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

Thinking about it, she felt that Ash's claim of wanting to see the "luxury" squad that Vlame had mentioned was probably just an excuse.

At her age, she shouldn't have the strange ideas of young people, but Frilian still jokingly gave her a word of advice while compromising.

"What are you talking about... I really did want to be a hero before, please don't think of me as someone like Vlame, okay?"

To be honest, not only did Frilian misunderstand him, but he also had a considerable misunderstanding about the team.

After all, this slow-moving team doesn't look like a team that can save the world at all; instead, it looks like a tourist team that's swindling money from the king.

If we wait for them to defeat the Demon King, the war in the North could last for who knows how long.

Keep in mind that when he arrived, the kingdoms on the left side of the empire had already been destroyed. If they were to save the world... the rest of the north, except for the empire, would probably be doomed.

Moreover, judging from the strength of these people present, they really don't seem capable of defeating the Demon King, so it seems like there's no harm in just playing around for a while.

Anyway, he had way too much time. If he didn't find something to do and just cultivated every day, who knows how long it would take to cultivate for thousands of years... he felt he would go crazy.

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

While Ash and Frilian reached an agreement, the other three were curiously observing them.

“I never expected that Frilian would still have old friends…” Simmel nodded with a smile, “And she seems quite happy about it? I thought she would be more aloof.”

"However, their acquaintance, that Vlame, shares the same name as the legendary progenitor of human magic. He must have been an extremely powerful person, right? To think he could teach someone so amazing." Aize stroked his beard and sighed.

But like everyone else, no one believed that the Vlamé they were talking about was the legendary Vlamé.

Haita unconsciously stared at Ash's back, a hint of worry on his face: "His strength is undeniable, but... he smells of blood."

"Perhaps a mage from the battlefield?"

"If that's all there is to it, it's not so bad..."

“Frilian’s friend must be a good person.” Simmel believed this for no reason.

When the two returned, Simmel, in order to allay her companion's concerns, asked directly:

"Ash, it may be a bit abrupt, but could we ask you what you did before?"

"Me?...A hardworking civil servant, right?"

His feelings became somewhat complicated when he thought about how he had worked in place of the king for a long time recently.

Frilian seemed to realize that they had noticed something, and she looked at Ash with a questioning look.

But he just shook his head slightly and then confessed on his own initiative: "There's nothing to hide. Actually, I used to be a deserter."

“A deserter…?” Simmel seemed somewhat surprised.

"I am tired of the endless struggle between humans."

"So you ran away? But is it really okay to say this out loud? Won't you be executed if you're found out?"

"It's not a big problem. I don't think they can beat me."

"Ha, ha, it's just a matter of winning or losing..."

This was unlike the common human mindset, and it seemed to have no intention of obeying the law, which made Simmel smile wryly.

But Ash added, "In the end, no one in that country will remember me."

"Forgot?" Simmel was somewhat surprised, while Haita asked in astonishment, "They were so powerful? Could it be... that country has already perished?"

“Recently, countries in the north have been on the verge of being destroyed at any moment.” The dwarf Azer picked up the conversation, sighed softly, and closed his eyes. “That’s why I said we should speed things up. If this continues, who knows how many more countries will be destroyed? The strongest human warrior in the south is almost to the north, and we haven’t even left a single country yet.”

"Then let him go first. Because... what's wrong with helping others while doing what you love? A happy adventure, going into dungeons to defeat monsters, finding treasure, and if you can save the world without even realizing it, wouldn't that be great?"

Compared to the serious Azer, Simmel clearly had his own theories.

This conversation was clearly not the first time it had taken place, prompting Aize to simply sigh and give up on saying anything more.

Just as he was about to shut up, he remembered something and subconsciously said, "But, if we could defeat the Demon King faster, we could help more people more quickly, right? And..."

"and?"

"I heard that a terrifying demon race has appeared in the north. It fell from the sky like a meteorite and attacked the rear of the empire. In a series of indiscriminate attacks, it killed many imperial nobles and even razed three cities to the ground, causing at least 100,000 casualties."

Aize's words were very serious, but Ash's expression was somewhat subtle upon hearing them.

Because...this is clearly referring to him.

Even without horns, his appearance from the sky was enough to make people mistake him for a demon. In such a chaotic battlefield, they couldn't see many distinguishing features.

Although he was certain that he had never destroyed the city, the rumors seemed to be exaggerated on purpose, probably to increase the sense of urgency, just as Vlame wanted to trick him into becoming a hero, in order to attract more people to become heroes and go to the front line to fight the Demon King's army.

Regardless, during this casual conversation, he temporarily infiltrated the hero's party as a passerby.

........

......

...

Chapter 56 Paving the Way: Necessary Sacrifices

I joined the hero's party under somewhat strange circumstances, and quite some time has passed in the blink of an eye, but... the good things I imagined didn't happen.

Just as Frillian said, without any encounters with beautiful girls, it was quite boring and leisurely.

Rather than rushing to save the five worlds, it's more accurate to say that, just as Ash initially guessed, it was basically a sightseeing trip, traveling around and exploring the dungeons along the way.

Although it's far from the tense and exciting part of the story, it's not bad either.

However... in reality, the leisurely days did not last long. Ash suddenly thought of something, and one day, he said he had urgent business to attend to, briefly said goodbye to everyone, flew back to the north, and took Linne with him.

He let the child go with him to see it and record it—the fighting style of Frank, the Hero of the South.

As the strongest human warrior, Frank's futuristic vision cannot be replicated, but his close-quarters combat skills are strong enough that he can still stand at the top even without futuristic vision.

Having accomplished all this, he sent Linne back, then said goodbye to Frank. He planned to spend his time sightseeing with Frilian and the others during his free time, just to relax, but...

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave, let's have a drink first?" Frank was inexplicably enthusiastic, dragging him to a pub where they drank all night. And in the dead of night, after a hearty meal and drinks...

"My friend, that's all for now, goodbye!"

Frank shook his cloak, then turned and walked away with a hearty smile. Ash watched him go, and he waved goodbye without looking back before disappearing into the quiet streets of the night.

"Huh... something feels off?"

Ash finished his drink in his glass, shook his head, and stood up again.

Before he could even leave, he noticed a note next to Frank's chair.

Frank left a letter for some reason, and asked him to go to his hometown. It seemed to be a letter left by Schulahat in the hut where Schulahat used to live when he was practicing asceticism with him.

"...Two roughnecks actually pulled this stunt?" Ash was a little dumbfounded, but he didn't pay much attention and just slowly returned to the southern countries from the north.

And following the directions, they found the parchment wrapped in a wooden box in that small house.

First of all, by the time you see this, we have all perished.

This is not a sudden change, but rather a long echo of destiny; to some extent, it can also be called fate.

This battle is not just for you, but more for the future of the demon race a thousand years from now. Also, although you are still young, you are enough to defeat ordinary great demons, but now is not the time for you to ascend the throne.

In the world of demons, the strong are respected. Without earth-shattering power, no one will submit. The expeditionary teams and hero squads that humans have organized will also see you as a thorn in their side and vow to eliminate you as soon as possible.

Therefore, if you are eager to ascend the throne when the Demon King falls, you will inevitably face a full-scale war that will engulf the entire world, including the demon race itself.

You need to spend some more time consolidating and building up your strength—this is a lonely and long journey that requires extraordinary patience to quietly accumulate power and wait for the right opportunity... Keep this in mind.

"What... is all this?" Ash was dumbfounded as he looked at the parchment in his hand.

He understood the message perfectly: foolishly waiting for the Demon King to die before going up... If he couldn't fight the whole world, he would definitely die immediately, and he certainly didn't have the fighting power of that Demon King.

But what truly shocked him was... that these two strongest beings, second only to the Demon King and Celia, were suddenly about to die?

No, he's dead now?

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

At the same time Ash was reading the parchment, in the northern lands...

Shurahart's blade pierced Frank's back, and Frank, who was also covered in wounds, rushed into Shurahart's arms and stabbed him in the heart with his sword.

Almost simultaneously, they inflicted fatal wounds on each other, and at that very moment, they both tacitly stopped fighting and temporarily separated.

“...This is goodbye forever.” Shurahart murmured silently, gazing up at the sky, but quickly turned his gaze to the swaying man in front of him: “As expected... our first real meeting... was bound to end like this.”

"Ha, ha... There's no way... If this is the case... that demon king will always be a demon king."

In Frank's vision of the future, every time Frillien's team defeated a truly powerful Demon, it was with extremely close calls... although they actually didn't even encounter three.

Let's not discuss Aura, but the Seven Sages' immortal Beze was originally going to trap them completely with a barrier, and Frilian was even waiting to die, but in the end she died because of underestimation.

The corrupt sage Guval and his allies were no match for him, and before they could defeat him, they could only devise a plan to seal him away.

If he doesn't make sacrifices and defeats enough great demons... they simply won't be able to reach the Demon King.

In this chaotic battlefield, apart from Aura, who could not be found, a great demon comparable to the Seven Sages of the Collapse was brought in to assist them. All the other Sages of the Collapse were present, and it seemed that they could easily flatten a country.

Even with eight attacking one, three of the Beng Xian were still killed on the spot by Frank, and some even perished together with Shurahart.

This is exactly what he meant by "paving the way," whether it was for Frilian or Ash—and now he is fulfilling his promise.

Shurahart and Frank looked at each other in silence, but quickly mustered their last bit of strength and, covered in blood, clashed together again.

Bah! !

The clash of swords sparked fierce sparks and astonishing shockwaves.

No one could count how many intertwined sword flashes and shadows there were.

Despite both having suffered fatal injuries, the two seemed poised to resume their deadly struggle, but in the next moment, it was unclear who pushed whom, and the two fell off the cliff together.

"This is... a necessary sacrifice, isn't it?" The azure sky murmured unconsciously as Frank fell.

“You could say that…” Almost immediately afterward, Shurahart quietly closed his eyes.

At the same moment the two fell, the cliff above them collapsed, sending countless clumps of sand and soil surging up onto them.

Despite being able to see the future, the two still chose to compromise at this moment and embrace this future that had been predicted countless times.

Or could it be called fate?