Chapter 10: Aura & Frieren vs Schlacht
"The whole thing began about 31 years ago."
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As hundreds of scythes spun into existence, filling the air around Schlacht, the atmosphere became heavy with the oppressive hum of magic. More blades than before, dozens of lethal crescent shapes, appeared not only around him but even in the sky, casting ominous shadows as they rotated in mid-air. Each one gleamed with a menacing edge, reflecting faint glints of light as they hovered, waiting for their command. The wind howled in response to the mass of spinning blades, creating an eerie symphony of sound, both chaotic and mesmerizing. It was as if the very air had become part of Aura's arsenal, bent to her will.
Behind Aura, Frieren stood firm, her white hair fluttering in the magical wind, eyes focused, as she unleashed a torrent of attack magic. It crackled through the air like a storm, arcs of lightning intertwined with bursts of flame, each spell precisely aimed at Schlacht's every movement. The ground under him trembled, scorched from repeated impacts, as he deftly dodged or redirected her attacks, never once letting his guard down despite the mounting pressure.
And yet, amidst this deadly dance of magic and steel, Schlacht spoke with a calm voice, barely rising above the chaos around him.
"On that day, thirty-one years ago, Aura, the demon who had just exacted her revenge on the humans who wronged her, received a confession from a human male," he began, his tone almost casual, as if recounting a memory instead of facing the storm of scythes ready to tear him apart. "She accepted it. And she chose to stay in that village with him."
The blades, rotating wildly like a swarm of metal wasps, suddenly accelerated towards Schlacht. They moved with deceptive grace, slicing through the air, each one spinning at terrifying speed. Some jerked to abrupt stops mid-flight, only to burst forward again with precision, their movement unpredictable, as if hunting for their prey with a will of their own. It was like watching a three-dimensional shredder descend on him from all angles, an inescapable storm of death.
This was Spiralig, the magic that controlled Aura's scythes with such mastery it defied logic. It wasn't just powerful—it was impossibly complex. The kind of spell that would have taken any human mage a lifetime to even conceptualize, let alone execute. But Aura's control over manipulation magic was so innate, so natural. It was as if the very essence of magical control had been distilled into her being.
The scythes' greatest strength lay in their sheer numbers and their strategic positioning. Schlacht was not merely surrounded by a wall of blades; they occupied the air itself, cutting off all escape routes. For any demon relying on flight magic, this was a death sentence. Each scythe hung in the sky like a guillotine waiting to fall, and once they were deployed on the ground, they formed an iron cage, trapping the target within its deadly embrace.
Even though each blade was fragile—so brittle that a demon child's magic could shatter one with ease—their sharpness was incomparable. Each blade was honed to a razor's edge, and the sheer volume of them, combined with Aura's unparalleled ability to manipulate objects, forced her opponents to cast defensive spells over and over, bleeding their mana reserves dry. The cost of maintaining Spiralig was minimal compared to the rapid mana drain it inflicted on its target.
"Aura, don't let him escape," Frieren called out, her voice sharp and commanding as she launched another volley of devastating wide-area spells. Her magic rained down like a wrathful god's judgment, incinerating anything within its path. The scythes, with their unpredictable movements, forced Schlacht into a corner, making it nearly impossible for him to fight back without losing precious mana. And when his mana reserves dropped too low, Aura would strike with Auserlese, the spell that forced submission.
It was a tactic that Frieren had devised after her near-breakdown following the battle with Macht of the Golden Land. Back then, her spirit had been shattered, but gaining Aura as her ally had changed everything. The two of them together were an unstoppable force, and this combination had already claimed the life of a demon general in this very region. That general had been burned by fire and torn apart by lightning, losing an arm in the process, before finally succumbing to Auserlese, compelled to kill himself in the end.
"Mmph..." Aura grunted, tightening her control over the scythes as they pressed Schlacht from all sides.
"You have no honor at all."
"My husband has nothing to do with this," Aura snapped, her voice cold, though her scythes surged with even more force.
"He has everything to do with it," Schlacht replied smoothly. His body blurred for a moment, as he sidestepped another barrage of blades, teleporting just enough to avoid being cut, but never going farther than necessary. "Without that confession, you would have become one of the Seven Sages of Destruction, no matter what. That was the turning point of your life. The greatest one."
Schlacht's teleportation wasn't showy. He used the demon-exclusive technique with minimalist efficiency, conserving his mana while deftly avoiding the scythes. With each teleport, he evaded the spinning blades by mere inches, but his calm expression never wavered.
"Whether she realizes it or not, Aura was changed by humans. She came to understand humans intellectually, refrained from killing for certain reasons, helped them when she had a reason, and began to create reasons to stay with them. In time, she didn't need a reason to stay by their side anymore, don't you think?"
As he spoke, his eyes tracked Frieren's movements. The elf mage had shifted her strategy, narrowing her focus from wide-area devastation to a relentless barrage of smaller, concentrated spells. Each one shot out in quick succession, a continuous stream of deadly force aimed at Schlacht's predicted teleportation points. Her magic lashed out like a whip, cutting through the air with precision. But Schlacht moved just as swiftly, his blade of condensed magical energy slicing through each spell with fluid, effortless strikes. The shimmering blade left brief trails of light in its wake, scattering Frieren's attacks as if they were no more than sparks.
"A demon who can do such things could never become one of the Demon King's soldiers fighting against humanity. That's why Aura of this future will never become one of the Seven Sages of Destruction."
There was a weight to his words, almost as if he were recounting a well-worn truth rather than fighting for his life. And yet, despite his measured tone, both Aura and Frieren knew better than to trust a demon's words, no matter how sincere they might seem. Deception was woven into their nature, and Schlacht, more than most, wielded truth and lies like weapons.
Frieren's barrage never faltered, her eyes narrowing as Schlacht spoke. She wasn't about to let his words break their rhythm.
"But... that won't do."
Aura's eyes flashed with alarm. "What...!?"
Without warning, Schlacht's form blurred and disappeared, extending his teleportation distance far beyond their calculated expectations. He reappeared directly behind Aura in a single, disorienting movement, having escaped the carefully woven cage of scythes without a hitch.
In that moment, it became brutally clear—both Aura's intricate scythe formation and Frieren's spellwork were entirely ineffective against him.
There was no hesitation. Aura instantly abandoned her airborne scythes, every single one evaporating into the mana. In a heartbeat, she funneled her vast reserves of mana into the massive scythe in her hands, the blade growing sharper, more radiant. Her muscles tensed as she enhanced her body, moving with supernatural speed to meet Schlacht in close combat, swinging her weapon with devastating force.
"About 400 years from now," Schlacht continued casually, as if the battle were a mere inconvenience, "I will die in a draw with a human man."
"What...?" Aura's brow furrowed, momentarily taken aback by his strange proclamation.
Frieren, equally surprised, scoffed. "That doesn't sound like something a demon would say...!"
The fight intensified. Frieren, quickly regaining her focus, shifted her tactics once more. She switched from single-target spells to rapid-fire magic, each spell striking with precision to assist Aura in the heated melee. Her hands moved swiftly, conjuring spell after spell, each burst of magic designed to close the gap between Schlacht and Aura, forcing him into a defensive stance.
"At that time, I want to create a situation where I can fight one-on-one without interference," Schlacht went on, his voice never faltering even as he deflected Aura's powerful scythe with twin blades of magic.
He conjured a second blade in his free hand, a shimmering weapon that moved with almost mechanical precision. The two demons clashed in a furious exchange of strikes, each blow sending shockwaves through the air. "That's why I gathered the Six Sages of Destruction. And if there are to be Seven Sages, Aura will play the greatest role. She will hold back the human armies with her undead legions while I finish my duel."
His words were interrupted by the ringing clash of weapons. Aura snarled, pushing her scythe against his twin blades with all her might. Schlacht's face was impassive, his movements smooth and precise as he parried her relentless strikes.
"The rest can still be managed, but that is essential. That's my first request, and that is for you to take on that job." He continued, "there's no need to kill the humans—just keep them at bay. You can raise an army of monsters from the north, rather than using their corpses. It's not a bad idea, wouldn't you agree?"
"Maybe... if you weren't going to die right here," Aura growled, her voice low and cold.
In that instant, the air between them crackled. A chain, glinting with magical energy, shot out from the end of Aura's scythe, wrapping itself around Schlacht's leg with lightning speed. The chain shimmered with an ominous glow, pulsing faintly as it coiled tighter.
At that moment, a chain extended from the end of Aura's scythe and wrapped around Schlacht's leg. She charged at him, forcing him to use both blades defensively, and reinforced her body with magic to engage in a fierce close-quarters struggle.
"Guh...!" Schlacht grunted, his eyes widening in brief surprise.
"You added a technique to the chain that disrupts teleportation..." he murmured, his voice tinged with grudging admiration. "To do that mid-battle... that's impressive. And now—"
Schlacht, however, was far from finished. His strength was undeniable, and despite the interference from the chain, he began to push back. Aura could feel the strain as she fought to maintain her ground, their weapons locked in a struggle.
But the chain had done its job.
Schlacht's eyes flicked to Frieren. Standing some distance away, her face cold and determined, Frieren had been gathering an immense amount of mana. The air around her shimmered with its sheer intensity. In her hands, a colossal orb of concentrated mana was forming, swirling with untold power, growing larger with each passing second.
"That's probably enough.... right?" Frieren said quietly, her voice cutting through the tension.
In the next moment, as Aura disengaged and withdrew, Schlacht was engulfed by a torrent of magic, losing an arm to the flow of mana before the entire area was obliterated.
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