A black-red greatsword reeking of sulphur swung horizontally towards Luo Shu.
The heavy strike tore through the air with a piercing shriek.
Yet, faced with this devastating blow, Luo Shu stood motionless, as if frozen.
This unnatural stillness made Mapa hesitate, and his blade narrowly missed Luo Shu's nose by a hair's breadth.
"This is..."
Mapa's grotesque face, adorned with six compound eyes, twisted in disbelief.
"A miscalculation in distance? How could I make such a mistake?"
"Didn't I say it earlier?"
Luo Shu's smile remained warm and pleasant:
"Our methods... really do complement each other."
"Methods?" Mapa repeated, realisation dawning belatedly. "Poison?"
Luo Shu smiled at Mapa without any intention of responding.
When he knew the enemy was a demon, how could he not prepare? And his preparation included airborne toxins specifically effective against demons.
After all, it was far too convenient for a Wind Adept to administer poison.
"You actually poisoned me?"
Mapa was momentarily bewildered:
"How is this possible? Toxins effective against demons should only be in the hands of those Demon Hunters, and they require on-site preparation. Unless..."
Suddenly, Mapa grew alert, warily scanning his surroundings as he shouted:
"That's it! You're here, aren't you?!"
"Sharon Holygrail!!"
"I never imagined you'd collaborate with SDS!!"
His shouts echoed through the cavern, but to his surprise, the familiar woman showed no signs of appearing.
Just then, Mapa seemed to realise something. He abruptly looked down at his sword-wielding arm.
There, deep crimson blood slowly seeped out, and the hand gripping the greatsword gradually weakened.
Luo Shu, who had inexplicably appeared to Mapa's left, remarked with mild surprise:
"The toxin even dulls neural functions? Effective only against demons while harmless to humans—what an intriguing poison."
"That blade..."
Mapa's attention was now entirely focused on the bizarre black-and-pink sword in Luo Shu's hand.
"Oh, this?" Luo Shu gave the intricately hollowed longsword a casual wave, smiling cheerfully. "I'm temporarily calling it the Sealing Blade... It seems to have quite the distaste for demons..."
[Sealing Blade (provisional name) Hero Grade]
[A demon-slaying blade imbued with anti-demon, sealing and durability properties. Exceptionally potent against demons, forged using demonic techniques themselves.]
"Rare to encounter an Abyss Artefact without side effects—though strictly speaking, this blade might not qualify as one. More like an extension of something else..."
As Luo Shu explained, Mapa said calmly:
"You're waiting for its anti-demon properties to corrode my cellular activity?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu rested the Sealing Blade on his shoulder and sighed admiringly:
"This is why I said we understand each other so well."
"To put it crudely—we're both thoroughly despicable, aren't we?"
"I see. A miscalculation then."
Mapa now showed faint regret:
"So the Wind Adept targeting me from the shadows wasn't that boy after all—it was you!!"
He was bitterly chagrined. After years of hunting geese, today one had pecked his eye out.
He'd assumed Luo Shu was merely an SDS puppet using Demon Heart to control the demon, never suspecting him to be a Wind Adept.
Even more unexpectedly, the man had let Ryuuya Kazamaki openly wield Wind Arts while hiding his own capabilities.
Such underhanded tactics made Mapa feel he wasn't facing a human, but a demon like himself.
And one more cunning than he was.
As Mapa wallowed in frustration, Luo Shu suddenly spoke:
"Do stop with the pointless movements."
"That ability of yours to seize the host body, or rather that worm-like thing, needs to control the heart first to parasitise, doesn't it?"
Upon hearing this, Mapha's six compound eyes trembled visibly. The demonic worm hidden in his right hand, marked with concentric circular patterns, couldn't help but twitch.
"Five metres is the safe distance, then? That demon worm can spit silk to latch onto objects within five metres and directly burrow into people's bodies? Disgusting, but this parasitic ability does have impressive survivability..."
Mapha could only watch as Luo Shu slowly retreated, maintaining an exact five-metre distance – not an inch more or less, perfectly positioning himself in the blind spot of any attack.
"How did you discover this?" Mapha stared at Luo Shu in disbelief.
He prided himself on being extremely covert, and even within Truth Astronomy, no one knew about his heart-parasitising methods. Yet this man before him seemed prescient, always anticipating his abilities, even calculating the exact distance.
"Are you some kind of precognitive ability user?"
"You guess." Luo Shu wore an enigmatic expression. "By the way, you probably think I'm collaborating with Sharon, don't you?"
"Which brings us to the question."
Luo Shu's expression grew profoundly meaningful:
"Where do you think Sharon, who should be here right now, actually is?"
"Is she still hiding nearby, or has she already followed this precognitive's foresight to your true body's hiding place?"
Hearing this, Mapha's compound eyes widened abruptly before twisting into a vicious grin:
"You're bluffing!"
"You're no precognitive – because this IS my real body!!"
"Ohhh~~" Luo Shu couldn't help but show amused interest. "Isn't that perfect then?"
"What?" Mapha froze.
The next instant, a slender blade pierced through his right arm, skewering the worm within.
Staring at the situation, Mapha went completely still.
He saw the tip of Enraiha protruding from his arm.
Meanwhile, Ayano Kannagi, her legs trembling unsteadily, managed a triumphant smile:
"After Luo Shu gave so many hints, even if I'm about to faint, I'd know where to stab, you stupid demon!"