Frieren: Reincarnated As a Demon

Chapter 127: The conflict that started off well but ended badly

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It should have been the decisive moment—a critical moment for Fern to confront her own growth and prove that she could truly stand on her own.

The relatives and friends standing beside her inexplicably felt as though they had defected to the enemy.

Kanne seemed inexplicably flustered under her gaze, her eyes flickering as if… she had done something wrong to Fern?

The more Fern observed this, the more suspicious she became. Finally, she couldn't hold back anymore and gently pressed her hands on Kanne's cheeks, forcing her to meet her gaze.

Those purple eyes, devoid of emotion, were calm and deep, as though they could see through everything:

"... Kanne, why aren't you looking at me?"

"Wha—nothing happened! I haven't done anything wrong! Really… really!?"

Although Kanne initially tried hard to explain, her confidence gradually waned as she spoke. She felt so guilty that she couldn't even meet Fern's eyes.

This only made her more certain that something shameful must have happened between the two of them. She narrowed her eyes and glared at Ash, clearly hoping for a reasonable explanation.

"—Fern, now is not the time to dwell on these trivial matters! Don't think about such messed-up things! Don't be polite—just take advantage of my misfortune and do whatever you want to me!!"

He couldn't bring himself to say he had been playing with her friend's belly. Ash, pretending not to understand her accusing glare at all, simply opened his arms and called them over.

His suspicious attitude made Fern want to demand answers, but Frieren, who had been itching to act, could no longer hold back. In an instant, dozens of magic circles appeared around her.

"No matter what, Ash must be in the wrong! It's never a mistake to hit him first~!" Before she had even finished speaking, she launched her attack.

Despite their supposed friendship, Frieren didn't hold back. She unleashed all her strength, releasing a torrent of magical energy toward a target not far away.

In an instant, Ash stomped on the ground, churning it and raising countless rock walls around him to shield himself.

Seeing this, fern had to put her questions aside for now. She joined Frieren, summoning a large number of magic circles and participating in the bombardment.

The remaining few people hesitated briefly before subconsciously following suit, resorting to the simplest and most brutal strategy of bombarding him with everything they had.

The surging beams of light were endless for a moment, completely enveloping Ash and the surrounding rock walls in the blink of an eye.

—BOOM!!! Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!! Boom!!!

The saturated attack erupted with a blinding burst of light and deafening roars, forming an overwhelming bombardment that left even distant observers with ringing ears.

The beams of light tore through the forest, ripping apart the once-peaceful scenery. In an instant, the forest was left in ruins, the explosions causing mushroom clouds to rise continuously. Not only were the surrounding trees obliterated, but even the rocks were ground into dust.

The shockwaves from the energy explosions swept far beyond the immediate area, devastating everything in their path. Even trees far from the center of the destruction were shattered, and the hurricane-like shockwaves overturned everything in sight.

Ironically, the girls themselves, who had resorted to such crude yet devastating bombardment, were forced to defend themselves to avoid being blown away by their own shockwaves.

"Is it really okay like this?!" Kanne couldn't help but shout, holding up her shield to protect everyone as she looked toward the now indistinct distance.

Frieren, turning around with a helpless expression, responded, "What are you talking about? This is just the first stage of wearing him down... I didn't expect him to be so arrogant, actually standing there and letting us attack him. But now we need to keep at it—only then can we close the gap!"

"Even Lady Frieren think so...?" Fern, who didn't fully grasp Frieren's immense power but knew she was extraordinarily strong, couldn't help but glance at her skeptically.

Noticing Fern's reaction, Frieren sighed in slight frustration before continuing. "While he might not yet be as strong as a demon king, I get the feeling this will be even more troublesome than dealing with the corrupt sage back then."

"The corrupt sage that even the hero's team couldn't defeat head-on?" Fern asked in surprise.

"Exactly. So stop worrying about what might happen to him and start worrying about how much trouble we'll be in if he goes all out. He doesn't like to lose—neither do I!"

As she finished speaking, a determined smile spread across Frieren's face. With that confident grin, she poured every ounce of her strength into ensuring she could claim victory this time.

…

The girls looked as though they were battling a demon king. Meanwhile, two first-class magicians observing from a distance felt a little dizzy watching the chaotic scene.

"Lord Ash is so cunning," Sense, one of the observers, muttered softly while watching the endless bombardment of magic.

From her vantage point, she could clearly discern something strange—early in the chaotic magical barrage, an unusual magical fluctuation appeared on the battlefield. What made it intriguing was that the fluctuation's direction was completely opposite to Frieren and her group's attacks.

That fluctuation was the unmistakable trace of high-speed movement magic. However, because Frieren and the others had unleashed such an overwhelming cascade of chaotic magic, neither they nor the clouds of dust in the air allowed for clear detection of Ash's movements.

Especially at the start, Ash's deliberate act of erecting a rock wall for defense had successfully misled them.

One could be blamed for being overly cautious, as even a seasoned magician like Frieren would struggle to immediately react to high-speed movement magic. This technique could allow someone to strike before their target even noticed, practically guaranteeing a first kill.

High-speed movement magic, often likened to cheating, could exceed the speed of sound like teleportation but without causing a sonic boom or even stirring the air. It was a technique favored by assassins. However, its only drawback was that it could be disrupted by the magical energy released by powerful magicians or monsters when they were on high alert, causing the spell to fail.

Aware of these weaknesses, Ash had refrained from using the spell to launch a direct sneak attack, knowing Frieren would likely be alert. Instead, he used it to quietly evade their assault.

Now, Frieren and the others, entirely unaware of Ash's silent retreat, continued pouring their firepower into the spot where they thought he was.

It was only when they started to feel fatigue setting in that Frieren, fern, and the others paused their attack.

"How strange! Ash isn't the kind of person who would just allow—" Frieren began to say, but her sentence was cut short as a hand suddenly touched the back of her neck. A familiar voice followed: "—allow you to attack like this, right?"

"——?!"

Frieren hadn't noticed any reaction to the magic beforehand, but the moment her neck was grabbed, strange magical fluctuations suddenly emerged, causing her voice to stop abruptly. Her eyes widened unconsciously as she raised her hands with a mixture of unwillingness and frustration.

When Fern realized something was wrong, she was shocked and instinctively tried to turn around to attack, but...

The moment she turned, the hand reaching toward her was enveloped in purple lightning.

With just a light touch, a crisp bang sounded as the translucent magic shield beside her shattered instantly.

In the next moment, the lightning dissipated, and a large hand gently clasped her collarbone, immobilizing her. Fern froze in place, her face filled with disbelief.

"Why… my…?"

"That kind of magical defense can't protect you from my magic," Ash said calmly. "You need to be more cautious about keeping your distance when facing someone like me. Frieren, fern… you're both in checkmate."

Holding one person in each hand, a faint smile appeared on Ash's face.

"—No! I'm still here!"

After a brief moment of surprise, Lawine suddenly extended her hand and pressed down. The ground instantly froze, ice spreading rapidly toward Ash's feet.

However, the creeping ice seemed to deliberately avoid Ash, not even managing to freeze his heels. Instead, it enveloped and froze the innocent trees behind him.

"Damn it... The difference in magic power is too great. I can't freeze him at all!" Lawine muttered in frustration, though she had prepared for this possibility. She clicked her tongue in irritation.

Meanwhile, countless transparent blades materialized and flew toward Ash like a storm of rain. But…

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

A multi-layered light-blue anti-magic shield appeared, deflecting the sharp transparent blades. Sparks erupted as the blades collided with the shield, but every attack was easily blocked.

However, the aftershocks of the flying magic waves cut through the previously frozen trees, reducing them to a scattered pile of wood on the ground.

"Give up, Ubel," Ash said, his tone tinged with exasperation as he watched the girl rushing toward him, waving her magic wand relentlessly. "Your imagination limits the strength of your magic. Your specialty can't penetrate defensive magic."

"That may be true, but—what about this?!"

The corners of Ubel's mouth curved upward. Using flight magic mid-run, she suddenly leaped into the air and dived toward the ground. A cold light flickered in her hand, and the weapon—something resembling a hybrid of a magic wand and a trident—aimed straight for Ash's head.

"...Mass attacks are indeed a weakness of defensive magic," Ash commented, not even turning to face her fully. "But I doubt this level of mass can break through defensive magic."

He seemed uninterested in the outcome, turning instead to deal with Lawine, who was still firing ice arrows in a desperate attempt to stop him.

However, just as Ash looked away, he heard the distinct sound of feet landing lightly on the defensive shield above him.

In that brief moment, Ubel, who had clearly shifted tactics mid-attack, gripped the edge of the defensive shield with gymnast-like agility. She flipped her body mid-air, bypassing the defense entirely.

In a flash of lightning, her blade—gleaming like a cold trident—descended directly toward Ash's unguarded back.

But just as it was about to strike, a sudden, unnatural force of gravity seized Ubel's entire body without warning.

Her trajectory shifted abruptly. Her eyes widened in shock as she lost control, stumbling awkwardly before falling to the ground on all fours.

"Ah... have I been read?" Ubel tilted her head, her face adorned with an innocent expression.

"...I think it's better for you to give up your revenge plan as soon as possible. Aren't melee mages like you specifically designed to restrain me? Besides..." Ash glanced at the girl still lying beside him, then shifted his gaze to the two people not far away, a look of helplessness crossing his face.

Kanne, who excelled at manipulating water, was at a severe disadvantage in a water-scarce environment. Unable to break through Ash's defensive magic with ordinary attack spells, she ultimately gave up resisting. Lawine, the ice magician, lacked Kanne's support, and her direct ice attacks proved disappointing—failing even to scratch Ash's defensive magic. After a few fruitless attempts, Lawine reluctantly stopped, though she was clearly unwilling.

Thus, the girls' grand counterattack ended anticlimactically, with their primary forces, Frieren and Fern, captured with little effort.

…

…

Even at the end, fern couldn't figure out how she had lost, leaving her feeling uneasy and dissatisfied. Her discomfort didn't go unnoticed by Frieren, who had ceased resisting despite her unwillingness. She sighed and, to Fern's surprise, let out a soft laugh.

"If you lose, you lose," Frieren said with a slight smile. "Even though Ash's tactics might seem a little underhanded, you can't expect an enemy to fight you head-on in a real battle, can you?"

"Indeed… I'm sorry, Lord Ash," fern said, her voice filled with guilt as she lowered her head in a bow. "I was even thinking about lecturing you when we got back."

Ash sighed internally. So you were planning to lecture me after all? But outwardly, he maintained a composed demeanor. For the sake of maturity, he smiled lightly and reached out to pat her head.

"It's fine. After all, you're still a child. Acting willfully occasionally just makes you even cuter~."

"…I'm not a child!" Fern's cheeks puffed out indignantly, resembling a puffer fish, despite her earlier apology.

Frieren, already walking away, smirked as she passed Ash. "Next time… we won't fall for your tricks."

"…Will there really be a next time?" Ash asked skeptically.

"Of course. Look forward to it~."

"I'd rather not…" Ash muttered, sighing under his breath. He knew full well he had no choice but to rely on such tactics.

There was no other way for him to handle the situation. Sparring seriously with them wasn't an option. As orthodox magicians, their physical endurance was limited, and any mistake could lead to someone getting hurt. Someone like Laufen, who relied on high-speed magic, trained her body like a warrior to handle the strain. But Frieren and the others were pure magic users, and their bodies weren't built for extended physical exertion. While Ash could easily break through their defenses, ensuring he didn't overdo it and cause irreversible harm was always a delicate balance. He also suspected Frieren had hidden tricks she hadn't used, but since this wasn't a life-or-death situation, there was no need for her to reveal them.

After the intense battle, Kanne and Lawine quickly followed Fern and Frieren as they left the battlefield. Just as Ash thought it was over, a familiar, slightly dejected voice called out from nearby.

"…Doesn't anyone care about me?"

"Rather than being concerned about you, I'm more curious why you're still lying on the ground instead of getting up," Ash replied, glancing down at Ubel—the girl with the side ponytail—who was still sprawled on the ground. She looked up at him with an ambiguous smile, her tone as playful as ever.