After several straight days in a carriage, Fíliya had finally arrived at her destination: the northern outpost.
She presented the letter of proof old man Lernen had written for her and passed through the checkpoint without issue.
"Hah..."
Taking a few deep breaths of the Northern Plateau's air, Fíliya stepped forward with high spirits.
At last, she could begin to engage with her beloved Demon Race.
The very thought filled her with a surge of vitality.
Unfortunately, the adventure of the next few days would somewhat dampen her fighting spirit.
...She had been in the Northern Plateau for five days now, but had yet to encounter a single powerful demon.
The few waves of monsters and demons that attacked her were hardly strong; she dispatched them with ease. Interrogating those demons only added a few more lines to her notes, yielding no new discoveries that excited her.
So, she decided to change her approach. Her current position was rather close to the sea, so she might as well try her luck by the shore.
After all, she had spent most of her life so far in the City of Magic, Äußerst. And while Äußerst was a city on a lake, no matter how large a lake was, it could never compare to the [ocean].
During her time at the magic academy in the Imperial Capital, she had rarely left the school grounds, let alone seen the sea.
This was a perfect opportunity to see it.
And so, with a burst of motivation, she flew toward the ocean, thinking that perhaps she might find a different sort of encounter by the coast.
After wandering along the shore for a while, she had found nothing besides a pile of bizarrely shaped seashells, though she did marvel at the vastness of the ocean.
A short while later, Fíliya suddenly spotted a large structure that looked like an abandoned shipyard. Driven by curiosity, she began to walk in that direction.
Just then, a voice that made her heart stop sounded from behind her. The moment she heard it, all the shells she was holding in her hands scattered onto the ground.
The other party hadn't hidden their mana at all, yet she had completely failed to detect when that figure had appeared. From this point alone, the gap in mana between them was likely as vast as the heavens.
"Hey, please tell me your name."
It was a rather beautiful voice; Fíliya had to admit that. It was ethereal yet full of warmth, making one uncontrollably want to trust its speaker.
Fíliya slowly turned around.
What she saw was a demon.
An incredibly powerful demon. This was likely what the books referred to as a [Greater Demon].
The instant their eyes met, Fíliya did one thing.
She immediately spent all of her 15 million points to acquire a single spell.
[Magic of Death Substitution]
The effect of this magic was that when the user was about to suffer a fatal attack, it would forcibly transport them to a safe location, leaving a doll in their place. Although its effect was immensely powerful, one might even say overpowered, the magic came with a rather strict limitation.
It could only be used once every five years.
But that was enough. There was no time to worry about cost-effectiveness... after all, nothing was more important than her life.
Hah... Fíliya let out a long breath. She was certain this was the closest she had ever come to death in her life.
There was no way she could escape from this demon. The mana disparity was too great; no conventional method would be effective.
But having acquired the [Magic of Death Substitution], she finally felt a bit of confidence and could once again begin to observe the demon before her.
And then she was amazed.
That such a coincidence could exist in this world.
Because the demon in front of her bore a striking resemblance to herself.
The same flowing green hair, the same smile that said, 'everything is under control'—even the curve of their smiles was similar.
The same slightly slender build, the same distinct and slightly prominent collarbones.
After a brief observation, Fíliya could only spot three distinct differences.
First, the demon across from her had two short horns on her forehead, as tender as freshly sprouted bamboo shoots breaking through the soil.
They were the shortest horns she had ever seen on a demon; without a close look, one would surely mistake them for ornaments worn by a girl next door.
The second difference was that her own pupils were pure, unblemished gold, while the demon's eyes were a base of light green.
The third point was that Miss Fíliya was about half a head taller than this female demon.
As Fíliya observed her, the demon was also sizing Fíliya up with a curious gaze.
She found it novel. When this weak human saw her, she was only terrified for a single moment before immediately regaining her senses. And... she showed no signs of a mental breakdown. Even her heartbeat was gradually steadying. [G...]
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