26. Superhuman vs. the Fallen Demon Hunter, Part 4

The chaos that erupted inside the residential complex earlier was deafening—between the shockwaves generated by my flames and the sight of a demon tearing out and hurling a streetlamp. In terms of sheer decibel levels, even standard construction work would struggle to be this much of a public nuisance.

Consequently, it wasn't long before residents in the surrounding apartment buildings began peering out from their balconies and windows. To avoid being intercepted, I hurried out of the complex.

At the same time, I kept a close watch on the demon’s movements a kilometer away.

After diving into the river, the demon quickly realized the anomaly on its body. Much like the underwater combustion demonstrations seen in middle school chemistry classes, the flames clinging to it simply would not extinguish.

That terrifying goat-like face immediately contorted into an expression of utter horror and despair, and amidst the hellish agony of being burned, it spat out a frantic string of bubbles. It then struggled, crawling from the river onto the deserted bank, where it let out another heart-wrenching, agonizing shriek.

It was clear the creature wanted to do something but had no idea how to proceed. It had escaped my line of sight and submerged itself in water, yet the flames persisted. It couldn't even think clearly; the searing pain was likely boiling its very brains.

Its only remaining retreat was the cave in the room on the fifteenth floor. Reaching that cave would sever the connection between me and the fire. But it seemed the creature hadn't considered this, or perhaps it didn't know how to open the portal or understand its unique properties.

After wailing for a moment, it finally regained a sliver of composure and began to bolt once more, further away from the residential complex.

What a resilient physique, and what a tenacious will to survive. A normal person would have surely exhausted all their mental energy after being burned to this extent—though I haven't actually tested that myself.

To be honest, the demon’s actual performance had fallen short of my expectations.

From the start of the battle until now, it had shown me nothing but physical attacks. Even that shadow strike earlier—despite the mysterious, arcane impression shadow power gives off visually—ultimately manifested as a physical blade. Was that approach not a bit boring? Were there no other, more bizarre abilities?

Could it be that the world it came from was filled only with such combat styles? Or was it merely a low-level bottom-feeder?

Judging by its current decision-making, it likely suspected that it hadn't gotten far enough away from me, which was why it continued to burn. Though even if it fled to the other side of the ocean, it would be futile. I still had to retrieve it, so I couldn't let it run too far.

I stood still for a moment, raised my right palm toward the distance, and clenched it tightly.

The flames engulfing its entire body, specifically those on the outside of its legs, suddenly surged under my control, burrowing greedily into its muscles as if they possessed a life of their own.

With a thunderous boom, its legs exploded on the spot. Unable to brake, its momentum sent the body crashing into the roadside woods, where it tumbled a long distance before finally coming to a halt.

It pressed its hands against the mud, which was littered with fallen leaves, and hoisted its body up. Since I had no intention of damaging the surrounding environment, even though the flaming creature had fallen into a place filled with combustibles, the fire showed no signs of spreading. It looked back at its exploded, severed legs and suddenly let out a hysterical, nervous laugh.

"Zhuang Cheng, you're watching me, aren't you!?" It raised its head, shouting wildly at the empty night sky. "If you have the guts... if you have the guts, just finish me off! Kill me!"

"That won't do." Even though I knew it couldn't hear me, I responded from a kilometer away. "You still have your uses."

A few moments later, I arrived in the woods where the demon lay.

It was sprawled on the ground, motionless, its charred body resembling a piece of coal with lingering embers. It looked dead, but I knew it was still alive. After all, aside from its legs, I had only used the flames to destroy its skin and muscle, deliberately avoiding its internal organs. I could even sense its consciously shallow breathing through the fire.

Perhaps it had been burned to the point where most of its pain receptors had already died. I had once looked this up on the internet out of curiosity (let’s not discuss why I was searching for such information); because human pain receptors are primarily distributed in the epidermis and dermis, the depth of a burn and the level of pain are not necessarily proportional. Some severe burn victims might not feel much pain at all. I just didn't know if this demon's physiology was similar to a human's in that regard.

"You're still conscious," I said, initiating contact. "I have some questions for you. As long as you're willing to answer, I can stop burning you for now."

The demon didn't respond. I took a few more steps forward. When the distance between us closed to just four or five meters, it suddenly pushed off the ground with its arms and lunged at me with a sudden, violent burst of speed.

"Zhuang Cheng—!!" It let out a roar filled with murky, deep-seated hatred.

It seemed this was its final, desperate struggle. Since it was within my expectations, I felt no surprise. However, what happened next completely exceeded them.

Just as I was about to counterattack, a flash of white light flew from behind me, brushed past my shoulder, and struck the demon’s torso directly. The creature was sent flying like a soccer ball kicked by a professional athlete, smashing into a nearby tree and bending the trunk in the process.

This time, it seemed the demon wasn't acting—it had truly lost consciousness.

Who did this?

I immediately looked back.

On the other side of the woods, a figure holding a sharp blade was slowly walking toward me.

Dark clouds drifted across the night sky, finally revealing the moon. Moonlight spilled into the bamboo grove, illuminating the figure's face.

It was someone dressed like an ancient wandering swordsman, wearing a brownish-black straw raincoat and a matching conical bamboo hat, with a black and red scabbard slung over their back. The long sword was held in their hand, the tip angled toward the ground, maintaining a tense, ready-to-strike aura.

Judging by the fact that they had just intervened to help, they likely weren't an enemy. Honestly, in my view, it was an unnecessary gesture, but the feeling of being helped by a mysterious stranger was quite novel, and I couldn't bring myself to feel negatively about it. Even if I judged them not to be an enemy, they might not see it the same way. Perhaps I should introduce myself first to show I had no hostility.

"Hello," I spoke first. "I'm Zhuang..."

Suddenly, the person seemed to recognize my face and gasped, "Zhuang Cheng?"

It was a young woman's voice, and it sounded somewhat familiar.

"You know me?" I asked, surprised. "Who are you?"

She hesitated for a moment, then raised her hand and removed her bamboo hat, revealing her true face.

Seeing this, I was even more surprised—shocked, even. The emotional fluctuations I felt when I first saw the demon didn't compare to this. The face revealed was that of an acquaintance.

In my memory, that face always appeared gentle and docile, reminiscent of a stream, a clear spring, or a misty lake—delicate like a traditional ink painting. In most situations, she would try her best to avoid any potential conflict in interpersonal relationships.

But now, while her features remained unchanged, her temperament was completely different. She looked like a dignified swordswoman, ready to face any dispute with a straightforward and spirited attitude.

"...Zhu Shi?" I said her name.

The newcomer was indeed Chang'an's younger sister, Zhu Shi.

"You are..." She looked at me hesitantly, then at the fallen demon nearby, her voice filled with disbelief. "...Did you defeat this?"

"No, you just defeated it, didn't you?"

In truth, I knew what she meant; she was trying to buy a little time to let me process the internal ripples.

"I mean, the burns accumulated on his body..." At first, her tone was still a bit incredulous.

But gradually, she regained her composure, and her tone became much steadier: "—was all of this your doing?"

Her way of speaking was vastly different from the Zhu Shi in my memory; even the pitch of her voice had changed. By comparison, her previous way of speaking seemed almost like an act of feigning docility. Perhaps what she was showing now was her true personality.

I had mostly calmed down as well. While analyzing this version of her, I confirmed, "It was me."

She observed me for a moment, then sheathed her sword and asked tentatively, "Are you also a Demon Hunter?"

"Also? ...I'm not in that line of work." I replied. "If you must label it, I suppose I'm an esper."

"That counts as a Demon Hunter," she said unexpectedly.

It counts? This wasn't the first time I'd heard the term "Demon Hunter"; it seemed to be a profession. Can someone be called a "Demon Hunter" just by possessing extraordinary powers, even if they aren't working as one? I felt a sense of incongruity, and at the same time, the term sparked a realization.

No wonder I found Zhu Shi's current voice familiar. This voice was exactly the same as the female Demon Hunter who spoke to Agent Kong on the phone earlier today.

Zhu Shi was that female Demon Hunter!

Beyond the shock, I immediately realized a problem—

The female Demon Hunter, Zhu Shi, belonged to Luoshan, which was likely an official supernatural organization. Did this mean it would be difficult for me to monopolize the demon now?

Was there a way to snatch the demon back... No, that would be shortsighted. An official supernatural organization had finally revealed its true colors to me, and I was still fretting over a demon of unknown origin. Wouldn't it be better to go directly to them for any information I wanted to learn about this bizarre world?

Since Zhu Shi happened to be my friend's sister, and with that connection in place, it could only be said that heaven was helping me!

I immediately focused all my attention on Zhu Shi.

"I forgot to reintroduce myself. I am a Demon Hunter from Luoshan, responsible for the security of this area," Zhu Shi said in a very formal tone. "I have many questions regarding your defeat of this Fallen Demon Hunter. Would you happen to be available now?"