Your personal Tumblr library awaits
Hey what if Chandler and Cusack saw how much of an abusive piece of shit the DK was and decided that they would do everything in their power to protect Mel and Zel and basically kidnapped them as infants/children to raise them in a loving home somewhere in the human realm or something and half the Holy War was just the DK trying to get his pawns/weapons/sons back while the goddesses blew his constant invasions into the human, giant, and fairy realms out of proportion?
i'm just imagining like the DK reaching out his hands towards Cusak and Chandler and them repeatedly slapping his hands away XD
and of course, without Mel to pick them, the DK has to pick elite warriors themselves. (At least I'm pretty sure Mel is the one who picked them out. If not, I'm going with it anyway.)
The DK is impatient. There's only a few years where kids are impressionable enough to be manipulated easily, and time is slipping through his fingers. The warriors he picks are semi-decent, hastily chosen from strong families. Galand, being the mitochondria powerhouse that he is, makes it to the team. At first, he thinks the DK just wants his kids back, but questions as to why Chandler and Cusak ran away with them in the first place. The two caretakers are also demons, powerful ones, why would they disobey their ruler and creator?
Galand finds out why, when he hears the demon king mutter and pieces it together. And abuse of children, no matter the race, is a huge taboo for demons. Galand tells the other commandments, who have no choice but to believe Galand of Truth and from there the knowledge makes its way to the general folk, slowly turning the entire demon race against their king.
Meanwhile in Stigma, Ludociel conveniently fails to mention that the DK wants his kids back, saying that he wants to invade the fairy kings forest where they're stationed. Many who don't care enough (which is like 99% of them, also due to lack of information) buy it easily. Not Elizabeth. She knows where the DK invades regularly, and it's alway the same place, a village with no conceivable advantage in battle. It's one of the few human settlements still untouched by the war. Curious as to why the demon king of all people would want to take over, she investigates.
She discovers quickly that there are four demonic presences within the village. They were well-hidden, but as a high-ranking goddess (if not the strongest one) she can sense them anyway. They're just two kids and two elders. She figues the demon king would want his people back, but invading over and over, just for two children too young for war, and two doting elderlies? Seems fishy, but there's no way to find out more unless she talks to them.
And another detail: Without Chandler to cast absolute order, and the growing resentment against the demon king among demons, Elizabeths attempts at convincing the demons to turn back and stop the fighting are much more successful!
One who also makes it on the team of the TC is Gowther. He was always close to the royal family, and also saw the abuse second-hand, patching up wounds and bruises with magic and potions. Chandler and Cusak told the elder demon of their plans, and in fact, Gowther was the one to pick out the village they ended up staying in! Knowing that the TC are formed this time solely to get the two princes back, Gowther joins willingly and isn't imprisoned. It's the only way he gets to see the two princes, and he still makes doll Gowther to visit Chandler, Cusak, Mel and Zel under the radar.
And I just read that the DK also invades the other realms. And all I can picture is his gigantic body, only half fitting through the portal entrances (or whatever the different realms have as entrances) and going "Where the FUCK are my pawns I mean children." to whoever hears him and gets the f outta there real fast. Right after, swarms of demons trickle through (bc the DK is blocking like 90% of the entrance) to search the place before being beaten back by the resident warriors. In the case of the goddess realm, one random goddess goes "Bro, do you really think demons would even survive up here?" and DK responds "Do not question my judgement, puny goddess."