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

Page 123

"It's just a normal exam."

"...We're companions?"

"You were the ones who threatened to attack me first, and now you're saying you're allies? Isn't that a bit too late?"

Thinking of what his teammates had said earlier, he smiled and walked closer step by step.

As Yubel retreated, he racked his brains and said, "Right, right... how about this! What are your conditions... how about it?"

"Hmm... Even if you suddenly say this, I can't think of anything that needs your help."

His words made Yubel feel insulted: "—Are you kidding me? She looks like a beautiful girl to me? She can meet any criteria? And you don't have any plans yet?? Hurry up and think of something!"

"...Your personality is terrible." The strange insistence, seemingly stemming from a blow to his pride, made him shake his head and say, "Although I like teasing cute kids, another unexpected type I like is the more normal type, preferably a mature woman with a good figure! Hmm... something like that."

"My figure isn't good enough? Do you think someone like Frillie has a good figure?"

"How could that be!" Ash denied without even thinking. "Then he's too old, too short, and his personality isn't very good either."

"I've always thought so, you guys... are really good friends." Yubel's smile was somewhat difficult to maintain.

"It's alright, but I'll still accept your proposal!"

"You mean...?"

"Anything is fine, right? There's something I'd like you to do later."

After saying that, he left with a meaningful smile.

"Oh... I hope he won't make any strange requests?" Yubel was a little worried, but then hurried footsteps came from the depths of the cave, followed by Philon's voice: "What's wrong? I think I just heard Lord Ash's voice?"

"Hmm... what should I do?"

Yubel poked his cheek with his fingertip, looking troubled for a moment but still smiling. He walked back into the cave without saying a word, deciding to wait and see what Yubel was up to before seeking help.

After all, listening to his conditions first might help him find common ground.

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

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

The exam lasted only two days and ended at sunset today. As a result, all the teams became impatient after noon and tried to capture the meteorite bird even if they were not confident of catching it.

This behavior resulted in meteorite birds flying across the sky from time to time.

The meteor bird's incredibly imposing flight path indirectly led Ash to unexpectedly and easily spot the target, and after sneaking in, he successfully captured an unfortunate meteor bird.

But... perhaps because the bird's call was so loud, it attracted more than just him.

He hadn't walked far after turning around, still annoyed by the bird struggling in his palm and wondering how to quiet it down, when he looked up and saw Duncan's figure in the bushes, with two companions behind him.

The three men's gazes towards him seemed even less friendly than at the beginning of the previous night, and they even appeared prepared for a fight. Duncan, however, kept his eyes fixed on the bird in his hand and slowly spoke:

"...Could you give us that bird as compensation for last night? Of course, I can also give you enough money."

"Money? Do you think people who take this kind of exam care about money? Of course they might, but no one would give up the exam because of money, right?"

After all, the allure of being a first-level mage is enough to make people hand over their family heirloom or self-developed top-tier magic. Money is simply not worth mentioning under the "privilege" of a first-level mage.

"...I think so too. Although I absolutely do not want this to happen, there is no other way now."

As time ticked away, Duncan now had no choice but to fight with his back against the wall. He raised his wand and aimed it at Ash, looking as if he might attack at any moment: "I know you are very powerful, but I am also quite capable."

"Indeed, even without the special privileges you've received, your strength is comparable to that of an ordinary first-level mage, plus you have two interesting companions..."

"Even if it's the mage Frillian who's tasked with defeating the Demon King, I'm confident I can win in a one-on-one fight! And you have to hold onto the meteor bird in one hand, which must take a lot of physical and mental effort, right?"

As Duncan spoke, he was not in a hurry to attack. Instead, he retreated to create distance, clearly wanting to use the meteorite bird, whose body was the size of a sparrow but whose strength and physical power were comparable to a dragon, to wear down Ash's stamina.

His two companions also silently dispersed to the sides... even though they understood that Ash was very strong physically.

But as a mage, even against top warriors, as long as he keeps his distance, he must have a way to win. I just don't know how good his magic is.

Or perhaps he himself was using magic to enhance his body? That's why he participated in this exam.

"I don't think kicking someone when they're down is something a good person should do... You even ganged up on the weak, what a bunch of bastards! We were trading partners who trusted each other before, but now we're at each other's throats. Life is so unpredictable."

Ash seemed oblivious to their intentions and made no attempt to seize the initiative. He simply shook his head regretfully and walked towards them step by step: "To be honest, Duncan, I thought you would be smarter. I didn't expect you to make such an unwise move in the end."

"...Indeed, you were a bit too hasty. Your strength far exceeds my initial expectations, but I also have reasons not to back down." On this perilous battlefield, the squads were like frightened birds, difficult to find.

Having finally locked onto a target, and carrying the crucial Meteor Bird, how could Duncan easily give up this fleeting opportunity?

In order to gain special privileges, everyone present participated in this exam with a do-or-die mentality, an exam where the failure rate in previous years was over 50%, and there was even a possibility of total annihilation.

Therefore, in this increasingly urgent situation, facing what is perhaps his only hope, Duncan has no choice but to take on the challenge, even if...

When Ash truly considered him an enemy, even though he tried his best to maintain a distance of more than fifty meters, he could still feel an undeniable sense of oppression from that distance.

The oppressive feeling was as if an enemy had already pierced his chest with a sharp blade, pressing it against his heart, making it difficult for him to even breathe.

There is only one sentence that best describes the person in front of me: a true strongman.

The last time he felt such pressure was from his teacher, the strongest of the Seven Sages of Collapse—Golden Town Mahat.

"Enough of the small talk, please... hold on tight to the Meteorite Bird!" Fearing his fighting spirit would be extinguished, Duncan decided to stop delaying. A dozen golden crosses appeared beside him: "—Light of Judgment!!"

As the words were spoken, a burst of light shot out.

At the same time, Lichta, who had already come up behind Ash, reached out and pressed his hand to the ground while Duncan was drawing attention to him.

A surging torrent of countless rocks emerged from several meters around him, almost simultaneously with the light and with a tremendous force, crashing towards the figure at the center.

Along with the wand in Laofen's hand, it transformed into a long whip of light that reached straight into the sky and then silently and suddenly crashed down on his head.

In that instant, the encirclement was completely complete. It was not only a pincer attack from the front and rear, but also involved both physical and magical forces, and even the sky posed a threat. The three men's eyes relaxed slightly at that moment—after all, they really couldn't think of a safe way to break through this situation.

The Burial of Frilian: The Officially Beginning Journey: Chapter Thirty - Sweeping Away the Dark Horses, Monsters Beyond Human Limits? The Moment of Rebellion Has Arrived

Behind them was a surging tide of countless rocks, above them was a whip of light, and in front of them were countless crosses of light.

The raging tide of rocks and the cross of light were so powerful that they even blocked off the left and right sides.

Faced with such attacks from all directions, even a normal level one mage would have no way to dodge. After all, the most effective counter to defensive magic is an attack with excessive mass, such as this wave of rocks, which is clearly a counter to such attacks.

Yes, a normal level one spell has no way to dodge it, but—

"...No, I'm not!"

A smile appeared on Ash's face, and purple light gathered in his free hand.

With a sudden sweep of his hand, the purple lightning instantly crushed the earth, and even the overwhelming tide of rocks seemed to encounter unreasonable violence upon contact, collapsing in an instant.

The magic from both sides was clearly not on the same level in terms of quality; the wave of rocks was directly transformed into crushed powder.

As the wave of gravitational lightning crushed the rocks, a pale blue rhombus-shaped shield appeared around Ash, forming an all-around protective barrier.

Boom-! ! ! !

Lightning shattered rocks, and beams of light struck the shield; the combined attack created a deafening roar that echoed throughout the massive city barrier.

The fiercely swirling earth, rocks, and dust caused everyone to instinctively shield their faces with their arms. However, Lishita, who manipulated the land and altered the landscape to attack his opponent with overwhelming mass, was the first to escape being crushed by the opponent's reversed overwhelming mass. He hovered in mid-air and fled at high speed for a considerable distance, avoiding being crushed along with his rock.

Although Duncan couldn't see the situation clearly, his intuition told him that things might be much worse than he imagined.

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

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

Under the combined attack, even an ordinary level one mage cannot turn the tide, especially when the opponent does not respond in time.

However, Duncan, who was staring intently at the smoke and dust, did not see any counterattack as he had imagined after the smoke and dust exploded. The Cross of Light was still flying towards the target like raindrops.

The bombing was "calm," as if Ash had given up resistance after an initial, brief struggle.

This made him start to consider whether to stop the attack to avoid unnecessary casualties, but...

"—You've grown up too, Duncan." Ash's voice appeared out of nowhere from behind, still marveling to himself, and then corrected him: "No...you should have been taller before Mahat was sealed by the Great Barrier, right?"

"—?!"

Although the tone was casual and without the slightest hostility, the content and manner of its delivery sent a chill down Duncan's spine, as if his heart had been frozen.

"But since you started this fight, then... let me have some fun!" Before he could turn around, a bolt of purple lightning struck his back from behind, following the voice.

How could this be?! In such a dense attack, how could he still manage to seize an opening and escape? Even silently appear behind me?! Duncan's eyes widened in shock, and a defensive magical shield composed of three diamond-shaped squares appeared behind him, yet...

The lightning of gravity brought physical pressure, instantly piercing through defensive magic that was not very effective against attacks of mass.

—Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

With three consecutive shattering sounds, Duncan's body floated up and, in the instant he turned around, fled backward at top speed... in an attempt to avoid the strange lightning that would crush anyone who entered its range.

When Raofen, the last one, saw that her attack had missed and Duncan was also facing a life-threatening crisis, she unexpectedly did not run away because of the difference in their strength. Instead, she swept away the whip of light that had been transformed from the staff and was now extending and sweeping horizontally.

Trees fell to their roots along the way, and the light whip that had been cutting through the air flickered in La Orphen's hand the moment it approached Ash, causing the tip to exceed the speed of sound and emit a sharp crack.

Although this move can only be used on stationary targets, if Ash doesn't move, once the end of the swing successfully hits the target and is countered, no opponent can perfectly defend against it.