Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 630: Chapter 629: About the World of Elves and Humans

”Ugh...”

The girl slowly opened her eyes, blankly staring at the ceiling above her.

What on earth had happened?

Feeling a buzzing in her mind, the girl shook her head and then began to carefully recall everything that had transpired... That’s right, she had been training at the DEM base as usual, then an alert for a space quake was issued, and she was deployed. After that, they encountered two elves, and then...

Right! What happened next?

At this point, the girl was suddenly startled and quickly sat up, looking around. However, she soon realized that she was not in the familiar DEM headquarters nor on the streets from before, but in a dark and silent warehouse. Just as the girl was about to stand up and do something, suddenly, a voice spoke up.

”You’re awake?”

”————!”

Upon hearing the voice, the girl was again startled and hurriedly turned around, raising her hands. Quickly, in sync with the girl’s movements, two light blades emerged from the huge suit of battle armor beside her arms, illuminating the originally dim warehouse. But after seeing the scene in front of her clearly, the girl was stunned in her tracks.

Standing before her was a tall man clad in armor, wearing a triangular helmet, holding a black greatsword in one hand and a silver-white dagger in the other, watching her coldly. Behind the man, the girl saw a small-statured girl in a green coat peeking out, casting uneasy glances in her direction.

...Hermit...

Looking at the girl hidden behind the armored man, the girl bit her lip, but for the moment, she did not know what to do. Clearly, from the current situation, it seemed she had been captured by them... But do elves actually take humans captive?

”Don’t be so tense, little girl.”

Seeing the girl in front of him readying her light blades as if facing a formidable enemy, Fang Zheng appeared very calm.

”We just have some questions for you... I advise you not to react so hostilely; it wouldn’t be good to frighten Yoshino.”

”You elves even wish to speak with humans? That’s quite novel.”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s words, the girl hesitated for a moment, but she still lowered her light blades — after all, there were two elves and she was alone. Leaving aside the timid Hermit, the armored man appeared to be a fearsome entity. He had somehow breached her defenses and rendered her unconscious effortlessly. This strength was clearly more terrifying than the other elf’s. Previously, with her whole team, they were annihilated in seconds; now, alone, she couldn’t do much.

”Where are my teammates?”

”They are all safe and have been taken away.”

Fang Zheng casually answered and then looked at the girl again.

”All right, little sister, I have a few questions for you. If you cooperate, then I can assure you that you’ll leave safely.”

”Fine.”

Although the girl was reluctant, she knew that in the current situation, it was best to be flexible.

”What do you want to ask?”

”First off, your name.”

In response to the girl’s question, Fang Zheng raised a finger, and after a moment of silence, the girl replied softly.

”Mana Suginomiya.”

”That’s a nice name.”

Hearing the girl’s answer, Fang Zheng nodded in satisfaction and took a careful look at the girl before him. Initially, he had merely randomly chosen someone, but now it seemed that this girl was quite cute, too. Her androgynous face and lively ponytail were memorable, and the tear mole below her left eye was quite distinctive.

”Then what’s your identity? You’re not just an ordinary girl O, right?”

”I am a member of the DEM society.”

DEM? A string of odd names appeared one after another; it sounded like some sort of company or organization, didn’t it?

”Let’s get back on topic.”

While saying this, Fang Zheng patted the little head of Yoshino nearby.

”What I want to know next is... why are you attacking this child? Did she do anything to you?”

”...”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s question, this time, Mana showed a puzzled expression, frowning as if she didn’t understand what Fang Zheng was talking about.

”What are you talking about? She’s an elf; it’s our mission to eliminate elves!”

”... That’s your reason?”

”Isn’t that reason enough?”

”It’s certainly not enough for me.”

”Swish!”

Before Zhenna could finish speaking, the sharp edge of a blade was already pressed against her neck. Feeling the cold steel, the girl’s body tensed involuntarily.

”Just because she’s an elf? Is that the reason? So you want to annihilate her? Are you saying that as long as it’s not human, you can kill them?”

Fang Zheng’s voice now carried a trace of anger; after all, Zhenna’s answer reminded him of the Cursed Children in the Black World. They were beaten, insulted, and even killed simply because they were Cursed Children. Could it be that different races warranted such wanton violence?

”Mr. Fang Zheng...”

Seeing Fang Zheng suddenly take action startled Yoshino, who quickly reached out to grab his arm.

”I’m okay... please don’t be so angry...”

”You’d better give me a reason I can accept.”

But this time, Fang Zheng did not heed Yoshino’s plea as before and instead glared coldly at the girl in front of him.

”Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what treatment you might receive.”

”...Okay.”

Whether intimidated by the murderous intent emanating from Fang Zheng, or for some other reason, Zhenna ultimately nodded her head.

”If that’s the case... then I’ll start from the beginning.”

As she spoke, Zhenna reached out a hand, and quickly, under her manipulation, a projection screen appeared before Fang Zheng and Yoshino—it seemed that this world also possessed a high level of technological advancement.

”It all started thirty years ago. A catastrophic disaster occurred in the central region of Eurasia, resulting in the death of one hundred and fifty million people...”

As Zhenna spoke, Fang Zheng and Yoshino watched the projection screen show the peaceful land suddenly ripped apart by a massive black hole, expanding swiftly in all directions and swallowing a large expanse of land.

”Since then, similar phenomena have occurred frequently around the world, and we refer to this phenomenon as spatial quakes. According to our investigations, we eventually found the cause of the spatial quakes.”

While speaking, Zhenna looked towards Fang Zheng and Yoshino.

”So you’re saying... that we’re the cause of these disasters?”

”All elves.”

”Then I’d like to ask what exactly is an elf? How do you know that we are elves?”

Fang Zheng glanced at Yoshino, confident that although she might possess extraordinary abilities, her appearance was no different from that of an ordinary girl and bore no distinct marks like those of the Cursed Children.

”Elves are what we call the mysterious beings that exist in the Borderland adjacent to this world.”

And now Zhenna had taken on the role of a professional explainer—perhaps she had given up resisting.

”The reasons why elves appear and their purpose remain a mystery to us. But we know one thing...”

At this point, Zhenna’s gaze again fixed on Fang Zheng.

”...when beings from the Borderland, ’elves,’ appear in this world, they trigger massive explosions and spatial quakes. To protect the human populace from disaster, we organize troops to carry out elf elimination operations.”

”...I see.”

Hearing this, Fang Zheng finally understood Zhenna’s point. Thinking back, when he and Yoshino had appeared, there were indeed signs of explosions centered around them. If Zhenna and others hadn’t arrived by then, that meant... the tragedy at that location had been caused by himself and Yoshino?

Now Fang Zheng had grasped the situation. Although Zhenna’s statements were irritating, if he put himself in their shoes and imagined if Heavenly Dao Palace faced such incidents, he would also certainly try to solve the problem. In fact, through all of this, Yoshino herself was not at fault on a subjective level; she hadn’t intended to hurt anyone or destroy anything. If blame was to be placed... it would be on Shichen.

”Thank you for the explanation.”

Having learned the situation, Fang Zheng no longer harbored any hostility towards Zhenna. He put down his weapon and disengaged from combat readiness.

”Well, we’ve wasted so much time I really am sorry. You are free to leave now.”

”...Can I really go?”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s response, Zhenna showed a surprised expression. She had thought for sure that this elf in front of her would destroy her, but he actually let her go! freewёbnoνel-com

”Of course, we were just unclear about the situation in this world. Thanks to you, we have some understanding now, and you can leave.”

”...What a strange elf.”

Hearing this, Zhenna gave Fang Zheng a look filled with bewilderment.

”But next time, I won’t fail as easily as I did today!”

Having said that, Zhenna turned and left the warehouse. As Fang Zheng watched her diminutive figure disappear on the other side of the door, he sighed and then turned to Yoshino beside him, whose expression was downcast.

It seems, this is really quite the trouble...