Ryuu began to realize that the "secret realm" Roy had brought her into was different from the Dungeon.
They couldn't fight using the same methods as in the Dungeon.
Ryuu asked, "How do we kill him?"
Roy guessed, "His physique is special, but his true strength is probably only between Level 2 and Level 3. However, demons don't have magic stones. The way to kill a demon is to cut off its head with the Nichirin Blade in that girl's hand, or expose it to sunlight."
Ryuu murmured, "Exposed to sunlight…"
Seeing that Ryuu already had her own ideas, Roy didn't interfere further. He was only Level 1—how could he possibly instruct a Level 4? Was he supposed to micromanage like a school principal?
That would just be courting death.
After telling Ryuu about Douma's information, Roy's task was essentially complete—he even took the chance to fan the flames a bit.
Roy said, "Demons view humans as food. Their lifespan far exceeds that of humans. Don't be fooled by that young man's appearance—he may look like he's in his twenties, but in reality he has already lived for hundreds of years. In that time, the number of humans he's eaten is impossible to calculate—at least tens of thousands of victims."
Ryuu's small face immediately darkened. Originally, for the sake of reviving her companions, she had already steeled herself—she wouldn't hesitate even if Roy asked her to kill innocent people.
But since the target was such a deranged, heinous monster, she would be even less merciful!
While Roy and Ryuu were talking, the battle in the clearing had also reached a fever pitch.
Kanae Kocho, lacking the standard "Demon Slayer trio," was fighting in a bare-bones state against Upper Rank Two, whose strength far surpassed that of a Hashira. If not for the fact that Douma wanted to eat her, she would have already died long ago.
"Give up. You're no match for me," Douma said with a cheerful smile, casually approaching Kanae Kocho. A Hashira-level girl, a perfectly trained body, tender flesh, and a captivating fragrance.
In hundreds of years, he had encountered such prey only a few times, so this time he was especially patient.
Kanae Kocho panted heavily. Despite her severe injuries, there was not the slightest hint of surrender or weakness on her face.
At that moment, a golden figure stepped out of the forest, drawing the attention of both sides.
"What is that?"
Douma and Kanae Kocho simultaneously looked toward the elven girl. Her outfit was completely different from island-style clothing, with long golden hair and pointed ears.
Her pretty face made Douma pause slightly—too perfect, even surpassing Kanae Kocho.
Boom!
Ryuu pushed off with her legs and shot forward like a rocket, charging toward Douma at an astonishing speed.
"So fast!" Douma was startled. Faster than Akaza? This girl's physique surpassed that of an Upper Rank demon?
"Interesting! Blood Demon Art: Creeping Lotus!"
A ferocious smile curled at the corner of Douma's mouth as he swung his twin iron fans. A large number of lotus-shaped ice crystals condensed into several ice vines wrapped in icy lotus flowers, lunging toward Ryuu like venomous snakes.
Boom! Boom!
There was no change in Ryuu's expression. She swung the wooden sword in her hand and effortlessly shattered the ice vines.
Roy hid in the bushes, observing the battle.
The wooden sword in Ryuu's hand looked ordinary, but in reality it was a rare high-grade weapon.
Wooden Sword: Elven Flowing Light!
Before the Great Feud, Ryuu had seized a branch of the Sacred Great Tree from her homeland, the Lumina Forest, at a secret base of the dark faction, and handed it to the Goibniu Familia to be crafted into a high-grade weapon.
This wooden sword not only possessed powerful attack strength and exceptional toughness, but also had the effect of amplifying "magic." It had extremely high compatibility with elven mana and even possessed the properties of a "magic staff."
"Blood Demon Art: Frigid White Princess!"
"Blood Demon Art: Crystalline Child!"
Douma's gaze grew increasingly fanatical. His iron fans moved rapidly as he unleashed his Blood Demon Arts. Cold air spread as ice lotuses surged from the ground, forming figures shaped like young girls, as well as small ice puppets resembling Douma himself.
Dozens of ice statues surged toward Ryuu in a vast wave.
Roy's pupils shrank. As expected of a demon who had lived for hundreds of years—he really had some tricks. But could Ryuu handle it?
The facts proved that Roy had still underestimated the strength of an upper-class adventurer.
The elven girl burst forward. Every ice statue she passed shattered completely. Her speed kept increasing, unstoppable, as if nothing could block her path.
Gale Rush, one of Ryuu's skills—while sprinting, her attack power increases in proportion to her speed.
Once the skill was activated, wild winds coiled around Ryuu's entire body. Her petite figure flickered past like a raging gale.
In an instant, all the ice statues created by Douma turned into debris, with ice crystals scattering across the sky.
"Amazing!"
Douma's greedy, evil gaze locked tightly onto the elven girl. Kanae Kocho, whom he had previously regarded as a treasure, could no longer draw even a shred of his attention.
It was a scent he had never smelled before!
Roy silently watched Douma's suicidal behavior. That level of madness could probably only be rivaled by the gourmet from Tokyo Ghoul.
The elven girl's nature was one that despised evil, and Douma's attitude of treating her as food made her fury surge. Her gaze grew colder and colder, utterly calm and emotionless.
Ryuu's indifferent voice rang out:
"O distant forest skies of the past, infinite stars embedded in the boundless night, respond to the voice of one as ignorant as I. Grant me once more the blessing of starlit flame, bestow light and mercy upon those who have departed…"
"Blood Demon Art: Winter Ice Pillars!"
Douma swung his iron fans. Ice mist gathered overhead, condensing into countless sharp ice pillars that fell like rain, covering an enormous area—impossible to evade!
"—Come forth, wandering wind, traveling pilgrim!" Ryuu chanted, gripping her wooden sword with both hands and slashing toward the void. The raging wind she released tore the ice pillars apart.
The barrage-like ice rain split to either side.
Douma's Blood Demon Arts, in front of Level 4 Ryuu, were no different from a child's play. With a single swing of her wooden sword, everything before her was effortlessly cut apart.
Roy muttered to himself, "Parallel chanting…"
Ordinary adventurers, when channeling mental power to release magic, could only stand still. If they mispronounced even a single word, the spell could fail—and they often required several guards to protect them.
Only adventurers with extraordinary talent could move while simultaneously chanting magic.
It was an extremely advanced technique.
And the elven girl before him might be one of the most proficient parallel chanters in all of Orario.
Ryuu was simultaneously handling high-speed attacks, movement, evasion, defense, and chanting. Even first-tier adventurers would be left dumbfounded at the sight.
Douma, who was born unable to feel emotions, did not feel fear in the face of Ryuu's overwhelming power—on the contrary, he became completely consumed by fanaticism.
"Blood Demon Art: Mist Ice—Sleeping Lotus Bodhisattva!"
The blood vessels on Douma's body burst open. Blood mist spread, then transformed into frigid air. Solid ice formed a gigantic ice giant shaped like a Bodhisattva with its hands pressed together.
The Bodhisattva ice statue chopped down toward Ryuu like a massive hand blade.
"—Soar across the heavens, race across the wilds, run with a speed that surpasses all things! Carry the radiance of the stars and subjugate the enemy!" Ryuu's eyes remained indifferent as her wooden sword pointed forward.
"Wind of Light!"