Chapter 385: Because I Am Their Disciple
On the ninth day of being wanted, Frieren began to feel that something was wrong.
It was evident from the intensity of the pursuit; starting from the fourth day, the number and strength of the pursuers increased in an unnatural way. It wasn't an increase in numbers, but a leap in quality. Ordinary Adventurers and mercenaries gradually disappeared, replaced by an extremely large number of Magicians.
This morning, while they were briefly resting in an abandoned mine, Frieren had sensed traces of Detection Magic, and it was of an extremely vast range.
To cast Detection Magic of this level, either a Magician with profound magic power was needed, or many Magicians had to work together. But either way, it was overkill for just one elf and one demon.
Fortunately, Frieren reacted in time and quickly erased their presence; otherwise, they would have been exposed immediately.
"Lady Frieren," Aura's voice sounded from the side. She squatted nearby, her finger tracing a residual magic power, her face grim. "A Magician has already been here."
Frieren didn't reply, trying hard to think about what had been wrong these past few days.
She had planned to quickly cross the border of the Lota Kingdom with Aura and go to other countries to bypass the scope of the arrest warrant.
Although the surrounding countries had also received her arrest warrant, it was not within the Lothar Kingdom, so its effect should be minimal. Not like this! With so many Magicians tracking their movements.
Moreover, the speed at which the arrest warrant was issued was abnormally fast.
Less than a day after the mine conflict ended, their appearances and characteristics had already spread throughout all surrounding guilds and cities.
"It's not an arrest warrant," Frieren said.
Aura turned her head, "What?"
"It's not because of an arrest warrant," Frieren repeated. "We might be specifically targeted."
Aura rubbed her head, bewildered, as if Frieren was stating the obvious. "Haven't we always been targeted?"
"I mean, they've been after me from the very beginning."
Aura's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but ultimately swallowed her words and instead asked, "You mean they've been after you from the very beginning?"
Frieren nodded.
This was the only possibility; otherwise, such a large-scale operation couldn't be explained. Even if she really had colluded with demons, it wouldn't attract so many Magicians to pursue her.
After all, Aura, who was by her side, was too weak. If it were a Magician of the Seven Sages of Destruction, it would be understandable.
But why now?
Frieren couldn't understand. She wasn't as famous as Master Flamme.
Although the legends of her teacher were gradually fading, and in a few hundred years she might be unknown, far from being eternally praised and sung about by humans like Lord.
Because of this, Frieren couldn't understand.
So she chose to take the initiative, selecting a weaker group of pursuers. She didn't strike hard, only using Binding Magic to isolate one of them.
It was a young Magician. Judging by his robe, he had only recently embarked on the path of a Magician. He was terrified when Frieren caught him, and his Defensive Magic was deployed haphazardly.
Frieren didn't give him a chance to struggle and immediately began to interrogate him: "Who sent you?"
"It's a mission issued by the Magic Guild—"
"Who issued the mission?"
"I-I don't know—"
"Tell me the content of the request."
The young Magician was terribly frightened, as if Frieren was the terrifying demon from the arrest warrant who could devour him at any moment, but he still tremblingly pulled out a parchment from his robe.
The parchment not only depicted Frieren and Aura in clear detail but also explicitly stated that the former must be captured alive, while the latter's life or death was irrelevant. In particular, the reward offered was exceptionally generous, even including precious magic books.
Frien looked at the word magic books and couldn't help but be tempted.
Unfortunately, she couldn't tie herself up and hand herself over to the other party, as she still didn't know what they wanted to do with her. If the target had been Aura, she probably wouldn't have been so conflicted.
At this moment, a line of small text caught her attention:
'After capturing the target, transfer them to the nearest Kingdom Magic Guild, and the Royal Court Magicians will handle the follow-up.'
Frieren looked at this line of text, her mind even more confused.
The Court Magicians of each country were top-tier Magicians; even within the Magic Association, they were individuals capable of passing the Second-level Mage assessment.
And now, because of her and Aura, these people had become involved. If the only reason was that they had colluded with demons, Frieren would never have believed it.
She put away the parchment, released the young magician from the binding spell, and he scrambled away into the forest before disappearing from sight.
Aura poked her head out from behind her, "Lady Frieren, on that paper..."
"Someone is lying," Frieren said. "The so-called collusion with demons is just an excuse. They want me. Alive."
Aura: ???
What about me? Does my life or death matter?
She wanted to ask, but she was afraid of annoying Frieren, who was clearly in a bad mood at the moment, so she decisively chose to keep quiet. She now sincerely hoped that she and Frieren could escape this clearly shady arrest warrant.
However, the answer was quite the opposite; their whereabouts were ultimately completely exposed.
Only this time, the other party was very clever. They didn't rush forward immediately but followed them from a distance. By the time they discovered them, the other party had already escaped, leaving only a trace of magic power.
That was some kind of Communication Magic. Through this magic, the other party reported Frieren and Aura's location to others.
When Frieren saw that trace of magic power, her usually indifferent expression changed very noticeably.
"This is troublesome... we have nowhere to run."
The moment she saw that residual magic power, Frieren understood that her whereabouts were completely exposed, and she would likely face a direct confrontation next.
However, this way, it would also be easier for her to find out the truth. She refused to believe that among the Magicians participating in her capture, there wasn't a single one who knew the truth.
And the answer came from the eighth wave of pursuers they encountered.
The leading Magician fell into a semi-conscious state under Frieren's overwhelming magic power suppression, thus unconsciously blurting out fragmented words: "...You are...Lady Serie's...grand-disciple..."
"Why...don't you age..."
"That woman from the Magic Association...she must have also used...Immortality Magic..."
"As long as you are caught...Kurtz...will hand over..."
Before he could finish, he completely lost his life.
Frieren suddenly understood everything at this moment. "...Immortality Magic."
Why the quality of the pursuers was so strong, why the arrest warrant spread so quickly, why the Royal Court Magicians of the three kingdoms could reach a consensus so quickly.
It wasn't because of the so-called crime of harboring demons.
It was because she was Frieren.
It was because her teacher was Flamme.
It was because Flamme's teacher was Serie.
It was because next to Serie stood Kurtz.
And Kurtz created the world's only Immortality Magic.
[End of Chapter]