20: man-eating demons

Lin Luo glanced at Kirisu Mafuyu, who was struggling to maintain her composure beside him—her collar was slightly askew, and her steps were unsteady, like a cat barely managing to stand firm. That ring had not only controlled her but had also secretly drained a significant amount of her essence.

"Come on, I'll take you home." He naturally supported her arm. "I'm skipping the afternoon classes."

Kirisu Mafuyu wanted to protest, but a wave of dizziness hit her, forcing her to lean on him to stay upright. "But the excuse for the leave..."

"Isn't that simple?" Lin Luo pulled out his phone and waved it, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "'The respected Teacher Kirisu suddenly felt unwell, and a helpful student representative escorted her to the hospital'—since you're the one who approves the leave notes anyway, isn't this a perfect closed loop?"

She couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, her fingertips unconsciously clutching his sleeve. "You're such a wicked guy..."

"This is called reasonable use of the rules." Lin Luo carefully supported her. "But Teacher, were you secretly cursing me in your heart just now?"

"I'm the one approving the leave note right now..." She looked up and glared at him, but because of her weakness, it looked more like she was acting spoiled. "If you're smart, you'll say less..."

Sunlight danced across their touching shoulders through the gaps in the leaves. Mafuyu quietly breathed in his fresh scent, suddenly wishing this walk would last a bit longer. When his finger accidentally brushed against the tip of her ear, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

Lin Luo skillfully drove Kirisu Mafuyu's white sedan back to the apartment complex and turned to look at the pale-faced Kirisu Mafuyu in the passenger seat. "I have a Spirit Gathering Array in my room; you'll recover faster there than if you go back to your own place."

Kirisu Mafuyu indeed felt completely drained at the moment, so she let him make the arrangements. When she lay down on Lin Luo's tidy bed, the light scent of sunshine lingered at the tip of her nose, making her feel unexpectedly at ease. Before she knew it, she had drifted into a deep sleep.

After an unknown amount of time, she felt someone gently waking her. Opening her eyes, she saw Lin Luo holding a glass of pale yellow liquid that looked like lemon juice but emitted a strange, delicate fragrance.

"Drink this," he said, handing the glass to her. "It'll make you feel better."

Kirisu Mafuyu took small sips, the sweet and refreshing taste dissolving on her tongue, followed by a warm current spreading from her stomach to her limbs. Her exhausted body felt as if it were being lifted by gentle clouds, and every cell seemed to be cheering with joy. She unconsciously curled her lips into a faint smile.

"What is this?" she asked softly, her voice carrying a satisfied laziness.

"Just some juice squeezed from Spirit Fruits," Lin Luo said as he took the empty glass. "Fortunately, it was only a loss of essence this time and didn't damage your foundation."

The two chatted casually about things in the inner world. In truth, Lin Luo had only recently achieved his Awakening and hadn't seen much firsthand; most of his knowledge was just reciting from books. As they talked, Mafuyu's voice grew softer, and her head began to nod against the pillow—the potency of the Spirit Fruit had sent her back to dreamland.

Lin Luo gently tucked her in, smiling slightly as he watched her sleeping profile. Outside the window, the twilight deepened, and in a certain young man's bedroom, a sweet, lemon-scented dream began to unfold.

As the last ray of twilight sank below the city skyline, the ink-black darkness quickly spread. When Lin Luo turned into the alley, the streetlights happened to flicker on one by one, casting dim yellow patches of light onto the damp asphalt.

He didn't stop his pace, his expression remaining normal, though his nostrils flared imperceptibly.

The wind carried the scent of iron and a certain... sweet stench of rot.

It's nearby, he thought.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a dull thud echoed from above, accompanied by the rustling of brick and stone debris. A dark figure, like a puppet with its strings cut, crashed heavily onto the ground a few steps in front of him, kicking up dust that swirled in the dim light.

It was a youth, looking a bit younger than himself.

He was currently soaked in dark red blood, his shredded clothes clinging to his mangled flesh. He still gripped a sword tightly in his hand, but the blade was already pitted and ruined, as if it had been corroded by strong acid, leaving only a broken remnant.

A weak groan escaped the person's throat, accompanied by bloody foam. He struggled to lift his head, his unfocused gaze meeting Lin Luo's. His lips moved, seemingly trying to issue a warning.

Lin Luo stood in place, his gaze passing over the dying man on the ground to look into the deeper shadows of the alley, where the sweet stench of rot was so thick it was almost palpable.

"The smell of rot can be caught from far away," Lin Luo said unhurriedly, his tone as flat as if he were commenting on the weather. "You move quite fast."

As if in response to his words, the light at the alley entrance distorted slightly.

He was tall and thin, his skin a grayish-white that looked as if it hadn't seen the sun in ages, as if he had been lurking in the subterranean underworld for years. His originally noble robes had been torn in several places by sharp blades and were stained with blood, yet strangely, there wasn't a single wound on the body beneath the clothes.

His black hair fell over his forehead, the ends split into four short braids, each tip dyed a striking orange like unextinguished embers. On his forehead and temples, faint blue veins wound and coiled like mysterious runes or curses, exuding an ancient and cold aura.

Most chilling were his eyes—the irises were as clear as the deep sea but glowed with a cold blue light. While the right eye appeared normal, the center of the blue iris in the left eye was clearly etched with two ancient, seal-like kanji characters:

Lower Six.

It just stood there without moving, yet a cold, viscous atmosphere had already spread out like invisible tentacles, wrapping around every inch of air in the alley, causing the temperature to drop abruptly.

The moment the heavily injured man on the ground saw it, his body convulsed violently, and the last bit of light in his eyes was completely swallowed by despair.

Lin Luo slowly turned around to face the uninvited guest. The darkness deep in the alley and the faint glow from the entrance carved a line between light and shadow on his face. He looked at those blood-colored eyes engraved with "Lower Six," his face expressionless as he gently flexed his wrist.

"What kind of thing are you? Exactly what did you eat to make you stink so much!" Lin Luo looked at it with disgust, his brow furrowed; that thick, sweet stench of rot was indeed nauseating.

The "Lower Six" monster paused abruptly, its blood-colored eyes flickering as it bared its sharp, white teeth—at that moment, its grayish-white fingers were stained with fresh, viscous red. It was blood, the life essence that had splattered from the wounds of the now silent young pursuer lying at Lin Luo's feet.

Right in front of Lin Luo, it brought its blood-stained fingers to its nose and took a deep sniff, a twisted expression of near-ecstasy appearing on its face. Then, it stuck out a long, dark-colored tongue and slowly and carefully licked the blood from its fingertips as if tasting a delicacy.

The movement carried a sort of profane elegance while being filled with primitive, bestial greed.

The sound of sucking echoed softly in the deathly silent alley, making one's skin crawl.

"Cough... cough-cough!"

A series of violent, bloody coughs sounded from beside Lin Luo's feet. The youth, who should have been unable to move due to his heavy injuries and blood loss, somehow burst forth with an incredible strength, using that broken blade to prop himself up and stagger to his feet!

His body was like a flickering candle in the wind, every breath pulling at the wounds covering his body and bringing heart-wrenching pain that twisted his entire face. Yet he stubbornly moved step by step, finally stumbling to block the path between Lin Luo and the monster, using his broken body to build a fragile barrier.

With his back to Lin Luo, his voice was intermittent due to pain and extreme weakness, yet it carried an unquestionable resolve:

"He... he is a 'Demon'! A man-eating demon... and one of the 'Lower Moon' among them!" The youth almost roared the title, his tone filled with bone-deep fear and hatred. "Run! I... I should be able to block him once more! Just run!"

He intended to use his remaining life as the price to secure a slim chance of survival for this stranger who had wandered into this death trap.

This sudden turn of events made the "Lower Six" monster—or rather, the "Lower Moon" demon—pause slightly. A flash of rage at being provoked by an ant crossed its blood-colored eyes, but it was mostly replaced by a cat-and-mouse sort of playfulness. It seemed to enjoy the sight of prey struggling in despair.

Lin Luo looked at the trembling yet firm back blocking him, a faint flash of complex emotion crossing his eyes. There was surprise, and perhaps even a hint of... imperceptible helplessness?

He didn't move, and he didn't even look at the demon poised to strike. Instead, his gaze fell on the almost completely ruined broken blade in the youth's hand, and the several deep-to-the-bone wounds on his back that were still slowly seeping blood.

"Lower Moon..." Lin Luo repeated the title in a low voice, as if confirming something. Then, he let out a soft sigh. It wasn't loud, but it reached the youth's ears clearly:

"Commendable courage."

Then, he made a move that neither the youth nor the demon expected.

Lin Luo reached out, not to touch the youth, but simply pressed his hand through the air, gently hovering it over the youth's wrist which was trembling violently from exhaustion and tension.

A gentle yet irresistible force was transmitted. It wasn't an attack but carried a strange sense of comfort, instantly smoothing the tremors in the youth's arm and even seeming to calm the roiling blood and Qi within his body.

"But," Lin Luo's voice remained calm, carrying a power that put one at ease, "who told you that I need protection?"

Lin Luo's actions stunned the youth. He could clearly feel that gentle yet majestic power flowing into his body through the other's palm, even temporarily suppressing his severe injuries. This was definitely not something an ordinary Martial Artist could achieve!

"The opponent isn't human," the youth couldn't help but warn urgently, his voice still weak but gaining a bit more vitality.

The demon opposite them took in the scene, the playfulness in its blood-colored eyes receding slightly, replaced by a playful smile mixed with surprise and greed.

"Interesting... it seems you're not an ordinary person." Its voice was raspy and harsh, like grinding gravel. "In that case, remember this great one's name—lower rank six · Kamanue! It is your honor to become the nourishment for this great one to restore my strength!"

The moment the name "Kamanue" was spoken, the black mist surrounding it suddenly boiled! Its figure vanished into thin air like a ghost—not a residual shadow from high-speed movement, but truly merging into the surrounding shadows!