Frieren: Understand Humans, Aura!

Late at night, deep in a shadowed valley—

The mountains loomed silently under a starless sky, their slopes densely blanketed in trees that stretched upward like twisted, skeletal fingers. Despite the wilderness around them, the forest was dead quiet—no chirp of insects, no rustle of animals, only an unnatural, suffocating silence.

It felt as if something malevolent were drawing near.

Suddenly—

Swish!

A young demon, thin and gaunt, his long, curling horns glinting faintly in the darkness, crashed through the forest at a desperate speed. His body slammed into the trunks of several trees, snapping branches and scattering leaves, but he didn't dare pause. The moment he hit the ground, he rolled, sprang to his feet, and bolted forward again.

Panic drove him, and behind him, someone pursued.

A massive figure moved through the forest, nearly three meters tall, his eyes aglow with a cold, relentless light. His build was muscular, towering and solid, yet he moved with alarming agility, each stride propelling him forward without the slightest hesitation. He, too, bore horns upon his head—a demon, but far more monstrous, more powerful than the one he chased.

"Lord Schlacht," the pursuer's voice rumbled through the trees, his tone surprisingly calm. "My master has sent me to bring you back. There's no need to be afraid. My master bears you no ill will. After all, we both strive for the future of the demon race. There's no need for us to kill each other."

Schlacht kept his gaze forward, his lips pressed into a tight line as he ran. He didn't respond, but his breathing grew faster, harsher.

The pursuer's voice grew almost playful, a sinister undercurrent in his words. "Why are you silent? Did you see something in the future, perhaps? Haha… my master mentioned your abilities, but to see you run the moment you laid eyes on me—it seems your talent for foresight is as real as they say."

Finally, Schlacht slowed just enough to respond, his voice carrying a chilling calmness despite his predicament. "If you truly cared for the demon race's future, you wouldn't be chasing me down like prey. Join me instead—I can show you a path that leads to a better future for all of us."

For a moment, the forest seemed to echo with silence once more.

Then, the pursuer laughed, a deep, mocking sound that cut through the trees.

"Haha… haha…"

"What's so funny?"

"It's just that, Lord Schlacht, you really are an oddity among demons. My laughter is a façade, as is my concern for the future of the demon race. Most demons care only about their own existence. Demons like you, who actually care about the demon race as a whole, are rare indeed."

Schlacht's face hardened, but he remained silent, putting all his focus into evading the relentless demon behind him.

A voice sounded in his mind—one he knew all too well, resonant with the echo of his own thoughts. [I told you reasoning with demons is pointless. Why waste time on words? You should know better.]

[You're the future me,] Schlacht replied in thought, [so you must understand my actions.]

The voice gave a scoff. [I do. I would always try to talk things through before a conflict. I hadn't yet grasped the nature of most demons. But, tell me—do you really believe that talking will save you now?]

Schlacht's lips tightened. [Then tell me. How can I escape?]

The voice in his mind paused, considering. [A thousand years have passed for me… it's hazy, but listen. Use the Illusory Dream spell. Draw both of you into a shared dream. His tracking spell is connected to your soul, so only there can you sever his grip and vanish completely.]

Schlacht's brow furrowed. [What will happen to my physical form?]

[We're near the Holy Sword's resting place. A thousand years ago, the holy power here wiped out all the beasts. Humans have yet to settle here. Find a secure place to leave your body—you'll be undisturbed. Do you still not trust me?]

Schlacht's heart pounded. He hesitated, not out of doubt in his future self but because he knew all too well that the future was as fluid as water. This future—this version of him—was only one possibility.

But right now, he had no other choice.

Shh—

The pursuer closed in, his gaze locked on Schlacht as he unleashed his metal-manipulating magic with deadly precision. Sharp, needle-like beams of iron sand shot through the air, each one a silver glint in the moonlight as they sliced past Schlacht's head and embedded themselves deeply into several trees, splitting bark and shaking branches.

The pursuer's voice rang out, his tone cold and taunting. "You're shorter than I thought, so I aimed a bit high. Next time, it'll be your head, Schlacht."

Schlacht clenched his jaw, a bead of sweat trickling down his temple. He had seconds, if that, to act. Ducking behind a jagged cliff face, he pressed himself into the shadows and began casting his Illusory Dream spell. His whispered incantation wove into the night, drawing a faint shimmer around his eyes.

In an instant, everything went blank.

Both Schlacht and his pursuer's eyes went vacant, their bodies succumbing to the dream. Schlacht, however, lost control of his form entirely; he dropped to the ground, rolling to an awkward halt at the base of the cliff, his limbs splayed haphazardly. Meanwhile, the pursuing demon continued charging forward in his trance, oblivious as he followed an imagined path conjured by Schlacht's mind, seeing only the illusion crafted to mislead him.

Soon, the heavy footsteps faded, and the forest fell silent once more.

Schlacht remained motionless, lying twisted and vulnerable on the cold forest floor. His breathing slowed as he sank deeper into a protective, enchanted sleep, the Illusory Dream binding him tightly in the fabricated world he had created.

This was a drawback of the Illusory Dream spell. Once in the dream, even the user couldn't voluntarily exit, as one couldn't control their real body while in the dream. This applied even to demons and their magic.

However, Schlacht wasn't concerned—he had already received assurance from his future self.

In the time he'd be asleep, no one would find him.

Schlacht's future vision had a 99% success rate, so unless someone with a similar time-manipulating ability interfered, his predictions would never go wrong!

"Huh, why is there a demon here?"

A purple-haired demon with broken horns peeked over the cliff, accurately locating Schlacht's body hidden under some leaves.

She raised her voice, a singsong mockery in her tone. "Is there anyone? Any demons around? No kind soul to help this poor, fainted young demon alone in the forest?"

With an amused smirk, she leapt down, landing gracefully beside the underage demon's unconscious form. Bending to examine him, she took in his expression—tense, even in sleep, his brow furrowed as if caught in some nightmare. The corners of her mouth lifted as she observed his troubled face.

"Heh heh, then I won't hesitate to take you back with me."

She slipped her arms under him, lifting him effortlessly onto her shoulder, the way one might carry a sack of grain. His weight was nothing to her. She chuckled softly, barely glancing at his face again as she steadied him, noting his small build, the tight set of his jaw, and the faint scars that marked his skin—marks of someone who had seen far too much already.

"Poor little demon," she murmured to herself, a glint of satisfaction in her eye. "Here I was worried about how isolated I'd become out here in the mountains, but it seems a gift has fallen right into my hands. A young demon, ripe for questioning…"

Handing over such a young demon to her, at that.

A demon this small, regardless of his potential, couldn't possibly be too strong, could he? Even if he had the potential of a Demon King, at this age, meeting her, Aura, meant he would be helpless in her grasp.

Extracting intelligence from such a little demon should be child's play.

With the young demon on her shoulder, Aura carried him back to her mountain hideout.

She planned to wait until he awoke and question him about Schlacht, the demon seer known for his omniscient knowledge. After all, Aura had crossed a thousand years into the past, and even the most powerful Demon King had no knowledge of her existence. The only one who might be aware of her identity and pose any real threat was Schlacht, who could glimpse a thousand years into the future.

If she could find a way to eliminate Schlacht, Aura would be truly secure in this era.

"Ah, I really don't want to resort to this," Aura sighed, lamenting the evil thought of wanting to kill Schlacht, the wise demon sage in advance.

She shook her head, feigning regret. "But it's my only option, isn't it? I can't allow that prying fool to glance even a fraction into my past."

She had saved Frieren, the criminal who killed the Demon King; rescued Flamme, the ancestor of human magic; and even served as the first president of the Continental Magic Association—although no demons know about it so far, Schlacht can peek into history from the future.

Unless she killed him, Aura wouldn't be able to sleep soundly.

However, if she killed Schlacht, wouldn't that ruin the bright future for the demon race with the disappearance of the Demon King's top advisor?

——Is there any need to think about this question?

When one top advisor disappears, the next one takes their place!

——And who would be the demon race's next top advisor?

Of course it was her, Aura!

With her thousand years of experience, how could she be inferior to Schlacht, who led a group of Seven Sages of Destruction to attack Hero of the South but got killed instead and almost got wipe out?

She stopped walking for a moment, looking up at the starlit sky, her eyes shining with an almost arrogant gleam. She could see it so clearly—the demon race, thriving under her leadership, guided by her thousand years of experience, her knowledge of battles and histories that even Schlacht couldn't touch. He might have his precious visions, but she had lived those histories. She knew every twist, every battle, every alliance forged and broken. If anyone could step into his role, it was her.

With Aura's intellect—

She would surely bring the demon race to unprecedented success!

As for how to kill Schlacht—Aura was more than confident.

If you ask Aura to kill Schlacht a thousand years later, Aura will definitely give up. After all, that future Schlacht was in his prime; even if she could locate him, Aura would have no way to defeat him head-on.

But the current Schlacht...

Aura glanced at the young demon on her shoulder.

The current Schlacht should be as weak and defenseless as this little demon on her shoulder, his magic still unrefined, his foresight spell still full of gaps and errors.

Aura crushing Schlacht with her bare hands would hardly be more difficult than squeezing this young demon on her shoulder.

And if this little demon could give her useful intelligence on how to kill Schlacht, Aura wouldn't mind taking him in as a subordinate.

As a reward for his loyalty, Aura could teach this young demon magic.

—Among powerful demons, Aura's attitude toward weaker demons was considered one of the friendliest, which was why some demons would eventually choose to follow her.