Rumble rumble…
The Red Mirror Dragon was felled by a single axe blow from Stark. Its massive body collapsed to the ground, slowly dissipating into magic particles.
"So weak…"
Stark's eyes widened. His pupils unconsciously dilated as he stared in disbelief at his own hands gripping the war axe, then up at Frieren on the cliffside. He kept turning his head back and forth, repeatedly confirming whether she had intervened.
I took down a dragon… all by myself…
Seriously, what exactly was I so afraid of during training…
There was absolutely none of the oppressive pressure I felt when sparring with Master.
I believe next time, I'll be able to face magical beasts properly.
Probably…
Kicked off the cliff by Frieren and forced to fight the dragon, Stark thought to himself.
"Yahoo—it's a treasure chest!" Frieren dashed toward the Red Mirror Dragon's nest, scooped up a pile of junk, and happily claimed a magical book that recorded clothing-penetrating magic.
"Frieren-sama, next time you can't kick Stark-sama off the cliff. What if he dies from the fall?"
"Fern, what are you saying? A warrior won't get hurt from that height. Besides, Stark is Dio's disciple—he can definitely handle a high fall and a dragon fight. I have faith in Dio."
"But I don't have faith in myself!"
...
Seventy-eight years after Diego disappeared. Frieren's party captured the legendary warrior Stark and set off northward.
—Central Countries, the fortress city of Val leading to the Northern Continent—
"Frieren, Diego Master really was your captain, right?" As they neared the city, Stark suddenly asked a question. "I want to understand a little more about this master I've never met."
"Yes."
"Back then, wasn't Master a criminal who killed a lot of people? To all of you—what kind of person is Diego Master?" Stark fired off two questions in a row.
"Yeah, Dio was rotten to the core—a guy worth hating." A trace of nostalgia flickered in Frieren's eyes as she gazed at the city now within reach. "Arrogant, willful, conceited, indifferent to life, calculating toward others, stubbornly independent and never listening to a single word from anyone—nothing gentle or kind about him at all…"
"Every word you could use to describe him is rotten. The only things that could be called strengths are his overwhelming combat power and cooking skills… maybe add being protective of his own?"
"But at the same time, he was the most trustworthy guy in our party…"
"Why do you trust Diego-sama so much, Frieren-sama?" Fern asked, puzzled.
"Then I'll tell you all about it. Our party originally had a crisis of trust—until the defensive barrier magic sealing the city of Rubadran was broken, and a thousand Titan One-Eyed Giants poured out of the Beastless Land…"
...
Four years before Diego disappeared…
On this day, Diego's party of five officially assembled and began their advance toward the Demon King's castle.
The elf Sui and Diego argued for a long time over who should be captain, with no conclusion.
Sui's argument: The orc face is too arrogant and reckless about many things. He can't properly analyze situations and make the best choices… (followed by a long list of examples)
Diego's argument: Only I, Dio, get to give orders!
At the pass leading to the Northern Continent, Diego and Sui waited on the city wall for Frieren and the others to bring back news of passage permission.
"What a huge barrier… what exactly is it sealing?" Diego slightly tilted his head, gazing at the barrier that protected the city in a perfect 360-degree sphere with no blind spots.
"You really don't know anything?" Sui extended a finger and pointed at her own head, teasing. "Don't tell me this place has orc-level intelligence too?"
"Say it or don't—I, Dio, am leaving." Diego glanced over, decided to ignore this chattering woman, and turned to walk away.
"Eh eh eh, fine, you win. Ahem—listen carefully, okay?" Seeing Diego about to leave, obvious panic appeared on Sui's face. She hurriedly grabbed the fleeing Diego and began explaining the history of the city.
"This city's west side is the vast and boundless 'Beastless Land'…"
"A thousand years ago, to seal away the mythical-class magical beasts living on this land, Flamme erected an ultra-large-scale barrier…"
"This barrier can even block legendary-class magical beasts…"
"A barrier of this scale isn't something that can be set up casually. It's said to rely on magical technology lost eight hundred years ago."
"The reason this city has prospered safely at the connection point between the Northern and Central Continents, becoming the intersection for all cities' specialty products and a secure trade hub, is all thanks to this barrier!"
Diego's gaze gradually lost focus. Recalling the notebook of Flamme he had once read, he clapped his hands once in realization.
"Oh, so that barrier was referring to this place."
"You actually knew, orc face?"
"I read about it in a book once."
"Then why did you act like an ignorant child at first?"
"Shut up. Strong people's memories aren't always great."
"Pfft—nonsense!"
They didn't bicker for long before Alicia and the other two hurried over. Their faces were somewhat pale—except for Frieren, who looked quite pleased.
"Yo, perfect timing. Did they say when the barrier's passage gate will open? Mabel bought ice cream—give me a bite."
"Here."
Mabel handed the ice cream to Diego's mouth. Diego promptly took a bite.
Sui: Indirect kiss… ꐦ≖ ≖
"The city lord said that because the Demon King's army's offensive is growing fiercer, this pass currently allows no one through." Alicia replied.
"That's the situation. This city is pretty safe anyway—let's just stay here for a while." Frieren turned her face and gave a light laugh. "Finally I can leisurely study magic. All that rushing ahead was exhausting. I don't even know why you're in such a hurry, Dio…"
Tap tap tap tap…
Diego walked up to the barrier, slightly raised his head, drew his hand from his pocket, and stroked the barrier in front of him. He let out an amused laugh: "Heh, then there's no helping it."
"Yeah, we can only head back…"
"We'll just have to break the barrier open!"
Slash—!
Under the shocked gazes of the others, Diego drew the Inverted Spear Of Heaven from his waist, casually swung it a few times, and grinned savagely as he destroyed the barrier that had stood for over a thousand years, creating a gap wide enough for five people to pass through.
Aside from Frieren, the same thought rose in the other three minds.
Impossible—this is the barrier set by the legendary great mage Flamme!
"Uwaaaaaahhh! The barrier's been broken!!"
"Quick, bring all the talismans from the warehouse! Where are the guards? We need to head out to meet the enemy!"
"We're done for!"
Everything happened too fast!
Chaos erupted inside the city. The gap Diego created steadily widened. More than half the barrier had already collapsed and vanished—and the situation was only worsening.
"Hm? This barrier doesn't have an automatic repair function? Flamme got lazy. The barriers at her house could regenerate automatically." Diego sheathed his weapon, patted his head, and spoke with mild surprise.
"Well, whatever." But this didn't affect Diego at all. He continued walking toward the gap on his own. Noticing the four weren't following, he turned and shouted, "Hey, hurry up—don't fall behind. Don't waste too much time here."
The four remained rooted in place.
"Demon Cloud Storm Dragon… Titan vanguard…" Sui's expression grew grave. Her voice trembled slightly as she watched the magical beasts steadily approaching the city.
"Dio—!!!" Alicia shouted angrily, stopping Diego in his tracks. Her pupils gradually lost their light, tears filling her eyes as she demanded, "Why? Why would you do this? Could it be… you see lives as playthings?"
"So what if I do? It's no big deal. As for why I'm doing this… nothing can stop the steps of I, Dio."
Alicia let out a long breath and steeled herself: "Haa… We… won't leave. Dio, this time you've gone too far!"
"…Do as you please. I'm going ahead."
Diego stared at the crying Alicia for a moment. Still scowling, he mounted his horse and rode mercilessly toward the incoming magical beasts.
Hmph… You lot can go ahead and play benevolent saviors for these lowly insects. This great one won't be joining you.
The four didn't try to stop Diego's departure. Instead, they rallied themselves and began preparing countermeasures.
First, they found the city lord and had him assemble all the adventurers and guards in the city. Then Sui began laying out tactics.
"The records say there are a thousand Titan One-Eyed Giants in the Beastless Land. That number is simply impossible to handle—there would be massive casualties."
"Therefore, we open the pass and evacuate ordinary citizens to safety. Meanwhile, we delay the Titan One-Eyed Giants as long as possible before they fully overrun us."
"I, Mabel, Alicia, and Frieren will handle the thousand-meter Storm Dragon."
"The Titan vanguard consists of only five. You all will deal with them."
"We can win! After cleaning them up, we abandon the city and flee. Understood?"
"Understood!!!" ×91
"Good. Hero-sama, don't be sad either. After we deal with this crisis, we'll go after the orc face and give him a good beating. This disaster isn't something an apology can fix!" Sui gently wiped the tears from the corner of Alicia's eyes and spoke softly.
"Mm…"
Then Sui looked at Mabel.
"Mabel, not scared? This time we're facing mythical-class magical beasts. There's a chance all four of us could die here."
"How could I not be scared… My hands are shaking so much right now I can't even grip my sword properly…"
"Frieren, focus on trying to analyze and repair the damaged barrier as much as possible. Afterward, I've got a few magical books here too—ones the orc face definitely doesn't have." Sui gave a playful wink and pulled a magical book from spatial storage magic to wave it around.
"Then it's a deal!"
Frieren was instantly filled with motivation.
"Good. Everyone—forward!" Sui gave a radiant smile, though worry inevitably lingered in her heart.
Can we really win?
She asked herself.
The answer was no. That "we can win" was a lie.
If that's the case… why did I say it?
"If I didn't say that… they'd be too scared to move!"
"People who lose hope can only stand in place and wait to die. I can't let them carry such tragic memories!"
"So someone has to do it!"
Ancient magical armor flew out from the gap and automatically equipped itself on Sui. She drew the massive sword capable of storing power from spatial magic, unleashed all the accumulated thunder element, and swung forward with full force.
Crackle crackle…!
Violent lightning coiled around Sui's body. Using the power of thunder, she charged through the air toward the Storm Dragon, sword in hand.
"Let's go too."
...
The Battle of Rubadran lasted a full day. The group fought from daylight until the dawn of the second day, resisting to the very end.
Though they were once pushed into overwhelming disadvantage by the Titan One-Eyed Giants' sheer power, with Alicia—the priestess blessed by the goddess—healing them tirelessly, no one died. Instead, they steadily wore down and killed all five Titan One-Eyed Giants with remarkable success.
The Storm Dragon was defeated through the combined efforts of Sui and Mabel. When its nearly kilometer-long body crashed to the ground, even the participants could hardly believe they had slain a mythical-class magical beast.
After the long battle, the barrier sealing the city of Rubadran was re-erected. Which meant…
"Victory!"
"Elf lady banzai! We won!"
"…It's over. Thank goodness—no one died…"
"I'm spent… I can't move anymore…"
Exhausted from battle, the group lay sprawled across the plain, gazing at the dawn light rising from the east and laughing freely.
After re-erecting the barrier, Frieren hurried over from inside the city. She supported the motionless Mabel on the ground and showed a knowing smile.
Only Sui's expression remained grave.
Strange…
Why were there only the five vanguard Titans…
One night was more than enough time for a thousand Titan One-Eyed Giants to pour out and flatten the sealed city…
Could Flamme's data have been wrong…?
Sui shook her head, deciding not to dwell on it. She waved her hand, ruffled Alicia's head in front of her, and smiled as she said: "Let's go. Time to give the orc face a beating."
"Mm!"
Heh heh, Dio's done for. Even the usually angelic Alicia wants to punch him now. I can't even imagine what that Alicia looks like when she gets violent.
Afterward, the four chased after the direction Diego had left in.
Looking at the hoofprints left by Diego's beloved horse, Sui's unease grew heavier.
Why is he heading toward the Beastless Land now…
Could it be that the orc face…
"Hero-sama!" The city lord who had been missing all night suddenly appeared behind the four, expression tense, sweat pouring nonstop. Beneath him was Silver Bullet.
The four stopped and looked at him in confusion.
Bite…
The city lord clenched his teeth, then dropped to his knees on the spot with a thud. He cried out in anguish: "Brando-sama—"
"What happened to the orc face? Why is his beloved horse with you?"
"When I discovered the barrier had been broken, I rushed alone to the Beastless Land, intending to use my own body to buy even the smallest amount of time—for you all, for the civilians in the city who hadn't yet evacuated…" The city lord's face showed reluctance as he continued.
"But… Br… Brando-sama… he…"
"To stop the advance of the Titan One-Eyed Giants…"
"He went ahead of me—alone—into the Beastless Land!"
"When I arrived at the Beastless Land, Brando-sama was already fighting a thousand Titan One-Eyed Giants!"
"Flamme-sama's data was accurate—but only for a thousand years ago. After a millennium of breeding, their numbers have long exceeded a thousand!"
"Not to mention the other magical beasts!"
"I was knocked unconscious by Brando-sama. When I woke up, I was already back in the city—his beloved horse carried me back!"
"Please—you must save Brando-sama! He saved our entire city from disaster—!!!"
!!!
Sui's pupils contracted. She gritted her teeth, once again increasing her speed, arriving at the Beastless Land one step ahead of Frieren and the others.
The Beastless Land was a ruin canyon surrounded by mountains on three sides, home to powerful magical beasts led by the Titan One-Eyed Giants. It had only one exit—and that exit faced directly toward the sealed city.
"♪～♪~,~♪~♪,♪~♪~"
Hearing Diego's familiar humming, the heavy stone in Sui's heart finally settled completely. She pushed open the tightly sealed gate of the Beastless Land.
Boom boom…
"♪♪~~♪~"
What met her eyes was a mountain of Titan One-Eyed Giant corpses.
Plop…
"♪~♪~~♪♪~"
Red Mirror Dragon, Mountain Wolf King, Evil Rat Beast, Mad Fang Bird, Hypnosis Beast, Exorcism Bird…
All of these—were they taken down by the orc face alone…?
Sui descended the steps and saw the back that made her heart race.
Hot!
That was Sui's first thought upon entering the depths of the ruins.
The air was filled with heat from high temperatures. The stench of rot permeated the entire Beastless Land. Poisonous gas began corroding her clothes.
Diego sat before the countless corpse mountain, leisurely humming the lullaby his mother had taught him. In his arms he held the bloodstained Split Soul Katana, slowly wiping it clean. His clothes had been corroded into tatters—everything about him screamed that this had been a brutal, all-out battle.
"Orc face…"
"~~♪" Sensing the person behind him, Diego's body gave an almost imperceptible tremble. He stopped humming, slowly turned his head, and asked, "Is that you, Sui…"
It was a face burned beyond recognition by extreme heat—blood and flesh mangled, white bone exposed. No trace remained of its former handsome features.
During the fight, though Diego had discovered that slicing the nape meat would kill a Titan One-Eyed Giant, the giants' magma-like body temperature still inflicted indiscriminate damage on him.
Diego's voice was hoarse like gravel scraping. His body was covered in dark red burns. Yet he still smiled reassuringly: "Looks like you all took down the Storm Dragon. Good job. As expected of my teammates."
"…"
Sui's heart trembled. She said nothing, silently walked to Diego's side. Her hands shook as they reached toward that ruined face.
"Leaving us in the city to face the Storm Dragon… going off alone to block the Titan One-Eyed Giant horde without a word…"
"That was way too reckless…"
Tears nearly fell, but her tsundere nature kept her from saying anything caring.
"I didn't think I'd die here, so I made my move. And I've never felt more clear-headed than I do now." Diego closed his eyes tightly and gave a faint smile. "Besides, as captain, it's only natural to protect my teammates' backs."
"But…" Sui choked, murmuring softly, "…you could have lost…"
"No way." Diego tugged at the corners of his mouth again and spoke. "Sui… I, Dio, swear to you all…"
"I… will never lose…"
"As your captain."
"…" Sui froze in place. Looking at the gravely wounded Diego before her, an indescribable emotion surged in her chest. Her voice softened. "That's exactly your problem, orc face."
"But anyway…" Diego fell backward, lying powerlessly on the steps. The corners of his mouth curved up slightly. "This time might really have been too reckless…"
"Hmph… I'm not going to thank you, you know. This disaster was your fault to begin with…" Sui bent down and extended her hand toward Diego on the ground. A smile shone in her eyes. "…Captain."
Diego, lying on the ground, opened his mouth slightly in disbelief. His tightly closed eyes opened as well.
"This really is unbelievable…"
Hmph…
"For the first time…" In his inverted vision, Sui's smile didn't fade. Diego also pulled up a smile, reached back to grasp Sui's hand, and murmured, "You called me… captain…"
Slap!
Their hands clasped tightly together. They leaned against each other to rest and recover strength—as if time had paused in that moment.
Not long after, Frieren and the other two arrived. Alicia cried out "Dio, don't die!" and opened her holy scripture. Goddess magic poured out as if mana cost nothing, continuously healing Diego's wounds.
Sniff sniff…
"Hm… there's a little tail."
At that moment, Diego reached out to interrupt the healing. He lifted the Split Soul Katana and rushed to the gate in front of the Beastless Land ruins. His dinosaur tail tightly wrapped around the city lord, who had been hesitating whether to enter.
Diego pressed the Split Soul Katana to the city lord's throat and demanded: "We… have we met somewhere before?"
"Brando-sama, I am the city lord of the sealed city Rubadran. No matter how the outside world slanders you, our family will never forget this kindness!"
"…What are you talking about?"
...
"In the end, we still couldn't give Dio a good beating."
"Frieren-sama, I don't quite understand that part." After hearing the story, Fern raised a question.
"Don't understand what?"
"Why does Diego-sama care so much about the title of captain? To the point of being this obsessed…"
"Yeah, I thought Diego Master would be more laid-back." Stark chimed in.
"That guy Dio… gets involved in the strangest things." Frieren gently shook her head and let a faint, almost imperceptible smile curve her lips. "For absolutely… no reason at all…"
"That guy simply… likes the four of us the most…"
[I will always love you all.]
Even Frieren herself hadn't noticed the smile that crept onto her face…
It was the first time even I had heard the word "love" come out of Dio's mouth.
"So all we have to do… is trust him with our whole hearts…"
...
As Frieren's group approached the fortress city of Val, a squad of people rushed out to greet them.
"Frieren-sama—!"
"Hm? You are?"
"By order of the former lord, we have come specially to escort Frieren-sama into the Northern Continent."
＜(´⌯ ⩊ ⌯`)＞!
"You actually remembered…" Frieren let out a relieved breath and introduced to the two behind her. "This is the former sealed city of Rubadran. After the magical beasts of the Beastless Land were cleared out, the barrier was never raised again. Now it's been renamed Val."
"It's also one of the few cities where Dio can appear openly—the one that spreads the story of Dio killing the Demon King…"
"I thought this time I could leisurely study magic for a few years before setting out…"
Frieren lowered her head, whining, unwilling to leave and keep traveling.
...