true reason people have to show compassion to others is so they don't get killed themselves. But those humans violated that rule, taking those of mixed race just as intelligent as them and butchering them like animals." And that had led directly to this. "A natural conclusion," Vlad whispered softly. "How can you even say something like that?!" the conscript cried back. However, Elisabeth placed a hand atop the man's shoulder to settle him down. There was nothing to be gained from getting worked up about the things Vlad said. Even as she ignored him, though, Elisabeth couldn't help but have a thought cross her mind. 'Tis far too indiscriminate to be neatly written off as retribution. She closed her eyes, then opened them. Now then, what to make of the grisly spectacle laid out before the Torture Princess? Buildings were burning. People were dead. Their corpses lined the streets. And ash rained from the sky. At the moment, Elisabeth and the others were in a nameless, medium-size village. It had been attacked by the rebels, and everyone within had been slaughtered. Originally, it had been just another unremarkable remote village. Its population was on the larger side, and it produced a decent amount of wheat. However, it wasn't linked to any major roads, didn't have any large farms or factories where magic item components were produced, and wasn't home to any rich deposits of ore. Attacking it might earn you a little money but nothing beyond that. By the time news reached the Capital that something had happened there, though, Elisabeth and the others were already too late. The village had been set ablaze, and the slaughter was finished. Because the villagers had chosen to prioritize looking for survivors, the fires in the fields and storehouses yet raged, but the dirty rain would take care of them in time. A charred weather vane creaked as it spun atop a burning roof. And down beneath its watchful gaze sat the villagers' corpses. However, the fire wasn't what had killed them. Their chests had been ripped open, their rib cages smashed, and their hearts extracted all while they were still alive. And the pregnant women's childrenâ€”the aforementioned unborn babiesâ€”were no exception. They, too, had been ripped from their mothers and had their organs savagely extracted, an act so barbaric it called into question the sanity of the perpetrators. However, there was a reason why the horrific acts had been carried out the way they had. After all, of course there was. Neither side had completely descended into madness just yet. In other words, there had to be some reason. At least for the time being. Elisabeth murmured the rebels' original motive aloud. "Revenge for the fact that the Mixed-Race Massacre continued even after Ragnarok, then?" The story began a little while before the three races successfully staved off the end of days. When confronted with the annihilation that was the end of the world, many people lost their minds. As a result of that, they began killing heretics despite the fact that none of their doctrine called on them to do so. It was their attempt at demonstrating their piety toward God and begging for salvation. Because the mixed-race people looked different from them and were close at hand, they made for obvious targets. And the incidents continued even after the end of days was averted. There were myriad reasons why, such as the reconstruction sect pulling strings and people fearing that another calamity was on the horizon. The widespread knowledge of Diablo's confirmed existence also caused a marked increase in people conducting ritual sacrifices. When it came to piety, though, that village fell in one of the former categories. At times, rustic simplicity and zealous devotion can make for an alarming combination. Elisabeth sifted through her memories. There was an incident she could recall from about a year back. A disturbing report had been brought to a church near that village. According to the report, a group of mixed-race vagrants had gone missing one after another in the area around the village she was now standing in. That led to a party of truth seekers being dispatched, but the villagers all seemed like devout people; none of them said anything suspicious, and the group couldn't find proof of any actual wrongdoing. And how could they? The villagers blindly believed that their actions were just and good. There was no reason why any of them would slip up, and there was no way they would leave any evidence. With all the villagers working together, it was nigh impossible for a rural church's investigation to see through their cover-up. And thus, the truth vanished into darkness...or so they thought. "'Twould seem our mixed-race friends caught wind of what they did. One of them must have plied some friendly peddler with booze, and once their tongue slipped, that was that. Given the uniformity with which the villagers were slain, the mixed-race people were no doubt trying to repay like with like." As Elisabeth swept her gaze over the bodies, she narrowed her eyes. The putrid stench of death was strong and traveled well. The truth had been leaked, and revenge had been carried out. Retribution had caught up with sin. Still, the act of butchering not only children but also babies goes beyond the pale. In all likelihood... Perhaps having guessed what Elisabeth was thinking, Vlad let out a quiet soliloquy and voiced the words in her stead. "Gender, age, creed...they didn't have the freedom to weigh such things when determining who they should and should not kill, my precious daughter. Not if they wanted to blindly insist that justice was on their side, like the villagers themselves did back when they were alive. For they knew that when they sobered up from their stupor of blood and pretext, all that awaited them were their own broken souls." In short, such was the nature of the act. He shrugged calmly as he gazed at the grisly spectacle. "Avengers really are a troublesome lot, aren't they? The more righteous a man's motives, the deeper his obsession, the crueler his methods, and the sooner he brings about his own ruin... I can't say I hate it, but it is a little gloomy for my tastes." "Vlad, no one gives half a damn about your opinions. As I just said, if you intend to compose poetry like a jester, then go find yourself a more suitable profession and venue. If you have time to wax poetic, that time would be better spent doing your job." "Oh? And what job might that be, my precious daughter? What is it you would ask of me?" Vlad tilted his head to the side in a feigned display of innocence. As he did, his malevolent smile broadened. Instead of immediately answering him, Elisabeth began walking. The conscript hurriedly followed after her. She was headed to the plaza, where the soldiers were still in the middle of moving the victims. The body count was high, and their work had no end in sight. As such, Elisabeth knew what they needed to do. "That should go without sayingâ€”help carry the bodies." A bird cried out. An eagle cried out. A crow cried out. A calamity cometh. A calamity cometh. To all the people of the land. A few days ago, the world's peace had been shattered once more. The mixed-race people had declared war against the three races. Not only had the rebels' spokesperson Lewis inherited the mixed-race organization's assets, knowledge, and technology, he had also successfully created the Fremd Torturchen, Alice Carroll, and the demon grandchildren. In contrast, the three races' preparations for war were decidedly lacking. After avoiding the end of days, they chose to pour all their resources into the reconstruction efforts. Plus, humanity's repeated battles against demons had left them exhausted. It was hard to find anyone who hadn't lost something important to them. They weren't mentally ready for another war. But revenge waits for no man. The curtain had risen on a new stage, whether the performers wanted it to or not. The conflict had begun. However, no large-scale fighting had broken out yet. At the moment, the big battle they were expecting had yet to come. Even so, the death count was soaring higher by the hour. And the people who were directly slaughtered weren't the only victims. "Where are we putting the bodies we've yet to examine? Ah, I see. Very well... Hmm?" Elisabeth, who'd been transporting the corpse of a middle-aged man, suddenly stopped. She looked up. Over by the plaza's well, a silver-haired woman was talking to a mage from the royal castle. Noticing Elisabeth's gaze, the woman returned it and looked over at her. Her face was beautiful and well proportioned. However, it was also covered in bizarre machinations, and a good half of her cheek was full of spinning cogwheels. Izabella Vicker narrowed her dignified blue and purple eyes and called over to Elisabeth in a solemn tone. "Elisabeth, just the person I was looking for. I have news. Just as you suspected, the water was poisoned." "Sure enough. So that's the cause behind the strange acrid odor I smelled." Elisabeth nodded. She'd first noticed it the moment they arrived at the village. The air was thick with smoke from the burning bodies, but she'd been able to make out a faint irritant amid the other smells. The bitter aroma had already been scattered by the wind, so it was hard to make out, but given the fact she could make it out at all, it must have pervaded the entire area during the time of the attack. Izabella held up two small vials between her fingers. One had water from the well and the other had water from the village's irrigation channel, but both had a layer of viscous green liquid floating at their tops. Izabella grimly gave voice to her mage companion's hypothesis. "It's the same kind as what the underlings emitted during Ragnarok. I never would have imagined that anyone but us got their hands on any, much less analyzed it and managed to reproduce it. Now, fortunately, they weren't able to amplify its strength the way Sir Kaito did. If anything, they diluted it. Even so, any attempts to use this water to fight the fire would have caused a massive cloud of poisonous haze to spread through the town in an instant. That's undoubtedly why we didn't find any traces of the villagers fighting back." "The haze cleared in time, but even then, the poison remained in the well and channels. As always, it seems they've little interest in keeping the land fit for future use. It's as though their goal is merely to dot the human map with unhabitable blots. Between that and the fact that they raid with small groups, set fires, spread poison, kill all they can, and promptly flee..." "That's right. In short...it's the same as the other villages that were hit." With a stern expression on her face, Izabella pointed at the rows of corpses. Elisabeth followed her finger. The first responder combat medics were conducting an inspection of the bodies. Their skill with healing magic was lacking, but they made up for it with their unparalleled knowledge of anatomy. At the moment, they were using gender, age, and any other characteristics they could make out to compare the dead against the village's population register. Given their clouded expressions, Elisabeth could guess at their findings. "Too few corpses to account for the whole town, eh... Again?" "Of course. The ones slaughtered weren't the only victims. Many, such as the village leaders and their families, were abducted. And hoo boy, they're in for some nasty shit! Hell, they'd be better off havin' their hearts ripped clean outta their chests! At least that way they'd die quick!" For how crass the words were, the voice was surprisingly demure. Elisabeth and Izabella turned. A