Surrender

In reality, in a certain village.

The sword's edge hovered half an inch from Gutkind's throat, frozen in place. (Gutkind is his self-chosen name; it means "kind child" in German. Genau's partner.)

The wind swept in from the other side of the wasteland, carrying grains of sand that pattered finely against Leifuerdi's arms, which were covered in dark scales. He gripped his sword firmly with all four arms, his serpentine tail coiled on the ground, and his face beneath the metal eyepatch turned toward the mage who had slumped against the broken wall.

Gutkind leaned against the charred wall, his brown hair plastered to his forehead with blood and sweat. There was no fear on his face; he even managed a strained upward tug at the corners of his mouth. He gazed at the Demons before him, then at the sky behind him, slowly being bathed in the rising morning light, its edges tinged with gold and red.

He took a heavy blow while protecting his child.

That's about it.

But that guy, Genau... should be here soon. The child... will be alright.

Just a little bit more...

He thought vaguely.

Then, my field of vision was completely filled by a figure that suddenly cut in.

Without warning, without a sound. It was as if a frame had been cut from a silent scene—one moment it was Leifuerdi raising his sword, the next a casually dressed man with black hair and black eyes stood there, positioned precisely between him and the deadly blade.

The man's back was turned to him, blocking the Demons's massive body and also blocking any possible death from falling upon him.

Gutkind blinked, his vision blurring from blood loss. He recognized the figure, his smile widening slightly, his voice weak but clear enough.

"... Lord Lowell."

Lowell didn't turn around, only casually waving his hand behind him. His gaze fell on Leifuerdi, scanning him up and down.

Am I late?

"No," Gutkind gasped, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, trying to keep his voice steady, "Just in time, Lord Lowell."

Leifuerdi's four swords were still raised, but stopped. His head, covered by a metal eyepatch, was slightly turned, as if 'looking' at the human (?) who had appeared out of nowhere and from whom no magical energy could be sensed. The silence lasted for several breaths.

Then, he slowly lowered his sword. His four arms hung back at his sides, the tip of the sword resting on the scorched earth.

"... It's you."

His voice was deep and steady, devoid of emotion, but the use of the polite form "you" was very natural.

Lowell's eyebrows twitched, and a genuine look of surprise crossed his face.

"Heh," he chuckled, his tone relaxed, "You still recognize me? I thought none of the Demons recognized me these days."

He touched his chin, as if he had thought of something.

"Then join me? I still have some standing."

He turned to the side and pointed with his thumb behind him to the village, which was in ruins but most of the houses had not yet collapsed.

"Perfect timing. You were originally planning to kill this strongman first, then massacre the village, right? I know the procedure well; it's an old tradition of the Demon King's Army. But look, this village is still relatively intact; no one died. It'll save me some trouble, otherwise I won't be able to explain it to certain people later."

He turned back to look at Leifuerdi, spreading his hands.

"So? Surrender?"

Leifuerdi didn't pause at all.

"Good."

He said.

I surrender.

Lowell's smile faded. He pursed his lips, a knowing look in his eyes saying, "Just as I thought."

"... Tsk, the same trick as with Liletta that time."

He shook his head, his tone becoming somewhat listless.

"Forget it, even a fool could tell he wasn't telling the truth."

He turned away from Leifuerdi and faced the half-collapsed livestock shed on the right side of the village, raising his voice slightly. His voice echoed clearly across the empty ruins in the early morning.

"Alright then. Come on, you two women and one man, who were lurking over there on the right front, ready to ambush us, come out too. You've been watching the show for ages, aren't you tired?"

There was no response.

Only the wind howled through the broken walls.

Lowell waited two seconds, then sighed.

"Do you really want me to call out names?"

He bent his finger and pointed in that direction three times in succession.

"The one in the cassock, you played with the fog well, but you didn't clean up your tail properly. The little girl with the eye patch who played the whirlwind, you gripped the knife too tightly, and your murderous aura leaked out. And that little one who hid the best, pretending to be a stone, yes, you, the one with the ribbon tied around your leg, you didn't pay attention to the details when you transformed, the shadow doesn't match your current figure, you've given yourself away."

He lowered his hands and crossed his arms.

"Come out. Don't make me say it a third time."

A brief silence, filled only by the sound of the wind.

Then, in the shadow of those ruins, the air rippled like water.

Three figures emerged one after another, as if they had shed a shell that matched the color of the background.

Nebel stood with his hands clasped together, eyes lowered, the hem of his robe fluttering even without wind. Zolida's hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his face, covered by an eyepatch, expressionless, the only eye visible Bingbing fixed on Lowell. Yun blinked her unusually innocent, even slightly overly round eyes, curiously observing Lowell, and subconsciously glancing down at her own shadow, a hint of annoyance at being caught showing on her face, but it was quickly replaced by even greater curiosity.

The three of them stopped a few steps behind Leifuerdi, without saying a word.

Lowell glanced at them and nodded.

"Okay, everyone's here."

He looked at Leifuerdi again, extended a finger, and tapped the side of his neck.

"Your Lord Leifuerdi, even a fool could tell he doesn't truly want to surrender. Now, I'll give you a chance."

He spoke as casually as if they were discussing what to have for breakfast.

"Come on, cut here. Cut anywhere, use any moves you like. As long as it hurts me—"

He paused, then grinned, revealing a smile that was almost dazzling, even a little mischievous.

"--I surrender to you."

The words had barely left his mouth.

Silence.

Gutkind leaned against the broken wall, struggling to keep his eyes open. Waves of abdominal pain washed over him, but he tried to stay awake.

Leifuerdi did not move.

Of the three subordinates behind him, Yun tilted his head, his face showing pure curiosity, as if to say, "There's such a way to play?" Nebel and Zolida moved almost the instant Lowell finished speaking.

Nebel abruptly separated his clasped hands and pressed them forward. Thick, white, viscous magical mist appeared out of thin air, but instead of Swirl, it condensed into dozens of sharp mist cones, silently piercing Lowell's vital points from various tricky angles—eyes, throat, heart, and joints.

Zolida was faster. She drew her sword, stepped forward, and swung it—the three movements were so fluid they seemed to happen in a single instant. The bluish-white aura swirling around the blade emitted a shrill whistle, and a highly compressed, crescent-shaped wind blade with edges so sharp it seemed capable of cutting through light arrived first, slashing towards Lowell's neck—precisely where his finger had pointed.

Yun let out a soft "Ah!" as if she had just realized what was happening, but probably feeling that going up would only cause trouble, she simply stood still, her eyes widening even more.

Faced with this deadly attack that came almost simultaneously and without reservation, Lowell didn't even lower the arm he was holding.

Just before the mist cone pierced his body, it disintegrated on its own, turning into a few wisps of harmless white vapor that drifted away.

The wind blade sliced through the skin of his neck with a soft 'hiss', like a red-hot thin blade cutting into solidified fat, and then... it just sank in, then emerged from the other side of the flesh, flying into the distance, slicing through a broken wall with a whoosh, and finally dissipating into the air. Not even a white mark was left on Lowell's neck, only the ends of his hair swayed gently in the wind.

The attack came suddenly and left silently.

Lowell stood still, his hair perfectly styled. He raised his hand and scratched the side of his neck where the wind blade had just 'cut' him with his little finger.

That's it?

Nebel lowered his hand, and the remaining mist around him dissipated in wisps. He looked down at his empty palm and remained silent.

Zolida remained in the position she had just swung her sword in, her lips pressed into a stiff line beneath her blindfold. A few seconds later, she slowly, almost inch by inch, sheathed the sword, her movements much slower than usual.

Yun let out a soft "Wow!" Her eyes widened as she looked at Lowell, then at her two clearly defeated companions, her face radiating an expression of utter astonishment.

Leifuerdi remained motionless throughout, his four swords hanging silently at his sides, as if he had already foreseen the outcome, or perhaps he was simply reaffirming a certain fact.

Lowell lowered his hand from his neck and slowly swept his gaze over the faces of the four Demons.

"Alright, that concludes the talent show segment."

His tone became lazy again.

"Now you know how many orders of magnitude the difference in strength is, right?"

He pointed with his thumb to Leifuerdi behind him.

"Look at you guys, your actions are methodical, your fighting is coordinated, and you even have a clear hierarchy... You used to be in the Demon King's Army, right? Before Discal died, you were his subordinates?"

Leifuerdi nodded slightly.

"Yes."

"That's right." Lowell stretched out his left hand and began pressing down on each finger of his left hand with his right hand, like a serious accountant doing calculations.

"I am stronger Discal. Below Discal is Schlacht, below Schlacht is the Seven Sages of Destruction, below the Seven Sages of Destruction is the Great Demons. Below the Great Demons, you 'generals' are the least of my rank."

After he finished counting, he looked up at Leifuerdi.

"You, Leifuerdi, are just a 'general'."

He lowered his hand and smiled.

So, you should know how many mountains separate us, right?

The wind swept through the ruins, swirling up some gray embers that twirled in the air before falling back down.

Leifuerdi for a moment, the tip of the snake's tail unconsciously and gently tapping the ground.

Then he spoke again, his voice lower and deeper than before, like a stone rolling into a deep well.

"... Yes."

I surrender.

He paused, the metal goggles seemingly 'looking' at Lowell.

"However, there is one question: why do you wish to help the Human race?"

Lowell raised an eyebrow, then rolled his eyes in a rather inelegant manner.

"Mind your own business. I'm naturally lawful, neutral, and kind; I just can't stand fighting and killing, okay?"

He answered crisply and decisively, even somewhat arrogantly. Then, as if he had just remembered his business, he made a clenching motion in the air and pulled out four dusty, unremarkable stone rings from somewhere. The stone rings were smooth, without any patterns, and as rough as stones picked up casually from the riverbank.

In short, rules must be established from now on.

Muttering to himself, he stepped forward and, without a word, slipped the stone rings onto the wrists of Leifuerdi, Nebel, Zolida, and Yun. The rings automatically contracted the moment they were put on, fitting snugly against the skin, and then their luster dimmed, becoming like four ordinary gray stone bracelets, completely unremarkable.

"Indiscriminate killing is prohibited."

"You are not allowed to eat people."

"Without my permission, you are not allowed to..."

"No..."

"Also, the daily conduct guidelines will be based on a simplified version of 'The Good Students and Knights' Code,' which Liletta will teach you to memorize later..."

He spoke rapidly, rattling off one point after another, the content so trivial it was dizzying. The four Demons listened quietly, each with a different expression. Leifuerdi remained unmoved, Nebel kept his eyes closed and said nothing, Zolida's lips curled slightly downward, while Yun wore a look of novelty and annoyance, as if to say, 'So many rules!'

At this moment, three figures flew swiftly from afar and landed lightly on an open ground not far away.

It's Frieren, Fern, and Liletta.

Frieren's silver hair was slightly disheveled, clearly from her haste. Her emerald eyes quickly scanned the scene— Gutkind lying on the ground, bleeding and pale; the enormous, unfamiliar Demons Leifuerdi wielding four swords; his three Demons subordinates dressed in various ways behind him; and finally, her gaze settled on Lowell, who was announcing the "No" clause.

"Has it been resolved?"

She asked in a normal, indifferent tone, as if she were simply asking if he had eaten breakfast.

Lowell had just finished saying the last rule, "No wasting food," when he heard this and turned around.

"Yes, of course."

He clapped his hands, his tone relaxed.

"If I hadn't flown over here at breakneck speed, this guy," he pointed at Gutkind, "Would be dead by now."

He glanced at Gutkind's increasingly pale face, then flicked his finger. A soft, milky-white light descended, steadily enveloping the wound on Gutkind's abdomen. The bleeding visibly stopped, and the torn flesh began to slowly writhe and heal.

After finishing that, he seemed to remember something and looked around.

"What's that idiot Genau doing? He's dawdling... why isn't he here yet?"

He muttered to himself, his gaze fixed on the end of the dirt road leading from the village to the northern wilderness.

The place was deserted, with only the rising sun painting the dirt road and the outline of the distant barren mountains in a pale, cold golden-red hue.

A morning breeze swept by, carrying the dry, earthy smell unique to the wasteland, along with a faint, lingering scent of blood and rust.

The four newly recruited Demons stood quietly behind him, like four abrupt statues, the stone rings on their wrists gleaming dimly in the morning light, the stone itself gleaming.

Frieren knelt down beside Gutkind, her fingertips gleaming as she carefully examined the healing of his wounds. Fern stood a little behind, his pale purple eyes calmly surveying the four newly appeared Demons one by one, lingering particularly on the decorative ribbons on Yun's legs, tilting his head slightly as if considering the practicality and appeal of this attire.

Liletta, with her hand on her sword hilt, silently stood a step behind Lowell. Her golden eyes swept over Leifuerdi, then glanced at the four long, narrow swords he had placed on the ground. Her face was expressionless, but her posture was more upright, as if she were displaying the prestige of a veteran.

A brief moment of tranquility, with only the sound of the wind passing by, slowly unfolds in this desolate morning.