What if you are reborn as a demon after a funeral?

In an instant, screams rang out beside him, and a terrifying hell descended upon him.

The world was stained crimson without anyone noticing, and his former companions fell one by one. However... gravity magic made him shine brightly in this chaos.

When the hours-long conflict finally ended, most of his former teammates were nowhere to be found. The only one still alive beside him was the middle-aged woman who had fought to the very end while reading her daughter's letter; she was still kneeling on the ground, panting...

"...You're really something. Can the legendary belief really increase a person's survival rate?"

Seeing the woman whose throat had been slit by the knight's sword, bleeding profusely yet still struggling to clutch her wound, and then looking at the priest rushing towards them, Ash couldn't help but be somewhat surprised by her survival, but...

As the priest performed emergency treatment on him, Ash swept across the surrounding area, which was littered with corpses. He realized that only the two of them were survivors of the entire squad, but this was also very fortunate, because out of more than thirty people in the squadron, fewer than ten remained.

This left him somewhat dazed, staring blankly at his hands, which were once again stained with blood.

As he absentmindedly looked away from his hands, he looked up.

Wherever the wind and snow reached, there were corpses buried by the sudden heavy snowfall.

Snow and blood combine to create a beautiful yet cruel picture.

"Is this... the real war?"

Ash murmured, whether out of relief that he was still alive or because he was moved by the breathtaking scene and felt a deeper emotion.

But in any case, for this war... all of these seem utterly insignificant.

The Burial of Frilian: A Thousand Years Later: Chapter Twelve - Obtaining the Soul

In the conflict between the Kingdom of Tad and its neighboring countries on the snowy plains, the mage forces suffered heavy losses, and Ash's outstanding performance led to his promotion from squad leader to captain.

Then... in the second, third, fourth, and fifth... this continuous series of conflicts, large and small, and intermittent, lasted for five years.

The continuous battles did not kill him; instead, as a demon, he was tempered in the flames of war and unexpectedly became a general of the Kingdom of Tad.

Even though the war was intermittent, he had already collected 1000 souls by the second year and made his first wish to become the strongest... but he did not succeed.

Desiring Demon King-level magic and combat power... is impossible; desiring all magical knowledge is also unattainable, it seems the amount of one's soul is far from sufficient to unleash that level of miracle.

Helpless, while cursing, he realized that this system was basically equivalent to an exchange of equal value, although the value might not be so equal, at least not so equal for him.

Therefore, with only 1000 souls, what he could do was extremely limited, so he could only continue to collect enough souls before wishing for complete knowledge of gravity magic.

Over the next four years, he continued to study the complete gravity magic training system bestowed by the miracle—from the mythical era—and continued to improve his magic in this protracted war.

He spent three years sweeping across the battlefield, allowing him to gather thousands of souls again and gain a second chance to perform a miracle.

This led him to decide to no longer stay in this kingdom where there was little knowledge left for him to learn, and to continue this meaningless war.

........................

"Life is truly unpredictable..."

After retaking the snowfield, which had been lost recently due to his support elsewhere, Ash stood amidst the familiar yet unfamiliar snowstorm, looking at the icy bloodstains beneath his feet and couldn't help but sigh.

Cathy, his former comrade-in-arms and captain of the magic guard, turned her head in confusion and curiosity, looking at the woman with a hideous scar on her neck. "What are you talking about, Lord Ash?"

"...This time their main force was damaged, and the troops borrowed from the neighboring country are basically left here. They should behave themselves for quite some time."

"I think so too, but... are you planning to continue the attack?"

"No, I'm about to leave too, Bart, you should probably go home soon as well."

"Huh? Lord Ash, what do you mean by that...?"

"I'm leaving here, but before that, I can help you secure a substantial reward. With my money, you should be able to buy that big house you've always dreamed of in the capital, so your daughter and mother can live the life they want, right?"

"Wait, Ash-sama? I don't quite understand...?" The sudden words startled Cathy, who momentarily doubted her own ears.

Ash continued, "I plan to leave. This war doesn't belong to you or me... Of course, if you still intend to stay, I won't stop you."

"...They won't make you resign, will they?"

“I submitted my resignation a long time ago, and I would have left even if they didn’t agree. Now… what about you?” He turned to look at the woman who had been with him for five years, but he wasn’t quite sure what choice she would make.

Cathy was not a beneficiary of this war, but she was also a victim of this protracted conflict because... her father and husband had been conscripted and their whereabouts were unknown.

Therefore, when faced with Ash's question, she remained silent for a long time before shrugging with a wry smile: "Since you're planning to leave, how could I possibly stay here any longer?"

"is it?"

"...Are you planning to go north?"

"how do you know?"

"Because...you are a demon, right?"

"What? You figured it out?"

"I have a slight feeling, but I can't be sure... Moreover, your appearance has never changed; you still look like the same young boy you were at the beginning. Some people in the kingdom have doubts about your true identity."

"I've heard about this to some extent, so I have no choice but to leave now. Besides..." Ash, who was already planning to leave and didn't care about this at all, smiled and looked at the woman with the strange expression: "Now, are you going to report me?"

“How could I possibly do such a thing?” Cathy smiled bitterly, touching the wound on her neck.

"If you hadn't knocked that cavalryman away back then, my head would be off my neck right now. And now I realize that the demons seem to be quite different from what I've heard about them."

"No, you can't think like that. The only difference is that when I see a demon, I either run away or kill them... This is my last piece of advice to you."

"So...everyone except you is in danger?" Cathy was a little unsure.

"Of course, they are quite cruel and ruthless. Even the demons themselves have to be careful of them. I'm just... a special case."

"Is that right?"

"Is such that."

"......"

"......"

The conversation suddenly fell silent; there was no way around it, as neither of them were particularly good at chatting.

After a long pause, Cathy finally couldn't help but ask, "...You've given me all the money, what about yourself?"

"It's okay, I'll still leave some money for the journey."

"So... will we ever see each other again?"

"...To be honest, what you're saying sounds like something a heroine in a story would say. But I prefer young girls. Married women and aunties are a bit... If possible, could you ask your daughter to say it?"

The somewhat somber atmosphere of parting was broken by Ash's playful banter, which made Cathy shake her head and chuckle.

“You misunderstand… I just wanted to say that if there is an opportunity, I would like to introduce my daughter and mother to you. They have always wanted to meet you and thank you in person for taking care of me.”

"Forget it, the lifespan of humans and demons is quite different, there's no benefit in getting to know another human."

"...However, if the demons are as you say, wouldn't you be very lonely?"

"You'll get used to it. Aren't all demons like this?"

"But you're not a normal demon, are you?"

"That's true, but... I'll definitely get used to it."

He smiled wistfully, but said nothing more; Cathy didn't know what to say either, and just lowered her eyes regretfully.

The Burial of Frilian: A Thousand Years to the Present: Chapter Thirteen - The Miracle of the Goddess - The World Five Hundred Years Ago

That night, the two drank a lot of alcohol together, and the next day, under his arrangement, Cathy completed her discharge from the military.

On the same day, Ash parted ways with him on the snowy plains.

Standing there, watching the familiar figure gradually disappear into the distance, Cathy unconsciously murmured to herself with a sigh, "Lord Ash...you're so pitiful."

Pitiful? Me? Why? Because I'm an outsider? —A familiar voice came from behind him, carried by the wind to his ears, but it left him somewhat bewildered.

But he didn't care about any of that now. He just silently walked away, and after leaving Cathy's sight, he had the system recreate the goddess's miracle—traveling to the world five hundred years ago.

.........................

A figure suddenly appeared on the vast snowfield, slowly descending from mid-air onto the snow.

"What's going on? It's still in this place? But... I heard that the mage closest to the goddess, Celia, is in the south. There are just a few suspicious things about her... Hmm, looks like it'll take some time to find her."

Ash, looking troubled, casually took out a map with many markings.

Despite the numerous suspicious points, he had no choice but to investigate them one by one... Fortunately, as a demon, he had ample time to spare.

The world five hundred years ago was not much different from the past.

At least in Ash's view, there was almost no technological progress during this period; the only problem was that magic was very underdeveloped, and it was clear that humans had not yet begun to widely learn magic.

And so he continued his cultivation while searching for Celie's whereabouts, and... just six months later.

Deep within the abandoned ruins, meticulously pieced together from towering boulders and standing strong despite the vicissitudes of time, a faint beam of light pierces through the dust of years, illuminating a corner at the far end.

There, stacks upon stacks of books, taller than a person, lay piled up, and at the very end of this sea of ​​books, his gaze finally fell upon the long-awaited target.

On a huge, high-backed stone chair resembling a king's throne, a long-eared elf woman with long golden hair and an unexpectedly petite figure leaned back in a very ungraceful posture, resting her chin on her hand as she gazed with great interest at him slowly approaching from below the steps.