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

"A lie? This isn't a normal human being at all...!" — Wearing heavy armor and affected by abnormal gravity, yet still possessing such speed? Ash, who lacked experience in combat, realized at this moment that he had been tricked.

Of course, it was unwise for him, as a mage, to engage in close combat, but compared to other demons, his accumulated power was far too little. Occasionally, he could only make up for it with weapons, or resort to trickery to kill other mages, as he had done before.

Unfortunately, with his neck pierced, he couldn't make a sound. He could only spit out blood bubbles and stagger to the ground, making a sound similar to a broken blower.

His eyes widened in bewilderment as he watched the man pull the longsword from the ground, a smug smile spreading across his face as he coldly watched him through his helmet, and then simply raised the sword.

"You're so young, you think you can control me with this much?"

This scene, clearly meant to send him to his death, froze Ash's movements as he struggled to get up.

As a demon, he was still just an infant, not yet grown up, and hadn't even developed. This was the first time he had come so close to death, because this time... it might be the most helpless time yet.

At that decisive moment, just as the blade was about to fall—a demonic bull suddenly leaped forward and slammed into Maynard, sending him flying with a loud thud.

Caught off guard, Maynard was sent flying into the air before crashing heavily into a house not far away.

"Gugah!!...A mere low-level monster! How dare...attack me, the great one!!"

The attack, which he should have been able to react to, was instead met with a direct hit due to the change in gravity and the hindrance of his armor. Enraged, Maynard assumed a fighting stance and stretched out his hands to grab the car-sized demon bull that was charging at him once again.

But at that very moment, the gravity on his body vanished, catching him completely off guard as the demonic bull rammed him against the wall again, even smashing a large hole in the stone wall. He was thrown off to who knows where.

On this battlefield, now devoid of Ash's gravity assist, the heavily damaged cavalry seized the opportunity to engage in fierce battles with the beast horde and the villagers who rose up in resistance.

The shouts of battle echoed through the sky, but... it didn't last long before the usual calm gradually returned.

Chapter Eight: Departure After a Pyrrhic Victory

Under that sky dyed blood red by the setting sun.

Despite Ash's gravity magic, the beast horde was slaughtered when the gravity disappeared, and the young and strong villagers lay scattered on the ground.

However, the elite light cavalry that should have been able to easily massacre the village was reduced to only three men in the blink of an eye.

The three cavalrymen, covered in blood, did not look well; their armor was also badly damaged.

“Just a village… and it’s turned out like this…” The cavalry captain, Maynard, an elite among elites, shook his head and then fixed his gaze on Aura, who looked troubled among the old, weak, sick, and disabled. He could tell that she was probably not very strong in combat. He gripped his sword and stepped forward: “You damned demons!! Die!”

"Huff..." An untimely, yet easily overlooked, panting sound mingled with the suffocating noise of the battlefield.

Ash, who should have died from a wound pierced through the neck by the armor-piercing spike, silently rose again at this moment.

His figure, swaying in the afterglow of the setting sun, had been lying in wait for this opportunity for a long time, and appeared behind Maynard like a ghost.

He pulled the armor-piercing spike from his neck, sending up a spray of blood, and then, without hesitation, as Maynard sensed something was wrong, he plunged the spike deep into the gap in the neck of the armor.

"—Gah?!!"

Maynard's eyes widened suddenly, finally revealing terror and despair, but he was already unable to turn around.

As blood gushed from his neck like a fountain, his body went limp, and he collapsed to his knees, followed by whispers that seemed to come from hell:

"...Your understanding of the demon race and me is still not thorough enough. This level of injury is not enough to kill me."

"Varied--?!"

"—Team leader?!"

The two cavalrymen, who were still planning to at least kill the demon at the last moment, turned around in surprise.

At that moment, Ash stepped on Maynard's shoulder, using the momentum to pull out the armor-piercing spike, causing Maynard to collapse to the ground, powerless.

"How dare you...!"

"—You bastard!!"

The two grieving cavalrymen cursed and raised their swords to kill him in revenge for their captain, but... Ash merely glanced at them silently and raised his hand slightly.

An abnormal gravity once again dominated their bodies, causing the two, already exhausted both physically and mentally, to kneel down in unison under the weight of their armor and an even greater pressure than before.

Next, it was simply a matter of repeating the same task, ignoring their curses and pleas, piercing the armor-piercing spikes into the gaps in the armor, and then it was all over.

After completing everything simply, Ash sat on the cavalryman's back and let out a long sigh amidst the pool of blood:

"Seriously, why did I have to go to such lengths for the sake of human infighting..."

"But you know, this world is really interesting, isn't it? You think so too?" Aura stepped out from the crowd, squatted down in front of him, rested her chin on her hands, looked up at him with a mischievous smile.

"...Perhaps."

He ignored Aura, simply lowering his head and staring at his blood-stained hands, letting his thoughts drift away from the place.

Today was his first time killing someone, but for some reason, he felt no fear or hesitation. Was it due to his demonic instincts, or because he had killed so many people over the years? He couldn't figure it out.

Although the village had won, no one on the scene could be happy; a deep sorrow filled the entire village.

Almost every household had dead bodies, but they could only brace themselves and, under the village chief's command, deal with the corpses on the ground, and prepare to sell the cavalrymen's armor and weapons in a couple of days.

Ash watched the busy villagers, but touched the bandage on his neck, already thinking about when to leave.

Aura stood nearby, watching him with an ambiguous smile, toying with the scales in her hand, and slowly said, "Tell me, what effect would it have if I used a submissive spell on you right now?"

"...Your magic is far from perfect; there are still quite a few problems, aren't there? For example, it involves the strong dominating the weak, so the probability of being controlled is also very high. Are you sure I've run out of magic power?"

"Hmm~ that is a problem?" Aura shook the scales in her hand with an innocent smile, looking troubled: "Although the problem of control has been improved, fair betting is really disadvantageous for a young demon like me."

"...Your magic has too many drawbacks. You should switch to another kind of magic as soon as possible." Ash, pale from blood loss, shook his head and gave his advice.

"Thanks for your concern, but if we scale up, we simply can't lose to anyone of the same level. So, are you jealous?"

"...Think what you want."

Even if his neck was pierced, it wouldn't be a big problem for a demon unless his neck was severed. But he was still quite tired and didn't want to waste time chatting with this guy.

So he shakily stood up and headed towards the village, intending to rest for a while before considering what to do next.

Meanwhile, Aura, who was bored, hopped and skipped behind him, chattering incessantly, making him feel that Aura's annoyance level had increased dramatically.

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

After resting in the village for a while, Ash ignored the villagers' attempts to persuade him to stay, and left the village with food, most of the village's cash, and the cavalry captain's sword, amidst everyone's reluctant farewells.

After all, the fact that these enemy cavalrymen died here would surely be known to outsiders, and the village would definitely attract a lot of attention. Naturally, they could not stay here any longer.

Of course, taking all the money might sound cruel, but the remaining cavalry weapons and armor are actually more valuable, enough to provide the villagers with sufficient funds to rebuild their homes.

However, six months later...

When the two led their new herd of animals past the vicinity, driven by curiosity, they came to the outskirts of the village only to find that the situation there was completely different from the restored prosperity they had imagined.

Chapter Nine: Heading North to the Demon Clan's Stronghold

The morning sun failed to pierce through the clouds and shine on the earth. A terrifying atmosphere permeated the village. Compared to its former prosperity, the village was now filled with scattered tragedies.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, and the villagers lying haphazardly on both sides of the road were mostly dead with their eyes wide open in shock.

The expression showed no trace of pain, indicating he was killed instantly. The only evidence on the ground was the corpse of a civilian and dried blood. And judging from the method used…

“It was done by the demons.” Aura came to this conclusion after a brief observation of the scene.

Whether children or adults, none were spared. It was a typical demonic act, ruthless, cruel, and thorough—trampling and crushing lives to death.

Looking at the two familiar stone statues in the center of the village, Ash remained silent, a complex emotion that was hard to describe passing through the depths of his dark pupils.

The village was protected by demons and was not destroyed by humans. Although more than half of the villagers were killed or injured, they were working hard to rebuild. However, not long after, the village was completely destroyed by passing demons... Is this the fate of the village or what?

“…How pitiful.” Ash murmured as he crouched down, his fingertips gently stroking the cold cheek of a young child. “If only the goddess you worship truly existed.”

Aura was completely baffled: "What are you doing?"

"I was just thinking... I absolutely don't want to die like this."

"I guess I'll just have to work harder at training."

"...We need to think of a way."

"way?"

"The biggest difference between demons and humans in magic lies in the issue of inheritance. We have no teachers and can only learn by ourselves, which is why we're still only third-rate... So why not just find a teacher?"

Ash slowly stood up and turned to look at the girl who always followed him on his wanderings.

But these words made Aura laugh so hard she almost fell over: "Just find a teacher, right? Haha! Hahahaha! Ash! You're really funny! We're demons! How could anyone possibly teach us?? Are you serious??"

"...Of course, demons won't teach, so we'll just find another target." Ignoring Aura's sneer, he walked ahead without turning his head and said, "But for now... let's leave here first."

"Yes, yes~" Aura wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes without interest and followed them out of the village.

Before leaving, Ash casually set fire to the houses, plunging the village into flames, and then turned and left the village where he had once lived.

But... before they'd gone very far, Aura, looking annoyed, poked his stomach with her elbow:

"Speaking of which, where are we going next? I heard there's some kind of demon king in the north, should we go and hang out with him?"

"...I'm also thinking about this question."

"So how is it now?"

"They said they were thinking about it."

"About what is it like?"

"You're so annoying, tone it down."

"No, I'm fine... Waaah???"

Aura straightened her chest and refused without thinking, but before she could finish speaking, he slapped her across the face, silencing her.

He then pushed aside the inconvenient Awula, walked quickly ahead, and frowned in worry, wondering what he should do next.

If possible, he didn't want to wander anymore, so perhaps it would be better for him to seek refuge with the Demon King?

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

Ash didn't know if the villagers had told anyone that the demons had lived there after they left, but with the demons massacring the village, the area would become even more dangerous for them.

This annoyed him repeatedly, and he glanced again at Aura, who was sulking not far away but had already sat back on the back of the demon bull.

Although she didn't really want to talk to him, Aura couldn't help but ask when she noticed his gaze: "What's wrong? Have you thought it through?"

"...Let's go back first, and talk as we walk."