"...Me, underhanded?" Ryuuya Kazamaki's mind was blank. The pain in his abdomen still tormented him, making even thought excruciatingly difficult.
"First ambushing me, then that High-Rank Demon... Your existence poses a certain danger to me, so you must be eliminated first."
Hearing these words, Kazamaki's face twisted in disbelief.
At that moment, Ken Yakushiji - or rather, the former Truth Astronomy Demon Warlock Mapa wearing Ken Yakushiji's face - calmly withdrew his veiny, claw-tipped hand. With a casual flick, he shook off the blood and viscera clinging to it, splattering crimson petals across the ground.
"Kazamaki-san!"
Ayano Kannagi's eyes widened. Her fingers instinctively tightened around Enraiha as she glared darkly at Mapa:
"You bastard!!"
"We meet again, Flame Arts practitioner of the Kannagi family."
Mapa bared his fangs in a grotesque smile. As he grinned, his muscles began swelling grotesquely. Within moments, his frame had tripled in size. A rhinoceros beetle-like horn sprouted from his forehead while two additional pairs of compound eyes emerged across his face and skull. In mere breaths, he'd shed all semblance of humanity.
—Demonification.
The aberrant form a Demon Warlock assumes when releasing their suppression of demonic power, abandoning human guise.
In this state, their abilities enhance exponentially, far surpassing mortal limits.
WHOOSH!
Ayano, gripping her ancestral artefact, Enraiha, erupted in tangerine flames.
Mapa showed no surprise at her display:
"The Kannagi family's Enraiha? If Jūgo Kannagi stood here, I'd turn tail. But you... What fraction of this blade's power can you possibly wield?"
"Damn you! What you did to Kazamaki-san—!"
Ayano gnashed her silver teeth, flames roaring fiercer.
"Though somewhat premature, with that High-Rank Demon neutralised, I can't afford to waste time."
The now three-metre-tall demon suddenly inhaled deeply. Clumps of blackened crimson fire reeking of brimstone spewed from his maw, coalescing in his massive palm into an obsidian greatsword.
"Come then, Kannagi scion! Let's see your mettle without your Wind Adept crutch!"
"Flames hot enough to cremate you, that's my mettle!"
Forehead veins bulging, Ayano stomped forward, charging through orange firelight.
Watching this, Chisato Nishikigi murmured:
"Uh-oh... That punching bag guy's not dead yet, right? Why's Ayano-chan acting like she's about to explode?"
"Hey now, don't kill her momentum by pointing that out. Let the young mistress last a bit longer at least."
Luo Shu, who was setting the hypnotic content for the demon girl, softly reminded them.
Takina Inoue hesitated at the sight. "Wait, is it really okay for us to just stand by like this?"
Shouldn't they be fighting alongside Ayano Kannagi right now? Why were they just watching?
Yet Luo Shu remained perfectly calm. He kept the ring aimed at the demon girl's eyes and explained placidly, "There's no helping it. The target is resisting fiercely, and since she's a demon, the hypnosis will take a bit longer."
As Luo Shu spoke, the demon girl's eyes strained to look downward, her limbs twitching violently. If Chisato Nishikigi and Takina Inoue hadn't been gripping the doll's limbs tightly to restrain her, she might have already freed a hand to attack Luo Shu at such close range.
"How much longer, Luo Shu?" Takina asked nervously. "Maintaining this restraint leaves me and Chisato completely unable to fight."
"Just a little more." Luo Shu's gaze flicked toward Ayano Kannagi and Mapa, who were locked in a fierce clash, and he couldn't help but marvel. "Besides, she's not showing any signs of losing over there, is she?"
"That's true." Chisato, also watching the battle, seemed equally unconcerned. But she couldn't resist asking, "Still, out of curiosity, what kind of hypnosis are you using on the demon?"
"Well..." Luo Shu drew out the word. "Something along the lines of 'You're deeply in love with Luo Shu and willing to serve him wholeheartedly, even if it means sharing him with others'—that sort of thing."
"What?!" Takina gaped in disbelief.
"No wonder it's taking forever! Change it to something simpler, right now!!"
Chisato's face flushed red as if imagining some R-rated scenario, and she shouted outright.
But Luo Shu looked regretful. "Aw, but we're almost done. Wouldn't it be a waste to change it now?"
"A waste, my foot!" Chisato snapped. "Big Sister thought you were the most reliable one, but turns out you're the biggest problem child here! Worse than Takina by a factor of dozens!"
"Why drag me into this?" Takina blinked, utterly lost.
Just then, Luo Shu suddenly withdrew his hand and announced lightly, "Done!"
At his words, the demon girl's eyes flickered before slowly closing, and she lay still on the ground, fast asleep.
"Ugh, finally!" Chisato immediately released the doll's left arm and leg, her muscles visibly spasming—though she forced herself to endure it.
"It took much longer than expected, so the muscle spasms will last longer, too."
Takina gritted her teeth against the pain in her right arm and leg—the backlash from the doll-like Abyss Artefact. The longer they restrained an enemy, the more intense the pain, doubling each time the same person used it. Since this was their first time, the pain was only twice as bad, but the demon girl's fierce struggles had left them both struggling to focus through the agony.
"Takina?" Chisato Nishikigi stole a glance at Takina Inoue and called out softly.
Takina Inoue nodded and whispered, "The signal has been sent, and that thing is ready. The most important thing now is to call back Mr. Kazamaki and Miss Ayano."
"That's good!"
As Chisato sighed in relief, she turned to observe the battle between Ayano Kannagi and Mapa. But at that moment, she saw Ayano kneeling on the ground, barely supporting herself with Enraiha to avoid collapsing.
Seeing this, Chisato's expression changed drastically:
"No way... lost so quickly?"
Meanwhile, Ayano, still on one knee, suppressed the urge to retch and muttered in shock:
"You... poison?"
"Did it take effect?" Mapa looked at Ayano with mild surprise. "This demonic toxin can knock out an elephant with just one milligram. Yet after inhaling it for so long, you're only retching? Flame Adepts truly live up to their reputation as the strongest among elemental sorcerers."
"Despicable!!" Ayano cursed weakly, her vision blurring as she staggered.
"Thank you for the compliment~ Because 'despicable' is high praise for a demon."
Seeing the troublesome Flame Adept finally subdued—albeit taking longer than expected—Mapa was in good spirits.
He quickly scanned the positions of the other enemies and moved in for the kill. But as he approached, an alarm blared in his mind, forcing him to retreat a step:
"I've heard that the bodies of the Kannagi family are perpetually saturated with fire elements. If one is determined at the moment of death, they can detonate themselves and take their enemy with them. Heh, it seems that rumour holds some truth."
Realising the high risk of killing Ayano, Mapa abandoned his reckless intent and instead turned his gaze towards Chisato and Takina, who were temporarily immobilised. Finally, his eyes settled on Luo Shu, lingering briefly on the Demon Heart in his hand.
"Seeing your comrades fall, yet your heartbeat remains steady... Heh, boy, you seem quite suited for that ring."
Hearing this, Luo Shu smiled. "I also think your methods and mine would mesh well. Feels like we share some common ground."
"Though I'd love to exchange poison tips with you, it seems you're not planning to let me go, are you?"
"Seems you're a smart one."
Mapa's lips curled slightly before he suddenly lunged at Luo Shu:
"Then I can't afford to keep you alive!"