Chapter 43

Chapter 43 "Strong Brother-Sister Bond"

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Aura's fierce glare only heightened the tension in the atmosphere.

Even though the scene was on the verge of breaking out, making it hard for the surrounding demons to breathe, she still hesitated to give the order to attack, as if this were a family matter to be settled just between them.

Of course, the demons—orphans whose parents were still alive—had no true concept of home or family, so they simply watched and waited in confusion.

Despite the long separation, Ash knew Aura was only showing a bit of mercy while making some trouble for her own amusement. After all, if she'd genuinely wanted to control him, she would have first used her Undead Army and her subordinates to wear him down and then used her obedience magic. That would've been the safest way to deal with a powerful opponent like him.

Furthermore, in the past, whenever Aura used obedience magic, she would always exhaust a wave of enemies first to secure her victory.

Not wanting her to embarrass herself in front of others any longer, Ash released her horns, letting her regain her composure. Under her annoyed gaze, he smiled, combed her messy hair with his fingers, and then followed her into the castle.

...

The castle that Aura occupied was once owned by humans, though it was unclear how she had come to possess it. In the audience hall of this ancient castle, hidden deep within mountains and dense forests, the walls were weathered, and cobwebs adorned the ceiling, giving the sense it had been abandoned for a long time.

Only the throne Aura sat upon remained pristine, as if to flaunt her power. Of course, before she sat down, Ash noticed a small demon girl in a gray robe, with two small horns, carefully wiping down the already spotless throne.

"...This really surprises me. You actually adopted a little demon?" Ash remarked, sitting on the armrest of the throne while curiously eyeing the girl hiding in the corner.

"Ah, Linie? She seemed to have some potential, so I picked her up." Aura glanced at the little girl while biting an apple and casually explained. But after looking at Ash, she seemed to lose her appetite, tossing the half-eaten apple to the floor.

Linie darted out, picking up the discarded apple and began eating it right on the spot.

Seeing her obvious hunger, Ash couldn't help but ask, "...Did you mistreat this child?"

"I'm not into that kind of thing." Although her tone was indifferent, Aura still addressed the situation casually. "Linie, don't pick up food from the floor."

"Yes, Master Aura…"

Linie obediently threw the apple away and retreated to her shadowy corner again.

Ash gave her a curious look, then remembered his purpose and turned to Aura. "Speaking of which, Aura, why are you here?"

"You're aware of my magic. At first, I always need to gather a few people to help subdue an enemy, don't I?"

"Now that you're one of the Seventh Sage, would you really still be loyal to someone else?"

"of couse not?" Aura replied, rolling her eyes.

She said that the life or death of the Demon King was not important at all, nor was the survival of the demon clan. She was simply here to add her name to the list because the other party seemed strong.

That's right, it was just a title; otherwise, she wouldn't be in this deep forest.

Although the "Seven Sages of destruction" are theoretically an elite group of demons directly under the Demon King, in reality, not even she fit that description perfectly.

Even Macht of the Golden land—second only to the Prime Minister and Demon King and regarded as the strongest of the Seven Sages of destruction—is technically part of the elite demon clan. But in reality, he doesn't listen to the Demon King at all or participate in the affairs of the Demon King's army. He even told Schlacht he has no interest in it.

...Unless Prime Minister Schlacht threatened him with death, Macht might temporarily compromise. However, it's common for Macht to kill members of the Demon King's army outright. Aura, similarly, has no interest in the Demon King's army or humans. She only wishes to control whoever comes here.

But even if they're like this, they remain one of the Seven Sages of destruction. As for the other demons? Schlacht, who works diligently for the Demon King, is really an odd exception.

Aura has no interest in the others, but she looked at Ash with curiosity.

"Come to think of it, Ash, you suddenly disappeared for more than five hundred years. But before that, didn't you become a general on the human side?"

"That's true."

"And then? Where did you go?"

"What? Were you actually worried about me?"

Realizing that Aura had been keeping tabs on him, he couldn't help but smile and ruffle her hair.

This only earned him a cold glare from Aura, and she slapped his hand off her head.

Then, with an evil grin, Aura said, "I'd like to say no, but if I think about it, maybe it's true... If you died, who would lick my feet?"

"Uh... do we really need to keep discussing this?"

"Isn't that why you came here to see me?"

"...Please don't say things even you don't believe."

He couldn't understand how she remembered such a thing after all these years and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Aura looked back at him in confusion. "I am serious. And I can't think of any other reason why you would come to me."

"Are you really serious?"

"Of course."

"Couldn't it be that you just missed something?"

"Miss you? After all these years?"

"I've had a lot going on too, you know."

As the conversation continued, he felt his stomach twist, realizing Aura might actually be serious.

So he shifted the conversation, saying bluntly, "I'll just be straightforward—I want to become the Demon King, so I need your help."

"Ah, so that's why you came to me." Aura nodded, mildly surprised, then rested her elbow on the other armrest of the throne, looking up at him with her chin on her hand. "My magic would be quite useful with the right preparation."

"So... does that mean you're agreeing?"

"--No"

Despite the request coming from her long-lost brother, Aura didn't hesitate in rejecting him outright, not sparing even a moment's thought. After five hundred years, she made it clear just how solid their "brotherly" bond really was.