If only I had known sooner I could have helped Bets overcome or cheat the drawbacks of his ability!

Of all the regrets and what-ifs that plagued my mind, the notion of ‘could have,’ ‘would have,’ and ‘maybe’ stood out as particularly futile. Though tempting, indulging in these hypothetical scenarios never yielded any practical solutions.

After all, the past was already set in stone and fixating on it would only lead to further frustration and anguish. The future was the only thing I had the power to shape. Unfortunately, the course of the future seemed to be irrevocably tied to a rash, impulsive decision I had made - ordering a Perfect Me to kill Kidomaru.

I didn’t know our chances of killing Kidomaru. By chapter 400 of the Manga, Kidomaru was still alive and revealed none of his full power. Even then, he knew when to hedge his bets and wasn't reckless enough to stick around in a situation where he knew he had lost.

Chariot's sword struck at Kidomaru relentlessly, but only every 100th hit seemed to have any effect. Velma would have been better suited for this kind of fight. However, facing someone as deadly as Kidomaru would be a death sentence for her. Even if she managed to touch him and activate her special ability, it was unclear whether she could do so before he struck back. The question of whether they could defeat him in that fleeting moment Velma could create was a matter of intense debate.

In the end, one thing was for sure. Chariot would never allow Velma to take such a risk.

My mind raced with countless options, but none of them seemed feasible. That was probably for the best, though, because my anger was still simmering and I knew it wouldn't serve me well in battle. Ord, the power coursing through me, did tend to spike when its user was angry, but I also knew that it clouded my judgment. After all, anger was hardly a wise counselor.

Much to everyone's surprise, it was Anika who proved to be the most formidable opponent after Chariot. Her fingers danced over the strings of her lyre like cracking whips, and with each strike, small but noticeable scratches appeared on Kidomaru's body. The scratches may have seemed insignificant on their own, but they were slowly adding up, wearing down Kidomaru's defenses.

We had the advantage!

Anika's Ord strings latched onto the clouds above, propelling her into the air in a manner that closely resembled flying. Meanwhile, Chariot used her Magical Item boots to soar through the sky, and Kidomaru expelled Ord from the soles of his feet, and he moved like a demon fighter jet.

Everything around me was a blur of movement and chaos, but with Carpy's sharp senses guiding me, I managed to keep up. We had Kidomaru cornered, thanks to our combined efforts. Just when we thought we had the upper hand, Sei appeared, floating on one of his mirrors.

Other demons tried to join the fight, but Agon and Gem held them off with their impressive skills. Anika took care of any airborne demons that managed to slip past them.

The battle raged on for what felt like an eternity, with thousands of clashes and attacks exchanged. Finally, Kidomaru managed to grab hold of Chariot's leg, and in a split second, she was going to sever her own limb. But Sei intervened, creating a mirror that absorbed the demon's devastating blow.

"Good," Chariot said, a fierce glint in her eye. With lightning-fast speed, her rapier sliced off all of Kidomaru's fingers.

The demon scowled, watching as his fingers regenerated slowly. But his healing powers were weakening, and we all knew it. "Annoying," he muttered under his breath. "Humans have truly become something dangerous."

Before he could say another word, I took action. With all my might, I summoned a powerful whirlpool of razor-sharp water blades, trapping the ultimate class demon in its grasp.

Every movement I made was precise and calculated, thanks to Perfect Me. Even the slightest twitch of my fingers was carefully measured to apply the perfect amount of pressure to slow down the demon. My brain was going into overdrive, causing blood to drip from my nose and eyes, but I knew I had to keep going.

Perfect Me may have been imitating an AI, but it still relied on human faculties to achieve its goals. As powerful as it was, it couldn't solve every problem on its own. I couldn't help but feel inadequate compared to the others, who had the ability to launch devastating attacks.

The lack of water in the area was a constant reminder of my limitations. Even with Carpy's power at my disposal, he was only middle class and couldn't sustain it forever.

What worried me most was that I had given Perfect Me the order to kill Kidomaru. There was no time limit in the order, and I couldn't back out of the battle even if I wanted to. I had to wait for the five minutes to be over. That was the weakness of Perfect Me - once its orders were given, it took over my body completely. Even as its creator, I had no control over it.

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***

Anika's heart froze as she faced her foe, a demon of immense power. She attacked with all her might, but her strikes were as feeble as mosquito bites against the monster’s skin. She tried to restrain the demon with her Ord strings, but it was futile - the creature broke free with ease. No matter how hard Anika fought, it seemed as though the demon could not be defeated.

In an instant, as if by the hand of a god, water erupted from the earth and ensnared the demon in a cyclone of liquid blades that relentlessly hacked and slashed. The ultimate class demon was rendered powerless and completely immobilized, unable to resist the onslaught.

She gazed upon Kon, his nose and eyes gushing crimson streams. His eyes, so bloodshot that they resembled a spiderweb of red veins, appeared on the verge of bursting.

He… had stopped an ultimate class demon.

Anika was glad but felt strange. A part of her was jealous. She didn’t know if there were even any special-class exorcists who could stop an ultimate-class demon like this! It was pure raw power!

No matter how much she pushed herself, it seemed that the gap between her and Kon only widened. With every stride she made, it felt as though he leaped ahead two more, an impossible feat that left her feeling defeated. And as if to mock her efforts, Kon continued to grow stronger, his potential seemingly boundless. There was no end in sight to his abilities, and it left her wondering if she would ever be able to catch up, let alone surpass him.

But then Anika was suddenly thrust back into reality, where a powerful demon loomed before them. Without hesitation, she seized the opportunity and hurled her strings at the swirling tornado of water, expertly manipulating them to match its rotation and add to its momentum, reinforcing their binding spell.

The strings, like vengeful serpents, coiled around the demon's eyes, striking with deadly precision. This caused the monster to open his mouth in pain. Kon didn’t let that chance go as the demon clenched at his throat, as the water was being forced down his gullet.

Be it demons or humans, save for those water demons, all beings required air to fill their lungs. It was this delicate balance that lent the water-manipulating demons their subtle strength. Yet, even among this demonkind, Kon stood out, drawing forth such torrents of water from where there was seemingly none. Truly, a rare and remarkable feat.

Suddenly, a whirlwind of water burst apart, and an Ord as heavy as the sky itself settled over everyone's shoulders. Regardless of their powers to fly, everyone plummeted to the ground.

Chariot had it the worst, as the ultimate class demon chased after her while she fell. She coated her body with Ord, revealing her Warrior affinity to be at least 80%. Her rapier transformed into a great sword, but one swing from the demon broke her weapon, Ord coating, and almost killed her. By instinct or luck, Chariot kicked back and avoided the impact.

"My name is Kidomaru Doji,” the ultimate class demon introduced himself. "I am the son of Shuten Doji, and you meager exorcists will not best me! I will avenge the death of old man Ibaraki!"

His Ord multiplied, causing the ground to crack and creating an earthquake-like effect in the area.

Anika clenched her teeth until her gums bled, but she couldn't stand up and was forced to stay face-down on the ground. Tears welled in her eyes as she realized that Kidomaru was only now getting serious, and his power surpassed that of any other demon she had ever seen before.

Kidomaru looked at the sky, surprised to see that Kon, who floated in a water ball, was unaffected by the pressure. Kon's cold and unreadable expression seemed machine-like. Kidomaru frowned and turned to look at two other people, Sei and Agon. Sei had a box manifested around himself that absorbed the pressure, while Agon, with yellow, snake-like eyes, fought against it.

Suddenly, a hissing sound overtook the battle, and Kidomaru's frown disappeared as his eyes widened. A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek, and he backed off, getting into a fighting position. "This power..."

“Yes, what about it?” Agon said in a strange, almost otherworldly tone. His voice was hypnotic, like the whisper of a snake.

Anika immediately understood that this wasn’t Agon anymore, the foolishness in his gaze was gone, and there was only the cold-blooded, ruthless stare of a snake.

“Who would have thought that the mighty Yamata No Orochi would be sealed inside a human,” Kidomaru said. “But don’t think that you can threaten me, snake. You can’t use your full power when in that state. Even the energy you’re releasing right now barely equals a tenth of mine-”

Fwish!

In an instant, Agon was next to the speaking demon and had grabbed Kidomaru's wrist. The point of contact started turning purple and releasing an acidic smog.

“Didn't your father teach you that the amount of demonic energy someone has doesn't necessarily mean how strong they are?” Agon asked with an amused smile as his forked tongue slithered out. “When it comes to raw demonic energy, even your father and every other demon in this locked world is by leaps and bounds behind me.”

Without an ounce of hesitation, Kidomaru swung his spiked bat, crushing his own arm at the elbow and ripping it off its socket. Then he jumped back, cautiousness written all over his face as he stared at Agon.

“What the hell are you?” Kidomaru asked.

Agon yawned and looked almost bored by the question. “You can’t even resist this small dose of poison? Anybody worth anything is being called an ultimate class demon nowadays. I can’t believe trash like you is even being considered as in the same category as me.”