Superpowered Individual VS Fallen Demon Hunter 3

Let's talk a little about the past, about how I became a superpowered individual.

Before I became a superpowered individual, I often did things that seemed unconventional. Perhaps it was projecting my own feelings onto others, but I thought that what I was doing wasn't as unconventional as others made it out to be. I figured most people did similar things, they just rarely shared them with those around them.

That was to place a ballpoint pen, or an eraser, or some other light object within reach in front of me, then stare at it intently, imagining my mental will could invade physical reality and influence it to move.

It didn't need to move much, just a little bit, enough to be visible to the naked eye. As long as I could achieve complete focus and pour all my mental energy into it, it wasn't an excessive expectation to hope for a tiny miracle.

Of course, I didn't truly believe in this sophistry; it was more out of interest. Ever since I could remember, I'd been fascinated by concepts like magic and superpowers. Those stories would occasionally create elaborate settings based on mysticism, telling readers how to cultivate themselves to gain access to the path of immortality. It was only natural that I'd feel an urge to imitate them after reading. Back then, I obviously couldn't actually go to the deep mountains and find suitable "spiritual veins" and "immortal caves," but meditating with my body exposed to the elements on my bed was something I could easily do.

Even when I was in elementary school and first tried this, I knew deep down that no matter how long I persisted, it wouldn't help me connect with the "spiritual energy between heaven and earth." I just wanted to get as close as possible to the world of fantasy stories. When I imitated the characters in those stories meditating, I felt like I was a part of that fantasy world.

The last time I tried was in my third year of junior high. I'd read something in a miscellaneous book. It said that ancient monks would prepare an unlit candle in their quiet room and then stare intently at the wick, imagining their gaze igniting it.

This practice wasn't about genuinely believing one could ignite a candle wick with their gaze, but rather about using this method to eliminate distracting thoughts, making it easier to enter the profound realm of Zen meditation. I found it quite insightful and yearned for it. Although Zen meditation itself didn't manifest any supernatural abilities, it was still a form of mystical experience, and I was very curious about it.

For a while after that, I carried a candle with me every day and took it out during my free time to stare at the wick, imagining it burning.

What I never expected was that, over time, although I didn't succeed in entering the mysterious state of Zen meditation, I inexplicably triggered another absurd phenomenon.

It was an ordinary school day. After the teacher announced the end of class and left the room with some materials, the classroom erupted into the usual noise of a break. No classmates came to talk to me, so I took out my candle as usual and continued to pass the boring time by staring blankly at it.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes... About five or six minutes passed, and I still hadn't entered the so-called Zen state. This was within expectations. I continued to empty my mind, habitually gazing at the wick.

But this time, it was unlike any other time before.

Under my gaze, the candle wick ignited on its own.

The demon ignited on its own.

It was as if its entire body had transformed into a giant match head, generating friction with the air as it charged towards me at high speed, immediately erupting in flames.

Rolling waves of heat swept out in all directions with overwhelming force, causing the bushes and shrubs by the roadside to sway and fall. I was also caught in the heatwave, but I didn't suffer any burns. I simply took two steps back with the momentum of the heatwave and turned my body, dodging the demon's path. The demon, like a runaway car, crashed into a nearby charging station in a disheveled state.

It let out a sharp, frantic scream involuntarily, so pained that it couldn't even stand. It could only roll on the ground in a state of distress, trying to extinguish the flames on its body.

At the same time, the shadows around me began to stir. A dozen shadow blades simultaneously launched swift, fatal thrusts at me from all directions.

But before they could even touch my body, flames erupted from my entire being. These shadow blades met my flames and disintegrated rapidly, like cotton catching fire. They couldn't advance even an inch past this blazing defensive perimeter.

The demon didn't stop there at this critical moment. Some of the shadows didn't attack me but quickly surged towards itself.

I heard that in some firefighting operations, water isn't used to extinguish fires, but sand. The principle is the same as water: as long as it covers the burning material, it can cut off oxygen, preventing combustion. I assumed these shadows were intended to serve a similar purpose. The shadows enveloped the suffering demon like a cocoon.

However, before they could suppress the flames, the shadows themselves were ignited by the flames. Instead of extinguishing the fire, they became additional fuel, causing the demon even more unbearable pain.

"Zhuang Cheng—" It was as if it had been plunged into a fiery hell, and a voice filled with negative emotions emerged from that hell, "—Zhuang Cheng, ahhhh!!!"

As it roared, its body suddenly sprang from the ground and in the blink of an eye, it attacked me.

But I didn't blink; my gaze remained focused on it.

Its speed was truly incredible, and its strength was immense. In my normal state, I wouldn't even have time to move a finger before it tore my body apart. However, my attack didn't require me to move my fingers. If it thought I had to go through a process like "first condensing a fireball around myself, then personally throwing it out" like some fire-wielding characters in combat games, it was gravely underestimating me.

My gaze, my voice, my breath – these everyday things were all mediums through which I transmitted my power.

My flames were my spirit, so wherever my spirit could reach, my flames could destroy. Some people use phrases like "if looks could kill..." to describe the intensity of someone's murderous intent, but my gaze can truly kill.

Just like now.

The demon was ignited again. This time, I made the flames erupt only on the front of its body. The immense heatwave sent it flying backward, forcing it to continue struggling desperately within the flames.

"This is impossible..." It seemed to finally realize what was happening to it. "Just... just looking at me... Ahhhh!!"

"It's just Flame Manipulation, not some incredible ability." Compared to my own power, which I'd long grown accustomed to, I cared more about its genuine abilities. "What about you? Don't you have any other more novel... more bizarre abilities?"

The demon seemed to lack the energy to reply, only focusing on manipulating its shadow powers again, trying to extinguish the flames on its body, but to no avail.

The flames continued to decompose its body relentlessly, but I could observe that its flesh and blood were regenerating at an unnatural speed. Every part of its flesh that carbonized and shattered was replaced by new flesh. Overall, the regeneration speed still couldn't keep up with the destruction speed, but based on this progression, it would still take some time to burn it to death.

It wasn't impossible to burn this demon to charcoal in one go. The current situation also involved me deliberately holding back. I wasn't quite sure about the maximum temperature of my flames, and the destructive power of my flames didn't depend on physical temperature, but on the intent I imbued when using them. As long as I injected a killing intent, even rocks could evaporate on the spot; but without that intent, I could even engulf a person in flames without causing them the slightest harm.

Originally, I had truly intended to kill it. After all, the opponent was trying to kill me, so no one could blame me if I killed it. But at the crucial moment of unleashing my full killing intent, I hesitated.

It wasn't because I cherished the life of an enemy. If the opponent were human, it might be different, but this opponent didn't even have a human form, so I felt no psychological burden in burning it. But wouldn't it be a shame to burn it to death on the spot?

Perhaps I shouldn't kill it, but capture it alive. Then find a place to imprison it and ask it more about strange phenomena. Of course, it might also have other bizarre and dangerous trump cards that could kill me. However, I felt the risk was worth taking.

Speaking of "risk," there was something very important I hadn't had a chance to do yet. I'll do it now.

"Your struggling is useless," I proactively explained my ability. "As long as it's within my line of sight, my flames will not disappear. Even if you find a way to extinguish them, I can reignite them countless times."

Many villains in combat manga explain their abilities to the protagonist when they have the upper hand. Although I also believed this was an unwise move, it was one of my obsessions.

If the current me were to write a bucket list, one item would definitely be "explain my ability settings while showcasing my abilities in front of my opponent." I was quite regretful that I couldn't find this opportunity in the cave before.

Even if I were to get into trouble because of this behavior, I could accept it calmly. My experience in the cave had allowed me to recognize my true self, and I was now completely confident in my mental strength.

It was evident that the demon wasn't ready to surrender obediently. Just as I was about to explain more, it suddenly let out a humiliated roar and then sprang from the ground again, charging.

But this time, it wasn't to approach me, but to get away from me as quickly as possible.

Its fleeing figure was as fast as a zigzagging lightning bolt, and in the blink of an eye, its silhouette disappeared from my sight.

Perhaps this was the most sensible strategy it could think of at the moment. It had realized that I could ignite objects with my gaze. With its shadow and its own attacks unable to reach me, disappearing from my sight as soon as possible was the best course of action, otherwise, it would only continue to be burned by me and die in agony.

But I never said that as soon as you were out of my sight, you would definitely be safe.

Running away halfway through someone's explanation is a bad habit.

I closed my eyes, and an image of the demon's location appeared in my mind.

I saw the demon quickly arrive at a river a kilometer away after fleeing the residential area. It was still being burned by my flames, and upon seeing the river, it plunged in without hesitation. The river water and flames came into contact, immediately erupting in a large amount of white steam.

Even my flames couldn't evaporate an entire river, at least I myself had never tried to see if they could. The demon was trying to extinguish the flames with a large amount of water, but it was still a futile effort. My flames could appear out of thin air without needing oxygen, so naturally, they wouldn't disappear out of thin air due to a lack of oxygen.

Moreover, fleeing from me was also a wrong choice. No matter how far it ran, it couldn't escape my gaze. Admittedly, it didn't have my "Fireflies" around it now, but the reason "Fireflies" could share my vision was because they were my flames, my scattered consciousness. And now, the flames burning on the demon had also become my eyes.

Wherever the firelight reached, that was where my gaze reached.

Once ignited by me, even if it fled to the ends of the earth, it couldn't escape my burning. Unless I permitted it, those flames would not be extinguished.