Frieren: Understand Humans, Aura!

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"Uuuuuuu..."

Aura sobbed uncontrollably, tears streaming like pearls from her eyes. Using her teeth as a knife, her nails as clamps, and her tongue as gauze, she performed a crude surgery on Flamme. Thankfully, in a world where magic exists, healing magic based on mana can even disregard medical challenges like bacterial infections and foreign body rejections, directly closing wounds with supernatural precision.

Although Aura was not the type to delve deeply into support magic, she could still use some basic techniques. Under the constraints of the obedience spell, Aura's intense desire to kill Flamme was transformed into an obsession to save her life. Her once murderous intent now manifested as a fervent need to keep Flamme alive, driving her to new extremes.

One of the Seven Sages of Destruction tried her best to save people, and with the extremely developed five senses of the demons and the meticulous magic manipulation of the great demons, she managed to complete a surgery that seemed almost impossible from a human perspective.

By the time Aura finally broke free from the obedience spell and was on the verge of exhaustion, she had finished all the work. The room was filled with the smell of blood and the faint glow of residual magic, a testament to the fierce battle fought against death itself.

Flamme's life was saved. Her breathing had steadied, her wounds had been sealed with crude yet effective methods, and her body, though battered, held onto life.

Aura fell backwards, pushed her legs forward, and took a few steps back suddenly. Then she propped herself up and sat on the ground. She raised her hands and looked at the blood and scars on her fingers. She felt lost. Her hands, stained with the blood of countless victims, now held the essence of a life saved. 

"Why did I come to this era?"

She had inexplicably survived. If not for the accidental time travel, she should have died under Frieren's "suicide" command. Her continued existence seemed almost absurd given the myriad ways she should have perished.

Was this really a coincidence? If a goddess truly existed, an entity controlling all destinies, why would she choose to give Aura a chance? For what purpose? It was a puzzle that gnawed at her, a riddle without a clear answer.

What was the meaning? What possible reason could there be for her presence in this time?

Goddess, if you brought Aura back to this moment, it must be for the prosperity of the demons. Surely, you foresaw the powerful demons being defeated by mere humans and elves, saw the Demon King being slain by that laughable hero, and brought Aura here to change all that.

But Aura kept messing up. Despite her best efforts, she failed time and again, her plans crumbling around her.

'You haven't punished me, so you acknowledged what Aura did...' She tried to convince herself that her failures were part of a larger design, that her continued survival was a sign of approval from some higher power.

The demons are a race without faith. Due to their cold-blooded nature, lack of empathy, and inability to understand emotions, faith is incomprehensible to them. Their existence is ruled by strength and survival, not belief in unseen forces.

No demon truly believes in an omnipotent deity. They live and die by their own might, never placing their fates in the hands of gods.

—Aura was the same; she didn't believe in a goddess controlling fate.

"Heh—" She chuckled bitterly at her own thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Demon King, since Aura has failed, please accept this history that has not been changed." Her voice was laced with a mix of resignation and defiance.

"If the goddess have allowed this, it means you were destined for this disaster."

Aura didn't believe in a goddess, but she had a flexible cognitive baseline. If acknowledging such a deity could explain away her mistakes, then she was willing to believe in such a being. It was a convenient way to shift the blame from herself to some higher power, a mental trick to cope with her repeated failures.

She found a strange solace in the idea that her actions, no matter how flawed, were part of a grand, divine plan. It was a way to find meaning in the chaos, to accept her role in the unfolding events of history, restoring her cheerful and calm demeanor.

Returning to her senses, Aura glanced at the now stable-breathing Flamme lying on the ground.

Flamme's clothes were torn to pieces, both because of the attack by the two demons at the beginning and because Aura had bitten her clothes into pieces while she was being treated. The once vibrant fabric hung in ruins, barely covering her form.

Sighing, as if she didn't want to see Flamme waking up and finding herself naked and in a mess, and because there were some minor wounds that needed to be bandaged to stop the bleeding, Aura removed the red cloth from her head. It was originally part of her long skirt, long enough to cover a body completely. The vibrant red cloth was stained with blood and dirt, but it would suffice for now.

"I don't even know why I'm doing this..." Aura muttered to herself, her voice a mix of confusion and frustration. She wrapped the cloth around Flamme's body with surprising gentleness, covering her wounds and providing a semblance of modesty.

Aura gazed at Flamme's sleeping face, sighing deeply.

She only needed to avoid harming humans, and saving Flamme's life was already beyond her limits. There was no reason to do more, yet she did. After wrapping Flamme's body, she carried her on her back and continued walking. Each step was heavy, not just with the weight of Flamme, but with the burden of her own thoughts. 

Aura wanted to find a human settlement for Flamme so that she could leave with peace of mind.

Maybe it was because Flamme had saved her life. The moment she was attacked by two demons, the first person Flamme protected was not herself, but Aura... This instinctive reaction between life and death can best reflect a person's sincerity. Facing someone willing to risk their life to protect her, even the coldest beings would feel gratitude.

But Aura didn't feel gratitude.

She wore her signature evil, cunning smile.

Aura wasn't continuing to show kindness out of gratitude but rather through careful and meticulous consideration, choosing to act for her benefit. Each action was weighed, each step measured for the maximum advantage it could provide.

'For maximum returns!' She thought, her mind racing with possibilities.

"This is an opportunity to gain Flamme's trust!"

Aura's eyes gleamed with ambition. She saw this as a chance to turn the situation to her advantage, to manipulate the trust and gratitude of a powerful ally. The prospect of having Flamme, the future legendary mage, in her debt was too valuable to pass up.

Continuing like this was impractical. With Flamme's talent, no matter how Aura hid it, Flamme would eventually sense her mana's peculiarity. By then, Aura's identity as a demon would be exposed, and she would have to rely on her past actions to plead for Flamme's forgiveness. She would have to carefully explain and justify every move, hoping that the human's sense of morality and gratitude would outweigh the instinctual fear and hatred towards demons.

——Of course this is the worst case scenario. If Aura chooses to hide her identity, Flamme will never be able to find her in her lifetime. and she wouldn't have to worry about Flamme discovering her identity.

However, this involved Aura's second goal.

If she could gain the trust of humans, then she could lurk in human magic organizations as a spy, causing trouble at any time point that might lead to the advancement of human magic, or simply destroy the inheritance of human magic when no one could stop her, then quietly retreat. The potential to gather invaluable intelligence and sabotage her enemies from within was too tempting to ignore.

"Ah, I, Aura, will definitely become a demon who will go down in history—"

Aura smiled confidently.

Flamme was just a mere human child who hadn't even lived a fraction of her years. Just watch how Aura plays with her.

"Wait, stop pulling my horn!" Aura suddenly exclaimed, snapping back to reality.

Oh, never mind the future. The immediate problem was getting her horn out of Flamme's grasp. 

"Beautiful..." Flamme muttered, her fingers brushing against the smooth surface of the horn.

"My horns are beautiful, aren't they?"

Being complimented, Aura was clearly pleased. She could never resist praise for her horn.

"I want it..." Flamme whispered, her grip tightening slightly.

"I can't give it to you."

Flamme was still unconscious, clearly speaking in her sleep. Her words were a mixture of dreams and reality, blending in a way that only the sleeping mind could conjure. Aura gently pried Flamme's hand away from her horn, careful not to wake her.

After changing her own clothes, Aura's bag was completely empty. She threw everything away and used the red cloth wrapped around Flamme to secure her to her back. At this moment, her demon identity was quite useful, as demons had two additional anchor points on their bodies.

Tying the cloth's ends to her horns ensured Flamme wouldn't fall off no matter how much she slept or struggled unconsciously. The makeshift harness was surprisingly effective, a testament to Aura's resourcefulness and the peculiar advantages of her demonic anatomy.

However, Flamme's body remained still, yet her hands were restless. Even without conscious awareness, she kept climbing up and finding Aura's horns, gripping them tightly. Her fingers curled around the base, seeking some form of comfort and security in her delirious state.

As if holding onto something that brought comfort. 

"You really do like my horns."

Aura remembered how Flamme had mentioned more than once wanting to to cut off her horns and keep them.

Aura's comment was—good taste, but don't do it!

Aura shook her head, trying to shake off Flamme's grip. Failing that, she sighed and let Flamme be.

Her hands were supporting Flamme's hips, unable to free them.

If Flamme wanted to hold onto the horns, so be it.

They wouldn't break anyway.

Thinking this, Aura glanced in a direction and began heading towards a human settlement. She had to find a place to leave Flamme where she would be safe and cared for. The sooner she accomplished this, the sooner she could be free.