Workshop (25)
A piercing gaze—worthy of a Saint Seiya with all three powers combined.
As the terrifying dark-red rays silently sliced through the corpse in the corner, Fu Qian watched Scrooge's old, lost technique return to Jianghu and couldn't help but marvel.
Sure enough, none of the three pieces of equipment she wore was just for show. Ess had inherited the technique's spirit to perfection.
Even her timing was perfect.
As the surging rays swept back and forth, the once-massive corpse was cut into countless fragments, and the air filled with a sour, rotten stench.
By the time she stopped, it was hard to imagine anything that could use that heap of remains as a hiding place.
Cough, cough...
The relentless attack seemed to have put Ess under considerable strain. The moment the dark-red light faded, she doubled over and broke into a violent coughing fit.
Of course, that didn't stop her from keeping her eyes on Fu Qian the entire time, never letting her guard down.
"I thought you'd give me a dose of that, too."
Clearly touched by such special attention, Fu Qian smiled and nodded.
"Why would I do that?"
Ess had recovered her breath a little, but her voice was full of disbelief.
"Thanks to your inspiration, I've finally stopped playing the clown in this farce and faced my fate... After a contribution like that, I should be rewarding you, not punishing you."
As if to prove her sincerity, she displayed an impressive mastery of expression, pulling off a perfectly natural smile.
"I'm glad you see it that way, sir!"
Fu Qian sounded perfectly willing to play along with her graciousness.
"But perhaps we're getting ahead of ourselves. Shouldn't we wait another minute?"
At the same time, he remained utterly serious and gestured toward the remains