Frieren 21

Title: Fighting the Demon General

The demons, who had initially sneaked into the village from all directions, brazenly revealed themselves after realizing there were two mages in their midst. They no longer bothered to conceal their auras.

Their leader was not a mage but a warrior wielding a massive sword, clad in heavy armor, with two large demon horns protruding from his head.

Suddenly surrounded by a group of demons, Ash and Frieren instantly heightened their alertness twentyfold. Even the elves sleeping in the village sensed their blatant presence, completely unmasked.

“This is bad… Should we just run now?”

Sensing the immense power of the demon warrior before them, Ash was already thinking of ways to escape.

Hearing his words, Frieren turned and glared at him: “This is your fault, isn’t it!?”

“No, I don’t know. It shouldn’t be… right?” It shouldn’t be. After all, Ash had been in the southern countries and had hardly ever encountered demons.

But when it came to causing trouble, an elf’s personality wasn’t likely to do so either. Could humans have hired demons to kill? Or did the demons realize he was too free and didn’t want to join the Demon King, so they wanted to kill him? But how many true demons would willingly join the Demon King?

Ash’s expression, as he tried to recall something, made Frieren immediately suspicious: “It is you, isn’t it?!”

“Huh? It shouldn’t be… right?” Ash himself wasn’t entirely sure.

On the other side, the demon warrior in armor, standing over five meters tall with a blade larger than his body—Demon General Basalt—spoke in a booming voice:

“Human mage… This has nothing to do with you!”

“Huh? Not my problem?” Ash was slightly surprised to hear that.

But Basalt seemed impatient: “His Majesty the Demon King’s orders are to exterminate the elves. Your life doesn’t matter.”

“Is that so? Thanks a lot.” Ash looked at Frieren gleefully and said cheerfully: “See, it’s not me. It’s your problem.”

“…Deserter. If you want to leave, go now. Don’t embarrass yourself here.” Frieren completely ignored him, her eyes fixed intently on Basalt.

“Your words are a bit harsh. Do I look like that kind of person to you?”

“How long have we known each other? How would I know what kind of person you are?”

“But… it’s been two years, hasn’t it?”

“Only two years, right?”

“…Alright, looks like I’m on my own.”

Frieren’s matter-of-fact words made Ash cover his face and turn back to Basalt, the demon general wielding the massive sword.

Basalt also seemed a bit impatient now: “Make up your mind—leave or stay, your choice.”

If he weren’t on a mission and couldn’t afford to waste unnecessary energy, Basalt would have already cut them all down.

“Fine, whatever… I’m not like these cold-hearted elves. I’ve lived here for two years, so I’ve got some attachment.”

“Is that so? Then—kill them!!” A cold glint flashed in Basalt’s eyes. Without hesitation, he raised his massive blade.

The demons around him sprang into action. Some began casting spells, while others swung their swords to attack.

Meanwhile, the awakened villagers nervously grabbed weapons or tried to fight back with magic.

At that moment, Ash drew the military knife he carried and stepped forward: “Leave the big guy to me. Handle the rest yourself.”

“Is that so? Thanks, that’s a big help.” Frieren was slightly surprised but silently raised her hand.

Instantly, beams of colorful light illuminated the entire village.

“Foolish, utterly foolish.” Basalt looked at the young man casually walking toward him, knife in hand. The face behind his mask showed disgust: “A mage wants to fight a warrior with a weapon? Courting death?”

“No, you’ve got it wrong. This is just to make reaping lives easier after casting magic. So I call it ‘Reaper No. 7.’”

“…What’s that?”

“Don’t worry about it. This’ll be over soon.”

“You… are you mocking me?!”

Though Basalt wasn’t particularly renowned among the generals and his strength wasn’t exceptional, he was still a general. Being insulted like this in a village infuriated him.

“Not really. It’s just that—”

“Die!!”

Ash’s casual tone made Basalt unwilling to listen further. Fueled by rage, he raised his massive sword and swung it down.

The giant blade sliced through the air with a hissing sound.

But Ash wasn’t afraid. Ignoring their vast size difference, he swung his knife upward to parry, using all his strength to block the enemy’s attack.

*BAM!*

The two weapons clashed. Sparks flew wildly.

Unable to withstand the immense force, Ash’s body was pushed back. His feet plowed through the ground, carving two trenches several meters long.

“…The transformation worked, but even after turning into a warrior, fighting a monster like this head-on is still unwise.”

To test the high-level demon magic from the Age of Myths, which he called Reaper Mode, Ash grumbled while staring at his hand gripping the military knife.

The skin between his thumb and index finger was bleeding from the vibration.

In this world, the difference between a mage and a warrior lay only in using magic to enhance the body or attack an opponent. So, switching modes should have made him a perfect warrior. But… he still seemed outmatched.

Basalt, however, didn’t understand any of this. Though he instinctively stepped back only half a step, the sight of this made him feel deeply humiliated.

“Lowly human… lowly mage—!!”

With a roar, Basalt unleashed his full strength. His massive sword whipped up a fierce wind, forming an arc as it slashed straight toward Ash’s head, intent on cleaving him in two.

But Ash didn’t dodge. He stomped heavily on the ground.

The earth trembled violently, and purple gravitational lightning spread outward.

The ground within a six-meter radius shattered, as if an invisible, heavy object had crashed down.

The trajectory of the massive sword entering the area shifted, only tearing the corner of Ash’s clothes. The blade struck the ground like a heavy cannon.

*BRRAKK!!!!*

The already weakened ground shattered into pieces.