The massive dark-black tree roots stretched like walls, embedded along the edges of the cavern, plunging deep into a shallow pool of water. And above those roots, a strange blade—black with streaks of crimson—pierced straight through a humanoid figure's body.
That figure's entire body was encased in a grayish-white armor, resembling layered stone. From her heels to the top of her head, even most of her hair was tightly sealed beneath that rocky shell. Only the right side of her face was left exposed.
From that exposed half-face, it was clear the figure was a girl no older than fifteen or sixteen, with soft pink hair and delicate, lovely features.
"This... is the sealed high-class demon?" Luo Shu stared at the figure before him—no, the demon girl—and couldn't help feeling surprised. He had expected a hideous monster: something horned and twisted, with muscles dyed deep red and massive bat-like wings stretching from its back. Instead, standing before him was... a cute pink-haired girl?
This is called a demon? Seriously? This is a demon? Even Ayano was visibly shaken when she saw the true form of the demon. Staring blankly, she muttered, "Such a small child..."
Hey now, you're not much older than her yourself... Luo Shu silently retorted in his mind before turning towards Takina Inoue and saying, "Takina, bring out the detector and confirm it."
"O-okay." Still slightly dazed by the demon's appearance, Takina quickly pulled her backpack forward, opened it, and took out a device resembling a camera. She pointed it at the sealed girl and began scanning. "Energy fluctuations match. Definitely a demon species."
Hearing that, Chisato Nishikigi scratched the back of her head in frustration. "Come on... this looks nothing like the lower demons we fought earlier... are we really supposed to rough up a girl like this and haul her back?"
"What else? We came all this way. You want to leave empty-handed?" Luo Shu glanced at his companions, who were all momentarily swayed by the demon's appearance. Ah... guess I'm just as much of a fool as them. Well, that's fine then.
"Anyway, let's at least try to bring her back without injuring her, if possible."
Saying that, Luo Shu carefully stepped into the shallow water, cautiously approaching the sealed demon girl. Up close, he saw her arms suspended by tree branches in a Y-shaped position, her face showing a serene, almost innocent expression as she slept. Studying her more closely, Luo Shu suddenly frowned. He extended a hand toward her nose, testing for breath.
"?! She's breathing!" Luo Shu exclaimed.
"What?! She's alive? After being stabbed with such a massive blade, she's still breathing? Wait—do demons even breathe?" Ayano gasped.
"Didn't we just confirm she does?" Kazemaki Ryuya mumbled softly.
Ayano turned her head, glaring silently at him. She didn't even bother calling him 'Ryuya-nii' this time—just glared.
Ryuya immediately lowered his head, not daring to make another sound.
At that moment, Chisato Nishikigi, having also stepped closer, reached out and touched the demon girl's shoulder. She gasped in surprise. "Oh! This texture! It really is stone!"
Takina, standing nearby, examined the pitch-black tree root behind the demon girl. From somewhere in her backpack, she pulled out a small folding knife and stabbed at the root. Feeling the feedback through her hand, she frowned. "It's really tough. Unless we use explosives, our current tools can't even chip this thing."
"Let me try." Ryuya raised both hands in front of him, gathering violent winds between his palms until they formed a translucent blade of air. Then, with a forceful push, he sent the wind blade crashing into the tree root above the demon girl's head.
A sharp crack sounded, but all it left behind was a shallow scratch, barely two millimeters deep.
"It's no good. Even wind magic won't work. Or rather, even if you gave me a month, I'd barely be able to cut off enough root to wrap around a person."
Luo Shu, who had watched the entire process, immediately understood. Even if he personally stepped in, he could probably only widen the cut five or six times more than Ryuya—but removing an entire section of root large enough to transport, without disturbing the demon inside, would be impossible within any reasonable time.
"One month?!" Chisato clicked her tongue. "You're kidding, right? In a region contaminated by abyssal influence, we'll be lost to the abyss within two hours. How could we possibly have a month?"
"I'll try burning the roots, then." Ayano summoned a ball of flame in her hand and slammed it into a section of tree root far from the demon girl's body, clearly testing whether her fire could cause significant damage.
With a loud whoosh, flames surged, spreading across several square meters of roots. Yet when the flames subsided, the only visible change was a slight charring of the surface. The roots showed no significant damage.
Seeing that, Ryuya was stunned. "What? Its fire resistance is even stronger than its wind resistance?"
As the heir to the Kannagi family, Ryuya was well aware of how terrifying Ayano's flames were. Those flames could melt steel in an instant. Yet even that barely scorched the roots.
These roots are practically a treasure... Luo Shu glanced up toward the ceiling of the cavern but couldn't even see the main body of the roots. Roughly estimating their size, he realized the truth.
Forget it. This thing's got nothing to do with me. No way I can carry this monster of a tree out. Who knows how many hundreds of meters this thing stretches?
"So, that means..." Chisato hesitated before suggesting, "Should we try pulling out that sword—or knife—whatever that thing is?"
She gingerly poked at the black-and-crimson blade embedded in the demon girl's body. Seeing no reaction, she exchanged glances with Takina.
Takina took a deep breath and retrieved a black wooden box from her bag. The box was covered with talismans scrawled in various languages, using animal blood as ink. She ripped the talismans away and opened the box, revealing a pair of black gloves.
Luo Shu glanced at the gloves and the cursed talismans covering the box—prayers written in countless languages, all conveying the same message: 'Die.' His eyebrows rose slightly. He remembered Takina's earlier explanation back in the vehicle.
[Seal-Breaking Gloves. Abyssal Artifact, Grade-2. Function: Alters the user's hand to meet the physical requirements for unsealing. Side Effect: Causes semi-permanent transformation of the hand after each use. Requires drinking water from the Grade-3 Abyssal Artifact 'Spring of Healing' within ten minutes of use to counteract the transformation.]
This was a specialized abyssal tool the SDS had specifically prepared for lifting the demon's seal.
"Takina." Chisato called her name nervously.
But at that moment, Luo Shu stepped forward and said, "I'll do it."
"Huh?" Takina blinked in surprise. But before she could react, Luo Shu explained, "I'm faster. If something goes wrong when the seal breaks, I can retreat more easily."
Considering Luo Shu's wind magic could indeed boost his speed, Takina didn't argue. She simply handed him the box.
Taking the gloves from the box, Luo Shu pulled them onto his right hand. Though they initially seemed a bit loose, they instantly tightened to fit his palm perfectly.
He glanced at his system's analysis, comparing it to SDS intel. Aside from a few extra methods for countering the side effects, nothing seemed significantly different.
Without further hesitation, Luo Shu flexed his gloved right hand a few times to get used to the feel. Then he stepped forward and grasped the hilt of the blade that had pierced through the demon girl's abdomen.
Immediately, blood-red veins began creeping from the glove up his entire right arm. Luo Shu glanced calmly at the transformation, then turned his head towards the group and asked, "Ready?"
Everyone adjusted their breathing and nodded.
Seeing that, Luo Shu took a deep breath, tightened his grip, and yanked the blade free with a sudden force.
The moment the blade was pulled out, the demon girl's previously closed eyelids quivered. Slowly, she opened her eyes—revealing irises of deep crimson wine.
The instant Luo Shu saw those eyes, alarm bells exploded in his mind. He instinctively used wind magic to lighten his body and leapt backwards, shouting loudly, "Ayano!!"
"Leave it to me!" Ayano's voice rang out as she suddenly summoned an ancient longsword bathed in orange-red flames.
With a swing, her sword sliced through the air, unleashing a fiery crescent slash straight towards the awakened demon girl.