Pop!
The black-red heart rapidly split open, revealing the crimson Yellow Emperor's Blood within.
And upon that blood, faintly visible, was a shimmering sapphire-blue pattern.
"To directly inscribe it onto the surface?" Luo Shu stroked his chin, mildly surprised as he observed the scene. "That Ajuka's technique really is something~"
Below the platform, the Three-Eyed Spider—now shrunk to basketball size from the ritual's consumption—couldn't help but shriek:
"Who are you? How did you get here?"
The location of the Yellow Emperor's Blood was a secret known only to a select few, even among the Five Great Powers. The joint task force in Japan had no knowledge of its exact coordinates.
The Three-Eyed Spider had only pinpointed the blood's location by tracing the entire Akihabara Grand Barrier through the interference of tainted blood.
Given these circumstances, anyone capable of lying in wait to strike after them immediately raised the Three-Eyed Spider's suspicions.
"Was it Greed? Did Greed betray me?"
"Greed..." Luo Shu turned his head, looking down at Three-Eyed Spider from his elevated position with a light chuckle. "Are you referring to that woman beside you?"
The moment he spoke, the red eyes on the Three-Eyed Spider's back twitched violently, swivelling to the side.
Instantly, a figure collapsed in a pool of blood, entering the Three-Eyed Spider's line of sight.
"How could this be...?"
The Three-Eyed Spider's pupils contracted sharply as she stared in shock at the now mortally wounded Enigma.
Though she knew it was merely a clone, this was undoubtedly Enigma's strongest possible duplicate—one likely no different from her true form.
Yet even so, in the brief moment her consciousness had been diverted, Enigma's clone had been reduced to near-death.
Just what kind of monster is this man?
Trembling with fear, the Three-Eyed Spider shifted her gaze and demanded coldly:
"Who the hell are you?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu shook his head with visible disappointment:
"To cause trouble in Akihabara yet have no recollection of me? How truly disappointing."
The Three-Eyed Spider's trio of dorsal eyes fixed intently on Luo Shu, as if trying to discern something from his appearance.
At that moment, Luo Shu suddenly exclaimed in surprise:
"A curse activated through eye contact? So that's why you've been standing there chatting with me?"
With her scheme exposed, the Three-Eyed Spider's heart lurched:
"You're completely unaffected?"
As a Great Yokai born from the rift between life and death, the Three-Eyed Spider possessed eyes with the ability to drag human souls into hell when focused together.
Though this ability was instantly lethal, it required prolonged concentration to activate.
No matter how panicked she had been earlier, she had kept one eye firmly fixed on Luo Shu the entire time—all to launch this sneak attack.
Thus, all her previous terror and fluster had been nothing but an act by the Three-Eyed Spider.
But now, with her one-hit kill inexplicably nullified, the Three-Eyed Spider felt genuine panic for the first time.
And at that very moment—
"Ugh..."
Beside them, Enigma, lying in a pool of blood, suddenly vomited a mouthful of crimson.
With great effort, she lifted her bloodstained face and let out a hoarse chuckle towards the Three-Eyed Spider:
"My apologies, but I intend to withdraw."
"After all, I've no confidence in preserving my life against a Demigod..."
Hearing this, the Three-Eyed Spider froze momentarily before suddenly realising something, turning to stare at Luo Shu in horror:
"The SDS's Demigod?"
"Impossible! Our targets never included you people. Why would your response be so swift..."
Luo Shu offered no reply, merely gazing calmly at the Yellow Emperor's Blood now crawling with azure patterns as he chuckled lightly:
"Time's up!"
As he spoke, sapphire radiance engulfed the blood droplet, and intricate blue formula arrays proliferated wildly overhead like viruses, rapidly evolving.
Only when the technique fully manifested did Luo Shu turn his head, regarding the Three-Eyed Spider with leisurely amusement:
"It appears you've already transmitted the intelligence, haven't you?"
The Three-Eyed Spider's pupils contracted sharply at these words.
Meanwhile, Luo Shu descended the platform with measured steps, a faint smile playing on his lips as he summoned Tenseiga - the Underworld sword long left unused. Gripping the blade, he advanced steadily:
"Earlier, you engaged me in conversation to activate your curse. So tell me, what do you suppose my purpose was?"
The Three-Eyed Spider let out a piercing shriek as her body ballooned abruptly like an inflating sphere. Within moments, a spider the size of a rhinoceros stood in her place, its crimson compound eyes rotating feverishly as they locked onto Luo Shu.
Facing this monstrosity, Luo Shu maintained his smile:
"My reason for stalling was simply to make certain preparations in advance - ensuring the ritual's effects wouldn't be disrupted."
"Though having you deliver that intelligence was also part of the plan."
"After all, should the Hell Sect continue feigning ignorance and send more weaklings to infiltrate the Hidden Management Department, it would prove rather troublesome."
Just as Luo Shu closed the distance, the Three-Eyed Spider's form abruptly faded, turning pale before dissolving into foam-like afterimages that vanished without a trace.
Without any warning, the Three-Eyed Spider had fled without hesitation.
Indeed, upon confirming Luo Shu's identity as the SDS's Demigod, escape had become her sole priority.
Compared to the Hell Sect's mission, the Three-Eyed Spider clearly valued her own survival more.
Thus, despite nearing success and possessing several hidden cards, she'd chosen immediate retreat.
This development didn't surprise Luo Shu, who merely waited a second or two.
The next instant, a black-purple Underworld gate unfolded as a canine paw the size of a small mountain violently ejected the rhinoceros-sized Three-Eyed Spider from the dimensional rift, slamming her into the silver-grey ground with crater-forming force.
Luo Shu showed no surprise at this, instead revealing an amused smirk.
As Senhime Rin Getsu coldly sealed the Underworld gate, cutting off the Three-Eyed Spider's retreat, Luo Shu remarked lightly:
"Did you truly believe my deliberately slow approach was granting you time to escape?"
"No, I was merely herding you into the liminal space between life and death so she could block your exit."
From within the crater, the Three-Eyed Spider struggled to rise, snarling:
"Futile! As a denizen of the deadlands, no living weapon can destroy me!"
"That remains to be seen."
Luo Shu smiled before flicking his right wrist - Tenseiga swept downward.