“‘Do something’ you say…”
“Don’t forget your role as the executioner.”
Aura’s attitude was one of complete indifference, as if leaving it all to someone else. Perhaps it was because Aura’s mastered magic was [Spell of Obedience], or perhaps it was just her natural disposition. Although Lugner maintained a calm expression, he was inwardly conflicted. He knew that a violent solution was the quickest way, but now was not the time for that.
“…Forgive me, but with our current forces, I’m not confident we can repel them. We should retreat.”
“You want me to retreat again against humanity? “
“For now, the priority is to gather our strength.”
Aura furrowed her brow, but gave up on any further objections. She had to admit that they lacked the military power.
“Do we have a destination in mind?”
“Let’s head north. The northern highlands are a harsh environment, with monsters roaming freely. It will be a suitable place for us to hide.”
“As long as it’s a peaceful place, I don’t mind.”
“Then, let’s go.”
Aura and the others left the cave.
It took them half a year to cross the mountains, enduring the heavy snowfall.
Heading north meant getting closer to the Demon King’s castle, increasing the chances of running into the hero’s party. So, they took a detour to enter the northern highlands, but it seems they’ve gone a little too far. The dry, biting wind peculiar to the north was blowing harshly.
After emerging from the barren forest, Aura remembered something.
“Ah, that’s right, he’s in the northern highlands.”
“This is …… “
Lugner stood still, his voice tinged with astonishment. Linie and Draht were also wary of the unusual sight before them.
The place they had emerged into was an abandoned village.
A village devoid of any living human presence, stripped of its signs of life – that was the definition of an abandoned village, and this place was undoubtedly one. But the image Aura had of an abandoned village was vastly different from the one before them.
The entire village had been turned to gold.
People, houses, even the ground – everything was glowing with a metallic, lifeless luster. There was not a single speck of impurity, and the sunlight was dazzlingly reflected like a mirror surface.
This was the result of a powerful magic. Aura knew of only one person capable of such extraordinary magic.
“What do you want?”
The voice came from behind them. It was a calm voice.
He was standing in their rear, as if he had been there all along, his bored gaze fixed on the ground. Despite being this close, Aura hadn’t noticed his presence until he spoke. It was a testament to his exceptional control of magic.
“Macht.”
Macht, the eccentric of the Seven Sages, the most powerful among them.
Aura knew she had no chance of defeating him.
“I’m just passing through. I don’t have any business with you.”
“I see. Then hurry and get lost.”
Aura had last encountered Macht when all the Seven Sages gathered to defeat the southern hero. Naturally, she felt no nostalgia or joy at this reunion. She just wanted to leave. However, being told to “hurry and get lost” so bluntly didn’t sit well with Aura.
“What a waste.”
“What?”
“To have such power and yet shun conflict. You could use it to the fullest, but instead, it’s a squandered treasure.”
“Use it to the fullest, you say? Well then, shall I silence the nuisance in front of me first?”
Lugner, Linie, and Draht instantly went on high alert. Aura remained unfazed. She knew Macht was not the type to act rashly.
“Spare us the meaningless threats.”
Aura then glanced around the village lightly.
“If you can turn everything to gold, you could do the same to a whole city, not just this small village. Why don’t you aim for a greater feat?”
“What’s the point of that?”
“You could flaunt your power to both humans and demons.”
“That would only draw the attention of troublesome people.”
“If you make it thorough enough, they won’t dare to challenge you.”
“And then what?”
“After that? Well, you can just live however you want, can’t you?”
“This is the time of my ‘living however you want’.”
Macht narrowed his eyes, as if realizing something.
“What happened to the horde of undead you always keep around?”
“If you’re talking about that mindless army, you’re mistaken. I have nothing to do with such low-level beings.”
“But you still control the dead, don’t you?”
“The magical system and precision are completely different. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t lump me in with them.”
“Quite the impressive pride you have there.”
Macht said, belittling her. Aura felt her nerves being grated.
Lugner was silently signaling with his eyes, urging Aura to leave. She was aware of it, but ignored it. Her pride as one of the Seven Sages wouldn’t allow her to back down while being looked down upon.
“This ‘living however you want’ attitude of yours – do you have something you want to do?”
Macht, who had been responding calmly until now, paused for a moment before answering.
“I’m looking for something.”
“Looking for something?”
“It’s something you could never find in your lifetime.”
“…Are you mocking me?”
“So, what will you do?”
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Aura didn’t reply. Macht also remained silent.
A chilling silence hung between them.
They stared at each other, neither averting their gaze. They weren’t in a battle-ready stance, and there was no fluctuation of magical power. Yet, an air of imminent confrontation permeated the atmosphere.
Aura knew they wouldn’t actually come to blows as fellow Seven Sages, but she couldn’t be entirely certain. She was well aware of how capricious demons could be. She couldn’t predict what might trigger Macht to bare his fangs.
The tension in the air tightens.
A cold sweat trickled down Aura’s temple.
“Let’s stop this.”
Macht broke the silence first.
“Even if I kill you, I don’t think I’d feel any guilt.”
“…How annoying.”
Aura took a quiet breath. She was a little irritated at her own relief.
Macht consistently had a cold, razor-sharp look in his eyes. It was an inorganic quality that held the violence many demons possess. No matter how much Aura disliked conflict, Macht was still a demon. In this brief moment, Aura was made to feel that.
However, what he said seemed strange.
“You said ‘guilt’, didn’t you?”
Aura knew the meaning of that word. But she only knew it, she had never truly felt guilt, and that day would never come.
“Is that what you’re looking for? Are you perhaps interested in humans?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Talking back.”
“Then talk.”
Macht turned on his heel and left Aura’s presence.
Left behind in the golden village, Aura stood there for a while.
“Lady Aura.”
Lugner’s call made her turn around.
With a somewhat urgent expression, Lugner pleaded.
“Let’s not set up a base around here.”
“I have no intention of seeing that person again either.”
After that, Aura spent a long time resting, moving her base of operations around.
Five, ten years passed since the battle with the Hero’s party, and nearly half a century had elapsed. During that time, she avoided contact with humans as much as possible. Aura’s condition had not yet fully recovered, and her undead army had gathered only slightly. This was still a period when she needed to lie low.
Even so.
“How dreadfully boring.”
Aura stifled a yawn.
Now she was living in an abandoned house deep in the mountains. It was not so cramped as to be inconvenient, but compared to the ancient castle that had once been her stronghold, the decline was hard to face.
Rocking the creaky wooden armchair, Aura pondered.
In this half-century, various things had happened. The most impressive was that the Demon King had been defeated by the Hero Himmel. For Aura, who had no loyalty, the Demon King’s death itself didn’t matter. However, with the Demon King’s death, orders like “destroy such-and-such village” ceased, which only increased Aura’s boredom.
“Lugner.”
“Yes, what is it?”
Lugner approached Aura.
“I’m bored.”
“Yes, it seems so…”
“Isn’t there anything?”
At Aura’s rough question, Lugner showed a slight expression of difficulty. This wasn’t the first time he’d been asked for unreasonable things.
“Well, then perhaps you could train your magic powers…”
“I’ve already done today’s share, aren’t you implying that I’m lazy?”
“No, certainly not.”
Lugner immediately defended himself. He had responded incorrectly.
In fact, Aura continues her training diligently. Her passion for magic surpasses that of any other mage, including humans. Even if demons are liars and cannibalistic monsters, her earnest attitude in honing and pursuing magic is unparalleled. That’s why Lugner, as a mage himself, holds Aura in awe and puts up with her occasional selfishness.
And yet, even so… the sight of Aura casually sitting in the armchair, stifling a yawn, gave him some misgivings.
“Never mind.”
Suddenly, Aura stood up.
“Where are you going?”
“For a walk.”
“It will be troublesome if someone finds you.”
“A little won’t be a problem. You all can stay and keep watch.”
Without looking back, Aura left.
The door closed with a thud, and Lugner sighed.
“…Truly a troublesome person.”
Lugner deeply sat down in the armchair Aura had just vacated. A creaking sound rang out. Drawn by that sound, Linie and Draht came from the back room. The two of them tended to keep their distance when Aura was in a bad mood.
“Lady Aura has been like that for a while, huh.”
“She’s likely feeling frustrated that she can’t wield her power as she wishes. Or perhaps she’s still brooding over her defeat by the Hero’s party.”
Lugner said “that” and had Linie bring wine from the kitchen. It was taken from a traveling merchant they had killed nearby. It wasn’t particularly tasty or unpleasant, but Lugner would occasionally drink it to distract himself.
“In any case, while demons may have longevity, they are not immortal. I hope she can recover to full strength soon.”
As he tilted the glass of wine to his lips, his eyes met Draht’s. Draht seemed to want to say something, but closed his mouth.
“If you have something to say, then say it, Draht.”
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