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

"No! I'm a magician!?"

"Then I'll carry you on my back."

"...Are you really capable of carrying someone in your condition? To be honest, I'm worried you might bleed to death first..."

Although her voice was soft, she genuinely didn't think much of Ash's plans, or rather, she wasn't optimistic about the fighting strength he currently possessed.

"It's alright, this level isn't a problem."

"Really? It looks like it hurts a lot..."

"Stop arguing and hurry up, or I'll leave you behind."

Seeing that she was still hesitating, Ash simply squatted down on the ground and gestured for her to hurry up and climb up.

This made her hesitate for a long time, but she still chose to obey, obediently lying on his back and hugging his neck. When she smelled the scent, she couldn't help but frown: "It smells like blood... Are you really okay?"

"Something came up, but it's nothing serious," Ash replied briefly, then stood up.

He tilted his head slightly and gently touched Luo Qixi's head with his own. Luo Qixi immediately understood, raised her wand, pointed it upwards, and loudly chanted:

"May the great protection of fire descend upon the place you seek! O raging flames, burn away all this immense grace! — Great fireball!"

In an instant, a fireball with a diameter of one meter was rapidly generated and shot out like a burning meteor.

A loud "BOOM!!" was heard.

Amidst the flames that resembled a heavy rocket explosion, the rock above collapsed with a deafening roar.

Amidst the flying rubble, Loki faintly heard the angry roars of the monster, and she closed her eyes tightly in fear.

However, in the very next moment...

Ash carried her along, leaping out with exaggerated skill, stepping on the large rocks that were still in mid-air when they fell, breaking through the dust and smoke, and arriving at the second floor in just a moment.

"Great! No, but what happens next... Waaaaaa?!"

As soon as Ash regained his footing, Loki let out a small cheer, but the next second, she couldn't help but exclaim in surprise as Ash took off running, and quickly hugged Ash's neck tightly.

The wind howled fiercely in her ears. Loki carefully opened her eyes, wanting to help in some way, but all she could see was the rapidly changing scenery and the sharp, flashing blade in Ash's hand.

In this series of lightning-fast runs, Lokishi was almost completely unable to help; before she could even finish her incantation, Ash had already run off to another location.

Almost as if it were the most natural thing in the world, the surrounding monsters were also in hot pursuit, and monsters from other places also rushed over upon hearing the sound.

Before they had run far, they were surrounded by monsters such as metal dolls, steel crawlers, and spider monsters. On the ceiling and walls, there were also gluttonous demons with strange shapes, long arms and legs, and sharp teeth and claws.

These monsters were surprisingly well-organized, with a clear division of labor and excellent teamwork, making them quite formidable.

However, Loki finally unleashed her power, seizing the opportunity to unleash mixed magic, instantly freezing all the monsters on the ground.

However, more monsters attacked from both sides, but...

"Don't block my way!"

Amidst Loki's exclamation, Ash recklessly charged forward.

Just then, something miraculous happened.

The air around Ash seemed to be stirred by an invisible force, and all the monsters' movements instantly became slow. Even the Gluttonous Demon, which was lying on the wall, fell to the ground with a "plop" without any warning.

Immediately afterwards, the entire ground suddenly collapsed with a loud "boom".

Strangely, the smoke and dust did not disperse. Luo Qixi immediately realized that this seemed to be a kind of magic that manipulated gravity.

Just as she was marveling at it, in this strange space, Ash fell back to the third floor as the space collapsed.

But the moment he landed, he darted through the slow-moving monsters like a ghost, as if he had broken free from the shackles of gravity. With lightning speed, he stepped onto the rock wall and rushed back to the second floor.

Throughout the process, the gravity manipulated by Ash severely restricted the monsters that followed, and the ground beneath their feet kept collapsing.

But he ignored it all and charged forward recklessly.

And so, starting from the third floor, Ash made his way through with unstoppable force, smashing through the ceilings of two floors. The entire maze was collapsing, yet he still managed to reach the first floor without incident.

The whole process was not fast, but it was quite dangerous, and there were even several times when they were almost intercepted by monsters... In the end, Luo Qixi still didn't understand what had happened.

I was so scared that I closed my eyes a few times, and when I opened them again... the dark labyrinth that had lasted for a month suddenly turned into an endless desert landscape.

The surreal feeling left her completely limp, her hands losing all strength. Her wand slipped from her grasp, and she slid off Ash's back, collapsing onto the ground with a thud.

"...You're really hopeless."

"Ha, haha, sorry... I'm sorry you had to see this." Before she could finish speaking, Lokishi, squinting uncomfortably against the sunlight, looked at him against the light, but quickly got up from the ground and gave an embarrassed smile: "Anyway... um~ nice to meet you. My name is Lokishi Migrudia. If it's convenient, could you tell me your name?"

"inconvenient."

"Huh? Uh... Is that so?" The unexpected answer left Luo Qixi speechless, and she stammered, "...Is it impossible no matter what?"

"No."

"why?"

"Bad mood."

"Is...is that so? I'm sorry?"

It really was Ash, wasn't it? This person is definitely... Is this a tiff? Does he think I didn't notice? — Luo Qixi roughly guessed that he was probably angry with her, and she found it hard to believe that her disciple would become like this, and even harder to accept that he had been driven to come here by her, which made her feel guilty, depressed and distressed. She lowered her head.

On the way back, Loki didn't know what to say, so she could only silently follow behind Ash.

As she walked, she noticed that the man in front of her was now walking with a limp, and blood was constantly dripping from his body.

However, the blood, upon hitting the ground, mysteriously vanished on its own, like dry ice, after only a short while.

"Um... you seem to be bleeding... are you alright?"

"fine."

"...Completely unlike it."

"Don't talk to me."

"Why?! What did I do to make you angry? Can't I apologize? Why are you like this..." Luo Qixi quickly caught up with him and found him covering his mouth and nose, which made her suddenly realize something: "I-I'm sorry, I haven't showered for a month and I smelled so bad, so the smell... oh?"

Before she could finish speaking, she noticed blood seeping from between Ash's fingers, though the blood was quickly dissipating.

This led her to speculate, and she whispered, "Could it be that he already had internal injuries? Did he overexert himself and that's why he can't speak?"

"...Hmm." Ash silently turned his face away, not wanting to say anything more.

This made Luo Qixi feel even more guilty: "I'm sorry, but couldn't you have just said so from the beginning? I thought I was being treated like a nuisance... I was so frustrated!"

"love at first sight?"

"I'm sorry, I have someone I like... Ah, cough, not my disciple! Don't misunderstand! And don't say anything strange, let me carry you... uh, let me help you!"

She accidentally blurted out her true feelings, especially in front of him, which made Luo Qixi blush and quickly correct herself. She wanted to say that she would carry him on her back, but after seeing the height difference between the two of them, she silently gave up this unrealistic idea and quickly reached out to help Ash up.

Ash, who was inexplicably dumped, was even deprived of the chance to protest. He was then helped by his dim-witted master, who was not very bright, and walked step by step toward the labyrinth city.

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

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

When they escaped the maze, it was around noon.

However, it wasn't until nightfall that the two arrived at their destination—the labyrinthine city of Lapon.

The journey was truly arduous, for no other reason than... the horse he had left outside had been stolen, which infuriated Ash.

He was already in poor health, yet he was forced to undertake such a long journey... He felt it was necessary to wait until he recovered, then find a way to catch the horse thief and hang him on the city gate to vent his anger.

To his surprise, when he arrived at the hotel, he found the familiar long-haired girl with black hair, Shizuka Nanahoshi, still leaning against the window on the third floor, and coincidentally, she noticed their return a short while later.

"What a surprise... Shizuka actually came with you too. She really can't stand Ash, huh?" Loki was equally surprised. As Shizuka disappeared from the windowsill, presumably preparing to come down and greet them, she muttered to herself:

"...That kid always likes to bully people. Next time you see him, you should have a good talk with him. Although I'm happy that he cares about me, it's really...I definitely need to have a good talk with him about it."

"............" At this moment, what kind of expression should I make? —Ash's head was a little sore, but he couldn't help but look forward to seeing what kind of expression Loki would have when she discovered her true identity.

However, when I tell her the truth later, I need to make her apologize properly for talking badly about me behind my back.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Luo Qixi Lacking Courage - Luo Qixi's Confession

While Loki was grumbling about Ash, Ash himself was secretly plotting how to use the interesting information he had just obtained to thoroughly amuse his master...

At the entrance of the inn, the familiar girl with long, straight black hair—Shizuka Nanahoshi—slowly walked out.

Although she was wearing a mask, making it impossible to see her expression, judging from her eyes and the previous events, it was clear that she seemed to care a great deal about their safety.

Shizuka Nanahoshi quietly watched the two disheveled figures, remaining silent for a long while. Her lips parted slightly, and she hesitated several times, unsure of how to begin.

In the stillness of the night, the air seemed to freeze. She finally summed up all her thoughts in one sentence: "Welcome back, Ash, Loki... I'm so glad you're alright."

Shizuka's rare gentle words were like a soft breeze, quietly nourishing the two of them in the tranquil night sky. It seemed that even the heat in the air subsided in that instant.

Luo Qixi's tired face had just shown a slight smile, but in the next moment, as if she suddenly realized something, she was sprang up like a spring, and with an extremely exaggerated movement, she quickly put several meters away from Ash.

Her expression was priceless; her mouth was agape, her eyes wide and bulging, her pupils darting wildly up and down as she stared at Ash in disbelief, stammering, "You...you...you wouldn't...?"

"Calm down first, then we can talk." Ash silently raised his hand, signaling her to pause, and began to lay the groundwork for his explanation:

“I really didn’t intend to hide anything at first; you just didn’t recognize me. As for what happened afterward, it was all your own account; I didn’t try to induce or manipulate you at all!”

"Then, then! Why didn't you say so just now! Didn't I already ask?!" Luo Qixi's face turned bright red, and she stared at him with a mixture of shame and indignation.

"Because I wanted to try it, it would be fun... cough, I mean, I was feeling really unwell just now and didn't have the energy to deal with you at all, but I'm feeling a little better now."

"What kind of person do you take me for??"

"What an idiot who's a magician but went on a solo adventure in the labyrinth!"

"—Although, that is indeed the case!"

His assessment was merciless, but as his master, Luo Qixi found it difficult to refute, because things were exactly as he described, and he was even forced to admit that he was an idiot.

But she also felt there were some very important points that she should have a serious talk with him about, points that she absolutely could not let go of easily.

But Shizuka, just as she was feeling ashamed and indignant, couldn't help but raise her hand and interrupt their conversation in a calm tone: "I know you two have a good relationship, but before continuing this topic, shouldn't you both take a good rest first?"

"...I'm fine!" Despite being physically and mentally exhausted, the overwhelming sense of shame and the anger of feeling betrayed by a newly met friend made Loki glare fiercely at Ash, whom she had just thought was a good person, and she said through gritted teeth, "Ash, you...you lied to me!"

"...I already said I wasn't lying."

"You said Ash sent you!"