"——Tot!"
Solitär seized Tot by the collar, demanding answers with barely concealed panic.
"How much did you put in?"
Faced with Solitär's tone that could have stripped paint off the walls, Tot's expression was one of pure, uncomprehending blankness — she had simply done exactly what the Demon King had told her to, so she genuinely couldn't fathom why she was being yelled at.
She opened her mouth with a hint of innocence.
"Because My Lord Demon King said to put in a lot at once... I injected enough to dissolve ten thousand people."
Solitär was momentarily at a loss for words.
In that instant, rather than waste energy arguing with this dense creature about matters of scale, she found her attention being forcibly pulled somewhere else entirely.
"You're going to be all right... aren't you?"
She stared at the puddle of rot emanating a nauseating stench, her voice tight with urgency.
In that moment, all she could do was place her hopes in the possibility that Fíliya's [Immortality] was truly strong enough.
And before long — as if in answer to that hope — the mess on the floor finally began to change.
It was like watching time flow in reverse. Fíliya's body rapidly reconstituted itself from the decayed heap — not just her flesh renewed, but even the clothes that had been eaten away were completely restored.
The moment she was whole again, Solitär immediately fussed over her like a worried mother, circling around Fíliya and checking her over again and again.
"?"
Fíliya found Solitär's behavior rather baffling. She had said there would be no problem, hadn't she — so why was Solitär still this worked up? Honestly.
She paid Solitär no further mind and looked directly at Tot.
"Mm... now that is interesting. The humans are probably racking their brains day and night trying to find a way to break through my Immortality — and here I happen to have someone who can do exactly that right beside me."
Fíliya laughed it off with a deliberately light air — while at the same time acknowledging, without reservation, the sheer power of Tot's magic.
"To think it could temporarily suppress my Immortality... So it seems that as long as you inject a large enough dose at once, or have Tot [seal] me — continuously feeding me this virus without ever stopping — you could actually lock down my movements. How fascinating."
"Mm... making Tot lift the curse she'd cast over the entire world really was the right call... Something this terrifying, if it were ever unleashed upon the human world, would become a literal [annihilation of all living things]. Conservatively, it would cause casualties in the tens of millions. Truly worthy of being called the Demon Race's [last trump card]."
Fíliya showed not the slightest distress over what she had just endured — instead, she analyzed with keen interest precisely how Tot's magic might be used to restrain herself.
"That wouldn't work... The speed at which my virus generates would quickly fall behind the speed at which My Lord Demon King regenerates."
Tot shook her head at Fíliya's conclusion, unconvinced that she could actually [seal] Fíliya's movements the way Fíliya had described.
"You... can't you have even a little regard for your own body? Is [Immortality] just something you use to torture yourself?"
Solitär looked at Fíliya and felt a rising wave of exasperation.
"Mm... not really. Physical pain like this doesn't amount to anything."
Fíliya gave a casual shrug. Pain of the flesh was no different from a tickle to her now.
After all, she endured something a thousand times more terrible every moment of every day — the chaos churning inside her mind.
What tormented her consciousness without pause, without respite — that was true pain. And it wasn't something that could be silenced by simply switching off the ability to feel.
"..."
Seeing her like this, Solitär could only let out a helpless sigh and say nothing more.
"All right — I've gotten a rough idea of things, and I've confirmed that Tot's magic can help me reshape the Demon Race. That's quite a worthwhile result, isn't it."
Fíliya placed a hand on Solitär's shoulder. She could at least tell that Solitär was upset, and this was the only comfort she could offer.
"Reshaping the Demon Race..."
Solitär murmured the words softly to herself, and felt a quiet, bittersweet ache settle in her chest.
That promise from back then — the one that had seemed like a joke — this girl had remembered it all along. And now, step by step, she was turning it into reality.
"Rivale is herding those demons back to the Demon King's Castle... he'll inevitably run into the defensive line the humans have set up, won't he? What are you planning to do about that."
"A defensive line?"
Fíliya grinned, as if she'd just heard the most absurd turn of phrase.
"Don't worry. I've already arranged for someone to take care of dismantling it."
Solitär was immediately puzzled.
After all, she had already confirmed that both Aura and Linie were still inside the Demon King's Castle — and Tot, needless to say, was also right here. And Rivale's task was not to destroy the humans' containment line.
Then... just who was Fíliya's so-called [someone]?
"Mm... while all of you were resting, I did get around to taking care of a few things."
Fíliya's expression turned suddenly and delightfully cryptic — which only piqued Solitär's curiosity further.
―――
Along the Empire's border near the Far North, a [Coalition Force] led by several hundred mages had formed layer upon layer of defensive lines.
Every individual stationed here had been carefully selected — people of unshakeable conviction.
And it wasn't only mages — tens of thousands of Imperial troops were also posted here in a joint defense.
"What an overwhelming display... Everyone gathered here must be the elites of both the Magic Association and the Imperial Army..."
Stark gazed out at the sea of people stretching beyond the horizon and swallowed involuntarily.
"After all, the Empire has now reached the most dangerous precipice."
Frieren looked out at the same sea of people and raised an eyebrow.
"The Empire is the nation closest to the Demon King's Castle... and it's also the nation with the deepest magical culture and the greatest magical power. In other words," Fern said, her voice trailing off somewhat.
"Yes — in other words, the Empire is also the greatest victim of all. Most of its common citizens possess apprentice-level magical ability... which means the vast majority of the Empire's civilian population would have been able to hear Fíliya's voice back then. On the other hand, the Empire is also the nation on the continent that harbors the deepest hatred toward the Demon Race — so even after suffering that kind of bewitchment, those with unshakeable conviction are far from few."
Frieren completed the thought for her apprentice.
"Mm... we'll be able to pass through the defensive line and reach the Empire's Royal Capital soon. I heard that Lady Serie has also established a branch here in the Empire, and many First-Class Mages have made their way to the Imperial branch, ready to face the crisis together."
While the three of them were talking, a group of soldiers in the not-so-far distance escorted an elderly woman in military uniform as she slowly approached.
"Frieren — I've been waiting for you. But at the moment there's quite a troublesome problem, and I may need you and your companions to help."
The commander stationed on this frontline closest to the Far North turned out to be someone they knew.
The former [Captain of the Mage Special Operations Unit] — Fres.
"Is that so. I did sense something was off..."
Frieren nodded, and at the same time felt a sense of foreboding rising in her chest. That sudden, irregular flutter of her heartbeat was something that rarely happened to her.
"Yes — an unidentified warrior has already breached the outermost layer of the defensive line. No other information is clear at this point."
"An unidentified warrior?"
Frieren furrowed her brow again.
A fighting force capable of breaking through the Imperial defensive line alone, coming from the direction of the Demon King's Castle — how could they possibly be unidentified? The only one who could pull off something like that was the Demon Race's God of War, Rivale.
"Is it a demon?"
She asked instinctively.
"According to the soldiers who sent back word, this warrior showed none of the physical traits of the Demon Race on their head... but as you well know, the Demon Race can no longer be identified by their horns alone anymore."
Fres's words made Frieren's chest tighten again.
What she was referring to was, of course, the magic Fíliya had developed — the one that concealed a demon's identity.
And yet Frieren somehow felt certain: if this was someone sent by Fíliya, they simply wouldn't use that magic. It wasn't that creature's style to bother hiding her identity — she was far too arrogant for that.
Which, in its own way, was a thoroughly demonic quality.
Then... just who was this figure assaulting the defensive line?
Frieren's mind churned with questions, but she accepted the mission from Fres all the same.
Even she understood: this was not the time to dwell on old grievances. Whether the Magic Association or the Empire — every ounce of strength had to be poured into the fight against that creature.
____
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