“The civilian camp! Anyone with movement arts, go!”

Yoshika didn’t wait for a response, flooding her meridians with Lightning essence and unleashing the full power of Jia’s Lightning God Transformation. To her surprise the technique came to her nearly as easily as it did to Jia, even without her affinity.

With her body empowered, she became a living lightning bolt, surging forward with each stride as her technique carried her across the landscape. It was an incredible waste of essence to use the ultimate form of Jia’s martial art just for movement. Even Lightspeed Traversal would have been more efficient—not to mention faster—but that technique was impossible without Jia’s Lightning affinity or the uniquely altered physique to support it.

Her haste wasn’t just a matter of panic. Though they were already close, having been positioned to protect the support corps in the first place, Yu Meiren was shockingly fast, and Yoshika wasn’t sure she’d be able to intercept her in time, or what she’d even accomplish if she did.

In the moments before her arrival, Yoshika spared a thought for her suddenly expanded domain. She had no idea how it had happened, or what it meant, but she was at least able to understand one aspect—what the demon Fan Zhu had suppressed wasn’t her domain, but her avatar’s connection to it. Even with her soul projected into the avatar, Li Meili’s body was the true source of her domain.

All too quickly, her target came into view. Yu Meiren flew through the air with grim purpose, headed straight for Yoshika’s camp. Without a second to spare, Yoshika launched herself at the demoness, only for her attack—her strongest attack, barring Eui’s most dangerous techniques—to be effortlessly deflected by an invisible barrier.

She crashed to the ground just outside the campsite—far too close for comfort. She could sense her family within. The noise had startled Jung, and Pan Jiaying was already moving to investigate.

In a moment of desperation, Yoshika hit Pan Jiaying with a flood of raw emotion—communicating like a spirit in the hopes that she would understand. Pan Jiaying paused at the edge of her tent, then moved even faster.

To Yoshika’s relief, however, she’d changed trajectory. Instead of investigating the sound of her clash, she was rushing over to Jung and Narae.

Meanwhile Yu Meiren landed in front of Yoshika as she picked herself up off the ground. The demoness was exactly as Yoshika remembered.

Corpse-like skin with a sickly white pallor, so inhumanly smooth that it made her look more like a porcelain doll than a human. Long, straight hair the color of emeralds, with a matching core nestled into the center of her collarbone. She dressed in the most gaudy outfit Yoshika had ever seen, flaunting her uncanny appearance. The loose robes failed to hide her missing arm.

Yu Meiren’s violet eyes settled on Yoshika with a look of utter contempt.

“You. How are you doing this? Explain your technique before I kill you, and tell me who else can perform it.”

Yoshika narrowed her eyes.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Tch, whatever. All I have to do is kill you.”

Before the demon could take a step, Hayakawa Kaede appeared next to Yu Meiren, a crater forming beneath her feet as she swung her sword with the weight of a mountain behind her. The strike shattered Yu Meiren’s magical barrier, but was slowed enough for the demon to pull back and evade.

At the same time, a flash of perfect black heralded the arrival of Hyeong Daesung, glowing talismans spinning around him as he cast an array of advanced attack spells in rapid succession.

Yu Meiren was assaulted by a lance of Void essence devouring the very air it passed through, a miniscule point of Force launched with enough energy that the ground exploded wherever it touched, and even a complicated mixture of Mud and Gravity that tried to drag her into an instant pit of quicksand and slow her movements.

None of it struck true. Yu Meiren turned into a thin purple mist and reformed a safe distance away as the destructive spells detonated where she had just been standing. She shook her head and tutted.

“You children should know when you’re outmatched. You think I’m just some layabout that can be challenged by a backwater world like this? I’m divine! I was born with more power than you mortals could ever comprehend. You might think yourselves talented, but where I come from even the common beggars would take pity on you.”

Yoshika eyed the woman warily. She wasn’t making any moves to attack, but there was no question that she was dangerous.

“If our world is so weak, then what happened to your arm?”

Yu Meiren grimaced, gripping the stump of her left shoulder.

“Tch, that moron, Dasheng. If he hadn’t tried fighting that accursed woman alone I would never have been injured. However, she was an anomaly—you are the same scared little children that needed her protection, and she’s not here to save you now.”

Kaede gritted her teeth.

“So you remember us.”

“Don’t flatter yourself. I keep track of all the pieces on the board—down to the most worthless of pawns.”

“Miyata Toshiharu, Ozaki Keiji, Tokuda Ryo—the men you murdered in cold blood. My subordinates. In honor of their sacrifices, I will see them avenged today.”

The demoness scoffed.

“Who? Kid, if you wanted revenge, you should have waited at least another few thousand years. But if you’re in that much of a hurry to join your friends, I’ll be happy to oblige.”

“I may not be able to slay you alone, but I’m not the same woman I was then, and I’m not alone.”

Yu Meiren snorted.

“You three think you’re enough to take me on? I’d be insulted, but it’s honestly just too pathetic. Your other friends aren’t coming either, so you can stop trying to stall whenever you like.”

Yoshika frowned, trying to narrow her senses down to her friends. Rika was carrying Eunae to the support headquarters to have their injuries treated, while the rest had been waylaid by a group of demons following Fan Zhu’s assault.

Kaede didn’t back down from Yu Meiren’s condescending smirk.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re enough.”

Yu Meiren laughed so hard she doubled over, taking a moment to wipe her eyes and compose herself.

“Oh, that’s too funny. You really think you matter? I don’t even need to fight you. I only came to remove this strange wild card before finishing off this sorry excuse for a siege.”

Hayakawa narrowed her eyes.

“Then it will be your last mistake.”

She charged forward, supported by Yoshika and Dae. Kaede was fast, and she’d already proven that her offensive power was enough to break through Yu Meiren’s defenses, but the demoness effortlessly shrugged off their attacks, turning into that purple mist and reforming elsewhere with a yawn.

“Really? Alright, now I really am feeling insulted. I think I’ll make sure you all suffer a bit before ending this.”

The trio stood together as they faced Yu Meiren, preparing themselves for her reprisal, but to their surprise she just stood there tapping her chin thoughtfully.

“Let’s see...what are the best handles to use against you three?”

The demoness smirked and held up a finger.

“Ah! Now I remember. Miyata was the sniveling little coward that tried to sell out the dao companion pair. Did you know that he loved you?”

Kaede blinked, then furrowed her brows.

“What?”

“His soul was hardly a snack, but his feelings were pretty clear. That boy was head over heels. It must have been rather bittersweet knowing that giving his life to protect you earned him nothing but contempt.”

“Do you think I’m going to be swayed by your mind games?”

Yu Meiren cocked her head and snorted, putting a hand on her hip as she shifted her attention to Dae.

“For you...hm, it’s hard to come up with anything. I mean—you’re barely even a person. I suppose your master didn’t have time to dispose of his soul jars before fleeing the continent—lucky you!”

Yoshika had no idea what she was talking about, but it obviously meant something to Dae. His face went completely pale. Then the demon’s glowing violet eyes fell on Yoshika.

“Then there’s you. You’re an easy one—so full of attachments. I can feel it in your domain—you’ve built your entire cultivation on them. What a moron! It’s hard to even choose!”

She started counting off on her fingers.

“I think I’ll kill the girlfriend first. That little confession scene was so cute! What a beautiful tragedy it would be for her to die before you could return her feelings.”

Yoshika shifted slightly, trying to place herself between Meiren and the camp.

“Don’t you dare!”

The demoness chuckled.

“Pfft, what, are you going to stop me? The little one after that—slowly, while her mother watches. Then I’m torn—I can sense a connection between mommy dearest and the bitch who took my arm. I’d like to have her take her own life after watching her daughter go, but she’d make for such a good weapon. Oh! Maybe I can try getting her to demonize then feed her the little one’s soul! A long shot, but well worth the effort.”

“You’re sick! We won’t let you get anywhere near them!”

“Oh, it’s far too late for that, I’m actually looking forward to it now. I’ll give you an offer, though—if you tell me how your domain managed to pierce the shield, I’ll kill you before I torture your family to death. Promise!”

Yoshika felt nauseous looking at Yu Meiren’s sickly sweet smile. Even if Yu Meiren had promised to spare her family, she knew better than to trust the demon’s word. She’d seen what had become of Miyata Toshiharu after he tried to surrender.

She searched her domain frantically, trying to find an answer—a way out of the impossible situation before her. They’d been prepared to face a xiantian foe, but they’d barely held their own against Fan Zhu with three times the numbers. Now it was just three of them and Yu Meiren was far stronger than the other demon had been.

Despite her newly expanded domain, she didn’t feel any stronger. She was the same as she had been, just with increased awareness of how outmatched she was. Jia and Eui felt closer, somehow, but still impossibly far away—she couldn’t rely on their strength.

Pan Jiaying was right. She wasn’t them. She couldn’t be—

“Yoshika...”

Li Meili looked up with a start at Hayakawa Kaede, who still held her blade in firm opposition to the demon before them. She hadn’t given up. There was no time for heartfelt speeches or words of encouragement. Only the strength of her resolve, the determination in her eyes, and two words that carried more gravity than any of Kaede’s techniques.

“Trust me.”

From anyone else, it would have felt like a platitude—an empty attempt at support in the face of death. But trust had a different meaning to Hayakawa Kaede. Her faith was not given lightly, yet Meili had been taking it for granted. Kaede hadn’t shown her an ounce of distrust since her arrival—not even questioning it when she introduced herself as Yoshika without Lee Jia or An Eui present.

Now she asked for trust in return. Their relationship had always been difficult. Complicated and distant, even as Kaede gradually became more open. While she offered a great deal of support to Yoshika, she made it clear that she expected support in return. She was a woman of great ambition, and she saw Yoshika as a path to realizing it.

But there was none of that in her words. Those two simple words that carried the weight of years, cutting through the veil of distrust and wariness and closing the once-insurmountable gulf between them. An honest appeal—a hand stretched out across that gap, prepared to make the leap if only Yoshika would join her.

Yu Meiren yawned.

“Alright, that’s it—time’s up. This is going to be fun!”

Yoshika acted on instinct. She reached out and took Kaede’s hand, figuratively and literally. She felt the other girl’s ki flooding into her and made no effort to stop it, suppressing her body’s natural rejection as she responded in kind.

Time slowed to a halt. With two pairs of eyes, she focused intently on the enemy before her and lifted her blade.

She would earn the trust she was given.