The slash looked plain and sloppy—no flourish, no style.
But the moment the sword fell, the retreating Doma suddenly halted, then surged straight toward Mo Yucheng.
All the while, foul brown liquid kept spraying from his rear—pfft pfft pfft—a disgusting rhythmic percussion.
Kanae Kocho, bewildered, felt a chill: "Oh no, Mr. Mo Yucheng—be careful!"
An Upper Moon like him had just faked a retreat; in truth he was baiting a counterattack—trying to strike from behind when his opponent let their guard down.
He even used the propulsion from his expulsions to gain speed. Nothing was beneath him.
Beside her, Shinobu was utterly calm. She had already guessed what would happen next.
Sure enough, under Kanae's anxious gaze, Doma dropped to his knees and executed a sliding tackle straight at Mo Yucheng.
The ground was gouged, leaving a scar a dozen meters long.
"What's going on?" Doma looked up at the incoming Nichirin as death's shadow neared.
Was he about to die?
Then, abruptly, Doma threw his hands up. Crack.
In a blink he caught the falling Nichirin with his bare hands.
Kanae: (⊙﹏⊙)?
Doma: ▄█〓█(╯(●Д●)シ
Shinobu: (￣△￣;)
For a moment the air froze. Everyone gaped, while the pfft pfft sounds kept echoing in their ears.
[Ding! Your action was too abstract. +500 Abstract Points.]
The system chimed in Mo Yucheng's head, but he paid it no mind. He pinched his nose.
"Gross!" he muttered. The ability was absurdly strong — and grotesque.
Doma, half-confused but desperate to survive, tried to distance himself from Mo Yucheng.
Only then did he realize he couldn't move an inch.
What the hell was happening? He should have escaped—but why had he dashed back to catch the sword? And why was he now paralyzed?
Even Doma, who usually wore every emotion on his sleeve, was losing his composure.
"Shinobu, toss me your Nichirin!" Mo Yucheng shouted, fighting the stench.
"Throw it!" Shinobu's reflex lagged, but Kanae, trusting Mo Yucheng's judgment, snatched her sister's sword and hurled it to him.
Mo Yucheng caught it without hesitation and slashed at Doma.
The ten seconds of forced control were still in effect; Doma could only watch as the sword traced across his throat.
The sword flashed once—then the arrogance of Upper Moon Two came to an end.
Doma died with the same baffled expression he'd worn the whole time—still not understanding what had happened to him.
With Doma resolved, Mo Yucheng carried the two Nichirin swords and walked over to the Kocho sisters.
"It's over."
"Thank you!" Shinobu bowed deeply to show her gratitude.
Kanae, still weak, managed a bow as well. "Cough… Mr. Mo Yucheng, I can't repay you enough!"
Mo Yucheng waved his hand. "If you really want to thank me, arrange me a place to rest and give me something to eat. I haven't eaten in two days."
Strangely, despite not eating for forty-eight hours, he'd only felt a light hunger—maybe because he'd grown stronger?
"No problem! There's a Demon Slayer outpost nearby. Come with us."
Shinobu supported her sister and led Mo Yucheng toward the outpost. On the way they met reinforcement Demon Slayers—ordinary members and behind-the-scenes cleanup squads.
The "outpost" was actually an inn with a wisteria emblem on the sign. After a wind-whipped sequence of events, Mo Yucheng finally stopped feeling hungry.
"Are you full? If not, I can have someone make more." Shinobu poured tea and smiled.
"Thanks, I'm fine. I've eaten enough." Mo Yucheng shook his head.
"How's my sister?" he asked.
"Kanae's lungs were damaged, but not severely. With ten days to half a month of rest she'll recover. Other injuries are superficial—no life threat."
Thankfully they'd found her in time; otherwise she might've lost the ability to use breathing techniques forever. For a Demon Slayer, the lungs are everything.
"Since everything's settled, I should be going." Mo Yucheng stood. He'd meant to stay the night, but dawn was approaching; in an hour the sun would rise.
"Goodbye!" Shinobu walked him to the portal and watched until he disappeared.
Back in his original world, Mo Yucheng returned to the same spot. He opened the chat group immediately to see what everyone had been saying.
[Rina: It's been so long with no news—are they okay?]
Seeing Rina worry touched him.
[Lumine: Don't worry. With Mo Yucheng's strength, nothing should've gone wrong.]
[Stelle: Yeah—don't forget he bought everyone's abilities. Plus those two abstract skills of his. One demon is nothing.]
[Mo Yucheng: Thanks for worrying, Rina. Shinobu and I are fine. Everything's resolved.]
[Mo Yucheng: I just stopped for a meal, that's all.]
[Shinobu: Sorry for making everyone worry.]
[Rina: Phew, glad you're safe.]
Mo Yucheng: "Hey Rina, can your fairy be uploaded? I want to buy it."
Rina: "Huh? For someone like you to want this chattery AI?!"
Mo Yucheng: "We're in the modern world. A top AI would be useful."
Rina didn't object. She uploaded the fairy without hesitation.
[Ding! Rina uploaded the top-tier AI 'fairy' and gained 1,000 points!]
Apparently the system considered fairy Rina's possession—unsurprising since fairy calls Rina her master.
"Chat Group System—purchase fairy."
[Ding! Purchase complete! Auto-installing onto your phone!]