Frieren: Understand Humans, Aura!

Wille Region, Central Lands

At the base of a waterfall, Aura stumbled to a halt, her legs trembling beneath her. The thunderous roar of cascading water echoed around her, masking the sound of her ragged breaths. She leaned heavily on her axe, her body swaying from exhaustion.

Her throat felt parched, her entire being crying out for relief. Casting a cautious glance around, she approached the crystal-clear mountain spring, kneeling at its edge. Her reflection stared back—hollow eyes, sunken cheeks, and a face that bore the marks of relentless pursuit.

Aura hesitated for a heartbeat before cupping her hands, scooping the icy water to her lips. The first taste sent a jolt through her system, reviving her like a spark to dying embers. She tilted her head back for another sip when—

Rustle.

Her senses screamed danger. She dropped the water, sprang to her feet, and dashed to the far side of the spring, her axe raised and ready. Her eyes scanned the dense underbrush, every muscle in her body coiled like a drawn bow.

For a long, tense moment, the only sounds were the waterfall and her own pounding heart. The birds took flight, their startled cries fading into the forest. A group of monsters shaped like the combined deer and bear bolted from a nearby thicket, their hooves drumming against the earth.

Silence returned.

Aura didn't lower her guard immediately. Her knuckles whitened as she gripped the axe, her breaths sharp and shallow.

'It's nothing... just animals. Or my nerves. Again.'

Her shoulders slumped as the realization sank in. There was no hunter in the shadows, no fiery-haired mage bursting through the trees. Flamme hadn't caught up. Not yet.

Aura let out a slow exhale, her breath visible in the cool air.

Inhale—

Exhale—

Her nerves eased slightly, the tension in her muscles fading. She hadn't stopped moving for an entire week. After their last encounter—where Flamme's spear had come within a hair's breadth of impaling her—Aura had fled relentlessly, darting across forests, rivers, and hills, never daring to rest for long.

The weight of exhaustion pressed down on her.

Clang!

Her axe slipped from her grasp, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

Aura dropped to her knees, plunging her head into the spring. The icy water sent a shock through her body, but she didn't care. Her thirst overwhelmed her, and she drank greedily, gulping until her shrunken stomach protested. Only when her belly felt full did she pull away, water dripping from her face and hair.

She sat back on her heels, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. The cold spring water began to work its magic almost instantly. Her cracked skin smoothed over, her pale complexion regained its luster, and her frail figure seemed to fill out again. It was as though life itself had been poured back into her.

Aura flexed her fingers, clenching and unclenching her fists. Strength surged through her once more. Though her hunger gnawed at the edges of her consciousness, her body was ready. She could summon at least 80% of her full power now—a fact that brought a faint smirk to her lips.

Such was the vitality of demons—a tenacious race that was nearly impossible to destroy unless their heads were severed.

"Surely no one will find me here now, right?"

"I've done it again... another successful escape," she murmured to herself, a sly grin spreading across her face, revealing a set of pristine white teeth.

As expected of her, Aura's escape skills are unmatched in the world.

Not even the so-called Ancestor of Human Magic, Flamme, had been able to capture her despite numerous attempts.

"Hahaha! Hahaha! Hahahahaha!!!"

Suddenly, a voice from behind her interrupted her laughter:

"Aura, the demons need you."

"Cough! Cough, cough, cough—!"

Aura choked violently, spinning around in alarm.

Aura choked violently, her laughter cutting off as she spun around with wide eyes, her axe instinctively raised. Her muscles tensed, her senses sharpening as her gaze darted across the undergrowth, half-expecting the looming figure of terrifying mana, the kind that could only belong to him.

But it wasn't Schlacht.

To her relief, standing in the shadows of the trees was a much smaller figure. A boyish, underage demon with a frail frame and perpetually slouched posture. His skin was pale, almost sickly, his face marred by deep, dark circles under his hollow eyes. Hart.

Aura relaxed immediately, her grip on the axe loosening. "Tch, it's just you," she muttered, her voice dripping with irritation.

Hart stepped forward, his movements sluggish, like a puppet barely holding itself together. He didn't flinch under Aura's glare, nor did he seem concerned by the fact that she could crush him with a flick of her wrist.

"How did you find me?" Aura demanded, her tone sharp. She had deliberately chosen a random escape route, zigzagging through wilderness and doubling back on her tracks to avoid pursuit, precisely to avoid someone like Flamme tracking her down with her sharp senses.

Yet here stood Hart, as unremarkable in mana as he was in stature, and somehow, he'd located her.

Hart's answer, however, was neither an explanation nor an apology. He spoke in a flat, detached voice that only deepened Aura's annoyance.

"I'm here to deliver an order from the highest authority of the demons. All great demons must comply."

"Speak."

Hart's serious tone made Aura straighten up. As one of the few loyalists among the Seven Sages of Destruction, she took any matter concerning the demons extremely seriously.

"You are to infiltrate the human nations and steal a document labeled '007,' a critical magical record."

"Where?"

"Kribi."

Aura's eyebrows shot up. "From the headquarters of the Continental Magic Association?"

"Yes."

"Now, when most of the major human mages have been recalled to headquarters for wartime emergency?"

"Now."

"One demon? With no support?"

"One demon. No support."

"Me?"

"You."

"...."

Aura's jaw tightened, and for a moment, the only sound was the distant waterfall. Then, her lips curled into a grin, and she let out a sneer.

"Why not just send me to kill Flamme and Serie directly?"

Hart's blank expression didn't falter. "We've tried."

"What do you mean, 'tried'? How come I didn't know—" Aura's voice trailed off as realization dawned on her. Her grin disappeared, replaced by a grimace. "Wait... is this Schlacht's order?"

"It is," Hart replied without hesitation.

Aura's heart sank into despair.

A thousand years later, the Seven Sages of Destruction, as the strongest representatives of the demons, would be sent on countless perilous missions where casualties were inevitable, all under Schlacht's orders.

Were the sages willing participants?

Of course not!

They followed Schlacht's commands simply because disobedience meant certain death. Attempting the mission might result in someone else among the sages dying, but defiance would guarantee one's own demise.

Though Hart was merely a small demon acting as the messenger, to Aura, it made no difference.

The Omniscient Schlacht, who could foresee the future, had undoubtedly anticipated her every move and laid out plans to intercept her should she attempt to flee.

Her only sliver of hope lay in completing Schlacht's mission.

Meanwhile, Schlacht, hidden within the guise of Hart, observed Aura with detached curiosity. Her expression shifted rapidly—from anger to doubt, from defiance to reluctant acceptance. He consulted himself across time, his mind calmly reaching into the possibilities of the future:

[Should I worry about the possibility of Aura refusing the order and trying to escape?]

[No need. In every timeline I've seen, she doesn't run.]

[But she looks very reluctant.]

[That, I don't know. If Aura doesn't want to comply, she can reject the order directly. I won't force her. Yet history shows that no matter how unwilling she is, she always grits her teeth and carries out every command from the demons.]

[What a loyal demon she is~.]

[Indeed, aside from me, Aura is the most loyal member of the demons.]

Aura, oblivious to the truth, finally broke the tense silence:

"Are your injuries... because of Schlacht?"

"Yes."

Aura noticed the bandages wrapped around Schlacht's body, the look of someone who had narrowly escaped death after a brutal fight.

Demons are pragmatic beings, instinctively avoiding situations that require risking their lives—unless... it was that Schlacht again, forcing lesser demons to the battlefield, using them as disposable tools.

"He's despicable!"

"Huh?"

Aura's eyes widened in anger. That cold-blooded Schlacht, who only cared about the grand scheme, couldn't see the misery of the pawns crushed under his so-called vision.

In the past, it was just sending great demons to fight to the death, but this time, he had even extended his control to demons as young and untrained as Hart.

If Schlacht weren't the Omniscient, invaluable to the demons, Aura would have split his skull with her axe.

—The reason she hadn't acted on this thought, of course, wasn't because she was afraid she couldn't defeat Schlacht.

—It was because Aura was willing to sacrifice her personal grievances for the greater good, to preserve the all-important future sight for the demons.

"This mission, I'll take it."

"Oh."

Schlacht tilted his head slightly, finding it hard to understand Aura's thought process.

She had just inexplicably cursed him but immediately accepted the mission without hesitation.

Regardless, as long as the result was favorable, the process didn't matter.

After relaying the orders, Schlacht prepared to leave but was suddenly called back by Aura.

"Wait, I have something to tell you."

Aura hesitated.

She had gone to great lengths to hide her movements, even delegating the task of gathering information about the demons to Hart, in order to avoid Schlacht's attention. Despite all her efforts, the Omniscient had still noticed her.

Now that she had been discovered, Aura knew her days were numbered.

She couldn't understand why Schlacht had entrusted such an important mission to a sinner demon like her, but regardless of whether she succeeded or failed, her fate would not change.

It was likely that the moment Aura handed over humanity's magical secrets to Schlacht would also be the moment of her death.

But Aura did not want to die!

Even if it meant killing Omniscient Schlacht, Aura was determined to live! Even if her survival meant jeopardizing the future of the demons, she would fight to survive!

And the chance to live lay right in front of her.

Aura glanced at the little demon in front of her.

Using her keen observation and sharp intellect, she deduced:

This demon, Hart, must be a traitor in Schlacht's camp!

Why else would he have agreed to help Aura gather intelligence on Schlacht? And why did he show none of the respect other demons displayed when speaking of Schlacht, referring to him by name without the "Lord" honorific?

Moreover, Hart appeared to be valued by Schlacht, positioned close to the Omniscient and privy to information.

——Normally speaking, such a small demon shouldn't be able to sit in such a position.

—Could it be that the basic combat magic Aura had taught Hart had played a part, allowing him to infiltrate Schlacht's inner circle as a spy?

"Come here, Hart."

Aura crouched down and grabbed Hart's ear, whispering into it.

"When you're working for Schlacht, pay attention to the Seven Sages of Destruction—his most powerful asset and, at the same time, his greatest vulnerability."

Then Aura told the little demons about the internal checks and balances system of the Seven Sages of Destruction, the method of selecting great demons with rare, overwhelming magical talents, and her own memories of potential candidates for the role in this era.

Watching Hart's expression grow thoughtful, Aura smiled with satisfaction.

'Schlacht, just you wait. You dared to scheme against me, Aura, but there will be no happy ending for you!'

'Once Hart gets the chance to turn the Seven Sages of Destruction against you, your power will be halved. If you want to win the factional struggles among the demons after that, try waiting another three hundred years—'

As for the possibility of Schlacht discovering the trap she had laid—Aura had never considered it.

Schlacht's magic was future sight, not mind reading. He couldn't see schemes, only trends.

Unless someone plotted against him right under his nose, no amount of future sight magic could pin the blame on Aura.

And Aura trusted Hart.

The fact that Hart had completed a transaction with her last time without being discovered by Schlacht proved his careful nature. He would never betray Aura or let Schlacht notice his rebellious intentions.

With an ally like Hart, Schlacht's downfall was inevitable!

"Haha, hahaha, hahahahahaha—"

Aura left, laughing, while Schlacht remained, feigning deep thought as he conversed silently with his future self:

[The Seven Sages of Destruction—what's that?]

[Never heard of it. Even a thousand years from now, the demons don't have such a system.]

[But it sounds useful.]

[Indeed. Magic is an ability that relies heavily on talent. A hundred human mages might pose less of a threat than one human great mage. The same is true for demons. Focusing resources on cultivating overwhelmingly powerful individuals is the key to defeating humans in the future.]

[Once again, Aura has brought me a treasure from her unobservable timeline.]

[No, she's brought a treasure to the demons.]

The future Schlacht corrected him.

The present Schlacht raised his head and gazed into the distance at Aura's disappearing figure as she strode toward the human stronghold of Kribi, unshaken by the danger. He placed a hand over his chest and offered a slight bow:

"The hope for the demons' future millennium rests with you."