RAGNA POV...
If my guess was right, then the Steel Knights’ duty was simple on the surface and far more complicated beneath it—they were tasked with gathering demon children from scattered corners of the world and escorting us to some final destination.
A place far removed from ordinary human eyes, and judging from the way I had walked past them several times without drawing suspicion, it was likely they either had no knowledge that certain demons possessed Systems or simply did not consider such anomalies worthy of concern.
Yet that assumption clashed violently with the stories I had grown up hearing.
According to the legends whispered by villagers in hushed tones, cursed children captured by the Holy Shrine were executed immediately, branded as death gods in fragile bodies, devilish and cruel by nature, creatures whose continued existence alone was considered a calamity.
If that was true, then why were we still alive?
The contradiction lingered in my mind as Reiner suddenly peeled off his dirty shirt and spread it across the cold floor between his brother and me, turning the thin fabric into a makeshift cushion before lowering himself down with a careless ease that felt almost rehearsed.
"So far, since this journey began, it’s already been more than a couple of weeks," he said, his voice carrying an unusual solemnness that made me glance at him from the corner of my eye. "We’ve passed through dozens of villages, and every time more knights and more carriages joined us."
He paused briefly, as if weighing his next words.
"And yet we still haven’t reached our destination. Where the hell are they taking us that’s this far...?"
For once, his tone lacked that playful edge, and when he closed his eyes afterward, I could not tell whether he was sleeping or simply retreating into thought. A soft sigh escaped him, followed by an irritated sniff as though his own body refused to cooperate with whatever composure he was trying to maintain.
Over the past weeks, I had observed the pattern carefully.
Because cursed children continued to be born without cease, the Steel Knights were forced to roam endlessly—from villages to towns, from cities to entire kingdoms—capturing us wherever we were found. No matter how carefully a demon family hid or how far they attempted to flee, the knights pursued them with an unrelenting precision that earned them comparisons to death gods.
Every few days, rumors would spread of another batch captured.
Each time new carriages were added to our growing procession, the weight in the air thickened, and I could feel the unspoken dread among us, as though we were all slowly marching toward the open jaws of something vast and unseen.
Our route never followed a predictable rhythm. Sometimes we would halt for days while more captives were brought in; other times we would travel continuously for nearly a week without pause, the plains stretching endlessly beneath a sky that seemed indifferent to our fate.
Then, one afternoon, a voice cut through the wind like steel scraping against stone.
"We are nearly out of the plains and about to enter the Great Desert of Death. This is the last phase of our journey and the most dangerous. A strict warning has been issued—anyone found outside will be abandoned."
The voice belonged to one of the black Steel Knights, cold and unyielding.
"The Great Desert of Death...?" Reiner and Berthold gasped almost in unison, their bodies going rigid as if the name itself had wrapped invisible chains around their limbs.
Their fists clenched tightly, knuckles paling.
It was clear that name meant something far deeper to them than mere geography.
For a brief moment, I saw something flicker in their eyes—not fear alone, but something older, heavier.
And then I understood.
"There is no need to keep them here any longer. Inform the Holy Shrine at once and have these bad omens removed from my land."
The middle-aged man’s voice had been thick with disgust as he stared down at the two trembling children on the floor.
Unlike ordinary children, small bumps protruded from either side of their foreheads, subtle but undeniable, and if one looked closely enough, they would notice the blood dripping from the man’s left hand as he pointed a quivering blade toward the twins whose eyes burned deep crimson.
"Truly, they are cursed."
He had once believed he could exploit that demonic nature, twist it into a weapon—a puppet powerful enough to conquer kingdoms in his name—but reality had mocked him.
"To think I imagined Sofia’s mindless little devils would be of use to me."
The room had been filled with murmurs and uneasy sighs, the sharp glint of multiple swords reflecting off the children’s unblinking eyes.
"Didn’t I say there was no need to keep them here any longer?" he barked. "Guards, capture these filthy creatures and throw them into the Great Desert of Death, just like that pathetic excuse of a woman—Sofia."
"Let her and her children reunite in the desert of hell."
The twins had slowly lifted their heads then, their crimson gazes locking onto the man without fear.
Even with blades pointed inches from their skin, their expressions remained eerily blank—dark, unreadable.
But the moment the name Sofia echoed through the room, something shifted.
Their bodies began to tremble violently, not from fear but from something rawer, something that twisted their features into a savage intensity that no child should ever possess.
That name alone awakened the true meaning of monster within them.
Because of a rumor, the only woman who had loved them without hesitation had been taken away.
The birth of male twins had once brought celebration, but the joy had curdled into horror the moment their nature was revealed. She had been branded a witch, stripped of her voice, her rights, her dignity.
A princess reduced to disgrace.
And the man who was supposed to be their father had never truly loved her—she had merely been a stepping stone to expand his influence, until the birth of taboo children shattered his ambitions and turned affection into resentment.
"Dammit, useless," he had shouted again, frustration bleeding into fear. "Throw them into the damn desert so they can reunite with that witch."
The guards hesitated, sensing the shift in the air.
And then, with eyes blazing crimson and hatred sharper than any blade in that room, one of the twins spoke.
"I hate you."
Those were Reiner’s last words before darkness swallowed them whole.