Demon Sage and Human Sage (Please Read!)

The longsword, posing no threat whatsoever, landed lightly at the feet of Solitar, who couldn't even be bothered to defend herself.

[Flashbang]

Suddenly, a blinding white light erupted from the blade, and Solitar instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.

Damn it!

In the very instant she instinctively closed her eyes, centuries of combat experience and crisis awareness made her realize something was wrong!

How could she close her eyes in the middle of a battle?

Her opponent was Frieren!

Bang—

The moment her brain registered the danger, Frieren's [Demon-Slaying Magic] struck with full force.

It slammed into her waist and abdomen without a hint of mercy.

Had it not been for her long-standing vigilance—which caused her brain to subconsciously trigger a sliver of defense the moment she sensed trouble—she would have been dead from that single blow.

Looking at the gaping wound slashed across her waist, she channeled her mana to seal the injury and stop the bleeding.

Her gaze swept rapidly across the surroundings, searching for Shane.

I need to prioritize eliminating that human who looks weak but keeps interfering, she judged.

But there was nothing.

The human's presence had vanished into thin air.

Vanished into thin air?

How could that be!

At this moment, Shane had not vanished; on the contrary, he had remained in the exact same spot the entire time.

The moment he threw the longsword, he immediately activated the [Goddess's Barrier], shielding himself completely.

[Goddess's Barrier]: Provides a powerful protective barrier and conceals everything within it.

Now, huddled inside the shell of the barrier, he wore a look of relief.

How lucky I am to have learned this magic!

The [Flashbang] enchantment on the longsword could create one favorable opening for Frieren, but only one.

Having lost his weapon, Shane no longer had any offensive capability and could only huddle inside the barrier to watch the battle in peace.

Fortunately, the Goddess's Barrier lived up to its reputation; judging by the confused look on Solitar's face, she hadn't detected him at all.

Shane simply sat down on the ground; if he'd had some melon seeds, he would have even snacked on them while watching.

Frieren did not give Solitar a chance to catch her breath, taking advantage of the hit to unleash a barrage of terrifying attacks.

The two had been fighting for only a few minutes.

The massive commotion had already drawn the attention of all the guards.

In the distance, figures began appearing on various streets, and crowds were gathering toward this location.

"General Glucks, it's a member of the Demon Race!"

Following this shout, a tall, burly figure appeared on the nearby street, commanding a large number of soldiers to assemble and block off all surrounding paths.

Solitar glanced around, knowing that her mission for the day had failed.

Without a shred of hesitation, she decisively activated her Flight Magic, shooting away like a meteor toward the outskirts of the city.

In the instant she fled, she summoned countless magical greatswords that blanketed the entire sky.

As she retreated, the magical greatswords rained down upon them!

Frieren erected a wide-range [Defense Magic] to struggle to protect the ordinary soldiers behind her.

Once the shockwaves of the attack dissipated, Solitar's figure had completely vanished.

Frieren did not give chase.

If a member of the Demon Race wanted to escape, she couldn't catch them.

Flight Magic was an innate ability for them; human mages simply could not rely on Flight Magic to catch a demon determined to flee.

Moreover.

She glanced behind her at the barrier, which was already beginning to crack.

From the entrance of the [Inverted Land], a familiar aura faintly drifted toward her—the aura belonging to the "Corrupt Sage Qual."

She realized the true purpose of Solitar's arrival.

There must be something left behind by Corrupt Sage Qual in the labyrinth, and it is of vital importance to the Demon Race.

The final wave of sword rain from Solitar had dealt significant damage.

The priests were busy healing the wounded soldiers, while their general, Glucks, sought out Frieren and Shane.

"I am well aware of your deeds, and I thank you for protecting Gostan City. We will remember this kindness forever."

"As for the demon who escaped at the end, we will continue to track her, but Great Demons are exceptionally skilled at concealment. I fear the outcome will not be optimistic."

Shane nodded.

Indeed.

With Solitar's strength being on par with Frieren's, ordinary soldiers could never hope to track her movements; launching an offensive would be difficult.

Conversely, since the enemy did not obtain what she wanted this time, the possibility of her returning is extremely high.

"General Glucks, could you explain the situation regarding this sealed labyrinth? Why has it attracted the attention of the Demon Race?"

"This labyrinth was exposed two years ago when the ground collapsed. We have yet to conquer it, and we know very little about it ourselves."

The general thought for a moment, then added, "However, based on historical documents of Gostan City in the Great Library, it may be related to a sage from the era of the Unified Empire. Records indicate that the sage once served in the imperial court before returning to Gostan City, but was eventually exiled by the nobility due to rumors of him dealing with the Demon Race. His whereabouts remain unknown."

The era of the Unified Empire, serving in the court, a sage?

These keywords instantly made Shane think of Mad Sage Charles.

Frieren, standing to the side, focused on a different keyword.

"Dealing with the Demon Race? Was it Corrupt Sage Qual?"

The general shook his head; the records were all very vague, and given how long ago it was, it was difficult to verify.

Shane glanced at Frieren's expression and understood that she was eager to enter the labyrinth to investigate for herself.

Corrupt Sage Qual was one of the most formidable opponents they had encountered during their journey to slay the Demon King. He had created Piercing Magic, which dealt devastating damage to the mages of that time. The Basic Attack Magic that Frieren uses today was developed and upgraded based on the analysis of that Piercing Magic.

At the time, the Hero Party could not defeat Qual and had to devise a plan to seal him away. Counting the years, he had been sealed for over 70 years.

If Qual had left behind any other powerful magic, the consequences would be unimaginable should the Demon Race obtain it.

Thinking this way, whether to find clues about Mad Sage Charles or to search for other magic left behind by Qual, they had to venture into this labyrinth.

"General, since this labyrinth attracts the attention of the Demon Race, if we leave it be, they will surely find another opportunity to return. It would be better to attempt to conquer it, find what the demons are after, and completely sever their covetousness to prevent the city from being attacked again," Shane said.

"You are right, but in previous attempts to conquer it, we suffered heavy casualties. We are currently unable to assemble another team. Even if we were to restart the conquest plan, I fear we would need to wait for some time."

"In that case, why not let Frieren and me give it a try?"