The past follows closely behind; a single glance over the shoulder reveals it.
Feeling Frieren's gaze, Diego narrowed his eyes, tilted his head, and pulled his fist slightly away from his face. The corner of his mouth twitched in disgust as he said:
"What's with that expression? Why do you look like this Dio has died or something?"
Such a youthful face..
Just like when we first met...
He's actually pretty cute.
"...I don't understand at all." Frieren fell into a daze. She pulled her gaze away from Diego, turned toward the monument, and began sorting out the current situation.
?
Diego stood up, patted the dust off his clothes, walked over to the monument, and squatted down. His tone was so irritating it made one want to punch him in the face: "You're completely useless, Frieren. You made such a big claim about analyzing that whatever… Goddess's magic, and after three whole days the conclusion you came up with is that you don't understand?"
"You're really annoying." Frieren retorted flatly.
Mabel lay sprawled on Alicia like a pet cat, stretching lazily with a drawn-out tone: "Uuuuunnn~~ Let's go back already—— I'm tired and hungry from standing~~ I want soft bread and milk——"
"Frieren, do you need my help analyzing it?" Alicia asked with concern.
"No need. Let's go back." Frieren shook her head and refused Alicia's offer.
Then she looked at Diego. She stood up and slowly walked closer, staring at that familiar side profile.
Frieren slowly reached out toward Diego's face and grabbed his cheek.
"Hmm?" Diego was momentarily stunned and didn't dodge. Only when the soft flesh on his cheek was pulled into a small triangle did he let out a scream: "WRYYYYYYY!!!"
"Let's go, Dio, Frieren!" Alicia placed Mabel on the horse's back and led Silver Bullet toward the edge of the forest first.
"It has physical form. This isn't illusion magic…" Frieren withdrew her hand and silently followed. "I see. I think I understand now.."
This is the Kinomine Gorge from more than eighty years ago, the place I came to with Dio and the others.
Unbelievable. Did time flow backward?
But this completely violates the principle of irreversibility in magic.
Frieren sorted out the situation.
Simply put, the magic contained within the monument allows a person to return to the time when they last touched it.
Although she was happy to see Dio again, the most urgent matter was finding a way to return, and figuring out what the "regret" Alicia mentioned was...
"Frieren looks really troubled." Alicia's lips carried a gentle smile, but her eyes held a trace of indulgence and helplessness. "After we get back, should we buy her some sweets?"
"...Yeah, it's really unusual. It's like she's become a completely different person." A hint of suspicion flashed in Diego's eyes as he lowered his voice. "Hey, Alicia, did you sense anything like a curse coming from her?"
"No. Why do you ask?" Alicia blinked, puzzled.
"Hmph. No matter what it is… there are always subconscious habits." Diego's brows furrowed slightly, his gaze sharp as an eagle's. He analyzed with confidence and calm: "Of course, these habits aren't fixed. They gradually change over time."
"But Frieren—no, that guy—felt different just now."
"It's not that she became someone else, but her subconscious habits changed. If I had to give an example, it's like skipping the gradual process in the middle and directly reaching the end—just like a snake growing limbs and turning into a dragon without first becoming a flood dragon."
As he spoke, the interest in Diego's eyes grew stronger. He glanced at Frieren, who was silently following behind, without making it obvious.
I'll observe her a bit longer..
With that thought, Diego led the group back to the inn to rest. He planned to confirm what had happened to Frieren by first drawing some information out of her.
After Diego's group left, Zart the Remnant, who had been guarding the Goddess Monument, finally had room to move. He activated spatial transfer magic and emerged from his hiding place behind the monument.
Out of fear of Scary Monsters, he had been forced to stay hidden for three days and three nights while Frieren analyzed the Goddess Monument. He hadn't even dared to move or cast magic for fear of being discovered.
"Huff… huff… How did this happen? The one who caused a space-time fluctuation and returned from the future to the present is Frieren?!!"
"In other words, the Demon King… lost to Scary Monsters in the future..."
The more Zart thought about it, the more shocked he became.
"This isn't an opponent I can handle. No good. I have to report this to Lord Grausam immediately!"
Zart used spatial transfer magic again and left.
...
Northern end of the continent, Demon King's castle...
"Although Lord Grausam ordered me to return to the Demon King's castle to invite Lord Tod to the battlefield to provide support…"
Zart looked at the deeply withdrawn, decadent demon before him, doubt in his heart: But can Lord Tod still go to the battlefield?
Cold wind swept through. Snowflakes danced in the air...
The Saint of the End, Tod, sat slumped on the terrace. Ever since escaping from Diego's hands, she had not appeared before humans again. She simply remained in the same posture, quietly staying still.
Just as Zart hesitated over whether to speak, Tod spoke first. Her tone carried a faint sense of death: "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
"Frieren has returned from the future to the present. Lord Grausam sent me to invite you to join us in holding back Scary Monsters and the others, stealing future intelligence from Frieren's mind, and killing them in this era." Zart answered respectfully.
"I refuse!!!"
The proposal was met with strong opposition and rejection from Tod.
The moment she heard the words "Scary Monsters," Tod's originally calm body began to tremble uncontrollably.
Her face turned deathly pale. She clutched her head with both hands. Even the simple act of standing up failed several times.
"Run away. The Demon King's castle will soon become unsafe... Diego Brando has returned. The demons will once again become prey and return to the days of hiding and fleeing..."
Tod's voice trembled, carrying an indescribable fear.
"Lord Tod, are you all right?" Zart asked hurriedly.
Hearing this, Tod's struggling movements stopped: "You've got the wrong person. I'm not Tod. The Saint of the End, Tod, is already dead..."
Zart encouraged her: "You have to pull yourself together. Lord Grausam and the others are still waiting for you to join them in defeating Scary Monsters."
"Defeat? Defeat who? Defeat Diego Brando?" Tod repeated the word "defeat" in disbelief, as if she had heard the greatest joke in the world. "Impossible. Diego Brando cannot be defeated."
"But we need your curse to buy time for Lord Grausam to release the Paradise Transfer Magic."
"Buy time? Forget it. It's useless. Even if little Grausam's magic hits Diego Brando head-on, what then?" Tod let out a derisive laugh and countered, "Tell me, little Zart, have you ever seen Diego Brando?"
"I… I have." Zart recalled that overwhelming presence, and his tone weakened.
"Then do you have the courage to face him in direct combat? If you've witnessed his true strength and learned his true trump cards, you'll understand—he is fundamentally impossible to defeat." After speaking, Tod slumped back down. She no longer had any will to fight. "I have nothing to say about the Demon King or the survival of the demon race. The only things I care about are whether I can continue researching magic and whether I'll go hungry tomorrow."
"I don't want to die at all."
After Tod finished speaking, she didn't give Zart any time to react and simply turned and left.
"...All right. It looks like I can only report Lord Tod's situation to Lord Grausam." Zart started to say something but ultimately stopped. He cast magic once more and left the Demon King's castle.
...
In front of the Goddess Monument, three great demons stood.
The nameless great demon Solitär, Grausam of the Seven Sages of Destruction, and Rivale the Bloodstained War God.
"...That is everything Lord Tod said." Zart reported Tod's words in full.
"In a certain sense, this is a wise choice." Solitär gently raised the corner of her mouth. Her gaze was gentle and showed no surprise at Tod's decision.
She lightly clasped her hands in front of her chest and said: "I can understand little Tod's way of thinking very well."
"After all, like her, I am also a cowardly demon."
Grausam slightly turned his body, his gaze directed far into the distance rather than at the girl before him. In a calm tone, he asked: "You're not going to say you're leaving too, are you, Solitär?"
"I will support you with everything I have from the shadows." Solitär gently shook her head.
Several magical flying swords suddenly appeared in mid-air. Solitär grasped one of them and said with a light laugh: "Never exposing yourself on a battlefield that is disadvantageous to you—that is the secret to my long life."
"Don't call me despicable, Grausam."
"..." Grausam did not reply.
"Three great demons attacking at the same time, facing Scary Monsters Diego Brando, the buried Frieren, Freeze God Sword Mabel, and the Holy Hero Alicia—and you're saying the battlefield is disadvantageous to the demons? That's not funny at all." Rivale, sitting on a rock, chuckled lightly.
"Didn't Grausam also notify Schlacht the Omniscient to come to the Goddess Monument?" Rivale stood up and continued, "How long until Schlacht gathers the other six of the Seven Sages and the demon army?"
"Three days." Grausam replied flatly. A ball of magical power condensed at his fingertips. "Until then, we need to prevent Frieren from approaching the Goddess Monument."
"Then let this old man take on the honor of charging into battle in place of you two despicable fellows." Rivale tilted his head, raised his chin, and the corner of his lips curved into a cold yet arrogant arc. He placed one hand on each of Grausam's and Solitär's shoulders. "Besides, in my opinion, longevity doesn't require any secret. All you need is to dance with all your heart on the battlefield."
Although the meeting had not gone smoothly, the rough outline of their strategy had already taken shape.
Rivale would bear the pressure of the frontal battlefield. Solitär would interfere with Diego and the others' actions from the shadows, buying time for Grausam to release the Paradise Transfer Magic and trap the main forces within mental magic.
"Then let us continue moving forward."
"Frieren has returned from the future to the era when I am still alive. This is a perfect opportunity for the demon race."
"For the sake of a more prosperous future for the demon race a thousand years from now, I will steal Frieren's future memories and eliminate her in this era."