No one understood the mysteries of the world and space better than Lancer; after all, he was a person who had experienced several world travels. In his view, the ability to open holes in space at will was an extremely broken ability. At the very least, in Lancer memory, even if Li Shuwen's attacks could shatter space, it was only that final strike.
Anyone with common sense could see the difference between shattering it with a full-power blow and opening holes at will. So, was the gap between them really that large?
Lancer only felt a sense of threat from her, not a sense of despair. Therefore, he made a "deduction."
Perhaps her ability wasn't as broken as he imagined. Those strange cracks might just be a trick she achieved through her specific ability.
What do you do if you can't get out of a maze?
Just break the wall.
Since he couldn't deal with the rifts in space, he would deal with the thing creating the rifts!
However, Lancer also knew the limitations of his own power in this regard, so he had already prepared something to break the deadlock.
[Yasakani no Magatama (Replica)]
While she wasn't paying attention, he had secretly taken the Magatama hanging from his neck. As he approached those "rifts," he unhesitatingly crushed the Magatama in his right palm.
Crack~
Accompanied by a nearly inaudible sound, a terrifying flame was instantly ignited. Even the ice created by the Rune script couldn't withstand this terrifying high temperature. However, perhaps due to the effect of the replica Magatama, he found that he could temporarily manipulate these flames; otherwise, he might have been burned directly.
Initially, the terrifying flames were red, but as they burned, they gradually turned white, and finally blue.
The blue flames looked incredibly eerie, but Lancer knew exactly how terrifying the roaring fire on his right hand was. Under the temperature of several thousand degrees, he even felt his skin screaming; even the frost he produced couldn't cool him down.
'If this continues, I'll probably be roasted alive.'
Because of this, he decided to settle it quickly. Even if his guess was correct, if she wanted to flee, he had no way of restricting her.
From the beginning, he only had one chance!
But—that was enough!
Because what he was best at was seizing that fleeting opportunity!
With a standard straight punch, his right fist instantly struck the edges of those strange rifts his blood aura had detected. Throughout the process, his eyes were fixed on his right fist. Even as the air distorted from the heat, his gaze didn't waver. When his right fist made contact with the rift, sparks ignited instantly, and the space rift distorted until it vanished. A flash of excitement crossed Lancer eyes.
'It worked!'
No matter how much he planned, everything was an unknown until success was declared. But now, he had succeeded!
There was no sound, only the simple disappearance of the distorted space. Lancer even saw the wide-eyed panic of the previously confident "Youkai Sage."
But his movements didn't stop for an instant.
His right fist aimed for her face, but it stopped just before impact. Simultaneously, his left hand followed up, grabbing her collar and violently dragging her out of the gap.
The previously elegant and confident Youkai Sage was now lying on the ground in a somewhat disheveled state, her clothes messy.
"Now... it's my turn to ask the questions."
Looking into those eyes that held no superfluous emotion, Yukari Yakumo was stunned. She hadn't expected to fail, and so decisively at that.
However, she quickly calmed down. She had noticed the white smoke rising from Lancer and his hair, which was curling slightly under the heat of the flames.
Perhaps noticing her gaze, Lancer gave a cold smile.
"I have some bad news for you. My right hand can only hold out for about another minute..."
This is bad news?
"Now, I will ask, and you will answer. If you cannot satisfy me within this minute, I will take you down before these flames go out!"
Her ability was too strange and broken. This time, he wasn't joking. If she couldn't convince him, he would have to use "physical" means to eliminate the threat.
Under normal circumstances, Lancer was a very easygoing person. But once his bottom line was touched, he would become a different person altogether. That bottom line was actually very clear: his own safety and the safety of those he cared about.
Undoubtedly, this "Youkai Sage" had triggered both. With her ability, once she escaped, it would be nearly impossible to catch her again. After all, she had only dared to manifest before Lancer because she had underestimated his strength. After this failure, even if she moved against him again, she would never be discovered.
The reason he hadn't killed her directly was that Lancer wanted to know how she knew his identity. Did she discover it herself? How? Did anyone else know?
These were questions Lancer was extremely concerned about.
"How did you know my identity?"
This was Lancer first question, as it was his greatest concern. If he had shown some weakness, he might show it again in the future. Lancer question made Yukari eyes light up; if she had only suspected before, Lancer question was an admission. But quickly, her eyes dimmed. The roles of attacker and defender had swapped; what did it matter if she knew?
"Because of my ability. I can perceive a subtle disharmony between you and others."
Because of her special ability? So it's a personal reason? That's a relief.
Lancer felt a secret sigh of relief, but he didn't relax his expression at all. Instead, he became even more serious.
"Does anyone besides you know my identity?"
"No."
"Finally—become my Shikigami."
This time, Yukari didn't answer immediately. Setting aside the fact that there had never been a record of a Great Youkai becoming a Shikigami, if she did so, she would go down in history as the "first Great Youkai to become a Shikigami." Moreover, becoming a Shikigami meant losing all ability to resist, which was unacceptable to her. As the Youkai Sage, she had seen many wretched people and what they did after obtaining beautiful female Shikigami. This man before her was the "Red Oni"; even if he hadn't done anything while she watched him, carrying a young girl around as a weapon was enough to prove his perversion...