The two of them, who "loved each other." passed night after night, and before they knew it, a year had gone by as orphans.
In the middle of the day, the sun shone like a waterfall through the dense forest, piercing the thick canopy of trees and casting golden specks of light on the ground.
The forest air felt warm from the sunlight, carrying the fresh scent of plants and the dampness of the soil, along with—the thick smell of blood.
Over a dozen wolf carcasses lay scattered in the forest. Wooden spears pierced their bodies, as if launched from a siege catapult.
After Aura, using her mental control magic from atop a tree, restricted the movements of many wolves, Ash combined his gravity magic with the spears to take them down. At her request, he suppressed the gravity on the last remaining wolf.
The lone surviving wolf had an intensely sharp gaze. Its fur gleamed silver under the sunlight. Clearly, it was terrified of these two monsters. Though its movements were restricted, it kept letting out low growls.
But before it could pose a threat for too long, Aura, whose magic had fully formed, created a delicate small scale with her magic.
"Now, let's see who's stronger! You or me!" Aura enthusiastically directed the scale toward the wolf, but then she turned to the side and said, "Ash! If the scale tips in my favor, kill the wolf immediately!"
The moment those words left her mouth, before Ash could even respond, the scale tipped heavily toward the wolf. The wolf, which had been whimpering on the ground, gradually stopped struggling and lay still, motionless.
"This…" Before Ash could finish his sentence, Aura crouched beside him, staring at the wolf without turning and said, "Release it, Ash. It's my pet now."
"…Oh, so your mental control magic worked? What was the scale for?"
"Good question." Aura suddenly stood, pointing the scale at him with a charming smile. "Ash, why don't you try it yourself? It's easier than explaining, right~?"
"No, you just want to make me your guinea pig, don't you?" Ash instinctively stepped back, glaring sharply at both of them.
"Didn't you always say you're the big brother? If so, you'd surely be willing to use your body to experience the essence of my magic, right? Don't worry~ I'll take good care of you~ No… You should be the one taking care of me! It's your turn to cook!!"
Recalling how Ash repeatedly broke their agreed-upon rules and always made her take care of him, Aura grew excited at this rare opportunity, like a slave finally becoming the master. However…
"What you're saying makes sense, but—I refuse!!"
Seeing the pink-haired girl approach step by step, Ash's expression shifted to a smile, and he struck first, suddenly raising and pressing his hand.
An abnormal gravitational force surged through Aura's entire body, causing her expression to change. The scale in her hand fell, and she nearly collapsed to her knees.
Yet, she managed to hold herself up and flashed a grin. The injured wolf beside her, as if receiving an invisible signal, leaped forward to knock Ash down.
But at that very moment… Ash suddenly turned and looked at the wolf.
*BOOM!*
A shockwave erupted from his side.
Dry leaves on the ground scattered in all directions. The leaping wolf was flung backward, and even the pink-haired girl three meters away was thrown to the ground, staring at him in disbelief.
"W-What?! That's impossible! Wasn't your magic limited to one target?!"
"Did you think I was foolish enough to tell my dear little sister… everything about me?"
Panting, Ash grabbed her horns and lifted her up. He leaned down slightly, pressing his forehead against hers. Chuckling, he smirked, "Tell me, how should I punish your betrayal, Aura?"
"W-What are you talking about, Ash… Aren't we a family that loves each other?"
"Yes, we're a family that loves each other." Ash nodded slowly, then his face turned cold. "So, I can't just let this slide, right?"
"…I just felt you were too harsh on me sometimes, so I wanted a little revenge. It's just a cute prank from your sweet little sister~?"
"A very sweet prank~"
Ash shrugged indifferently, showing no further dissatisfaction. He simply pulled Aura by her horns as usual and walked toward their cave. Without looking back, he ordered the wolf to drag the other wolf carcasses back.
Aura, already accustomed to this treatment, was surprisingly compliant but couldn't help complaining, "…At least adjust the gravity. If this keeps up, my pants will tear before we get home."
"Don't worry, I'll find you new ones. But once we're back at the cave, I'll give your butt a proper greeting."
"You just want to see my bare butt, don't you? You're so cruel, Ash. And you call yourself a big brother."
"It's fine. I'm starting to realize demons only give birth to one child, so I'm just your race-brother." Ash, dragging Aura with a blank expression, was completely unfazed by her strange remark.
Aura tilted her head, touching her chin with her slender, pale fingertip, and asked in confusion, "From a common-sense perspective, that statement's pretty weird too."
"From a demon's common sense, nothing's weird."
"No, from a demon's common sense, you should've killed me outright, right?"
"So, you should praise my generosity."
On the way back to the cave, while casually responding to Aura, Ash unconsciously paid more attention to the wolf dragging its companions' carcasses with its teeth.
He was used to Aura's "pranks." which were akin to childish mischief. But the wolf, sometimes obedient and sometimes baring its teeth at him, made Ash feel something was off.
However, as he instinctively glanced at Aura and before he could ask, the wolf suddenly leaped, knocking him down from behind and biting his neck.
Blood sprayed instantly, and Ash's expression changed in a flash.
"Hey! What are you doing?! Stop it!!" Aura, shocked, shouted in a sharp voice.
Her original intention was only to reverse their dynamic and make Ash take care of her; she never meant to kill him.
But the wolf, like a wild beast out of control, ignored her commands and bit down on Ash's neck with full force.
In this tense moment, a repulsive shockwave suddenly stirred the air.
The wolf, its mouth stained with blood and flesh, was thrown over two meters without resistance. Then… Ash grabbed Aura, who was nearly flung away by the residual shockwave, and used her as a shield in front of him, her head facing upward.
Her two sharp horns, pulled forward, pierced the wolf's stomach. Blood and entrails spilled out, drenching the pink-haired girl's face. Her entire body was soon soaked in blood.