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“…”

Although Frecia wasn’t aware of her surroundings while restoring the barrier, the moment it was complete, she could feel the sticky malevolence scattered around her.

Turning around was a natural reaction. However, what caught her eye was far from normal for her.

Despite Balikan’s furious roars attracting attention, Frecia’s gaze shifted to a quiet corner. There lay a girl, unconsciously smiling as she slowly closed her eyes.

Elysia Frentz.

At first, she was just a bold Academy student A. She had approached Frecia while she was napping, talking to her without getting a response, and had inappropriately touched her without permission.

With a mischievous intent, Frecia decided to pull the financially troubled girl into her magic experiments.

Inside her, bold student A became magic assistant A.

Of course, Frecia had no idea what thoughts crossed Elysia’s mind in accepting her terrible behavior.

No matter how often she called, the girl always arrived with a smile, indulging Frecia’s whims and willingly becoming a somewhat troublesome test subject for her magic experiments.

Frecia guessed that the reason for all her acceptance was probably money.

Yet, despite their relationship being financially motivated, every time Elysia held her hand, patted her head, or spoke to her in a warm voice, Frecia found herself craving just a bit more affection.

Though, it was still infuriating that she had smacked her backside, so she returned the favor.

Within her, magic assistant A transformed into Elysia Frentz.

The girl who made Frecia feel affection for the first time was now collapsed.

Elysia, bleeding and losing consciousness, smiling for some reason, displeased Frecia greatly.

Frecia slowly walked towards Elysia.

Fortunately, it seemed Balikan had no immediate plans to do anything to her.

Standing in front of Elysia, Frecia drew a magic circle just as she always did. As the circle emitted a faint light, the blood flowing from Elysia’s side began to gradually cease. However, having lost a lot of blood, her complexion remained pale. Simple healing magic couldn’t restore her any further.

“Ugh… Haha… I should thank you for treating that girl. I’ll make sure she lives in pain for the rest of her life, unable to even die.”

Once Frecia completed the emergency treatment, she stood up and faced Balikan. While it was hard to understand exactly what had happened, it was easy to discern that the man before her had made Elysia this way.

“Demonic race?”

“Haha… A wizard without even an escort. Kneel, wizard. Do that, and perhaps you may receive the Demon King’s grace.”

Reacting to Balikan’s arrogant remarks, Frecia had only one course of action.

With a few mutterings and gestures, she drew a simple magic circle in the air.

Around her, numerous arrows began to rise. Fire arrows, ice arrows, water arrows, lightning arrows, stone arrows…

It was a basic arrow spell, but the sheer quantity and variety were anything but simple.

Dozens of arrows flew toward Balikan. However, with an effortlessness befitting a strong wizard, he casually brushed them aside with one remaining hand.

Even if one arrow managed to strike him, the magical resistance of a mid-level demon was not something a basic arrow spell could breach.

Having witnessed Frecia’s little display, Balikan charged at her.

Avoiding Balikan’s attack was nearly impossible for someone who had never trained their body, yet with the aid of the magic she had cast on herself, she narrowly evaded.

Accelerating her body, enhancing her strength, sharpening her senses—various spells she had experimented with on Elysia in the past.

Crafted partly as a hobby and partly for study, these spells helped her survive this immediate crisis.

However, as she had never experienced a physical confrontation, it was only natural for Frecia to allow Balikan to land a hit.

Thud!

Even though Balikan’s sharp claws pierced her slender abdomen, with a dull thud, he was the one to be thrown back.

“Hm. A barrier artifact, I see. But how long can it hold?”

The necklace hanging around Frecia’s neck, containing the barrier spell, had cracked from a single attack. It could hold up against perhaps two or three more strikes at best.

Yet Frecia’s response remained unchanged. She summoned dozens of arrows again and barely avoided Balikan’s assault with her awkward movements.

Thud!

Another hit.

Thud!

Another one.

Crack…

On the verge of breaking completely, the necklace looked as if it would crumble to dust with just a slight touch.

Clang!

Finally, the barrier shattered, and Frecia was thrown back by the impact.

Bouncing off the ground and hitting a stone, Frecia lay there, bloodied and seemingly unable to rise.

The outcome of the fight was painfully obvious.

Balikan, filled with arrogance, nonetheless recognized her effort. If a lower-level demon had been here instead of her, it would have been a difficult situation. The sheer number and power of her arrow spells were more than simple magic, and her enhancement spells had made an untrained wizard comparable to an ordinary warrior.

“I am the arrogant Balikan. Wizard. State your name. I shall remember the name of the one who will soon die.”

Thus, Balikan expressed his utmost admiration for the girl’s talent.

What if that girl had matured even a little? The thought thrilled him.

However, Frecia offered no response.

“Wizard, do you still wish to resist in vain? The sun has set. I am a child of the night. Any hope you had left has vanished completely.”

Indeed, as Balikan spoke, the sun scattering the sunset had already descended beyond the horizon, and small stars filled the night sky.

Even the darkened heavens were visible to the bloodied Frecia lying on the ground.

With great effort, she lifted a trembling hand towards the sky.

Small stars slipped between her outstretched fingers.

Frecia clenched her fist at the void, but of course, nothing would fall into her hand.

Though she knew it was impossible, she still reached for them.

For the stars in the night sky.

*

The girl’s first memory was of a back alley where food scraps were discarded. In that memory, the girl rummaged through the leftovers, filling her hungry belly.

She didn’t know if she was born and raised in that back alley, abandoned by her parents, or lost and swept there.

But none of that was important. What mattered to the girl was simply surviving each day.

One day, a kind woman, feeling pity for her, gave her a coin. She didn’t know its exact value, but she understood that she could exchange it for bread.

With the coin clutched tightly, the girl ran until a man blocked her path. He was likely a thug extorting orphans in the back alleys.

The man naturally tried to snatch the coin, and the girl, of course, resisted to prevent the theft.

However, the price for a small girl defying a burly man was steep.

The man showed no mercy, treating her like a mere insect. He stomped on her as if it didn’t matter whether she lived or died. Perhaps thinking of it as an opportunity to set an example to the other children, he stomped harder than usual.

As the girl was losing consciousness under his brutal kicks, a shooting star streaked across her vision.

Recalling superstitions, the girl made a wish upon that shooting star.

That was the girl’s first magic.

*

Bang!

Balikan couldn’t comprehend what had happened. The only realization he had was that he was now lying on the ground.

It was a situation where consequences existed without a cause.

“…Ugh!”

Then came the delayed pain.

It was as if his entire body had been struck by a massive hammer.

The pain swirling within Balikan overshadowed any agony he felt when he lost his wrist to Elysia.

Thud.

Approaching the rolling Balikan was Frecia, who had just been lying down.

“Part of the night, huh? How ironic. I also quite like the night.”

She glanced briefly at Elysia before once more looking down at Balikan.

“I’m not cheap enough to tell you, but… I’ll make an exception. Remember this until you die.”

With an arrogant expression.

“My name is Frecia. Frecia of the night sky.”