What if you are reborn as a demon after a funeral?.

"Go down." Ash said calmly with a smile, gesturing for a moment.

In an instant, gravity changed, and the surrounding atmosphere suddenly sank.

The once light air seemed to have turned into a heavy lead weight, making it hard to breathe.

The surrounding space seemed to be distorted by this force, and the light became somewhat dim. Birds that were originally flying in the air were instantly pressed to the ground by this force, but they were crushed to pieces before they even hit the ground.

The trees on the ground could not withstand the enormous pressure and snapped one after another, making a "crackling" sound, like a symphony of the end of the world.

As a result, the girl's jumping trajectory also changed, and her momentum of rushing towards Ash came to an abrupt halt, causing her to fall rapidly towards the ground.

Her confident smile vanished instantly, replaced by a look of utter astonishment.

What happened?! Why did the Dragon Barrier suddenly stop working? Isn't this gravity magic? Don't I have a gravity immunity skill? Why is gravity magic still working? —Ariel, who had lost her balance, was filled with shock and confusion.

She tried to restart the Divine Dragon Barrier to resist the sudden change in gravity, but found that the Divine Dragon Barrier was not the problem. It was simply... powerless in the face of this mysterious gravitational force, just like her gravity-ineffective skill.

To avoid falling, she had no choice but to use aerial maneuvers again, stepping on the magic blocks in an attempt to launch a counterattack.

Strangely, the magic block that allowed her to move through space should have been sturdy enough when she was at max level, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to bounce. However, due to the change in gravity, it cracked as soon as she landed on the magic block, and it didn't have the mass to make her jump at all.

In other words, their most proficient skill, hand-to-hand combat, was completely banned at this moment.

................................

At this moment when the situation reversed, Ash clearly saw the girl's astonishment and laughed heartily.

“Ah~ I think you should have the ability to resist gravity, but... you should also understand that there are different levels of magic.” He explained considerately, with the air of a teacher: “Obviously, my magic seems to be harder to counter than ordinary gravity magic.”

“…Monster.” Ariel gritted her teeth and squeezed out the two words.

She had just regained her balance when she felt an even stronger pressure from gravity, as if her body was being crushed by a mountain.

All her movements became sluggish, and she didn't even understand... whether this was the monster's limit.

But Ash disagreed with the insults: "You have no right to talk to me like that."

"I don't want to hear a monster like you say that..."

Fighting in the sky was already a major weakness for her, and now, under Ash's powerful gravity magic, even her limited mobility was severely restricted, plunging her into an unprecedented predicament.

Her brows furrowed, her mind racing like a jumbled mess as she tried to think of a way to escape her current situation.

However... before she could come up with a feasible idea, Ash's figure suddenly vanished like a ghost.

He flew at an unimaginable speed, breaking the speed of sound in the blink of an eye, leaving a blurry, almost invisible afterimage in the air.

The impact of that speed made Ariel dizzy.

At least in her long life and experience, she had never known any flying creature that could exceed the speed of sound.

Those dragons with enormous wings are already the overlords of the sky in people's eyes, but even they cannot achieve such astonishing speed, except... a god.

"The God of Demons...a demon god?" The thought echoed in her mind like a demon's whisper.

She was now like a bird caught in a net, falling little by little onto the magical blocks that kept breaking apart and being regenerated under the immense pressure of the space.

Each time the magic cube shattered, it was like a countdown to death, causing her gaze to frantically dart around like a startled fawn, constantly looking left and right, trying to find the figure that had disappeared somewhere.

All around was the howling wind and the azure sky, yet fraught with danger.

No matter how hard she searched, she couldn't find that ghostly target in the vast sky. Suddenly realizing something, she looked down, only to find her vision blocked by her own magic block.

"It's over!?" — With her vision obstructed and unable to destroy her own magic cube, Ariel exclaimed involuntarily.

At that very moment, a large number of magical blocks beneath her feet suddenly shattered like thin ice, and a dark purple beam of light—compressed murderous magic—pierced through the soles of her feet.

Upon seeing the approaching light, the girl, who had lost her balance, widened her eyes, but before she could react, the beam of light mercilessly pierced through her thigh and arm.

Blood gushed out instantly, but under this abnormal gravity, it did not splatter. Instead, it fell rapidly toward the ground along with her, leaving a long trail of blood in the air.

The ground rapidly magnified in the girl's eyes, and it looked like it was about to crash down hard.

At this critical moment, she gritted her teeth, concentrated all her magic power, and strengthened her own dragon barrier.

next moment......

Boom!!!

When the barrier made contact with the ground, a tremendous impact caused the surrounding ground to crack as if it had been struck by an earthquake, with deep fissures spreading outwards and the ground in contact with the barrier sinking deeply.

However, her body landed very slowly and steadily.

As Ash dodged her body like lightning the moment she fell, and eight orbs of light appeared beside him, launching a relentless bombardment of the falling girl.

The daylight was torn apart like fragile paper, and dark purple beams of light cascaded down from the sky like waterfalls, creating a magnificent scene that seemed to connect heaven and earth.

The energy contained in these pillars of light was so powerful that, like a judge of the apocalypse, it eroded this once peaceful world.

In the blink of an eye, the earth was shattered by this endless attack, even torn into scattered fragments.

Along with the pillar of light descended, hellfire also rained down from the sky.

In an instant, as gravity was about to be released, the smoke and dust vaporized, engulfing the earth in a desperate inferno, instantly turning this place into a veritable hell.

Although there are occasional bursts of breath shooting into the air from underground, it is much easier to dodge in mid-air than on the ground... This level of counterattack is basically meaningless.

................................

................................

Brilliant yet destructive light and flames intertwined, shrouding the sky and earth in apocalyptic chaos.

It was only after this barrage of attacks that Ash gradually stopped his saturation assault on the girl and the ground.

But before the sky-covering dust could even begin to subside, he keenly sensed... a presence faintly appearing within the thick fog of dust.

This aura was sometimes strong and sometimes weak, extremely unstable, yet it strangely and quickly returned to its original state, just like a tenacious life that, after suffering a severe blow, miraculously regained its vitality.

When the dust was dispersed by the gust of wind stirred up by the girl's punch, what came into view was a devastated land.

And standing atop these ruins was a girl, dressed in rags, yet miraculously unharmed.

"How strange... This shouldn't be..." Ash frowned, his mind filled with doubt.

His gaze was fixed on Ariel, his mind racing as he recalled every detail of the previous battle.

He vaguely remembered that he had pierced Ariel's chest during the fierce exchange, an attack that should have been fatal under normal circumstances.

Now, her tube top is tattered and her hot pants are badly damaged. She can only barely cover herself with her hands to avoid the embarrassing situation of being exposed.

However, her skin remained as smooth and delicate as mutton fat jade, shimmering faintly in the sunlight, as if nothing had ever happened, without a trace of injury.

Rather, it is more accurate to say that her tattered clothes, in contrast to her delicate yet slightly childlike appearance, created a unique charm.

It was a unique quality that blended wildness and tenderness, a poignant beauty born from the ravages of war.

Ash even felt like a villain who bullied a girl... Although he shouldn't feel guilty since the other person started it, but still...

"You bastard... what kind of gaze is that?!" Ariel was both ashamed and angry. Her cheeks turned crimson with anger and shame, like a rose blooming in flames.

The girl, clearly exhausted, was still panting heavily, her chest heaving violently. Her once delicate face was now distorted with anger, yet this distortion carried a unique, poignant beauty.

Although she covered the damaged area in front of her with her hand, she still raised the corners of her mouth in a bold and unrestrained manner, glaring fiercely at Ash with a fierce look in her eyes, and threatened, "Come down if you dare! I'll gouge your eyes out!"

Her voice echoed through the silent ruins, carrying an undeniable majesty, as if she were still the high and mighty, inviolable demon king.

Rather, this makes people want to violate him even more... Of course, Ash considers himself a gentleman, and at most he just wants to bully him a little.

"What are you thinking? How could I possibly abandon my advantages and fight you on the ground? If you're so capable, come at me!"

He responded to Ariel's provocation with a hint of annoyance, though he no longer felt the same provocation he had at the beginning.

"What? Your expression..." Ariel keenly noticed Ash's change, her brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of doubt flashed in her eyes.

"Think about it carefully. Even though you bullied my pet, it doesn't warrant killing it right away. The lesson you just learned should be enough. If you honestly admit your mistake and apologize, I might let it go."

Ash said earnestly, his eyes no longer showing the sharpness of the battle, but instead a more peaceful look.

In his view, the conflict could have been avoided; it was only because Ariel misunderstood Spider-Man's actions and Spider-Man's tendency to accidentally get blown up by her that the conflict occurred.

After all, the other party was a demon king, much stronger than the queen spider. He should be the master of those spiders and should know a lot of valuable things. If it wasn't necessary, it would feel a bit of a loss to directly make him an opponent, especially since he had a strange feeling that there might be someone else behind this guy.

"You want me to apologize to you?!" Ariel almost laughed in anger, as if she had heard the most absurd thing in the world. "You and that strange spider attacked me first! Provoked me! Now that you've attacked me, you expect me to apologize to you?"

Her voice rose in anger, each word sounding as if squeezed out from between her teeth, and the fire of rage in her heart burned fiercely once more.

At least Ariel felt that she was the victim, being attacked by Ash and Spider for no reason, and now she was being asked to apologize, which was simply unreasonable.

"Uh... were you attacked?"

"Of course!"

"Wait a minute, let's get this straight." The more vulgar her words became, the more dizzy Ash felt. He couldn't help but gesture for her to stop, trying to calm Ariel down and help her sort out what had happened. "Didn't you bully my spider first?"

“I want to have a serious talk with her! She’s the one who provoked me!” Ariel shouted, her anger rising as she recalled Spider-Woman’s previous actions.

"A provocation...?" Remembering Spider-Woman's occasional strange behavior, Ash couldn't help but facepalm. "Is it possible that she doesn't actually understand what you're saying?"

“Uh…” Ariel was speechless at this question.

She was stunned, and began to think about this question that she had completely ignored.

................................

It was Ash's reminder that made Ariel realize that she had completely forgotten that the spider had just left the labyrinth and was a newly hatched spider, with little to no interaction with the outside world.

It was only because the spider had displayed great strength that she subconsciously regarded it as an ancient relic that she used normal language to communicate with it and regarded those impolite or even strange behaviors as provocations.

Wait, thinking about it this way, is it still my fault? — Ariel's face turned red and then pale, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

On the one hand, she was unwilling to admit that she was wrong; on the other hand, the facts seemed to be developing in this direction, which made her feel as if she had been inexplicably beaten up.

Although she appears unharmed on the surface thanks to her title of "Gluttony," which allows her to restore health and heal injuries by eating anything, she has actually suffered severe damage from Ash's series of fierce attacks.

The battle started because of a misunderstanding, and continuing it would be quite irrational, especially since the opponent is a formidable foe.

Ultimately, her specialty is close combat. The opponent launched an air attack and could even counter her jump, making it impossible for her to win. The counter was far too obvious.

This made her hesitate, and the anger in her heart was gradually suppressed by reason, but she felt that it would be a huge loss to give up like this.

Ash noticed Ariel's wavering and hesitation, smiled slightly, and descended from the sky, landing lightly in front of her.

Upon seeing this, Ariel instinctively took a step back, looking at Ash warily, her eyes still showing obvious vigilance.

"Don't be nervous, I'm injured, and I'm a professional mage. Melee combat isn't my strong suit, so... is this a way of showing sincerity?"

Ash laughed as he took off his shirt, revealing his bare chest and the wounds on his body that had partially healed but were still gruesome.