Disguise, Clone, and Ruin

The sight emitting magical radiance made Shiki realize that under the Magic Eye, he could guard against all of the enemy's methods in advance.

Moreover, this Matou Zouken before him was merely a bug clone; its true body wasn't even here.

"So, where is the enemy's true body hidden?"

This old monster had lived for hundreds of years; it must be extremely cautious in its actions.

Previously, relying on the power of his Magic Eye, Shiki could only sense that the enemy was roughly in the Insect Nest area, but its exact location was truly elusive.

Glancing around, Shiki couldn't help but inwardly complain, "The passages here are too dense."

Before him were not only wide avenues capable of accommodating tigers, leopards, cattle, and horses, but also dense, small pathways like an ant nest.

Countless bugs shuttled between them, severely interfering with his perception.

"These annoying things, I really want to blow this place up in one go, but I can't do that now."

For dealing with a Magus like Zouken, large-scale Fire Style Jutsu would be very effective, and Earth Style, Lightning Style, or even Water Style could be useful.

However, Shiki knew in his heart that the Magic Eye he had awakened, although possessing the basic abilities of the Reincarnation Eye, was limited by his own strength. The power he could unleash was far from enough to destroy the entire Insect Nest.

As for ninjutsu, this was another world, and he couldn't use it at all.

"I need to hurry. Kariya probably can't hold on for much longer up there."

The situation was urgent. He originally had a plan to deal with the old monster, but during its execution, he had to switch from Plan A to a branch of Plan B.

The gas mask he had prepared earlier couldn't possibly isolate all toxins; it wasn't that miraculous.

In fact, the gas mask was meant to lead into the subsequent plan, and now it was perfectly serving its purpose.

"Then let's go head-on!"

Shiki's gaze sharpened, and his figure shot out like an arrow released from a bow towards the old monster.

Matou Zouken's expression was calm. The moment Shiki moved, he steadily retreated while commanding a large number of bugs to harass him.

Flying bugs were ultimately faster than running ones. Before Shiki could get close, he was blocked by a dense swarm of bugs.

"Tch, looks like I have to deal with these bothersome guys first. Let's do it again, get out of my way!!"

The power of the Magic Eye erupted once more, and the repulsive force field of Almighty Push instantly covered an area of over ten meters.

Under this immense power, all the flying bugs were instantly repelled. These fragile bugs couldn't withstand the force that could shatter steel and smash giant rocks. In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of flying bugs turned into dust.

However, bugs from behind continuously replenished the swarm, as if they were endless.

Seeing this, Shiki spat, quickly retreated a few steps, and dodged the incoming flying bugs. He didn't want to be attacked by these flying bugs; who knew what deadly toxins they carried, perhaps even viruses targeting Magus.

Hiding in the distance, Zouken saw this and his heart stirred. He silently commanded more flying bugs to charge forward recklessly.

At this moment, he no longer cared about the casualties of the bugs. As long as the enemy could be severely wounded, it would be worth it even if all the bugs died.

"Tch, is that the only move you have? It's useless."

Shiki outwardly cursed in anger, but inwardly he was exceptionally calm. Everything was proceeding according to his plan.

"The opening has already appeared. Old monster, you absolutely must not give up this opportunity, you must take the bait."

Since it was difficult to approach the enemy, he would make the enemy approach him; this was the core of Plan B.

Although there was a certain risk, as long as he seized the opportunity to determine the location of the old monster's true body, this battle could end instantly – relying on the powerful abilities of the Magic Eye.

Boom!!!

Another Almighty Push sent a large number of bug corpses flying. In the bloody center of the Insect Nest, Shiki suddenly stumbled, falling to one knee, a look of shock in his eyes.

"How can this be!? The gas mask is useless!?"

Seeing this, Zouken felt a surge of joy in his heart.

The magical toxins that required skin contact to take effect had finally worked. However, he still didn't rashly advance, continuing to command the remaining bugs to gather in front of him and charge towards Shiki.

"This young man is just weakened, not completely exhausted. The remaining bugs can still wear him down a bit."

That repulsive force attack was too powerful. His body, composed of bugs, dared not get close. Any slight mistake could put him in a passive position, and if anything went wrong, his own life would be in danger.

Meanwhile, Shiki, who was pretending to be on his knees, also sensed something unusual.

Why was this old monster so cautious? Facing a fallen youth, it didn't even dare to step forward.

There were only two reasons why it wouldn't dare to fight: either it was timid and fearful, lacking the courage to fight; or advancing would endanger its own life.

But in Shiki's opinion, this old monster was clearly not a timid person, so…

"The fight would endanger his life!"

Shiki suddenly realized. This bug clone before him was probably not just a simple clone; its true body was likely hidden within it.

"Damn it, being too clever can backfire!"

Shiki finally remembered that this wasn't the ninja world; clones were very different in the two worlds. In the ninja world, there were many types of clones, including Wind, Fire, Water, Earth, and Lightning Style clones, as well as various other strange clone ninjutsu. This had instilled a habitual way of thinking in Shiki, making him believe that if someone could create clones, their true body must be nearby.

But in reality, this was another world, and the principles and forms of expression for clones were fundamentally different from those in the ninja world. Unlike in the ninja world, where clones could be easily released using chakra.

"Sigh, there's no other way now, I just have to keep up the act."

This poison was indeed potent, but not as fatal as he had imagined. Shiki found it difficult to completely avoid the poisonous substances with attached magic, but the toxic magic within them would be resisted by the Magic Eye.

After all, he possessed the Rainbow Magic Eye, which had extremely high mystery and his own magic resistance far surpassed that of ordinary people.

As more and more insects swarmed in, a hint of panic appeared in Shiki's eyes. Like a frightened child, he kicked his legs and retreated, shouting, "Don't come over!!"

At the same time, he unleashed Almighty Push again, though its power was not as great as before, it still annihilated the last batch of insects without leaving a trace.

He gasped for breath, cold sweat constantly beading on his forehead. He looked utterly exhausted, too weak to move.

Zouken remained motionless, continuing his probing. The power released by the Magic Eye earlier echoed in his mind, its intertwined red and green glow and patterns were astonishing and mouth-watering.

It wasn't until a minute later, when he saw a trace of pitch blackness appear on the young man's face, that he finally relaxed completely. It seemed the other party was completely controlled by the poison and had lost the ability to move.

Zouken was overjoyed that he had defeated an enemy with the Rainbow Magic Eye.

He dragged himself and slowly moved to Shiki's side, mocking, "Young man, being too reckless can cost you your life, just like this. You really have bad luck, barging into the lair of a cunning old Magus."

As he spoke, he fiercely jabbed his cane at Shiki's leg. The intense pain made the young man's body twitch and curl up.

This scene startled Zouken, and he instinctively wanted to leave immediately.

However, a cold voice sounded in his ear, as if from hell, instantly restraining his body.

"Oh my, where did I slip up? I'm curious."

Puff!

Before Zouken could react, a hand pierced through his body, taking the most crucial organ from the insect clone: the heart.

"Wait! I... still!"

Shiki squeezed hard, and the heart in his hand instantly shattered. The ugly worm inside also ceased its movement with a scream.

An old monster who had lived for hundreds of years died just like that.

To ensure the complete annihilation of the opponent, Shiki also used the Hell Path ability of his Magic Eye to shatter the opponent's soul, leaving no future trouble.

Without a soul, even if the opponent had any other tricks, he would just be a mindless vegetable.

"Wait for what? If I wait any longer, Kariya probably won't be able to hold on."

Shiki stood up from behind the corpse, tossed the body aside, and looked at his dirty hands with disgust.

There was no choice; without a suitable weapon, he had to deal with it bare-handed.

This battle seemed simple, but in reality, both sides had gone all out. However, it wasn't a pure test of strength, but more of a battle of wits.

Deception and counter-deception, calculation and being calculated, battle attrition, home-field advantage, and traps – Zouken used every means possible, his goal being to exhaust Shiki's stamina.

But he never expected that the traps, which should have been the main force of attrition, were rendered useless due to Shiki's special abilities; his insect swarm, which he relied on for survival, also failed to pose a decisive threat to Shiki.

In the end, he fell into Shiki's trap instead, dying in an extremely ignominious way, without even a chance to leave a last word.

Shiki had also gone all out, utilizing various abilities of his Magic Eye, unleashing all combat-applicable powers such as the Deva Path, Hell Path, and mental illusions.

It was precisely because he possessed the means to deal with souls that Shiki was certain that as long as he could get close to Zouken's true body, given that the latter had abandoned his original body and hidden within a host body with a mismatched soul, he could instantly shatter the opponent's degenerate and corrupted soul, achieving a one-hit kill.

"If you still had your original body, I might have had to put in more effort."

In any world, the physical body is the most important barrier protecting the soul; it's not something that can be casually discarded.

"I need to hurry to Kariya's side."

After dealing with Zouken, Shiki remembered Kariya, who was struggling to hold on above the old house. He didn't bother to clean the dirt on himself and sprinted towards the ground, hoping he could still reach Kariya to help