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

Page 125

Before Viabel could finish speaking, he noticed the strange situation where teammate Sharuf reached out to grab the birdcage in Ash's hand, but Ash wouldn't let go, making it impossible for Sharuf to take it away.

Normally, he should be completely exhausted from being suppressed, but Sharuf was stuck there with him... This made Viabel frown and urge him on:

"What are you doing! Sharuf! Take it away now!"

"No, no... I can't pull it out!" Sharuf strained with all his might but still couldn't pull the birdcage out. Frustrated, he grabbed his wand, intending to threaten her, but...

Bang—Ding!

Before he could make a move, Ash stretched his body, causing the two halos to tremble before collapsing and shattering without warning, turning into specks of golden light.

While Sharuf was still stunned, he casually reached out and snatched the wand away.

"...You must be kidding me?" Sharuf stared in disbelief and instinctively took two steps back, almost falling to the ground in shock.

Not only him, but even his two companions couldn't help but wonder if they were under some kind of illusion, their faces filled with disbelief.

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The three, who had already been defeated, faced a scene that should have been unexpected, yet all wore expressions of "I knew it," as if they had become numb to this situation that was beyond their control.

Laofen even felt a little schadenfreude, and couldn't help but want to laugh... Even though she couldn't benefit from others' misfortunes, she couldn't help but feel a sudden sense of balance and her mood improved considerably.

Ailu was the first in the squad to come to her senses, backing away while turning to glare at her previously confident captain:

"—I told you we should listen to Grandpa! Don't get involved with him!!"

“Let’s retreat now…” Before Viabel could finish speaking, Ash suddenly took a step forward: “—It’s too late!”

boom! !

Under the abnormal gravity, the earth cracked, shattered, and collapsed in an instant.

"Ah—uh!!"

As he took that step, Viabel's body couldn't withstand the sudden pressure. He screamed and was uncontrollably pressed to the ground. His vision went black due to insufficient blood supply to his brain, and he was completely unable to use his previous abilities.

The two people right next to him were also forced to kneel on the ground under that intense pressure, unable to lift their heads, hands, or feet.

Their chests were also being compressed, and if the pressure increased any further, it felt as if their internal organs would be expelled from their mouths. The discomfort made it impossible for them to breathe, let alone fight. They couldn't even pull out their signal flares to surrender.

The overwhelming disparity in strength, and the unprecedented defeat they suffered in an instant, shattered all their hopes, filling their hearts with unspeakable despair almost simultaneously.

Outside the area, the other three were immediately relieved to see this, realizing they had kept a considerable distance from the start; otherwise, they probably wouldn't even have had the strength to fight.

...Although they didn't know exactly how wide Ash's magic range was, or whether what had happened before could even be considered a battle for him.

And even if they kept their distance from the start, it was still an undeniable crushing defeat. Thinking about it that way... it seems like there's nothing to be thankful for?

Seeing the miserable state of the three men, Duncan felt a pang of pity and hesitantly offered his advice: "...They are no match for you at all, just a bunch of hotheads. There's no need to kill them, is there?"

"It's alright, I'm not the kind of person who's bloodthirsty. In fact, I'm glad that a young person dares to challenge me. But... since someone attacked me, it wouldn't be right if there wasn't some punishment, would it?"

Rather, he could utilize all the people in the Magic Association, so there was no need to exterminate them all.

Duncan, however, didn't quite understand what he was trying to do and could only nod in agreement: "That... is true."

At that moment, Ash withdrew the pressure of gravity, finally giving the three of them a chance to stand up, panting heavily and staggering.

Only then did he turn his gaze to his old subordinate—Layleen's granddaughter, the top student at the magic academy:

"Try your best to take this cage from me, little Ailu."

"...Why? Can't we just surrender?" Ailu's face, which had just shown a hint of joy, was once again filled with despair.

"Don't misunderstand, I don't simply enjoy bullying children. Speaking of you, I even held you when you were little. How could I possibly kill you? I'm just giving you a chance now."

Listening to his high-sounding words, Ailu was completely confused, while Viabel gritted his teeth in anger: "Nonsense... You just want to play with us! If you want to deal with us, just do it directly, why make up excuses?!"

"Well... think what you want. I'm too lazy to explain to you. After all, you chose me, not me. Blame your bad luck, because—you attacked me first."

Although his behavior did resemble bullying, he didn't actually intend to bully the children; he simply wanted to defeat them completely.

Well, it might sound a bit like bullying, but his real goal is simply to defeat them completely... Whether they can become first-level mages afterward is another matter, but at least they should be considered some of the most powerful people in this group.

All these people were defeated by him. If Celie doesn't make him a first-level mage, he can smear her and publicize her malicious targeting and underhanded dealings, so that she can see the consequences of differential treatment.

If we could make him a first-class mage, that would be even better. He would also gain a special privilege—by transferring magic, he could request the magic he wanted from Seria.

His plans backfired. These unfortunate souls who willingly came to deal with him, despite not knowing the truth, were forced to muster their energy under Ash's urging, causing explosions and screams to echo through the forest once again.

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When everything calmed down, only three people remained, staggering about on the ravaged ground.

Ash, having finished, drifted away satisfied, leaving the three heartbroken. After resting for a long time, they helped each other up, sighing as they considered trying their luck somewhere else.

They weren't the only ones obsessed with privileges; Duncan and his two companions had long since gone off to try their luck, hoping to find someone even worse off than themselves who happened to have an Iron Meteor Bird.

And so, as the sun began to set in the west, time passed little by little.

Just as Ash was wondering if it was time to leave, two flashes of light suddenly appeared from the bushes not far away.

boom! ! !

Without warning, beams of light appeared on both sides, so thick that they almost instantly engulfed Ash's figure.

"This... isn't he really doomed? He just went through two battles."

Yubel sat on a treetop, observing with great interest the focal point where the light converged in the distance. He seemed a little worried, but his face was full of anticipation.

From the bushes, Frilian, who was unleashing her fury, calmly shook her head: "Impossible, he's not someone who can be dealt with so easily."

"...Thank you. But you don't have to greet me like that, do you? I might get hurt; even if I'm not physically hurt, I might be emotionally hurt. After all, I'm being attacked by my best friend right now."

As the two beams of light disappeared and the dust was dispersed by the wind, Ash's spotless figure and calm voice appeared in the empty open space of the forest.

His gaze instantly fell on Frilian's direction, and then quickly swept over Connie and Rabine to his left and right, and he couldn't help but feel annoyed:

"What's wrong? You couldn't find the bird yourselves? Are you planning to steal mine?"

“Philan already has it, and we already have our method, but before that… well, actually, a long time ago, I wanted to give you a good test, and—last night you said a lot of bad things about me.” Although Frilian’s face was expressionless, her words revealed that she was holding a grudge, and even seemed a little sullen.

Although the exams still have to continue, their infighting seems inappropriate. To put it dramatically... if we exclude Ash, the other mages present who have already fought several rounds, even if some are cunning and haven't fought yet, probably wouldn't be a match for Frillie combined.

The vast difference in strength made it difficult for Frillie to take the exam seriously. In fact, the most powerful characters had already been defeated by Ash, leaving only a few weaklings who couldn't cause any trouble. Now it was time for them to compete.

Ash probably understood this idea as well, but he was a little frustrated by the situation of being targeted by everyone as if he were attacking the ringleader, and he turned his gaze to Philon.

Before he could speak, Philon had already taken the initiative to say, "This is Lady Frilian's request, and... as I mentioned before, Lord Ash, do you remember?"

"Want me to see how much you've grown? I already said I've seen it..." He said this, but his gaze skipped over Philon's body. After all, his figure had grown too much, to the point that he hadn't been able to look at him directly lately.

As for Yubel, who had expressed his opinion from the beginning, his silence and smile made him unwilling to say anything more.

Rabinhee immediately adopted a menacing demeanor, while Connie scratched his cheek sheepishly: "Sorry, Uncle... but everyone wants to try with you, so I want to try too and see the difference between me and you."

"...Connie??" Her friend's attitude, so different from yesterday, made Philon glance sideways, wanting to figure out if she had misunderstood something, but...

Upon closer inspection, she noticed that her friend, Connie, had inexplicably blushed under her gaze.

The Burial of Frilian: The Officially Beginning Journey: Chapter Thirty-One - A Frustrating Conflict - The End of the First Round - Post-Exam Accountability

This should have been a decisive moment, a crucial time for Astor to see his growth and prove that he was truly capable of standing on his own.

The relatives and friends who were standing next to me suddenly seemed to have defected to the enemy.

She seemed inexplicably flustered under her own gaze, her eyes darting around as if... she had done something wrong that she felt guilty about?

The more suspicious Philon became, the more he couldn't help himself. Without saying a word, he reached out and gently pressed his hands on Connie's cheeks, forcing the other man to meet his gaze.

Those emotionless purple eyes, calm and deep, seemed to see through everything:

"...Connie, why aren't you looking at me?"

"W-Nothing happened! I didn't do anything wrong~ Really...really!...That's about it?"

At first, he tried to explain, but as he spoke, Connie gradually lost his confidence and became so guilty that he couldn't look Philon in the eye.

This convinced her that something shady must have happened between the two of them, and she narrowed her eyes and glared at Ash from afar, hoping to get a reasonable explanation.

"—Philan, now is not the time to dwell on these trivial matters! Stop thinking about all that nonsense! Don't hold back, just take advantage of my vulnerability and do whatever you want to me!!"

She just couldn't bring herself to say that she'd gotten her friend pregnant... Ash pretended not to understand her look and opened his arms, telling them to bring it on.

The same suspicious attitude made Philon want to say something more, but Frilian, who had been eager to try, could no longer hold back, and a dozen magic circles appeared around her at the same time.

"No matter what, Ash is definitely in the wrong! It's definitely the right thing to do to beat him up first!" Before she finished speaking, she had already launched an attack.

Despite being supposed to be friends, Frilian showed no mercy, unleashing her full magical energy like a tidal wave towards her target in the distance.

In an instant, Ash also stomped on the ground, causing it to churn and erecting countless rock walls around him to protect himself.

Seeing this, Philon had no choice but to put aside his many questions for the time being and, together with Frilian, summoned a large number of magic arrays to directly participate in the barrage.

The remaining few people hesitated for a moment before instinctively following suit, launching the simplest and most brutal bombardment.

The surging beams of light stretched endlessly, quickly engulfing Ash's figure and the surrounding rock walls.

—BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!! BOOM!!!

Under the saturation of the attack, the bursts of light and the rampant rumble created an excessively loud bombardment that made the ears of people far beyond the reach of others tingle with pain.