Frieren: Understand Humans, Aura!

"No one will be able to pass the new magic level assessment!" declared Aura confidently.

A month after the new assessment system was implemented, a trial run began at the headquarters of the Continental Magic Association in the major city of Kribi.

Being the first magic level test since the association's founding, a large number of mages who had been waiting for the opportunity eagerly signed up, and there were countless participants.

Some even registered for multiple levels of magic tests, from third-class to first-class, in one go.

This should be a fish that slipped through the net when Aura was the chief examiner. This kind of situation often happens to some human mages who have extremely high levels but are isolated from other countries and busy fighting against demons on the border.

These mages, unsure of their exact level, would sign up for multiple levels of tests, starting from the lower ones and moving up to determine their true rank. Some even managed to leap from apprentice mage to first-class mage in one go.

"But that was before. From now on, there will be no more first-class mages," Aura is extremely confident.

"The current level of human mages cannot pass the new first-class mage criteria."

"Someone has passed them all, Aura," Zanze announced as she pushed the door open and walked in, flipping through the information of the new first-class mage in her hand, clearly impressed.

"I misunderstood you, Aura. I thought you designed these difficult assessments to make things hard on purpose, but..."

"Impossible!" Aura cut her off, her face contorting with disbelief.

"What do you mean, impossible?"

"No one will ever qualify as a first-class mage status under my new assessment system!"

Zanze looked at her calmly. "But she scored full marks on all the tests so far."

Aura's eyes widened, her mind racing.

"The final assessment for first-class mage status is an interview with the President of the Magic Association! It's not over yet!"

Aura gritted her teeth. She had just made a bold statement, but the next moment, she was slapped in the face by this mage of unknown origin.

As a great demon, how could she tolerate this?!

As the president of the Continental Magic Association, even if the elf girl Frieren were to take the test, she will make things difficult for her and let Frieren know what the power of authority is!

"Bring her in, Zanze."

Aura sat with a domineering presence in the association's main hall, her eyes filled with a fierce look.

She was determined not to let anyone pass the final interview.

Absolutely no one!

"I'll let Flamme in right away." Zanze responded, turning to leave.

"Who?"

"Flamme," Zanze repeated and confirmed again the name of this quasi-first-class mage who had passed all the previous tests.

She then opened the large stone door and ushered in the woman with long, vibrant orange braids who had been waiting outside for a long time. The woman, Flamme, entered the room with a confident stride, her eyes bright with anticipation.

Crash!

The sudden noise drew Zanze's attention upward. The previously composed President's seat was now conspicuously empty. Except for a piece of torn purple cloth hanging on the ten-meter-high window behind the seat, there was no trace of the president. Aura, who moments ago had been radiating authority, was gone.

In the extremely spacious and deserted palace hall, only Zanze and Flamme stood, staring at each other.

As for Aura

The moment she heard Flamme's name, she escaped through the window.

——

"Huff, huff, huff—"

Aura ran, her breaths heavy and labored, across the vast, quiet, and green plains, stopping only when the blazing sun had her drenched in sweat. Her normally composed demeanor was replaced by a frantic urgency, her usually confident stride now a desperate sprint to escape.

"Hoo, hoo, hoo—"

Gasping for breath, Aura's eyes were filled with emptiness and extreme fear. She leaned forward, hands on her knees, her chest heaving violently as she struggled to regain her composure.

'Why?'

'Why is it her again?'

'No matter where I go, will she always find me?!'

"Flamme, so terrifying..."

Aura's fear of Flamme wasn't just because of her reputation as the strongest human mage in a thousand years but also because of her unhidden hatred and hostility towards demons.

In Aura's opinion, there was still a glimmer of hope with Frieren, who was detached from worldly affairs. Frieren might, perhaps, see beyond racial animosities and understand Aura's unique situation.

Flamme was beyond saving.

This human, whose parents and relatives were killed and devoured by the demons, has become obsessed with hatred for the demons. Unfortunately, she has a high talent for magic and is very sensitive and careful. Even if Aura can hide her mana perfectly, her identity as a demon will be discovered sooner or later if she stays in the same room with her for a long time.

As for killing Flamme preemptively? Sorry, Aura has already tried that.

Each attempt to harm her only resulted in Flamme narrowly escaping, using the crisis to become even stronger. Every attempt to show kindness or confess her true intentions was met with suspicion and hostility, seen as another deception or trick by a demon.

Aura believed that even someone like Serie, who had lived for who knows how long and whose emotions had degenerated to the size of a stone, would react if she knelt on the ground and licked her feet.

But not Flamme.

She would just raise her staff, mercilessly aim it at Aura as she knelt and begged for mercy, pierce her brain, then pull out her horns and make them into a necklace, bracelet or something.

"Flamme, your hair are more terrifying than 100 million demon slayers!!!"

Aura was so frightened that even the flowers and green leaves around her began to feel scared.

"Wait"

Aura suddenly realized, snapping out of her panicked reverie.

"Where am I?"

In her blind rush to escape, Aura had been so focused on putting as much distance as possible between herself and Flamme's terrifying magical perception that she hadn't paid attention to her surroundings. As a demon, Aura's stamina and running speed far surpassed that of ordinary humans. By the time she stopped to catch her breath and assess her situation, she had already run more than ten miles out of Kribi City. 

"I was actually hoping Serie would warn me," Aura muttered, looking around at the expansive, vibrant green grassland that stretched out endlessly in all directions. The landscape was serene and picturesque, a stark contrast to the turmoil churning within her. The sky was a bright blue, with a few fluffy white clouds drifting lazily overhead. In the distance, she could barely make out the silhouette of Kribi City.

"At this distance, even Serie won't be able to sense me." 

Aura couldn't believe it.

She had thought she would never escape Serie's surveillance in her lifetime. Her original plan was to keep fleeing until Serie sensed she was at the edge of her magical detection range, at which point Serie would appear.

Then, Aura could explain her grudge with Flamme or kneel on the ground and ask Serie to protect her because of their years of friendship. She could say it to Serie's face.

But now... she had actually escaped Serie's watchful eyes?!

"No, no, Lady Serie has treated me well and given me the position of president of the Continental Magic Association. How can I, Aura, be so ungrateful and leave without saying goodbye... Hehe."

——It is absolutely impossible for Aura to think like this.

"Heh heh, hahahaha, hahahahaha!!!!" a smile appeared on her lips.

"Damn old hag, you didn't expect that I, Aura, escaped and regained my freedom!"

"Even if you begged me on your knees, I would never go back!!"

"And... obedience magic... I can finally..."

Aura grinned.

Over the past ten years serving under Serie, she had been working on deconstructing and reconstructing obedience magic every single day.

Now, she was confident she could break Frieren's upper hand in obedience magic.

"I'm going to kill Frieren."