On the scorched earth, still steaming with heat.
Luo Shu sat beside Abe no Seimei's corpse, watching as the body began crumbling like porcelain.
Just then, a playful voice sounded softly behind him:
"How does it feel to defeat Nue, our dear hero~?"
Luo Shu turned his head to see Kurumi Tokisaki and Lacus approaching side by side, responding impassively:
"More tedious than I imagined."
"Oh?" Kurumi looked surprised.
Luo Shu then glanced back at Nue and said:
"Normally, even with Concept Entanglement, Nue's body shouldn't have crumbled like this."
"But he chose to reconstruct his body using the darkness of human hearts."
"Tch. While this method does break free from some limitations of flesh and allows greater power output, the trade-off is increased vulnerability to conceptual attacks."
Hearing this, Lacus gave Nue's remains a thoughtful look before smiling wryly at Luo Shu:
"So you're saying you didn't get to enjoy the fight?"
"Not exactly. An enemy is best dealt with quickly after all."
Luo Shu shook his head before pausing briefly: "Still, it's a bit disappointing to gain new power but lack a worthy opponent to test it against."
Kurumi gave him a strange look:
"You actually considered Nue an opponent?"
As the SDS's only current Demigod, Kurumi knew exactly how many preparations Luo Shu had made to counter Nue and any potential forces lurking behind him.
Two strategic magicians with Demigod Rank attack techniques were deployed.
Not only that, Luo Shu had Lacus contact the Asakura family, who then sent Anna Kyōyama, accompanied by the Witch of the Void, Natsuki Minamiya. He also called in a Demigod like herself for backup and was prepared to spend system points at any moment to enable the SDS America headquarters' foundational Abyss Artefact to launch a cross-border strike.
With such preparations in place, Kurumi Tokisaki truly hadn't expected Luo Shu to genuinely regard Nue as a worthy opponent.
From her perspective, it seemed more like Luo Shu was plotting to scheme Nue to death while incidentally trapping Hao Asakura in the process.
Yet, Luo Shu's current attitude appeared somewhat different from what she'd imagined?
Facing Kurumi Tokisaki's peculiar expression, Luo Shu didn't answer directly but instead asked:
"Did you see Hao Asakura?"
"Yes, it was indeed him standing behind Nue."
Lacus nodded and added:
"In the end, I chose not to engage. After all, trying to keep him there would inevitably result in casualties."
"Without a life-or-death conflict, paying such a price simply wasn't necessary."
While they had successfully encircled Hao Asakura, no one was confident or experienced enough to kill a Demigod.
Moreover, with the strategic objective—Luo Shu's promotion—already achieved, Lacus naturally had no desire to expend her own or her comrades' lives to deal with Hao Asakura.
Hearing this, Luo Shu showed approval:
"As expected, sending you to intercept Hao Asakura was indeed the optimal choice."
Sending Meer and Kirika Tachibana would have been insufficient in combat power—simply a wasted effort.
As for sending only Kurumi Tokisaki... well, it wasn't that Luo Shu looked down on her, but her combat experience was truly lacking.
In the Dream Simulation Chamber, she could barely hold her own against basic-mode replicas. Her grasp of Concept Entanglement with her Demigod abilities was rudimentary, and her space-time powers came with numerous limitations.
Though Kurumi Tokisaki was a Demigod, in reality, she wasn't much stronger than Luo Shu, who had just been promoted to Hero Rank.
Calling her a subpar Demigod wouldn't be an exaggeration.
Against Hao Asakura—a Great Onmyoji who had climbed from the bottom to become a Demigod, endured a millennium of harsh training in Hell, and pioneered his own Class—she would have been utterly outmatched.
Kurumi Tokisaki could bully those below Demigod Rank by relying on the Authority-based lethality of Concept Entanglement, but against peers, her combat prowess was genuinely lacking.
Hearing Luo Shu's words, Kurumi Tokisaki couldn't help but feel somewhat frustrated:
"So, Luo Shu, you knew from the start that Hao wasn't an ordinary Demigod? That's why you only asked us to intercept him and prevent him from interfering with your ritual?"
Facing this question, Luo Shu nodded straightforwardly:
"Correct."
"I knew from the beginning that you couldn't kill Hao Asakura. As for him not being an ordinary Demigod, I had some suspicions."
"Actually, it's simple."
"The fact that he created the Shaman Class and even guided Nue on how to ascend to Demigod Rank—these two points alone made it obvious."
Though he wanted to say a house cat could never match a lion, out of consideration for Kurumi Tokisaki's pride, Luo Shu held back and instead explained:
"Just in case, worried that Hao Asakura might make a move against you, I prepared a hidden countermeasure against Hao. Though it seems now that it wasn't needed."
"A hidden countermeasure?" Lacus looked surprised. "Luo Shu, do you know Hao's weakness?"
Hearing this, Luo Shu glanced at Lacus and curled his lips slightly:
"Do you think I'd have you call Anna Kyōyama for no reason?"
Lacus appeared startled. "Does the Asakura family still possess the means to oppose Hao Asakura?"
Luo Shu shook his head. "You guessed wrong. It's not the Asakura family—what matters is Anna Kyōyama herself."
Lacus and Kurumi Tokisaki exchanged glances. They'd both seen Anna Kyōyama and Hao Asakura before, but they genuinely hadn't noticed any particular advantage Anna held over him.
Seeing their confusion, Luo Shu chuckled and explained:
"Don't bother guessing. In fact, even Anna Kyōyama herself doesn't know she can counter Hao Asakura."
"As for this method of countering... currently, only Hao himself and I know about it."
Hearing this, Kurumi Tokisaki was momentarily stunned:
"Only you and Hao know of a method to restrain him? What is it?"
Truthfully, Kurumi wanted to ask Luo Shu how he knew Hao Asakura so well, but considering it might be private, she restrained herself from probing further.
"Since you're all so curious, I might as well explain."
Luo Shu glanced at Kurumi with a mischievous grin before continuing:
"Anna Kyōyama, as the shrine maiden of Mount Kōya, possesses the ability to summon spirit bodies from Hell for possession."
"The method to restrain Hao Asakura is derived from this foundation."
Lacus looked shocked: "Could Anna Kyōyama summon an existence from Hell stronger than Hao himself?"
"That's impossible. The summoned spirit body can't exceed Anna's own capabilities by much."
Luo Shu shook his head, then said teasingly:
"But to defeat Hao, strength isn't necessary - just the right identity will suffice."
"Identity?" Kurumi blinked, her face full of curiosity: "Someone could defeat that Hao Asakura just by identity?"
"Of course!" Luo Shu's expression turned playful: "For example, Hao's mother, Asanoha."
"Though just an ordinary woman without any combat ability, if Anna summoned her spirit body, do you really think Hao would dare lift a hand against her?"
"That was the woman who single-handedly raised him through the turbulent Heian period."
At these words, both Lacus and Kurumi found themselves speechless.
A single mother raising a child alone during ancient chaotic times - one could imagine the weight of such maternal devotion.
Faced with Asanoha, Hao probably wouldn't dare act recklessly. If she tried to slap him, he likely wouldn't even dare dodge.
This wasn't about power suppression, but bloodline suppression.
'Though... calling the opponent's parent to fight when you can't win yourself...'
Thinking this, Lacus sighed, both amused and resigned:
"That's so typical of your methods."
"Indeed," Kurumi completely agreed.
Achieving maximum results with minimal, perfectly targeted methods - this was probably Luo Shu's favourite approach.
"You two..."
Luo Shu gave them a strange look, unable to tell whether they were mocking or complimenting him.
"Whatever. Do as you please."
"Let's prepare to clean up the battlefield. If we don't handle this properly, tomorrow's international headlines will be about Nijo Castle being reduced to ruins by a meteor impact."
Hearing this, Lacus immediately took out her communication device without question, arranging personnel for cleanup operations.
Meanwhile, Luo Shu found himself with some free time. After brief consideration, he headed straight for a pre-prepared safe house.