“Woo…”

The girl slowly opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling in front of her blankly.

What exactly happened?

Feeling the buzzing sound in her head, the girl shook her head and began to carefully recall everything that had happened before... Oh, she was training in the DEM base as usual, and then received the space earthquake alarm, and then went out. Then they encountered two elves, and then...

Oh right! Then what happened?

Thinking of this, the girl was suddenly startled. She sat up hurriedly and looked around. But soon, the girl found that she was not in the familiar DEM headquarters, nor on the street, but in a dark and silent warehouse. Just when the girl was about to stand up and do something, suddenly, a voice sounded.

"Are you awake?"

“——!”

Hearing this voice, the girl was startled. She turned around and raised her hands. Soon, along with her movements, two light blades emerged from the huge armor beside her arms, illuminating the originally dim warehouse in front of her. After seeing the scene clearly, the girl froze in place.

In front of her stood a tall man wearing armor and a tricorn hat, holding a black sword in one hand and a silver short sword in the other, staring at her coldly. Behind the man, the girl saw a petite girl in a green coat sticking her head out and casting an uneasy look at her.

…Hermit…

Looking at the girl hiding behind the man, the girl bit her lip tightly, but didn't know what to do for a moment. Obviously, from the current point of view, she seemed to be captured by them... But, would the elves capture humans?

"Don't be so nervous, little girl."

Looking at the girl in front of him who was waving the light blade as if facing a great enemy, Fang Zheng seemed very calm.

"We just have something we want to ask you... I advise you not to react in such a hostile way. It would be bad if it scares Yoshino."

"You elves actually want to talk to humans? This is really new."

Hearing Fang Zheng's words, the girl hesitated for a moment, but still put down the light blade - after all, there were two elves, and she was alone. Not to mention the timid Hermit, this man in armor was obviously a terrifying existence. He didn't even know how he penetrated her defense and made her lose consciousness. This power was obviously more terrifying than the other elf. Before, even with the cooperation of the whole team, she was killed instantly by the opponent. Now in this situation, she could not do anything alone.

"Where are my teammates?"

"They are all safe and have been taken away."

Fang Zheng answered casually, then looked at the girl in front of him again.

"Okay, little sister, I have a few questions for you. As long as you cooperate, I promise to let you leave safely."

"……All right."

Although the girl was reluctant to agree, she also knew that in the current situation, being able to bend and stretch was the best strategy.

"What do you want to ask?"

"First, your name."

In response to the girl's question, Fang Zheng raised a finger, and the girl was silent for a moment, then answered in a low voice.

"…Takamiya Mana."

“That’s a nice name.”

Hearing the girl's answer, Fang Zheng nodded in satisfaction, and at the same time he carefully looked at the girl in front of him. At first, Fang Zheng just picked someone at random, but now it seems that this girl is quite cute, with a slightly neutral face and a lively ponytail, which are impressive. The teardrop mole under the girl's left eye is also quite distinctive.

"So what is your identity? You are not an ordinary female O student."

"…I am a member of the DEM Club."

DEM? What a strange name that keeps appearing. Why does it sound like some kind of company?

"Okay, let's get back to the topic."

As he spoke, Fang Zheng patted the little head of Shion beside him.

"The next thing I want to know is... why did you attack this child? Did she do anything?"

“…”

Hearing Fang Zheng's question, this time, Mana showed a confused expression. She frowned, as if she didn't understand what Fang Zheng was talking about.

"What are you talking about? This is an elf. It is our mission to destroy the elves!"

“…Just because of this?”

"Isn't that enough?"

"It's definitely not enough for me."

“Swish!”

Before Mana could finish her words, a sharp sword blade was pressed against Mana's neck. Feeling the cold sword, the girl's body couldn't help but tense up.

"Just because she's an elf? Is that the reason? So you want to destroy her? In other words, as long as she's not a human, you can kill her, right?"

At this moment, Fang Zheng's voice was already filled with anger. After all, Mana's answer reminded him of the cursed children in the dark world. They were beaten, insulted, and even killed simply because they were cursed children. Could it be that, because of their different races, they could do whatever they wanted?

"Mr. Fang Zheng..."

Seeing Fang Zheng suddenly take action, Shion was also frightened. She quickly reached out and grabbed Fang Zheng's arm.

"I, I'm fine... Please don't be so angry..."

"You'd better give me a reason I can accept."

But this time, Fang Zheng did not listen to Yoshino's dissuasion as he did before, but stared coldly at the girl in front of him.

"Otherwise, I can't guarantee how you will be treated."

"……All right."

It was not known whether it was because of the murderous intent in Fang Zheng or some other reason, but Mana finally nodded.

"In that case... then I'll start from the beginning."

As she spoke, Mana stretched out her hand, and soon, under her operation, a projection screen appeared in front of Fang Zheng and Yoshino - it seems that this world also has a very high level of technology.

"It all started thirty years ago. Thirty years ago, a huge disaster occurred in the heart of Eurasia, killing 150 million people..."

As Mana spoke, Fang Zheng and Shiono watched as a huge black round hole suddenly appeared on the originally peaceful land on the screen. It spread in all directions at an almost rapid speed and soon swallowed up a large area of ​​land.

"After that, similar phenomena occurred frequently around the world, and we collectively call this phenomenon spacequake. According to our investigation, we finally found the cause of spacequake."

As he spoke, Shin looked at Fang Zheng and Yoshino.

"So you're saying... we are the cause of this disaster?"

"All the elves."

"Then I want to ask, what exactly are elves? How do you know we are elves?"

Fang Zheng glanced at Shion. He was sure that Shion might have powers beyond that of an ordinary person, but from the outside, she looked just like an ordinary girl, without any obvious signs of a cursed child.

"Elves are our collective name for the mysterious life forms that exist in the neighboring worlds adjacent to this world."

And Mana has now become a full-time commentator - perhaps she has given up resisting.

"As to why the elves appeared, their reasons and the meaning of their existence are still a mystery to us. But we know one thing, that is..."

Having said that, Mana stared at Fang Zheng again.

"...When 'elves' from neighboring realms appear in this world, they will cause huge explosions and spacequakes. In order to prevent humans from being affected by the disaster, we will organize troops to carry out elimination operations against the elves."

"……I see."

Hearing this, Fang Zheng finally understood what Mana meant. Thinking carefully, when he and Yoshino appeared before, there were indeed traces of explosions around them. Mana and the others had not arrived at that time, so that means... the tragic situation there was caused by him and Yoshino?

At this time, Fang Zheng finally understood the situation. Although Mana's words were very unpleasant, if he put himself in her shoes, if his Tiandao Palace also had such things happen every other day, then Fang Zheng would definitely find a way to solve this problem. In fact, during this process, Yoshino herself did not have any subjective faults. She did not intend to hurt anyone or destroy anything. If there was anything wrong... then the one who was wrong was...

Well, it’s still Tokiomi.

"Thank you for your explanation."

Now that he knew the situation, Fang Zheng no longer had any hostility towards Zhen Na. He put down his weapon and stopped fighting.

"Okay, I'm really sorry for wasting so much time. You can leave now."

"…Can I really leave now?"

Hearing Fang Zheng's answer, Mana showed a somewhat surprised expression. She originally thought that the elf in front of her would definitely destroy her, but she didn't expect that he would actually let her go!

"Of course, we just don't know much about the situation in this world. Thanks to you, we have gained some understanding of these things. Now you can leave."

"...What a strange elf."

Hearing this, Mana looked at Fang Zheng with a strange expression.

"But next time, I won't fail as easily as I did today!"

After saying this, Mana turned and left the warehouse. Watching the girl's petite figure disappear on the other side of the door, Fang Zheng sighed and then looked at Yoshino, who had a depressed expression beside him.

It seems that this is really a trouble...