Orange-red flames ignited.
The massive demon's body began to burn from its arms, emitting a shrill, ear-piercing scream until it was completely engulfed by the flames.
Witnessing this scene, Ayano Kannagi's legs gave way as she collapsed backwards, only to be caught by Luo Shu's supporting arm around her waist.
"You did well, Miss Ayano."
Gazing at the burning demon, Luo Shu smiled gently and said in a soft tone:
"Without your persistence, we might have died here today."
The heatwave tousled Ayano Kannagi's hair, yet her face now wore a faint smile:
"You definitely had a way to deal with that demon. Hmph, though I don't know why you enjoy hiding your capabilities, I'm certain you had a method to defeat him."
Hearing this, Luo Shu couldn't help but mock himself internally:
'No, no, no, you overestimate me. With my mediocre skills, I can only rely on poison and ambushes to trick people.'
Hiding his capabilities? He was just afraid of dying. The only reason he dared confront that terrifying-looking demon and even bluff his way through was because he had an escape plan ready.
Mentally, Luo Shu acknowledged himself as weak, hence his tactics always involved weakening enemies or letting others handle them.
For him: ambush over direct confrontation, gang up over solo fights, use guns when possible, and nukes if available.
That's why when dealing with Mapa earlier, he first poisoned him, then ambushed with the Sealing Blade, tricked out his true form's location, before signalling Ayano Kannagi to strike.
This approach maximised his safety while ensuring the enemy's death.
'Well, it's cowardly and shameless, but since I've transmigrated into a 2D world and become a paper character, do I even have face left?'
Amused by his own thoughts, Luo Shu carefully laid Ayano Kannagi down while calling to the recovering Chisato Nishikigi:
"Chisato, hurry with the antidote! And Takina, go administer medicine to Ryuuya Kazamaki before he actually dies."
"Roger that!"
Chisato Nishikigi flexed her tingling arm, which felt as if ants were crawling under her skin, while rummaging through her bag.
Meanwhile, Takina Inoue first properly sealed the Abyss Artefact before rushing to Ryuuya Kazamaki with blood-restoring potions.
Soon, Chisato returned holding a brown glass vial:
"This might taste bitter, so bear with it."
She helped Ayano sit up and began administering the medicine. Watching Ayano's cherry-like lips sip the liquid, Luo Shu averted his gaze and walked toward Mapa's corpse.
Curious, Chisato called out: "Luo Shu, what are you doing?"
"Just making sure it's really dead."
He placed his hand on the corpse while casually explaining.
"Geez... you're really thorough."
Chisato muttered under her breath as she watched Luo Shu stab Mapa's heart, brain and crotch repeatedly with the Sealing Blade:
"This level of caution... is practically pathological, isn't it?"
Nearby, Ayano Kannagi also widened her eyes, staring at Luo Shu in shock as if he were some kind of deity.
At that moment, Luo Shu frowned and said, "He might not be dead yet."
Ayano Kannagi, who was drinking her medicine, coughed a few times. Chisato Nishikigi hurriedly patted her back to help her catch her breath:
"Cough! Impossible. I followed your instructions to locate his true form and poured Flame Arts into him in one go. He was absolutely, thoroughly burned to death."
"No, you misunderstood. What I meant was, he might still have another body lying in wait outside."
Seeing Ayano Kannagi's rebuttal, Luo Shu quickly explained and added:
"At the very least, if it were me, I'd definitely have at least three spare bodies prepared outside."
Hearing this, Ayano Kannagi immediately gave him a deadpan stare:
"Miss Chisato, are you sure this guy isn't a pervert?"
"To some extent, I can't argue with that." Chisato sighed, then quipped, "Where on earth did you learn to think from the enemy's perspective like this?"
Luo Shu didn't answer, merely turning his head to glance at Takina Inoue as she approached, asking:
"How's Mr. Kazamaki doing?"
"Fed him blood replenisher and tissue regenerator. The wounds have mostly healed, though he'll need to consume a lot of nutrients moving forward."
At this, Takina glanced at the demon girl still lying motionless on the ground, then at the nearby corpse of Mapa, and said:
"Sorry I couldn't be of more help."
"No, no, you were a huge help—whether it was controlling the most troublesome High-Rank Demon to buy me time, or the spatial teleportation device you and Chisato secretly prepared as our fallback. That was key to the mission's success."
"After all, the original plan was to quickly retreat with the spoils via spatial teleportation if we were attacked, then launch a saturation strike on the Demon Warlock who showed up."
Luo Shu felt a twinge of regret.
Currently, Mika and Mizuki Nakahara were outside, coordinating with Hilda's Third Action Team, which had three armed helicopters on standby.
He'd thought he might get to see a missile strike from the air, but as it turned out, their preparations were more than sufficient, easily dealing with the two demons this time.
With that in mind, Luo Shu turned his gaze to the unconscious demon girl and asked:
"Speaking of which, is this female demon going to be handed over for custody now?"
"Yes. For now, the Demon Heart is the most effective means of controlling her. Until we confirm she's harmless, Luo Shu, you'll have to stay by her side to supervise for a while."
Knowing Luo Shu's habits, Takina quickly added:
"And don't worry, overtime pay for this will be triple the usual rate."
"Now that's good news!" Luo Shu's lips curled into what might have been a smile.
Nearby, Chisato, who was feeding Ayano Kannagi a second dose of medicine, suddenly piped up:
"By the way, should we give this demon girl a name or codename?"
"Codename?" Luo Shu and Takina both blinked, as if the idea had never occurred to them.
"Yes, a codename. After all, we can't just keep calling her 'demon girl', right?" Chisato Nishikigi narrowed her eyes with a playful grin. "How about Kisarazu? It fits since this place is in the Kisarazu area of Chiba."
"No, that's too awkward," Luo Shu couldn't help but retort. "And who names people after locations?"
"Then shorten it? Kisara?" Chisato tilted her head, then suddenly brightened with inspiration.
"Kisara..." Luo Shu glanced at the demon girl on the ground. "Actually... that doesn't sound too bad..."
"Enough, this isn't the time for this. Let's pack up and get the target and the injured out of here. Staying too long in this Abyss-corrupted zone might trap us outside reality!"
"There he goes again with the Luo Shu-style paranoia," Ayano Kannagi, now temporarily mobile, couldn't help but tease.
"Ah, in a way, it's oddly fitting," Chisato nodded in agreement at the naming convention.
"Pfft!" Takina Inoue covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.
Seeing their reactions, Luo Shu's face darkened.
"Instead of mocking me, how about packing up the spoils? Secure the loot—basic common sense!"
The three girls exchanged glances before chiming in unison:
"Yes, yes, overly cautious Mr. Luo Shu." x3
At that moment, Luo Shu felt utterly defeated.
...
Boso Peninsula, Kisarazu area. Aboard a yacht anchored near the coast.
Delicate pink hair fluttered in the gentle breeze.
The girl, tucking her strands behind her ear, gazed at the distant shoreline, her face breaking into a sweet smile:
"It seems everything's been resolved."
She turned to face the golden-haired nun standing rigidly nearby, her smile deepening:
"Don't you agree, Sister Sharon~?"