The companions had all been good friends. Or at least that was what Eugene had believed.

Although they came from different backgrounds, they shared a hatred for the Demon Kings.

Hamel was the only survivor of a village that had been attacked by monsters that were driven mad by the Demon Kings. At the approximate age of ten years old, he had lost both his parents and his hometown to the Demon Kings.

Molon was the son of the warchief of the Northern Bayar tribes. The tribes there had long been accustomed to sharing a border with the demonfolk, but when the Demon King suddenly invaded their lands, many tribesmen were returned to the earth[1].

Molon was the son of the warchief, and on behalf of the tribes, he swore to slay the Demon Kings with his own two hands.

Anise was a saint candidate who had been carefully nurtured by the Cardinals of the Holy Empire. The Cardinals believed that only they, who had received God’s guidance, were qualified to lift the darkness that had fallen over the world; and they felt that the saints who they had raised were perfect for the role of acting as god’s representative on this world.

By the time Anise graduated from being a candidate to becoming a true saint, the army of the demonfolk had swelled in numbers. She and the Holy Empire decided to follow the will of their god and provide their aid.

Sienna had been saved by the elves and had learned their magic while growing up in the forest of the elves. Despite not usually accepting humans, the elves had adopted Sienna, who was born with a natural talent for magic, as one of their own. As Helmuth’s ominous power continued to grow ever stronger, the elves slowly began to die off.

Sienna couldn’t bear to see the elves’ extinction. For her, the elves were a family that had raised her from childhood and taught her magic. As the representative of the elves, she became the master of Akasha and left the forest.

As for Vermouth.

He was one of a group of slaves being transported to Helmuth. His hometown was the Kingdom of Ashal, which had been located next to Helmuth. As the first country to be destroyed by the demonfolk and demonic beasts, its territory now belonged to the Ruhr Kingdom that had been founded by Molon.

In the Great Invasion, Vermouth had lost his entire family. The few remaining survivors had been captured by the monsters, and were sent away in groups to become Helmuth’s slaves. During the journey, Vermouth stole a sword from the demonfolk and rescued all the slaves.

Vermouth met Molon’s Bayar tribe while he was leading the slaves across the snow fields.

All of this meant that although all their reasons may have been different, their purpose was the same. They had lost something to the demonfolk and they wanted to get revenge for what they had lost. They were determined to kill the Demon Kings.

All of the companions had had the strength and the talents needed to assist Vermouth in this goal.

Vermouth’s first companion was Molon. Vermouth knew that they couldn’t face the Demon Kings with their still weak strength, but he believed that, rather than a multitude of soldiers, what they needed to confidently face...