Ryuu began to realize that the "secret realm" Roy brought her into was different from a Underground City.
She couldn't fight it the same way she fought in a Underground City.
"How do we kill it?" Ryuu asked.
Roy speculated, "It just has a special physique. Its true strength might be between LV.2 and LV.3, but Demons don't have magic stones. The way to kill a Demon is to cut off its head with the Nichirin Blade in that girl's hand, or expose it to sunlight."
"Expose it to sunlight…" Ryuu murmured to herself.
Seeing that Ryuu had her own ideas, Roy didn't interfere much. How could an LV.1 guide an LV.4? Was he supposed to micromanage like a principal?
That would be courting death!
Roy's mission was complete once he told Ryuu about Douma's intel, and he might as well fan the flames a bit.
Roy said, "Demons view humans as food. Their lifespan far exceeds that of humans. Don't let that young man's twenty-something appearance fool you; he has actually lived for hundreds of years. The number of humans he has eaten during that time is incalculable; there are at least tens of thousands of victims."
Ryuu's small face instantly darkened. Originally, to revive her companions, she had already made up her mind that even if Roy asked her to kill innocent people, she wouldn't hesitate.
Since the target was such a deranged, monstrous creature riddled with crimes, she would be even less merciful!
While Roy and Ryuu were conversing, the battle on the open ground entered a heated phase.
Butterfly Kanae didn't have the Demon Slayer's three-piece set; in a plain state, she was fighting Upper Rank Two, whose strength far surpassed that of a Hashira. If Douma hadn't wanted to eat her, she would have long since perished.
"Give up, you're not my opponent," Douma said with a chuckle, casually approaching Butterfly Kanae. A Hashira-level girl, her body perfectly trained, with tender, smooth flesh and an alluring scent.
He hadn't encountered such a thing many times in hundreds of years, so he was especially patient this time.
Butterfly Kanae was panting, and despite her severe injuries, there was not a trace of weakness or surrender on her face.
Just then, a golden figure emerged from the forest, attracting the attention of both sides.
"What is that?"
Douma and Butterfly Kanae simultaneously looked at the Elf Girl, whose attire was completely different from the Japanese style, with long golden hair and pointed ears.
That beautiful face made Douma slightly stunned; it was too perfect, even surpassing Butterfly Kanae.
Bang!
Ryuu propelled herself forward with her legs, shooting out like a rocket and charging towards Douma with incredible speed.
"So fast!" Douma was startled. Faster than Akaza? Was this girl's physique superior to an Upper Rank Demon?
"Interesting! Blood Demon Art: Wreath of Lotuses!"
A sinister smile played on Douma's lips. He waved his fan, and a large number of lotus-shaped ice crystals condensed into several ice vines entwined with ice lotuses, Pounce Ryuu like venomous snakes.
Bang! Bang!
Ryuu's face showed no change as she swung the wooden sword in her hand, easily shattering the ice vines.
Roy hid in the grass, observing the battle.
The wooden sword in Ryuu's hand seemed ordinary, but it was actually a rare, high-grade weapon.
Wooden Sword: Elf Light Stream!
Ryuu had obtained the branch of the Great Sacred Tree from her hometown, "Lumina Forest," from a secret Dark Faction stronghold before the Great Feud, and had it crafted into a high-grade weapon by the "Gubanyou Familia."
This wooden sword not only possessed powerful attack strength and tough texture, but also had the effect of amplifying "magic," a high affinity with Elves' magic power, and even the properties of a "magic wand."
"Blood Demon Art: Crystalline Divine Maidens!"
"Blood Demon Art: Crystal Child!"
Douma's eyes became increasingly fanatical. He rapidly waved the iron fans in both hands, activating his Blood Demon Art. Cold air permeated the area, ice lotuses emerged from the ground, forming maiden-shaped ice sculptures and small ice figures resembling Douma himself.
Dozens of ice sculptures charged towards Ryuu with great momentum.
Roy's pupils constricted. As expected of a Demon who had lived for hundreds of years, he certainly had some tricks. Could Ryuu handle it?
But the facts proved that Roy had underestimated the strength of a high-level Adventurer.
The Elf Girl surged forward, shattering all the ice sculptures she passed through. Her speed became faster and faster, like a hot knife through butter, as if nothing could impede her progress.
Gale Force: One of Ryuu's skills. When sprinting, her attack power increases with speed.
Ryuu, with the skill activated, was enveloped in a whirlwind. Her petite figure flashed past like a gust of wind.
In an instant, the ice sculptures created by Douma turned into a pile of shattered debris, with ice crystals scattering everywhere.
"Wonderful!"
Douma's greedy and evil gaze was fixed on the Elf Girl. Butterfly Kanae, whom he had previously cherished, could no longer attract his attention at all.
It was a scent he had never smelled before!
Roy silently watched Douma's self-destructive behavior. That utterly deranged appearance could probably only be rivaled by the gourmet in Tokyo Ghoul.
The Elf Girl's nature was to abhor evil. Douma's attitude of treating her as food made her even more furious, her eyes growing colder and utterly devoid of emotion.
Ryuu's indifferent voice rang out, "The forest canopy now far away, the infinite stars embedded in the endless night sky, respond to a fool like me, and once again bestow upon me the blessing of starlight, granting light and mercy to those who abandon you…"
Blood Demon Art: Winter Icicles!
Douma waved his iron fan, and ice mist gathered in the air, condensing into countless sharp icicles that fell like rain, covering an extremely wide area, making it impossible to evade!
"—Come, wandering wind, traveling wanderer!" Ryuu chanted, gripping her wooden sword with both hands and slashing at the void, the unleashed gale tearing through the icicles.
The barrage-like ice rain split to both sides.
Douma's Blood Demon Art, in front of LV.4 Ryuu, was like child's play. With a swing of her wooden sword, everything in front of her would be easily cut open.
"It's Parallel Chanting!" Roy muttered to himself.
When ordinary Adventurers mobilized their mental power to release magic, they could only stand still. If they mispronounced a single word, the magic might fail to cast, and they even needed several guards to protect them.
Only Adventurers with extremely strong talent could chant magic spells while moving.
This was a very advanced technique.
And the Elf Girl before them was likely one of the Adventurers most skilled in Parallel Chanting in all of Orario.
Ryuu simultaneously handled high-speed attacks, movement, evasion, defense, and chanting—five actions that would leave even a First-Class Adventurer dumbfounded.
Douma, being naturally unable to feel emotions, was not frightened by the powerful strength Ryuu displayed. Instead, it made him fall completely into a frenzy.
"Blood Demon Art: Freezing Fog: Sleeping Lotus Bodhisattva!"
The blood vessels on Douma's body burst, and blood mist permeated the air, then turned into cold air. Solid ice created a giant ice figure, shaped like a Bodhisattva with hands clasped together.
The Bodhisattva ice statue chopped down at Ryuu with a hand blade.
"—Soar through the sky, gallop through the wilderness, move at a speed surpassing all things! Conquer enemies with the radiance of the stars!" Ryuu's eyes were indifferent, her wooden sword pointing at the opponent from afar.
"Light Wind!"