Looking at Hani trembling in the Peeping Mirror, Misha heaved a sigh of relief.
The demon that now appeared on the eighth floor of the Hani Maze was a magical manifestation from Misha’s own magic power.
Such magic manifestation was a technique that could be mastered only by a select few magicians with innate magical talent.
Magic manifestation came with a prerequisite, that which was conjured must have been something the caster had truly seen and made a deep impression.
The demon Misha had formed once truly existed in this world. It was not one of the Demon King Army’s minions that she and the Hero had defeated, but a demon she had agreed to summon and personally called forth.
All of this had its origins in an inconspicuous little sect.
In her time, the Demon King had descended into the world without warning, plunging it into chaos, with countless people displaced and dying in battle every day.
The populace that believed in the goddess prayed incessantly every day for the end of the war but received no response, and the conflict only grew more intense.
Gradually, some people lost faith in the goddess, and their beliefs shifted toward something utterly opposite.
Since the goddess offered no aid, they might as well rely on demons; as long as one was willing to pay a price, the demons would surely respond to their expectations.
This was the first tenet of that sect’s doctrine.
From this, one could see the sect’s utter despair and sense of helplessness.
Those who gathered to worship demons were poor souls from the dregs of society.
They had once held the belief that life would improve if they held firm in their faith in the gods, but reality harshly slapped them in the face time and again, leading them to abandon the light and embrace the darkness.
"It’s because of the goddess’s partiality that this world is unequal. It’s all the goddess’s fault. Only by cursing everything the Curse Goddess has bestowed, can the world move toward true unity."
This became the widespread belief of the sect, and they acted on it, endlessly cursing the goddess.
While still a part of the Hero’s team, Misha and the Hero had repeatedly fought against that sect.
But after every purge, the sect miraculously revived itself and continued to attract masses of the populace.
In an ironic twist of fate, later labeled as the Catastrophe Witch and becoming more and more infamous, Misha inadvertently joined the sect and became one of its members.
There, no one complained about the misfortune she bore; instead, they offered only comfort. Everyone in the sect treated her warmly, and she knew their kindness wasn’t feigned.
So, when someone actually found her and requested that she truly summon a demon, she couldn’t refuse.
The first demon she summoned was Beelzebub, and to this day, she still remembered how that demon consumed the soul after listening to the man’s wishes, as well as the man’s expression at the time: no fear, no anxiety, only joy, a mad kind of joy.
The demon fulfilled its promise, granting the man’s wish, and then left.
The entire sect was exhilarated, almost desperately flocking to Misha, begging her to summon the demon once more.
Misha initially wanted to refuse, but for some reason, she didn’t want to disappoint those who had always cared about her.
Thus, under the watchful eyes of all, she conducted a second summoning ritual, and the demon brought forth was Beelzebub once again.
That summoning was the last time Misha ever called upon a demon.
Hero Lox had infiltrated the sect... discovering her collusion with them.
Bitter memories flooded her mind, and Misha would never forget the Hero’s expression at that moment, a mixture of anger, confusion, disappointment, and sorrow, as if he had been utterly betrayed.
"Speaking of which, not long ago, I felt the presence of Beelzebub. That demon, it can’t have been summoned somewhere, could it? Has that sect managed to continue until now by some means... Well... it doesn’t matter to me anymore; my task now is to guard the maze well.
For this, I’m willing to recall some bitter memories.
It’s also considered atonement."
To Misha’s view, the dark aura emanating from Beelzebub would be enough to scatter all the Hani present.
At that time, she would have the opportunity to clear the obstacles and construct the Underground Maze.
Who knew that the boy standing in front of the Hani would open his arms, fearless in his eyes, and say in an extremely loud voice:
"No matter what difficulties we encounter, don’t be afraid—face them with a smile! The best way to eliminate fear is to face it! Persist, and victory is ours! Keep it up! Let’s go!"
Because the demon was directly formed by Misha’s magic power, Misha could directly control the demon’s every move and could hear what the demon heard.
She heard everything Yang Yu said and saw every move he made, but she found she simply couldn’t understand what Yang Yu was doing.
Do you think such a clumsy motivational method would enable these trembling Hani to rally themselves?
Gazing at the Peeping Mirror, Misha scoffed, but then...
"Hani Hani! The Immortal has spoken again!"
"Hani Hani! The Immortal is so cool!"
"Brothers, just go for it, and that’s that! Come on!"
The Hani who were just huddled together suddenly regained their courage and one after the other picked up their weapons.
Yang Yu, propping himself up on the edge of a Hani’s mouth, sat atop it and watched the demon nonchalantly, speaking in a voice loud enough for all the Hani to hear clearly:
"Just as I thought! The Dark Origin exists here underground! That’s why such a demon has appeared!"
Misha, who prompted the demon to mock Yang Yu with laughter, said, "So what if it’s true? Do you think you can defeat my lord Beelzebub just by yourselves? Go ahead and attack! Any attack will be useless against me!"
At this point, Misha, who clearly saw Yang Yu’s smirk, suddenly had a bad feeling, and before she could think of a specific reason, Yang Yu made a move that turned the situation on its head,
"Too bad, this demon is not a real demon, it’s merely an illusion.
The Dark Origin, sensing our unity, thinks it has no chance of victory, so it created this monstrous thing with its dark strength to scare us away!
Unfortunately, everything in front of me seems like a passing cloud, all too clear in my sight. Get ready to light the explosives, since the other side is already panicking, what do we have to fear?
"On my command, all forces charge!
"Follow me and wipe out the Dark Origin!"
The Hani looked at each other and then immediately started to cheer, racing to light the fuses of the explosives, and with a thunderous explosion, the black stones cracked open and collapsed downwards, instantly brightening up the smoky eighth floor of the Hani Maze.
Watching all this, Misha’s mouth hung open, at a loss.
"This can’t be. Why could he see through that demon so easily? It’s impossible, absolutely impossible."
One by one, the Hani jumped down to the eighth floor, stepping on the black stones,
When it was the turn of the Hani carrying Yang Yu, Yang Yu looked disdainfully at the demon frozen in place, "Stop all this smoke and mirrors, come out and fight a proper battle! Or are you planning to flee the fight?"