Before long, Fíliya's party found their target.
Beneath a colossal tree, so thick it would take at least three or four people to encircle it, a petite demon girl was resting weakly against its roots. Her eyes shone with a glimmer of hope, the very picture of someone who had just survived a disaster.
As Aura approached, the demon girl had detected that familiar mana.
Lady Aura... has finally returned.
Though the girl didn't know why her Lady Aura had been gone for two months, her return now meant she was no longer in mortal danger.
Besides, in addition to Lady Aura, there was another... a source of mana far stronger than Lady Aura's. This must be the powerful ally Lady Aura had mentioned she was going to recruit.
Beyond those two exceptionally distinct, immense sources of mana, Linie also sensed... the presence of a human.
That was rather strange... but Linie quickly arrived at an answer.
Lady Aura must have detected her dwindling mana, so she deduced that she was gravely injured and caught a human for her to replenish her energy.
Lady Aura is so kind... I knew Lady Aura would never forget about me.
Miss Linie clearly viewed Aura through some strange, rose-tinted glasses, and so a hint of inexplicable anticipation appeared in her eyes.
Soon, Fíliya's trio stood before this Miss Linie.
"Lady Aura..."
Linie called out in a weak voice, even struggling to get up.
"Wow, what a pitiful kid."
Miss Fíliya stepped forward immediately, making a cynical remark.
She knew, of course, that the demon in front of her, who looked much younger than she was, was actually likely countless years older, but that didn't stop her from making snarky comments.
As for "pitiful," that part was true.
With just a casual glance, Fíliya could spot three or four piercing wounds on the little demon. The kind where you could see the scenery right through to the other side of the wound.
Furthermore, one of the demon's hands was missing, and blood had long since stained her frilly little dress completely red.
To be so injured and not have turned to ash yet. Miss Fíliya couldn't help but marvel that this kid was pretty tough.
However, if they had arrived just a few minutes later, the kid probably would have died on the spot.
Shifting her gaze slightly upward, Fíliya immediately noticed the shape of this demon's horns.
For some reason, she had recently developed a keen interest in demon horns.
This kid's horns were similar in shape to Aura's, just much more delicate in every aspect... All in all, they were quite cute.
"Linie? How did you get so injured... Where are Lügner and Draht?"
Aura asked with a puzzled expression, then looked over at Solitär.
Aura herself knew nothing of healing techniques; only Solitär could use her mana to forcibly replicate the effects of low-level divine magic.
Strictly speaking, there is no fundamental difference between the mana within mages and clerics, but a cleric's Healing Magic often requires "faith" in addition to mana.
Therefore, if a human without faith, or even a demon, were to forcibly use Healing Magic, not only would the mana consumption increase dramatically, but the effect would also be greatly diminished.
Just like now—although Solitär possessed mana reserves from over a millennium, her healing effect was only comparable to that of a novice cleric.
In any case, under Solitär's Healing Magic, the demon named Linie's life was saved, but her severed hand would probably take some time to slowly grow back.
"Draht and Lord Lügner are dead... We were attacked by a human."
With the healing taking effect, some color finally returned to Linie's face.
"Er..."
Upon hearing Linie's words, Aura's expression turned awkward. She glanced at Fíliya and fell silent.
"Lady Aura?"
Linie tilted her head in confusion. She felt that something was off about Lady Aura.
The old Lady Aura would have definitely said something like, "How dare they! To kill Aura's people!" and then taken her to seek revenge against that human. But... the current Lady Aura seemed... so cowardly. And what was the deal with this human?
Linie watched the human slowly approach and instinctively prepared to attack. Then, she saw her Lady Aura shaking her head frantically, as if she'd been electrocuted...
Lady Aura, why won't you let me attack this human?
This human is well within my attack range.
Linie couldn't figure it out for the moment, but since it was Lady Aura's command, she would obey.
...And Aura breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Linie lying there obediently, not making a move.
Little Linie, you have no idea you just took a stroll through the gates of hell. This isn't an ordinary human, this is a living ancestor you can't afford to provoke.
"Aura, this little one's horns are more comfortable to touch than yours."
The moment Fíliya reached Linie's side, she unceremoniously grabbed Linie's horns with both hands.
Then, in this manner, she began wobbling Linie's small head from side to side, like a child who had found a new toy.
"Er..."
Aura's face grew solemn. Seeing Fíliya's mischievous grin, she could only frantically signal Fíliya with her eyes.
「Please, I'm begging you, give me some face in front of my subordinate.」
The ever-so-perceptive Miss Fíliya read this exact message from Aura's pointed glare.
Alright, alright. I guess it can't be helped, being so beautiful and kind-hearted. Fíliya thought to herself, ultimately swallowing the pile of snarky remarks she had prepared.
"You're Linie, right? You said you were attacked by a human? I'm quite curious about that. Could you tell me the details?"
As she asked, Fíliya's hands remained firmly clamped on the little cutie's horns, completely unwilling to let go.
Linie felt extremely uncomfortable with this strange turn of events. She was certain this was the first time in her life she had ever seen such an audacious human, one who dared to come so close and play with a demon's horns.
And what's more... neither Lady Aura nor the powerful demon who had just healed her said a word about it, as if tacitly approving of the human's actions.
What in the world was going on?
The little demon named Linie began to question the very reality of her world.
Though many questions flooded her mind, Linie knew the laws of demon survival well. Since two great demons had chosen to indulge this human's behavior, it seemed she had no choice but to endure it.
_____
🔥 Check out the new story releases! 🔥
🪦 A 25% discount is active on my P... support page!
✅ Unlock a 40-chapter backlog for ALL my series.
✅ Receive exclusive content and regular updates!
Help us reach these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 universal bonus chapter
🚀 80 MEMBERS = +5 extra chapters for ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan