Demon of Fire, the Wendigo's Final Form

The Fire-Faced Demon froze for a moment when it saw another version of itself.

But only for a moment. In the next instant, its fury erupted. Flames surged half a meter higher around its body with a whoosh. A low growl rumbled in its throat as it kicked off the ground and charged the mimic through a wave of scorching heat.

The shadows of the two "Fire-Faced Demons" collided on the dim lakebed.

At the moment of impact, Li Dan saw the difference between them.

The real Fire-Faced Demon's fist carried genuine searing flames. When it struck the mimic's chest, they exploded with a boom. This was no false red glow like the mimic's "flames." It was real fire that could burn through the supernatural, scorching even the body formed from lake water until it hissed and smoked.

The mimic was weaker than the original after all. Of course, there was another factor.

Li Dan's Second-Layer Ghost Lake was incomplete. He had forced it open through the supernatural power of a wish, at the cost of the Hunchback.

But half the original's strength was enough. The other contained entities could make up the difference.

The punch sent the mimic flying into the lakebed. The film of water across its back instantly cracked in a spiderweb pattern. Its black "blood" was actually lake water that had yet to disperse, gushing out through the fractures.

At Li Dan's command, the other contained entities entered the lakebed one after another. There was no clever tactic to it, just overwhelming numbers.

The Fire-Faced Demon had indeed fused with the thing behind the Red Door, but it had not become powerful enough to destroy everything.

Under the combined pressure of the Ghost Lake and the contained entities, the Fire-Faced Demon was held in place.

But