A Helping Hand

Camilla's icy shadow magic clashed violently with Ruby's flame barrier, sending hissing steam billowing through the air. But the stalemate did not last long.

A sly glint flashed in Ruby's green eyes. The glow of the ruby atop her staff abruptly faded, only to erupt in an even more dazzling light.

"Break!"

At her clear shout, the wall of fire did not expand outward. Instead, it rapidly contracted inward, concentrating into a thin line of white heat too bright to look at. Like a red-hot blade, it sliced effortlessly through the thick, frigid shadows and shot straight at Camilla's chest!

Camilla's pupils contracted. The layers of shadow shields he hastily raised in front of himself were pierced one after another as if they were made of paper. He grunted as the tremendous impact sent him flying into a distant tree, shaking loose a shower of leaves. He slumped to the ground, his chest charred black and his magical fluctuations extremely faint, as though he had been knocked unconscious.

The steam dispersed, and Ruby landed lightly, planting her staff with a thump and kicking up a little dust. She puffed out her little chest, lifted her chin slightly, and brushed aside a nonexistent fringe. Though her breathing was a little hurried from the burst of power, her face was already full of pride.

"Hehe~ That was nothing special~" she said, looking at the motionless Camilla in the distance, her voice full of a victor's pride. "Before the great Ruby, a demon of that level is a piece of cake!"

The villagers recovered from their terror and erupted in cheers, relieved to have survived.

"We won! The mage won!"

"Amazing! We're saved!"

The cheers pleased Ruby even more. The corners of her mouth rose higher, and she even considered striking a cooler pose to receive the cheers.

In the shadows at the village entrance, Lowell watched the scene. "She let her guard down. She still lacks real combat experience and knowledge of demons. She doesn't even know their bodies disappear after they die. Is she the type who doesn't like reading?"

Frieren had never taken her eyes off Camilla's "corpse." Hearing Lowell, she nodded lightly. "Yes. That demon isn't dead yet."

Just as the villagers' cheers reached their peak and Ruby was immersed in the joy of victory—

The situation suddenly changed!

Under the tree, Camilla, who had been presumed thoroughly dead, abruptly opened his eyes. Bracing himself against the ground, he sprang up and, moving far faster than before, lunged straight at Ruby, who had her back to him as she received the villagers' cheers! The five fingers of his right hand were pressed together, their tips wreathed in pitch-black magic condensed to its utmost limit. Like a poisonous stinger, they stabbed toward the middle of Ruby's back!

The sneak attack was lightning-fast and utterly vicious!

"Look out!" a sharp-eyed villager shouted in horror.

Ruby heard the rush of wind behind her. Her victorious smile froze on her face, and every hair on her body stood on end. An intense sense of danger made her instinctively want to turn and defend herself, but she was clearly a little too late!

Just as the deadly claw was about to touch her robes—

"Whoosh!"

A sharp sound sliced through the air!

A flash of silver sword light appeared like a crescent moon. Though unleashed later, it arrived first, striking Camilla's outstretched wrist with flawless precision!

"Ungh." Camilla's right hand was severed at the wrist and sent flying in a spray of purple blood.

Almost at the same instant.

"Pfft!"

A soft sound rang out, like an overripe fruit falling to the ground.

A slender beam of light, seemingly unremarkable and bearing barely any magical glow, came from somewhere unknown. Moving faster than the eye could follow, it silently pierced Camilla through the heart, leaving a small, charred hole in his chest.

Camilla's forward momentum came to an abrupt halt. He silently lowered his head to look at his chest and severed wrist. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. The magic in his body rapidly dissipated like a receding tide, and the light in his eyes faded completely. His body swayed, then fell heavily to the ground. This time, he truly lay still.

It had all happened in the blink of an eye.

Only then did Ruby whirl around, her little face pale as she stared in lingering shock at the demon's corpse and severed hand on the ground.

A figure stood with a sword in hand, shielding her.

He was a young man who looked about sixteen or seventeen. He had neat, short blue hair and handsome features, with a beauty mark at the outer corner of his left eye that added to his charm. He stood straight as a pine. In his hand was a longsword gleaming with a cold light, its tip angled toward the ground. His bearing was calm and graceful. Sunlight fell on him, as though bathing him in a layer of radiance.

"You're very strong," the young man said, sheathing his sword and turning to Ruby with a gentle, reassuring smile and just the right note of concern. "But be careful. Demons are very cunning, little miss."

That smile, that bearing, that timely helping hand—he perfectly matched the image of a "hero" in any story.

Ruby looked at the handsome face before her and blinked her green eyes. A blush rose involuntarily to her cheeks, and her heart seemed to skip a beat. But then, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, she jumped half a step back. To hide her momentary loss of composure and the turmoil in her heart, she planted her hands on her hips and tried to look fierce, but the bright red tips of her ears gave her away.

"W-what?! Who asked you all to meddle?!" Her voice rose, plainly tinged with embarrassment and annoyance. "I, the great Ruby, could have handled it myself! I-I only let my guard down a little, that's all! I actually could have cast defensive magic!"

At that moment, a helmeted dwarf warrior and a young man in clerical robes with a flask hanging at his waist also approached from another direction in the village.

Heiter looked at the demon horn on the ground and shook his head. "My, my, that was dangerous. Good thing we made it in time."

Eisen silently surveyed the battlefield, his gaze lingering for a moment on the spot where Camilla's corpse had disappeared.

Meanwhile, Lowell and Frieren slowly emerged from the shadows at the village entrance.

Frieren's gaze passed calmly over Himmel and his companions before settling on Ruby. She gave no reaction, as though the spell that had pierced the demon's heart had nothing to do with her.

Lowell wore his usual indifferent expression, as though he had merely happened by and watched a show.

Himmel also noticed the distinctive pair—a seemingly ordinary black-haired man and a silver-haired, pointed-eared elf. His gaze lingered on Frieren for a moment. He seemed a little surprised to see an elf, but soon gave her a polite nod.

Ruby looked at Himmel, then at Lowell and Frieren in the direction the attack had just come from. She had not seen exactly who had cast it, but Frieren was holding a staff. Her little pout deepened.

For a moment, the atmosphere grew a little awkward.