"I can't say I never considered the method you mentioned..." I carefully weighed my words.
The reason I hadn't done what Agent Kong suggested was actually quite simple.
Perhaps in other people's eyes, my supernatural ability was innate, only natural, and intrinsically bound to me. But I had never thought of it that way.
Why had I awakened a supernatural ability? That was the question I had pondered ever since the day I awakened it. Had I really possessed an innate talent for this, which was why it had awakened right when I reached puberty? Or had the method I was obsessed with at the time—"lighting a candle with my gaze"—actually worked, meaning that as long as I persisted enough, I really could awaken the power of Flame Manipulation?
Or had my ancestors possessed the blood of monsters or deities, which had manifested in my generation? Or perhaps I had recently encountered some external catalyst capable of awakening my supernatural ability, but simply couldn't remember it?
I had always felt that the origin of my supernatural ability was suspicious. The moment I wanted to light a candle, I had awakened the corresponding ability—and the speed at which that ability grew had also left me terrified.
At first, I had been overjoyed by the inexplicable power that had appeared within me, repeatedly practicing how to control it in places where no one would know. During that process, my supernatural ability had also grown rapidly, just as muscles became stronger through repeated training.
But gradually, I realized something was wrong.
It seemed that even when I wasn't training hard, my supernatural ability was still growing stronger of its own accord. Although it didn't grow as quickly as when I actively practiced, I could feel that even if I simply found a patch of grass and lay down, my ability would automatically strengthen along with my breathing. As time passed, this power gradually grew to a level even I could barely understand.
Could this really be a power that could appear so casually in a human like me? I often wondered.
In many stories centered around supernatural abilities, such powers weren't something one gained and kept forever. They could deteriorate or even disappear because of certain factors. Some stories went even further: supernatural abilities were a special phenomenon that appeared only during puberty. Once someone reached adulthood, no matter how tremendous a power they had previously mastered, it would disappear with the passage of time.
Something gained for no known reason might also be lost one day for no known reason.
I had never taken this power of unknown origin for granted, and I had long been mentally prepared for the possibility that it might become unusable someday. Under those circumstances, I naturally wouldn't regard it as my inherent capital, build the foundation of my future life upon it, or reveal my power before the public in broad daylight.
Of course, whenever I had to use it, I would cast aside all my reservations and use this power without hesitation. When a threat like the Fallen Demon Hunter appeared before me, if I still fussed over what my life might be like tomorrow or the day after, I might not even make it through today.
Besides, I had never intended to take my supernatural ability to the grave. Although I still remained wary of the details behind this power, "adventures beyond reality" were what interested me most. If, before graduating from university and entering society, I still couldn't obtain what I wanted by following the trail of Ghost Stories, I would deliberately expose my power before the public to attract the attention of supernatural organizations.
Fortunately, before I reached that point, Luoshan had appeared before me.
Seeing that I had remained silent for so long, Agent Kong kindly reminded me, "If it's inconvenient to answer, you don't have to force yourself."
"It's not that it's inconvenient to answer. It's just a long story..."
Just as I said that, my ears suddenly caught an extraordinary sound.
It sounded like a stick being plunged into a viscous liquid and vigorously stirred. The noise was muffled and strange, yet it also seemed familiar, as though I had heard it somewhere before. That inexplicable familiarity made me immediately fall silent and look toward the source of the sound.
It came from a small patch of shadow beside the curb not far away. At some point, it had become unnaturally dense and deep, standing out starkly from the surrounding shadows. It continued spreading and expanding like ink spilled across the ground. One bubbling air pocket after another emerged from the bizarre shadow, its surface rippling constantly. That was where the sound came from.
Suddenly, an incredibly thick arm thrust out from within, splashing shadowy liquid around like ink or paint. I was all too familiar with this scene. It was exactly how the Fallen Demon Hunter had appeared before me last night. Soon, a demonic monster identical to the Fallen Demon Hunter crawled out from beneath the shadows.
And that wasn't the only change. The other shadows nearby underwent the same transformation at the same time. A second and third demon crawled onto the ground one after another. One appeared ahead of us like the first, while the other appeared behind us, blocking our retreat. The three demons glared at us menacingly.
If only one demon had appeared, I could have wondered whether the Fallen Demon Hunter from last night had revived. But with three appearing in succession, I could only assume that there had originally been more than one Fallen Demon Hunter.
The three demons didn't speak human words. Instead, they let out deep, bestial growls, saliva dripping from the corners of their mouths. Perhaps they hadn't been transformed from humans at all.
As expected, the Fallen Demon Hunter incident wasn't over yet.
What was their purpose in appearing here? Were they here for revenge over what had happened last night? Was I their only target, or did that include Agent Kong as well?
Was this related to the grudge between the Fallen Demon Hunter and me?
What terrible timing. If I had been alone, that would have been one thing, but Agent Kong was here too—and he wasn't skilled at fighting.
At the sight of this scene, even his voice began to tremble. "Zhuang Cheng..."
"Agent Kong, I'll deal with them. Escape when you see an opening."
I couldn't determine whether these three demons possessed abilities different from those of the Fallen Demon Hunter last night, so I didn't make any absolute claims.
"...No. Judging by their formation, I won't be able to escape." Agent Kong steadied himself and pulled a pistol from inside his clothes.
I couldn't help turning my head for a glance. It was a gray revolver with a relatively long barrel, strange symbols engraved across it. It seemed to be equipment designed to deal with anomalous entities.
"This is a weapon Luoshan issued to its agents. It's only an emergency weapon that can't really be brought out in public, but we'll have to make do with it for now." He forced himself to remain calm. "Next, we..."
He seemed to want to discuss how we should cooperate, but reality wasn't a turn-based game. The enemy wouldn't be unable to act just because we hadn't finished our turn.
Before he could finish speaking, the enemies launched their attack and charged at us simultaneously.
At the same time they charged, I turned my gaze back to them and activated my supernatural ability.
The demon in front, charging at the very forefront, was instantly ignited out of thin air. It became a blazing torch, as though its body had been drenched in gasoline.
The technique of igniting an opponent with my gaze had a weakness: it could only ignite one target at a time.
That was because the principle behind this technique was to transfer my gaze—or, more precisely, my mind—to my opponent.
Many times, when we said that "someone transferred their mind to an object," what we really meant was that "someone shifted their attention to an object." Humans were visual creatures. When a person focused their gaze on a specific object, they were also shifting their attention there.
That was why people often compared the eyes to the windows of the soul. Wherever one's gaze pointed, that was where one's mind pointed. The point where one's gaze focused was where one's mind came to rest.
Although the flames could expand the range covered by my gaze—and strictly speaking, this had already exceeded the definition of physiological vision and could only be called supernatural perception—as long as I, the user, remained human, certain principles still applied. Surely no one could focus both eyes in multiple directions at the same time, right? My "focus of attention," or "point where my mind came to rest," could only exist in one place at a time.
The second demon in front of me immediately used the burning demon charging ahead as a shield, pushing it in front of itself as it continued charging toward me. This meant it would be burned by its own companion, but it also avoided my naked eyes.
From this reaction, I could tell that they knew my naked-eye gaze could serve as a medium for my flame attacks. It seemed they had obtained information about last night's battle through some unknown channel. But they still didn't know that wherever the flames reached was also within the reach of my gaze.
Besides, even if my technique of igniting opponents with my gaze could only attack one target at a time, that didn't mean I could only use one ability at a time.
I used this technique simply because it was the first way I had learned to use my supernatural ability, and also the method I was most familiar with. The moment I saw the enemy move, I had used it reflexively. At the same time, I rapidly raised my right hand and summoned a tiny "Firefly" from my palm.
A massive amount of mental power poured into it. The "Firefly" rapidly expanded, transforming into a huge fireball before detonating itself.
Flames surged in all directions like an overturning sea, instantly swallowing the three demons attacking from the front and rear. The area where I stood became a hell filled with fire, and the excessive radiance temporarily rendered human vision useless.
This time, because Agent Kong was beside me and needed protection, I no longer held back with a relaxed attitude. I infused the flames with a genuine intent to destroy the enemy.
Under the impact of the annihilating flames, the three demons in mid-charge were immediately swept along helplessly, like fish caught in a raging current.
They couldn't even endure for the time it took to blink before turning into ashes.
Before you continue