Chapter #14Frieren returns by: Pimu   Eventually, the part of Fern that wanted to believe Stark was alive won out, and she relented. "I can't make any promises. Don't try anything."
"I won't! I would never," he said. Fern's flat stare and unmoving posture said she clearly didn't believe him.
Stark could hardly imagine a worse situation to be in. Even if Frieren believed him, would she even be able to turn him back to normal? Would he have to live the rest of his life looking like some demon girl? People would only ever look at him and see a monster.
I can't wait for them to kill you. Goddess, how could he ever face his master again like this?
It seemed like a very long time with the two of them waiting silently amidst the rubble before he spotted Frieren flying over to their position. A swell of hope rose in his heart, but as she got close, he saw the cold hatred in her eyes trained on him, and whatever hope he had turned to raw fear.
"I didn't expect you would leave one of them alive. Where's Stark?" she asked, landing lightly next to Fern.
Fern didn't take her eyes off of the demon in front of her as she responded. "She says she's Stark."
"Please believe me, I AM St-" he shouted desperately, but Frieren cut him off like he wasn't there.
"You do remember what I taught you, right? That demons lie as easily as they breathe?"
"Of course I do, Frieren-sama. But..."
"But what?" she said.
Fern pursed her lips, but her eyes stayed fixed. "...But she doesn't have any mana I can feel, and Stark-sama hasn't shown up, and she hasn't tried anything in hours, and..." she trailed off.
For the first time, Frieren seemed to really look at the demon girl quivering on the ground. It was natural for a beast to seem fearful when its back was against the wall, but for a monster? A demon? How odd.
And odder still was the fact that she wasn't trying anything. It wasn't like there was any reason for her to stall, especially now that she knew Aura wasn't coming. If this was part of some plan, Frieren couldn't tell what it was.
Impassively, she let her gaze flick over to Fern. "What kind of magic was she using earlier?"
"I didn't really get to see. Stark-sama was the one fighting her, after all," she said ruefully.
Stark knew he had to take this chance to say something - anything - to explain. "She said it was mimicry! She said she could read mana and copy movements-"
"Be quiet." Frieren glowered at him, and immediately his voice died in his throat. But then she frowned. "...That's an odd thing to lie about, though. If her magic was copying movements, it wouldn't match up with her claim that she's Stark." Perhaps...
There was a lot for Frieren to think about here. Was that really all this demon's magic was? It wasn't as though she'd never seen a demon with transformation magic before, but that on top of the ability to mimic movement sounded more than a bit peculiar. Demons typically only had one magic that they specialized in, after all. She'd fought against some that were capable of a variety of spells, but only exceptionally powerful demons, and it was hard to imagine the gravely injured girl on the ground was a great demon. Especially with her mana...
It didn't make sense. There was practically no mana emanation she could detect. Obviously a demon wouldn't hide their mana, especially when faced with a dire threat like this. For a demon to have such a paltry amount of mana, even a warrior type who specialized in physical combat, was nonsensical. It wasn't technically impossible, she supposed, but...could such a demon really have defeated Stark? And if she had, then it'd be far too dangerous to keep her alive. Right?
Stark, meanwhile, was struggling to cling to any hope he could find. He was acutely aware that Frieren only saw him as a brutal monster who wasn't worth listening to, and the only reason she hadn't already obliterated him was because she seemed to be leaving everything to Fern. There was no way he was getting another sentence out without being silenced or attacked. He had to hope that the few bits he'd managed to say were enough to convince them of who he really was. And if they weren't, well...Stark had always been confident in his ability to run away. Even if his outfit didn't fit him anymore.
What if it came to that? If he ran, would he ever be able to convince anybody he was human? Would the demons take him in as one of their own, or would they be the only ones able to tell he wasn't one of them? The thought of having to blend in with demons disgusted him, but the idea of being constantly hunted by both humans and demons alike was somehow even worse.
He saw Fern's grip tighten against her staff, and his heart dropped. "What should I do, Frieren-sama?" she asked.
Stark could only watch helplessly as Frieren narrowed her eyes and she said, "Fern..."   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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