--Falling.

　Down, down, down, down.
　No matter what you do, you can't resist the fall.
　It just falls.

　The light overhead has vanished, and now all of my vision is covered by darkness.
　I don't feel warm or cold.
　I'm in genuine darkness.

　I don't know how much I screamed.
　I spit up blood, I spat out my hatred.
　I can't even hear myself scream now.

　--falling.

　Suddenly, the darkness has cleared.
　I squint at the glare.
　The 'world' came into view.

　The sky above was murky, as if gray and purple had mixed together.
　There was no sun, moon, or stars, yet somehow there was light here.
　Looking around as I fell, I could see the forest, the river, and other natural features, albeit in the distance.　

'----'

　When I strained my eyes, I saw an unnatural object in the distance.
　A dull purple, crystalline like object protruded from the ground.
　To be able to see it even from here, it was quite large.

　It was when I tried to stare at it.

'----'

　I heard a voice in my ear.
　The one I heard in my dream.

"----

　It's still hard to hear what they are saying.
　It's not as noisy as it used to be, it's unclear as if the person on the other end is talking in water.

'You're Melt?'

　Even though I didn't know what he was saying, I knew in good time who was talking to me.

'----'

　It was an indistinct voice, but I thought I nodded.
The 'Proof of Bravery' seemed to shine, and then a light enveloped my body.

'What?'

　No reply is returned.
　The next thing you know, you have the feeling that someone who was in your ear is moving away from you.

　Just at the end.

''-- Don't give up.''


　I thought I heard such a voice.


◆


　-- the momentum of the fall knocked him to the ground.

　There was no impact or pain to the extent that I was prepared.
　For some principle, the impact of the fall was not there.

　...... That doesn't matter.

　I have a vague idea of where I am.

　--I'm not going to be able to get it right.

　I've heard the name many times on the journey to this point.
　A paradise that can only be visited by those who have died a satisfying death.
　It's not a very good place to be, looking at the muddy sky and the surroundings.

　I put my hands on the dry ground and slowly stand up.
　I didn't care about the wound I was injured or where I was now.

You betrayed .......

　I look up at the sky.

"You betrayed me, Hardiaaaaah!

　That's the guy who killed Elfie.
　That's what he's been doing in the past.
　He approached us like that, just for the sake of using us.
　And this is what he gets for it.

"I'm going to kill you!　By any means necessary, no matter what the cost!　I will make you pay for everything!　I swear it!

　You're going to regret not killing me right then and there.
　I don't know if you're a god or what, but it doesn't matter.
　I'm going to snap that wing and make him crawl to the ground and regret from the bottom of his heart that he used us.

　And for Elfi's sake.

　So, first of all, I'm going to find a way to return to my world from here.
　That's when I thought about it.

"----

　Before I knew it, I was surrounded.
　They were surrounded by demons.
　...... No, no.

　Demon race, human, sub-human.
　All kinds of species were staring at me with empty eyes.
　But the magic power that can be felt is not normal.
　The magic power emanating from these guys' bodies is cloudy as if they mixed up all sorts of things: human, demon race, subhuman, demon thing, all sorts of things.

　If you look closely, you can see the abnormality from the body as well.
　Some have a human body but have demon arms and a dragon's head attached to it.
　Some have the body of a demon, the right arm of a human, the left arm of a subhuman, and a lump of flesh on the head that cannot be taken as either demon or subhuman.

　That kind of race is not enough to describe it.
　An uncommon existence, where magic power and physical body are mixed together, surrounds the area.

...... What's that, guys?

　What came back was an unintelligent grunt.
　As if that was the signal, the guys rushed in.

''---''

　He draws his sword and welcomes you.
　But.

What?

　The moment I caught the blow, I was blown away.
　I got up and ducked the chase, but I only snatched it and was secretly taken by the flesh of my shoulder.

''Ah, gah!''

　Each and every one of them is too strong.
I use [Heroic Reproduction] to cut down those who come by, but it's as if their momentum doesn't wane.
　They trample their fallen comrades and come at you first.
　Even if you use the demon sword, the momentum doesn't stop.

''Gah!''

　The next thing you know, you can't prevent them from attacking you, and you start to get wounded.
　The wear and tear of the battle with Ortegia and the others is taking a back seat.
　Gradually, the mind-image magic unravels.

''Shit!''

　He tries to escape to the top, but they catch him by the ankles and slam him to the ground.
　He swings his sword while he's down and slashes off their ankles.
　I brush them off as they fall to their feet, but a fist slams into my brain.

　My vision wavers.
　I start to lose strength in my limbs.

''Shit, shit!''

　I swing my sword with all my strength, but they come at me one after another.
　What's going on with these guys?
　Each and every one of them is comparable to the elite of the demon race.
　And there are too many of them.
　I can't deal with them now.

''El .......''

　Shit, I don't know what you're talking about.
　He's gone.
　I can't trust anyone with my back anymore.

　I can't remember the last time I was alone.
　That's the last time I'm fighting alone.

----

　The mind-image magic was completely broken.
　The slow coming attack was parried by a juju sword, but it didn't even buy him any time.

''d*mn it, Shou......''

　Is this where we die?
　Will Hardier use you for good and kill you like a piece of trash in a place like this?

"Elfi--

　I fall down, and they try to jump on me.

Don't--don't give up.

　That voice went through my brain.

----.

　Immediately after, a white flash of light rushed in front of him.
　The people in front of me were swallowed up by the flash of light and their bodies were cut in two.
　The flash of light didn't happen once, but it cut down the people around me over and over again.

''--''

　From behind me, I felt a reaction of dense magical power and reflexively avoided to the side.
　A red lotus flame passed through the place where I was just a moment ago.
　The flames mercilessly engulfed the guys and reduced them to ashes.
　The flames grew in size with each passing moment, scorching the entire surrounding area and everyone around it without a trace.

''Hey!　Didn't he just try to kill you?

　I heard a voice.

"Yes, sir. What's the point of being here if you're going to die now?

　It was the voice of a man and a woman.

I wouldn't be here if it was possible to kill them in the first place.

　Flashes of light and flames rushing through the air.
　The number of those who were there dwindled in the blink of an eye.
　Eventually, as if realizing their disadvantage, they disappeared like a receding wave.

　I look up.
　On a nearby cliff, there were two shadows.

　One was a man with red hair.
　He wore a black robe and held a large staff in his hand.

　One was a blonde woman.
　She covered her body with a white cloth and held a sword in her hand.

It's a very good idea to get up," he said. How long will you continue to play the cowardly game? Have you already lost your mind?

Please stand up. We're not defeated yet.

　A voice that is angry and a voice that is about to burst into tears.

'Let me use you to kill that f*cking god, Amatsu.

　Leusas Gilburn spat that out.

Come on, Iori-san. --Let the counterattack begin.

　Lucifina Emilior said, smiling.