Published: January 24, 2026
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"Humans are creatures unworthy of life. To eliminate such vermin from this world, lend me your power, Philly (……)."
— Ah, this dream again...
In my childhood, I lived quietly with my mother in a forest a little outside the town, a place where no one dared to come.
Everyone regarded us with fear and awe.
My mother repeatedly warned me never to approach the town.
But after losing my mother at a young age, wanting to fill that sadness, I broke her rule and went to the town.
What awaited me was a storm of curses from the townsfolk.
"Don't come here, demon! Do you intend to make us obey your every whim!?"
"N-No...! I'm not a demon. I just want to get along with everyone...!"
"Can you be trusted? Your grandmother and mother were like that too, weren't they!? You must be the same!"
"That's not true! If grandma and mother were controlling the townsfolk, then why are they hostile to us? Isn't it because they're not being controlled!?"
"Ugh... S-Shut up, shut up!"
"Hey, don't talk any further! You'll be controlled!"
I desperately tried to convey that I was harmless, but the townsfolk refused to listen.
"...Why... I'm human... I'm not a demon..."
No one heard my lament, no one shared my sorrow.
â—†
Some time after that—
The townsfolk came to my house armed.
"You demon! How dare you... how dare you kill the mayor!"
As soon as they entered my home, a man shouted and punched me.
Later, I heard that the mayor had been killed by someone the day before they came.
They assumed I was the murderer and rushed in.
It was an utterly unreasonable accusation.
At that time, I was beaten and kicked mercilessly without understanding why.
I truly thought I might die then.
At the same time, I also thought:
— You people are the real demons.
You violently attack based on your assumptions and never question that it’s right.
And the majority of this group only follows the leader, possessing such weak will that calling them humans is an insult—they are merely beasts.
Both the humans who stir up beasts for their benefit, and the beasts without will, are equally vermin as the voices (……) that speak to me regularly say.
After getting through that ordeal, I wandered around various places.
I saw and heard many things.
And the conclusion I drew was that humans are irredeemable creatures — including myself.
That is why I answered the calling (……).
To bring about the extinction of humans—
â—‡
I was apparently dozing off, warmed by a gentle breeze entering the room, gazing out over the KyokutĹŤ cityscape from a room in the Asagiri household.
The sound of approaching footsteps awakened me.
"Ph-Philly-sama! It's urgent!"
Turning to where the voice came from, I saw a girl wearing a shrine maiden outfit, her jet-black hair swaying, looking distressed.
Her name was Nagisa Asagiri.
Though only fifteen, she was the current head of the family governing KyokutĹŤ.
In addition, she held the fifth seat in the Cyclamen cult and was given the alias "Undead Spirit" by Belia.
"Why are you in such a panic? You received a message from the Rakshasa, didn't you?"
We had arranged to teleport to another location in Tsutolairu timed with Stig and the others.
Nagisa was the one relaying communications between Stig and us.
I thought she came because it was about time Stig would contact her, but her attitude seemed off.
"W-Well, maybe we should delay the attack on Tsutolairu!"
"That again? This has been decided. Your feelings won’t change it."
"This isn’t about my feelings this time! I do oppose attacking Tsutolairu, but… it’s not that..."
"You're being repetitive. Just say what you need to."
"The Rakshasa’s signal has disappeared!"
I couldn’t believe what I heard from Nagisa.
"……What did you say?"
"I’m not lying! I still detect the presence of Blazing-sama and Thunder Emperor-sama. But the Rakshasa’s presence is gone from everywhere!"
"You're not trying to deceive me?"
I asked Nagisa while using the supernatural ability cognitive alteration.
Words spoken in this state cannot be false.
"I'm not lying! If I’m found out, the people entrusted to me by my sister (…) will be killed! I can’t do such a scary thing!"