"Are demons keeping humans, or are humans keeping demons?" The cavalry officer, Maynard, muttered, then dismissed the thought, swinging his sword downward. "Kill them all!"
"Eat them."
Aura, seasoned from forest battles, showed no fear, coldly ordering her puppets.
Iron hooves trampled the fields, kicking up dust, as the village's beast horde surged forward.
As the cavalry and beasts charged at each other, the villagers panicked, some grabbing weapons to help, others scrambling to flee.
Aura ignored them, knowing win or lose, they couldn't stay. She watched her puppets charge, frowning. "Ash, why am I fighting humans to protect humans? Shouldn't we just run?"
"Quiet, Aura. I'm thinking about that too."
Wanting only to develop quietly, yet caught in a human war, this bizarre situation left Ash helpless, rubbing his forehead and lamenting life's surprises.
Even if Aura was right, he couldn't just leave. They had lived here for years, after all.
During their conversation, the village, steeped in the stench of blood, echoed with wails, screams, and war cries, like a true battlefield.
Ash silently raised a hand, the air thickening. Blood splattered midair, abruptly shifting from its arc to fall straight down.
Knights, clad in enchanted armor rivaling heavy plate, held the advantage against the beasts. But their horses, unable to bear the weight, collapsed in a cloud of dust.
The altered gravity, though slight, proved effective against charging mounts. Villagers, unarmored and less affected, seized the chance, rushing forward with makeshift weapons to stab at armor gaps, while the beast horde, also less impacted, targeted helmets.
Human screams filled the air.
Unlike his men, Maynard, an elite among elites, rolled into a half-kneel when his horse fell, steadying himself.
"Wow, wow!" A trembling villager shouted, swinging a hoe at his head.
Maynard sliced the hoe in half with one swing and bisected the villager with another.
"Impressive, but you still need to go." Despite a familiar face dying before him, Ash remained unmoved, drawing the village's best sword and advancing.
Maynard readied for close combat.
Behind him, the mage, armored against arrows and struggling under the weight, noticed and tried to remove his helmet and gauntlets.
Ash suddenly stopped, twisted his waist, released his magic, and hurled the sword.
Propelled by repulsive force, the blade flew faster than expected. Maynard, tracking it, raised his hand to block but froze.
The spinning sword whizzed past, piercing the forehead of the mage who had just removed his helmet.
Blood sprayed as the mage, eyes wide in confusion, collapsed without understanding his death.
Maynard, his visor splattered with his comrade's blood, turned in shock, his face twisting. "You bastard!"
"You're armored for combat, heavy and reinforced. That means I'm at an advantage." Ash pressed his hand down, focusing magic to maximize gravity.
"Ugh?"
Maynard's knees buckled, his body bending under the pressure. He stabbed his sword into the ground to stay upright.
Satisfied, Ash nodded, pulling a slim, sharp armor-piercing awl from his waist.
In this world, many human soldiers wore heavy armor, making such tools surprisingly effective. Never used before, it came in handy now.
"Rest easy. I'll end your life quickly." He aimed for the neck.
Suppressing with magic and finishing with a strike was a familiar routine, but as he stabbed, his hand emptied.
The awl was snatched and, in a flash, driven into his own neck.
The speed was so swift he couldn't react. Aura, nearby, gaped in shock.
No way. This isn't a normal human! Armored and under abnormal gravity, yet this fast? Lacking human combat experience, Ash realized he'd been tricked.
As a mage fighting in melee was unwise, his limited experience compared to other demons forced him to rely on weapons or tricks like killing the mage.
Unable to speak, neck pierced, he gurgled blood, collapsing.
His wide eyes watched Maynard draw the sword from the ground, smirking through his helmet, raising it. "Too young to restrict me with that!"
As the blade descended to finish him, Ash's struggling froze.
Still an infant by demon standards, barely grown, this was his closest brush with death, and perhaps the most helpless.
At the critical moment, a magic bull charged, slamming Maynard with a thud, sending him flying.
Caught off guard, Maynard soared, crashing into a house.
"Argh! A lowly monster dares attack me?" Slowed by gravity and armor, he took the hit, enraged, readying to grab the car-sized bull charging again.
But the gravity vanished, and the bull's charge smashed him into the wall, caving it in, sending him flying somewhere.
Without Ash's gravity, the battered cavalry seized the chance to fight the beasts and resisting villagers fiercely.
War cries rang out, but soon faded, restoring the village's calm.
Under a blood-red sunset sky, despite Ash's gravity magic, the beast horde was slaughtered when it lifted, and many young villagers lay dead.
Yet the elite cavalry, capable of wiping out the village, was reduced to three survivors.
The blood-soaked trio looked grim, their armor heavily damaged.
"Just one village, and it came to this?" Maynard, the elite captain, shook his head, locking onto Aura among the weak and wounded, seeing her lack of combat strength. Gripping his sword, he advanced. "You damned demons! Die!"
A faint, out-of-place gasp blended into the chaotic battlefield.
Ash, neck pierced and presumed dead, silently rose.
His shadow, swaying in the sunset, had waited for this moment, appearing like a specter behind Maynard.
He pulled the awl from his neck, blood spraying, and without hesitation, as Maynard sensed danger, drove it into the armor's neck gap.
"Gaah?"
Maynard's eyes widened in terror and despair, unable to turn back.
Blood gushed like a fountain, his body collapsing, as a hellish whisper followed. "You don't understand demons or me well enough. This wound won't kill me."
"What?"
"Captain?"
The two remaining cavalry, hoping to avenge their leader, turned in shock.
Ash stepped on Maynard's shoulder, pulling out the awl, letting him slump lifelessly.
"You dare?"
"Bastard!"
The furious pair raised their swords for revenge, but Ash glanced at them, raising his hand.
Heavy gravity crushed their exhausted bodies, forcing them to their knees under their armor and intensified pressure.
It was simple from there. Ignoring their curses and pleas, he stabbed the awl into their armor gaps, ending it.
Sitting on a cavalryman's back, Ash sighed in the blood-soaked scene. "Why did I go this far for human infighting?"
"But this world is fun, right?" Aura stepped forward, squatting before him, hands on cheeks, smirking mischievously.
"Maybe."
Ignoring her, he stared at his bloodied hands, thoughts drifting.
His first time killing humans felt oddly devoid of fear or hesitation. Was it demonic instinct or years of killing beasts? He couldn't tell.
Though the village won, no one could rejoice. Grief filled the air.
Nearly every household mourned, but under the village head's direction, they began handling corpses, planning to sell the cavalry's armor and weapons in a few days.
Watching the busy villagers, Ash touched the bandages on his neck, contemplating when to leave.
Aura, nearby, smiled ambiguously, toying with her scale. "What if I used my obedience magic on you now?"
"Your magic's far from perfect. It relies on the strong dominating the weak, so you could be controlled too. Sure my magic's drained?"
"Good point." Aura smiled innocently, shaking her scale, troubled. "I fixed the control issue, but fair bets are tough for young demons like me."
"Your magic's too flawed. Switch to something else." Pale from blood loss, Ash shook his head, advising.
"Thanks for the concern, but with scale, I'd never lose at the same level. Jealous?"
"Think what you want."
Though a pierced neck wasn't fatal for demons unless severed, he was exhausted and didn't want to banter.
He stood shakily, heading to the village to rest and plan.
Bored, Aura skipped after him, chattering incessantly, making her annoyance level soar.
After resting in the village, despite the villagers' pleas, Ash took food, most of the village's cash, and Maynard's sword, leaving under their reluctant farewells.
The enemy cavalry's deaths would draw attention, making it unwise to stay.
Taking all the money seemed harsh, but the remaining armor and weapons were more valuable, enough to rebuild.
Half a year later, passing nearby with a new beast horde, curiosity led them to the village's outskirts, only to find it far from the thriving recovery they imagined.
Morning sunlight didn't pierce the clouds, and a terrifying atmosphere lingered. Unlike its former vibrancy, the village was now a scattered tragedy.
The air reeked of blood, villagers lying dead along the roads, eyes wide in shock.
Their expressions showed no pain, likely killed instantly. Only civilian bodies and dried blood remained, suggesting demonic work.
"Demons did this." Aura concluded after a brief inspection.
Children and adults alike, none spared, a typical demonic act: merciless, cruel, and thorough, trampling life.
Looking at the familiar statues in the village center, Ash stayed silent, complex emotions flickering in his dark eyes.
A village protected by demons, not destroyed by humans, half-dead but rebuilding, only to be wiped out by passing demons. Was this fate?
"Poor things." Ash crouched, touching a child's cold cheek. "If your Goddess really existed, that'd be nice."
Aura looked baffled. "What are you doing?"
"Just thinking I don't want to die like this."
"Then train harder."
"We need a plan."
"A plan?"
"The biggest difference between demons and humans in magic is mentorship. We have no teachers, just groping in the dark, so we're still third-rate at this age. Why not find a teacher?"
Ash stood slowly, turning to the girl always trailing him.
His words made Aura burst into laughter. "Find a teacher? Haha! Ash, you're hilarious! We're demons! Who'd teach us? Are you serious?"