Chapter 26 Superpowered Beings vs. Fallen Witchers 4

The battle that occurred earlier inside the residential area was extremely loud, with shockwaves from my flames and the demon pulling out and projecting streetlights. In terms of decibel levels per incident, even ordinary construction work wouldn't disturb residents to this extent.

As a result, not long after, some residents in the surrounding residential buildings began to look out from their balconies and windows.

To avoid being stopped, I hurriedly left the residential area.

Meanwhile, I am also closely monitoring the demon's movements a kilometer away.

After diving into the river, the demon quickly noticed the abnormality on its body. Just like the underwater burning phenomenon demonstrated in a high school chemistry class, the flames engulfing its body never went out.

The terrifying goat's face instantly contorted with utter terror and despair, and, writhing in hellish burning agony, it vomited a series of frantic bubbles. Then, it struggled to crawl from the river to the deserted bank, letting out another heart-wrenching scream.

It was clear it desperately wanted to do something, but didn't know how. It escaped my sight and even burrowed into the water, but that couldn't extinguish the flames. It couldn't even think calmly; the burning pain was probably boiling its brains.

Its only escape route now is the cave in the fifteenth-floor room. Going down into the cave would sever my connection with the flames. But it seems it didn't consider this, or perhaps it's unaware of how the cave opens or its special properties?

After howling for a moment, it finally regained some of its senses and sped off again in a direction away from the neighborhood.

That's an incredibly resilient body and an incredibly tenacious will to survive. A normal person burned to that extent would have had all their mental energy exhausted, although I've never actually experienced that myself.

To be honest, my expectations for the actual level this demon demonstrated were somewhat disappointed.

From the start of the battle until now, all it has shown me are physical attacks. Even the shadow attack just now—despite its visually mysterious and unpredictable power, it ultimately transformed into a physical blade to attack me. Isn't this kind of usage a bit too boring? Aren't there any other more bizarre skills?

Could it be that everyone in that world fights like it? Or is it just a low-level minion?

Judging from its current decisions, it seems to be doubting that it's far enough away from me, which is why it's continuing to get burned. Although it wouldn't make a difference even if it escaped to the other side of the ocean, I still need to retrieve it later, so I can't let it get too far away.

I stopped for a moment, raised my right palm towards the distance of a kilometer away, and then clenched it tightly.

The flames enveloping its entire body, especially the flames on the outside of its legs, suddenly seemed to come alive under my control, rushing into its muscles.

With a loud bang, its legs exploded on the spot, and its body, unable to brake in time, crashed into the woods by the roadside due to inertia, rolling a long distance before finally coming to a stop.

It pressed its hands against the leaf-strewn, muddy ground to support itself. Because it had no intention of harming the surrounding environment, even though it was engulfed in flames and fell onto a patch of flammable material, the flames showed no sign of spreading. It looked back at its exploded, broken legs and suddenly let out a hysterical laugh.

"Zhuang Cheng, are you watching me?!" It raised its head and howled madly at the empty night sky, "If you have the guts... if you have the guts, then give me a quick death! Kill me!"

“That won’t do.” Although I knew it couldn’t hear me, I still replied from a kilometer away, “You still have a use.”

A moment later, I arrived at the forest where the demon was.

It lay motionless on the ground, its body charred black like embers still burning. It appeared dead, but I knew it was still alive. After all, aside from its legs, I had only allowed the flames to damage its skin and muscles, deliberately avoiding reaching its internal organs. I could even feel its consciously suppressed breathing through the flames.

Perhaps it had been burned so badly that most of its pain receptors had died. I'd previously done some research online out of curiosity (let's not discuss why I looked up that kind of information), and because human pain receptors are mainly distributed in the epidermis and dermis, the depth of a burn and the intensity of pain aren't necessarily proportional; some severely burned patients might not even feel much pain. I wonder if this monster's physiological structure is similar to that of a human in this respect.

“You’re still conscious,” I said, speaking first. “I have some questions for you. If you’re willing to answer, I can hold off on burning you for now.”

The demon did not respond. I took a few more steps forward. When the distance between us was only four or five meters, it suddenly braced itself on the ground with its arms, sprang up, and flew towards me.

"Zhuang Cheng—!!" It roared with hatred from its severely burned throat, a sound so murky that I could barely make out the words.

It seemed this was its last stand. Since it was expected, I wasn't surprised. However, what happened next greatly exceeded my expectations.

Just as I was about to retaliate, a white light shot out from behind me, grazed past me, and struck the demon's torso directly. The demon was sent flying like a ball being powerfully shot by an athlete, then crashed into a tree not far away, bending it askew.

This time, it seems the demon wasn't just acting, but had genuinely lost consciousness.

Who made this?

I immediately turned around and looked over.

On the other side of the woods, a figure holding a sharp sword slowly walked over.

Dark clouds drifted across the night sky, finally revealing the moon. Moonlight then poured into the bamboo grove, illuminating the figure's face.

It turned out to be a figure dressed like an ancient swordsman, wearing a brown-black raincoat and a matching bamboo hat, carrying a black and red scabbard. He held a long sword in his hand, the tip pointing diagonally at the ground, maintaining a tense and ready-to-strike demeanor.

Judging from how this person just stepped in to help, they shouldn't be an enemy. To be honest, I think it was unnecessary, but the feeling of being helped by a mysterious figure is quite novel, and I can't bring myself to have a negative opinion. However, even if I judge that the other person isn't an enemy, they might not think so. Perhaps I should introduce myself first to show that I have no hostile intentions.

"Hello," I said first, "I'm Zhuang..."

Suddenly, the other person seemed to recognize my face and exclaimed, "Zhuang Cheng?"

It was a young woman's voice, and it sounded familiar.

"You recognize me?" I asked, surprised. "Who are you?"

The other person hesitated for a moment, then raised his hand, took off his straw hat, and revealed his true face.

Upon seeing this, I was even more surprised, even shocked. The emotional turmoil I felt when I first saw the demon was nothing compared to this. The true identity revealed was someone I knew.

In my memory, that face always appeared obedient and gentle, reminiscent of a stream, a clear spring, or a misty lake, as delicate as an ink painting. In most cases, it would try its best to avoid potential conflicts in interpersonal relationships.

Now, the other party's appearance remains unchanged, but his temperament is completely different. He is like a majestic swordsman who will always face any conflict with a straightforward and heroic attitude.

“…Zhu Shi?” I read her name aloud.

The visitor was none other than Chang'an's younger sister, Zhu Shi.

"What did you do...?" She looked at me hesitantly, then at the fallen demon not far away, her voice filled with disbelief, "...Did you defeat this?"

"No, this is what you just knocked down, isn't it?"

I know what she meant; she just wanted to buy me a little time to calm my inner turmoil.

“I mean, all these burns that have accumulated on his body…” At first, her tone was somewhat unacceptable.

But gradually, she regained her spirits, and her tone became much calmer: "—Did you do all of this?"

Her way of speaking was completely different from the Zhu Shi I remembered; even her tone of voice was different. Compared to that, her previous tone seemed somewhat feigned. Perhaps what she's showing now is her true personality.

I've mostly calmed down now, and as I analyze her current state, I affirm, "It's me."

She observed me for a moment, then sheathed her sword on her back and tentatively asked, "Are you a Witcher too?"

“Huh?...I don’t do that kind of job,” I replied. “If I had to say, I’d say I’m a superhuman.”

“That makes them witchers too,” she actually said.

Is that so? This isn't the first time I've heard the term "Witcher." It should be a profession, right? Can someone who doesn't work in that profession but simply possesses extraordinary power be called a "Witcher"? I find this somewhat incongruous, and the word "Witcher" evokes certain associations.

No wonder I felt that Zhu Shi's voice sounded familiar. It was exactly the same voice as the witcher woman who spoke to Detective Kong on the phone during the day.

Zhu Shi is that witch hunter woman!

Shocked, I immediately realized a problem—

The female demon hunter, Zhu Shi, is affiliated with Luo Shan, which is likely an official supernatural organization. Does that mean I'll have a hard time monopolizing that demon now?

Is there any way to snatch that demon back...? No, that's shortsighted. Official supernatural organizations are already showing their true colors before me, and I'm still preoccupied with some unknown demon. Wouldn't it be better to just go directly to them if I want to know anything about this strange world?

It just so happens that Zhu Shi is my friend's sister. With this connection, I can only say that it was heaven's help!

I immediately focused all my attention on Zhu Shi.

“I forgot to reintroduce myself. I’m a demon hunter from Luoshan, responsible for security in this area.” Zhu Shi spoke in a very formal tone. “I have many questions I’d like to ask you about your defeat of the fallen demon hunter. Is now a convenient time for you?”

(End of this chapter)