Frieren: Understand Humans, Aura!

"That purple-haired demon, do you know her name? Why have we never seen her before, and yet she's so powerful?"

Standing atop the city wall, a cloaked shadowy demon asked the shorter demon beside him. The shorter demon was responsible for suppressing their presence, while the cloaked one was waiting for an opportunity to attack Aura from a distance.

The two demons constantly shifted positions on the wall, their attention never straying from the battle unfolding in the city center.

"I don't know her," the shorter demon muttered. "Schlacht has a knack for unearthing demons from nowhere. This one's probably another of his obscure discoveries, dug up from some forgotten corner of history. Typical of him."

The cloaked demon shifted slightly, "I can't shake this feeling... something about her doesn't sit right. Look at the way she moves—effortless, almost playful. She's not even fighting seriously, and yet the others can't pin her down. Are we sure she's not beyond our level?"

"It's just your imagination. No matter how strong a demon is, no matter how refined their spell formations are, it's impossible to go head-to-head and defeat three opponents of the same caliber. Schnit and the others just haven't adjusted to her magic yet. Give it a little more time, and they'll crush her."

"But look closely," the cloaked demon insisted, his voice rising with urgency. "She hasn't used any offensive magic yet. She's fighting purely with an axe and occasionally using it as a shield to block Frank's slicing spells. Is she using self-reinforcing magic? But what kind of magic could possibly enhance a mage's physical body and reaction speed to the level of a demon general?"

"Engaging in close combat with warriors as a mage is indeed remarkable... but there's nothing unusual about magic that strengthens the body. Unless the magic of the purple-haired demon is so incredible that it can make the dead walk, there is no need to worry that she can use it to strengthen herself to defeat three great demons at the same time."

"Schnit's mana is surging! Look! I've never seen her pushed to unleash slicing magic on such a massive scale. She's completely ignoring the mana cost, covering the city area. One-fifth of the buildings in the city are destroyed... Is she crazy to ignore the cost like this? Even if the power is too strong to be avoided, how long can she hold on?"

"Relax. I have full confidence in Schnit and the others. There are five of us here, working together to hunt down one no-name demon. Are we really going to fail? Hold your ground and don't retreat!"

"The smoke is clearing... I can see... Wait, Schnit's arm has been severed! And one of the generals—oh no, where's his head? Damn it, it's in that purple-haired demon's hand! Brian, Brian, should we consider retreating early..."

"Brian???"

The cloaked demon turned sharply, realizing his companion hadn't spoken in several seconds. His eyes widened as he saw an empty space where the shorter demon had been standing. Looking farther down the wall, he spotted a small, rapidly shrinking figure bolting across the rooftops, already hundreds of meters away.

Without the shorter demon's presence-suppression magic, the cloaked demon immediately felt an intense, searing gaze emanating from the city center. Turning his head, he locked eyes with the terrifying, grinning purple-haired demon.

He didn't need to say it twice. Without even glancing back at his fallen comrades, he spun on his heel, the heavy chain dragging behind him as he bolted along the wall. His cloak billowed like a shadow trying to swallow him whole, but it couldn't hide his panic.

'I'll report to him,' he thought, his mind racing as fast as his feet. 'He has to know—this demon isn't just some ordinary pawn. She's—'

Splat!

A wet sound ripped through his thoughts. The cloaked demon staggered, his sprint cut short by a sudden, searing pain in his chest. His body went cold.

Looking down, he saw it—a golden spear, shimmering with radiant light, had pierced straight through him. His heart, now impaled, pulsed weakly at the spear's tip before disintegrating into ash.

The cloaked demon opened his mouth to speak, to scream, but no sound came. His mana was sealed in an instant, his body paralyzed as if frozen in time.

His gaze drifted forward, desperate to find some salvation. In the distance, he spotted Brian—a tiny figure now, barely a speck against the horizon, sprinting toward the edge of the forest. For a moment, he felt a pang of jealousy.

A brilliant beam of orange light erupted from the sky. It struck with pinpoint precision, piercing the short demon from the top of his head down to his feet.

Brian didn't even have time to scream. His defensive spells crumbled instantly as the mana sealing properties of the golden spear rendered them useless. His body twitched once, twice, and then disintegrated into ash, carried away by the wind.

The cloaked demon perished soon after.

At the same time, in the city, Aura, who had been locked in intense combat, seemed to sense something. Her expression turned to fear, and she no longer held back. She unleashed a burst of mana, cleaving through the defensive barriers of her opponents as if they were paper. Both demons staggered back, their chests slashed open with deep, bone-revealing wounds. They stumbled, choking on their own blood, and collapsed to their knees.

Aura paused, her breath ragged, her gaze darting to the sky.

The two demons, their faces pale and sweat-soaked, closed their eyes, bracing for the final blow.

But it never came.

Instead, Aura turned abruptly, her axe dragging across the ground as she fled, her cloak billowing behind her. Her sudden retreat left the demons bewildered, their eyes snapping open in confusion.

"What... Why did she run?" one of them rasped, his voice barely a whisper.

Before either of them could process what was happening, the answer came from above, dozens of golden spears rained down from the sky, blanketing the area.

The two demons had only a heartbeat to register the sound before the spears found their marks, skewering them through their shoulders, chests, and limbs.

"Argh—!" One of the demons let out a blood-curdling scream, pinned to the ground like an insect on display.

The other coughed violently, blood pouring from her mouth as she tried to move, only for another spear to pierce her neck. The golden spears pinned them in place, their bodies trembling violently before falling still.

Within seconds, both were dead, their forms turning to ash, carried away by the wind.

Aura skidded to a halt as more golden spears streaked past her, their deadly hum so close they grazed her cloak.

Splat!

Aura even heard the sound of her own heartbeat stopping.

Whoosh—

After a while, when Aura was resigned to her fate and closed her eyes waiting to die, she realized that she felt no pain at all. She opened her eyes and felt her body up and down, but found no wound.

'Had Flamme's magic failed?'

Aura turned and saw that the two demons she had been fighting were already gone, reduced to nothing—not even bones remained.

Flamme's magic had never failed.

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

Whoosh—

The air around her grew dense again, her escape route suddenly blocked by walls of transparent light. Barriers formed, layer upon layer, encircling the area for nearly a thousand meters.

Aura lifted her foot but set it back down.

A pair of shackles was tossed in front of her.

"Put them on yourself."

Looking at the imposing Flamme in front of her, with her staff glowing with dangerous light, Aura hesitated.

She also sensed the mana that was sealed in her body by those barrier, as immobile as still water.

Aura obediently squatted down and picked up the shackles.

Flamme nodded slightly, her expression unchanged. "Good."

Aura locked the restraints onto her neck and wrists, then clasped her hands together, closed her eyes and prayed to the goddess:

"May your devout believer Aura receive normal prisoner treatment."