The Laughing Swordsman

As lifeless as Maya was, she couldn't help but take a few steps backward.

Something was telling her that if she was grazed by this man's punch...

She would die.

A fireball coalesced at her fingertip. However, she was too slow.

Kabito charged towards Maya, reaching her in the blink of an eye.

His fist was just a split second away from hitting Maya.

For the first time in a while, Maya was afraid.

Death was hanging right above her and there was nothing she could do about it.

...Then, she disappeared.

Kabito's strike only stirred up wild gusts of wind. His brows furrowed.

"Where did the demon go?"

As for where Maya went, she did not know either.

She felt like she was submerged in water. She could feel pressure pushing down on her like she was slowly sinking into the bottom of the ocean.

Maya's body violently rocked around, like she was on the world's craziest roller coaster.

The only thing she could register with her vision was pure black.

Almost like the world had disappeared completely.

Suddenly, there was a large flash of white light.

Maya immediately closed her eyes, using her black demonized hand to cover her eyes.

"How exactly did something like you come into existence?"

Maya's eyes adjusted to the bright light to see a guy standing in front of her. He was probably only a few years older than her from his looks.

He had light orange hair and bright blue eyes. He was wearing a wolf fur coat that was carelessly made.

He had a black suit underneath, with matching suit pants. However, they did not make him look fancy in the slightest. This came from the fact that there were many tears and dirt stains littered over his clothes.

He was leisurely holding onto a small wooden stake in his right hand while there was a black crown that pierced into his head.

The crown was like a ring, but with various sized spikes lined across it. On the front were three spikes, the middle one twice as long as the others. Smaller spikes were lined across the rest of the ring while the back had the largest spike, slightly longer than the one at the front.

It honestly looked quite painful, to say the least. However, the guy didn't seem to mind.

Maya's black hand shot out towards the man. She let out a deep growl as she did so.

The man's hand flashed.

At the next moment, Maya found she was unable to move her hand.

The guy held onto her hand as though they were having a handshake. Then, he shook it up and down.

The guy smiled.

"Nice to meet you too."

Maya's mind was muddled. Ever since the demonic features emerged from her body, she was having trouble thinking coherently.

Maya continued growling and raised her red hand towards the guy, forming a fireball at the tip of her finger.

The guy sighed.

A small black crystal floated out from underneath his robes, similar to the shape of a diamond. It began to rotate slowly, sending out a wave that caused the air to ripple.

The fireball disappeared like a puff of smoke while the small vortex in her gemstone disappeared.

However, the biggest change came from Maya herself. Her demonic features withered, peeling away like melted wax.

Maya's consciousness wavered. She could feel her body going numb, as though she was shot with a tranquilizer.

The cracks remained on her face and hand. Now that her demonic features were gone, blood slowly seeped out of them.

Maya took a few deep breaths before calming down. She had a look at her surroundings.

She was in a tree, in the middle of the snowy forest.

Maya put her hand on her forehead. Her mind was dizzy and the blood seeping out of her did not help.

The crystal stopped rotating. Then, the guy pointed towards Maya, launching a spell towards her. Maya instinctively blocked despite her numbed senses.

However, the expected impact didn't arrive. Instead, a comfortable sensation spread throughout her body. Maya almost thought she was in her mother's embrace.

The cracks in her body mended like they were never there while the blood she lost was restored.

Maya blinked a few times along with a few deep breaths. She had calmed down by now.

Maya looked up at the guy before her with confusion.

"Who... are you?"

The guy smirked.

"Where are your manners? If you want to know someone's name, you should tell them yours first."

Maya shook her head to get rid of the lingering numbness.

"Ah, sorry. My name is Maya. What is yours?"

The guy chuckled.

"Hello, Maya. Formally, I am known as Lucifer."

Lucifer tilted his head to the side.

"But, if we become friends, I can tell you the way I prefer to be addressed."

Maya slowly nodded, still trying to take in the situation.

"...What happened?"

Lucifer shrugged his shoulders.

"Ah, you were in some trouble, so I teleported you out. We are pretty far from Evermore city right now."

Maya scratched her cheek.

"Oh... thank you."

Lucifer smiled.

"No problem. Anyways, can you tell me how you became like this?"

Maya looked up at Lucifer, about to explain. Her mouth opened, then froze.

Lucifer was still looking at her with a smile. However, something felt... strange.

His eyes were almost in a normal position, just a tad bit too wide. Maya felt like when those eyes landed on her, they didn't see her as a person.

But an interesting animal.

Lucifer's smile wasn't too different, giving an uncanny empty feeling. Although a smile was plastered on his face, it was somehow fleeting.

Lucifer chuckled.

"Why aren't you speaking? Let me repeat myself, how did you become like this? Don't worry, I have time."

Maya's pupils shook. For some reason, she didn't believe he would ask a third time.

Maya quickly gathered herself together.

"...It goes like this."

...

"Waaaaaah!~"

"AHHHHHHHHHH"

Apollo and Layla exited the blue world, landing in the middle of the forest.

.....Right in front of Willow.