Chapter 189

Therefore, she had no choice but to take an unconventional approach.

"Smack!"

Isayama Yomichi retreated violently, his face showing a pained and strained expression, his hand trembling slightly as he shook hands.

Seeing this, the fox demon chose to press its advantage, its claws, covered in demonic energy, reaching for her heart.

With a hiss, blood splattered from her abdomen, leaving three bloody marks.

"Bang...!"

At the same time, a burst of gunfire provided timely support. As the fox demon hurriedly took cover, she had already assumed her fighting stance.

"Sword Technique: Instant Shadow One-Cut Slash!"

Isayama Yomichi silently uttered a word, then drew his sword and rose to his feet.

A dazzling flash of light suddenly appeared, poised to pierce the darkness.

"Awooo..."

A low, mournful cry rang out, and a hint of human panic flashed in the fox demon's eyes as it raised its right paw to block the attack.

However, the power of this strike far surpassed any of the previous attacks.

Demon blood flew out, and the fox demon's claws looked as if they had been cut in half.

"We're going to win!"

Izumi Asami and Kanze Toru saw hope in their eyes.

As the outcome seemed imminent, the fox demon, whose life was in danger, suddenly had a strange glint in its eyes and glanced at the three of them.

"Not good!"

The moment their eyes met, Isayama Yomichi felt dizzy and her eyes throbbed. A strange consciousness tried to invade her mind and take control of her body.

She then realized that speed was merely a racial trait of the fox demon, not an awakened ability.

"Roar!"

Just as she was about to lose her composure, a sudden roar from Ran Guren startled her awake.

Just as she was preparing to continue her attack, an extremely dangerous premonition suddenly surged into her heart, and at that moment she immediately realized what was going on.

She quickly rolled over onto the sofa next to her.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Several bullets hit the sofa, sending wood chips flying.

"This is bad."

She hid behind the sofa, clutching the Lion King tightly in her hand, her face ashen as she looked at her bleeding calf.

Should we call for help from outside?

But she felt the situation would only get worse; that ability was far too difficult for ordinary people to counter.

However, given her current condition, what ability does she have to turn the tide?

Just as she was struggling with her decision, a figure suddenly appeared in the hall.

"Wow, you've come to such a sorry state. If you had followed my advice, dealing with this little fox would have been no problem at all."

"It's you, Hasegawa...?"

Hearing a somewhat familiar voice, Isayama Yomichi turned her head to look.

The genius swordsman from her memories appeared before her so suddenly, hands in his pockets, as casually as if he were on a picnic.

"This is the first time I've encountered Yokai in this world. I thought I'd see something interesting, but I'm a little disappointed..."

Hasegawa Izumi sighed softly.

"What is he talking about? We're in the middle of a very dangerous battle!"

Looking anxious, Isayama Yomichi couldn't help but peek out and loudly remind him.

"Watch out! My team members have been controlled by its power...!"

"I'm using adhesive tape, because I am..."

Before he could finish speaking, the two men, who had already changed their magazines, fired again.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

However, after the gunshot...

"Hey, hey, isn't it a bit impolite to interrupt someone? Logically speaking, this should be invincible time."

His left hand remained in his pocket, while his right hand slowly opened to reveal the number of bullets that matched the gunshot. Then, he turned his palm to the side, and the bullets fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

78 The inevitable battle of the future

"He caught the bullet with his bare hands? Is that some kind of ability? Or is it just physical strength...?"

This scene greatly shocked Isayama Yomichi.

She could understand dodging, but catching it casually is a completely different story.

For her own sake, it was completely impossible to do that. Faced with attacks from firearms, the only option was to dodge. Perhaps with the blessing of "Ran Guren" and with a high level of concentration, she might be able to cut off one or two bullets coming from the front, but no more than that.

Just then, a new development occurred in the arena. Out of concern, she still reminded it, "Be careful of its abilities. Don't look into its eyes, or you'll be controlled. Also, it's very fast..."

After catching the bullet, Hasegawa Izumi casually flicked her wrist, sending two streams of spiritual energy flying towards the controlled man and woman, instantly severing the fox demon's mental connection with them.

Izumi Asami and Kanze Toru had fallen into a deep sleep, their bodies out of control, and they simply lay down.

Being young is wonderful; you can fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow.

When he turned back to face the fox demon, the girl's reminder rang in his ears.

Although such a reminder is somewhat unnecessary, it is done out of good intentions.

The fox spirit's eyes lit up again, and an invisible wave spread out, as if a wave of consciousness was trying to enter his mind through his gaze.

However, the fox demon felt as if its head had hit a high wall, and instantly felt dizzy and saw stars.

This was only because Hasegawa Izumi didn't launch a soul counterattack; otherwise, she could have directly turned this Yokai, who had the intelligence of a 10-year-old, into an idiot.

"Ugh..."

The fox shook its head, and its demonic energy suddenly erupted as if in response to a stress reaction, letting out a low growl as if issuing a warning.

"Is it just my imagination?"

What appeared to be a dangerous prelude to an attack somehow gave Isayama Yomichi, who was watching the battle, the impression that it was all bark and no bite.

She had already deeply experienced the Yokai's power, and it was clear that the beast's threat would increase even further after it was injured.

"Hasegawa, you're at a huge disadvantage without a weapon. Use my 'Lion King'!"

Without a second thought, she raised her hand and tossed the treasured sword, which had already recognized her as its master, over without a doubt that the other party had the ability and qualifications to control the Lion King.

Moreover, given the opponent's swordsmanship, which surpasses that of Busujima Senpai, it is entirely applicable.

However, Hasegawa Izumi stood still, not moving an inch.

"Huh!?"

Isayama Yomichi was stunned, watching as the precious sword, which countless people in the family coveted, lay on the ground like trash.

"No need. I have already reached the point where everything in heaven and earth can be a sword. It is not qualified to amplify my sword power."

Hasegawa Izumi slightly raised her hand in a gesture of acknowledgment, seemingly unconcerned.

The sword named "Lion King" had developed a sword spirit, and in the eyes of outsiders it could be considered a first-rate peerless sword, but in his eyes it was still too weak.

Even for him at this stage, it would be difficult to encounter a weapon of that standard unless he crafted it himself, but since he didn't have that need, he had been putting it off.

After all, this world hasn't reached its limit yet. It's like playing a game; the sword you can use right now might soon be obsolete.

Unless it's Divine Artifact like the "Blade of the Shattered Mind".

At the same time, the demon fox, whose demonic energy had exploded, seemed to have entered the second stage. With the surge of Blood Qi, its whole body seemed to have transformed into a wild wolf several sizes larger. Its body was dark red, with prominent veins bulging out, and its previously broken claws had also grown back.

"Activate your life force? Looks like you're planning to fight to the death. Strange, is this judgment based on your animalistic instincts?"

Hasegawa Izumi was slightly surprised.

"Roar!"

The fox demon seemed to have lost its mind, consumed by murderous intent, wanting only to tear the flesh of the person before it and drink their blood.

In a flash, it appeared in front of him, opened its mouth, but bit empty air.

A graceful figure appeared behind them.

The fox demon realized what was happening, turned around to bite again, and then missed its target once more.

"Of all martial arts techniques, none are invincible except speed... Your speed is fast, but not fast enough."

Its figure shifted several times in the blink of an eye, but no matter how frantically it went, it could never keep up with the pace of the person in front of it.

Each time, Hasegawa Izumi would appear behind it like a shadow and calmly deliver a whole speech.

"Is that all? Then let's end it here."

Hasegawa Izumi landed lightly on her feet, turned around, and made a sword-finger gesture with her right hand, facing him directly for the first time.

Two different pairs of eyes looked at each other with different attitudes.

The next second, the man and the fox passed each other.

The fox demon's head flew high into the air, its eyes fixed on that unreachable figure before blurring into nothingness.

"Thud."

The hideous fox's head fell to the ground.

The spirit sword that Hasegawa Izumi's right-hand sword finger extended outwards vanished like fleeting light and foam in the blink of an eye.

"Wow... that's amazing! Is this how you condense spiritual energy into a sword? This is the first time I've ever seen anything like it... Could that Sword Saint even do that?"

Isayama Yomichi was completely captivated by his swordsmanship, even forgetting to pick up his own sword, his eyes filled with hope.

Although it was only a fleeting glimpse, making it difficult to discern the other party's true strength, such a display alone was enough to dazzle a swordsman and inspire the thought of 'wanting to learn swordsmanship from this person'.

However, the girl forcefully stopped herself from having such unrealistic plans.

"Um?"

Suddenly she noticed that the other person's expression was a little strange.

Is the battle not over yet?

The girl's expression immediately became wary.

"So that's how it is, there's a mastermind behind all this?"

Hasegawa Izumi glanced back.

He had just sensed that when the fox spirit died, its soul did not immediately dissipate, but instead gave him a hateful look before flying away into the distance.

This is clearly not a normal situation.

But this only brought a cold, yet pleased smile to his face.

As the saying goes, "One should take from those who are poor to give to those who are rich."

Although he found it shameful, accumulating power by committing acts of killing was indeed an effective method, and the other party also tried to reduce the resentment of the deceased by using intermediaries.

Therefore, it can be inferred that the person behind this must have accumulated extraordinary power during this period, and may even have already become the most powerful in this world.

However, the other party remained unknown, clearly possessing wisdom and feeling that the time was not yet right.