[Demon Race]

“Heya~! Nice to meet you~!”

“N-nice to meet you too…”

The girl called out to us in a cheerful voice, and Elma greeted her back.

The girl looked to be in her mid to late teens.

She was a cute girl with an innocent smile.

However, the sight of her brought the other girls, including myself, a sense of wariness.

In this remote mountain graveyard, they showed up as if they had been looking for us, and mentioned the word ‘Creator’.

That being the case, in all probability, they were Elysium’s subordinates.

Well, it seemed Elma didn’t realize it, however…

Right then.

“You two… What has he done to you…!?” Phinis widened her eyes, seemingly shocked.

“Hmm?” The girl tilted her head, before looking back at the man behind her while pointing at Phinis-sama and saying.

The man’s complexion, who seemed to be in his mid-20s, was like that of a dead person.

“Hey, Yomi. That white person, was there someone like her among the saintesses?”

“No, she is in all likelihood ‘Goddess Phinis’.”

“Huh!? Didn’t Goddess Phinis die already!?”

As the girl made an expressively surprised expression, the man called ‘Yomi’ stated expressionlessly. “She should have. But it appears that she’s been saved by the man mentioned by Lord ‘Creator’. Which means that the name ‘Savior’ is not just for show.”

“Oh, the Savior is amazing!”

I felt slightly conflicted upon seeing the girl genuinely impressed.

How do I put it? Dealing with the type of people with unapparent hostility was something that pricked my conscience the most.

Well, that was most likely the reason why she was sent over, though…

“Answer me… what has that demi-human done to you…!?”

In the meantime, Phinis-sama asked them with a strong tone.

To which, Yomi expressionlessly replied, “Oh, speaking of, you were once our creator as well, Goddess Phinis,” before continuing, “Lord Creator created us ‘demon race’ from the monsters you created. That is all.”

『—!?』

A new race created from monsters…!?

“What… did you say…!?” Phinis-sama staggered back in a daze. I felt like her voice contained not only shock, but also a slight bit of anger.

“What are you shocked about? Our Lord has completely fed up with not only humans but also demi-humans, who cooperate with them. Therefore, he decided to create a new race, one that is superior to both humans and demi-humans, and will carry out his wish to eliminate them. That’s how we ‘demons’ came to be.”

“Ha, despite all those big words, why do ya look like a human? We can set ya aside cuz yer mug looks every bit like a corpse, but that little lady can’t be anythin’ but a human to me. Is that how much your Lord loves humans? Hmm?” Ophir provoked sarcastically.

“Ah, sorry. I may look like this, but I’m actually a ‘male’, you know~.”

『……Huh?』

We were all stunned by the bombshell.

I mean, for a male to be so cute…

Elysium, just what are you into…? I wondered to myself when Yomi said in a provocative tone. “How foolish of you, red-haired saintess.”

“Ha?”

“It is true that our outward appearance is very similar to that of humans. However, our bodies surpass those of demi-humans in terms of toughness, our magical power is endless because we originated from ‘filth’, and we have even acquired the highest tier of Magic Arts—‘Grand’. This form is simply the most suitable for us to wield all of those powers.”

“O-oh, ‘s that so…?”

“No, why are you making such a weak response…?”

Upon receiving Magmell’s exasperated gaze, Ophir stammered, “I-I mean…” and pointed at Yomi, justifying herself, “That guy said all those complicated stuff so quickly, so I…”

“…Haah.” Magmell sighed.

A smile formed on my face upon watching their interaction, and I posed a question to Yomi and the girl, “To sum things up, you came here to try out your superior power, am I right?”

“Correct. Without further ado, allow me to be your opponent. –Patty, pick whomever you like. You have the permission to kill.”

“Okey, dokey♪ Now let’s see… alright, I choose you!”

“…Huh? Huuh!?”  Elma, being picked out, naturally raised her voice in shock.

Patty—the beautiful boy whom I honestly thought was a beautiful girl—then said with a wide smile, “After all, you were the only one who greeted me back before.”

“Ehh…

“That’s the reason…?” Elma seemed about to faint at any moment.