Half Elves were an abomination to Elves.
Every Elf learned this from the day they were born, along with the fact that a pure Elf had immense value just for being birthed into the world.
Every Elf had to hold repulsion towards a Half Elf due to the disgusting event that would have led to their conception.
… An Elf was bred with another race.
It was too filthy to think about, so most Elves felt it was taboo to even talk about that act.
Elves were pure and unsullied—perfect beings crafted by nature to inherit the world and responsibly take care of life on it.
They were the chosen ones of the world—a higher life form.
It was filthy to breed with anyone who wasn't an Elf. It was no different from a man having intercourse with an animal.
Such an act of depravity was not only frowned upon by society, but was criminalized.
People should never have intercourse with beasts.
As such, any Half Elf that existed was proof that what shouldn't happen had occured somehow.
But… the fault was not with the Elves.No sane Elf would even think of sleeping with a human; not when they couldn't stand their race.
For one, humans had a foul stench.
Elves secreted sweet-smelling aromas from their bodies, just from existing. They were servants of nature, so this was to be expected. The greater an Elf's potential, the sweeter the aroma, and the stronger an Elf was, the more intense it was.
But humans not only didn't have this sweet aroma, but theirs was somehow the inverse case for Elves who met them. A human's potential was incredibly low, so rather than having a sweet smell, they stank.
They stank so much!
Apart from their smell, they were ugly.
Compared to the incredibly beautiful people of the Elven Race, humans were not very attractive.
Even the most handsome human would only come across as passable to an Elf.
Adding to all of these factors, humans were also incredibly dubious and untrustworthy. They were selfish, greedy, backstabbers, and a bunch of other things.
They were brutes, and in short, completely unappealing to an Elf.
In essence, no Elf would ever desire a man. In the case of Half Elves, the opposite had to have happened.
Humans desired Elves so much that they forced themselves on them—hence, birthing the monstrosity that was a Half Elf.
Merely looking at a Half Elf could make any Elf vomit.
Some Half Elves took on more qualities from humans, while others resembled Elves, but one thing was for sure.
Any Elf could spot an Half Elf just by looking at them.
No one needed to tell them what it was, the same way no one had to tell a human that he was looking at feces.
They could just spot it and get naturally disgusted by it.
Elves couldn't help their gag reflexes, and they certainly couldn't help their dislike for the freaks of nature that was the Half Elves.
Halfs weren't brethren to them. They shouldn't exist at all, and in order to restore nature to its proper path, the only just thing to do would be to erase them.
Yes… erase them entirely.
That way, Nature could be appeased and the world could return to its rightful state.
*************
'This human… he doesn't stink.' Aurora looked at Ralyks.
No, it wasn't just him.
The other human also didn't stink, for some reason.
Yet, they both passed entirely as humans. How was that possible?
'Well, it doesn't matter.' Aurora leaked out a sigh a she looked ahead and narrowed her gaze on the masked man.
'I've captured him. We'll take all of them and investigate the origins of the abomination before putting her out of her misery.'
"What are you thinking about right now?" A voice suddenly emerged from behind the dark mask.
'H-huh…?'
It surprised Aurora, causing her to take a step back almost instinctively.
"Surely, you don't think this much will be enough to stop me, do you?" Aurora's eyes widened as she head the words of Ralyks.
'H-how is this possible?!'
Her [Nature Magic] was S-Tier, and this particular Spell of hers was her go-to when it came to this Skill.
It had a wide area of influence, and none could resist it.
"How are you still standing?!" Aurora yelled, both in shock, and a slight hint of fear.
"What a foolish question, though I'm not surprised since it was asked by a foolish woman."
The response caused Aurora to feel a certain sting in her heart. Not just her body, but her pride, had been damaged by this man.
… This mere human!
"Your power is simply too weak."
"Keep quiet, vile human! Be silent and fall into slumber!" Aurora screamed, her Mana erupting so much that the air began to vibrate.
'If this much isn't enough, then…!'
The willow behind her began to extend its multiple branches as they prepared to attack.
'I'll just attack you with Nature!' Her wide grin betrayed the graceful expression that used to play on her face, but she didn't care.
Her younger sisters were safely behind her, so she could go all-
out.
'I'll crush your bones. I'll your body. I'll squish you till you become a bloody mess! As long as I leave you just barely breathing, you won't die!'
With her gleaming teeth exposed, she sent her bulky vines towards the target.
"A fool using a foolish power. You consider your power absolute, failing to realize that there exists something above it…" Ralyks spoke, but Aurora wasn't willing to listen.
"By the time I'm done with you, YOU'LL BE BEGGING FOR DEATH!"
The branches charged towards Ralyks at breakneck speed, easily piercing everything in its path as it neared the targer.
But, Ralyks wasn't done speaking.
"That which exists above the absolute… The Divine."
All of a sudden, almost as if the branches were frozen in time, they halted their charge.
Without exception, they stopped moving.
"W-what? N-no way…!" As Aurora muttered this, shocked by all respects by what she was seeing, the words of Ralyks came once more.
"[Divine Elemental Magic: Sleepy Garden]."