"Oh my? More peculiar guests have arrived... Aura, and... Solitär. ...How rare. When did you all defect to the human side?"
Watching Fíliya's group descend from the sky, that tall male demon showed not a hint of nervousness. It couldn't help but make one wonder where his confidence actually came from.
"This guy has never died before, right? Putting on such an act."
Fíliya murmured softly to Solitär. Indeed, she had never seen such an arrogant demon.
"Be careful... He is the one I told you about... The [Bloody God of War — Rivale]."
"Oh, so it's him."
Fíliya nodded, then narrowed her eyes to size up this so-called [God of War]. Of course, at the same time, the demon opposite her was doing the exact same thing to Fíliya.
"What level is this guy, exactly?"
Fíliya asked Solitär in a low voice.
"...A demon's strength is basically proportional to their age, and as for him... presumably, aside from the original Demon King, no one knows exactly how old he is. But I still remember when I worked with him in the past, he once addressed me as 'Youngster'."
Solitär's tone was calm, but that did not diminish the weight of her words.
To call a Greater Demon like Solitär, who has lived for a thousand years, a "Youngster"... It seems the guy opposite them really is a genuine old monster.
"Hmm... Could you stop whispering? You haven't answered my question yet... Honestly, I am very curious. Solitär, how did you end up walking alongside humans? ...No matter how I think about it, I can't figure it out. Is there really a human capable of tolerating your terrible personality? And how did you cure your chronic illness of slaughtering humans? Could you tell me?"
The demon God of War named [Rivale] slowly set his poleaxe on the ground. He wore a smiling expression on his face, as if he were chatting about domestic affairs with Fíliya's group.
"Hoh? God of War, is it? ...I'm sorry, but on behalf of Solitär, I refuse to answer your question."
As Fíliya spoke, she took a few steps forward to the blood-soaked tomato. She grabbed Stark by the back of his collar and dragged him back a bit. After confirming he hadn't lost consciousness yet, she placed a hand on her hip and asked the demon before her with a face full of arrogance.
"Did you beat this guy into this state?"
When Fíliya asked this, she was actually quite puzzled.
Because based on Stark's strength, if he faced the guy in front of them, he should have been instantly killed. He wouldn't even have had the chance to bleed. Yet now, he was merely dragging a heavily injured body, not dead. It had to be called a stroke of luck.
"Let go of me... Must... kill... that... guy..."
Although he hadn't completely lost consciousness, Stark was already delirious. Blood trickled from the corners of his mouth as he kept murmuring that sentence, his hand subconsciously swinging his axe at empty air.
Is this fate working in the unseen realm? ...Fíliya shook her head helplessly. There was no need to even ask; she had already guessed what was going on.
That so-called Bloody God of War opposite them must be the guy who destroyed Stark's hometown. That's why this tomato kid lost his reason and ran over alone to challenge him. Seeing his current state, it seemed he couldn't answer questions anyway, so forget it.
Thinking of this, Fíliya gave Stark a finishing touch to knock him out completely for now.
While she performed this series of actions, the demon named [Rivale] merely watched silently from across the way, having absolutely no intention of intervening to stop her.
"Well? That young human warrior shouldn't be in mortal danger, right? I enjoyed the battle with him very much, so I specifically controlled my strength. His martial arts reminded me of someone... I still remember his name was [Eisen]. Hmm, I heard he was humanity's strongest warrior. Is he still alive?"
Rivale spoke in a very nostalgic tone. He even reached out and touched the scar on his right eye. Judging by his behavior, that obvious wound seemed to be a memento Eisen had left him.
"He is a Dwarf, after all; he shouldn't have died of old age yet... But in terms of a Dwarf's lifespan, Eisen is practically an old man with one foot in the grave. If you want to continue that battle from back then, I'm afraid there won't be a chance."
Fíliya remained with her arms crossed over her chest, eyes slightly narrowed.
"Is that so... That really is a pity. Is that young human warrior Eisen's apprentice? Although his talent is not bad, he is still a bit too green. He really couldn't let me enjoy myself to the fullest."
Seeing Rivale's emotional manner, Fíliya also made a preliminary judgment of this guy in her heart.
She was actually quite glad that the guy in front of her was a battle-crazed opponent who answered every question. It seemed she could skip the probing phase.
"Then, what are you planning to do here?"
Since she already knew the other party was a 'high-quality' demon who answered questions, Fíliya was naturally willing to chat with him a bit more, even if just to stall for time.
After all... she still didn't know the situation on Frieren's side.
"Hmm... I wanted to find Macht to catch up on old times."
Rivale maintained his smiling appearance.
"Oh? But looking at you, it doesn't seem like you're simply 'catching up'."
Fíliya spoke in a frivolous tone, while her eyes subconsciously glanced at the Great Barrier covered in cracks behind her.
"It can't be helped. This Great Barrier of you humans is really in the way. The soundproofing is too good; standing outside, I can't talk to the people inside... I have to chop this barrier open first. Hmm... It truly lives up to being the crystallization of human wisdom. To think there is something in this world that I haven't been able to completely destroy even after chopping at it with full power for a day and a night."
As Rivale spoke, he even revealed an expression of great admiration.
"Oh? I find that very strange. My intuition tells me you are a very smart guy. It's impossible you didn't think of the logic that [Destroying the Great Barrier of the Golden Land = Making an enemy of the Human Magic Association]... Yet you still did it. Shouldn't a demon as long-lived as you cherish life more? Is coming to see Macht really worth betting your life on?"
Fíliya asked with narrowed eyes. If this guy named Rivale nodded to her, she would really have to suspect what kind of relationship those two had... Do demons have that kind of relationship too? I'm probably overthinking it.
"Cherishing life, huh... That is a truly interesting topic. I remember in the past, a youngster told me her secret to longevity was [Not exposing oneself in front of people]... As it turns out, she has now abandoned that rule."
Rivale spoke, his gaze drifting toward Solitär by Fíliya's side.
"However, for me, longevity requires no secret at all... I just need to dance to my heart's content on the battlefield."
____
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