"Is that so? Then it seems this is where it ends... I had originally planned to teach all my martial arts to this little girl, but the current teaching progress is only about two-thirds complete. There are still some new moves I've realized in the last century that I haven't had time to demonstrate."
As Rivale spoke, he genuinely revealed a look of regret, but he immediately suppressed it, and a smile rekindled on his face.
"Oh? You look quite happy about it," Fíliya remarked, casually placing her hands on her hips. At this moment, Solitär also landed beside her, bringing Aura along.
"Of course. I suddenly feel that I am quite lucky... Before the Bell of the End tolls, I finally found something interesting. In your human words, it would be... 'discovering the hope of life,' I suppose." Rivale laughed heartily as he said this.
"That boy filled with hatred toward me, and this little girl, are both opponents with the potential to kill me... Knowing this point alone makes this trip worthwhile... Well then, let us part ways here, Lady Fíliya. I sincerely look forward to the day I am killed in a head-on confrontation."
Rivale turned around, preparing to leave.
"Wait a moment."
But Fíliya called out to stop him.
"Hmm? Could it be that Lady Fíliya wishes to stop me...? Forgive my bluntness, while I cannot handle so many of you simultaneously, if I wish to leave, you people alone cannot stop me."
The turned Rivale still wore that confident smile, refreshing as a spring breeze.
"Of course not. I just want to correct one of your mistakes," Fíliya said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Oh?" Rivale wore a curious expression.
"The so-called 'Bell of the End' you speak of does not exist. I will not let the Demon Race perish."
Fíliya's words clearly exceeded Rivale's expectations. After all, no one could have imagined such words would come from a human.
"I see... I see. No wonder you didn't kill Macht." Rivale suddenly held his forehead with his hand, as if realizing something, and let out another heroic laugh.
"Hmm... That guy Macht was soundly sorted out by me, so don't get any ideas about him. I estimate he'll be in seclusion for a long time. You wouldn't want to fight a guy with no will to battle, right?" Fíliya shrugged casually.
"Naturally. I have already discovered a more interesting existence," Rivale said, narrowing his eyes to glance at Linie again.
But Linie only looked somewhat disgusted and hurriedly hid behind Fíliya. She naturally understood that from that moment on, this Great Demon had been 'teaching' her all along, but Linie wouldn't feel any gratitude for that; she already had someone she was loyal to.
"Hmm... It seems I am disliked. But it doesn't matter; having someone you loathe from the bottom of your heart can also be a motivation to become stronger. Little girl, don't disappoint me. The next time we meet, it won't be at this level of 'teaching'... I've talked a bit too much; I must leave quickly. The Curse of the Golden Land has been completely lifted; this is Frieren's masterpiece, isn't it? I remember she is an Elf who loathes the Demon Race to the extreme, so it's better not to run into her."
As Rivale spoke, he prepared to leave again, but this time, he still couldn't take a step away. Several beams of pure white light assaulted him. Of course, this level of attack seemed more like a simple proof of presence.
After Rivale blocked all the attacks with his axe, he looked calmly at the newcomer.
It was precisely the figure of Frieren. Moreover, Frieren was not alone; Stark was floating beside her, evidently carried over by Frieren using magic.
This made Fíliya even more curious. Even Frieren had appeared... so why was Fern still nowhere to be seen?
"What a pity. It seems I still wasted too much time. I didn't expect to run into 'Frieren the Slayer' after all. So then... Frieren, I showed great mercy and spared you while you were unconscious, yet you wish to return kindness with enmity?"
Rivale took out his poleaxe again and assumed a combat stance, his expression becoming a few degrees more serious. If it were just Fíliya's group, he was confident he could leave, but with the addition of Frieren now, he really might not be able to escape.
This wasn't to say that Frieren alone was greater than the three of them, but simply that a quantitative change had triggered a qualitative change. Two and a half threats against him meant he could easily escape, but when that number became three and a half, the threat wasn't as simple as just adding one.
"Frieren."
Fíliya softly called the name of the white-haired elf before her, attempting to break the deadlock this way.
"I know..." Frieren exchanged a look with Fíliya, then sighed. "Analyzing Macht's memories of several hundred years has already exhausted me. I also just undid the 'Gold Transformation' of the entire Weise region in one breath. My current condition is very poor... I am not arrogant enough to think that I am qualified to fight a Great Demon in this state. If I go up and fight that guy, will you help me?"
Frieren turned her head to look at Fíliya, a hint of resentment and anticipation in her eyes.
"Um... I don't know? But I will definitely protect you," Fíliya said, meeting Frieren's gaze.
"Is that so..." Frieren murmured. Although this answer wasn't perfect... it wasn't bad, she thought.
"Rivale, I have no intention of stopping you."
Frieren turned to look at Rivale. However, the corners of her mouth seemed to hold an inexplicable, strange smile. This puzzled Rivale greatly, but seeing that Frieren had no hostility, he put away his battle axe.
"Is that so... In that case, I shall take my leave."
"Although I won't make a move against you... there is a child who has tolerated you for a long time. She wants to claim a bit of justice from you," Frieren said, the smile at the corners of her mouth becoming even more brilliant.
What is Frieren saying?
Rivale frowned slightly, not quite understanding Frieren's meaning.
"After all... my appearance here is just to attract everyone's attention."
This was Frieren's final sentence. The instant her voice fell, a white light suddenly struck from the direction behind Macht, and then pierced through his body.
"This launch speed..." Fíliya was startled; she immediately understood the source of this attack. "To actually snipe from a distance of 5 kilometers... Fern, you fellow..."
Fíliya looked in the direction of the attack's source, finding it incredible. Fern's move had deceived everyone present, including her, including Solitär, and including Rivale himself; none had detected this attack in advance.
In other words, until this attack was launched, Fern had perfectly concealed her figure... suppressing her mana to the absolute limit, not letting a single Great Demon discover her.
"Fíliya, I remember I told you, right?"
In this moment, Frieren looked at Fíliya with a very presumptuous smile.
"Fern... is my most proud disciple."
...
Indeed. Fíliya took a deep breath. She admitted she hadn't realized that Fern had been hiding within a range of several kilometers like the best hunter, spying on everything... But Fíliya still felt a desire to retort.
"Frieren, you don't even have a second disciple, do you? What's this 'most' proud nonsense?"
"Mind your own business?!" Frieren immediately glared over. To this, Fíliya only issued a disdainful "Tch."
So... under this sneak attack by Fern, did it end the life of the Demon Race's War God, Rivale?
The answer was negative. Although Rivale looked slightly ragged at this moment, it was clear he had not received a fatal blow.
"Tsk, tsk... You fellow are also an incredible monster. Fern's sneak attack was already perfect, yet you still reacted... It failed to cause you a fatal injury."
Fíliya looked at the terrifying opponent before her and could only sigh with emotion. In this instant, she had to admit that the guy in front of her was indeed the strongest warrior worthy of the name "War God."
Just then, Fern, having completed her mission, immediately returned to Frieren's side. She could only fire that one attack; as long as she exposed herself for an instant, she could no longer continue to hide.
"Lady Frieren, I still failed."
Fern spoke with a bit of self-blame, then took over Stark from Frieren, beginning to support him with her hands.
"No, the opponent was too strong... You already did perfectly." Frieren smiled and patted Fern's head.
"I see, was it this little girl's attack...? Beautiful, it was simply too beautiful!"
The War God Rivale did not feel annoyed because he suffered a sneak attack; instead, he issued genuine praise toward Fern.
"To think this era has so many formidable geniuses... For a martial artist, is there anything more blissful than this? Little girl... your name is Fern, right? I have remembered your name."
Rivale's voice was slightly fanatical, causing Fern to immediately mimic Linie's appearance and hide a bit behind her own parent—Frieren.
"Lady Frieren, this guy is so disgusting..." Fern said with a look of disgust.
"Mm, I think so too." Frieren nodded in strong agreement.
Then, Fern looked at the demon staring straight at her from the opposite side. After a brief hesitation, she stepped out from behind Frieren.
"Apologies for committing a despicable act... I just wanted to avenge this guy."
Fern said this, bowing slightly to Rivale in apology. The "this guy" she referred to was obviously Stark.
"No matter. Whether it is a sneak attack or a frontal assault, as long as it is a method that can wound me, it is rightfully correct... Such a penetrating wound; even that warrior Eisen couldn't leave one on me, you know? Feel glory in your actions, little girl."
As Rivale spoke, he displayed to everyone the narrow penetrating wound on his shoulder, struck by the compressed version of Ordinary Attack Magic.
"Mr. War God Rivale... Although I do not like you, as a warrior, you are worthy of respect..."
Seeing Rivale's open-minded attitude, Fern felt she had been infected by something, so she took another step forward and spoke.
"However, you destroyed Stark's hometown... As his... his..."
For some reason, Fern's expression suddenly became somewhat awkward, and her tone paused.
"Anyway! The next time we meet, I will face you together with Stark... We will send you to hell."
Fern's cheeks were faintly flushed red, but her gaze was incomparably firm.
"Is that so... Then I truly couldn't ask for more."
Facing Fern's threat, Rivale once again burst into hearty laughter. Amidst this impressive laughter, the War God Rivale slowly retreated, disappearing from everyone's sight.
"With this, is the matter considered completely resolved... Can we return to our time?"
Solitär didn't care about what just happened; her attention had always been on Fíliya.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple... Solitär, you must know, for humans, the cleanup work is the most headache-inducing part."
Fíliya smiled bitterly and shook her head, then took Solitär's hand.
"I estimate that for the coming period, we won't be able to travel in peace."
____
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