(The beginning of the passage is ripped and burnt; the residual mana coinciding with traces left behind from the spell Zoltraak)

—ith two or three notable exceptions, the absolute majority of demons believe humans to be nothing but prey, to be crushed or consumed as food. This is, of course, due to the nature of demons themselves. They are simply put; monsters that have evolved to speak in order to lie and deceive their prey. Convincing a human to spare them, calling for a mother they never knew, embarking on false missions of peace, or even convincing their prey that they have no intentions to fight.

Deception… The most powerful tool at their disposal.

And ironically it is so powerful because of understanding. Demons don't understand human empathy or emotions. And humans are incapable of understanding that specific lack of understanding. This severed connection is known to demons more than it is known to humans, and is what allows them to deceive most humans so easily. There are outliers of course, not all humans fall for the lies and not all demons are great at lying. Or they just don't understand humans, which can easily lead to their death.

Again, demons don't understand, or are rather completely incapable of understanding or even experiencing the same emotions that humans do. They experience emotions of course, but not the same ones that humans do. Empathy, love, family, kindness, pity, compassion; all are utterly alien to demons. The only things that matter to demons are strength and the level of mana one can exhibit; often these two things are one in the same. It's not dissimilar to two large predators competing and trying to prove themselves the more dangerous threat. Strength is all that matters, emotions are rarely considered.

Demons see these emotions as a weakness, something to be exploited in order to get an easy kill or to be 'let off the hook' as humans say. All are tools that demons use against humans. For example; they have no concept of what a mother or father is, but a young demon can call out to their parents to elicit pity from unsuspecting humans.

In conclusion; demons are highly evolved and prideful monsters that see humans as weak prey to hunt and destroy. They are incapable of understanding the emotions that humans do, but they know that these emotions can be taken advantage of to trick and deceive unsuspecting humans into lowering their guard. There will never be an understanding between the two species, except that the two species will be eternal enemies.

I, on the other hand—

(The middle of the passage has been rendered unreadable due to blood stains.)

—Humanity's accomplishments cannot be understated, nor can they be ignored like so many of my kind wishes. Humanity may not be the most capable magically, physically, or even intelligently, but they have one singular trait that demonkind lacks almost entirely.

Adaptability…

Given enough time, humanity can overcome absolute adversity by changing their strengths and weaknesses to better suit the challenge to their survival. They lack the physical strength of monsters, so they evolved the intelligence to craft tools to aid them. Where they are weak alone, they put aside their differences and build communities to combine their strength. The longer these communities go undisturbed, the more powerful they become. One of the Seven Sages of Destruction; Aura the Guillotine, attempted to infiltrate one such city under the guise of a peace treaty. And most notably; due to the intervention of the legendary human mage Flamme, humanity began their frightening advance into the realm of magic.

Truly… Humanity is a race to be feared and respected in equal measure. In my desire to understand them I have not yet grown foolish enough to directly force interactions, in some ways I am simply content to let my fascination remain a fascination. In others there is no greater field of research; humanity is simply that fascinating to me. The longer I study them, adopt their mannerisms and habits, the closer I feel to understanding why and how they flourish despite the boot levied so heavily upon their neck. Though I will never truly experience the same emotions a human might, on some conceptual level I feel that—

(The remainder of the passage is torn and rendered unreadable due to bloodstains and burns.)

—Supposed passage from Solitär's personal journal.

Bell had messed up…

He had gone out into the forest to pick flowers for a pretty girl, because his grandpa told him that one of the fastest ways to get a girl to like you was to get her flowers! But… as he went deeper and deeper the sun started getting lower and lower. Soon enough he had a few nice flowers, but none of the trees that surrounded him were familiar. As the sun crept ever lower the five year old began panicking, but no matter which way he went he only got more and more lost.

When the sky went from orange to a deep purple he started imagining the worst. His grandpa had told him never to go outside on his own, especially at night! They weren't common but monsters inhabited the forests by their farm, and they were especially active at night. So as the bushes rustled around him he went from scared to terrified. And then the worst possible thing happened, so quickly that he couldn't even muster the energy to scream. He couldn't look away…

Because two glowing green eyes stared back at him…

He prayed to any deities that might listen that somehow it would ignore him, but instead the two glowing lights started getting closer. Branches were crushed underfoot, and with each step he felt his heart skip a beat in his chest. But as the monster stepped into the light of the moon…

"You do know… that children shouldn't be out this late at night?"

It wasn't a monster at all… It was an… elf? The woman was wearing a light cream colored dress with a weathered orange cardigan over it. She had teal or maybe green-blue hair, but he couldn't tell in the low light, and she wore a matching orange wool cap over her head. Two slightly pointed ears poked out from her hair, and the green lights from before were her eyes. She had a serene smile on her face, but for just a moment it felt like she was a predator deciding on whether or not to eat him.

The moment passed though when she laughed lightly and crouched in front of him. "There are scary monsters wandering about, be glad it was me that found you instead of something else~" She hummed before tilting her head to the side, "what's your name?" She reached out a hand, but as high-strung as he still was Bell back further against the tree. If she was bothered she didn't show it, instead she left her hand hanging for a few seconds before pulling it back again.

Finding his voice, Bell whispered, "G-Grandpa told me I shouldn't trust strangers, especially older women…" The woman blinked before chuckling.

"Your grandfather sounds very wise, but it's alright. I'm not scary!" Once again she reached a hand out. "Come, big sister will take you back to your village~" Hesitantly, Bell reached out and took the woman's hand. She pulled him to his feet. "You know, new friends should introduce themselves to one another."

"O-oh, um… I'm Bell, Bell Cranel."

"Aaaaahh, that's such a cute name!" The elf cooed. Placing a hand over her chest, her smile widened slightly. "My name is Solitär, call me Sol if it's hard to say~" Despite his fear the child smiled a bit. She was right, Sol wasn't scary like he thought she was.

"Come along Bell, your village is this way," and with a gentle tug of his hand she led him through the dark and unfamiliar forest.

The child reeked of Divinity. It was what attracted her to him in the first place, but only upon seeing him did she see just how much surrounded him. For only a moment, when their eyes first met, was she fooled that this child might in fact be one of this land's gods. But no, the little bunny was just a normal human child. She was pretty sure she knew which village he called home, and so she had found three paths laid out before her. One option was to turn him into a late night meal, but if he had the favor of a god this powerful then she would face a terrible retribution. Secondly, she could have left him where she found him. There was a pack of goblins nearby, they would easily finish what she left behind. Unfortunately this might bring the same problem as the former option; other than monsters she was the only person who lived in this forest. If questioned by an angry deity, well… She couldn't lie to them now could she? She had found that out the hard way.

In the end the simplest and least dangerous option would be simply taking him back to his village. It would bring her far closer to humans than she might like, but it would guarantee a retribution-less filled future. If they came looking then she'd simply pack up and leave, it wouldn't be the first time since coming to this new land.

"U-um, Miss Sol?" The bunny rabbit asked, breaking the terse silence between them.

"Hm?" She hummed.

"Are…" The child hesitated. "Aren't you afraid?"

"Of what?"

"The monsters…" the boy whispered. Why would she be… aaaahhh.

"Not at all~" She answered in a lilting tone. Even if she were to enter the famed Dungeon of Orario there wouldn't be much of a threat unless she entered the deeper floors. As always, the highest threat to her were adventurers and humans—including the new and fascinating sub-human species—because without the simple piece of wool over her head… Well, there'd be rumors spreading like wildfire~

The occasional bandit made for good sport, but garnering a reputation would draw attention. Orario could keep their precious adventurers right where they are. She had no interest in testing their strength like the rest of her kind would.

"I am a monster among monsters~" she added with little context. Even then…

"You can't be a monster though… Monsters aren't nice like you are!" Bell rebutted. When she saw the Ernest look in his eyes she couldn't help the laugh that bubbled from her throat. The irony~

"Eat more carrots little bunny, your eyes are deceiving you." She brought up her free hand and curled her fingers like a claw, smirking at the boy. "I'm a terrifying demon, the stuff of nightmares!~" Despite his earlier fear Bell laughed at her 'frightening' display.

They were getting close now, she knew of the village Bell might be from but she had never actually been there. It was just the closest one, and so she chose it to get this over with as fast as possible. If it wasn't the wrong village? They could figure it out from there. Fortunately though she had guessed right, because as soon as she crossed a certain point she felt a massive spike of divinity. It was so sudden and so heavy that it nearly made her stumble. How hadn't she noticed this before?

Slowly she could make out the outlines of buildings and the lights that flickered from inside. Other than the god she didn't feel any other sources of mana, so that meant there probably weren't any adventurers either. That was a huge relief. A village of humans with a godly resident was bad enough for her nerves as is…

"Miss Sol! I can see the village!" The boy exclaimed, squeezing her hand. They were at the edge of the forest now, a small farming village was laid out before them. Already she could see torches and people wandering around frantically. Had it taken them this long to realize one of their offspring was missing? Humans generally seemed smarter than that…

"Indeed~" She let go of his hand. Already she was getting nervous, she didn't sense anyone looking in the forest itself but that could change very quickly. "Do you see a house you recognize? Or maybe your grandfather?" Unlike most of her kind she knew the basic human family structure. A parent of his parents was the person looking after Bell.

"Mhm! I can see Grandpa's house from here! Come on, he'd love to meet you!" Bell grabbed her hand and pulled, but she didn't budge, not even an inch.

Something cold flashed in her eyes for barely a second. "No, absolutely not…" When she saw the shocked look in the child's eyes she sighed. Her smile returned to its normal state. "I have to go home too, you don't want to worry your grandfather right? I don't want to worry my family either," she lied. Thankfully Bell's face turned to one of realization.

Without any warning he ran straight at her and hugged her middle. "Thank you so much Miss Sol!" She was frozen, completely and utterly. Before she could do anything; either pushing him away or returning the embrace, the boy let go and started walking towards his home.

She folded her hands behind her back. "Bell," she called out. When he looked back she gave him a teasing smile. "I'm a demon remember?~ Don't go wandering off into the woods at night again, or else I'll have to gobble you up~"

"No you wouldn't~ Bye!" The boy waved before beginning turning away again. He was right, in a way. It would be too inconvenient, and generally she just didn't seem to want to. He wouldn't make more than a snack, she told herself. Without watching to see if he made it she turned around and retreated back into the forest. Dealing with a child wasn't bad; lying was pitifully easy. But humans?

In this new world of gods and adventurers, humans terrified her. The stories she heard from the Dungeon City turned her blood to ice. The elves had made a miraculous return and seemed to be stronger than ever before, and there was a new element. It didn't matter what kind, how well she dressed, what perfume or smell she added to herself, or even how well she concealed her mana… Beast people, werewolves especially, could always tell that she wasn't what she seemed. She was lucky enough that demons didn't seem to exist here. It made blending in and the few interactions she had with humans much easier.

And she knew this was a new land, maybe even a new world. It couldn't be anything else really…

The attack didn't come from the elf in front of her, but rather from behind. The trajectory was flat, meaning the attacker was within eyesight somehow. Her strength all but vanished, knees giving out beneath her. Suddenly she was looking up at the sky, Frieren staring at her with a dispassionate gaze.

"A super long-range shot from beyond my mana detection range… This was certainly unexpected~" Already her body was turning to ash, from the tips of her fingers and the gaping hole in her chest. But… even though she was dying…

She smiled. "Magnificent…" Humans truly were terrifying…

That blast had killed her, there wasn't a question. So how had she come to this new land? She didn't know yet, and she wouldn't be finding out anytime soon.

Deep in the forest she found her home; an old and rundown wood cabin in a small clearing. It was far enough that travelers were virtually nonexistent, and even if there happened to be any unexpected visitors she had added a measure of defense. Before she had died, she had analyzed and destroyed a very impressive barrier around the Human Fortress city of Weise. Honestly that was a regret she carried over from then; the barrier was an incredible feat of magic. To lose something like that was a shame.

But in the end it helped her, because after some years she had finally reverse-engineered the barrier. Now, though it wasn't nearly as impressive, a substantial magic barrier surrounded her new home.

As she passed through the barrier she took some time to do some minor upkeep; she tended to her small garden, gathered some wood for her fireplace, and set aside some fruit for the next morning's breakfast. Even after dying she hadn't found a reason to stop her imitations, the only change was that there were different things that took the place of old things. An example would be new plants that she had never seen before instead of her old garden. Small things.

Settling in a worn sofa she sighed. Tonight had been stressful. Human children weren't nearly as frightening as humans themselves, but they tended to run their mouths. Maybe she should have killed Bell after all… "No… It would've made things more complicated in the long run… But I might still have to leave anyway, what if his grandfather wants to thank me? What if the deity wants to meet me?" In the end it didn't really matter…

What were the chances that she'd run into Bell Cranel again?

Not much to say here. This was a plot bunny that got out of the cage. I might continue this or I might not, but I thought that if I wrote I might as well post it. At the very least it'll be a nice alternative if I get writer's block for Absolute Radiance. Solitaire is fun to write, so I might do it anyways! Depending on the reception I'll either write shorter chapters like this one or longer chapters like my main story. We'll see.

If I continue this it'll follow the cannon of Danmachi with some differences for obvious reasons. Scaling-wise, Solitaire is an incredibly powerful demon, and I'm thinking of having her on-par with a first class adventurer. Not broken, but her skillset and the number of spells she knows certainly puts her at an advantage, while also lacking in aspects like strength compared to some powerhouses. I dunno yet, I'll have to do some more brainstorming and comparisons.

Lemme know what you think! Thanks for giving this a read!