An Old Friend Visits

On the road north of Spine Peak Territory, two women, one tall and one short, traveled together.

The taller one was a human woman in her twenties or thirties. She wore white robes, gold necklaces and bracelets, and her orange hair was braided into three plaits that hung down her back. A faint, elusive smile rested on her mature face.

Behind her walked a slightly shorter, petite girl who looked as though she had not yet come of age.

She had long silver hair and wore a simple coarse linen dress. A pair of pointed ears poked through the hair at either side of her head, making it obvious that she was an elf whose age could not be judged by appearance.

Looking at the human woman's back ahead of her, the Silver-haired Elf Girl softly said:

"Flamme."

"Call me Teacher."

Flamme corrected her without looking back.

The elf girl did not reply, merely asking calmly, "You still haven't told me where we're going."

Flamme smiled. "To meet an old friend."

"Surprising. You have friends other than Daimon?"

The elf girl's casual barbed remark left Flamme momentarily speechless.

She glanced at the girl and chuckled. "Very few. That's why I wanted to bring you to meet him."

At that, Flamme paused, then said with interest, "Come to think of it, I taught him magic too!"

Those words finally caused a flicker of emotion to cross the Silver-haired Elf Girl's face.

She looked at Flamme with mild surprise. "He's your disciple too?"

"Mm, he barely counts."

"Barely... That sounds suspicious."

Flamme smiled and looked ahead. "I did teach him magic, but calling me his teacher... wouldn't quite be right."

What did that mean?

The Silver-haired Elf Girl tilted her head slightly, seemingly puzzled by the ambiguous answer.

Just then, she abruptly stopped. Raising both hands, she summoned a Crescent Moon Staff with a ruby set at its tip out of thin air and gripped it in her hands.

"Demon Race."

The Silver-haired Elf Girl turned her head, calmly looking toward the forest ahead and to the right.

Flamme glanced at her and said flatly, "Go."

The elf girl tightened her grip on her staff and rushed into the forest to the right.

A moment later, a violent surge of Magic Power erupted from the forest, followed by a roar filled with pain and fury.

Inside the forest, the Silver-haired Elf Girl stood in a clearing, holding her staff with both hands as she calmly watched the fallen trees ahead and the blazing remains of the Demon Race.

"...Two eliminated. One escaped."

The Silver-haired Elf Girl shifted her gaze, following the fan-shaped trail of collapsed trees ahead.

There, a weak aura of Magic Power was fleeing at high speed. Its direction was toward the remote village that she and Flamme were heading for.

Without hesitation, the Silver-haired Elf Girl immediately decided to pursue it and finish it off.

But before she could take a step, a powerful spell bound her in place.

"..."

The Silver-haired Elf Girl frowned and turned to look at Flamme standing behind her.

"There are many Magic Power signatures ahead. It should be a village or town."

"I know."

Flamme smiled. "Do you remember the friend I mentioned just now?"

Frieren was taken aback.

Flamme smiled faintly and said meaningfully, "He's very strong!"

Ten minutes later, inside the forest north of Ridge Peak City.

A black-haired, black-eyed youth stood beside a low hill, calmly staring ahead at a wisp of dust rising at the edge of his vision.

Within the dust cloud was a towering demon charging toward him.

It possessed a massive body over three meters tall, clad head to toe in heavy armor, with a two-handed greatsword hanging at its waist. It was clearly a warrior of the Demon Race who favored strengthening its body with Magic Power and spells.

Warriors like that mostly appeared on the northern front lines and were rarely seen in the central regions of the continent.

Therefore, this one had likely slipped over from the front lines farther north.

Perhaps for that very reason, it did not understand the dangers of this forest as well as the local demons did.

When the charging demon saw the black-robed youth beside the hill, it paid him no mind.

There was not the slightest fluctuation of Magic Power from the youth. He was completely ordinary human.

A weak creature like that naturally did not warrant the attention of a powerful, arrogant demon warrior.

Compared to the youth, it cared far more about the hill beside him. That place was giving off immense, pure Magic Power fluctuations, and it likely concealed a vein of magic ore.

And at this moment, what it needed most was precisely such natural materials infused with Magic Power.

The demon warrior's burning gaze shifted toward the youth beside the hill.

Though it did not care about the youth, if it would not cost any time, it did not mind casually taking his life.

With that thought in mind, the demon warrior charged up to the youth with a savage grin.

As it passed by him, it casually swung its greatsword, slashing at the youth's throat like lightning.

The next second, the blade struck skin. Yet instead of the expected smooth sensation of cutting through flesh, it encountered an indescribable resistance.

It was as though it had not struck flesh and blood, but a towering, majestic mountain!

No—even a mountain would at least provide vibrations and sound in response.

But the youth's skin was like a black hole with its own suction, swallowing all the energy carried by that strike without producing the slightest sound.

...What was this?

The demon warrior froze for a moment, its thoughts briefly grinding to a halt.

At the same time, the youth raised a hand and seized the blade at his neck, bringing the demon warrior's charging body to an instant, impossible stop.

Then the youth tilted his head slightly, glanced at the towering demon whose face was full of shock from the abrupt halt, and slowly spoke one word:

"Wind."

With that single simple word, the Magic Power within a hundred meters instantly went berserk.

A gale rose from the ground, countless violent currents howling as they gathered into an incomparably terrifying azure hurricane that swallowed the demon warrior's entire three-meter-tall body.

"Hiss—"

In an instant, the air currents spun at high speed, madly shredding everything within the hurricane.

That included, but was not limited to, rocks, armor, the greatsword, flesh, bones, and even dust floating in the air.

From the moment the word "wind" left his lips to the formation of the hurricane, everything happened in an instant.

The demon's face still bore shock and confusion as its body shattered inch by inch, turning into ash that gradually scattered away.

"Whoosh—"

The hurricane dissipated, leaving only gentle breezes drifting around the youth.

The youth did not care in the slightest about the insignificant insect that had just overestimated itself.

He raised a hand and pressed his palm against the low hill beside him, gazing ahead as though he could see past dozens of miles to the two figures walking along the road.

"So it's a newly built highway..."

"What a pity. I thought you'd head straight for the Castle."

"Fine. This road leads to the unfinished Ridge Peak City. Seeing the village of old transformed into the town it is today should surprise you."

The youth's lips curled upward, a faint smile on his face.

A moment later, he turned around. As he stepped toward the forest behind him, he casually said:

"Let's go, Rolycoly. Stop sleeping!"

"Rumble!"

Accompanied by a dull, thunderous boom, the seemingly low hill beside him rose from the ground. Amid the distorted mimicry Magic Power over its surface, it transformed into a Unicorn Giant Beast over eighty meters long and more than thirty meters tall at the shoulder.

"Roar~"

The Unicorn Giant Beast let out a slightly aggrieved growl, then strode forward on all fours and followed the youth.