Frieren 08

Title: A Bitter Victory and Parting

Beneath a sky painted red by the setting sun,

Even though Ash had used his gravity magic, the beast horde was slaughtered when the gravity dissipated, and the strong, young villagers lay scattered across the ground.

However, the elite cavalry, who should have easily massacred the village, was reduced to just three survivors.

The three blood-soaked cavalrymen looked worse for wear, their armor damaged in several places.

“Just a village… how did it come to this…” The captain of the cavalry, the best of the best, Maynard, shook his head, then locked his gaze on Aura, who stood among the elderly, weak, and sick, looking troubled.

Realizing Aura had no combat strength, Maynard gripped his sword and advanced: “You cursed demons!! Die…!!”

“Huu…” A misplaced, easily ignored breath mingled with the suffocating noise of the battlefield.

Ash, whose neck had been pierced by the armor-piercing spike and should have been dead, rose silently.

His swaying figure, hidden for so long waiting for this moment, appeared like a ghost behind Maynard under the glow of the sunset.

He pulled the armor-piercing spike from his neck, causing blood to gush. Without the slightest hesitation, as Maynard sensed something was wrong, Ash drove the spike hard into a gap in the neck of his armor.

“—Gaaaaahhh?!?”

Maynard’s eyes widened, finally filled with fear and despair, but he couldn’t even turn around.

As blood spurted from his neck like a fountain, his body lost strength, and he knelt upright. A whisper, as if from the depths of hell, came from behind:

“…Your understanding of demons, of me, is lacking. A wound like this isn’t enough to kill me.”

“What—?!”

“—C-Captain?!”

The two cavalrymen, intent on killing the demon as a final effort, shouted and turned back.

At that moment, Ash stepped on Maynard’s shoulder, using the leverage to pull out the armor-piercing spike, causing him to collapse helplessly.

“How dare you…!”

“Bastard!!”

The enraged cavalrymen shouted, raising their swords to kill Ash and avenge their captain. But… Ash merely looked at them wordlessly and slightly raised his hand.

An abnormal gravity once again gripped their bodies. The two men, already physically and mentally exhausted, buckled under the weight of their armor and the intensified gravity, kneeling simultaneously.

*PU-CHI!* *PU-CHI!*

After that, it was just repetitive work. Ignoring their screams and pleas, Ash drove the armor-piercing spike into gaps in their armor, and it was over.

After finishing everything simply, Ash sat on the back of one of the cavalrymen, letting out a long sigh in the pool of blood:

“Seriously, why did I have to go this far just to get caught up in a human civil war…”

“But~ this world is pretty interesting, right?” Aura walked out from the crowd, crouching in front of him, resting her chin on her hands and staring at him with a mischievous smile.

“…Maybe.”

Ignoring Aura, Ash looked down at his blood-stained hands. He let his mind drift away from this place.

Today was the first time he had killed humans, but for some reason, he felt no fear or hesitation. He didn’t know if this was due to his demonic instincts or because he had killed so much over the years.

Though the village won, no one could feel happy. A deep sorrow filled the entire village.

Almost every family had lost someone. Yet, they had to steel themselves and, under the village chief’s orders, deal with the bodies on the ground and prepare to sell the cavalry’s armor and weapons in two days.

Ash watched the busy villagers, touched the bandage on his neck, and began thinking about when he should leave.

Aura stood beside him, watching him with an ambiguous smile, playing with the scale in her hand, and said slowly: “What do you think~ if I used my Obedience Magic on you now, what would happen?”

“…Your magic still has a lot of flaws before it’s perfected, right? For example, the strong control the weak, so there’s a high chance you’d end up controlled instead. Are you sure my magic power is depleted?”

“Hmm~ that’s a problem too?” With an innocent smile, Aura swung the scale in her hand, starting to look troubled: “Even though I’ve fixed the control issue, a fair bet like that is pretty disadvantageous for a young demon like me.”

“…Your magic’s weaknesses are too big. You should switch to another type of magic soon.” Pale from blood loss, Ash shook his head and offered advice.

“Thanks for your concern, but if the scale is large, at the same level, I’d never lose~ So, are you jealous?”

“…Say whatever you want.”

Though a pierced neck wasn’t a big deal for a demon unless it was severed, Ash was exhausted and didn’t want to argue with the girl.

So, he stood shakily and walked toward the village, preparing to rest before thinking about the next steps.

Bored, Aura hopped along behind him, chattering endlessly, making Ash feel her annoyingness was increasing.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

After resting briefly in the village, despite the villagers’ pleas to stay, Ash left with food, most of the village’s cash, and the cavalry captain’s sword. He was sent off with reluctant waves from the villagers.

After all, the deaths of the enemy cavalry here would surely be noticed by outsiders. The village would attract a lot of attention, so they couldn’t stay.

Taking all the money might seem cruel, but the remaining cavalry weapons and armor were far more valuable. That was enough to give the villagers funds to rebuild their homes.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Six months later.

As the two passed through the area with a new horde of beasts, driven by curiosity, they came to the village’s edge and found that—the situation here was far different from the prosperity they had imagined.