Desperate Situation

The demon crawled slowly from the ground.

Its head had been shattered by nearly half by Blood Thorns, a strike that would have hit the vital spot of any normal creature.

However, the demon was clearly not a normal life form.

As it rose, a large amount of pitch-black flesh continuously surged from the wound.

It was only at this moment that everyone realized that the flesh of this seemingly pale demon was actually pure black.

The churning flesh looked exceptionally eerie.

As the massive amount of black flesh and unknown substances gushed from the wound, the injury left by Kite was quickly repaired, though distinct marks still remained.

When it lifted its head again, the surrounding atmosphere shifted.

Malice!

Pure, unadulterated malice permeated the restaurant.

The three members of the Bureau felt as if a mountain had suddenly dropped onto their shoulders.

The invisible pressure made it difficult for them to move even a single step.

The demon ignored Jiang Xun and Old He, walking slowly toward Kite.

As it approached, the polluting power caused the girl’s body to tremble violently.

Yet, her face still held a stubborn expression.

Her whole body was shaking, but the hand gripping the pistol remained steady.

It was not until the demon was three or four meters away that a voice rang out.

“Fire!”

Jiang Xun’s voice erupted suddenly.

He had appeared behind the demon at some unknown point.

The flames on his body ignited once more, enveloping him as he transformed again into that several-meter-tall giant.

The fire giant grabbed the demon from behind, the flames entangling its body to briefly pin it in place.

At the same time, Kite pulled the trigger without hesitation.

A large amount of blood was absorbed by Blood Thorns, igniting all the patterns on its surface, finally unleashing a holy white bullet.

Boom!!

Due to the angle, the shot was aimed at the chest.

But just a second before impact, the pitch-black maw on the demon’s face suddenly erupted with a pale light.

The light expanded instantly.

Whether it was the holy white light of the bullet or the violent flames from Jiang Xun, everything was stripped away in an instant.

The energy flowed uncontrollably into that black, hollow void.

The bullet, stripped of its holy light, slammed into the demon’s chest, leaving only a minor scratch.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xun was thrown over the demon’s shoulder onto the floor.

Then, a spiked tail pierced directly through his lower abdomen!

It had not chosen the more fatal heart because these annoying ants had truly enraged it.

Its wrath needed to be vented slowly.

Splurt!

The spiked demonic tail pulled out of the youth’s abdomen, bringing a spray of blood with it.

Without a second glance, the demon kicked him away to the other side.

It then resumed its pace, walking slowly yet irresistibly toward the swaying Kite.

Kite gritted her teeth and took a step back.

The massive blood loss made her head feel incredibly heavy.

Her vision blurred, and she nearly collapsed onto the floor.

She forced herself to stand steady, wanting to fire a third shot, but she found she could not even lift her arm.

In fact, if it were not for the thorns still pierced into her flesh, she might not have even been able to hold the heavy pistol steady.

The demon drew closer and closer.

It was like a patient hunter, not in a hurry to strike, but enjoying the struggle and despair of its prey.

It would crush them bit by bit.

After they tasted the ultimate pain and despair, it would swallow them slowly, leaving not even a scrap behind.

The demon was enjoying this moment, and then… it saw the girl suddenly reveal a smile.

To be honest, it did not quite understand human emotions or expressions.

But at this moment, it clearly understood the mockery in her look.

The meaning was…

“Finally finished.”

What answered the demon was a series of roars.

Boom—!!

Deafening explosions rang out throughout the restaurant.

Bursting flames erupted almost simultaneously in four locations.

The explosions shattered the walls and ignited the floors and ceiling beams.

The entire restaurant shook violently.

Kite was also knocked to the floor by the shockwave.

The demon, meanwhile, was not particularly affected, but it ignored the human in front of it and looked at its surroundings.

The anomalous world was collapsing.

The Shadow Realm, which had been briefly maintained by its descent and influence, could finally hold no longer.

Finally, accompanied by a series of ear-piercing sounds like glass breaking, the overlapping spaces separated completely.

Inside the restaurant, the demon and the other three fell into the normal world.

The restaurant in the normal world looked almost identical to before.

Even the tables and chairs were in place; such was the characteristic of a Shadow Realm.

The Shadow Realm was a peculiar state of superimposition.

One could say it was in two worlds at once, or outside of both worlds at once.

Therefore, things that happened in the Shadow Realm might affect both worlds, or affect neither.

The most representative of the former was death.

A life lost in the Shadow Realm was truly dead and would not be resurrected when the realm ended.

The latter case was like the restaurant now.

The restaurant within the Shadow Realm had been completely destroyed, but the restaurant in reality was intact.

So, after emerging from the Shadow Realm, the environment looked exactly as it had in the morning.

But obviously, the current concern was not the environment.

It was how to survive the hands of an enraged demon and hold out until reinforcements arrived.

“Cough!”

Jiang Xun gritted his teeth and scrambled up from the ground.

His abdomen had just been pierced by the demon, and blood was flowing out continuously.

But he had no time to worry about that because the demon not far away had already turned its gaze toward him.

In the next second, a terrifying shockwave overturned the entire restaurant.

The youth who had just stood up and Kite on the other side were blown away simultaneously.

Old He, further away, was not spared either; he was sent flying and slammed heavily against the back wall.

The demon floated into the air within the shockwave.

First, it let out a shriek that could almost pierce human eardrums.

Then, the sense of pressure it radiated began to rise rapidly.

It had not become weaker after leaving the Shadow Realm.

On the contrary, because it no longer needed to worry about accidentally destroying that fragile environment, it could finally reveal its true strength.

Its pale body became stronger and taller.

Amidst the tearing of flesh, two bat-like black wings extended from its back.

Beneath its primary arms, two new arms grew out quickly.

The terrifying pressure made Jiang Xun, who had been blown to the floor, unable to get up for a moment.

He forced himself to look up and saw Kite had hit a pillar after being blown away.

She lay motionless, her condition unknown.

Old He on the other side was slightly better off, but the demon’s shriek made his vision go dark.

For a time, he also could not stand.

One whose life or death was uncertain, one heavily injured, and one with low combat power.

The opponent was an Elite Demon revealing its true strength.

What was the probability of surviving in this situation?

Jiang Xun calculated in his heart and then realized there was no need to calculate at all.

No matter how he did the math, the answer was zero.

Certain death.

Unless strong reinforcements from the Bureau arrived in the next second, they would all die.

No one would be spared.

What should he do?

The youth took a deep breath and looked at the demon as it landed back on the floor.

He knew he was in a dead end.

“Must I use that?”

He whispered to himself, the hesitation deep in his eyes replaced by determination.

Using that would still likely lead to death, but not using it meant certain death.

So…

“There is no other choice.”

Lifting his head again, Jiang Xun clutched his wound and struggled to climb up from the ground.

However, the Elite Demon that had landed did not pay him any attention.

Instead, it walked toward the unconscious Kite on the other side.

The youth did not stop it, and he had no way to stop it.

He simply took another deep breath and closed his eyes.

In the next second, when those eyes opened again, his pupils had suddenly turned into golden vertical slits.

The eyes, like those of a dragon from myths, opened only a sliver, yet they caused the demon to stop in its tracks.

Then—the demon and Jiang Xun looked toward the entrance of the restaurant simultaneously.

A girl in a maid outfit walked in slowly.

Her condition did not look good; her face was unnaturally flushed.

Her body trembled slightly, and she seemed ready to collapse with every step.

“A succubus?”