, carrying white sand and the distant smell of blood and ozone.
For a few seconds, no one attacked.
Milis merely observed them.
Then he finally spoke, in a serene voice.
The white aura around his body spread like a divine will.
"It seems the Human God was not so mistaken in calling me... this truly is an era of extraordinary talents."
He slowly moved Ascalon.
The blade reflected the white aura, and the pressure over the battlefield increased.
"Although it is redundant to ask, I must do so..."
His eyes passed over each of his opponents.
"What is the name of the one each of you follows?"
Under the influence of the Miko of Transparency's power, the white aura began to force an answer from each of them.
Aisha noticed the effect immediately, reacted in the same instant, and tried to deny the influence with Disturb Magic.
But she failed.
That strange aura did not behave like ordinary magic.
It was not a mana structure that could be undone or interrupted. Rudeus, a little late, tried to do the same.
He obtained the same result.
The answers came out automatically.
Jino, Aisha, and Atofe spoke at the same time:
"Rygar."
Alek and Rudeus said:
"Orsted."
And Sándor answered:
"Ariel."
Milis nodded slowly. He seemed somewhat disappointed.
Then his gaze shifted toward the horizon.
He could feel it. Something was coming. It was still far away, but it was certainly coming fast.
Milis replied:
"I am beginning to realize that this era is almost beyond ideological redemption."
His fingers tightened around Ascalon.
"I fear I will have to conduct a purge on a far greater scale than expected."
Then he looked at Jino, Aisha, and Rudeus.
Humans.
Extraordinary talents.
And yet, lost in their thoughts.
"Since even the current humanity is lost..."
A yellow and golden aura began to pour endlessly out of Ascalon.
Everyone prepared for battle.
Milis raised Ascalon.
"Do not think a numerical advantage will be effective against me, young ones."
The golden light grew, the sand around them began to float, and the air trembled.
"I stand above the mountains."
The pressure exploded.
"I stand above the heavens!"
Before he could finish speaking, all six attacked simultaneously.
Golden light exploded in every direction.
And Milis released a fierce battle cry, completely different from the calm posture he had shown since his resurrection.
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