Eren was stunned after hearing about the origins of the Anfang Alliance.
He had assumed that the Anfang Alliance was formed to restrict half-bloods throughout Anfang. But it seemed that things were much more complicated than that.
Nira Nightshade allowed Eren to process what she had said up to this point. She only spoke when he looked at her, intending to learn more.
"The Anfang Alliance was formed to prevent otherworlders from harming the land of Anfang. Its sole objective was to eliminate any foreign threat too big to be tackled by any single establishment from the land of Anfang.
The Anfang Alliance consisted of almost all the Anfang organizations active at that time. The cultists of that time also joined hands by participating in the Anfang Alliance.
Various opposing forces were forced to work together under one umbrella. The alliance became the single dominant organization among the denizens of Anfang as a result.
The establishments cooperated wholeheartedly with the Anfang Alliance. They all did all they could to strengthen the alliance financially and otherwise. After all, they needed to get rid of the common enemy first before they settled their disputes with each other.
Such was the threat of the intruders that roamed these lands. The foundation of the Anfang Alliance was set so perfectly that it still stands today despite its checkered past."
Eren started remembering Eliza's words as he listened to Nira Nightshade's speech. It seemed that the Witch of the Enderflames hated the Anfang Alliance to her core. He pondered a bit before asking her the next question in a careful manner.
"The cultists that joined the Anfang Alliance… did it consist of half-bloods as well?"
Nira Nightshade looked at Eren carefully when he asked her the question. She narrowed her eyes at him as she spoke.
"So you are not that uninitiated after all. I wonder what kind of half-blood you are. Your bloodline energy feels… different."
Nira watched Eren's expressions as she spoke. The latter's face was devoid of any expressions, indicating that he did not know about his own origins. Things like these were common among half-blood children raised outside their supposed safe haven. So she dropped the matter before speaking further.
"That's right.
The half-blood clans that were present in the land of Anfang joined the Anfang Alliance as well. In fact, they were the most prominent fighting force in the alliance.
At first, their presence was not welcomed by the other establishments. However, the half-bloods proved with their might that the alliance would not be able to achieve what it was supposed to do if it excluded them."
Eren nodded at Nira before asking her another question.
"Was the conflict between the half-bloods and establishments a common thing at that time?"
Nira shook her head in denial before answering his question in an in-depth manner.
"Not really.
Even before the invasion, the half-blood clans were not completely opposed to the establishments. They just weren't used to bending to the establishments' will.
The half-blood clans just wanted autonomy so they could live their lives without the establishments' influence over them. They only clashed with the establishments when provoked and did not try to escalate the matter any further than they needed to.
Various half-blood clans had their own estates that were isolated. As a result, the half-bloods remained a mystery for the common populace and the establishments of Anfang even after living with them for so long.
All of this was before Vulcan's major fuck-up.
However, the half-bloods decided to come out of the shroud of mystery after recognizing the threat of the intruders. The rankers learned the true might of the half-bloods when they did that.
It was sufficient to say that the common populace of Anfang was assured and afraid of the half-bloods' presence at the same time. It was assured that half-bloods could hold their own against foreign invaders. And it was afraid because of their overwhelming battle potential."
Eren started understanding what might have happened in the past after the otherworlders' intrusion began taking place. His talks with Sirius Fenris also started making sense in his head. Eliza's hatred for the Anfang Alliance also seemed to make sense.
Still, the butcher wanted to learn more about the past before he could draw a final conclusion in his head. He remained silent and let Nira Nightshade speak further.
"The God Vulcan lost interest in the land of Anfang when it failed to produce the quality and quantity of the fragments of World Will's consciousness he needed. Plus, the turmoil caused by the invaders made it difficult to spread the faith and influence of the gods.
Then there were adverse effects of using sacrificial energy to give birth to Spirit Beasts. This world suffered and that suffering resulted in natural calamities.
Hehe. You know what the God Vulcan did when he faced such a nuisance in Anfang?"
Nira chuckled mirthlessly before speaking further.
"That damn god just abandoned his followers on the land of Anfang after causing such terrible turmoil. As his followers prayed, he remained silent.
The other gods also lost interest in the land of Anfang at the same time. It seemed that Anfang was not the first world that the gods had ruined with their experiments. The blessings that they had provided to their followers stopped working, rendering them less powerful than even the most ordinary rankers of their generation.
However, the demonic forces that were supposed to oppose the followers of the gods were busy battling foreign invaders. As a result, the absence of the gods' blessings did not make matters particularly worse.
The common populace also lost interest in worshipping gods when it felt abandoned. Establishments that had accepted particular faiths also stopped worshipping gods.
When they were forsaken by the gods, the entities of Anfang chose to stand on their own two feet. They chose to deal with the mess they were in their own way, not expecting any divine help in their endeavors anymore.
Looking back, we can say that it was the wisest decision the denizens of Anfang had made together."
Eren flashed a grin at Nira Nightshade as he understood something.
"So this is the story behind why the continent of Anfang is called the land of the faithless."
