--I'll conclude.

　Elfiszak Gildegarde has no chance of winning.
　This is because there is an insurmountable wall between her and Ortegia Van Zarefeld.
　No matter how one scrambles, it can be said that it is impossible for the current Elfiszak to overthrow Ortegia.

　The strength of Elfiszak lies in its overwhelming amount of magical power.
　Naturally, her incomparable physical strength in comparison to ordinary demons also makes her a powerful person.
　But even more than that, she was able to become a demon king because she had the magical eyes, magical arms and magical legs to release her overwhelming magical power directly into the outside world as a destructive force.

　The magic furnace - in the current state of losing her heart, Elfiszak's attack power has been halved.
　With that half-reduced attack power, no matter what, it is impossible to surpass Ortegia's attack and penetrate its defense.

''--"Demon Arm, Break Breakaway!"

　Five huge claws, similar to those of the dragon species, appear from Elfiszak's toes.
　A total of ten demon claws, left and right together, are swung down mercilessly at Ortegia.

''I thought you were a wise woman, except for one point where you desire to live in harmony with other races.

　In contrast, Ortegia's actions are simple.
　He pointed the great sword in his grip upwards and slashed upwards.
　With just that, the ten demon claws were shattered into pieces.

''Have you become dumbfounded in the past thirty years?''

　Ortegia caught up with Elfiszak in one breath as he tried to escape from the pause with his demon legs.
　Then he slammed a powerful kick towards the defenseless abdomen.

''-- Or did your eyes glaze over with hatred?
Ha, ha.

　A toe in the abdomen knocked Elfiszak to the ground, bouncing off the wall.
　With blood vomiting and unable to breathe, Elfiszak scattered ashlar bombs that filled his field of vision.
　It's a good thing that you're able to get the most out of this one.

'What is the meaning of your actions now? You can't even get close enough to fight in close combat, and you just scatter your demon eyes without a care in the world. You are too reckless to overthrow me and too forward to buy time.

　Elfiszak doesn't answer the quizzical Ortegia, and manages to stand up with his hands on the ground.
　The entire body was cut up by the slash that couldn't be prevented, and now there are fewer parts that aren't bleeding.
　Compared to Ortegia, who is unharmed and hasn't even found her breath, she is now breathless.
　The difference in strength was obvious, and it was obvious that he had no chance of victory.

　And Amatsuki Iori couldn't make it to this place in time.
　It's a good thing that the "Ame" Lefties are currently firing magic from outside the castle.
　It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get a good deal more than you're used to.
　It will still take a while to reach this place.

　That 'a while' was enough time for Elfiszak to be defeated.

　Every magic eye is slashed down under a single sword.
　Every demon arm fails to break through the armor of magic power.
　Every demon leg would be stopped the moment it stepped into the interval.

　The cause of all this was the great sword wielded by Ortegia.
　It is a different kind of sword from the delicacy of Iori's "soft swords" and the techniques of the "demon sword".
　It's the sword of the beast, the one that is only there to cut down the opponent.

----!

　Elphiszak's eyes glowed, and the light emitted covered Ortegia's vision.
　A series of oversized ashlar bombs were released in succession.
　Ortegia didn't rely on her vision, and cut off both sides of the ash bombs with her eyes closed.

"--Foolish!

　There was a dull thud, a dull sound.
　Elfiszak, who had been behind Ortegia in the ashlar blast, was pierced in the abdomen by the great sword.

''Ka, fu.''
...... stupid.

　Without even looking back, Ortegia repeated once more.

'Shut up, le......!

　With his abdomen pierced, Elfiszak slammed his fist into the back of Ortegia's head.
　It wasn't much power, and it was a fragile fist that didn't need to activate his armor to prevent it.
　Wordlessly, Ortegia flowed magic power into the great sword in her grip.
　A powerful wave of magical power exploded inside Elfiszak's body through the blade.

''----.''

　With a large hole in his upper body, Elfiszak rolls on the ground without power.
　His arms are in a heap, and his legs are bent in a different direction.
　The magic power is not yet exhausted, but Elfiszak is too wounded to recover.

''...... Did you really challenge me with your ineptitude?''

　Ortegia asks quietly to Elfiszak, who is leaning against the wall and spitting out blood.
　Elfiszak does not answer.
　Only, there is an unspeakable flame of hatred floating in his twin eyes.

''If that's the case, then I'm disappointed in you, Elfiszak. You are the only demon I have ever met that can compare to me. And this is the end of it.
............

　Ortegia slightly lowered her eyes at Elfiszak, who stared at her silently.

I'm sure that if I let you go unchecked, you will surely become an obstacle to me. Therefore, I will erase it here. I've been building up my magic for thirty years, and it could kill you. If I could resurrect, that would be thousands of years later. This is the end of the war between you and I.

............

Do you have any last words?

　Ortegia asked quietly, before pointing at the tome.
　Elfiszak did not answer.

'...... I see.'

　After meditating on the figure and exhaling.

'--Farewell. Elfiszak Guildegard.

　The blow that killed Elfiszak Guildegard was unleashed.

◆

　--Let's talk about Elfiszak.

　She had no blood family.
　Whether she was abandoned by her parents or lost them in the war, I don't know.
　Ever since she can remember, she's been living in a village under the protection of the Demon King's army.

''Kill the humans, kill the sub-humans. The demon race is the most superior race.''

　All the adults living in the village, including his father and mother who were raising him, had said so.
　Since it was during the war, they had been diligently educated to enlist in the Demon King's army.
　With that, the children of the village had no doubt that it was true.

　With the exception of Elfiszak.

　The demon race has higher physical strength than humans.
　They also have a high degree of magical aptitude, and in terms of combat, they are probably superior to humans and subhumans.
　But can we really say that they are superior to other races with that much?

　Everyone (・・・・・・・・・・), including adults, is inferior (・・・・・・・・・) to me, a child (・・・・・・・・・・).

　Even looking at the demon warrior who has trained for decades, Elfiszak can only be considered "weak".
　That's probably true.
　It's because her body contains a "demon" that no other person has.

　It's better to shoot the magic eye than to take the time to shoot it.
　If you want to get in close, it's better to strike them down with your magic arm.
　If you're trying to close the gap between you and them, it's better to approach them with your Demon Legs.

　Looking at them, who were vastly inferior to him, Elfiszak was skeptical of the adults' words.

　In the first place, if only the demon race was superior, then the war would proceed more to the advantage of the demon king's army.
　Nowadays, the magic, tools, and tactics used by the humans have put the demon king's army at a slight disadvantage.
　Isn't it wrong to think that they are inferior because they are human and superior because they are demons?

　That doubt grew.
　Both the adults who shouted that the demon race was superior, and the children who didn't doubt that they believed it, seemed terribly ridiculous.

　And gradually, Elfiszak's doubts shifted elsewhere.
　That is, about the existence of oneself.

　A demon race boasts of its physical strength - that of itself surpasses even adults.
　The human boast of their magic--your own surpasses even the sorcerer.
　Subhuman pride in their singularity--your own is superior to even the warriors.

　What is it that makes you different from everyone else?
　Why am I the only one who is superior and different from the others?
　What is the purpose of being born with this special power?

　I will never find the answers to these questions if I stay in this village.

'I'm going to leave the village and go around and see what the world is all about.

　Elfiszak skimmed the 'disguise bracelet' that was stored in the village, which changed his appearance into that of a person, and ran out of the village.

◆

　As soon as he walked out of the village, he knew that he was still superior.
　Several times, he had to fight with stray demons and humans who were attacking the Demon King's territory, but in all of those battles, Elfiszak didn't struggle.
　It was only a matter of shooting the demon eye before the enemy got close enough to end the battle, so it was only natural.

　Without any knowledge of what the poison was, or what the edible parts were, Elfiszak ate the flesh of the nuts and beasts.
　Naturally, it tasted bad.
　It didn't suit his taste buds to the point that eating was a painful experience.
　The food served in the village was simple and tasteless, but after all, eating is only an act of nourishment.
　The next thing I thought after leaving the village was this.

　Wandering around the Demon King's territory with a blah blah blah, I went to see other villages and towns.
　However, it was unlikely that I would find the answers I was seeking no matter where I looked.
　It was a while after walking in the northeast direction with no destination to go to.

　For the first time, Elfiszak encountered a struggling opponent.
　It is said to belong to the Church State, the Cathedral Knights.
I could have fooled them with the 'disguise bracelets', but I made the mistake of approaching them out of curiosity.

　It's not just a matter of time before you get your hands on it.
　They were unafraid to come at you, trying to blow you away with their demon eyes.
　At the end of the day, the one called "captain" ended up coming out.

　I'm not sure how many times I've had to run away in disgust, but they'll always be chasing me.
　I didn't feel my life was in danger, but it was a pain in the ass.
　I'm sure you'll be able to get away with it after breaking the nasty witchcraft of mental image magic and somehow managing to escape to a large valley.

It was ...... persistent.

　Elfiszak let out a sigh and ate a suitable nut.
　Up to this point, he had always been in battle with any human he encountered without using the 'disguise bracelets'.

''Demons and humans are no different.

　They hate and kill each other.
　The mere fact that they are humans or demons is enough to make them a target for slaughter.
　That's already the norm in this world.

　But why is this situation the norm?
　Why do they hate each other and fight each other?
　Is it because they are trying to prove each other's superiority by the results of their battles?
　However, looking at their fighting form, it seemed to be caused by something else more.

　Elfiszak was lost in thought with a scowl on his face, when he suddenly came to himself.
　The next thing you know, you'll find yourself in front of Nanika.

----

　It was a dark monster.
　It had an oval-shaped body with four legs sprouting from it.
　There are no eyes on what appears to be a face, only a hole that appears to be a mouth.

　It is different from any other monster Elfiszak knows.

'----'

　At the same time as Elfiszak gasped, a monster attacked him.　
　He kicked the ground with his four legs and reflexively slammed his magic eye into the monster that leapt at him.

''Nah.''

　Even though the ashlar blast hit it, the monster did not stop moving.
　It was close in front of Elfiszak's eyes as it scattered something like black mud.
　He tried to intercept it with his magic arm, but the monster was faster than him.

''--Ah, but...''

　Two of the monster's legs pierced Elfiszak.
　One pierced his left eye and the other gouged his abdomen.

'----'

　The monster's arm pulses with a jittery pulse, taking the flesh and blood of Elfiszak into its body.
　If this isn't enough, he opens his mouth wide and the monster bites at him.
　At that moment, Elfiszak slammed the ashlar blast into the face of the monster.

''U, ah.''

　Caught in a close-range explosion, Elfiszak flew through the air.
　What lay ahead was a deep valley.
　Unable to even move from the pain of having his body gutted, Elfiszak fell to the bottom of the valley.

　-- This was Elfiszak's first defeat.