Since then I had come to the hospital room with Princess Liane. Incidentally, senior and Shelly haven't regained consciousness yet, but I heard that it's only a matter of time before they both wake up. In such a situation, Princess Liane seemed to have awakened to consciousness as quickly as possible. 

 

How are you doing? 

''It's okay now. Exhaustion from excessive use of the Special Ability 《Extras》. That's the main symptom I'm experiencing, so I'll be fine as long as I get some rest. So, Belle. Any sign of the two of you? 

'I'm sorry I've completely lost it...' 

'Well that's fine. Since this one was able to get most of the information Claudia had,'' 

　At that moment, Princess Liane took away the other person's information ... strictly speaking, her memory, just by making eye contact. And it's in her brain. Why did Claudia become a traitor? And why did she cause the events to happen the way they did? All of that mystery will be revealed. 

'Well where shall we begin? 

　I pretend to think about it for a bit. Currently, Belle-san and I are at the side of the princess who is raising her body from the bed. I've heard that Belle-san will listen to the information, compile it and then submit it to the upper echelons of the military, but I was also called in. I predicted that this was probably because I, as an existence, was heavily involved in this matter. 

''First of all, regarding me and Yuria-san, I'm a saint and you are.......a demon. However, I am a complete saint. Yuria-san, on the other hand, is a mixture of a human and a demon. Should I call you a half-magician? 

...Oh, I see. 

　Once again, I am made aware of this. After all, this body is not completely human. After all, Claire and I are twins, and we must be exactly the same being. But what does it mean that Princess Liane is a saint? 

'Well, let's get to the point. Why did she betray and need a saint and a half-magician...'' 

　Thus, the truth is told from her mouth.... 

　◇ 

　Freesia Rosenkreuz. Not many people know that name. He lived his life as a researcher in the Boundary City. Why did he become a researcher? It was by accident and he had no passion for anything. He was a smart man. If I had to name a reason, that was it. There was no other way to make a living, so he went straight to being a researcher. 

'....Haha, another lazy day. 

　Freesia muttered that and headed to the research center in the first ward city. It's attached to the military, it's quite large, and research has been flourishing recently. In particular, research on the effects of twilight on humans is being conducted. But that was not what was of interest to him at the moment. 

　Freesia had married his childhood friend and finally had a child. Then it didn't take long for her to give birth, and now the child was two and a half years old. No matter how much she was loved, it wasn't enough. He was completely captivated by his daughter. I wouldn't say that research is unimportant, as expected, but I don't really get into it either. His priority now is to spend time with his wife and child. Or so I thought. 

　If you ask the name of Freesia Rosenkreuz, the answer is a normal researcher. That's all. But he didn't know that. He was the one who would be the one who would leave a huge claw mark on this twilight. 

'Well, I'll be off then. You. 

Yeah, I'll be there. 

'Hmm. She's happy to see you. 

　First Containment City, before the checkpoint. They had said their goodbyes here. They had come to the First Boundary City, their parents' home was in the Third Boundary City for Freesia's convenience. This time they were supposed to move through the twilight to show their children to their two parents. However, Freesia couldn't go because of her work. So they are saying goodbye in front of this checkpoint. 

　And this was exactly how it all started. 

''...Huh?'' 

　He was certainly looking at his wife and daughter. He touched their hands and certainly felt their warmth. But it was too abrupt. Yes ... his wife's body was ripped open vertically. Furthermore, the child she was holding was also cut cleanly into lengthwise slices. After that, the one that appeared was the Scorpion 《Scorpion》. On rare occasions, demons would appear near the Boundary City. That timing was now. It was really just a coincidence. Because he happened to be there, his wife and child were killed and he survived. Blood and guts splattered in front of his eyes. Incomprehensible he gave up all understanding. 

　After that, the anti-magicians who were nearby slaughtered the Scorpion 《Scorpion》 and the matter was over. From the point of view of the anti-magicians, this was not a particularly unusual event. Sometimes sacrifices were made. This time it was Freesia's wife and child. That's all. There was nothing fatal about it. 

　It just happened. 

　That's all I can say. But his wailing could not be limited to that. 

''Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! 

　Gather. Raking. He scrapes up the pieces of the two men that have become mere chunks of flesh. He doesn't care about the blood that sticks to him. I don't care about the blood that smells like iron. I just have to get it back, and fast. He did so, and he scraped up what was once a human but a human is not a puzzle. If the pieces fit together, they don't come back to life. 

　They are dead. By the time he realized that...he had lost his mind. 

''........'' 

　How much time had passed since then? Staring at the calendar, I saw that it had only been a week. The funeral was held in the Third Conclusion City. This kind of thing was commonplace. There would always be casualties in the twilight. I don't even want to count how many casualties there are every year. It was only his turn to do so. Oddly enough, it wasn't himself, but everything he loved.... 

　During the funeral, he did not cry. He just stared at the tombstone in amazement. 

　If you ask him the name of Freesia Rosenkreuz, he will tell you that he is an ordinary researcher. But that changes with this. Most people who have lost a loved one suffer from PTSD or commit suicide. That is a statistically obvious fact. So which one did Freesia become? 

　No. He is a human being who has gone on to the third possibility. And he will be the one who has achieved that result. 

　He will take revenge on the demon race. Thoroughly, he would inflict the same suffering on the demon race that he had been deprived of. What he had in him was hatred. An overwhelming hatred. An emotion that far exceeds the love he had for his wife and daughter. It was a hatred that could rewrite this world........ 

"..... 

　He devoted himself to his research. People around him learned about his situation. That's why he didn't think he would ever come to work again. Nevertheless, he threw himself into his work like a man possessed. Even in his sleep, he continued to stay and study in his lab. 

　How could he confront the demon race and its overwhelming presence? The first thing he thought of was to strengthen his weapons. However, he realized that this was impossible. To begin with, their physical specs were vastly different. 

　That's when a revelation came. 

''The physical specs are different...?'' 

　That's right. Humans are fragile. On the other hand, some demons can regenerate, and they don't die to the extent of popping off their limbs. Their bodies are overwhelmingly stronger than humans. Then.............................There was only one thing to think about. 

''We can evolve a human........'' 

　What he had in mind was a fusion of human and demon race. Of course, there were already humans who tried to carry out such an attempt. But it was never executed. It was more of a technical problem than an ethical one. In the first place, it was considered impossible to combine conflicting species. But Freesia was a genius. He had the most genius mind since this bound city was born. The combination of his brain and hatred would change the situation drastically. 

　He would thus........turn his hand to inhumane experiments. That is not something to be admired. But it would have a profound effect on humanity later on, for better or worse. 

　And a few decades after that idea, his plan would begin to work in a big way.