The flaming crescent carried scorching currents straight toward the demon girl.
Yet in that instant, the previously dazed demon's eyes turned vicious. She raised an arm clad in stone-like armour to block the fiery arc.
Ayano's downward slash easily shattered the rocky surface, but the blade lodged deep when attempting to penetrate further.
"This hard?" Ayano gasped in shock, then spotted the demon's right arm—now glowing pink—swinging toward her.
Uncertain of the enemy's capabilities, Ayano didn't take risks, swiftly withdrawing her sword.
The demon girl examined her right arm, watching cracks from the Enraiha's strike rapidly spread across the armour until reaching her forearm.
Frowning, she shook off the shattered stone plating, revealing flawless, unmarked skin beneath.
Nearby, Ryuuya Kazamaki retreated warily:
"Trouble. That stone armour blocked the Enraiha's burn. What material is that?"
He immediately called to his clan's young mistress:
"My lady, I'll restrict her movements—you keep attacking!"
"Understood!"
Ayano Kannagi took several rapid steps, flames scattering beneath her feet as her figure flickered like a phantom to the right side of the demon girl:
"Let's see if your arms are as hard as stone!!"
Before her words even finished, Enraiha had already carved a fiery arc through the air, slashing directly towards the demon girl's exposed right arm.
"?!!!"
The demon girl dared not directly confront Enraiha, seemingly aware of the danger posed by the sword in Ayano Kannagi's hands, and hastily dodged.
In that instant, small crimson-black bat wings suddenly unfurled from her back.
With just a single flutter of those tiny wings, the demon girl instantly shifted five or six metres to the left.
"This kind of movement?"
Caught completely off guard, Ayano Kannagi had committed to a powerful slash but still retained some flexibility. She quickly adjusted her stance to prepare for the demon girl's counterattack.
Yet at that very moment, the demon girl's wings vibrated again, and her body teleported right in front of Ayano Kannagi.
"Damn it!" Ayano barely managed to raise her blade in time to block the demon girl's swinging left arm.
The grey-white stone armour collided with the sword's edge. The sheer force of the impact made Ayano's expression twist as her feet sank into the cavern floor.
"Ryuuya-nii!!"
"I know, I'm trying to restrain her!" Ryuuya Kazamaki clapped his hands together fiercely, summoning four gales that transformed into chains, attempting to bind the demon girl's limbs. Yet no matter how he tried, he couldn't catch the agile foe.
Though the clash between the two humans and the demon was intense, it had only lasted three or four seconds.
Meanwhile, several dozen metres away, Takina Inoue handed Luo Shu a test tube filled with golden liquid:
"Hurry, Luo Shu, take off your glove and drink this."
Luo Shu swiftly removed his glove, passing it to Chisato Nishikigi beside him before accepting the test tube from Takina. He unscrewed it and downed the contents in one gulp.
Throughout this process, his gaze remained fixed on the demon girl in the distance, analysing her movements.
At the same time, Chisato drew her gun and fired—bang, bang—each shot striking the demon girl's exposed cheek with pinpoint accuracy.
Yet the spots where she was hit quickly became covered in crimson patterns, effortlessly deflecting every bullet. One ricochet nearly struck Ryuuya Kazamaki.
"No way... bullets don't work? These are specially made armour-piercing rounds..."
Chisato stared in shock at the demon girl, who completely ignored her gunfire. Giving up on shooting, she grabbed the backpack she'd set aside earlier:
"No choice then, we'll have to use tools. Miss Kannagi, buy us as much time as you can. Takina, come help—we'll find a way to restrain her. Luo Shu, you use that!"
Hearing Chisato's words, Takina immediately moved to assist, while Luo Shu frowned, touching the ring on his right ring finger before retreating behind the two.
Chisato said nothing about his actions, merely flashing him an approving look.
"Hey, hurry up! The young lady and I can't hold out much longer!"
Ryuuya Kazamaki, still struggling to restrain the demon girl, couldn't help but shout.
The demon girl moved with terrifying speed, her demonic wings allowing her to seemingly teleport with each movement.
This ghostly agility meant Ayano Kannagi's counterattacks only managed to breach the armour on the demon girl's left arm and calf. During the battle, Ayano had confirmed that her Enraiha could effectively harm the opponent - even a glancing blow would at the very least inflict serious injury.
Yet frustratingly, the demon girl possessed uncanny instincts. Despite having less combat experience than Ayano, she repeatedly used her grey stone armour to block every attack. This 'one-time immunity' situation gave Ayano a splitting headache:
"Damn bat-girl! Fight me properly if you've got the guts!"
The demon girl didn't respond, merely calculating that her corpse armour could withstand about four more of Ayano's strikes before retreating...
Her demonic wings twitched as she prepared to dart away.
At that precise moment, Luo Shu narrowed his eyes. A tiny Wind Blade pierced through the wing's weakest point during its twitch - the most vulnerable instant.
"Ahhh!!"
The demon girl's scream rang out just as Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue produced their prepared Abyss Artefact - a grotesquely smiling Barbie doll. They assembled it swiftly, pointing its empty eye sockets towards the demon girl.
Instantly, crimson eyes identical to those of the demon girl appeared in the doll's sockets. Simultaneously, Chisato and Takina grabbed the doll's limbs.
Thud.
The demon girl crashed to the ground, her wings nearly severed by Luo Shu's attack. The doll's effect pinned her limbs as if gripped by invisible hands, forcing her into a spread-eagled position.
"Luo Shu, now!" both girls shouted in unison.
But Luo Shu had already anticipated this, positioning himself near the demon girl's landing point. He pressed his left hand against her head while aligning the crimson eyeball in his right ring with her eyes.
"Let's have some quiet now."
As Luo Shu murmured, the demon girl's eyes rolled upwards, her expression going completely blank. Drool dripped uncontrollably from her slack mouth.
"Oi, what the hell is that?!" Ayano recoiled in shock, instinctively backing away from Luo Shu.
"Just a side effect of the artefact," Luo Shu explained casually. Suddenly, his expression changed as he turned towards Ryuuya Kazamaki: "Get down!!"
"Huh?"
Before Ryuuya could react, a hand punched through his abdomen with a sickening squelch.
"No... way..."
Ryuuya stared dumbly at the hand protruding from his stomach. "Why... I..."
Behind him, Ken Yakushiji slowly curled his lips into a delighted smile: "Because you're too sneaky, Fuga Clan scum."