Chapter 24 Superpowered Beings vs. Fallen Witchers 2
The neighborhood was now quiet and still, dark clouds obscuring the moonlight and plunging the surroundings into even deeper darkness. The streetlights, as if about to malfunction, nervously flickered, then suddenly snapped and went out completely. A gentle breeze rustled through the green belt, making the trees and bushes whisper in the breeze.
In this seemingly prophetic situation, a darkness, even more intense than the night itself, emerged from the bushes.
It was a very eerie shadow. At first glance, I thought it was stagnant water and tried to walk around it. But the shadow moved as if it were alive, blocking my way. I then realized something was wrong and immediately stopped in my tracks.
What's this?
Having experienced even more unbelievable things before, my consciousness is still temporarily detached from the state of mind I'm facing. The old me would have been utterly shocked, but now, even seeing such bizarre scenes, I'm only somewhat surprised. Now, I can accept any change, no matter how inconceivable.
This mysterious shadow was definitely coming for me, and the changes clearly weren't going to stop there. From that shadow, reminiscent of puddles, suddenly emerged an incredibly thick arm. As if struggling to reach the shore from a lake, the arm slammed down, bracing itself against the ground beside it. This single movement shattered the concrete, the hand sinking deep into it.
The owner of the arm then pulled the rest of his body parts out of the ground: head, another arm, torso, right leg, left leg... The newcomer quickly revealed his terrifying full body.
This was a demon with a black goat's head, seemingly straight out of an oil painting. Its nearly three-meter-long, naked body blocked my path, like an impenetrable wall of flesh. Its crimson skin and muscles seemed to pulsate with intense rage.
The demon's goat-like face was incredibly ferocious. When people think of sheep, many might imagine gentle white sheep, but among sheep, there are also adult Damascus goats with hideous and terrifying faces, and this demon before us was one such creature. Moreover, it had no lips, its teeth and gums were exposed, making it appear even more bloodthirsty and cruel.
“Zhuang Cheng.” It uttered a sharp, hoarse voice, as if scraping against a blackboard.
I couldn't help but focus all my attention on this terrifying monster.
You know my name?
Just from the way they made their entrance, it's clear that this is definitely not a prankster in a suit trying to scare passersby.
The demon didn't answer my question. Instead, it moved its protruding, sheep-like mouth and spoke to me in a cold tone that didn't match its ferocious appearance: "I'm here to take your life."
“Take my life…” I carefully examined its entire body. “Compared to that kind of thing, what kind of creature are you? Judging from your ability to speak human language, you should possess intelligence no less than that of humans…”
"I never imagined there were other races like you in this world. Are there others like you? What is the name of your race, and where do you mainly live?"
I know very well that asking these questions at this time is inappropriate, but I am genuinely interested in these inhuman intelligent beings. Following the cave in the fifteenth-floor room, these kinds of monsters have appeared again, and an unknown and magical adventure seems to be approaching me step by step.
At the same time, I wasn't entirely unprepared. This monster kept saying it was there to kill me, yet after revealing itself so openly, it started by talking to me. Was it planning to let me die knowing why, or was it deliberately standing in the open to attract my attention? I put my left hand behind my back and silently lit a "firefly."
With the help of the "fireflies," I can perceive my surroundings in a 360-degree field of vision. And now, I understand why it has appeared so openly before me. I see a shadow slowly approaching me from about ten meters behind me, like a venomous snake trying to ambush its prey.
Careful observation reveals that the shadow is connected to the demon's soles by thin, black lines. Under the cover of night, this is impossible for the human eye to detect.
Rather than resorting to a sneak attack with its massive body, it's better to use a feint... Is that its strategy?
Why would it need to use such a cautious strategy to deal with an "ordinary person" like me? Does it know I have superpowers?
Will that shadow suddenly turn into spikes and pierce me? Or will it transform into a swamp and drag me into another dimension? Or will it undergo an even more bizarre transformation?
I eagerly anticipated what might unfold and mentally planned my counterattack. Despite my calm demeanor, I still felt a considerable sense of crisis. Regardless of my own strength, the danger posed by these strange creatures seemed to disregard all power levels. The cave on the fifteenth floor had taught me a lesson.
But more intense than the sense of crisis is an incredible surge of emotion within me right now. Perhaps I'm about to engage in a life-or-death battle with an unknown enemy, something I've never experienced before in my life, and something I've always longed for.
Faced with my question, the demon seemed somewhat taken aback, then asked, "Aren't you... afraid of death?"
"How do you plan to kill me?" I feigned ignorance of the shadowy figure while asking curiously, "And to put it another way, why do you want to kill me? Have we met somewhere before?"
Upon hearing this, the demon uttered a voice filled with intense resentment: "Perhaps you've completely forgotten about it, but I've never forgotten for a moment what you did to me two years ago..."
"I'm sorry, I really can't remember. Could you please describe it in more detail?" I was puzzled. "When exactly, where, and what did I do to you?"
I don’t recall ever doing anything to any non-human being that would provoke such hatred in the past. Besides, this is the first time I’ve ever seen an intelligent being other than humans.
I'm more inclined to believe it came because of the incident on the fifteenth floor, and this idea can be corroborated from a probability perspective.
I've never seen anything like it before, but today I've encountered two strange things at the same time. One is the "cave" from before, and the other is the "demon" before me. To say that they are unrelated coincidences would be too far-fetched. It's more reasonable to assume that there is a connection between them.
Caves, ritual arrays, fallen demon hunters… the clues I'd gathered during the day surfaced in my mind like they'd been pulled from a drawer. A doubt crept into my mind—was this "demon" that spoke human language truly a non-human race?
Could it actually be a human, or more specifically, a so-called Fallen Witcher in disguise? Or perhaps a monster summoned by a Fallen Witcher?
Speaking of "two years ago," one thing I remember doing was assisting authorities in eliminating a local feudal superstitious group based on clues from a missing child case and folk legends in another province. Could this demon be trying to claim that it is the leader of that cult, or someone connected to it?
But I remember that the cult leader was burned to death by his followers because he lost credibility. It couldn't be that he went to hell and was reincarnated as a demon to start a second life, could it? Besides, I didn't reveal my superpowers to anyone in that incident.
The "two years ago" mentioned by this demon is probably a smokescreen, designed to mislead my thinking.
"So many questions even on the verge of death! It seems you're no different from ordinary people after all, a fool numbed by peaceful life to the point of oblivion." The demon let out a vicious laugh. "This ends here. You won't even know why you lost..."
As it spoke, it lowered its center of gravity, and its voice suddenly became very loud: "—You'll die by my hand!"
As soon as it finished speaking, it charged at me with terrifying force. But knowing its plan, this long preparation before charging seemed rather blatant. It was clearly trying to draw my attention to itself, hence its earnestness. Its real killing move was a sneak attack from behind in the shadows.
As the opponent launched their attack, the flat shadow transformed into a three-dimensional blade, which swiftly thrust towards me from behind.
I extended my left hand, which had been hidden behind my back, and the "firefly" resting on my fingertip suddenly swelled up.
The "firefly" was essentially a small flame I summoned. At this moment, I added extra spiritual power to this flame as fuel. Like pouring a large amount of gasoline into a brazier, the "firefly" instantly transformed into a fireball.
The fireball exploded instantly, sending scorching, dazzling flames sweeping in all directions, simultaneously striking the demon in front and the shadows behind. The excessively bright light was enough to blind any ordinary witness.
Fortunately, there were no demons or witnesses other than myself, and I was not harmed by the flames or intense light. Both the flames themselves and the light and heat they emitted were essentially manifestations of my spiritual power. Therefore, unless I intended to harm myself, this power would have no effect on me.
Seemingly anticipating my counterattack, the demon immediately jumped back and retreated upon seeing the change in the situation, never entering the fire's range from the very beginning.
Then the shadow that had attacked me instantly crouched back to the ground, then leaped up to my left, transforming into a sharp blade once more from the blind spot untouched by the fire, and lunged at me with incredible speed. Although it was a shadow, the bright light seemed unable to dispel it—truly an amazing ability. With this thought in mind, I immediately dodged to the side.
Actually, given the speed of that thrust, I shouldn't have been able to dodge it. It was only because I noticed it in advance, and the opponent clearly hadn't anticipated that I had already detected the attack, that I actually managed to dodge it by sheer luck.
It wouldn't matter much if we just took that hit.
"—So it's a fire ability!"
The demon wasn't blinded by the bright light. It landed on the ground next to the streetlamp and let out a triumphant laugh: "You're finished, Zhuang Cheng... the next blow will kill you!"
As it was speaking, it reached out and grabbed the street lamp, actually pulling it directly out of the ground and then suddenly throwing it at me.
Keep in mind that it wasn't throwing a javelin, but an entire heavy street lamp, and the speed at which it was launched was exactly the same as an athlete throwing a javelin. This was no longer a weapon against people, but a siege weapon; the visual effect was so frightening that even I reflexively dodged again.
Before my raised foot could even touch the ground, and the streetlight had just brushed past my cheek, the demon had already charged towards me at an alarming speed.
At the same time, its arms changed shape, transforming from fleshy arms into white bone blades like a mantis, and its movement speed was much faster than before.
Judging from this stark contrast in behavior, it was likely that it was merely wary of my unknown power, which is why it employed a feint attack strategy; but now, it has completely secured its victory and is unleashing its power without reservation.
Its cruel face magnified in my vision, and I just stared at it.
Then, my gaze ignited its body.
(End of this chapter)
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