What if you are reborn as a demon after a funeral?.

"Can you really see the future? How can someone who can see the future believe in fate?"

"We can change a lot, but there are still things we can't change, like fate, which is even more unreasonable than destiny."

Thinking of himself and Shurahart, who could clearly see the future, yet faced with an unchangeable miracle, they could only choose compromise and moderation, Frank's face now showed only bitterness and... the opposite of relief.

.....

Chapter 41 Farewell and Goodbye Aura

Frillie, who cannot see the future, is completely baffled by Frank, who can see it, and wonders what he is all about.

I found his words very difficult to understand and inexplicable; to put it bluntly, they sounded like the words of a charlatan trying to mystify things.

Frank could naturally see what she was thinking, but he didn't care at all, and continued talking to himself:

"Anyway... could you please pass on a message for me when you see that young man?"

"what?"

"—The strongest warrior of the South, humanity, will personally pave the way for you, even if my great deeds are buried under the shadow of history."

"...Is that a better way to put it?"

"Okay, that's good."

"But does that mean... you'll die?" Frillie nodded indifferently, but noticed something amiss in her words.

Frank, however, remained unfazed and stated, "That's right, I will perish halfway through the campaign, to be precise, a year from now... I will be besieged and killed in the northern highlands by the Omniscient Shurahat and his elite demon army directly under the Demon King."

Aren't you going to dodge?

“If I don’t go, you will be wiped out by Shurahat on the way.”

"...You don't seem too scared? Why? You're going to die, aren't you?"

"There's still a year left. If you're worried now, what will you do later?" Frank shrugged helplessly.

"is it?"

"By the way, could you keep this future a secret from Ash?"

"It's possible... but why?"

"...His situation is quite complicated."

If possible, Frank also wants to cooperate with Shurahart to directly decide on the emergence of a new Demon King to end the chaos.

However, faced with many realities, there are also many things they cannot change even if they can see the future.

Even at the end, there was still a lot that Frillie didn't understand, but she still decided to help keep it a secret... After all, there was no point in saying anything, since she didn't even know if what the other person was saying was true or false.

Afterwards, Frank also chatted with Ash for a while, selectively revealing his plans:

"...You don't need to worry about the Demon King now. Instead, you just need to keep getting stronger. After all, if you want to gain the support of the demons, you need to be stronger than all the demons."

"You mean you can defeat the Demon King?"

"The Demon King is very strong, but nothing in this world is 100% certain, and nothing is 0% certain either. In the present where the future is already clearly visible, what difference is there between 1% and 100%?"

Frank laughed heartily, patted him hard on the shoulder, then turned and walked toward the cliff without looking back, saying, "We won't see each other again for another year, but believe me, my friend—the road ahead of you will surely be opened up."

"Will it definitely be developed?"

At first glance, it seems like nothing, but after Ash thought about it carefully, he felt that something was missing from the story. For example... who would be the one to pioneer it, Frank or Shurahart? Or do they have any other companions?

But before he could ask, Frank had already jumped off the cliff with a laugh and disappeared without a trace.

It was only after Frank left that Frillian came to his side, gazing in the direction where Frank had disappeared, and said with a touch of emotion:

"As expected of your friend, he's even stranger than you."

“I don’t think I’m strange, but…Frilian, I should probably say goodbye to you.”

"bid farewell?"

"I'm so glad to see you safe and sound, but there's someone else I'm worried about, and it's about time I went to visit her."

"Is that so?" Frilian didn't ask any more questions or say anything more, but just nodded slightly with a hint of regret.

"Hmm~ I still feel like you're a bit cold."

"...Wouldn't being too enthusiastic towards you cause trouble?"

“That’s true.” He nodded with a nonchalant chuckle, which made Frilian laugh as well: “You’ve always been a strange fellow.”

"So I don't think so~ But... well, let's talk again later~ I'll definitely come visit you once I've finished dealing with my business."

As he spoke, he habitually ruffled Frillie's hair, messing up her silver locks, before smiling and walking in a different direction from Frank, ignoring the girl's disapproving gaze.

The girl, standing there, watched his receding figure, and unconsciously murmured a lonely murmur:

"Really... will there be a next time?"

The soft murmur received no response and simply dissipated into the sky with the mountain breeze.

.........................

Three months later, the northern kingdoms.

Deep within a vast forest, an ancient castle stands silently.

The dry monsoon winds characteristic of the north howled past, making Ash sigh at the harshness of the northern environment, but he still quickly arrived at the castle gate.

This area is already demon territory, yet he brazenly displays his power and demon identity.

It was precisely this powerful aura that allowed him to reach the castle gates almost without hindrance.

However, right in front of that gate, a large group of demons and headless soldiers were also on the verge of battle.

There's nothing strange about it; it's perfectly normal for demons to kill each other. Therefore, they naturally need to be more vigilant when facing unfamiliar powerful demons.

But at that moment, the castle gates opened automatically.

A loli-type girl with two horns on her head, a delicate face, and twin ponytails—Aura—walked out unhurriedly, surrounded by her subordinates.

Looking at the familiar figure not far away, Aura couldn't help but smile, revealing a bright, almost exaggerated, grin:

"Isn't this my adorable, rascally older brother, Ash?"

"Ha, ha..."

This girl is so rude, I really want to punch her... But isn't this what I taught her? What should I do? — Although he never expected any touching reunion with Aura, Aura's first words made him stumble and almost fall to the ground.

Chapter 42 Aura Wants to "Create Memories"

The words Aura blurted out almost made Ash fall to the ground, and even her subordinates doubted their own ears when they heard them.

After all, the three words "cute," "rascal," and "brother" in this sentence can be understood separately, but put together... let alone them, even a human would have a hard time understanding them.

However, Aura didn't care about his subordinates' feelings at all. He just looked him up and down with a smile and said, "I really didn't expect that you would still be alive, Ash."

“I didn’t expect you to still be alive, Awula.” He thought for a moment with a hint of annoyance, not knowing what to say, so he simply opened his arms: “Anyway, how about a touching reunion hug?”

"Sure?"

"Uh...really?"

"Haha, what's wrong? You look so incredulous, it's hilarious!"

As Ash burst into laughter at his dumbfounded expression, Aura stepped out from the crowd and walked towards him unhurriedly.

Five centuries have passed, a full 500 years, yet Aura remains exactly the same as before.

She still had the height of a loli, the bust size of a mature woman, and the face of a young girl, but her smile carried a strange undertone, clearly indicating ill intent.

But the situation where the person who was least likely to agree actually did catch Ash completely off guard.

On the contrary, Aura seemed to enjoy his astonishment, smiling naturally as she hugged his waist, pressing her chest against his stomach, offering him a strangely soft sensation. She then looked up at him and teased:

"What's wrong, Ash? Didn't you suggest that touching hug? Why aren't you hugging me?"

"...That's true, but Ahura." Reminded to look down, he lowered his head to look at the girl in his arms, a puzzled expression on his face: "What are you thinking right now?"

"Your expression is really funny."

"...What's with the emotional feeling? After all, it's a touching reunion hug, isn't it?"

"Indeed, I was so moved my body was trembling!"

"...Knowing you as I do, you're definitely not thinking anything good, right?"

"That's really going too far." Aura's lips curled up, making his smile even deeper. "I granted your wish, shouldn't you grant mine too?"

"What you say makes a lot of sense, however—I refuse!"

Ash, his mind racing with alarm bells, slapped her across the face without thinking, shoving the ill-intentioned woman away.

But Aura wasn't angry; he just covered his mouth and chuckled.

"Even after all these years, you still don't know how to cherish women, or... is this some kind of coy refusal?"

"I thought that after so many years, you would have changed a bit, but I didn't expect..."

Faced with this kid he'd practically raised, speaking like a brat, Ash's feelings were truly complicated. He even let out a deep sigh: "Ha... what kind of nonsense have you been learning all these years?"

“What are you talking about? Aren’t you my mentor?” Aura smiled and shook his head: “And I still remember that time… on a cold winter night, after I washed my feet with cold water, the longing look in your eyes when you wanted to warm my toes and then lick my feet clean.”

"No...please don't create non-existent memories, okay? I'm not a masochist or a pervert, that's what you want me to do, isn't it?"

"Is that so? It really doesn't exist?" Aura narrowed her eyes slightly.

"I'm a decent person, I would never do such a thing."

"No~ I remember you told me that."

"what?"

"Nothing is impossible! And memories don't even need to exist, as long as—they can be created!"

At the end of the conversation, Aura, who had already retreated and created a safe distance without anyone noticing, suddenly flipped his hand, and purple energy instantly gathered and transformed into golden scales: "Obey the Demon...!"

"—Strike first."