"Tch, can you stop being so cryptic? You definitely know another way to deal with them."
Wirbel looked at Fíliya's feigned expression of regret and just felt annoyed.
"My, my, Wirbel, you're just so impatient. Alright, I'll be direct. Do you know why this Monster is so rare? The main reason is that it's just too weak; it's on the verge of being hunted to extinction by other Monsters. While its ability is extremely effective against mages, it has no physical resistance whatsoever, and its only means of attack is to pounce on people and devour them. In other words... for all of you present. It's time to claim some heads. First come, first served. The swift get the spoils, the slow get none."
Fíliya looked leisurely at the group of warriors.
...The warriors looked at each other, thinking, Is there really such a good deal?
And Wirbel finally understood. He now knew why Fíliya had burst into maniacal laughter at the beginning.
If he could, he would like to laugh a little right now too.
"I see... So the Demon Race's plan was... to first use that violent explosive magic from underground to kill as many warriors and soldiers as possible. Even if some slipped through the net, they could find opportunities to assassinate them... and finally, use the Wandering Shadows to deal with us human mages?"
"Correct. It's just that, from the looks of it, all their calculations have come to nothing... Moreover, I can now be sure of one thing. The demon mastermind is definitely a member of the Demon Race who was born not long ago."
Fíliya stretched lazily, because in her eyes, the conclusion of this incident had already been decided at this very moment.
"Hmm? Why do you say that, Fíliya... That demon did look very young... but how can you be certain it was just recently born?"
As expected, when it came to topics unrelated to combat, only Ehre could engage in conversation with Fíliya.
"Because it clearly lacks sufficient understanding of humans. A hundred years ago, human mages would indeed have been helpless against the Wandering Shadows. But in the last century, the theories of human mages have been repeatedly updated and have progressed many times."
"A century ago, human attack magic was still predominantly pure energy-based. The mass-based attack magic that is commonplace now is the product of subsequent iterations and improvements."
"This is because humans discovered that pure energy-based magic is easily countered and neutralized, and it isn't very effective against Defensive Magic."
"So, many mages transitioned and began researching mass-based attacks. The most representative of these is summoning a large rock to directly crush the enemy... Ehre, your 'Stone Spear Creation Magic' is one type of mass-based attack."
"And mass-based attacks can obviously inflict damage on the Wandering Shadows."
"Speaking of which, there are several First-Class Mages in the Association who are experts in using 'mass-based attacks.' They're commonly known as close-combat mages."
At this point, the first person Fíliya thought of was that person who uses their hair as a means of attack.
Mmm, if Sense were here, she could kill all these Wandering Shadows in the span of a few breaths.
"To still be fantasizing about using Wandering Shadows to counter human mages in this day and age... only a newly born demon could come up with such an idea."
Fíliya gave her final assessment, then waved her hand grandly.
"What are you all waiting for? Didn't I just say? The swift get the spoils, the slow get none."
Under Fíliya's prompting, the warriors were eager to move, but they maintained proper discipline and all looked toward their true superior.
"Alright, do as Fíliya says. Prepare to attack!"
Wirbel finally gave the order.
...
The newly born demon watched the dark mass of people rushing toward her, and she knew that this time, she was utterly defeated.
The human warriors were all still alive and well, which meant the Wandering Shadows were meaningless.
And her own subordinate demons were almost all killed... now only two remained.
To think they couldn't defeat those two Second-Class Mages after all this time... they couldn't even kill a single low-level mage.
The newly born demon looked at the last two subordinates kneeling beside her and felt only a sense of emptiness.
But facing the imminent threat, she quickly issued a new directive.
"The plan has failed completely. I'm going to escape. You will cover me and block those human mages."
After giving the order, the newly born demon quickly turned to flee.
...
"Hmph, trying to escape?"
Even from a great distance, Fíliya was well aware of the newly born demon's intentions.
But this time, she didn't use the same move she had used against the demon girl, Sani.
If she went all out, even from such a great distance, she was confident she could use Magic to Fetch Objects from Afar to drag that little brat right back.
But she now had a bellyful of questions she wanted to discuss thoroughly with this newly born demon.
Who could blame her for loving the Demon Race so much? So-called 'love' is not something that can be shared with others.
To properly 'love' this demon, she first needed a quiet environment.
So she looked toward Ehre and Wirbel.
"I'll leave the small fry to you. I'm going after the newly born demon."
Fíliya completely ignored the two approaching demons. After tossing out those words, she immediately used High-Speed Movement Magic.
And so, Wirbel and Ehre each faced off against their previous demon opponents once more.
...
There was no intense chase, no thrilling battle of offense and defense. The moment Fíliya caught up to the newly born demon, the outcome was decided.
The newly born demon couldn't understand why the one who caught up to her was the human female who looked the weakest and had the least mana.
Right now, she was in a state of having landed face-first. Her cheek had an intimate encounter with the ground.
While she was flying, Fíliya had caught right up to her and kicked her out of the air and into the dirt.
The newly born demon felt fortunate. Her opponent was just a mage, after all. If it had been a powerful human warrior, that one kick would have been enough to half-cripple her.
So she tried to escape again. But before she could even activate her mana, she felt something sit on her back and then press a foot onto the back of her head.
"If you try to run again, you'll die, you know?"
Miss Fíliya wore an elegant and pure smile, her eyes filled with a loving kindness. She sincerely hoped this demon wouldn't do anything foolish.
After all, this was the first time she had caught a young demon, so she had so, so many things she wanted to discuss with this little one, and thus couldn't help but be a little excited.
"Alright, let's begin our date."
Miss Fíliya slowly rose from the newly born demon's back, her face flushed with a slightly fanatical blush.
______
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