I adopted a child demon from the Gap, and I'm a special agent for the Bureau of Supernatural Ab

"Huh? It's nothing. Let's go, tide. Hurry up and pack your things to go to Lao Tie's place. If we stay outside any longer, they might launch another attack."

With a smile that seemed no different from usual, Li Cheng took tide's small hand and walked towards the hotel. However, a shadow lingered in the corner of his eye.

What on earth is wrong with me...?

Past enemies may very well be members of the organization behind the scenes; the person you hate so much may very well be the one whose existence was created by the organization. You should be more motivated, and you shouldn't be so agitated.

But why do I feel a sense of joy, as if it's a good thing that these guys suddenly appeared at this time?

Is it because... I have to focus my energy on these people, so I can temporarily put them aside and pretend that other problems don't exist?

What is this? I've already made up my mind to go back to this place, and I even brought tide along, but in the end, I'm still subconsciously trying to escape?

Could it be that, even now, I still can't...

Subconsciously, Li Cheng didn't tighten his grip on Xi's hand, but quickly let go. Li Cheng's expression only twisted for a very short moment before returning to normal. tide looked up at Li Cheng as if sensing something, but didn't see anything unusual.

Back at the hotel, I went to my room and unpacked. The enemy hiding in the shadows never appeared. I didn't know if they had prepared an ambush elsewhere or if they were just not planning to take action for the time being.

However, even if the other party were to launch a surprise attack on the road, Li Cheng would not be afraid. Not to mention that his current abilities make him difficult to defeat, Emiya Kiritsugu and his former teammate Tetsuka have also made many preparations and can act quickly should an accident occur.

Although Li Cheng, troubled by his own worries, tried his best to appear fine, tide easily noticed his poor condition. Furthermore, given their contractual relationship, she could sense his anxiety. Xi hesitated, but after much deliberation, she ultimately said nothing.

Some questions are better left for the individual to think about slowly on their own, right?

After picking up their luggage and completing the check-out process at the front desk, Li Cheng pulled his suitcase in one hand and held tide's hand in the other as they walked out of the hotel entrance.

A young, brown-skinned man with white hair, dressed in black casual clothes, was sitting on the stairs outside the hotel entrance, gazing at the sky, seemingly just lost in thought.

However, Li Cheng stopped in his tracks instantly. He could clearly sense the incredibly dense magical power emanating from the other party, which was almost at the limit of what an A-level magician's body could contain.

"You've arrived."

With a gentle, kind voice, like that of a friendly neighbor, the young man slowly stood up from the stairwell, touching his cross pendant with one hand, and bowed slightly to Li Cheng as a greeting.

"I am Amakusa Shiro, Mr. Li Cheng. It's great to finally meet you."

…………

Thank you to readers Qizhi, Jiao♂Jing, Yingjiangover, Yusheng Linqing, Terrifying Rabbit, Big Rabbit, Dingye, Sin Demon King EX, and Abnormal for their recommendation votes.

As for double updates, I can probably only consider it on weekends. During the week, well, it's still too difficult.

Chapter 10, Section 227: The Labyrinth and the Girl Purple

"I am Amakusa Shiro, Mr. Li Cheng. It's great to finally meet you."

A brown-skinned young man with tousled white hair bowed slightly to Li Cheng as he walked out of the hotel with a warm smile.

Li Cheng narrowed his eyes, tightened his grip on tide's hand slightly, and pulled her behind him. Then, he took a step forward and met the gaze of the young man who called himself Amakusa Shiro.

The two remained silent, staring at each other as if waiting for one of them to speak first.

After a long silence, Li Cheng seemed unable to hold back any longer and spoke first:

"...What, no, what exactly is your purpose?"

"You ask about your purpose right away? You seem to have a very direct personality," Amakusa Shiro smiled, without much reaction on his face. "However, if we're talking about the ultimate goal, my ideal is to achieve lasting peace and redemption for all mankind."

"It sounds like some kind of cult, doesn't it?"

Li Cheng said calmly.

“No, I truly believe in this ideal,” the young man said solemnly. “That is why I am willing to make any sacrifice or pay any price.”

"I've had this feeling of déjà vu since just now. You, are you perhaps related to Emiya?"

Li Cheng muttered a complaint, but his hand suddenly moved, and a purple light slashed towards Amakusa Shiro like a blade. At the same time, a dark rift opened up behind him, as if he was about to make a quick escape.

Amakusa Shiro dodged the blade formed from demonic energy with a swift movement. A deep crack appeared in the road as purple light and shadow pierced through the path. Meanwhile, Amakusa Shiro, who had dodged the attack, spoke calmly, forcing Li Cheng to abandon his retreat.

"That amazing spatial ability can indeed make you, Mr. Li Cheng, invincible. However, it may not be the case for your other two companions."

"What did you say?!"

"Our chat is almost over. I'm sorry to have dragged you into this, but all I can say now is that I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

As Amakusa Shiro spoke, Li Cheng instinctively sensed something strange, which suddenly descended upon the area where he was.

For a fleeting moment, Li Cheng seemed to see an enormous white figure, its gaze crimson and savage, standing on the street, staring intently at him. The next instant, a wave of dizziness washed over him, and the surrounding buildings and crowds twisted and distorted in an instant.

"Chaos Labyrinthos [The Unchanging Labyrinth], let's use this as our first test in actual combat today. Mr. Li Cheng, please stay!"

The next moment, the scene before him was completely distorted. When it became clear again, Li Cheng stared wide-eyed in astonishment at the utterly unfamiliar place before him.

This is... a maze?

Thick stone walls lined the left and right sides, and the ground beneath his feet and above him were also made of solid stone. Numerous branching paths could be seen in front and behind, but none led to any exit. Scattered torches burned quietly on the walls, casting Li Cheng's shadow on the ground.

Hallucination?

No, that's not right. It's not an illusion. The power of an illusion couldn't possibly achieve this level of refinement.

In other words... it's something like a Reality Marble?

He stretched out his hand and slammed it against the wall with all his might. With a loud boom, Li Cheng only managed to create a shallow dent of about two or three centimeters in the wall. Moreover, this dent disappeared rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, quickly returning to its original state.

Physical destruction proved ineffective, so Li Cheng then used the gap, but within the space that the black rift could connect to, he was completely unable to sense the outside city, which he should have been able to sense. He could only move around in this unimaginably huge maze.

Is it blocked? Or is it because my strength is not enough, and I am not yet able to use the power of the gap better, which is why I cannot escape?

So, is it possible to use the concept of "realm" to try to eliminate this place directly from the conceptual level?

"If you do that, the most likely outcome is that you will die, and even if you succeed, you will definitely be destroyed along with this space."

A very familiar female voice suddenly rang out from beside Li Cheng.

"tide? Ah...Zi."

I subconsciously called out that familiar name, but after turning around, I had to quickly change my mind.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to see us?"

A beautiful young woman with waist-length golden hair raised a fan to cover her face, then chuckled softly, her bright purple eyes scanning the silent man before her.

"No, it's just that I'm still a little unaccustomed to it."

Although he had prepared himself mentally, he still felt a strong sense of unease when tide actually transformed into the image of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl in the real world.

Especially since he was in a dreamlike world and had seen almost everything about the other person's past, Li Cheng always felt uneasy about facing the other person without knowing exactly what had happened.

However, Zi clearly had no intention of teasing Li Cheng at this moment. After the two stared at each other for a while, she turned around, walked to a wall, stretched out her hand, and pressed it against the wall. Then she closed her eyes, as if she was sensing something.

About a minute later, she opened her eyes, her expression becoming more serious.

"Impressive. To be able to create a barrier of this caliber is truly terrifying. If we cannot defeat the master of this barrier, even the most transcendent among you humans would find it difficult to escape, wouldn't they?"

"A barrier capable of trapping transcendent beings?!"

Li Cheng was shocked.

"So, the owner of this barrier is a powerhouse at the Transcendent level?"

“If that’s the case, then what’s the point of praising him?” Zi shook her finger, denying Li Cheng’s words. “If it really is the barrier of a transcendent being, then we’ll just take it for granted. After all, we haven’t fully recovered yet, and Cheng is an idiot who doesn’t know how to use our power.”

Li Cheng pretended not to hear the other person call him an idiot, and instead asked seriously, "So, the owner of this barrier should only be an A-level expert. But this barrier far exceeds the limits that the other party can control, becoming able to trap even those who have surpassed it inside, is that what you mean?"

"Hmm, is that so?"

Zi nodded slightly, then pointed to a road not far behind Li Cheng, at a corner.

“If you walk from there, you can meet Cheng’s other two friends in about ten minutes. Of course, that is, assuming Cheng doesn’t do anything stupid and take the wrong way.”

"There..."

Previously, the young man dressed as a priest who called himself Amakusa Shiro also mentioned his "two other companions," which clearly indicates that Kiritsugu Emiya and Tetsuo's pre-arranged ambush had been discovered. Therefore, it is indeed reasonable that they, along with Li Cheng, were drawn into this strange labyrinth.

But why did Zi specifically give directions?

It was easy for Li Cheng to realize that Zi had no intention of acting with him.

"As for Cheng, just mind your own business. Although this place is dangerous, there are very few things that can truly threaten Cheng. As long as you don't do anything foolish, nothing serious will happen."

"Why do you always emphasize that I shouldn't do anything stupid?" Li Cheng said with some dissatisfaction. "It's as if I'm doing something stupid every day."

Zi didn't speak, but stared at him with an expression that seemed to say, "Don't you have one?" until Li Cheng awkwardly looked away.

Then, she sighed softly and walked in the opposite direction from where she had previously pointed to Li Cheng.

"Go find your friends. Without your help, it won't be easy for them to survive here. As for us, we still have some issues to resolve, so we don't need to come along."

Before Li Cheng could say anything, Zi's figure quickly disappeared into a dark rift.

If you encounter an insurmountable danger, you can summon us through the contract.

These words weren't spoken aloud, but they appeared directly in Li Cheng's mind through the connection between the two. Then, in his perception, Zi's figure had already gone far away.

She really does do things her own way, but she's not wrong, I really am an idiot...

Li Cheng sighed, stopped thinking about it, and turned to run in the direction Zi had pointed earlier.

Meanwhile, in the distant maze, Zi's figure emerged from a gap, her expression quite solemn as she gazed at the empty and silent maze path before her.

Although she said that the owner of this maze barrier was not a transcendent being, but at most only an A-level being, she didn't say whether there were any transcendent beings inside this maze.

"Why does this guy always seem to attract increasingly stronger opponents?"

With a sigh of helplessness for the man's bad luck, Zi walked slowly forward. In the path ahead of her, a torch flickered slightly, and the flame suddenly went out.

Darkness began to spread.

…………

Thank you to readers 没有的八, 单抽万岁≧▽≦, 栖枝, 罪恶魔王EX, 樱酱over, 羽生林淎, 大兔子, 恐怖的兔子, and 某雷9号 for their recommendation votes.

I really want to slack off.

Chapter 11, Section 228: The White Monster