Zart the Afterimage
"These people look like the Imperial army."
Heiter made his judgment based on the clothing of the corpses on the ground.
Himmel frowned as she looked at the piles of corpses on the ground and said softly:
"It's truly a terrible sight."
"It was like falling from a great height."
From a distance, it's still possible to vaguely make out a human shape.
But upon closer inspection, one could only discern from the clothing that the pools of red and white flesh mixed together on the ground had once belonged to a living person.
They had seen similar things countless times along the way.
But every time I see it, I can't help but feel angry.
Just as the group was preparing to bury the body as usual...
Himmel sensed something was wrong.
A Mana suddenly appeared not far behind them.
He drew his longsword, turned around, and shouted:
"Demons?!"
Frieren discovered it almost at the same time as Himmel.
With a thought, the Staff appeared in her hand and was pointed at the Demons.
But at this moment, she couldn't understand how this Demons had appeared behind them.
Her [Detection Magic] was still active...
Eisen followed closely behind, taking a step forward with a giant axe almost as tall as himself in his hand.
Heiter then summoned the [Sacred Scripture] and took a step back.
The four players quickly formed a 2-1-1 formation.
Himmel and Eisen stood at the very front, one on each side.
Frieren is in the center.
Heiter was at the very back.
The tall, slender male Demons with a single horn on his head, dressed in a magnificent robe, fixed his gaze on Frieren.
"I see, I see."
"You have touched the [Goddess's Monument]."
"So, it seems you're the one causing the spacetime fluctuations, Frieren."
Himmel's gaze sharpened, and a flash of inspiration struck her.
But he didn't have time to think about it, and said coldly, "What nonsense are you spouting?!"
The male Demons chuckled and said, "It's alright if you don't understand what I'm saying."
"Anyway, you're all going to die here."
Himmel replied expressionlessly, "Indeed, there's nothing to say to the Demons."
The male Demons didn't seem to care, his expression arrogant, and he said in a calm tone:
"I am Zart, one of the Seven Sages of Destruction, a subordinate of [Miracle] Grausam."
"The Heroine Himmel."
After saying this, Himmel held the sword with both hands, bent her legs slightly, and then suddenly exerted force, disappearing from the spot in an instant.
"Oh."
Zart let out a cryptic laugh.
It must be said that the blue-haired hero named Himmel is indeed very fast.
But for him, it was nothing special.
Boom!
A beam of sword light shot skyward, slashing towards Zart's location.
More than ten large trees in the surrounding area were cut down by Himmel's strike.
"Disappeared?"
Himmel saw it clearly; his strike had failed to hit Zart.
Just as he looked around, searching for Zart's whereabouts.
Zart had already appeared beside Frieren.
Furthermore, its palm rested on Frieren's shoulder.
With a flash of white light, Frieren vanished from her spot.
As is widely known.
According to the notes of the great Great Mage, Flamme.
The magical systems of Demons and humans are vastly different.
Even though many human magic spells evolved from the magic of the Demons.
However, it will undergo many adjustments before it is officially implemented.
When faced with Demons who are highly skilled in magic, even the most experienced mage will be amazed by their magic, which seems to exist only in fairy tales.
Thousands of meters in the air.
Frieren is falling uncontrollably.
But by this time, she had also figured out the magic used by the [afterimage] Zart.
[Space Transfer].
It truly is like [magic] that only appears in fairy tales.
Its existence cannot even be proven using existing human magical systems.
No, that's not right.
Rienta seems like a good fit, given that he possesses a very large [space].
While Zart's [Space Transfer] differs in its focus, both essentially involve the concept of [space].
Mages of this era were not yet able to use [Flight Magic].
Therefore, by shifting the target to a high altitude, they can be easily eliminated by falling to the ground.
Speaking of which...
[Afterimage] of Zart.
She didn't remember encountering this Demons on her journey to defeat the Demon King.
Even now, Himmel wouldn't be able to easily defeat a Demons with [Space Transfer] abilities.
If one could freely use magic, defeating [Afterimage] Zart would be a matter of moments.
[Zoltraak].
The earliest Piercing Magic, countless people died from this magic.
Later, through research and improvement, humans created [Ordinary Offensive Magic].
She then made further improvements based on this.
[Demon-Slaying Magic].
Simply put, it's a type of magic specifically designed to counter Demons.
In addition, Rienta had told her about compressing Mana.
With these two factors combined, she was confident she could take down [Afterimage] Zart in one strike.
In the sky.
Frieren remained calm as she plummeted downwards.
She was pondering what method could be used to resolve this situation.
The magic of later generations cannot be used.
If the Demon King's Army were to learn of any information about future magic, and if Demon King's Army led to a large-scale magical reform...
Then history would have changed.
However, she had no memory of encountering [Afterimage] Zart.
That means that during the week she lost her memory, she successfully dealt with [Afterimage] Zart.
So, what exactly is the method...?
"Frieren!"
Ground.
With her superhuman senses, Himmel noticed Frieren falling rapidly from the sky.
Zart calmly replied, "There are about sixty seconds left before Frieren hits the ground."
Himmel said coldly, "What a roundabout way to kill someone."
Zart shook his head and said, "Wait a minute, Frieren is my hostage right now."
"Hero Himmel, drop your weapon."
"And your companions too."
"If you drop your weapons, I'll make an exception and spare that elf's life."
If this suggestion were made by another race...
Himmel might then agree.
But now it is the Demons who are saying this.
The Demons, a litany of lies.
Not long ago, they encountered a Demons girl while passing through a village.
The villagers, who had lost their loved ones, were eager to kill the Demons.
Just as he was about to finish off the Demons girl.
The Demons girl, covered in wounds, spoke.
Her expression was sorrowful, and her eyes glistened with tears, like a frightened fawn.
Clutching his bleeding shoulder, he murmured softly:
'It hurts...'
'Ouch... it hurts...'
'Mother...'