Reunion with Frieren
The monsters that had attacked Galan's group on the main road were now packed together in the forest like a swarm of ants.
Compared with the waves that had appeared at the start, this time they had come out in force. The sight of such a vast mass of monsters made everyone's hearts sink.
They had fallen into a trap.
They had underestimated their opponent's methods.
Windmill Village was now a cage for them. After the large number of monsters originally in the village had been lured away, the monsters were made to surround it once the group had entered.
"I should have told you about this sooner. Maybe we could have avoided this situation."
Reno looked full of regret. As things stood, never mind dealing with the demon disguised as Sith; even getting out of here would take some doing.
The road they had come by was already packed with Werewolf Subspecies and other monsters of unfamiliar kinds. Behind them stood large numbers of monsters armed with bows and arrows, waiting for their prey to appear.
Inside the village, the monsters that had remained in the houses suddenly stirred as well.
They roared as they burst through the roofs, their eerie snake heads suddenly stretching out. As though they had received an order, they began patrolling the streets, flicking their tongues with a hiss.
"How devious. Using a bunch of small fry to wear us down over and over, while hiding in the shadows to come out and finish us off at the end?"
Glenn cautiously poked his head out and surveyed the situation.
There were many monsters on the main road, but judging by their last encounter, they were not especially troublesome. If they forced their way through, they might have a chance.
The giant snakes in the village, on the other hand, were another matter. A single monster known as a Blood-Swallowing Python required a team of experienced adventurers to deal with it. With so many appearing at once, killing them all would be a real struggle. Breaking through in that direction was clearly unwise.
Go back the way they had come?
However he looked at it, that was their opponent's plan. He was certain the group would do just that and had surely set an ambush on the way back.
Yet judging by the situation, going back really was the most reasonable decision.
But what would happen afterward? How would the group, with their combat strength and energy greatly diminished, face the cunning demon hiding in the shadows?
"If we don't leave, we'll be found sooner or later anyway."
Galan put away his shortsword and drew his Alchemy Longsword.
"This is the only way. If we don't leave now, it'll be even harder to get away later."
This was a completely overt trap. By coming this far, they had already fallen into it. Their only choice now was to fight their way out.
"Wait! Someone's coming!"
Theresia called out to stop Glenn just as he was about to rush out and strike first.
Through her magical detection, she sensed a mage she had never sensed before. The mage was not far away, yet their presence was very faint. Clearly, they were deliberately hiding themselves.
"Who? Could Sith and the others be here?"
"It's not them. It's an unfamiliar mage..."
"Why would anyone be in a place like this at a time like this? Don't they know how dangerous it is here?"
Galan was puzzled too. He turned sideways and poked his head out, looking through a corner of the broken window for the mage Theresia had mentioned.
When he focused his gaze and saw the familiar figure flying in the air, his eyes lit up with indescribable delight.
"A troublesome one has arrived."
Sith, leaning against a tree, suddenly opened his tightly shut eyes. He drew the blade in his hand and slid it back into its sheath, producing a series of crisp sounds.
Behind him, a demon girl with two horns stepped gracefully into view.
"Flag, someone from your team is running toward the village. From the look of him, your identity seems to have been exposed."
A strange expression appeared on "Sith's" face. This time, once his blade slid back into its sheath, he did not draw it again.
"Is that so? Latte... How strange. I should have played the part well this time. I even inherited his appearance and memories in full."
"Demons can't 'become' human. You should know that very well. Even if you can imitate all his habits, you can't hide our demonic nature, because we... can't understand human emotions..."
A smile appeared on the girl's face, but just like Flag's, it conveyed not the slightest trace of emotion.
"Did you finish him off?"
"He reacted quickly and didn't die on the spot, but he won't live much longer. My curse isn't something he can break anytime soon."
"I see... Then these two are no use anymore either. Kill them."
He looked toward the blond youth and the woman not far away. They were obeying Flag's orders, watching the main road and waiting for Galan and the others to return, completely unaware that their deaths had been ordered.
Two dark-purple magic circles suddenly unfolded beside the demon girl. They were so fast that, before the alluring woman could react to the surge of magic, two beams of purple light from Mortal-Killing Magic had already pierced their heads.
With a rustle, the two headless corpses collapsed into the bushes beneath them.
The blond youth's weapon fell into the pool of blood. The longsword, stained with the blood of who knew how many people, tumbled from its sheath and ended up soaked in his own blood.
"All you wanted was to take that human city. For something so simple and straightforward, you really picked the stupidest way to do it."
The demon girl casually waved the magic circles away, still smiling broadly.
"Let's go, Merle. It looks lively over in the village."
Flag ignored her teasing. He took up his longblade and slowly rose from the ground. After casting an expressionless glance at the two corpses, he walked toward Windmill Village with the demon girl.
The two figures gradually disappeared beneath the shade of the trees.
Before long, the sound of corpses being devoured came from behind them.
In late autumn, the sky always grew dark quickly in the afternoon.
It was only nearing evening, yet the sun had already sunk more than halfway, and the light was growing dimmer. Visibility outside was getting worse and worse.
But when Galan noticed the figure, he recognized her at once.
The distinctive red pendants beside her ears swayed in the high-altitude currents, and the ends of her white hair fluttered in the wind.
Frieren gazed calmly down at Windmill Village below.
There were too many monsters here, and their distribution was so unnatural, as if someone had deliberately arranged things this way.
"This looks like the work of demons."
She sensed several presences coming from a house at the village entrance. Clearly, some people were trapped inside. One of the presences was somewhat familiar, but no matter how she thought about it, she could not remember who it was.
She angled the staff in her hand downward at forty-five degrees, pointing it straight at the Blood-Swallowing Pythons on the ground, their fearsome maws open toward her.
"Destructive Thunder Magic."
Magic surged within her and poured out through her staff. Lightning split the vast sky, illuminating her face. Enormous purple arcs of electricity instantly coiled around her before rushing fiercely toward the monsters on the ground.
Arcs of electricity almost as thick as the Blood-Swallowing Pythons pierced straight through their incredibly hard scales. The wounds blasted open by the electricity gave off the smell of burning.
The monsters let out shrill roars and writhed desperately, but they could do nothing to Frieren in the sky.
They twisted wildly on the ground, trying to dodge the lightning, but even hiding among the ruins of the buildings could not save them from death.
On the ground, the firm earth was blasted into crater after crater. After Frieren's attack, hardly a patch of intact ground could be found in the already ruined village.
The Blood-Swallowing Pythons that had been so murderous only moments ago had now turned into pools of magical particles, leaving only Magic Crystals scattered where they had been.