In Frieren as a 1000 years old Demon

"The strongest [Demon General]..."

"[Bloodstained War God]..."

"Liwarre..."

Frieren repeated the titles and true name of that unnamed Great Demon.

She resolved that in this lifetime, she would stay far away from any place where she heard rumors of his presence.

"An utterly overwhelming power..."

Frieren sighed inwardly.

"By the way, I haven't asked how you provoked him?"

After explaining the identity of the unnamed Great Demon, Agusheed asked the question he was more curious about.

"From what I know of Liwarre—"

"He shouldn't have any interest in a weak mage like you, let alone chase you for a whole month."

╭(╯ε╰)╮

Frieren pouted and awkwardly turned her head away:

"When we met, he really didn't show any hostility at first."

"But when he realized I was an elf, he started chasing me."

This was a lie—

Because he knew Liwarre too well.

Agusheed instantly saw through Frieren's lie.

Met?

If Frieren had truly gotten close enough for Liwarre to see her, would she still be sitting here alive?

Started chasing because she was an elf?

That madman Liwarre only cared about fighting strong warriors - why would he care about the Demon King's orders?

"Are you sure that's what happened?"

Agusheed's meaningful counterquestion made Furame immediately realize Frieren was trying to save face.

Seeing Frieren's embarrassed expression at being caught in the lie, Furame couldn't help but laugh.

o(*≧▽≦)ツ

"My foolish disciple who can't even lie properly."

Cornered, Frieren buried her face in her hands on the table.

╯﹏╰

"Fine... I admit, there might have been some slight differences from what I said."

Agusheed and Furame both leaned forward simultaneously.

Then their interrogating voices rang out together:

"Such as?"

"We didn't actually meet. I detected him from several kilometers away using wide-range magic perception."

"And?"

"He wasn't chasing me because I'm an elf, but because I instinctively attacked him with magic first."

After hearing Frieren's confession, both Agusheed and Furame showed exasperated expressions.

"What am I to do with you..."

Furame covered her face, once again questioning her foolish disciple's intelligence.

"Sometimes I wonder if I misjudged you."

"Stealth, ambush... Frieren, I did teach you to use those against powerful demons."

"But didn't I also teach you to run away from opponents you can't defeat?"

A flick landed on Frieren's head as Furame spoke with disappointment.

Frieren: .....

"So what are your plans now?"

After Furame withdrew her hand from Frieren's head, Agusheed asked Frieren.

"Hmm... I don't know."

Frieren answered bluntly, opting to give up after being chased by a Great Demon.

"Haven't thought about it?"

"Then let me offer some advice."

"From what I know of Liwarre, he won't forget about you for at least a few years."

"So you'd better not wander around outside during that time. Find a safe place to hide."

"Hmm... about seven or eight years. By then Liwarre should have forgotten you."

Frieren nodded at Agusheed's suggestion.

"I see... thank you..."

Though she knew Agusheed's concern stemmed from her master, Frieren still expressed gratitude.

"In that case—"

Furame, who had been silent for a while, spoke up.

She addressed Frieren in a tone that brooked no argument:

"Starting today, you'll stay here, Frieren."

"Aside from Seri Ai who definitely wouldn't take you in, there's no safer place than with me and Agusheed."

Furame's words as head of the household carried weight, and Agusheed at least had no objections.

"I don't mind."

Agusheed said succinctly.

After some thought, Frieren realized there really was no better option than Furame's suggestion.

"Then I'll stay here for ten years..."

Frieren said indifferently.

"It's just a blink of time anyway."

...

The very next day after saying this, Frieren regretted it.

Early in the morning when she was still half-asleep, Furame dragged her out of bed and took her up thousands of meters above the imperial capital to the back of a Celestial Vein Dragon.

Then she was handed over to Agusheed, who had risen early to decipher the [Sage Aevish's Magic Guidebook].

"As my disciple, how can you sleep so soundly after being chased by a Great Demon?"

"In recent years I'll be conducting magical theory research and teaching the court mages, so I won't have time to instruct you."

"So for the next few years, you'll study magic under Agusheed."

After dumping this long speech and asking Agusheed to teach Frieren when he had time, Furame flew back down.

Leaving flightless Frieren stranded in the castle on the Celestial Vein Dragon's back.

Agusheed, sitting at the castle's desk, casually acknowledged Furame.

Then he glanced at the groggy, barely-awake Frieren.

"I'll spend mornings deciphering the magic guidebook. You can explore freely up here."

"I'll devote afternoons to teaching you, so make sure to return by noon."

"Oh, and don't try to go down. At this height, you'll die without flight magic."

He didn't care if Frieren heard clearly.

Nor did he wait for her response.

Agusheed lowered his head and resumed deciphering [Sage Aevish's Magic Guidebook].

It took Frieren a full hour to fully wake up.

She'd already mostly forgotten Furame's words.

As for Agusheed's instructions—she hadn't caught any of them from the start.

The only thing Frieren remembered was Agusheed telling her to explore freely.

Confirming Agusheed wouldn't stop her, Frieren decided to slip away.

But having been brought up while half-asleep—

She didn't realize this was on a Celestial Vein Dragon...

Time passed quickly—

When Agusheed looked up again, it was already noon.

Not seeing Frieren around, he waited in the study for a while.

After half an hour.

Concluding Frieren wasn't just late but hadn't come at all, Agusheed extended his magic perception.

He finally located Frieren sitting blankly at the very edge of the Celestial Vein Dragon's back.

Agusheed soon arrived at Frieren's spot.

Tap tap...

Hearing approaching footsteps, Frieren knew Agusheed had found her.

"This is on a Celestial Vein Dragon? Why would one stay above 'Eisberg'?"

Peering through the clouds at the imperial capital reduced to tiny dots below, Frieren asked.

"This Celestial Vein Dragon is mine, so it stays where I stay."

Agusheed stood beside Frieren, answering calmly.

"Then how did I get up here? I remember Furame bringing me from bed."

"Isn't it obvious? Furame learned our demon flight magic, that's how she came up."

"Can you send me back down?"

"Sorry, Furame asked me to teach you, not indulge you...

But I can teach you flight magic.

If you learn it like Furame did, you won't need me to go down."

Frieren finally looked away from below to the expressionless Agusheed.

"Are you truly skilled in magic?"

"I'm the strongest Great Demon."

"Stronger than the [Decayed Sage] and that [Bloodstained War God] I met?"

"Stronger than both combined."

Agusheed's words silenced Frieren.

After a long pause, she spoke again:

"I hate demons. Demons killed all my family."

"I heard about that from Furame."

Agusheed's reply remained indifferent.

A stark contrast to his attitude when Furame was present.

But Frieren didn't notice this.

"You just said you're the strongest Great Demon. I also heard Seri Ai mention you possess the world's most powerful attack magic."

"So, what are you trying to say?"

"Can you teach me... to become strong enough to kill you?"

For the first time, Agusheed genuinely smiled at Frieren.

He could tell Frieren didn't literally mean to kill him.

She meant—

She wanted to surpass all Great Demons.

Agusheed didn't answer immediately.

Instead, he slowly raised his hand toward the vast sea of clouds before Frieren.

The next moment, before Frieren's eyes—

The clouds spanning the sky split apart

An imperceptible slash cleaved through the rolling clouds as if nothing could stop it.

"Whether you can kill me..."

"That depends on whether you have the talent and dedication to match that ambition."