This is the story of a magician and an elf girl.

"That's enough... Hartley... I... can't take it anymore..."

"Don't, don't, don't say that! Don't give up! Aren't you already an Elf Goddess? Why is this happening... Why...?"

"After all, it's just... a borrowed identity and power... I... am still my original self in the end..."

"That's not the case! Senpai has always been the goddess we admire in our hearts! She has always been the strong and beautiful Senpai! Such... Such a result..."

Hartley, who was riding on a Pegasus and hugging the elven goddess, had her spirit eroded by the curse of the hellfire at that time, but for some reason the effect did not take away her thoughts and thinking, but instead took away her physical age and elven power.

In any case, the elf goddess, whose body was gradually turning white, still did not see any sign of Hartley leaving in the last moment.

"You can't... deny order... Hartley... you have to accept the peace that the law brings us... but there is a price to pay... no one... will not die... I am already... satisfied... to be your... senior... and protect more people... The only thing I can't let go of... is... your future..."

"Then don't go... don't leave us... stay with us... you have to live..."

"...I'm afraid...this is...impossible...my body...is no longer under my control...and my eyes are gradually losing sight...I...can't really become...a goddess..."

"Why... why... didn't you say that as long as I keep a normal mind and have faith... I will be able to control this power... why...?"

"...Things...are not as simple as you think...Hartley...Becoming a pure goddess...is extremely difficult...You...must make reasonable choices for all lives...and respect the history of the world...If you...still...have a trace of doubt in your heart...or a trace of wanting to protect a life...you are disqualified..."

"How could you possibly do such a thing? I only know that you saved countless people! You saved the future of our elves! You fought the hellhounds till the very end and never gave up! You shouldn't... shouldn't be in such a mess..."

Even though I am like this... sometimes... I still can't accept such rationality... In the end... the tribe... and the others... are all in your hands... Hartley - sooner or later... the girl who inherits the Elf Goddess will appear... The elders said... she is the successor of light... She wears a black cloak and a white dress... She will confront another ray of light... At that time... please... give her my regards...

"Senior...Senior!! Senior——"

The memories of the passing by sank into the bottomless ocean along with the darkness. Harriet remembered the day she lost her. She cried for several weeks. Every time she walked to her grave, she would recall what she said and the world she loved.

I couldn't save everything, I couldn't change her determination, it was me who caused her to be disqualified as a goddess and she lost her life.

The act of wanting to protect a life and the act of wanting to protect a person are two different things.

The definition of life applies to all living things in the world, whether they are intelligent beings or wild creatures, all are life. Therefore, we should respect their living posture, respect their destiny, understand their history and the nature of the food chain. This is a fact that the goddess of elves must accept and the order she must maintain.

If she fails to do so, or suddenly changes her mind midway, her qualifications as a goddess will be immediately revoked.

At the same time, her qualifications as a life will be permanently frozen. She will not even be able to disappear, and she will not even be allowed to think for herself. She will exist in the world all her life, but will not feel any pain or have any unnecessary reactions to the outside world. She will always be a vegetable-like existence.

Hartley didn't want Linnae to become like that.

She didn't want Linnae to follow in her footsteps.

She hoped Linnae would choose another path.

Stop sacrificing your own happiness for that person's happiness.

But they couldn't do it, even if it meant risking their own lives. Compared to his personal happiness, the order of the world was too cheap.

Failure to generate compassion is tantamount to violating the very nature of kindness.

Going against the essence of goodwill is tantamount to abandoning one's respect for others.

Abandoning such thoughts, the only thing she could respect in the end was the cold laws.

If human emotions cannot be protected by the law, Linnae will definitely give up the choice of becoming a goddess.

but now……

"...Now...it's different...I've already lost my senior...I can't watch her kindness being trampled by monsters like you a second time! This time - I'll put an end to it all!!"

The idea of ​​not being eroded by the curse protected Hartley's remaining sanity, and she was also very clear that she had no choice but to turn back. Linnai, who could not become a goddess, would be killed by it. If she could not kill this monster, the fate of the world would also be changed by the magician. For this reason, she must not lose Linnai, the core existence, here.

"Full magic power! Pegasus!! This is our final sprint! Go forward!!!"

“Whee ...

"!"

Hartley, whose whole body was filled with spiritual power, let Pegasus absorb his last remaining strength. As a result, his dazzling wings became even larger, wider and longer, like the feathers of a descending angel floating around the jungle. The Pegasus raised his head and quickly distanced himself from the hellhound, and at the same time descended from the sky at an extremely fast speed.

"Shining - this is the blow that will open up the future for us, the wings that will open up the glorious galaxy!!"

Realizing that Hartley's attack was not a good move, the hellhound gathered all the flames in its body and rushed towards the direction she came from, like a bright and violent vortex of fire rushing straight into the sky.

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

“DRINKAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

“Bang bang bang!!!”

At the moment when the two sides clashed, powerful magic ripples flashed between the two with brighter light. The trees that could not withstand the force were swept away by the air currents and whirlpools. The elves who were watching from below could hardly stand on their legs. They all clung to the backs of the tree elves with their exhausted bodies. Being blown away at this time was no joke.

Although the hellhound has transformed into hellfire, even so, it can be completely destroyed by focusing the attack on one point. Hartley has to try even if there is only a slight chance of winning.

"...Don't underestimate the elves...it's just a monster!!"