Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 89 Fallen Demon
The magma area of the maze.

On the rugged path that was illuminated by the surroundings as if it were daytime, the largest student in the academy and perhaps the smallest student in the academy were searching for a way out, one in front and one behind.

The roads in this area are very difficult to travel.

The irregular terrain created by the maze means that the ground beneath your feet might be flat one moment and then turn into a swamp or sand the next. Other places are fine, but stepping into the lava is not a pleasant experience.

At first, Iris, who was not used to this strange terrain, repeatedly touched the dangerous lava. The red protective barrier on her body also faded at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But gradually, Elise began to find the exact footing and almost never stepped into a dangerous place.

It wasn't that Iris suddenly realized the Fiery Eyes and acquired the ability to accurately discern. She just found that she only needed to follow Xia Lu and step wherever the other person stepped.

At this time, Xia Lu was not far ahead, with her hands slightly crossed in front of her, walking slowly.

Her posture was somewhat like the stereotypical steps of a young lady. Each step had a small swing. However, the distance her body moved forward was not short at all.

If the interval between blinks matches Xia Lu's pace, then in the eyes of others, she appears to be coming and going in a flash.

Iris had no idea how Xia Lu's feet exerted force. She seemed to be walking normally, but sometimes she would even jump up to cross obstacles.

"."

Iris followed Xia Lu silently, and was once again convinced that this girl from the adventure group was a complete weirdo.

Although Xia Lu did a good job of outward appearances, even maintaining a certain degree of "ladylike" behavior when it wasn't necessary, Merci was probably the only one in Yewwood who thought she was no different from what she appeared to be.

The reason why Xia Lu was "exposed" to Iris was not because Xia Lu did not do well enough, but simply because she had a twin brother with a big mouth.

Sunny, an adventurer who transferred to Earls College at the same time as Xia Lu, is currently in the Yanxin class.

Unlike Yewwood, a special class whose students were all recruited from the common people, Flameheart inherited the long-standing "Red" lineage. However, unlike Orangebrilliance, Flameheart embraced common people and considered themselves martial artists, thus showing extraordinary curiosity and concern for a true adventurer.

Sonny, like everyone else, loves to be in the spotlight, so he'd casually recount his own "legend" every day. However, Sonny couldn't avoid mentioning his older sister, Xia Lu, in nearly every story about the famed Grom Twins. Consequently, Xia Lu inevitably became a part of Sonny's bragging.

Perhaps because of the years of abuse he endured, even in his boastful stories, Sonny showed his sister a great deal of respect. But no matter how much respect he showed, some facts were unavoidable.

Thus, the adventurer Xia Lu "debuted" in the Flame Heart class with an exceptionally violent and ferocious image. Furthermore, since Sunny was a flamboyant persona, his intelligence wasn't his strong point. Therefore, over the past month or so, his stories and Xia Lu's image had begun to show signs of breaking out.

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Then one day, Sonny, with a bruised face and an arm in a sling, appeared in the Yanxin class classroom.

Standing at the podium, Sonny spent almost an entire class period clarifying that his remarks were all rumors, delusions born during his formative years. His sister, Xia Lu, was actually a gentle, fragile, and sickly young lady who was born into the wrong family, never speaking or smiling.

As for those injuries, they were from falling, definitely not from being beaten by his sister. His sister once twisted her wrist accidentally because the fork was too heavy. She was incredibly weak and definitely not a humanoid chimpanzee.
In short, since that day, the students of Yanxin class and well-informed students of other classes, such as Iris, knew that there was a "lady" in Zishanmu class who must not be provoked.

Iris was casually recalling some things that were definitely of no help to the current situation. She had no sense of urgency about being trapped in the abnormal maze. As she walked, she suddenly felt that the scene in front of her eyes began to blur.

Looking at the scenery in front of her in a trance, her consciousness seemed to be gradually fading away. It was as if she had returned to her distant hometown and saw some familiar figures.

Before Iris could see those figures clearly, she suddenly heard a sound like a water balloon being popped. Then, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her, she woke up and saw that instead of the scenery of her hometown, she saw a close-up of Xia Lu's face.

Xia Lu still had her usual gentle smile, and even her eyes were smiling. However, Iris still felt an inexplicable chill, especially after she remembered the situation she had been in.

She might have the time to think about something else in the current emergency, but she definitely couldn't laugh.

"It's better to be a little more careful."

Xia Lu and Iris' close eye contact did not last long.

Following Xia Lu's gentle voice, Iris heard the sound of something falling at her feet. She glanced at it and almost let out a cry of disgust.

It was a giant eyeball-like object, but a narrow metal spike pierced its center, and it writhed in pain on the ground, squeaking like a rat.

"Xia Lu, what is this thing?"

Seeing Xia Lu walking in front of her like a young lady again as if nothing had happened before, Iris asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, but I think I heard someone else in the adventure group mention it. So, if I'm just guessing, I think it's 'Fallen Demon'."

Xia Lu continued to tell Iris in a gentle voice,

"It's said that, in addition to the roughly defined levels of beginner, intermediate, and advanced, each stage of the maze can be further subdivided based on various factors. For example, a maze that has just become intermediate will be filled with various traps. However, it will soon realize that traps alone are insufficient to capture prey. Thus, bait—treasure chests—will appear. And once the maze realizes that even with the lure of treasure chests, the hunting efficiency is still too low, it will begin to actively lead those who enter the maze into danger."

Xia Lu's words made Iris's mouth open into the shape of "oh".

Although, before entering the maze, Ritas severely "intimidates" them, allowing the students of the Yew Fir School to initially understand that the maze is a dangerous creature.

However, the teacher's words always give people the illusion that they are far away from their daily lives.

Therefore, Xia Lu's words that confirmed that the maze really had its own will made Iris feel particularly surprised.

"The fallen demons can cause hallucinations in people. These hallucinations are very strong and it is basically impossible to break free of them by one's own will. Therefore, 'companions' are the best weapon to deal with the fallen demons. However..."

Xia Lu suddenly reached out her hand and made a picking motion behind her head.

Her movements were so quick that Iris could only barely see a shadow.

And after this moment, Xia Lu actually caught a fallen demon that appeared almost out of thin air with her bare hands.

"The fallen demons in this labyrinth are in a strange state. Since they are so weak, they usually blend in with their surroundings, unlike the fallen demons here, who have such a ostentatious appearance."

As if she had forgotten that all this was "supposedly", Xia Lu spoke in a very experienced tone, then stretched out the index finger with sharp nails on her right hand towards the fallen demon that was firmly grasped in her left hand.

The fallen demon struggled desperately, making rat-like noises.

However, in the end, it was mercilessly punctured by Xia Lu's nails. Elise naturally had no sympathy for these dangerous monsters. But it had to be said that the sight of that giant eyeball being held in someone's hand, only to watch it being punctured, was truly pitiful.

"Is there something wrong with this maze?"

When the fallen demon was exposed, Iris felt a phantom pain and asked in a low voice with a frown on her face.

"Fufufu, maybe."

She chuckled and poked the demon with her nails a few more times until it stopped moving. Then Xia Lu threw it aside.
"If the academy didn't lie to us, this maze is just a low-level maze that can't even produce monsters. But now, even fallen demons have appeared. I think it's very likely that the leader monster, a product unique to high-level mazes, may exist somewhere in the maze."

"Monster leader."

Just from the name, Iris didn't feel much oppression.

However, since these monsters only appear in advanced mazes, they must be extremely powerful.

"If the boss monster really exists, it would be simple. Because, as long as we defeat it, the exit from the maze will most likely appear."

Listening to Xia Lu's words, Iris suddenly felt a little confused.

Since the maze has its own will, the maze exit that appears after defeating the boss monster should be provided by the maze itself.

However, when faced with the "enemy" who ran into the maze and defeated the strongest monster created by the maze, the maze would actually be kind enough to send them out with a gift.
Before Iris could express her doubts, Xia Lu's voice, which sounded like she was talking to herself, came over.

"I'm increasingly feeling that the leader monster will be nearby."

"Eh--?"

"This is not something I heard, but a guess. After all, there are almost no advanced mazes on the continent. If you think about it carefully, isn't this very basic logic? The purpose of the maze is to hunt. So, instead of designing a pitfall trap that may not completely kill the opponent, it should be more efficient to design a trap that directly sends the prey to the strongest monster in the maze, that is, the leader monster."

Xia Lu said this and stopped walking forward.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at a spacious place that seemed to be the center of a lava area.

Around the ground, where the fangs of burning liquid are faintly revealed, there are dozens of lava vents that seem to be ready to erupt at any time.

In the huge lava lake, suspicious black shadows were swimming around, and the red waterfall in the distance was making a dull flowing sound.

Looking at Xia Lu, who was eager to try, Iris finally understood at this moment that this young adventurer was not moving forward blindly, but was looking for his goal.

At this moment, the restless ground suddenly cracked, and a black shadow jumped out from under the ground.

"Is this the leader monster?"

"Hmm, seems a little weak?"

Soon after, facing the dark shadow covering them, Iris and Xia Lu both showed varying degrees of confusion on their faces.

Because at this moment, the one who appeared before them was a fallen demon that was somewhat different from others.

The common fallen demons that appeared in this maze were only about the size of an apple. However, this bat-winged fallen demon was over a hundred times larger than an ordinary fallen demon.

A truly huge eyeball gives people a power that cannot be compared with that of an ordinary fallen demon.

But...it's only to that extent.

Even Iris did not feel terrified at first. She just tried her best not to make eye contact with the giant fallen demon to ensure that she would not be pulled into the illusion.

Xia Lu, who was standing by, showed an interested expression after her initial confusion.

There is no need to say much to a monster.

In an instant, several sounds of metal clashing were heard in the air.

I saw that several of Xia Lu's long spikes that were previously hidden somewhere unknown were bounced off by the wings of the huge fallen demon and fell to the ground.

The huge fallen demon that was attacked flew up into the sky in panic, out of Xia Lu's reach. At the same time, it kept making "stop" gestures with its bat wings.

But Xia Lu, who had obviously regarded the giant fallen demon as the leader monster, ignored it.

Xia Lu could jump several meters with a casual leap, and lightly chased the huge fallen demon that was trying to escape across the vast terrain.

Iris, who was completely unable to participate in the chase, could only watch the chase from a bystander's perspective. Then, she vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

First of all, no matter how Xia Lu attacked, the fallen demon just shot down the endless hidden weapons thrown by Xia Lu, and had no intention of fighting back at all.

Secondly, the giant fallen demon's wings sometimes failed to block, but Xia Lu's attacks still failed to take effect. It was as if there was an invisible wall around the giant fallen demon.

Finally, this giant fallen demon could have fled further, but it kept circling in the venue and kept making "gestures" towards them.

For a moment, Iris had an absurd idea: Is this monster trying to convey some message to them?
Soon, Iris's absurd idea became a reality.

Because Xia Lu's pursuit was so fierce, the huge fallen demon was in danger in a short moment.

So, it couldn't stand being chased anymore and actually "spoke".

"Stop! Student Xia Lu! Student Xia Lu and Student Iris, I am not a monster, but your mentor, Ritas Elson!!!"

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Not only was Iris stunned as she watched the chase, but Xia Lu also temporarily stopped her extremely fast pace.

(End of this chapter)