The President of the Remnant Star Society

"Tengshe!"

At the sight of this inexplicable stranger, Mo Bai didn't hesitate. He summoned a new Fused Shikigami.

[Tengshe]

Like the Feathered Serpent before it, Tengshe was fused from the Great Serpent and Nue.

Unlike the Feathered Serpent, Tengshe lacked Nue's ability to ride the wind and its agility. Instead, it could unleash lightning.

Crackle!

Lightning wrapped around Tengshe's massive body as it charged at the eerie figure before them.

Boom!

Tengshe's enormous body slammed down with devastating force.

A winding trench tore through the grassland, and the plants along its edges were burned to charcoal by the lightning.

"Must you be so rough? Aren't you worried about hurting innocent bystanders?" the aged voice continued.

Mo Bai looked closely and found the man standing calmly beside Tengshe.

He seemed to regard it as no threat at all.

"I don't think the President of the Remnant Star Society counts as innocent."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As soon as Mo Bai spoke, Tengshe swung its huge tail at the old man.

"Oh? Has that identity of mine become so well known?"

Clang!

As they spoke, the old man Mo Bai had called the President of the Remnant Star Society raised his cane. Despite his unimposing frame, he somehow held his ground against the massive Tengshe.

It was the Rover who had told Mo Bai who the man was.

The Rover had naturally shared everything he knew about such a dangerous organization with his friend, who knew so little about this world.

"Hiss!"

Furious that such a tiny creature had blocked its attack, Tengshe erupted with lightning.

Boom!

"Mm! You're fairly strong."

The President grunted as the lightning struck him. Then he put more strength into his cane and somehow hurled the enormous Tengshe into the air.

Before Tengshe hit the ground, Mo Bai recalled it.

"Hmm. Dogs, snakes... A summoning ability, like that Demon Hunter's?"

After their brief exchange, the President rested a hand on his chin, apparently analyzing Mo Bai's abilities.

That gesture told Mo Bai the man hadn't been taking the fight seriously.

His purpose was probably the same as his subordinates': to test Mo Bai's abilities.

The President of the Remnant Star Society came to test me in person? I didn't know I was worth that much...

Despite the thought, Mo Bai didn't let his guard down for a moment.

If the man wanted information about his abilities, then Mo Bai should, by all rights, keep as many cards hidden as possible.

No. If I do that, I'll probably take my Cursed Technique secrets with me when I meet that Goddess.

If he wanted to live, he had to go all out.

Thud!

With that thought, Mo Bai gripped his Swift Blade and charged the President himself.

"Oh? I'm a little surprised, but you're not the first summoner to charge at me in person."

As he spoke, the President raised his cane again.

Clang!

The blades met. The man was still fighting Mo Bai with nothing but his own strength.

Could the President of the Remnant Star Society really have such limited means of attack?

Mo Bai recalled what the Rover had told him about the Remnant Star Society.

"Thousand Faces and Hundred Forms. That's the ability the President has shown so far. He's an obsessive role-player, and he always stays true to the personality of the character he's playing."

So he's holding back because going all out wouldn't fit the character he's playing?

Why does that sound like a children's game...?

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Mo Bai kept thinking as he traded blows with the President at close range.

The man was immensely strong. Even with a blackstone weapon and Animal-Form Fist to imitate the Divine Dogs' attacks, Mo Bai was gradually losing ground.

Tch. My conversion rate is too low...

He was slow to reinforce his body with Cursed Energy, and some of that energy went to waste in the process.

"Hmm. You look like you're running out of strength."

Bang!

As he spoke, the President put a sudden burst of force behind his cane and struck Mo Bai in the chest.

"Pfft!"

Sent flying, Mo Bai could only marvel again at the man's strength.

"Toad from the Bottomless Well."

In the end, it took a Shikigami to stop his momentum.

But that did little to help. He could see the President of the Remnant Star Society walking slowly toward him.

Tch. My luck really never is very good.

He'd planned to clear out the small fry who showed up, then go back to taming a few more Shikigami. So much for that...

Whenever he set out to help someone or clear out some minions, he somehow ended up fighting the final boss.

Mo Bai shook off the stray thoughts and focused on the approaching President.

The man was certainly committed to his role. He really did look like a ferryman about to lead someone into the Underworld.

What am I supposed to do against an enemy like this...?

Domain Expansion? Barrier Technique is too hard...

"Tch. I'm going to die if this keeps up. Who cares if it's hard? I have to take the chance..."

Clap!

Mo Bai pressed his hands together.

As for using his simplest last-resort move to blow himself up along with his opponent?

Sorry, but he preferred staying alive.

If he had a button in front of him with two choices—"sacrifice yourself to save everyone" and "sacrifice everyone so only you survive"—

He would choose the latter without hesitation.

To Mo Bai, leaving a name in history meant nothing. Only the good things he could experience while alive were real.

So even if his chance of survival was only one percent, he would fight with everything he had for it.

"Domain Expansion!"

Once Mo Bai had completed the hand sign and gathered his Cursed Energy, a vast shadow spread outward from him and engulfed the President of the Remnant Star Society.

"Chimera Shadow Garden!"

At his shout, a length of stark-white human spine appeared behind him, followed by all manner of strange bones that looked as though they belonged to animals.

Clack, clack!

When the bones finished assembling, Mo Bai's Domain Expansion was complete.