"Macht, for no reason, going among humans, even deliberately serving humans, could it be that he wants to…", He muttered to himself, feeling as though he had already grasped the fundamental reason behind Macht's strange behavior.
But at that very moment, Aura suddenly slapped his thigh and pointed excitedly at two soldiers in the distance who were fiercely clashing with their opponents.
"Ash! That one's good! I've liked him for three years already. Do you think he'll die? He will, right? I really want to add him to my collection~! His opponent looks evenly matched too, they might even die together!"
"When I'm thinking about something serious, could you please be quiet and not interrupt me?"
Even though his face was full of annoyance, he still followed her finger and looked toward the two soldiers charging at the very front of the battlefield.
Those two were fighting ferociously, and both were already heavily wounded. They might not make it through the night.
But he did not care about that at all right now. While dealing with Aura, his thoughts had already drifted unconsciously back to the fortress city they had passed earlier.
As night deepened, the chaotic battlefield finally paused its fighting for the time being, returning to a state of confrontation between the two armies.
Even though there were plenty of casualties that day, Aura had only carefully selected a little over ten bloodstained soldiers.
After casually giving them orders to guard below the platform, she very casually lay down on the ground. Or more precisely, she lay across Ash's lap as he sat cross-legged on the ground.
"Ash-sama, I won't hold back either," Linie followed suit without the slightest hesitation and lay down on the other side.
"You guys really are getting more willful by the day," Left hand stroking the older girl, right hand stroking the l0li, fully enjoying the similar yet subtly different feel of their pink hair, Ash was also rendered unable to move by the two of them. All he could do was silently close his eyes and train his mana through the night, waiting for time to pass.
The next day, just as dawn began to break,
The two girls woke up while stretching lazily. He then made an excuse about having something on his mind and temporarily parted from the confused pair, flying back alone to the fortress city of Weise.
Because he had basically sorted things out. The reason Macht lived among humans and served them in that city was clearly because he wanted to understand human emotions.
So would Macht succeed? After thirty years of painstaking effort, would it really work? He was genuinely curious.
After all, this had a lot to do with his future plans. Moreover, humans discovering that he was associating with demonkind was also a hidden risk before those plans were put into action.
———
Inside the fortress city, protected by double walls and numerous towers, the morning hours were bustling with noise, with pedestrians coming and going in endless streams.
Breaking through the city's height-restriction barrier, Ash flew at high speed over the city and quickly spotted his target.
At that moment, the conspicuous demon man, Macht, was walking together with his Lord Gluck, the elderly noble with a cigarette in his mouth, along a quiet street in a secluded corner of the city.
Ash quickly descended to the ground and landed right in front of the two.
The sudden arrival from the sky made both of them stop and look up instinctively.
The elderly noble, Gluck, cigarette still in his mouth, smiled at that moment, "Your friend came to see you again."
"I wouldn't quite call him a friend," Macht shook his head slightly, then looked at Ash with a playful smile, "To appear at a time like this… did you discover something?"
"More or less. You've revealed quite a bit yourself."
"Is that so? I was actually planning to carry it out a bit later, but now… this timing works too. After all, Lord Gluck is already old," Macht smiled at the old man beside him and slowly spoke words of farewell.
"Lord Gluck, the time I spent with you was short, but to me it was priceless. So, I've decided to personally destroy all of this."
"As your last words, that's really quite sentimental…", Gluck seemed to have expected this. He showed not the slightest fear at the sudden declaration, and when Macht revealed a hint of surprise, he laughed.
"What are you surprised about, Macht? We've dealt with each other for thirty years. You helping me act as an executioner in the shadows, helping me obtain true power, was all for this day, wasn't it?"
"Because compared to killing strangers, killing a friend I've known for decades, and destroying with my own hands a flourishing city I created, would better allow me to understand the concepts of malice and guilt," Macht calmly stated his true purpose for serving this city, then turned his gaze back to Ash and suggested, "Could you wait a moment?"
"Wait for what? You've already started casting your magic, haven't you?", Having been on guard the entire time, Ash took two steps back as he spoke, because the stone tiles beneath Macht's feet were rapidly turning to gold.
Even the defensive spell formations that automatically surfaced around Ash collapsed the moment they made contact, being corroded instantly.
This bizarre situation made him avoid the spreading gold as if an ordinary person had touched acid.
But Gluck, a noble whose strength was unimpressive and who could even be said to lack any combat ability, had no intention of fleeing at all. He simply stood there, calmly took a deep drag from his cigarette, and smiled at Macht.
"Macht, you're my important friend, and just like me, you're a hopeless villain. So… one day, you'll surely face retribution as well."
"Is that so?", Macht nodded slightly, and sensing killing intent directed at himself, Ash chose to strike preemptively. Without warning, he cut into their conversation and swung his hand toward Macht.
"Like— this."
Gravity-charged lightning shot forth along his arm.
The ground cracked under the abnormal gravity. In that split second, Macht flung the cloak from his shoulder, which instantly transformed into a wave-shaped golden shield.
BOOM!
In an instant, Macht was blasted back over ten meters. Behind him, two buildings collapsed under the abnormal gravity waves left behind as the lightning dissipated, sending clouds of dust into the air.
However, when the dust settled, the thin golden shield remained completely intact.
Even the damaged ground only affected the portions that had not yet been turned to gold. Not a single golden tile was harmed.
This made Ash smack his lips, "Impressive. So these golden constructs really are indestructible like the rumors say. Or is my own level just lacking?"
"I've heard you're a great demon as well. You really are formidable," Gluck, whose lower body had already turned to gold but whose transformation had temporarily stopped due to Ash's interference, looked at him with curiosity and spoke casually, "But you'd better run. He's far more dangerous than you imagine."
"I can kind of tell. But you're awfully calm."
"Because I've lived long enough. I was a villain who should've died long ago anyway. Dying sooner or later doesn't make much difference," Gluck looked completely unconcerned, even taking a couple more drags from his cigarette.
On the other side, Macht restored his cloak to its original form, and in the next moment it transformed into a golden spear. He stepped slowly forward on ground rapidly turning to gold.
"Honestly, I don't really understand why you came back. Are you here to die?"
"No. I just wanted to verify a guess. And if there are humans who've discovered I associate with demonkind, it wouldn't be good to leave that unresolved. But judging from the current situation, it doesn't seem necessary to act."
"If that's the case, why are you still here? I have more important matters to attend to. I don't have time to waste on you."
"Alright then. See you later. And, Mr. Gluck, was it? Have a pleasant journey~"
To avoid accidentally touching the ground and being turned to gold, Ash remained floating in midair and had no intention of staying longer. He waved casually without turning his head and vanished into the sky in the blink of an eye.
"Such an interesting person. Not going to chase him?", Gluck smiled and looked up.
"He's flying too fast. If he really wants to escape, he's hard to catch. Probably using gravity for propulsion. Normal flight magic isn't that fast," Macht merely glanced at the sky as the gold beneath his feet began spreading again.
"Is that so? Then it really is time to say goodbye. Macht, these years truly were a wonderful journey."
"I feel the same way, Lord Gluck," Macht smiled and nodded, watching as the gold gradually crept up over Gluck's head.
Once Gluck was completely turned to gold, the golden transformation of the surrounding streets suddenly accelerated, like a tidal wave of gold.
In just a few breaths, the entire fortress city was completely golden.
Pedestrians on the streets had no idea what was happening. They retained the expressions of their everyday lives from the previous moment, and were turned into gleaming statues of gold by the magic.
The fortress city, bustling with noise just moments before, fell into a deathly silence in the blink of an eye.
Everything within the city, humans included, every blade of grass, every brick and tile, had turned into shining gold.
The only one still able to move was the instigator, Macht.
He wandered through the familiar streets, his brow furrowed as he pondered something.
Before he could reach an answer, Ash, who had already left, returned again and observed the surroundings from midair, asking with curiosity, "So, how did it turn out?"
"You really dared to come back."
"Don't be so stingy."
"Hard to say," Macht closed his eyes as if carefully sensing something, "At the instant everything turned to gold, I did feel something. There was an indescribable emotion in my heart, but… it was only for a moment."
"Is that so? Well, I figured as much," Ash was a bit curious about that fleeting emotion, but since Macht himself did not understand it, he did not ask further.
That look of having expected it all along made Macht frown slightly, "What do you mean?"
"In over six hundred years of your life, you've never really touched on emotions. You lived entirely in violence and slaughter. Now you've only experienced emotions for a mere thirty years… so even for a normal human, understanding emotions like that would be impossible."
"Is that so? Shouldn't it be possible?", Macht frowned, clearly not fully accepting it.
"No. Think about it. This isn't just a matter of time. Before this, your worldview and values were already fixed. It's like a human raised from the start by their environment to be a murderous villain. Changing after that is basically hopeless."
"Basically? So there's still hope?"
"A little, maybe. Nothing is absolute. But at least from the current results, you failed."
After delivering the verdict that his thirty years of effort had basically ended in failure, Ash, who had kept a considerable distance from him the entire time, quickly left the area to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Leaving Macht alone, wandering the streets by himself, thinking about the meaning behind those words.
As for what would ultimately happen to Macht, Ash truly did not care much. He had no way to avoid being turned to gold, and there was nothing he could do about Macht anyway.
If Macht kept acting recklessly, Serie would naturally step in. There was no need for him to worry.
———
When time reached the present.
More than forty years had passed since the last visit, yet the golden city was still the golden city.
Only now, a massive barrier shaped like an overturned bowl had been erected around it, sealing it off completely. But as a great demon, as long as Macht had mana he could sustain life. Eating was nothing more than a hobby. Being sealed inside with nothing, he would not die.
"I remember it was a barrier jointly set up by a group of first-class mages? Macht really is pitiful," Looking at the golden fortress city from afar, Ash could not help recalling what had happened inside more than forty years ago.
He actually wanted to go take a closer look, but with people from the Continental Magic Association guarding the area, he only observed from a distance and gave up on approaching.
At that moment, Aura was sprawled against the carriage window, looking at the golden city with undisguised schadenfreude.
"Serves him right~ That's the price for going against Lady Aura."
"Is that so? But this doesn't really have anything to do with Lady Aura, does it?", Inside the flying carriage, Linie, still sitting on Ash's lap, bit into an apple and casually stated the truth.
Aura's expression stiffened instantly. She then glared fiercely, "Is that how I taught you, Linie?"
"Uu… I'm sorry, Aura-sama," Even though she did not understand what she had done wrong at all, Linie still lowered her head and apologized pitifully.
Feeling like he had seen this exact exchange somewhere before, Ash simply stroked Linie's head this time, silently comforting the straightforward child.
The flying magical beast controlled by Aura carried them across the sky over the golden fortress city, escorted by the magitech knight order.
During this time, high in the sky, Ash's gaze met Macht's from afar. Macht was sitting quietly by a pool within the city, apparently lost in thought.
Neither of them spoke. There was only a brief exchange of gazes before they went their separate ways.
Macht gave the impression that he had been sitting there for all forty of those years. What he was thinking about, Ash did not really know. It was just...
'Why does he not destroy the barrier? Why does he keep sitting there?', Ash truly could not understand why Macht remained there. If he wanted to leave, that barrier should not have been able to hold him so easily.
'Is it that he can not, or that he does not want to? Or does he like the feeling of being sealed inside?'
Ash really could not make sense of it. He even tightened his hold on Linie in his arms, thinking that no matter how he looked at it… compared to cold, hard gold, soft, warm girl scent was far better.
And just as that thought crossed his mind, Aura shot him a look full of disgust and malicious accusation.
"Ash, it feels like you just made a really lewd expression."
"Not lewd at all! That was a gentle look! There's something wrong with your eyes. Hurry up and go find a church to have them checked."
"To think little Ash would talk about gentleness. How shameless."
"Of all people, you're the least qualified to say that."
Honestly, if Linie were not still in his arms, he would have been tempted to teach Aura a lesson right then.
But as he was considering whether to put Linie aside first, he noticed a somewhat familiar figure in the forest below.
It was a girl wearing a white dress, with waist-length teal hair and a pair of oni-like small horns on her forehead.
She was very small. Her slightly childish yet delicate face bore a gentle, harmless smile. Rather than a girl, she felt somewhere between a l0li and a young maiden. When she noticed his gaze, she raised her hand and happily waved at him.
This innocent and elegant-looking ghost l0li, Ash happened to know her.
She was the unnamed great demon unknown to humans, leaving no trace in human history, Solitar.
Although humans did not know of her existence, Aura clearly did. And upon seeing Solitar, Aura immediately put on that familiar look of disdain.
"That old hag is pretending to be young again all day long…"
"Aura-sama really has high standards," Linie casually tossed the finished apple out the window, then subtly wiped her hand on Ash's clothes.
When he noticed, Ash immediately wore a pained, restrained expression and slapped her little hand.
"Linie! Who taught you that? That's so rude, you know?"
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