"Everyone unharmed?"
Kirika Tachibana, who had rushed over, looked grimly at Luo Shu and Takina Inoue. Upon confirming they were fine, she exhaled in relief.
"Chief."
Takina, who had been guarding the entrance, stepped forward and hesitated before apologising:
"Sorry. I failed to stop the enemy and wasted the opportunity Luo Shu created."
"Stop her?"
Kirika couldn't help but chuckle at Takina's self-reproach, then patted her shoulder.
"Takina, against an opponent of that calibre, I'd be burning incense in gratitude if you two just survived. And you're thinking about stopping her?"
"If Sharon Holygrail, a Seven-Star Demon Hunter, were that easy to deal with, I wouldn't have been so tense after hearing the news."
"You—just take it easy, alright?"
Kirika gave Takina's shoulder another reassuring pat before walking to the doorway. Seeing Luo Shu, who had mostly recovered but still looked pale, she lightly punched his chest.
"Well done! Our ace."
"Rather than verbal praise, I'd prefer a bonus." Luo Shu rolled his eyes at the compliment.
He'd originally planned to just coast along—how had he ended up as the main fighter?
As Luo Shu internally grumbled, Kirika laughed and patted his shoulder.
"Special bonus approved—I'll sign off on it. If it doesn't come through, I'll pay you out of my own pocket!"
Saying this, Kirika suddenly pulled Luo Shu into a hug, pecked his forehead, then released him.
"Consider that an advance!"
"Help with the on-site investigation first. I'll send you back to rest later."
With that, she walked past a stunned Luo Shu into the entrance hall, scanning the bullet holes, discarded nun's habit, firearms, and the bloodstains on the floor, her eyes narrowing.
Kirika crouched, touching the already congealing blood, then glanced down the hallway before asking:
"Can you walk me through what happened?"
"Sure."
Luo Shu, having expected this, replied readily.
"When I instinctively used my gun to force Takina back, breaking her free from the Abyss Artefact's constructed space, I found myself and Sharon entering a fog-shrouded area."
At this point, Luo Shu paused before fabricating further:
"After a brief standoff within that space, I exploited her by feigning weakness to lure her closer."
"Then, Sharon seemingly used the same fog-generating artefact to create a mist decoy while employing some unknown movement technique to appear behind me, locking my neck in a chokehold."
"As she attempted to snap my neck, I successfully made Sharon glimpse the Demon Heart on my finger and activated it to hypnotise her."
"I can picture the scene."
Kirika Tachibana nodded, accepting Luo Shu's account while remarking:
"After all, the Demon Heart was the only thing you possessed that could affect Sharon."
Though she'd originally allowed Luo Shu to keep this Grade 2 Abyss Artefact - both to avoid resentment towards her and SDS, and because she considered it 'keeping assets within the family' - she hadn't anticipated such an unexpected payoff.
Naturally, she understood why Luo Shu hadn't used wind abilities during the confrontation.
As a newly awakened sorcerer still mastering elemental control, his wind ability would have been less effective against a close-combat specialist like Sharon than his pistol.
At the very least, the speed of wind techniques couldn't match the supersonic velocity of bullets.
Seeing Kirika believed him, Luo Shu's eyes flickered before he continued explaining:
"Using hypnosis, I made Sharon remove her nun's habit and disarm herself before shooting her to neutralise any resistance."
Frowning, Kirika visualised the confrontation and deduced based on her knowledge:
"As a Seven-Star Demon Hunter, the chaste Sharon would have undergone extensive anti-Mind Control training - many demons specialise in such abilities. A Grade 2 artefact's hypnosis couldn't completely subdue her."
"So she resisted the Demon Heart's influence to counterattack... no, she chose to flee after stealing the Demon Incantation and all Abyss Artefacts?"
"Judging by the discarded clothing... since the habit wasn't the artefact's true form, the headscarf must be the actual Grade 3 sealed object?"
"That's why she took it?"
"Facing a hypnotist like you with unknown reinforcements, she opted to escape with her spoils?"
"What a cunning woman - to flee despite being hypnotised, stripped, and shot. I'd heard Sharon's physical abilities were mediocre among Demon Hunters."
Turning to Takina Inoue, Kirika inquired:
"Takina, did Sharon take anything when escaping? The headscarf? Or the Demon Incantation?"
Hearing the question, Takina bowed her head apologetically:
"Sorry, Chief. The target was too fast—I only caught a blurry glimpse of their figure."
"Is that so... I understand, Takina. Don't blame yourself. Forcing Sharon to retreat is already a decent victory for us."
Kirika Tachibana was torn between frustration that it hadn't been the more observant Chisato Nishikigi at the scene and relief that Takina Inoue hadn't clashed directly with Sharon.
Given the Demon Hunters' physiques—specially enhanced through unknown means for slaying demons—Takina would have likely been killed if she'd faced Sharon head-on.
Cases like this, where Sharon was outmanoeuvred by Luo Shu exploiting an information gap, were rare exceptions.
Though Sharon was one of the few Seven-Star Demon Hunters famed for her equipment, she still wasn't someone Takina or Luo Shu could usually contend with.
Moreover, based on her recent performance, Sharon Holygrail's physical abilities, while inferior to those of the faction leaders among Demon Hunters, still placed her among the elite few who approach their level.
Otherwise, she couldn't have displayed speed beyond Takina's reaction time to escape immediately after being shot.
"Losing the Demon Incantation is regrettable, but what matters is that you're unharmed. As for the losses... I'll get Natsuki to compensate. That bastard must have guessed something—otherwise, she wouldn't have hinted at it earlier."
At this thought, Kirika couldn't help but curse under her breath:
"Damn it, outplayed by that loli teacher."
'Outplayed by me, too, actually.' Luo Shu silently added in his mind.
But he had no intention of telling Kirika. After all, he wasn't some obedient kid who'd report everything.
Many of the abilities he'd revealed in countering Sharon touched on his secrets, so naturally, he kept quiet.
As for the other witness, Sharon...
Unfortunately for her, though she'd managed to flee, she hadn't actually escaped Luo Shu's sight.
He just hadn't had the chance to pursue her with Kirika present.
"Whatever. Since things have come to this, we'll just have to withdraw."
Kirika muttered as she spoke: "Only recovered two Grade-2 Demon Incantations while losing what was probably the best Grade-3 one. Clearly didn't get the juiciest cut this time!"
Amid Kirika's grumbling, Luo Shu and a visibly conflicted Takina left the villa. After arranging for support personnel to continue investigations, the trio began their return.