"In the wound I just sliced across your neck... is the tragic boundary line from when I was once in the human world..."
In midair, Diego struck mercilessly again, driving another hand chop deep into the Demon King's body, cleaving from chest to crown: "WRYYYYYYYYYYYY——and this wound is the boundary line where I surpassed my past tragedies!"
"It is I—! The boundary line leading to the resting place of the soul!"
Perhaps it was the Demon King's final flash of life, or perhaps it still harbored unwillingness—in its dying moments, the desperate Demon King, out of tricks, clung tightly to Diego.
The next second, a burst of white light flashed before Diego's eyes.
BOOM——————!!!
With the last of its life force, the Demon King unleashed its most powerful attack.
The Demon King self-destructed...
When the white light faded and the smoke cleared.
Amid the earth-shaking roar, Diego's figure was nowhere to be seen.
"Dio——!!!"
Alicia, witnessing the Demon King's self-destruction, turned deathly pale in an instant. She collapsed weakly to the ground, hands covering her face as tears streamed uncontrollably: "Dio..."
"Calm down, Alicia. Dio isn't necessarily dead. As the bearer of Heavenly Restriction, he traded all his mana for the strongest physique in the world." Frieren, leaning on her staff, shakily stood up from the ground and said, "That explosion just now wasn't enough to kill Dio."
Sui leaned against the wall, gasping for breath, one hand pressed to her injured left arm as she picked up where Frieren left off: "Frieren... is right. Hero... miss... don't be too hasty. Let's go search the seabed at the cliff's edge. Maybe... that idiot Dio is just unconscious underwater right now."
"Um... don't you need to rest a bit?" Frieren asked, looking at Sui.
"No, let's hurry down. Dio is still waiting for us..."
Before she finished speaking, Sui limped forward, then with a splash, collapsed face-first to the ground again.
＜(´⌯ ⩊ ⌯`)＞!
Frieren sighed, seemingly drained of all energy and patience, and grumbled: "Seriously, are you all still kids?"
Then, using magic, she lifted Sui and the unconscious Mabel into the air.
"Just so you know, descending might not be very fast since it's not very stable. If the wind pressure is too strong, you'll fall."
"Alicia can still move freely, right?" Frieren turned to ask Alicia.
Alicia gripped her Salvation Staff tightly and replied: "No problem. The staff is continuously healing my wounds and restoring my stamina."
She then waved the staff, casting healing magic over Frieren and the other two.
"That helps a lot. Then let's go down and look for that guy Dio." Feeling the warmth spreading through her body, Frieren activated a spell for slow descent in the air.
She leaped from the Demon King's castle, using magic to carry Sui and the others toward the coastline.
In midair, the lifted Sui's face flushed red as she murmured to herself: "...This is kind of embarrassing."
Frieren glanced over, gave a faint smile, and replied softly: "Well, you all can't move on your own right now. Once we reach the shore, I'll set you down."
...
—Below the Demon King's castle, at the coastline—
"Nothing... How is this possible..." Sui's expression darkened uncertainly as she spoke in disbelief.
"He's dead... Dio..." Frieren remained expressionless, seemingly lost in some faint thought. "Anyway, let's head back to the royal capital first. Staying here isn't going to help."
She walked over to the still-sleeping Mabel, patted her cheek, and said: "Mabel, Mabel, wake up. We're going back."
"Mommy..."
"Who's your mommy? Wake up, we're heading back."
Mabel, rousing from her deep sleep, rubbed her eyes, lifted her head, and grinned foolishly: "We're going back? Is the Demon King dead already? Then can I just rely on this glory to stay holed up at home forever? Hehe~"
No one responded to Mabel's words for a while.
Sensing in a daze that something felt off, Mabel finally opened her eyes fully, scanned the group, and asked while looking at the calm Frieren and the quietly sobbing Sui and Alicia:
"Why are the elf and Alicia crying? It's fine, you know! If anything happens, Dio will handle it!"
As soon as she spoke, the sobbing grew even louder. Realizing she might have said the wrong thing, Mabel panicked, looking on the verge of tears herself: "What do I do... I'm not good at comforting people... Where did Dio go..."
Those few consecutive critical hits proved too much—Alicia finally broke down and burst into loud wails on the spot.
"Dio died." Frieren quietly replied from the side.
"Huh? Dio... died?" Mabel asked in disbelief. At the same time, frost rapidly spread across the Freeze God Sword, soon encasing the entire blade in ice that crazily extended outward.
(PS: The Freeze God Sword's ice seal is tied to the state of mind of the Ice Tribe.)
"It could also be that he's missing. We didn't find Dio's body, after all. That Demon King dragged him into the self-destruction at the last moment. After the smoke cleared, Dio was gone. You were unconscious at the time, so you didn't know."
Frieren simply added the explanation.
Mabel's eyes instantly dimmed. She silently shrank back into her Beast Robe.
This Beast Robe had been crafted by Diego from the Royal Prison Dragon that once ravaged the north, granting excellent defensive properties.
After considerable effort, he had a specialist in illusion magic infuse it with phantom magic, allowing it to manifest as different beasts depending on the wearer's traits.
"Dio..."
"Dio would never die! A demon like him will stink in infamy for eternity. The most heinous criminal in human history dying while subjugating a demon king? What a joke!!"
Sui rallied her spirits again, her tone exceptionally firm.
"We're going back to the royal capital. The achievement of slaying the Demon King is enough for us to meet Serie. She definitely has magic to locate people or confirm signs of life!"
...
—Outskirts of the royal capital, third month since Diego Brando's "death"—
"We can already see the royal capital." Frieren said calmly while flipping through a grimoire.
Mabel leaned against the side of the carriage and let out a long sigh: "The hero party that defeated the Demon King is returning in triumph. The city must be filled with songs and dances right now."
"We need to find Lady Serie right away when we get back..." Alicia stared blankly at Frieren in front of her and asked curiously:
"Miss Frieren, what kind of person is this Lady Serie you know?"
"...A pretty clumsy one. I don't really like her." Frieren fell into thought.
(ー_ー)!!
"Frieren... do you really have the right to say that?" Mabel looked utterly shocked.
"I want to ask you something, Frieren." Sui, who had been silent beside them, suddenly spoke up.
"Hm? Go ahead."
"Dio has been missing for three months now, and I haven't seen even a hint of sadness on your face. We've been companions on this adventure for five years, right? Aren't you worried about Dio?"
"Why should I be sad? We've only been together for five years—that's not even one-thousandth of my life. Besides, I'm a mage who was forcibly dragged along by Dio, right? In essence, we're just cooperating."
"No wonder elves are heading toward decline... Apart from the royal bloodline of Elga, are elf emotions really this dull?" Sui let out a sigh and said earnestly, "But Frieren, humans are creatures who, if they pause even a little to space out, will turn into grandpas in no time. You should cherish this time..."
"Eh, Frieren was also forcibly dragged along by Dio?" Alicia looked at Frieren in shock.
A fleeting look of reminiscence passed over Frieren's face as she slowly spoke: "Back then, he said there was no one Dio couldn't get, then tucked me under his arm and carried me off."
"Then why were you still willing to adventure with Dio?"
"Well, Dio and I got along pretty well. Adventuring with him wasn't a bad thing. Plus, he had a ton of grimoires I hadn't collected yet—I had to squeeze him dry first."
The image of that figure passionately debating legendary magic with her (the kind like grandma's little life hacks) surfaced in her mind, and a faint, hidden smile flickered across Frieren's face.
...
"Hero Alicia."
"Mage Frieren."
"Warrior Mabel."
"Swordswoman, Princess of Elga."
"Thank you for your hard work in subjugating the Demon King. With this, the world will enter an era of peace."
The king, seated on his throne, proclaimed the rewards and praises for Frieren and her party.
Then the king tilted his head slightly, glanced at his royal guard, and nodded.
Following the king's order, the guard dismissed the others, leaving only the king and Frieren's group in the conversation space.
The king looked toward Frieren and her companions and slowly asked: "Where is Diego Brando?"
"He went missing in the final battle with the Demon King." Frieren replied.
"I see... You wish to meet Serie, correct? Take them to her." Hearing Frieren's words, the king appeared to breathe a sigh of relief.
...
Inside the royal capital's library, Serie sat high upon her dais, sipping red tea prepared by an attendant, surrounded by shelves filled with countless grimoires.
Several grimoires were floating in the air at the moment. The instant Frieren and the others entered, the books flew automatically into Frieren's hands.
"Take the grimoires you want and leave. I don't want to see you." Serie said without any emotion.
Frieren gently held the precious grimoires and said softly: "Thank you, Serie. This really helps."
"Even when mocked by me, you show no intention of fighting back. I still can't believe a mage with no ambition like you could actually defeat the Demon King."
"It wasn't just me. Dio, Sui, Mabel, Alicia, and myself—no matter who was missing, we couldn't have defeated the Demon King." Frieren remained calm and answered evenly, showing no anger.
"You met a good group of companions, huh? But what a pity—Diego, the one who killed the Demon King, couldn't return with you." Serie mocked.
Sui shot to her feet, her eyes blazing with fury, and said word by word: "Don't you dare mock Dio!"
Serie gave Sui a cold glance and spoke disdainfully: " Suzailgillazegallnelbuzegillreagranzelga Elga—I know you, the hidden princess of the Elga royal family who emerged to collect magical tools from the mythical era."
"Others may fear your power, but I don't. I'll forgive your rudeness this time. And let me teach you one more thing."
"Don't try to provoke an enemy you can't defeat when you've already lost a teammate capable of standing against them."
Serie glared at Sui, and in an instant, Sui was blasted out of the royal capital.
"Elf miss!"
Alicia and Mabel rushed out after her.
Frieren coldly stared at Serie and said in an unfriendly tone: "I really don't like you, Serie."
"As if I like you either."
Serie let out a muffled grunt, then called for her disciples to see the guests out.
Whoosh!
In a flash, Sui's figure reappeared in front of Serie, her face covered in traces of dinosaur transformation.
"Switch!"
...