Kushina was once a member of an ancient clan that served the Goddess. They were agents of the Goddess who supported her from the shadows and kept the world in balance. Kushina felt pride over the role they had been given, a role that they had probably kept ever since humanity had been born.
We're different from other people. We have been singled out by the Goddess. We are her servants who give her all our love and loyalty.
To her, the clueless clergy who blindly offered the Goddess faith without even knowing what kind of being she was were nothing short of laughable, an opinion that only furthered her sense of superiority.
I know the secrets of the world. I know the Goddess's true goal. I know the real meaning of her true and unwavering love of humanity.
All things are as the Goddess wills. Monsters, grimmfolk, humans, and even animals—all are nothing more than pieces on a board, and only we are allowed to stand outside of the game.
The first humans were named Uzumaru and Uzuhime. That was also the name of Kushina's ancestor, the first of their clan. They were the child of god, who was said to have been the first created by Haru Heartfilia when she conceived of humanity. Their direct descendants would become agents of the divine. They were the only people in all of humanity who knew the Goddess's true objective and had an obligation to support it.
Kushina never thought to doubt their purpose. In fact, she felt pride from the bottom of her heart. She had unwavering faith in and love for the Goddess. At least, she believed that it was unwavering…
Kushina met the Black Empress at the end of her conquest. The place was named 'The Goddess's Sanctuary,' a location that up until then had been deemed inviolable, and no grimmfolk, nor any of history's many tyrants, had set foot in it. And she, of all people, had invaded the sanctuary with the four Maidens of Midgar—Erza, Juvia, Neo, and Jenny—in tow, as if they didn't care how sacred it was.
The strongest guardian, the Scales of Selection, had been captured by Naru, and all of the Goddess's vanguards that stood against them had been thoroughly defeated. And finally, they managed to drag Kushina, the current head of the Descendants of Uzumaru and Uzuhime, out into the open.
"Leave, intruders. This is a sanctified realm where the Goddess resides. This is not a place where those of low birth can enter freely."
"Well now, that's unfortunate. We seem to be of low birth. It's impossible for us to understand what someone of high birth is saying."
The supreme ruler of the human world laughed as she flapped her ominous pitch-black wings. She smiled belligerently, her eyes sharp like blades. And her golden hair, which spread on her back, looked like those of the tails of majestic birds.
Normally, the flugels were born with pure-white wings. But by coming into contact and mixing with mana, those wings were defiled and gradually got closer to black. And if those wings became pitch black, well, they'd basically be a monster at that point.
She wasn't a flugel. She was a humanoid monster… or at least some sort of completely new, 8th race of humanity. She'd branched off from the flugels into something completely different, just like how humans had branched off into elves, beastmens, and halflings in the past.
"Much less those who cause people pain and drive them to despair. Have you ever heard of noblesse oblige? That those of higher standing have a corresponding duty to those of lesser? We believe in it.… If anything puts despair into the hearts of our people, We don't care if they're a Goddess. We shall simply drag her off her throne and take that seat for ourselves."
This woman is dangerous. Kushina could tell with a single look.
This entire world moves as the Goddess wishes. All is according to her Script. The grimmfolk decrease the number of humans and become mana, their source of power, once they die. This balancing act is part of the providence of this world. It's not like the Grimm King escaped from the Goddess's Script and did all this.
It's impossible for the Grimm King to go against the Goddess's will in the first place… But Lunaru Fenris is different. The Goddess never expected a mutated variant of flugel, much less one with unequaled power who united the world and drove the grimmfolk to the point of extinction. She's completely outside of the Goddess's Script.
"Fool. You should be ashamed of your level of conceit."
"Hah! We've been living in disgrace for a long time now. You're 200 years too late to say that, girl."
Kushina readied her staff. Naru brought her favorite whip sword to her shoulder.
In response, tens—no, hundreds-of divine guards surrounded Naru. Each and every one of them were skilled warriors chosen by the Goddess herself, and their average level exceeded 600. Of course, they could withstand Naru's Pressure. The strongest of them even reached level 1000, like Naru.
No matter how strong Naru was as a level 1000 elite, she was nothing but prey when faced with the net that surrounded her. But she continued to smile fearlessly, and her fire-like scarlet eyes shone even stronger.
"—How laughable! Do you really believe you can stop us like this?! You should have at least brought an army of dragons with you!"
"…N-no way… This is…"
An hour later, the victor of the fight was clear to see.
All of the elite guardians who protected the sanctuary lay defeated, as did Kushina. In the center stood only the black-winged fallen angel. Her dress was still immaculate, as were her face and skin. It was like she'd never fought.
Wrong… This one's just… different. This can't be explained just by being level 1000. It doesn't matter how many monsters a person eats or how far they raise their abilities. It'd be impossible for them to become a monster like this just with that. In fact, those she brought with her and the monsters she has under her aren't that strong.
"Y-you… What are…?"
"Why are you so surprised? We are attempting to bring down a Goddess. That would be impossible if we couldn't at least pull off something like this."
The invader spoke as if it were only natural, as she came to stand in front of Kushina.
While Kushina could no longer stand up on her own, Naru seemed to be untouched. There was no way for Kushina to turn things around; she could only wait to be finished off.
"J-just do it. I've offered my life to the Goddess… I'm not afraid of death. This soul, festooned by duty, will not allow me to lose myself, even after death. I will continue to be the Goddess's servant. Even if you kill me here, it will be meaningless."
"Oh? Your life is the Goddess'?"
Naru's smile mysteriously deepened as she grabbed Kushina's neck. Naru lifted Kushina up so their eyes were level, and she stared into Kushina's eyes.
"Then stealing that life would be fun, wouldn't it?"
"Wh-what are…?!"
"Killing you would be too easy. So We shall give you a choice.… You seem to be too ignorant for your position," Naru said, before switching her grip on Kushina, holding on to her under her arm like one would a barrel.
Then, she called out to her comrades that had come in with her… the other heroes.
"We're going back, Pasta Nose. We've got what we came for."
"How many times have I told you to stop calling me thaaaaat?!"
"Bringing back home already…? Weren't we going to bear witness to the Goddess?"
"Oh, yeah. That isn't necessary anymore, Jenny. This one will have all the information we want."
Naru started walking, and Jenny in her full mecha-like battlesuit, Neo in her colorful pink gear, (who's still annoyed at being called Pasta Nose), and Erza in her knightly armor, If one looked closer, they could see that Erza was also carrying Juvia along on her back, who was unconscious. It was clear to see that they hadn't come this far unscathed. They'd probably been hit by the gate guard's Brachium.
"P-please wait! Just where are you going to take me?!"
"We told you already that you are far too ignorant. First, We will show you the world."
That was how Kushina left the sanctuary for the first time and got a look at the world below. It was a world that should have been overflowing with the Goddess's love, even though they were suffering through her trials. But Kushina was forced to realize that that wasn't the case at all. She saw the world as it was with her own eyes. People were being attacked by the grimmfolk. There were crying children who had lost their parents and similarly wailing mothers who had lost their children.
The world wasn't a paradise by any stretch. It was replete with fear and despair.
That was when a crack appeared in Kushina's supposedly absolute faith in her Goddess.