Frieren: Understand Humans, Aura!

"A new mission. For the glory of the demons, we are willing to bleed and sacrifice," Schlacht's voice echoed through the dimly lit chamber, the weight of his words settling on his subordinates. His black sclera and white eyes filled with the determination of a thousand years of planning.

"Call Anselm, Frieda, Liesl, Gerwin…" he continued, his tone cold but unwavering. His voice did not waver, yet there was an unmistakable intensity beneath it, an urgency that rippled through the air.

This time, he planned to bring every great demons he could muster to the location where he had foreseen Aura's fateful encounter with Flamme. His goal was to stop Flamme.

"Yes, my lord," one of his closest aides replied, bowing deeply before hastily exiting the chamber.

The mobilization of the great demons was swift, their movements almost otherworldly. Within hours, messages were sent, and demons who were scattered across various parts of the demon territories began to converge on Schlacht's location. Their loyalty was unshakable; their purpose, singular.

By the next day, the first few of them began to arrive, stepping into the gathering storm of Schlacht's plans.

"Lord Schlacht, I've arrived."

"Lord Schlacht…"

"Schlacht…"

As one name after another reported in, even Schlacht, whose emotions were usually subdued, couldn't help but feel the pain in his heart—like it was bleeding.

These great demons were the elite warriors and mages Schlacht had painstakingly assembled. They were loyal to him, loyal to the demons, and formed the core of the faction he had built to resist the rival factions within demons.

Ever since Schlacht was hunted down by a rival demon faction, he had realized the importance of forming his own private force. He had burned vast amounts of mana to peer into the future, analyzing countless timelines to identify this group of great demons who would never betray the Omniscient.

Yet, Schlacht estimated that nearly half of these great demons would be lost in the battle against Flamme.

"But it will be worth it."

Schlacht thought of that purple-haired, horn-broken demon, which were so clear from the vicissitudes of life, and seemed to be stupid and simple, but were actually smart and witty to the point of being despicable... 

She—Aura—was the hope of the demons.

Schlacht pointed in the air, and a magic circle that was so complicated that it made people want to vomit appeared in the air. It was a ordinary offensive spell from a manuscript Aura had given him, capable of piercing through any current defensive magic used by human mages.

——At least this is how the future Schlacht perceives the defensive techniques of human mages of this era.

He clenched his fist, and the complex magic circle disappeared.

With resolute eyes, he silently vowed that he would risk his life, if necessary, for the future of the demons.

"Set off!"

With this command, seventeen great demons followed Schlacht, heading toward the location where they would intercept Flamme, the strongest human mage.

"Aura, I beg you—change the future you've endured for the sake of the demon race…"

"Prove that the deaths of us great demons will not be in vain."

———————————————

Aura had been evading Flamme's relentless pursuit for several months now. Her life had become a blur of exhaustion and desperation.

The wild grass she had eaten barely kept her hunger at bay, and the rainwater she drank was a poor substitute for the sustenance her demon body truly craved. She hadn't even dared to stop long enough to hunt; her pursuer was always too close.

The thought haunted her. 'How does she keep finding me?'

Every time Aura thought she'd finally escaped, Flamme would appear again, always calm, always unyielding. It felt like a game of cat and mouse. There had to be some kind of tracking magic involved—there was no other explanation.

Though Aura's mobility was faster than Flamme's, the human mage's tireless pursuit, patience and perseverance were even more outrageous than Aura's, a demon with a strong body who could stay awake for several days.

After days of fleeing—melding into the wind with magic, sprinting wildly, suppressing her own mana, and using rain to wash away her scent—Aura finally reached a mountain gorge at dawn. 

Aura's legs already burned with fatigue. Her usually immaculate appearance was reduced to a pitiful state—her long purple hair matted with sweat, her clothing torn and dirt-streaked. She leaned against a jagged rock to catch her breath, only to stiffen as a shadow loomed ahead.

And there she was.

Flamme stood at the gorge's entrance, her fiery orange hair catching the light of the rising sun. Her expression was calm as ever, her clothes pristine, and her breathing as steady as if she'd just taken a leisurely stroll. It was maddening.

Aura's lips curled back in a snarl. "I still couldn't shake you…" she growled, her voice hoarse from days of fleeing. Her eyes blazed with defiance, though her body trembled with exhaustion.

Flamme stood motionless, not a hair out of place, her breathing even and calm. She might as well have been waiting for a friend at a café, while Aura looked like she'd a rape victim.

"Aura," Flamme began, her voice calm as ever, "I won't kill you. If you come back to Kribi—"

"Flamme! You say you won't kill me?" Aura snapped, cutting Flamme off mid-sentence. Her tone was furious, her voice trembling with rage.

"You've posted notices all over the human territories, announcing to everyone that the purple-haired, horn-broken demon isn't to be killed on sight! The news has spread everywhere… and now, I, Aura, am branded as a demon who's defected to the humans!!"

Flamme's eyes blinked in confusion, and she tilted her head slightly. "What's wrong with betraying the demons?" she asked, as if the concept were strange to her.

Aura's eyes burned with frustration, her fists trembling at her sides. "Flamme, you've done well! You've done very well!" she spat, voice dripping with sarcasm and bitterness. "Are you determined to leave me with no escape?!"

Flamme's brow furrowed, her confusion only deepening. She stepped forward, but Aura held her ground, fists clenched, her breathing heavy and uneven.

"At this rate," Aura hissed, her voice dropping to a dangerous growl, "I'll be forced to survive in the cracks between your kind and mine. How long do you think I can last like that, huh? A hundred years? Two hundred years?"

Flamme's lips parted slightly, as if to respond, but no words came. Instead, she hesitated before murmuring, "Isn't a hundred years… long enough?"

"I am a great demon who has lived for five hundred years!!"

"Five hundred years… five hundred years… five hundred years…"

Flamme muttered the number softly, and her steps, which had been steadily approaching Aura, unconsciously came to a halt.

Aura seized the moment when Flamme was distracted, summoning a magical blast to weaken the surrounding barrier. Then, enhancing her body with the obedience magic, she smashed a hole through the barrier with a thunderous crash and fled far away, disappearing from sight.

This time, Flamme didn't immediately use teleportation magic to pursue Aura. Instead, she stood motionless, her orange hair fluttering in the morning breeze, her gaze distant as if caught between the present and some far-off point in time.

'She's lived for 500 years, while I haven't even reached 50…'

The thought repeated in her mind, reverberating like an unanswered question. It was the first time she'd know her age. Her chest tightened as the truth settled like a stone: their lives were impossibly different in scale.

"I want to imprison Aura so she can atone for her sins. But for how long can I keep her locked away?"

"How long can I protect Aura?"

That's right—Flamme's only goal was to capture Aura and bring her to the human side for punishment. She believed she could protect Aura herself, whether from humans or demons. But… what would happen after her own death?

She might still have another 50 years to live, but that was far too brief compared to a demon who had lived for 500 years.

Aura, a demon, would eventually have no choice but to return to the demon side…

She could never allow Aura to sever ties with the demons entirely.

"How can I protect Aura from the demons for a thousand years?"

'Think—she had to think more deeply', Flamme reminded herself.

For humans, a mere century of life was insignificant to those with long lifespans. If she wanted to understand such beings, she would have to spend her entire life in constant thought.

———————————————

Flamme remained motionless for nearly half an hour, allowing her depleted mana reserves to fully recover. She knelt on the rocky mountain path, her staff resting across her knees, and closed her eyes. Though her breathing was calm, her mind remained sharp, cycling through possible scenarios as she regained her strength.

Finally, she raised her head and gazed at the sky, her eyes scanning for any traces of Aura's flight. The air was still, the faint hum of residual mana fading like ripples in a pond.

The sealing magic that Flamme had embedded into Aura's body was fading, weakening with each passing hour. In three days, it would dissolve entirely, and Aura would be beyond her reach. Tracking a demon as cunning and resourceful as Aura without that seal would be next to impossible.

But Flamme felt no urgency, no doubt.

She rose to her feet, gripping her staff tightly as she took her first step forward. Her pace was deliberate, confident, as though every step brought her closer to an inevitability.

Aura was exhausted. Flamme could feel it in the faint traces of mana lingering in the air, in the sloppy energy signatures Aura had left behind. Demons had impressive physical endurance compared to humans, but even they had their limits. Aura's mana reserves were nearly drained. Her stamina, already strained from hours of pursuit, was waning. And her mental state? On the verge of collapse.

Flamme knew that the next time she caught up to her, Aura wouldn't have the strength to escape her barrier magic.

With that thought fueling her, Flamme pressed forward along the winding mountain path, her spirits unusually light. She moved with the air of a hunter certain of her prey's capture until the auras of more than ten demons suddenly erupted from the surrounding forest.

"Greater Demons," she murmured, her voice low but edged with steel. Her gaze flicked around the area, calculating, analyzing. The sheer number of powerful presences encircling her sent a chill through the air.

Her lips curled into a wry smile. "Another ambush to kill me?" she asked aloud, her tone calm, almost mocking. "How many times are you going to try this? It didn't work before, and it won't work now."

Flamme's eyes narrowed, her brow furrowing as confusion replaced her confidence. Demons were creatures of cold logic, not fools who repeated failed tactics. Once a strategy was proven ineffective, it was abandoned.

"Why would you do this again?" she muttered, her voice dropping.

Then, as if to answer her question, a figure stepped forward from the shadows of the forest.

A slender young demon, barely out of adolescence by appearance, emerged into the open. His presence was unnervingly calm, his black sclera and white eyes cold and calculating.

Flamme's breath hitched as she recognized him.

"The Omniscient," Flamme growled, "how dare you show yourself in front of me?"

She immediately raised her staff, her mana surging forth in an unrestrained torrent. The air around her crackled with power as waves of pure mana rolled out in every direction, suffocating the very atmosphere. Her mana coiled tightly around Schlacht like a coiled spring, ready to strike.

The faintest movement—whether to attack or retreat—would bring Flamme's wrath crashing down on him like a thunderstorm.

Schlacht stood motionless, unaffected by her display of power.

"Where is Aura?" he demanded.

Flamme met Schlacht's gaze, reading the unyielding determination in the demon's eyes, and understood.

"You're here to kill her!" Flamme roared in fury.

"I will never let you kill her!" Schlacht's expression was equally fierce.

Both of them stood at a distance, shouting at one another, their words carrying across the clearing but lost in the chaotic roar of their unleashed magic. Neither could hear the other clearly, their intentions lost in the rising crescendo of energy.

And then, the battle began.

Flamme's staff erupted in a cascade of thunder and lightning, the ground splitting beneath her as she unleashed her full wrath. Bolts of mana arced through the air, crackling like living things as they sought their target.

Schlacht's and the surrounding Greater Demons responded in kind, the forest trembling as meteor-like bursts of energy rained down from above, each one aimed with deadly precision, creating a battlefield of chaotic, world-shaking destruction.

The mountain path dissolved into a storm of power—blinding light, deafening explosions, and an overwhelming pressure that flattened the landscape. Trees were uprooted, boulders shattered, and the very air seemed to vibrate with the force of their clash.

Yet, amidst the chaos, their determination remained unshaken.

Flamme fought with a single thought burning in her mind: I will not let you touch Aura.

And Schlacht, his expression fierce and resolute, fought with a similarly unyielding conviction: I will not let you destroy her.

Though neither could hear the other's words, their clash spoke louder than any argument ever could. The fate of Aura hung in the balance, and neither side would yield an inch.