"Geez, how could he be so horrible~? Just because everyone said they didn't care, that didn't mean he could use you as an experimental subject without our permission."
Needless to say, the one who complained while casting healing magic on Elma lying on the bed was Patty.
He had carried Elma to the room that had been prepared for her us after taking her out of Tougen's laboratory.
"…I don't see the difference between the two of you," Elma grumbled, turning her back on Patty.
Patty puffed his cheeks and said, "Hmph, don't lump me together with him! I mean, I simply wanted to use your power to stimulate myself to 'grow' stronger!"
"…So you say, but I bet you actually just wanted to harass and make a laughingstock out of me too, didn't you? And you're already plenty strong, anyway. What are you hoping to get from becoming stronger? What, you wanted to be more efficient in killing us, humans, or something?"
"Haah," Patty sighed upon hearing Elma's resentment-filled words, then he said, "Listen here, I can't make Lord Creator happy by harassing you. After all, Lord Creator has zero interest in you."
"…Oh really? My bad. I had no interest in that sour-faced old man, either," Elma openly revealed her dissatisfaction.
"Don't say mean things about Lord Creator…" Patty also seemed to be dissatisfied with Elma.
Midsentence, he paused before resuming as if he was just reminded of something, "I mean, though you said I'm strong, I'm ranked third from the bottom, you know? Besides, I just want to be of help to Lord Creator. I have no particular desire to kill humans."
"…And you want me to believe that? Dream on," said Elma, still facing the wall.
"Mumumu," Patty made an annoyed face, but at that time—
"—Pardon my intrusion. May I take some of your time?"
""!""
All of a sudden, the voice of a man sounded from the entrance, prompting the two to look over at the same time.
Standing there was a man in a hooded cloak that completely covered him from head to toe, over which restraints bound all over his body.
◇ ◇
"All right, I am going to explain what"World of Oblivion"is," said Igniver-sama, thrusting out her plump breasts.
We all perked up our ears.
Actually, I'd like to set off right away, but"World of Oblivion"was the place where Phinis-sama was sealed for a long time.
It was also the home base of the enemy, so we had to go about this very carefully.
"The first thing you need to know is that"World of Oblivion"is divided into three layers," Igniver-sama continued.
"Divided? Are you saying that"World of Oblivion"is not one whole world?" Magmell inquired.
"Hm," Igniver-sama gave a nod, "Exactly. You may imagine it as an upside-down mountain. The lower you go, the narrower the world becomes, and the stronger its pulling force. Hence, from the topmost layer, we respectively call them, "World of Oblivion: White","World of Oblivion: Black", and"World of Oblivion: Judgement". Phinis was sealed in"World of Oblivion: Black", the middle layer. Incidentally, the place where Fluga was banished by the saints previously was"World of Oblivion: White"."
"I see."
Come to think of it, I had heard that Igniver-sama had rescued her with some kind of Combat Art back then.
Meaning that, prior to being deprived of their power, the goddesses could access the"World of Oblivion: White"with their bodies alone.
With that being the case, it would be better to assume that Elysium, who had acquired the power of the genesis god, was lurking in either the "World of Oblivion: Black"or"World of Oblivion: Judgement"below it.
The question was, which was it?
"Um, was the reason why you—I mean, Olgou-sama sealed Phinis-sama in"World of Oblivion: Black"because it was the deepest layer that she could access with her power?" I asked.
"No," Terra-sama shook her head and said, "If we had wanted to, we could have banished her to the bottommost layer, "World of Oblivion: Judgement", but those who have fallen into that place can never climb back out of there ever again. That goes for us, gods, as well. We had sealed her in "World of Oblivion: Black"simply out of compassion. No matter what, she is still our twin, after all."
"I see…"
Even if she had trodden the wrong path, Phinis-sama was still their blood-related sister.
Maybe that was why they couldn't bear to bury her in eternal darkness.
I felt like I could understand their feelings.
Because, I myself had cut my ties with Elma—whom, for what it was worth, was my childhood friend—at one point.
Well, the scale was quite different, though.
"Anyway, it's highly likely that that former demi-human is in "World of Oblivion: Black". Getting there is not difficult, but coming back requires us, gods, to be all present. Which means, the protection of this world would be weakened in the meantime. Is saving that little girl really worth the huge risk it entails?" Turbo-sama directed a sharp look at me, folding her arms.
Without delay, I answered her question, "Yes, of course. After all, she's our precious companion."
『*Nod*』The saintesses all nodded.
Upon seeing that, Turbo-sama suddenly curled her lips into a smile and said, "If so, I won't say anything anymore. Let's hurry up and go help that little girl."
『Yes!』With a big nod, we started prepping to march into"World of Oblivion: Black"— the middle layer of"World of Oblivion"where Elma should be held captive.