Frieren: Understand Humans, Aura!

"Put me down."

"No."

"I can walk on my own."

"How can you walk? Your feet are covered with blisters and your legs are shaking. If I ask you to walk, you will probably fainted within a kilometer."

"I'm so hungry and I don't have the energy."

"Who can you blame? Me? It was you who didn't bring any food with you."

"..."

"I've eaten up all the dry food I found, so I can't share it with you."

"..."

On a dirt road trampled by human traffic, two figures, one tall and one short, overlapped.

To be precise, the taller one was only relatively tall. Except for the exaggerated head wrap, her petite frame wasn't much bigger than an average human girl.

Aura carried Flamme step by step toward the human town.

"You're really shameless."

"Ah, thank you."

"I'm insulting you. Why are you thanking me? I should be thanking you."

Eh—

Flamme didn't expect that her last hope would be this weirdo who stole her food and refused to admit it.

Just a moment ago, this Aura was standing by idly, gloating over her miserable state. But for some reason, after hearing her name, she suddenly became kind-hearted.

No matter what, she refused to leave her alone, and despite her resistance, she carried her on her back, intending to help her reach the human settlement.

"You're really strange."

"There's no other choice."

Aura glanced at the human girl on her back. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't believe that the person who would later leave an illustrious mark on the history of human magic, the founder of human magic, was once such an ordinary...village girl?

It just goes to show that talent is truly enviable.

Sigh—

'Demon King-sama, it's not that I, Aura, have betrayed the demons; but Aura wants to survive.'

'I can't risk the backlash of the obedience spell to die together with Flamme, right?!'

'I can't do it. I can't do it. Aura really can't do it!'

Aura apologized in her heart, and in reality, she was powerless. With the command "don't harm humans" in place, she couldn't kill Flamme to silence her. But Flamme remembered her name.

For the future Flamme, that legendary mage, using magic to track with just a name and memory was child's play. If she didn't eliminate Flamme's hostility now, she would be doomed later.

So, she could only sacrifice the future of the demons for her own survival...

No, no no no no!!

There is actually a way.

Aura suddenly thought of a wicked idea. Although she couldn't kill Flamme due to the curse binding her actions, right now, Flamme was like a blank sheet of paper—a blank canvas upon which she could paint her own dark designs.

She might not have the power to tear that white paper into pieces, but she certainly had the courage and the cunning to stain it with dirty, misleading colors.

"Flamme, do you want to learn magic?"

"Magic?" Flamme's eyes lit up with curiosity, the very reaction Aura had anticipated. She knew the allure of magic was almost irresistible, especially to someone like Flamme who had only just begun to grasp the vastness of the world and its mysteries.

This was the solution Aura had come up with. For a mage, the foundation of their initial learning is crucial. Everything built afterward is based on this foundation. If she could corrupt that foundation from the start, Flamme would be doomed to a path of mediocrity, no matter how much she later tried to rectify it.

Aura's plan was simple yet insidious: she would deliberately misguide Flamme and teach her the most outdated, flawed aspects of the human magic system. Even if Flamme later encountered a master like the mythical elf Serie, it would be nearly impossible to correct the deeply ingrained errors in her understanding of magic.

After all, humans, being short-lived creatures, have little chance or time to regret or correct their mistakes; their margin for error is very low. Aura knew this well and intended to exploit it to its fullest.

"Beg me, and I'll teach you."

"...Then I won't learn."

"I'm just kidding, listen up."

As they continued walking, Aura began to speak, her voice weaving a tale of arcane knowledge. She described the oldest human magic system she knew—the archaic teachings that had been passed down from centuries ago, long before even Frieren had appeared in the world.

This was the human magic system that had been in use when Aura was still a child, five hundred years before Frieren had ordered her to commit suicide. It was a system filled with inefficiencies and outdated practices, a relic of a time long past.

Thanks to the "obedience spell," Aura had spent centuries manipulating human mages, bending their wills to her own while subtly learning about their magic systems from them—for strategic purposes. 

"Magic is a technique based on imagination. In most cases, learning a new spell doesn't even require understanding the principles behind it. As long as you observe its patterns clearly, you can replicate it. The details you don't understand will be filled in by your imaginative mind..."

She described how, in the oldest human traditions, mages would spend years mastering the visual patterns of spells without ever understanding the underlying forces at play. It was a method that led to impressive displays but lacked depth and true mastery.

By the time Aura finished the third basic chapter of this "ancient, flawed magic", the sun had set and risen again, painting the sky with the soft hues of dawn. They had walked through the night, the moonlight giving way to the first light of day.

The human girl, who had been silent all along, listening intently to Aura's every word, finally spoke:

"Why are you teaching me magic?"

Aura's breath caught.

"Because I'm bored."

That was her answer.

Aura looked up at the sky. She seemed to have overestimated the population density of this era. Traveling between two towns on foot without horses would take two to three days.

If she had left Flamme in her previous spot, she would probably have died of starvation or been eaten by wild beasts. If Aura had known this, she wouldn't have brought her along.

If Flamme had died where she was...without the guidance of that legendary mage, Frieren wouldn't have the upper hand in magic during their battle. Aura wouldn't have been countered by Frieren's obedience spell, either.

Is it still possible to leave her now?

"Probably not. Magic, after all, is a personal miracle. With Frieren's talent, even without Flamme, she would accumulate a lot of magic over time. The master's influence on a mage stays at the ideological level..."

"Wait, ideology?!"

Aura suddenly realized something.

If she remembered correctly, Flamme, this human mage who left a name in history, was famous in demon history because of her hatred for demons. Her life was spent hunting down demons, and many demon generals and sages died by her hands.

And Frieren's hatred for demons, did it also come from this master?

That's right. As of now, Frieren still thinks I'm a good demon. If I can change Flamme's mindset, Frieren will have no reason to hate demons anymore.

With this thought, Aura suddenly stopped walking.

"Let's eat first."

"What?"

"You must be very hungry."

Gurgle, gurgle—

The sound from Aura's back had already been heard multiple times. She had previously ignored it, thinking that the human town was just ahead, and once they arrived, she wouldn't need to care about Flamme anymore.

But now, with the human town still far away, she had to solve Flamme's food issue first.

Otherwise, if Flamme starved to death, who would tell Frieren that Aura was a good demon?

Aura found a shaded spot under a tree, put Flamme down, and then walked alone deeper into the forest.

It was already noon when she came back with a pile of wild fruits and mushrooms, which she was not sure were edible or not, as well as some strange-looking fish caught from a stream intertwined with vines.

She glanced at Flamme.

"I'm not fainting from hunger."

Quite a strong will.

Aura had noticed before that, logically, Flamme should have been exhausted, hungry, and thirsty after losing her food, and being carried on Aura's back all night. A normal human child would have fallen asleep from exhaustion.

But Flamme had forced herself to stay awake, carefully listening to Aura's explanations of magic, and memorizing them.

Even Aura admired her willpower, considering she herself was getting sleepy after talking all night while walking.

She wondered how much of the information Flamme had managed to retain.

Take another glance.

Huh?

"Flamme, what's that in your hand?"

"A bird, caught with a magic trap. It's edible."

"..."

'What an amazing talent.'

Aura stared at Flamme, who was sitting by the tree, too weak to stand.

'A natural-born mage, able to maintain continuous thought and apply the magical knowledge learned just last night, even in an extreme physical state. It's really... disgusting.'

Seeing her return, Flamme raised the roughly plucked bird in her hand with pride and smiled:

"Can you start a fire so I can roast the bird?"

"Sure."

"What did you bring back?"

"Something edibles."

"All the mushrooms in your hand are poisonous, and most of the fruits are also poisonous. The only edible ones have a paralyzing effect. As for the fish, they can be eaten, but they taste awful."

"Poisonous ones can be eaten too."

"For whom? Are you going to eat them? Don't be so pessimistic, there are painless ways to commit suicide."

"For you."

"..."

Flamme didn't want to say anything more to this weirdo who had carried her and taught her the basics of magic.

Her malice was blatant.

But her good deeds were real too.

Not human behavior at all, more like a beast poorly imitating humans.

But Flamme couldn't care about that. Like a drowning person grabbing at any straw, she could only choose to coexist with the beast.

Hiss—

The fire was lit. Flamme first quenched her thirst with one of the less poisonous fruits Aura brought back. The fruit juice, rich in sugars, also temporarily alleviated her hunger. She then skewered the bird meat and began roasting it over the fire.

After finishing everything, she was exhausted again.

She turned her gaze to Aura, who had been watching but not helping, and complained:

"You're just going to watch?"

"I'm not hungry. I had better food before."

Aura's reply was matter-of-fact, Flamme was furious again.

Those dry food and clean water were supposed to be hers.

After eating...well, the reality wasn't that good. Flamme only managed to stave off her hunger a bit. Feeling warmth spread through her body, her tense nerves relaxed, and drowsiness hit her. She nearly fell asleep.

She glanced at Aura, Aura nodded, and she finally let herself lose consciousness.

"Will you protect me?"

This was Flamme last question before she fell asleep.

"I will protect you!"

Aura's firm gaze clearly answered this!

After Flamme slept, Aura turned and spoke to the forest:

"Come out, she's asleep. She won't wake up for a while after eating the paralyzing fruit."

"Didn't expect to meet a fellow demon here." A rough voice echoed from the forest, revealing a massive armored armor. Judging by the aura, it was a general of the demons.

Aura didn't recognize him, so he must have died before she was born.

"Do you intend to protect this human?" The armored demon's voice was low and hoarse, his fierce gaze piercing through the armor's gaps, landing on Aura, who had removed the red cloth covering her horn.

He had been observing for a long time, suspecting that this fellow demon might be colluding with humans.

"How come?"

"I suspect you are colluding with humans."

"I'm not."

"Then kill her."

"I can't."

Killing intent emanated from the armored demon, targeting both the sleeping Flamme and the standing Aura.

"But, I can let you kill her."

Aura stepped aside.

The armored demon, though suspicious, raised his axe and swung it at Flamme. The axe, half Flamme's height, would split her in two if it hit.

——

"Hahaha, hahaha, hahahaha..."

"That fool."

Aura, covered in dirt, with the cloth wrapped around her horn in tatters, had seized the moment when the armored demon relaxed his guard to attack him from behind and immediately fled with Flamme.

"What a joke. After all the effort I put into changing her impression of me, how could I let you kill her?"

As a selfish demon, no grand plans or kinship outweighed her own interests. To ensure her future survival against Frieren, Aura was willing to do anything.

She had finally managed to make Flamme stop hating her.

Until she made it clear that she was a demon and persuaded Flamme to pass on the idea of not hating demons to Frieren, she wouldn't let anyone kill Flamme.

"Ouch, Ouch, Ouch!"

"Don't pull my horn!"

Aura suddenly grimaced in pain, reprimanding Flamme, who was half-conscious from the paralyzing fruit and clung to her horns.

The right horn was fine; no matter how hard Flamme pulled, it couldn't be torn apart with human arm strength. But the left horn had a big crack at the root because she had been hit by the axe of the armored demon when he had rescued Flamme, and she hadn't dodged it completely, so it hurt a lot when the human girl pulled it

"Horns...pretty."

Flamme's eyes were hazy, her consciousness dulled by fatigue and paralysis. She could vaguely see the image of a purple-haired, horned girl.

"My horns are beautiful, right!" Although she disliked Flamme pulling her horns, Aura still puffed out her chest proudly at the compliment.

She also loved her horns. In demon aesthetics, horns were crucial, and she, Aura, was a rare beauty with large horns among demons.

Flamme didn't respond. Aura looked back and saw she had passed out completely.

"Huh?"

Aura touched the back of her head, feeling a wet sensation. Looking at her hand, she saw blood.

"You're injured too? I didn't notice."

During the escape from the armored demon, she had tried her best to protect Flamme, but even with such caution, she hadn't entirely avoided the demon's attacks. After all, he was a demon general, not to be underestimated.

"Flamme, you can't die."

Aura wasn't feeling sympathy. Everyone knew demons couldn't understand human emotions. She was simply considering her own interests, needing Flamme alive to maximize her benefits.

It had nothing to do with Frieren's order not to harm humans.

It was simply because if Flamme died, all her time and effort invested would be wasted.

Aura found a hill in the forest, climbed it, and finally spotted human activity. Even a small village would be enough to leave Flamme for a while so she could treat Flamme's wounds.

Coming down the hill, Aura quickly headed towards the village.

About a hundred breaths later, she reached the human village without alerting anyone, placing Flamme behind a house, propped against a wall.

Then she swiftly untied Flamme's clothes.

A bloody wound crossed the center of Flamme's chest, fortunately missing both sides' softness. Aura had heard that humans needed those to nurture their young—they were important organs. As for demons needing them, sorry, Aura didn't know. For a five-hundred-year-old young demon, it was still too early to give birth to offspring.

"Flamme, you're lucky. Only a rib is broken, no internal organs are hurt. If I stop the bleeding, you can survive."

Of course, Aura knew Flamme couldn't hear her; she was just talking to herself. Time was tight, so she stole some clean water from a nearby house, heated it with magic, and cleaned Flamme's wound.

She then used her own red cloth, originally her long skirt, now tattered strips, heated and sterilized, to bandage the wound.

After everything was done, Aura was sweating profusely, her hands covered in blood.

Phew—

Wiping the sweat from her brow with her elbow, she heard a child's voice behind her. She quickly covered Flamme with her Roman long skirt before turning around to see a curious boy.

In front of the boy, she pulled her bloody hands from Flamme's chest, then made a creepy, forced smile unique to demons.

Putting her bloody finger to her lips, she motioned for silence.

"Don't tell anyone what happened here, okay?"

With that, she disappeared before the boy's eyes.

The boy was so scared he collapsed, trembling and gasping for a while before gathering the courage to check on the bloodied, seemingly dead or alive human girl.

As for Aura, she went to distract the demon general. She could still feel the murderous intent tracking her. If she didn't leave, causing the general to pursue her, the entire village would die.

Of course, Flamme would die too.

Aura warned the human boy not to reveal her presence because she feared her identity as a demon would bring trouble to Flamme. However, due to the differences in communication between demons and humans, she didn't have time to understand how the boy interpreted her warning.

——

By the time Aura returned to the village, now sporting a few more injuries and staggering from exhaustion, it was late at night. She didn't expose herself directly but followed the mark she left on Flamme to locate her.

Inside a villager's house, Flamme lay in bed. The boy who had encountered Aura earlier was offering her a drink. Flamme, having just woken up, was taking in her surroundings.

"Where is this?" she asked.

"My home," the boy replied.

"Who brought me to the village?"

"I don't know."

Flamme's last memory was of a fierce battle, with one side being the weirdo who stole her food yet taught her magic, and the other side...

"A demon!!!"

Flamme's eyes widened in horror and rage, the murderous intent in her gaze frightening the boy to tears.

"Hey, don't cry."

"Sobs sobs sobs—"

Flamme tried to get up to comfort the child, but a sharp pain in her chest pulled her back down onto the bed. Her pained cry worried the boy, who noticed the blood seeping through her chest bandages and stopped crying.

"I thought you were dead because of that wound. My mom said you were alive and carried you back."

"Did you do this?" Flamme pointed at her treated wound.

"No, it was a big sister with purple hair."

"I see, she saved me..."

"She also had two big horns."

"...She injured me?"

"Seems like it. She also threatened me not to tell anyone she was here."

"Damn demon!!!"

Flamme's face twisted with anger. Suddenly, she pulled the boy closer to inspect him for injuries, only relaxing when she found none. Typically, demons had an insatiable bloodlust for humans and wouldn't spare any they encountered.

But for some reason, this demon had spared the boy and even left her alive.

"Was it Aura, that weirdo wrapped in cloth who held off the demon?"

"But how could she handle two demons alone?"

Flamme felt a pang of sorrow. She opened her chest bandages and saw the wound was treated with the red cloth the weirdo had wrapped around her head.

And now that person hadn't returned, likely having met a grim fate.

"Damn it, why! Why does this always happen!"

"My father, mother, the villagers... everyone was killed by demons! All my loved ones taken away."

"And now, even you, killed by demons?"

Though they had only briefly met, that weirdo was the first to show her "kindness" since her family's death. It might have been a strange kindness, but teaching her magic and saving her from demons couldn't be faked.

Flamme cried bitterly, not from sadness but from an overwhelming surge of hatred and a desire for vengeance. She was not one to wallow in despair; she believed blood debts must be repaid in blood. From now on, she would dedicate her life to exterminating demons.

For that, she was willing to give her life.

"All demons must die!!!"

"Aura, I will avenge you by killing every last demon!!"

Aura, leaning against the outside wall just a few feet away, broke out in a cold sweat, not daring to make a sound.

Her expression was vacant.

'I am so stupid, really. If I had known that Flamme parents and relatives had been killed by the demons, I would never have tried to change her impression of the demons.'

'If I had known, I would have left Flamme there to be split in half by the demon general.'

"I will always remember this wound on my chest. I will definitely break the horn of the purple-haired demon to avenge it!!!"

Aura instinctively clutched her horns, feeling a chill run from her head to her toes.

At this point, she couldn't face Flamme under any circumstances.

Even if her act of saving someone, contrary to the bloodthirsty nature of demons, might momentarily shock Flamme, ultimately...

"I'd be seen as a spy for the demons!"

Aura's sharp mind quickly grasped the situation.

She then made the wisest decision of her life.

She ran away.

Aura would flee to a place where no one could find her, staying hidden until Flamme grew old and died.