Although Yang Qiu and the others had done well to limit the damage, the frenzied demons had still disrupted the peace in the Kasuga refugee camp. Between the demons being suppressed by their own allies and the uncertainty it had caused among the civilians, Yu Meiren had created an almost perfect stage on which to confront Yoshika.

It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but Yoshika knew she was at a disadvantage. The only silver lining was that Yu Meiren staying to fight meant that she knew it was the best opportunity she would get. The climate of the war was changing in Yoshika’s favor, and Yu Meiren wouldn’t get a better chance to strike.

Unfortunately for Yoshika, it was still a good chance.

Yu Meiren lunged forward, taking the initiative. Yoshika blocked the demon’s venomous claws with her blade and countered with a sweeping kick to Meiren’s side. The demoness turned to purple mist and flowed around the blow, laughing.

“This is just sad. Have you looked at yourself lately? Your soul is a fragile patchwork that looks ready to fall apart at the slightest touch! Are you even still a person, or just some weird vestige acting on pure instinct?”

“Rest assured, Yu Meiren, I’m still very much real and alive!”

“Hah! Not for long!”

She threw her hands forward and issued a toxic cloud from beneath her sleeves. Though Yoshika could have easily avoided it, the cloud threatened to spread through the camp, so she cast her own spell to disperse the cloud with a powerful gust of wind.

Yu Meiren snickered.

“Look at you, wasting power to protect a bunch of useless mortals. This is what happens when you rely on others to give you strength.”

Yoshika grimaced, taking to the air in order to direct Meiren away from the camp.

“I almost pity you. Whoever you used to be, I mourn whatever circumstances led you to become so twisted a creature. Nobody deserves that.”

“Tsk, save me your sympathy. Trust is a weakness—an opening for your enemies to take advantage of. In learning that, I found my path to power, and your path to annihilation!”

Yu Meiren abandoned her usual style of attacking from a distance while playfully dodging attacks with her infuriating Miasma technique, instead pressuring Yoshika with a constant barrage of large-scale attacks.

Yoshika flew straight into the path of a powerful spray of corrosive venom, redirecting it away from the camp. That gave Yu Meiren time to summon up another toxic cloud. Yoshika put a stop to that by blinking next to her with Lightspeed Traversal, forcing the demon to abort her spell and retreat. Even so, the remnants were dangerous enough that Yoshika had to take the time to scatter the Miasma, giving the demon time to prepare another assault.

It was all she could do to defend herself while also limiting the collateral damage. Yu Meiren went out of her way to force Yoshika into situations where she had to block attacks that would otherwise end up striking innocent civilians.

Yoshika did her best to lead the fight away from the camp, but Yu Meiren was working just as hard to bring it back. Neither were using sacred arts—Yoshika because she was too exhausted, and Yu Meiren because she knew that she would win the battle of attrition.

The Sovereign’s Tear gave Yoshika an unlimited supply of divine essence, but her ability to tap into that power was still too limited to account for how hard the fight was pushing her. She was flagging fast, and something needed to change before Yu Meiren found an opportunity to land a decisive blow.

As if sensing Yoshika’s desperation, Yu Meiren cackled gleefully.

“Are you finally starting to see the difference between real powers and pathetic parasites like you?”

Yoshika turned into a living bolt of lightning and slammed into Yu Meiren with a deafening roar of thunder. As usual, the demon transformed into purple mist and escaped before she could follow up a more substantial attack.

“I don’t want to hear it from someone whose power was stolen from other souls!”

“Hah! I take power from those too weak to deserve it, you beg to borrow the power of those stronger than you—we are not the same!”

Yu Meiren reformed on the ground, the vegetation around her withering and dying as she gathered her power for another assault. A bolt of iridescent plasma struck her from behind, interrupting the attack. She whirled around to spot Long Ruiling hurling attacks from a distance.

That distraction was just the opening Yoshika needed, and she couldn’t afford to waste it.

Sacred Art: Lightspeed Traversal

Empowered with divine essence, Yoshika appeared behind Yu Meiren with her blade already mid-swing as she channeled even more divine essence through it.

Sacred Art: Soul Severing Strike

The kamikiri blade readily accepted the essence of Ienaga Yumi’s signature technique. With blade and technique unified in purpose, their effects were multiplied together to create a uniquely dangerous attack.

Yu Meiren twisted out of the way and began to transform into mist, but her distraction cost her. Yoshika’s strike sent up a spray of red blood, and when the demoness reformed, her left arm was nearly severed—hanging on by a thread as she held it to her shoulder.

“Oh, you bitch! I just regenerated that!”

It was a lot less damage than Yoshika had been hoping for after committing so much to the attack, but she pressed the advantage, surging forward before Yu Meiren could try to take revenge on Ruiling for the interference.

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Yu Meiren retreated from Yoshika’s charge as ethereal tendrils emerged from her wound to hold the injured arm in place.

“You think a little graze like this is going to stop me? I’ll—”

One of Melati’s drones dove from the sky, piercing Meiren’s back with its stinger. The demon growled and with a pulse of Miasma essence, the drone disintegrated.

“I’m getting sick of these interrupt—!”

Another drone struck from the side, attempting to inject Meiren’s wound with venom. She tore off its head with her bare hands before it had a chance, shrieking in frustration.

“Fucking dao companions and hive monsters. You think having extra bodies makes you invincible, you little shits?!”

Yoshika felt the world shudder as Yu Meiren’s domain asserted its power. Her eyes widened and she looked up at the sky.

“Melati! Don’t—”

Her warning came too late. Meiren caught the next drone by the throat and held it up, staring into Melati’s eyes and ignoring the stinger repeatedly stabbing her.

Demonic Art: Heartrender

Melati’s struggles stopped in an instant. Yu Meiren tossed the dead drone aside and turned to Long Ruiling.

The dragon fiend watched in horror as the demon advanced, Melati’s dead drones raining down around them.

“No!”

Yoshika panicked. Meiren’s technique wouldn’t take long to kill off Melati’s entire hive. It would propagate through every single drone, find its way back to the queen, and even kill off any surviving eggs. There would be no chance of reincarnation if it was allowed to go unchecked.

But Meiren hadn’t held anything back. Countering that technique would take everything Yoshika had left, which would leave Ruiling undefended.

If she defended Ruiling, then Meiren’s technique would spread from Melati to her anyway.

If she attacked Yu Meiren, sacrificing both of her friends in the process, it would shatter her domain. The attack would be worthless by the time it landed.

It was over. She’d been outplayed. No matter which option Yoshika took, her friends would die—and she would swiftly follow. Which meant it didn’t matter which action she took.

She moved automatically. Drawing on every ounce of power she had left. She charged forward to intercept Meiren’s advance. At the same time, she sent her power through the connection she shared with Melati where it clashed against Yu Meiren’s technique, taking the brunt of it before it could spread any further.

Yoshika could feel the demonic art draining her essence with every step, but she ignored it to focus on stopping Meiren. She had no essence left to power any techniques, relying on the kamikiri’s enchantment and her physical strength to put pressure on the demoness.

It wasn’t enough, Yu Meiren avoided Yoshika’s attacks with contemptuous ease and continued her advance. She didn’t even bother countering—confident that Yoshika had been defeated.

“What a precious last stand. I hope you realize that your choice was meaningless. Once I’m finished with you and the dragon, I’ll finish off that wasp myself. I want you to die knowing just how futile your struggles are. Knowing that your precious friends were the cause of your downfall.”

Yu Meiren turned away from Yoshika to face Long Ruiling, who was rooted to the spot as Meiren’s domain clutched at the fear in her heart.

“And you! Don’t think that death will be the end for you, insolent little brat. I’m going to savor your soul nice and slow.”

She thrust a clawed hand towards Ruiling’s neck, only to be interrupted by Sukarto. The chimeral fiend leapt across a huge distance, attacking with his foreclaws even as he stabbed at the demon with his spear.

The attack was fruitless. Yu Meiren slapped his spear aside, and his claws failed to find purchase on her skin. She threw him to the ground with a sickening crunch and sneered down at him.

“Another one?! How many of you weaklings do I have to kill before you realize that this bitch isn’t worth dying for?”

Sukarto coughed up a mouthful of blood, struggling to get back on all four legs before settling for smirking up at her.

“I’m not the one you need to worry about. Sorry we were late.”

Meiren rolled her eyes and whirled back around to deliver her finishing blow on Long Ruiling. Jin Hu stood in the way, catching her arm in one hand.

“Indeed. I’m not sure whether you or our lady is more reckless. Both are so eager to dive into each other’s traps.”

“Who the fuck are you?!”

Meiren struggled to escape Jin Hu’s grasp, but he stood perfectly straight as he effortlessly restrained her.

“Nobody you need to concern yourself with, demon. It’s over.”

Yoshika plunged the godslaying blade into Yu Meiren’s heart. The demon tried to turn to mist, but Qin Zhao’s domain was unyielding, and her body merely flickered briefly before Yoshika’s blade struck her core.

Yu Meiren gasped, looking down in disbelief at the blade sticking out of her as cracks spread across the glassy jade-green orb in her chest.

“You worthless bug. After all that, you couldn’t even kill me yourself. Fucking pathetic.”

Yoshika grit her teeth.

“My friends were never my weakness, Yu Meiren. You lost because you can’t comprehend that they are my strength.”

“Fuck you. They’ll betray you, in the end. You will die forgotten and alone like the worthless speck you are.”

“After you.”

Sacred Art: Soul Severing

Yoshika withdrew the blade and Meiren’s core shattered. The demon collapsed lifelessly to the ground, the remains of her soul rapidly dissipating into the air as loose essence. Deep within her soul, she felt the twisted snarl of Yu Meiren’s grudge fade, the connection broken.

It was over.

She fell to her knees, supporting herself with her sword and panting. That last technique had taken a lot out of her—more than she technically had to give. Qin Zhao’s timely support had bolstered her domain slightly, but her soul still shuddered from the strain of overdrawing her divine essence.

Her old master knelt down next to her and put a supporting hand on her shoulder. His disguise as Jin Hu was gone, and he looked just as she remembered—although she’d never seen Qin Zhao with such a soft expression.

“Well done, girls. I’m proud of you.”

He produced a small pill from within his sleeve and handed it to Yoshika.

“Take this and carefully circulate the qi within through your meridians. It should help stabilize your condition.”

She accepted it and followed his instructions immediately, sitting to meditate as the elixir’s soothing essence flowed through her soul.

Qin Zhao stood and bowed to Long Ruiling.

“Lady Long, I apologize for my tardiness. If not for your friend providing me transport, I may not have made it in time.”

She blinked, looking between Sukarto and Qin Zhao.

“I just sent him to warn the main army. I didn’t think he’d come back with...I’m sorry, who are you?”

“You know me as Jin Hu, but my true name is Qin Zhao. I swore an oath to your ancestor to keep you safe while I was able.”

He brought out a small jade tablet and handed it to her.

“I will not be able to continue that role, so please accept this artifact in my absence. Attune to it, and it should be able to provide you shelter in your most dire hour.”

Yoshika furrowed her brows, trying not to let her concentration slip.

“You’re leaving?”

Elder Qin inclined his head.

“I’m afraid so. Now that I have revealed myself, my family will be coming for me. For all of our sakes, it’s best that I go to meet them rather than vice versa.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

“They will not harm me, at least, but my movements will be restricted for some time. I’m sure we’ll meet again, my disciples. Good luck.”

With that, Qin Zhao turned and simply vanished, as he always had at the end of his lessons back at the academy.