The strongest warrior among the demons—no, perhaps even the strongest in the world—stood right before her.
Above her head, countless giant swords forged from magic hung suspended, like a recreation of the mythical Sword of Damocles.
Her companions were all incapacitated, leaving her, in every sense, isolated and alone.
"Looking at it this way... it really does seem like I'm in a desperate situation, doesn't it?"
But surely no one would be foolish enough to actually believe that.
Because as she spoke, Aesc wore a relaxed, faint smile.
As if it wasn't three enemies surrounding her—but her alone surrounding them.
Livale charged at Aesc.
He didn't know exactly what she intended to do, but his instincts, honed through countless battles, screamed that if he didn't act fast, things would get very troublesome.
Magic condensed before Aesc into a shield.
Livale's heavy blow struck it, and under his overwhelming strength, the thick shield shattered like paper.
And behind that crumbling shield, Livale caught sight of a series of white magic circles.
Slowly rotating, the magic circles seemed like tautly drawn bows, the magic gathering upon them like arrows poised to fly.
There were so many of them that it made one's scalp prickle, practically sealing off all the space Livale could use to dodge.
Seeing this, Livale let out a helpless smile.
"My, my... You sure set up something outrageous without making a sound."
And then—the bombardment began.
Continuous, unrelenting blasts.
Each magic circle unleashed a cannon blast, then dissolved, immediately replaced by another newly formed magic circle, which fired again without pause.
Gather, compress, accelerate, release—simple, crude, unadorned. It was a relentless assault, backed purely by her exceptional precision in magic control and the vast reserves of mana needed to sustain such brute-force tactics.
Blast after blast after blast—
As swift as shooting stars, as thunderous as roaring skies.
Even the aftershocks of her cannon blasts tore apart everything nearby.
"What an absurd fighting style... Is her mana infinite or something?"
Hidden within the forest, someone watched the shocking battle unfold.
She was smiling, but from her smile, there was only a sense of madness leading toward self-destruction.
Her hands were clasped before her chest, as if she found boundless fascination in all things.
"I truly don't understand," the female demon said, her voice soft, "why someone as monstrously powerful as you would choose to travel with those tiny humans. Constantly restraining yourself for their sake—doesn't it feel unbearable?"
"Quite the opposite, actually," Aesc replied lightly. "Traveling with Himmel and the others... it's been relaxing and pleasant."
The female demon didn't turn around—she already knew Aesc was standing behind her.
"Hm... You don't sound like you're lying. Strange. Shouldn't the weak be nothing but a burden to the strong? Humans really are peculiar creatures... I'm growing even more curious about the emotions only they possess. It sounds so very... interesting. I want to understand humans so badly."
She wasn't lying—she truly wanted to "understand" humans.
And to achieve that, she had slaughtered many, just as human researchers dissected animals to study them without a shred of mercy.
"The Demon King wanted to understand humans too... and for that, a third of humanity perished. I wonder—how many lives will you destroy in your pursuit?"
Aesc's eyes remained utterly still—neither hatred nor anger stirred in them.
Because she already knew exactly what kind of creature she was facing.
The air split with a sharp shhhhk.
A massive sword engraved with runes hurtled toward Aesc.
But answering it came a barrage of pure, condensed magical cannonfire.
Blazing white blasts shot from the magic circles around Aesc like shooting stars. The swords conjured by magic crumbled like foam under the cannonfire.
There were many swords, but each blast could destroy several at once.
Amid the rain of flying swords, Aesc stood firm like a pillar reaching to the heavens, utterly unmoved. The female demon watching her burst into a wild, exaggerated grin.
"Amazing. Even this can't scratch you, huh?"
She continued to control the flying swords, sending them at Aesc from tricky angles—but each one was destroyed mid-air by the meteor-like cannon blasts.
Shooting stars and flying swords crossed the sky in a dazzling dance of offense and defense.
Fixing her gaze on the swords, Aesc's eyes narrowed slightly.
"This style of attack..."
"Oh? You recognize it too?"
The female demon tilted her head, her voice light and teasing.
"Two centuries ago," she continued, "a mysterious mage appeared at the Demon King's Castle. In a single strike, she destroyed a third of it, severely wounded two of the Seven Sages, killed several demon generals, even injured the Demon King himself—and then vanished without a trace. She was called 'Ban Ken'—the Ten Thousand Swords."
"People of this era have probably forgotten her... but not me. I was there. I witnessed that miraculous sight. It's not something you forget easily... You're an elf, aren't you? You must've lived through that time too."
"My style here is just a poor imitation, really," she added cheerily. "A tribute to the one I admired beyond words. I poured my whole heart into crafting this magic."
Listening to her, Aesc felt nothing stir inside.
"You really do love to lie, don't you?"
"Hm? Not at all. Every word I said was sincere. I truly admire that mage who even wounded the Demon King. I've dreamed of meeting her, even if only once..."
"I'm tired of listening to your nonsense."
It was nothing but nonsense.
Demons had no emotions. Even tigers, sparrows, and sheep felt familial bonds—demons felt nothing.
Pity, longing, hate, love—these were things humans possessed. Demons merely mimicked.
Their behaviors were imitations. Their words, deceptions.
To Aesc, dialogue with them was utterly meaningless—a waste of time and breath.
And now, clearly, Aesc no longer intended to waste either.
"Very well," the female demon said, smiling thinly. "Let me show you."
"Steel yourself. Now descends the endless rain, the blades of atonement. Only the sinless may pass."
A sense of dread descended from above.
Though demons lacked human emotions, they instinctively feared death.
They would do anything to survive.
The Demon King ruled the demons through absolute power. The Sages obeyed Shuulahaad of the "All-Knowing" because he was stronger than them.
In a way, the female demon hadn't been lying earlier—she truly did care about "Ban Ken." She deeply feared that kind of strength.
Her heart pounded wildly. Her eyes shimmered with unnatural light.
"Ahhh..."
The same scene replayed before her eyes as it had two hundred years ago at the Demon King's Castle.
The sky turned into a mirror-like lake.
The demoness knew—this beauty meant annihilation.
Unable to utter a sound, she raised her arms as if to embrace the divine figure reflected within the water.
Is this... what humans call being moved?
No one would answer her question.
Her two demon companions sensed it too.
The vast mirror overhead, reflecting the world itself—and the overwhelming terror of death it carried—made even Livale and Glaossam of the "Miracle" turn pale.
Though they hadn't been at the castle two centuries ago, they instantly recognized it.
Glaossam desperately wanted to kill Himmel and the others, to extract the future from Frieren's mind—but Heiter's shields had completely blocked him.
Originally, Heiter should have been the desperate one, knowing the shields wouldn't last.
But the moment that vast water mirror appeared in the sky, it was Glaossam who panicked instead.
The deep blue waters enveloped Aesc, and her voice rang out across the heavens:
"O ideal kingdom, O ideal king, gather, O peerless knights of the white city!
Let the birds weave tales of stirring dreams!"
"[Memory of Londinium—Distant Holy Sword, Remnants of a Dream]!"
From the azure lake, raindrops fell like a torrential storm.
And as they fell, each droplet transformed into a silver sword radiating holy light.
No room to dodge. Nowhere to run.
It was divine judgment descending.
A deluge of silver swords poured down like a galaxy scattering light across the night sky.
Then, the swords burst forth with blinding radiance, shooting upward to pierce the heavens, swallowing the stars and turning the night into dazzling silver.
...
When Frieren and the others awoke, they found Aesc tending to Heiter's injuries.
"You're awake?"
Aesc smiled warmly at Frieren and Himmel, her voice gentle as she asked, "How was it? Did you have a good dream?"
"...Of course."
Once he understood the situation, Himmel gave a blissful smile. "It was a wonderful dream."
"Is that so?"
Aesc nodded in satisfaction. "That's great. Makes all the effort worthwhile."
"What about the enemies?"
Himmel glanced at the surrounding wreckage and asked Aesc.
At the question, Aesc simply shrugged.
"One's dead. Two escaped. Livale fled, but he had to leave behind an arm to do it. As for Glaossam of the 'Miracle'... well, turns out he had some tricks left up his sleeve. Took heavy damage, but he managed to cling to life. I suppose that's what it means to be one of the Seven Sages."
"We'll probably run into them again someday. When that time comes, we'll just have to finish the job."
...
Afterward, Aesc and the others arrived before the Goddess Monument.
Gazing at the monument, whole and intact, Frieren knew: all she had to do was place her hand on it and recite the spell in her mind, and she would return to her own era.
Back to that time…
The time when Himmel was already long gone.
They had struggled so hard to get here—to make it back.
Yet now, standing mere steps away, Frieren found herself hesitating.
She turned around, burning the familiar figures of her companions into her memory.
She felt… she had to say something now.
Otherwise—
She might never have another chance.
She first realized it during Himmel's funeral, watching the old, frail Himmel lying in his flower-filled coffin.
The second time… was the day Heiter passed away.
And today—
This was the third time.
Yet the things she wanted to say were too many, so many that her mind went utterly blank.
Thank you for tolerating my selfishness...
Thank you for traveling alongside me...
Thank you for teaching me so much...
Thank you...
Of course, it wasn't just gratitude.
There was affection, regret, frustration... so much, so much more...
"Frieren."
It was Himmel who spoke, his voice gentle, like a spring breeze brushing away unshed tears.
How does one live, what kind of heart must one carry, to be able to smile with such warmth?
That smile—
Like sunlight filtering through the leaves.
Like cool water flowing through fingers on a hot summer day.
"When we part," Himmel said, "all you need to do is say 'goodbye.'"
"But…"
The words sprang instinctively to Frieren's lips.
But when I return... you and Heiter will already be gone...
"A heavy, tearful farewell doesn't suit us, Frieren. If we say goodbye like that, neither you nor we could ever travel as easily and freely again."
Lowering his lashes slightly, Himmel's clear blue eyes shone like a cloudless sky, impossible to look away from.
"And besides... as long as we're still traveling, the day we meet again will surely come. Isn't that what you believe too? That's why you've kept walking, isn't it?"
The tenderness in his voice stunned Frieren.
She wiped the corners of her eyes, then looked up again, her gaze shimmering with tears.
On her face bloomed a radiant smile, so dazzling it could outshine even the sun above.
"Mm... You're right."
They exchanged a simple farewell.
And Frieren recited the return spell.
A pillar of light shot toward the heavens.
Time and space twisted—
And the wandering elf was returned to her rightful time.
"...Where... is this?"
It felt like she had just woken from an impossibly long dream—or perhaps she had only been spacing out for a moment.
Regaining her senses, Frieren surveyed her surroundings.
The shattered stone monument.
The barren earth.
"Looks like... I'm back in the future," she murmured.
"Lady Frieren, are you spacing out?"
Turning slightly, Frieren found herself facing a puzzled Fern.
"I was spacing out?"
"Yes."
Fern nodded seriously.
"How long was I out?"
Frieren asked another question.
Fern hesitated, not understanding why Frieren would ask something so strange.
She answered instinctively, "What are you talking about?"
From that, Frieren understood.
It must have only been a brief moment on this side.
Did I really return to the past...?
Doubt flickered in Frieren's heart, and a sense of unreality clouded her mind.
But when her eyes caught the fresh new engravings on the stone monument—
When she reached out and felt them with her fingers—
All her doubts vanished.
No, I definitely went back...
The magic in the monument has completely dissipated, as if it had fulfilled its mission. Now, it's just an ordinary, broken stone.
Seeing Frieren once again fall into inexplicable silence, Fern and Stark exchanged a glance.
"If we're staying here a while," Stark suggested, "should we set up camp?"
Fern nodded. "Right."
"No, it's fine."
The two of them turned to Frieren—
Only to see her wearing a soft, deeply content smile.
"I've finished investigating. Let's go back."
Watching Frieren push herself upright with a hand on her knee, Fern couldn't help but ask in disbelief,
"That's it?"
To Fern and Stark, all Frieren had done was place her hand on the monument.
Crossing time, going back eighty years...
Even if Frieren said it aloud, who would believe something like that?
"Mm. I got what I came for."
"I see..."
Fern accepted it in the end.
But Stark was less satisfied.
"So what, we wandered the forest for three days and nights... just for that tiny moment?!"
As Frieren passed them by, she left only a light remark: "Let's head back to the checkpoint."
She didn't even turn around.
Fern, long used to it, patted Stark and said, "Come on, Lord Stark. Lady Frieren has always been like this."
Somehow, that had an inexplicable power of persuasion.
As they began the journey back, Stark suddenly burst into tears.
"Uuugh..."
Frieren: "Stop crying..."
Fern: "This is all your fault, Lady Frieren..."
After they left, the Goddess Monument was once again wrapped in silence.
Even the passing breeze carried a breath of stillness.
Then—
A pair of light footsteps landed by the monument.
"Hmm... Guess it's about time I moved on too. Feels like I've spent longer in this world than anywhere else."
Roughly... three hundred years?
She couldn't quite remember.
"Seriously though," Aesc grumbled, "this world's goddess is way too stingy."
She pouted and muttered to herself, "I only learned one little time-reversal spell. Was it really necessary to kick me out? I mean, even Himmel and the others learned it too..."
Of course, Aesc knew.
Himmel's group had needed the Goddess Monument's power to cast that spell—just as Frieren had.
But now, the monument's magic had faded.
It was nothing more than ordinary stone.
Aesc was different.
Though the cost was steep, she could rewind time even without the monument.
After venting her frustration, Aesc lifted her gaze toward the direction Frieren's group had gone.
"Yeah... heavy tearful goodbyes just aren't for me either. As long as we're all still on our journeys, we're bound to meet again someday, aren't we?"
"And to make sure no one feels awkward when that day comes, all we need at parting... is a simple, easy 'goodbye.'"
Aesc's figure vanished into the distance, leaving behind only the echo of a song on the breeze:
"Why must we both be hurt?"
"Your sharp edges make me sad..."
"I dodge the blades you reveal..."
"Why nitpick old wounds?"
---
T/N: ahhh this must be the end of the frieren saga, bye bye frieren it was a very long world