Time rewinds to the first year following Nanoda's disappearance.
The sky was still dim and hazy.
Just as on any other morning, Aura had risen early to cultivate her Mana.
Only when the first ray of morning sunlight broke through the horizon and crossed over the window's frame did Aura at last pull herself out of her immersive training.
Out of habit she walked into the kitchen — uncovered the pot, simmered the soup, fried some eggs, then used magic to bake the bread, and warmed up a small jar of milk reserved strictly for herself. Aura, who originally couldn't have done a single chore to save her life, was by now so practiced at it all that it was honestly a little pitiful to behold.
There was no real reason for it — Nanoda was a ridiculously powerful sloth who only ever cared about training and nothing for the household, while Linie was an athletically gifted kitchen pest whose cooking was the work of an actual devil.
As for Jane — that little monster who followed Nanoda around all day calling her "Mama," who, despite being roughly the same age as Aura herself, played the innocent like some newborn babe! Although, since Nanoda was a Great Demon of the Mythical Era — possibly tens of thousands of years old or more — Jane calling her "Mama" didn't actually seem all that wrong when you thought about it, did it?
Lost in such musings, Aura had, without even realizing it, finished preparing every dish.
Taking a light sip of milk warmed to exactly the right temperature, Aura with satisfaction laid out a tableful of breakfast.
The fragrant aroma drew out the other two demons who shared the house with her; before long, three of the four seats were occupied.
"Thank you so much, Lady Aura."
"Nom-nom, nom-nom."
"Hmph." Although Linie's praise certainly pleased Aura, she still let out a haughty little snort and proceeded to eat on her own.
But the moment her peripheral vision swept across the empty seat at the dining table, Aura went momentarily blank.
At that instant, Aura was once again reminded.
That fellow was no longer here...
Hadn't even bothered with so much as a word of farewell — just vanished, leaving no trace behind.
From that day forward, every single day she would linger at the doorway and gaze out for a long, long while.
Through wind and frost and snow and moonlight, in the morning, in the afternoon, at evening, even on the sleepless nights when she lay awake deep into the small hours.
An entire year — that was how long she had waited for her.
How long it had been. How unbearably tormenting, this one year.
Was she really never coming back?
Why had things ended up this way?
It was really...
It was really...
It was really...
Really...
It was really just absolutely wonderful!!!
A whole year!
A whole year without laying eyes on that awful wretch!
May the Demon King bless me, may the Goddess bless me, may the Hero bless me — let that damnable fellow never, ever appear before me again!
Freedom!
Without her realizing, a smile crept onto the corners of Aura's mouth. Never in her life had she smiled so happily.
"...?" Watching Lady Aura wear such a goofy expression, Linie tilted her head to one side, completely unable to make sense of it.
After the meal was done, Aura put on her stern dead-fish face of the high and mighty, and just as on any other day, set out to patrol the Demon Special Zone. Without Nanoda around, even the very air outside seemed fresher.
Passing by the Association she exchanged greetings with Lugner, then dropped by Qual's research institute to mooch a cup of hot tea.
Even though Qual had warned her on no account to secretly poke about, Aura was still curious about those thick, long tubular things; her restless little hand reached out and quietly gave one a touch — and the result was a chain of explosions.
In the end, on the charge of obstructing research, she was blasted out the door by Qual with Killing Magic.
Aimlessly she mingled herself into the Human districts.
What pleased Aura was that here there were no curses and uproars hurled at the Demon Race, none of those detestable faces, no Mages and knights popping up midway to attempt an assassination — she could freely show off her one-of-a-kind, perfect, beautiful pair of horns.
What displeased her was that those Humans were still impolite as ever, displaying not the slightest awe before a strong one such as herself — every one of them just a dim-witted, weak little fool.
The pedestrians on the road, catching sight of Aura's lifeless, severe face, would instinctively keep a slight distance from her. Occasionally a curious child would venture closer, but very soon, losing interest in the wholly unreactive Aura, would simply walk away.
Aura neither cared nor paid them any mind.
Whether it was the instinct of the Demon Race, or a habit accumulated over a thousand years and more, she still did not like Humans — especially that mankind's strongest Hero, who had left her with such a dark page in her history.
Of course — if there were a being she loathed even more than Humans? Then Aura would, without the slightest hesitation, name that being — Nanoda!
This evening there would be an open night market.
Aura decided not to go home. The Demon Race didn't need much in the way of food anyway, and Linie and Jane wouldn't drop dead from missing a meal or two; at the very least there was still a bit of the morning's thick soup left over.
Tonight was especially lively.
Upon rooftops, upon the boughs of trees, even upon the roadside stalls of the hawkers, the magical colored lanterns Qual had invented hung everywhere, glittering in every shade and hue, bringing dizziness and dreamlike wonder, as though the myriad stars of the heavens had descended and merged into a single sweeping expanse.
White mist drifted hazily, the cold and the warm alternating. The fragrance of food, the cries of vendors hawking their wares, the laughter of the people, and the gentle breeze of the night all mingled together, ceaselessly spreading and rising into the air.
Perhaps because she normally did not care to interact with Humans, and now strangers crowded every direction around her, Aura paused in the tide of pedestrians, glanced around, and drew a deep breath.
"Mama! Someone's flying up in the sky!"
"What kind of new attraction is this?! An aerial acrobat!"
"Good heavens! Zero-frame liftoff!"
"She's right there beside us! I saw her! Her head is all pointy!"
A flight up into the sky had stirred up a brief commotion.
"Uh..."
Instinctively reaching up to touch her pointed horns, even Aura felt rather at a loss for words.
Hadn't something rather strange just gotten mixed in there?
The throngs of people in her field of vision began to dissolve into specks under the lights, and the murmur of voices gradually receded into the distance.
"Just as I thought... I still can't grasp the way Humans behave..."
It wasn't quite boring, but it wasn't pleasant either — and yet, in this very moment, ripples were beginning to spread across Aura's innermost self.
Something was floating its way up out of the chaos.
Aura suddenly remembered.
That tiny, lonely little figure beneath the bonfire.
A voice began to whisper in her ear.
[Why? Why am I the only one all alone?]
[Everyone wants to kill me... Even my own kind despise me and bully me... is it all because I'm just too weak?]
[I want to live. If I just grow stronger, that's all it'll take — Mana, more Mana — and then everyone will listen to what I say, won't they?]
A sharp pain shot through her neck. The Magic of Obedience had taken effect. Only — this was the portion that fell upon Aura herself.
"Tch — so it really is still working, huh? Outside of a life-or-death crisis, I'm not allowed to harm Humans. She isn't even around anymore, and she's still binding me down like this!"
Aura put away the Scales of Obedience that she had drawn out from somewhere without her even noticing.
"Experiment failed..." Just as she'd expected.
With Nanoda's restraint gone, the most natural coldness and malice began to rise to the surface. In that one instant, she truly did harbor the notion of using the Magic of Obedience to make every Human in the city kill themselves.
"You should count yourselves lucky. Today, I'll let you off."
Aura had also entertained the idea of using the Magic of Obedience to enslave every Human in all of Gaderia, but she felt there was simply no need to undertake such a thankless and exhausting task; weak commoners kept at her side would only be a Mana-wasting burden.
Better to let these Humans go on living in their foolish happiness, then.
Having been defeated by a Human Hero had already left its scar upon Aura's heart; add to that the oppression she had suffered under Nanoda, and all the role-playing games with Humans that felt like children playing house, and she had thought she'd very nearly given up on it all. But Nanoda's disappearance caused the long-suppressed hatred within her to come rebounding back — and the flames of vengeance roared up, blazing furiously.
Constrained by that botched Magic of Obedience, Aura was on the lookout for an opportunity.
"Humans... Humans... wait... how is it I never thought of this?! There's one who isn't a Human at all!"
Aura, with a bellyful of wicked schemes simmering inside her, suddenly made up her mind.
She was going to leave this heartbreaking place behind, rebuild her army from the ground up, and step out from beneath Nanoda's shadow!
And then she would do in Frieren as well!
Make that Hero suffer the agony of losing his most precious companion!
"I truly am a genius — the game is over! Mankind's strongest Hero! Great Demons of the Mythical Era! Watch closely, every one of you — this is my revenge against you! Right now is the hunting hour!"
____
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