The demon walked toward them with slow, deliberate steps. Some of the students were already lying on the ground, too injured to move. Bo Hai, Leo, and Sai were still standing, though barely able to fight anymore. Only Li Kun remained on his feet, unsure what to do against such a monster.
Emma was on the verge of losing consciousness — she had absorbed an enormous amount of demonic energy, and even staying awake was a struggle.
"Damn it… I can barely stand…" Sai muttered, staring at the demon. In his eyes, there was deep regret — regret that he couldn't protect his friends.
"Same here…" Leo exhaled.
Bo Hai had spent nearly all his strength controlling the divine spear. He only had enough energy left to retreat.
Lao Wei looked around at everyone and thought grimly, This is the end…
The demon came within five meters and spoke in a deep, rumbling voice:
"You will die here and now."
As he spoke, he pointed a finger at them. A small sphere of condensed energy formed before him — smaller than his previous attacks, but far denser.
"Demonic Blas—"
He didn't get to finish. A powerful blow from the side cut him off — Xing appeared out of nowhere and struck the demon with full force. The impact sent the creature flying more than twenty meters away.
David rushed over to Emma. Through the bandages, he could sense her condition and thought,
Her energy is unstable… like some foreign power is trying to break free. Could this be her ability — something like energy absorption? If that's the case, maybe I can draw out the excess energy…
He placed his hand on her abdomen and focused. Within seconds, streams of demonic energy began flowing out of her body.
Leo, watching this, sighed in relief. "Nice, David…"
Li Kun turned to Xing and asked,
"Can we count on you to handle this demon? Will you and David be able to take him down?"
Xing smirked and replied,
"My brother and I fear nothing on this land — not death, not disease, not even the strongest of enemies. So take everyone and go."
"Brother? What the… fine, we'll talk later," Li Kun muttered in confusion.
He approached David and asked, "Are you done?"
"Yeah," David replied.
"Good. Then we're leaving."
David looked down at Emma.
"I've purged the demon's toxic energy. You can handle the rest yourself."
"Alright," Emma said softly.
Li Kun lifted Emma into his arms, helped Lao Wei up, and the whole group began to retreat.
"You sure you'll be fine?" Leo asked, glancing at David.
David only nodded.
Once everyone had retreated, the demon — the same one Xing had sent flying — reappeared before them.
"That was a good hit," the demon said calmly.
Xing frowned.
"Why do you talk like a human? And so naturally at that?"
"Hmph. Is that surprising? I am the superior form of life. My name is Astra."
"Hah! Giving yourself a name… and such a stupid one at that," Xing laughed.
"Yeah, gotta agree," David added.
"You're both annoying! Can we just start already?" the demon growled.
"You're right, no need to waste time. But first…" Xing turned to David. "I'm not going to fight alongside you."
"What?" the demon said in surprise.
"Brother, give me your sword," Xing said calmly.
David looked at him in confusion, but seeing the certainty in his brother's eyes, he handed the sword over without a word.
"What now?" David asked.
"Nothing special. You just need to enter the flow state. One single strike."
"What?" David frowned.
"You'll understand. Go — one strike, enter the flow," Xing said firmly.
Though unsure, David stepped forward.
The demon smirked.
"I gave you time to talk. But now, no more mercy."
Without a word, David dashed forward. In a second, he unleashed dozens of blows — to the head, the torso, the arms.
The demon didn't even flinch. Swiftly raising his hand, he countered with a strike of his own, but David dodged, twisted in the air, and kicked the demon in the head.
Yet something felt wrong — his attacks didn't seem to connect properly.
Pushing off the demon's body, David flipped back and landed heavily on the ground, breathing hard.
One strike… he thought.
He steadied his stance, focused, and the next moment — his body shot forward like lightning. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of the demon and struck. The impact was immense.
The hand that couldn't reach before now broke through completely — straight through the target.