A young woman walked unhurriedly down a path in the woods.
An unerasable smile graced the corners of her lips, making it clear to any observer that she was looking forward to something.
Her straight, light-green hair was draped casually over her back, and she wore a simple, standard-issue mage's robe.
Fíliya had initially considered tying her hair up, but in that moment, she had a sudden realization: a single ponytail would make her look too much like someone she truly despised.
Her purpose on this journey was to reach the northern border and support her colleagues there.
But if she had her choice, what she truly wanted was to cross the border pass and venture into the more dangerous Northern Plateau.
Unfortunately, the land route to the Northern Plateau was now sealed; theoretically, only powerful individuals ranked First-Class Mage or higher were qualified to pass.
Yes, theoretically.
If some fool who lacked the strength was still determined to go to the Northern Plateau, unafraid of death, it wasn't entirely impossible.
By water... or simply by flying.
But Fíliya had no plans to do so yet. Having accepted the commission to support her colleagues, she would not abandon her responsibilities.
Speaking of which, her knowledge of the Demon Race came only from books and the teachings of her predecessors... In fact, she had never encountered a single one.
However, she would meet them soon. She firmly believed the power of 'love' would bring her and the Demon Race together.
She was not too far from the defenders' garrison on the northern border. In her mind, it was about time for scattered members of the Demon Race to appear and try to intercept her, the reinforcement.
After all, she had no intention of concealing her mana.
Firstly, because her mana pool wasn't large to begin with—considered on the weaker side even for a Second-Class Mage—so there was no need to suppress it.
She just had to walk normally along the road, and that would be enough to attract the Demon Race to hunt her.
And secondly... she disliked the feeling of concealing her mana.
In that respect, she was quite similar to the Demon Race from the books, she thought.
...After a short while, she finally encountered the object of her heart's desire.
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from the woods, clearly indicating that something was about to emerge.
Three demons, each a bit taller than her, blocked the path before and behind Fíliya with excited expressions.
Hmm? A little faster than I expected.
Fíliya raised an eyebrow slightly and stopped in her tracks.
"Human mage, answer my questions, and I'll let you suffer a little less."
It was a group of two men and one woman—oh, no, two males and one female.
It was obvious that the female looking down on her condescendingly was the leader of this small squad.
"Hmm, it's exactly as the books say. Even though the Demon Race is capable of concealing their mana to set up ambushes and launch sneak attacks, as soon as they confirm their opponent is also a mage, they always reveal themselves openly before the human... How interesting."
Fíliya chuckled softly, as if she hadn't heard the demon's threat at all.
Fíliya's behavior astonished the three demons surrounding her.
In their experience, humans in this situation would only leave behind last words filled with either anger or despair. Faced with such an overwhelming difference in mana, why hadn't this human broken down?
She observed clearly that the human mage before her was weak.
She must have been driven mad by the sheer disparity in strength.
This was the only conclusion the demon could draw from her limited understanding.
"Human mage, why are you the only one coming to reinforce the front line?"
After a moment's thought, she voiced her question.
Based on experience, human parties usually consisted of four to five people, divided into a vanguard and a rear guard.
But... this mage was all alone.
Could it be that the humans had decided to abandon this battlefield, and that's why they sent someone of this level to their death?
"The answer is simple."
Fíliya dusted off her robe, then looked up at the demon before her with a renewed smile.
"Because I'm strong. Much stronger than a standard adventuring party, you see."
...
The scene fell into a strange, eerie silence.
After the three demons glanced at each other, the other male demon, positioned diagonally in front of Fíliya, spoke up.
"This human has been scared witless. There's no point talking to her anymore. It's just a pity that humans who've gone mad don't taste very good."
The instant the demon's words fell.
Fíliya vanished from her spot as if by teleportation and then, abruptly, appeared right in front of that demon.
"Oh? Is that so? Do humans who've gone mad have a different texture and taste to the Demon Race? Could you tell me more about that in detail? I'm very curious."
Fíliya's large eyes sparkled, devoid of any other emotion save for a fervent academic curiosity.
This bizarre behavior gave the three demons quite a start.
Of course, the Demon Race itself does not possess the emotion of fear; they simply felt a sense of the absurd at a situation developing so contrary to their expectations.
The female leader, in particular, was stunned by Fíliya's speed.
What was that?
She couldn't understand. Fíliya was clearly capable of casting such high-speed movement magic, yet she showed no intention of escaping, or even... of attacking.
If the human mage had launched a surprise attack immediately after that high-speed movement, the other two, aside from herself, would have undoubtedly been in mortal danger.
And yet this woman was asking about some nonsense, squandering the perfect opportunity.
"Hm? Why aren't you talking? I'm asking you a question."
"Please, tell me your name. How many humans have you encountered before? How do you usually kill people? When you eat people, which part do you start with? Do you prefer to eat men or women?"
Fíliya's barrage of questions left the male demon feeling utterly bewildered.
At the same time, it finally understood.
It had indeed seen plenty of humans driven mad by fear, but... the woman before it was definitely not one of them.
"Attack!"
Suddenly, the female demon leader gave the order.
A sinister feeling had begun to creep over her body.
This woman... is clearly weak.
But why do I feel she's so dangerous?
Though she couldn't understand it, that didn't stop her from making a judgment.
This human mage had to be killed. Immediately.
The order was timely enough, but the scene the female demon wanted did not unfold.
Just as she was about to demand why her subordinates weren't acting, she saw it.
Both male demons had collapsed to the ground, their faces twisted in extreme agony. They were neither unconscious nor dead.
Then, the two demons began clawing frantically at their own necks, making strange noises from their mouths.
It sounded like they were swallowing, yet also like they were vomiting.
Within the space of a few breaths, the two demons' eyes rolled back into their heads. Finally, after a series of violent coughs, their struggles gradually ceased.
The female demon watched this scene, feeling as though her entire worldview was being shattered.
She watched as her two subordinates' bodies gradually turned to ash, only then realizing.
They were dead.
But why? When did this human attack... and what kind of magic could create such a grotesque scene?
She could not comprehend it.
"Eh? So it's true that the Demon Race doesn't leave corpses when they die. They turn to ash just like that... What a shame. I really wanted to study the anatomy of the Demon Race... But it's fine, there's still one left, after all."
To the remaining female demon, the young woman's smile, which by all accounts should have been serene and lovely, now looked like the wicked grin of a fiend.
"Who... Who in the world are you?"
The demon couldn't help but ask.
"Oh? That's right. I haven't introduced myself."
Fíliya put on an expression of sudden realization, then stuck out her tongue playfully.
Of course, such a gesture only sent a deeper chill down the demon's spine.
"Second-Class Mage, Fíliya. I am a..."
"'Demon Race enthusiast.'"
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This is a new Frieren story that I'm reading. I found it very interesting and I hope you all like it too!
I've read the first 60 chapters and Fíliya won me over with her quirky little way, Rsrs