Night Attack

Night slowly enveloped the Grobe Basin, and the daytime hustle and bustle was replaced by the chirping of insects. The three sat around a small campfire, the firelight dancing on their faces.

Frieren nibbled on the grilled fish, her emerald eyes fixed on the dancing flames, her cheeks puffing out. Rabiñe and Kanne, meanwhile, each held one end of the fish, engaged in what was probably their umpteenth "wrestling match" of the day.

"It's mine!" Rabiñe glared at Kanne.

"I got it first!" Kanne retorted defiantly.

The grilled fish sizzled slightly in their hands, almost falling apart.

Frieren swallowed the food in her mouth, her kitten-like mouth slightly pursed. "Sigh... it'll break if you try to take it any longer." Her voice was muffled.

In the end, the grilled fish was reluctantly divided equally after compromise.

The three were filled with hope when they discovered the Stille again.

This time, they took small branches, hid behind dense bushes, and observed intently for a long time.

"Like this, like this..." Frieren lowered her voice, her emerald eyes fixed on her target, a faint light beginning to gather at the tip of her staff, "I'll try 'Bird-Binding Magic,' you prepare."

She chanted softly, and a thin thread of magic silently shot towards the Stille. However, just as the magic was about to touch it, the bird seemed to casually shake its wings, and the magical thread vanished without a trace, as if it had touched a slippery ice surface.

"Tsk, no good." Frieren curled her lip. "This magic can only bind ordinary birds after all."

"Watch this!" Rabiñe shouted, leaping out of their hiding place at the same time as Kanne. Kanne waved his hand, summoning a stream of water to splash at the Stille, Rabiñe followed closely behind, trying to Frozen the water and the bird together with his cold air.

But the Stille reacted incredibly quickly. With a gentle flap of its wings, it not only skillfully avoided the water flow, but the airflow it created also stirred up Frozen water droplets, splashing the two of them head-on.

"Ouch!" Rabiñe was slammed against a tree trunk by a gust of steam and hung there temporarily, like a rag doll.

"Ouch!" Kanne fared even worse. He slipped and fell to the ground in a comical manner, his legs sticking up almost to the back of his head. He couldn't get up for a long time.

Frieren looked at her two disheveled teammates, their silver hair sticking up from the steam, their expressions pitiful. Combined with her expressionless face that subtly conveyed grievance, she looked like a cat whose fur had been ruffled.

In the distance, Lowell, who was watching through the magic, almost burst out laughing, quickly covering her mouth. "Pfft... Frozen ice water? No good. It's obvious that the elemental mastery isn't enough, otherwise the Frozen strength and duration would definitely be sufficient. And this Stille's reaction... tsk tsk, did it fight Naruto? Reaction Bro, Reaction Bro."

Night completely enveloped the basin.

The campfire crackled, illuminating the three weary faces. The grilled fish for dinner once again became the focus of a struggle between Rabiñe and Kanne.

"I got it first!" Kanne said, grabbing the fish's tail.

"Huh? I was the one who saw it first! And you were completely useless today catching birds!" Rabiñe pulled at the fish's head.

"Who said that! I... I at least attracted its attention!"

"That's called attraction? That's called holding someone back!"

Frieren silently munched on her dry rations, watching the two arguing again, sighed softly, and huddled deeper into the blanket.

In the end, the second grilled fish unfortunately fell to the ground and got covered in dust during the struggle, and no one got to eat it.

It's late at night.

In the simple camp, Frieren and Rabiñe slept side by side on the ground covered with thick leaves, sharing a large blanket. Kanne, on the other hand, said he would keep watch for the first half of the night, so he hugged his knees and leaned against a large tree, also wrapped in a blanket.

All was quiet except for the chirping of insects and the faint sound of a Burning.

Kanne was actually very sleepy, her eyelids drooping. But she tried her best to use her magical senses to guard against monster attacks, but she suddenly vaguely felt that the spot next to her Frieren's, was empty. She barely opened her eyes, and sure enough, Rabiñe was the only one left on the bunk.

"Frieren?" Kanne called softly, but there was no response.

She hesitated for a moment, worried that Frieren might have run into trouble while using the restroom, then forced herself to stand up, rubbed her eyes, and groped her way toward the nearby water source she remembered.

They hadn't gone far when they indeed saw a small lake, its surface shimmering in the moonlight. But there was no sign of Frieren by the lake.

Just as Kanne was wondering what was going on, a sudden gust of wind came from above!

Startled, she instinctively lunged forward and rolled over.

"Sizzle!" Despite reacting quickly, a burning pain still shot through his shoulder as his sleeve was torn by sharp claws, leaving several bloody marks.

Kanne swiftly rolled over, instantly summoning a staff in his hand. "Demon!"

Under the moonlight, a gigantic bird-like monster slowly descended, its wingspan spanning six or seven meters. Its beak was hooked, and its sharp claws gleamed coldly. It tilted its head, scrutinizing her with its icy eyes.

Kanne tried to gather magic, but perhaps due to his injury and shock, his casting speed was a beat slow.

The monster clearly wasn't going to give her a chance, letting out a shriek and lunging again! It was incredibly fast!

Kanne's staff was struck by the claws and flew out of her hand. She herself was also slammed to the ground by the enormous impact, the monster's heavy claws pressing firmly against her chest, making it almost impossible for her to breathe. The stench-smelling beak was inches away, seemingly about to peck her off at any moment.

The fear of death gripped her instantly.

"La... Rabiñe..." Kanne instinctively closed his eyes.

The expected excruciating pain did not occur.

Instead, a golden halo suddenly appeared, accompanied by a short, mournful cry from the troll.

Kanne opened his eyes in surprise and saw the enormous monster lying to the side, struggling, tightly bound by several golden magical chains.

Frieren appeared beside him unnoticed, her staff still shimmering with the faint blue light of magic. She looked at Kanne and said calmly, "I told you, be careful of the heavens."

She reached out her hand.

Kanne, still shaken, pulled Frieren's hand and stood up.

Are you alright?

"Um... thank you, it's just a scratch."

After a while, the two sat on a cliff overlooking a small patch of woodland. Frieren took out the Holy Scripture and used simple healing magic to treat the wound on Kanne's shoulder.

After a moment of silence, Frieren suddenly spoke, "You just called out Rabiñe's name."

Kanne hugged his knees, rested his chin on them, and softly hummed in agreement.

"Don't you hate her?" Frieren's emerald eyes shone brightly in the moonlight. "Why would you call out the name of someone you hate when you think you're going to die? Unbelievable."

Kanne was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Actually... I'm quite timid. In formal situations, like tests or battles, I easily become flustered."

Her thoughts drifted back to a long time ago, to her time at the Continental United Academy.

(Remember)

In the Flight Magic practice class, many students were already flying steadily in the air. Kanne, however, sat on the edge of the cliff, hugging his knees.

Rabiñe stood beside her with his arms crossed. "Hey, Kanne, the first group has flown way over. It's all water down there, you won't drown even if you fall, right? You're scared of such a small height? If you really can't muster the courage, do you want me to give you a hand and kick you down?"

Kanne spoke quietly, "I hate you so much, Rabiñe."

Rabiñe snorted. "I know. Coincidentally, me too."

Kanne felt wronged. "You're always so harsh on me. Someone like me needs praise to improve."

Rabiñe seemed to have heard a joke, "Are you kidding me? You're so timid and cowardly, it's just that you've been spoiled at home. If you could fly like a bird after a few compliments, I'd be gentle with you Tenten."

Kanne, knees drawn up, asked, "Then tell me, what are my strengths?"

Rabiñe was taken aback by the question and turned his face away, "... Hey, are you serious?"

An awkward silence followed.

Kanne lowered his head even further.

Rabiñe looked at her, then, as if giving up on something, clicked his tongue softly and said quickly in an almost inaudible voice, "... She's timid as a mouse, but she always secretly practices until late before every test..."

Kanne looked up. "... Huh?"

"I'm telling you about your good points again," Rabiñe said, her tone sharpening as if she felt uncomfortable being watched, "Never mind if you didn't hear me!"

Kanne: "..."

Rabiñe: "..."

Kanne: "... Name a few more."

Rabiñe: "Huh? Why would I do such a thing?"

Kanne: "Speak up."

Rabiñe: "... His observation skills are alright; sometimes he notices details that others miss. Occasionally... he's foolish enough to worry about others unnecessarily."

Kanne: "Go on..."

Rabiñe: "... That's enough!" But after a pause, she added, "... When she smiles, she's alright to look at, quite cute..."

Kanne pouted, looking disgusted. "... Ugh, that's disgusting."

Rabiñe's face darkened, and without the slightest hesitation, he kicked Kanne in the buttocks.

"Get out of here!"

"Whoa!" Kanne screamed as he plummeted off the cliff.

But just a few dozen centimeters from the water's surface, she steadied herself and hovered in the air.

"That's really dangerous..."

Rabiñe laughed as he flew down and hovered in front of her, "Hahaha... What's this, Kanne? You're flying now, aren't you? It's a bit ugly though! I'm never being gentle with you again!"

(End of flashback)

Kanne snapped out of his reverie, a faint smile unconsciously appearing on his lips, "Rabiñe... although she has a sharp tongue and a rough personality, for some reason, she always manages to push me forward. Thanks to her, I've discovered that many things that seem terrifying are actually achievable if you just grit your teeth and push through."

Frieren listened quietly without saying a word, only nodding slightly.

Kanne stood up and stretched her shoulders. "Let's go back quickly. Rabiñe's all alone there; I don't know if he's safe." She paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and said, "Oh, right, Frieren, I think I've discovered something... I wonder if it will help in capturing the Stille..."

Her gaze fell upon the tranquil forest under the moonlight, a thoughtful glint in her eyes.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

Fern held the cage containing the Stille with a blank expression.

"We've finally caught the Stille. Now all we have to do is guard it."

Lanto sat on the rock. "Such impressive hiding ability, is it just that she has a naturally low profile?"

"Hey, if she wants to hide, not many people can find her," Ubel chuckled. "So, is it just a bloodbath next? Hmm... how about we go straight to Frieren? Anyway, her magic is as bright as a lighthouse; if we latch onto her, we won't have to go through all that trouble fighting."

"Miss Ubel."

"Okay, okay, I know, I was just kidding."