"Lord Nanoda and Lord Aura still haven't come back."
In the Demon Special Zone, in front of a log cabin in the early morning, Yuna spoke with some worry.
"No need to worry. Mother and Aura are both strong."
Seeming to want to comfort Yuna, Jane rose onto her tiptoes and gently patted Yuna's head.
It was a method for comforting Humans that she'd learned from a book.
"Mm, that's true. They're probably just delayed on the road."
Yuna looked at Jane before her.
Jane still looked like a small, delicate girl, her white hair now grown past her shoulders, her ruby-like eyes making her look like an adorable kitten someone would want to scoop up and bury their face in.
"Want to come watch Qual's target number two?"
"Target number two?"
"It's your disciple — Mother's grand-disciple. By the way, I'm target number one, the one Qual uses to test Killing Magic."
Jane looked at Yuna with an innocent face, extending the invitation.
"Huh?! Isn't that dangerous?!"
Yuna knew Jane's magic granted near-immortal regeneration and blood control — even if struck by Killing Magic, she could recover.
"She's the one who asked Qual to train her personally. Don't worry, the worst that happens is she gets blasted into pieces and can't move for a while!"
The words had barely left her mouth when Yuna's hand slammed down heavily on Jane's shoulder.
"Übel doesn't have immortality magic!"
"Ah..."
"Please! Take me there, quick!"
Yuna figured Qual surely wouldn't make such a basic mistake... right?
But Qual would absolutely do something reckless in the name of magic!
"Jumping around like that, you look just like a little mouse — dodge faster or you'll die!"
Qual's voice tolled like an evening bell announcing death.
Bolt after bolt of Killing Magic burst forth with each wave of his hand. Holding the Black Staff to direct the Killing Magic array, he looked like a musician performing a flowing melody.
The Killing Magic formed the staff lines, and Übel was the note bouncing up and down across them.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Trees collapsed, the ground caved in, and a few strands of green hair fluttered down!
Reinforcing her body with Mana, Übel leaped high to clear a bolt of Killing Magic screaming toward her, then briefly used Flight Magic to dive and barely dodge the second one. Without a moment's hesitation, she hit the ground in a lunge, rolled, ran, circled...
At the edge of her vision, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth... the white bolts of light didn't let up for a second.
Terror. Fear coursing through every inch of her body. She'd dodged with everything she had for so long, and still there was no warmth left in her — her blood ran so cold it felt ready to freeze solid.
Getting hit meant death!
Übel's sharp instincts kept urging her on: Move! Faster!
Her muscles strained, her bones felt like they were about to fall apart, and her Mana kept wavering.
The pressure bearing down on Übel nearly made her lose all sense of time.
"Won't you at least try to imagine it? A scene where you block the Killing Magic?"
Qual's already-wide grin stretched back even further. His waving arm suddenly twisted and pointed, and the Killing Magic array already spread around him instantly gained one more!
"Boom!"
Übel's pupils contracted as she leaped through midair!
The white light grazed right past the side of her head, its aftershock slicing a thin cut across her cheek.
The Killing Magic tore through the clouds overhead, leaving behind a clean, deep-blue hole in the sky.
That strike had been deliberate.
Or rather, Qual had been doing all of it deliberately from the very start.
The rhythmic attacks were meant to guide her dodging, until she'd settled into predictable habits and movements while evading.
Qual could actually unleash Killing Magic far faster than this.
He was simply holding back to match the maximum speed Übel could manage.
Bit by bit, like a cat toying with a mouse, he was playing with Übel.
"Huff, huff, huff."
No more Killing Magic came at her. Übel, as if all her strength had drained away, fell from midair and slammed onto the ground. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth, a coppery sweetness on her tongue.
The gap between them was simply too vast — an uncrossable chasm.
"A fairly nimble target, I suppose."
Only then did Qual start walking toward Übel.
His massive shadow fell over Übel where she lay.
Sprawled on the ground, unable to move, Übel tried to shift her head, but all that happened was a few strands of hair falling loose.
Übel had considered trading Killing Magic blows with Qual, but given the absolute gap in their Mana reserves, failure was certain.
"Exceeding the speed of Flight Magic, that special Mana reinforcement in your legs — even for a Human, you're quite talented.
Qual studied Übel closely, as though he'd discovered an interesting new species.
"Though at best, that's rising from the level of a bug to that of a mouse.
He extended the Black Staff, and with a surge of Mana, lifted Übel off the ground from a distance.
Seeing Übel's drained, listless state from exhausting her Mana, Qual privately mused that Humans really were fragile creatures.
Just as he raised his hand, a few graying whiskers fell onto the back of it, and he added, somewhat surprised.
"Seems she's a rare breed after all."
In the instant Qual had drawn closest, Übel had actually managed to touch his whiskers with Severance Magic.
At that moment, Übel's Mana had truly been near depletion, her body strained in multiple places, unable even to speak.
Qual realized that, without noticing, he'd let his guard down again.
"Lord Qual!!!"
Just as the Great Demon was figuring out what to do with Übel...
Yuna's voice, almost a roar, echoed across the entire testing grounds outside the city.
Qual's mouth curled into a grin, and he gave the white whiskers on his chin a light stroke.
"A leopard's arrived, has she?"
"Lord Aura, what are we taking these useless gold bars for?"
Schlacht had retrieved the sword that had accompanied him through years of battle, and now carried two large sacks slung over his shoulder besides.
"Idiot. To Humans, money is an indispensable thing. Since we can't slap that Earl twice across the face, we'll get back at him in a roundabout way instead."
Aura held grudges quite well, and she never let one go overnight before settling it.
She didn't have the nerve to admit that she actually just liked shiny things.
"That's right. That Human lord must be regretting this quite a bit right now. Back when I was on city defense duty with Humans, those guards would agonize for ages over losing even a single coin. Humans trade these things for their living conditions."
Draht shared his own experience as well.
"So these gold bars are really that important?"
Schlacht rarely ate, and usually only consumed the crops provided by the Demon Special Zone, so he had no real concept of spending money.
"Serves you right for always being stuck guarding the gate."
"Hey! Draht, weren't you doing the same thing as me?"
"Enough bickering, both of you. Hurry it up — I'm already starting to miss my big bed back home."
By now, Aura's mind was filled with nothing but thoughts of comfort.
____
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