Frilian: This Demon Isn't So Cold

Shortly after Carlos was attacked by Graosam and his demon horde, Celie and her party arrived at the gates of Frisch.

"Most of the city has been turned into gold..."

Frillian reached out and touched Sylvia's face, frozen in a smile, then looked at the solidified gash on her body. "Is this the effect of that 'curse'? It's truly terrifying. If our master hadn't arrived to help just now, I think we wouldn't have been able to resist... Master, what do you think?"

The speed at which it turned to gold was so fast that if Celie hadn't reacted even faster, Frillie felt that she would have already turned into a piece of gold.

"My magical detection tells me that Sylvia has been turned into gold by Carlos, but my reason tells me that Sylvia is still alive, but..." Vlame stopped, unsure whether to continue.

"You're going to die, aren't you?" Celia said it for her.

Anyone who has seen the huge hole in that body can come to this conclusion.

At least, they had never seen a human survive such an injury, not even once.

"Master, is there any way?" Vlame asked with a glimmer of hope.

"...Healing isn't exactly a mage's forte. Let's find a good monk to take a look later." Celia shifted her gaze from Sylvia to the direction of Carlos in the distance. "We're going to win."

"Does winning or losing really matter?" Frilian still looked at Sylvia. "Seria, those demons just now launched a sudden attack at the city gate, right?"

Even she is angry now.

"Frilian, don't blame your master like that. There was clearly a demon in there who was good at hiding his presence. It's understandable that your master didn't find him, just like we didn't find any traces they left behind."

Vlame looked at Celia expectantly, because she hoped that the truth was as she had said.

"That's a bit strange..." However, Celia didn't answer their questions, but murmured, "Volamere, do you remember what I once told you?"

"What?"

"Out of a little curiosity, I once used magic that allowed me to see the future." Celia said something that Frillian didn't know, "and in the scene I saw, Sylvia was alive and well, standing right next to Carlos."

"How far into the future is that?"

"Could we watch it one more time?"

Vlame and Frilian asked one after the other.

Celia slowly shook her head. "I don't know, that's why I find it strange. As for using this magic again... it's possible, but I don't want to do it."

"Why?" Frillie thought that since she could see the future with magic, shouldn't she make good use of it?

"Frilian, do you think being able to see the future through magic is a good thing?" Celia crouched down, gazing at the magnificent skirt Sylvia wore. "If you used this magic and saw a future where you were dead, what would you do? Accept it, or resist it?"

"..." Frilian was stunned, as was Vlame.

"I have seen many people who can use this magic to glimpse the future. At first, they can make great progress with this magic, but often they die young," Celia explained to her apprentices and grand-apprentices who had no idea about this magic.

"Because they've been using this kind of magic all along?" Vlame thought to herself, no wonder their master hadn't taught them this kind of magic, there was such a drawback to it.

"I don't know, but that's roughly how it is."

Celia slowly moved her gaze upwards, looking at the frozen smile on Sylvia's face. "Moreover, as the magic of peeping into the future is used more and more, the future scenes seen will also change. It may be because relying on this kind of magic wastes time that a good future will disappear."

Seria's meaning was quite clear from her words.

In the future she had envisioned, Sylvia was alive, so since such a future already existed, there was no need to continue using it.

"The magic of peeping into the future has limitations, and the more we rely on it, the worse the results will likely be." Celia looked towards the city gate. "At least, that's what past events have taught me."

"What on earth happened here? Was it magic?"

At this moment, Alden rushed over and, upon seeing the three mages present, quickly inquired about their whereabouts.

Previously, he only came here after the spread of gold stopped, following Hedin's advice.

Hedin was the magician skilled in detecting magical energy. It was thanks to his reminder that Alden ran desperately outwards, thus avoiding the consequences of being turned into gold, and was able to come here now to inquire about the situation.

"Yes," Vlame replied, "Carlos did the gold plating."

This means that he didn't kill the people on the ground.

"Is this really something magic can do? He..." Alden said, catching a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye, "How can there be demons here?!"

Two horned demons, resembling humans, were gleaming in the distance, their movements frozen in the moment before their attack.

"Carlos fought with the demons who suddenly appeared, and in order to protect the local residents, he had no choice but to turn them into gold." Vlame described the situation in a way that was favorable to Carlos.

"I can tell." Alden temporarily accepted this explanation. After all, someone had already tested it before he came. Any object or person that has been gold-plated has the property of being almost indestructible, so it makes sense to use it for protection.

After receiving this answer from Vlamé, he looked around.

On the ground, although it had turned into gold, there were still severed limbs and blood everywhere.

At the same time, Alden also saw the familiar face surrounded by the three people, as well as the gap in the body.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that this had happened."

"..." Everyone fell silent.

"So, when will this place be able to return to normal? The residents of the city are already in a state of panic."

As the lord of a city, there are some things that must be done, and emotions cannot be taken into account.

Alden figured out the situation, and on his way there, he had already seen some daring and nosy people trying to come and check it out. Although they were temporarily stopped by the remaining guards who were maintaining order, it was only a matter of time before their defenses were breached.

"You should ask the person who experienced it firsthand; he's coming back."

As soon as Celia finished speaking, Carlos descended from the sky, but he didn't look at the others present. Instead, he walked straight towards the two demons who had been turned to gold.

With the [All Things Turn to Gold] spell dispelled, he swiftly and decisively dispatched the two demons, who vanished into ashes.

He did not give them the opportunity to rebel like Graosarm did.

Carlos had already vented his cruelty on the first demon, and he had long lost interest in continuing like this.

The five people looked at him silently. Alden wanted to speak, but stopped himself when he saw Carlos's expression and the bright horn on his head.

What's going on?

He glanced at the others out of the corner of his eye and found that none of them seemed surprised, only their expressions were very complicated.

Did they already know Carlos was a demon?

"He just flew over, and only demons and monsters possess the [flight magic]."

Hedin, who was standing next to Alden, whispered that he was equally shocked by the fact.

That confirms their identity.

Alden couldn't believe that he had actually spent a month peacefully coexisting with a demon.

He couldn't believe that elves and humans could still live peacefully with demons after knowing this fact, and even have a very good relationship with them.

"Is it resolved?" In the end, it was Celia who spoke first.

"Hmm." Carlos walked towards Sylvie, his voice calm. "Things have turned out this way because of me."

"I didn't ask." Celia stared at him, observing his expression and reaction.

"But that's my problem." Carlos raised his voice slightly, forcefully pushing aside the two people blocking his way, and squatted down next to Sylvia. "If it weren't for me, she wouldn't be in any danger!"

Both Vlame and Frilian were pushed and stumbled, but neither said anything.

Seeing this, Alden and Hedding decided to remain silent for the time being, because Carlos's mental state seemed very unstable.

This level of magic is on a completely different level from what the other side had shown them before.

It seems that was the result after I stopped...

"You need to calm down," Celia said, looking at Carlos's back.

"Calm down? I'm very calm."

Looking at the gentle face he had captured in his mind, a profound sadness welled up in Carlos's heart, replacing the anger that had already been released.

He had just promised her that he would protect her.

She chose to do it herself precisely because she didn't want to experience what had happened before again.

Why, why is this happening?

Carlos clutched his head in anguish.

He clearly possesses such strength, so why is he helpless in the face of the current situation?

Why isn't magic omnipotent? Why are there so many things magic can't do?

Goddess, is this how you treat your followers?!

Staring at Sylvia's face, Carlos instinctively wanted to shift the blame, but the next second his heart told him that it was wrong to do so.

No, the goddess wasn't at fault; he was.

Graosam came to cause trouble for him; Sylvia was just dragged into it, and none of this had anything to do with the goddess.

He left a trail, which led to danger catching up with him.

He was too confident in himself, thinking he could do anything and that no one could threaten him except for Celie and the Demon King.

He wasn't careful enough, which allowed the other side to successfully launch a sneak attack.

But actually, this kind of thing should be easy to understand if you just think about it a little.

Protecting yourself and protecting others are two completely different things!

Furthermore, he doesn't know healing magic, a basic spell that all monks use.

He would never use treatments meant to heal fatal wounds.

Aside from the Blood Magic that allows one to recover from injury, what other magic is there for healing humans?

He doesn't know any of them!

Where did I get my confidence from?! Did I really think that this was all there was to it?!

Is it because you don't care at all?

Carlos stared blankly at Sylvia, who stood like a statue, and reached out with trembling hands to touch her cheek.

"So, there are so many things I can't do..."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a ring that had been put on him not long ago. Carlos couldn't help but touch it; it was a gift from her.

When exactly were they influenced? Did they come to believe they could accomplish everything sooner or later? Was it this pride belonging to the demon race?

Carlos didn't know.

Right now, he's just wallowing in endless sorrow, unable to pull himself out.

"Senior brother," Vlame approached and said softly, "I'm also very saddened by this result, but we don't understand the situation as clearly as you do. Could you explain?"

"Sylvia... what exactly is going on now?" Vlame continued.

She also wanted to cry, because Sylvika was not only her disciple, but also her companion and friend.

But Vlame also knew that now was not the time to cry. She needed to stay calm, because only calmness could solve the problem, while emotions would not.

"Because I cannot stop the passage of life, I used the [Magic of All Things Turning to Gold] to freeze her life at the moment she was turned to gold."

Upon hearing the key words, Carlos snapped out of his daze and looked at Vlame with hopeful eyes. "If we find a monk, can he be saved?"