Chapter 263: Explosive Combustion Demon

Those arrogant words rang in his ears.

"If someone tries to use moral blackmail to make you hesitate, don't worry about anything else. Just do everything in your power to kill that bastard. Casualties and responsibility are on me."

"Because once they realize the Sixth Division can be threatened, can compromise and yield, can be bullied and pushed around, then they'll only keep pushing further and further, growing bolder and bolder, and in the end, the ordinary people who die will be far more than you can imagine."

"The only way to deal with people like that is to kill them. If you can't kill them, let others do it. If no one else can, then I'll do it myself. But under no circumstances can they be left alive."

Yan Jing had always found the words of the modern era's strongest to be quite reasonable.

And besides...

At this moment, the man's figure was reflected in his highly reflective glasses, his expression projecting false bravado while looking utterly pathetic.

Clearly, even though he had been holding his own moments ago, the side effects of the P Agent he had injected were now beginning to surface. His curse power had plummeted to a low point, on the verge of dropping out of the second Energy Level entirely.

Meanwhile, Yan Jing still had plenty of curse power to spare.

Killing the man now was the best course of action.

If he timed it right, a single strike should be enough to finish him off.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, the Blue-Haired Man's killing intent and curse power locked onto the middle-aged man, a blue glow beginning to swirl around the blade in his hand.

Blue curse power, gentle as rippling water yet harboring a terrifying sharpness, gathered on the wooden sword.

And it was this very opening movement that snapped the last thread of the arsonist's sanity.

Because he knew that if he dared to turn and flee, or began to weave a spell, he would die the instant he moved.

But if he waited for his curse power to weaken and fall out of the second Energy Level, he would die just the same.

"...You forced me to do this!!"

The middle-aged man roared like he had completely lost his mind, his hand plunging into his chest and pulling out a fist-sized cube that seemed to be made of glass.

At the center of that fully sealed cube, a cluster of scarlet flames danced silently.

No aura leaked from it at all.

Yet a certain instinctive sense of danger surged through Yan Jing's heart, causing his pupils to sharply contract. Without a moment's hesitation or further charging, he swung his blade.

The next instant.

A blade of blue light, condensed to its absolute peak, moving faster than the speed of sound yet eerily silent without any explosive sound, shot forth from his wooden sword.

And at the same moment.

Click.

The arsonist crushed the glass cube without a second thought.

The scarlet flame, freed from its binding, seemed to have found the perfect kindling. In an instant, it melted into his flesh and blood through his fingertips.

Thud!

A strange muffled sound.

The blue blade light struck the arsonist, blood spraying in all directions.

Yet strangely enough...

The slash didn't pass cleanly through his body. Instead, the man's body was like it had been hit head-on by a high-speed train, sent flying like a cannonball.

The feel was wrong!

The next instant, the Blue-Haired Man's eyes widened as he immediately realized what had happened.

It was curse power body protection!

At the critical moment, a sudden surge of massive curse power had reinforced the man's body, blocking what should have been a killing blow.

Without a moment's thought, Yan Jing's figure turned into a blur as he gave chase.

The tremendous force slammed the arsonist into the wall of a shop across the commercial district, thick dust billowing out.

The sound and commotion drew the attention of the surrounding civilians, causing many to stop in their tracks.

Yan Jing didn't hesitate at all.

Before the dust even settled, he had already planted a foot in front of the shop, the wooden sword engraved with the character "Lake" already gathering power once more, ready for his next strike!

But the next moment—

Whoosh!

Flames as scarlet as blood, radiating terrifying heat, seeped out from the dust, condensing into the shape of a massive hand that reached for the Blue-Haired sorcerer's head.

The Blue-Haired sorcerer instantly retreated to dodge the attack, his wooden sword swinging on reflex to slash at the massive hand, cutting it apart into dissipating sparks of fire.

Yet the searing sensation told him that his curse power was being scorched.

His eyes sharpened. "!"

The next moment, the dispersing dust revealed the arsonist's figure.

This middle-aged man who had been fleeing the entire time, who had appeared utterly pathetic, now seemed to completely ignore the wounds that cut to the bone on his body. A bizarre arc curled at the corners of his mouth, his eyes brimming with an indescribable madness.

Boom—

Blazing light burst forth from his seven orifices, igniting his entire being from the inside out.

In that instant, under everyone's watchful eyes, the air around the middle-aged man was violently sucked inward, producing a terrifying explosive combustion. He transformed into a blazing fireman, the surrounding air severely warping and distorting under the intense heat.

And Yan Jing could feel it even more clearly: the curse power within the man was surging upward at a heart-stopping pace, forcibly leaping to a level comparable to a standard first-grade sorcerer.

Second Energy Level, mid-phase!

Manifestation? Contract? Soul possession?

His glasses suddenly flickered as he recognized the source of that familiar feeling.

It was a demon.

This was more than just simple initial demonization.

The man's soul had already been completely overtaken by a demon.

Demons, so-called, refer to negative energy beings that follow some mysterious rule of the world, born from negative emotions toward certain things, possessing their own spells.

Almost all demons are chaotic and unpredictable in nature. Their true bodies are born on the other side of the world, yet they all possess the instinct to interfere with the real world and expand their influence.

So then...

In order to interfere with the material world, demons either have to find a way to enter with their true bodies, or they have to act through a vessel.

That vessel could be an object, or it could be various low-intelligence creatures, but a demon's favorite vessel will always be one thing.

That is, a sorcerer who possesses a similar spell, whose soul and physical body are far stronger than ordinary people, and who naturally carries curse power.

And right now, it had already succeeded.

As his body continued to burn in the flames, the arsonist's head, whose features were no longer distinguishable, let out a piercing, manic laugh.

"Hahahaha! I'm out! I'm out again!"

The voice didn't sound like it came from human vocal cords, carrying a thick sense of otherness.

Yet the surrounding civilians still didn't realize the severity of the situation. Some of the bolder ones even pulled out their phones.

"Oh my god, are they filming a movie here?"

"The special effects are way too realistic. He's actually on fire!"

"Where's the camera..."

But Yan Jing had no time to evacuate the crowd, nor to use his cursed tool to activate the barrier that keeps bystanders away. He quickly raised his hand to press the miniature communication device hidden on his chest and said in a low voice:

"This is Yan Jing. Currently encountering the wanted individual, the Arsonist, on Zhuli Street in the East District."

"The target has established a connection with a demon through a medium, no longer retaining his sanity. High probability of being possessed by a demon."

"Based on curse power characteristics, this demon is highly likely to be a clone of the Explosive Combustion Demon in containment. Requesting support from second-grade sorcerers and above!"