"What took you so long?"

The demon's voice was casual. Bored, even.

But just those words alone carried a level of authority he couldn't quite comprehend.

Cipher's knees buckled. His body slammed into the ground against his will, pressed down by an invisible force. Around him, the other demons were similarly forced to the earth, prostrating before their superior.

The crimson-haired demon descended slowly, his feet touching the ground without a sound. He walked toward Cipher with unhurried steps, inspecting him the way one might inspect an insect.

"I had expected one of those old fossils to have come for there to be such trouble," the demon said, tilting his head. "But to think it was just a pretty boy."

He crouched down, bringing his face closer to Cipher's.

"Now... how should I deal with you?"

Cipher forced his head up. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, but he managed to meet the demon's gaze.

And then he saw it.

Everything around him seemed to freeze.

From the demon, he saw lines. Red lines. Thousands of them. No - millions. Maybe even billions.

Countless red threads of death, all emanating from this single being, and every single one of them connected to him.

Every line was a way he could die.

Every line was absolute. With no blue line of possible counter accompanying it.

A single thought went through Cipher's mind.

I can't win.

…

"Cipher. We can't win. We need to get away," the Heavenly Demon said.

She seemed to be in a panic. But could you blame her? If he died, she also died.

"How? Fast travel is still over twenty hours in cooldown," he said.

"I'll use my power to resist the authority. After that, try your best to stall for time. I'll see if I can figure something out," she said.

In the real world, Cipher felt the heavy aura pressing down on him lift. Slowly, he rose to his feet, his injuries regenerating as he stood.

The demon looked at him.

But rather than being displeased, his expression shifted to one of surprise. He observed Cipher carefully, his crimson eyes gleaming with interest.

"How curious," the demon murmured. "How curious indeed."

He tilted his head, studying Cipher as if he were some rare specimen.

"Is this the power of a divine sense? One that's possibly even stronger than mine?" A slow smile spread across his face. "How intriguing."

He stretched out his hand toward Cipher.

Cipher struck.

His sword sang through the air, aiming directly for the demon's outstretched palm. The blade connected…

And stopped dead.

It was like hitting solid metal. No, harder than metal. The demon's skin didn't even have a scratch.

Cipher stepped back immediately, creating distance.

Only to feel something behind him.

He spun around - and found himself face to face with the demon.

He couldn't even see him move.

The demon's fist crashed into Cipher's chest, sending him flying backward. Before he could hit the ground, the demon was already there, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him into the earth.

Cipher's sword came up in a desperate slash. The demon caught the blade between two fingers and snapped it like a twig.

A knee drove into Cipher's stomach, forcing the air from his lungs. He doubled over, only for an elbow to crash down onto his back, driving him face-first into the dirt.

He tried to roll away. A hand grabbed his ankle and swung him into a boulder, shattering it on impact.

His regeneration worked frantically, mending broken bones and torn flesh. But the demon gave him no time to recover.

A palm strike to the chest. A kick to the ribs. A backhand across the face that sent teeth flying.

Cipher managed to throw a dagger. The demon caught it without looking and flicked it back. It embedded itself in Cipher's shoulder.

He activated Shadow Assassin, his shadow clone appearing as he tried to reposition. The demon glanced at the clone, then at Cipher, and appeared before the real one instantly, driving a fist into his gut.

Cipher coughed blood.

In just a few moves, it was over.

The demon pressed his foot down onto Cipher's chest, pinning him against a huge tree. Cipher's arms lay broken at his sides. His legs wouldn't respond. Blood pooled beneath him.

This wasn't a fight.

It was a one-sided massacre.

…

Inside the spiritual sea.

"I'm out of moves," Cipher said, his voice strained. "Any success on your end?"

The Heavenly Demon scratched her head in frustration. She wasn't getting anywhere. The only methods she could think of were all extremely dangerous - and would probably end up worse than even being killed by that guy.

Cipher looked down with a sigh.

"It seems I'm really going to die today," he said quietly. "Maybe I should've just stayed with the Moonlight Maiden. After all, being turned into a woman is far better than dying."

Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.

The Heavenly Demon stared at him. "What is wrong with you? Are you giving up?"

He shook his head. "Of course not. Far from it."

His smile widened.

"In fact, I just came up with a crazy idea that might just work."

"Crazy idea? What are you talking about?"

"Your divine sense," he said. "It can make you undetectable, right?"

"Well, yeah," she replied cautiously. "But not if someone is actively looking at you. It doesn't block the sense of sight, but it does block divine sense."

"So what you're saying is, as long as you're out of sight, no one can notice you?"

"I guess. Where are you going with this?"

Cipher took her hand.

She blinked in surprise.

He stared directly into her eyes, his gaze intense.

"I need you to understand something," he said slowly. "I have a great goal to accomplish. I've been granted the power to achieve it. Under no circumstances would I risk that."

"Where are you going with this?" she asked, her voice uncertain.

"My plan is absolute," he continued. "Perfect. There is no way I could be wrong. I wouldn't risk it on something I wasn't sure of."

He squeezed her hand.

"So when I say run, you need to know that I mean run."

His eyes bore into hers.

"You shouldn't do anything stupid. Everything is according to plan. I'm not saying this just to reassure you."

His voice dropped lower.

"If you make a single mistake, you'll doom us both."

She looked at him. Something about his stare made her nervous. This wasn't the usual Cipher.

"Okay, okay," she said, swallowing. "I understand. So what is this plan of yours?"

…

In the real world.

The demon stood over Cipher's broken body, his foot still pressed against his chest. He gazed down at the human with a contemplative expression.

"Now then," he murmured to himself. "How should I handle you?"

He tapped a finger against his chin.

"You're definitely a special case. That divine sense alone makes you worth investigating."

He paused.

"But if I bring you in, I'd have to report to the Commander. Explain the situation. Fill out the documentation."

His nose wrinkled in distaste.

"Then I'd have to waste my time carrying you back. Find a suitable containment cell. Assign guards. Monitor your condition."

He sighed heavily.

"And knowing the Commander, he'd probably want to interrogate you himself. Which means meetings. Briefings. Status updates."

His expression soured further.

"Then there's the matter of the other generals. They'd all want a piece of you once word got out. Politics. Negotiations. Favors owed."

He shook his head.

"Far too troublesome."

His crimson eyes settled back on Cipher.

"Besides, humans are quite cunning creatures. Who knows what tricks you might be hiding? What schemes you might be planning even now?"

He raised a finger, red aura coalescing around it.

"It's better to just kill you and be done with it. Simpler that way. Cleaner."

He smiled.

"Nothing personal, pretty boy."

"~Now."

The demon's finger descended.

Red aura pierced into Cipher's heart.

[You have died]

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