Don't force me to use my right fist.

"Then I'll be frank. If it were just these things, wouldn't it be unnecessary for you, second only to the Right Seat of God, to come and inform me directly? Your reason for coming here is definitely not just about these things." Zouken Matou stated his speculation, but there was no hint of pride on his face.

"clever.

Shirley finally put away her impatient expression, which seemed to suggest that nothing mattered, and straightened up from her seat.

"I just enjoy dealing with smart people."

She tapped the table with her hand, and Shirley's eyes, which were inexplicably gleaming with a hint of bloodlust, looked at Zouken Matou standing to the side.

"Then I'll get straight to the point. I do have something I need your help with."

"Speak freely. It would be my honor to have Miss Shirley, a half-step True Ancestor, owe me a favor."

Jian Dongzang stretched out his hand and made a light gesture.

"Then you should know the news that's been circulating in the church lately. Whoever can bring back that young lady, Yuzaki Ietoku, will receive another blessing from God." Shirley tapped her small hand lightly on the table, emphasizing the word "blessing" with a noticeable force.

"Even yesterday, the leader added a clause: those who achieve this can be exceptionally admitted to the Right Seat of God. As you know, the position of the Southern Water is still vacant. Jian Tongzangyan naturally knows these things, but he doesn't know what these things have to do with him."

“That would definitely be a huge help to me. You know, the church’s principle is to avoid conflict with the distillery as much as possible for the time being, and that young lady is now living near the distillery, so it would be very troublesome to make a move.” Shirley shook her head, clearly showing some disdain when she mentioned the distillery.

"Yes, as far as I know, the Mato family is going to have a marriage alliance with the Tohsaka family in a few days. If that happens, as the only member of the Hanazaki family now, I think that young lady should have no reason not to come, right?" Shirley narrowed her eyes. She had already said all that, and there was no way that an old fox like Mato Zouken wouldn't understand.

"But what happened that day was also very important to me. If I had chosen to make a move at that time, I would have offended the Tohsaka family. Moreover, it would have been a loss of face for the Mato family as well." Zouken Mato's expression became serious. Her suggestion was definitely the best opportunity for her to make a move, but this action would indeed have offended both the Mato family and the Tohsaka family.

"Sigh, if I do it myself, it'll definitely be discreet enough. Besides, you'll definitely reap the rewards afterwards. I'm just one step away from advancing to the True Ancestor level. If you want to pursue immortality then, wouldn't I be able to help you a lot?" Wihl Shirley raised her delicate eyebrows before explaining to the troubled-looking Zouken. However, how much of this was true, and how much was just empty promises, only Shirley herself knew. Vampires don't have the weakness of being unable to lie. And no one has ever said that promises must be kept, right? Zouken, this old man who had lived for who knows how long, naturally knew this. This was why he was conflicted and hesitant.

While having a True Ancestor to help him would undoubtedly be a huge boost to his plans, the problem is that he's unsure if doing so will yield any corresponding returns. Not engaging in unprofitable ventures is something a patriarch of a conglomerate must consider.

"Could you allow me some time to consider this matter? There are simply too many things involved, and even for someone of my status, it would be somewhat difficult." Jian Dongzangxian clearly wanted to decline, but as soon as he uttered these words, the woman who had been smiling at him immediately changed her expression.

"If you're not willing, then forget it. After all, I can't force you, right? But I've heard that the two young ladies of the Tohsaka family are truly talented. I think if I make them my familia, they might have the potential to surpass me in the future. What do you think, Head of the Mato family?"

"Wait—Lady Sherry. We can talk this over, right? You know that one of them is to be adopted into our Mato family, and I've put in a lot of effort for that. But if you make them your kin, all my efforts will be wasted, won't they?"

A ferocious look appeared on Jian Dongzangyan's face. This guy was obviously threatening him, but he really didn't have much of a way to deal with it, since she was stronger than him.

"I'll cooperate with you, but for now, how about we deal with that guest who's been watching the whole time?" whl

Helplessly changing the subject, Zouken Matou tapped his cane on the ground, and a giant worm emerged from the ground, rushing towards what should have been a deserted corner. The next moment, the ferocious and terrifying worm was split in two in mid-air, and the strange man in sky-blue armor and a pumpkin head shook the slime off his diamond sword.

"You guys keep talking, why don't you just pretend I don't exist?"

Chapter 217 Compatibility Not Very Good

"Hey, isn't this that headless knight who's been pretty tough lately? I haven't even gone to settle accounts with you yet, and you dare to come to my doorstep."

Sherry paused briefly when Saya appeared, but quickly regained her relaxed demeanor, resting her chin on her hand and looking at him with an indifferent expression. She naturally knew that Saya had killed one of her kin yesterday, and even that this headless rider was actually the troublesome bodyguard next to Kaguya Hazaki.

Only one person from the Western Lands fought with Zuoyou and survived. Information about him was only known to a few people in the True Word Church, but unfortunately, Xiangli was one of them.

The sky-blue armor and that signature, gleaming blue longsword—even without the particularly conspicuous orange pumpkin head, these features alone were enough to identify Saya. Therefore, Shirley understood that if she truly intended to attack Kaguya Hanesaki, then Saya was an obstacle she absolutely couldn't avoid. She just hadn't expected that, before she even went to him, he would actually come to her.

"What do you mean by 'bringing something over'? I just wanted to come and borrow something from you, but I didn't expect to overhear some things I shouldn't have heard."

Sōyū shrugged, tilting his head behind the pumpkin head. The longsword in his hand bypassed the old man who didn't even need makeup to film a horror movie and pointed directly at Sherry behind him.

"So, could you lend me something? Of course. If you could go shopping or something, that would be even better."

"Little fellow, if you're so arrogant, aren't you showing no respect for the Jian Tong family? Lady Shirley is a guest of the Jian Tong family. I can't pretend I didn't hear what you said." Jian Tong, who had originally intended to sit back and watch the fight, now noticed Shirley's unfriendly gaze and could only helplessly take a step to the side and stand in front of her, warning Wakasayu.

There's nothing that can be done about it; this is practically his home turf. If Sherry really gets into trouble here, the Church of Truth will definitely not let him off the hook.

"You saw it too, it's not that I don't want to lend it to you, it's just that someone tried to stop you before me. So, like in a normal game, you at least have to kill the guard in front of me before you can face me, right?" A playful expression flashed across Shirley's face, and she waved her slender hand, as if she was looking forward to Sōyū killing the guard in front of her.

At this moment, she didn't seem like the boss she described. Instead, she seemed more like a princess waiting for the hero to defeat the demon king and rescue her. She was practically cheering Sawa on.

"Tsk, old bug, I'm not interested in you right now. I'll have plenty of time to deal with you later. So, could you please step aside for a moment?" Saya switched his sharp diamond sword from Sharp 5 to the other diamond sword of Arthropod Killer V. Different weapons are needed for different monsters; that's called treating the symptoms, right? Saya didn't think the old bug would give up just because of his words. Already prepared for battle, his eyes were fixed on the short-haired woman behind Zouken Matou. As long as this guy didn't run away, everything else would be fine. It's just an old bug, a bit troublesome, but not enough to cause him any real trouble.

"Old Bug? I don't like that title. If you insist on doing this, then we'll have to fight." Zouken Matou shook his head, his cane striking the ground again and again. Strange magical symbols flickered throughout the room, and an unknown liquid continuously flowed from all sides, moving towards Saya. Although Zouken Matou was nicknamed "Old Bug," the Matou family's magic was primarily water-based, and he wasn't just limited to using insects for attacks. However, Saya clearly had no time to waste with him. After all, his purpose in coming here wasn't to deal with "Old Bug"; the vampire was the real focus. Similarly, Saya planted his diamond sword on the ground and glanced at the strangely glowing black liquid. Only the area beneath his feet and where the two people standing were unaffected by the black water. Even if he wanted to dodge, there seemed to be nowhere left for him to hide.

"That's right, if you're going to fight, stop dawdling like a woman. You're so old, have you wasted your life?" A massive magic circle rapidly expanded outwards from Zuoyou's center. The magic circle, shimmering with a bright blue light resembling frost, instantly lowered the temperature in the room. Zuoyou, the instigator, remained relaxed, focusing all his magic power on the magic circle. With the added magic power from the hammer and pendant, Zuoyou's magic, now fully activated, finally resembled that of a mage. Even with just a little ice added, its power was close to a natural disaster. An extremely cold aura emanated from Zuoyou, spreading outwards. The black water on the ground froze into solid ice before it even reached Zuoyou. The entire reception room was covered in a thick layer of frost because of this magic, and thick icicles fell from the roof, piercing directly towards the somewhat bewildered Jian Dongzangyan.

"The strange ability to manipulate frost? That doesn't quite suit my nature." Some grotesque insect-like limbs emerged from behind Jian Dongzangyan, shattering the incoming ice shards. Only then did he frown and look at the young man standing there, exuding an aura of icy cold.

Behind Jian Dongzangjian, Wan Li's expression was even more interesting.

According to the information the Church of Truth knew, Sōyū only possessed extremely powerful and difficult-to-deal-with fire magic. This was the first time he had displayed such a large-scale ice magic ability before her. Could this guy be a mage proficient in all elements? Sherry looked at Sōyū, who had drawn his longsword and was rushing towards Wakana Tōzō with almost imperceptible speed. No, he was more like a warrior proficient in all elements.

Chapter 218 The contestant from Jiandong temporarily withdraws from the competition due to match-fixing.

Just as Saya said, he had no intention of playing along with this old bug. If they were going to fight, they should stop talking nonsense and just go for it. The loser would just have to roll away automatically, right? Although Saya usually liked to trash talk his opponents during battles, now that they were in a hurry, it was better to finish the fight quickly.

However, the old insect was clearly no pushover. Sensing Saya's rapid approach, he swung his cane, and instantly countless insects burst from the ice beneath his feet, surging towards Saya. Just as he'd said, if Saya possessed ice-based abilities, then their compatibility wasn't exactly great. For instance, because the entire room was frozen solid, many of his backup plans were rendered useless. However, Zouken Matou didn't intend to use all his trump cards on Saya. He was after the vampire behind him; it didn't concern him for the time being, and dealing with him was enough. With both sides holding this mindset, the battle became simpler. The swarming insects, whose names he couldn't even recall, made strange clattering sounds as they swarmed towards Saya, constantly spraying unknown venom at him—a rather unsightly scene. However, Saya was used to this. His forward speed didn't decrease at all; only, a black flint suddenly appeared in his free arm. The ice covering the ground was obviously unignitable, but that wasn't Saya's purpose.

A handful of black powder was thrown at the swarming insects, quickly swallowed up by them – exactly the result Sōyū wanted. He swung his flint and steel in a blur, igniting the black powder that had been caught in the powder.

Flames rose from where the flint had touched, and then, as if they had been contaminated by something, quickly spread throughout the entire swarm of insects.

Saya naturally used gunpowder, a valuable resource. If it weren't for the desire to avoid causing too much of a commotion, INT might have been a better choice when dealing with these insects. The spread of fire in Minecraft is terrifying; almost instantly, the surging insect swarm transformed into a sea of ​​flames, filling the air with the stench of burnt insects. Meanwhile, Zouken Matou frowned. He'd just used an ice-type ability, and now he was unleashing fire? It was rather unreasonable of him. However, what surprised Zouken Matou even more was not just this.

A strange hook traversed the sea of ​​fire separating him and Saya. Before he could even process what it was, Saya, seemingly oblivious to pain, emerged from the flames, his body engulfed in fire, and in the blink of an eye, he was before him. Zouken wanted to say something, and even as the enormous, centipede-like insect behind him tried to coil around him for protection, only a bright, sky-blue blade flashed. His words of lament were stuck in his throat; even if Zouken wanted to speak, he couldn't. His head had already separated from his body; the hard shell of the insect that had coiled around him to protect him was as flimsy as paper, offering no protection whatsoever. As Saya shook the slime off his diamond sword, Zouken's astonished head fell to the ground along with the two severed insect bodies, landing with a dull thud. The headless corpse didn't spurt blood; instead, like the worm, a foul-smelling black slime seeped from its wounds before collapsing to the ground. The swarm of insects behind WHL was also completely burned away at that moment. In the room covered in ice, only Zuoyou, wielding the diamond sword, and Shirley, who had been watching the whole thing, remained. Normally, this would be the moment when Zuoyou finished his boasting and won the beauty's heart. Unfortunately, Zuoyou knew that the real battle had only just begun. Even this old worm, whom she had seemingly slain so easily, wasn't so simple. Completely eliminating it wouldn't be easy. The reason she had been able to do it so easily was probably related to it wanting to hide its trump cards. Moreover, it seemed quite willing for her to fight that woman. If Zuoyou were in that situation, it would probably do the same. If he had died once, headquarters could say he was slacking off and fighting passively.

That's the gist of it, but at least it's acceptable in name only.

"Excellent! What you're showing is becoming more and more intriguing, Headless Riding Earth Lord." The crisp sound of drumming came from the direction where Shirley was sitting. She clapped her hands and looked at Sōyū with admiration. Both this power and the decisive mindset in cutting off the old insect's head were things that Shirley greatly admired.

"Curious, huh? Well, there are plenty of things I don't know. I just don't know if we can continue our previous conversation. I need to borrow something from you; it's something quite important to me."

Sōyū sheathed the diamond sword from the Arthropod Killer and, in a tone as casual as if borrowing oil from a neighbor, asked the woman, who exuded a dangerous aura.

"Is it a loan? I get the feeling it's not something you intend to return. Besides, the way you look at me is more like you want to kill and rob, not as simple as you say." A small, scarlet tongue peeked out from the corner of her mouth and licked her lower lip. Shirley gripped the somewhat incongruous katana with her appearance and stood up, responding to Saya.

"That would be even better if it could be done, but it also depends on whether you cooperate with me. If it can free you, it might not be a good thing, right?"

As Saya pulled out a few pieces of steak from his backpack and stuffed them into his mouth, he smiled at the woman, as if they weren't discussing anything of life or death.

"Of course not, but if you're willing to become my kin, then you'll have a reason and a right to borrow my things. What do you think of this suggestion?" Her tongue traced across her sharp fangs, and Karen looked at Saya with the same eyes that she were eyeing an extremely delicious breakfast, exuding a desire to devour him completely.

"I'm sorry, but I have no interest in becoming someone who can't even touch garlic. Garlic is spicy and bitter, forever the worst."

Zuo You shook his head. Helplessly, he switched to the Undead Slayer's Diamond Sword, pointed it at her head, and said...

Chapter 219 Engaged in a Dangerous Battle

"That's truly a pity. If you're also a supernatural being, what circumstances led you to choose to protect that girl from the Hanezaki family?" Shirley's face showed doubt and confusion. She could naturally sense the supernatural aura emanating from Saya, which was similar to her own, but to think that a supernatural being would protect someone else was simply laughable. If anyone had to say why, she was probably one of the most qualified supernatural beings to answer that. Before becoming a supernatural being and gaining a second life, she was a quintessential righteous heroine, even willing to sacrifice her life to save her comrades.

But if she were to comment on her past self now, she would only silently conclude that she was an idiot. Choosing to protect others instead of living for herself—what else could that be but idiocy?

However, it was precisely because of her foolish actions back then that she became the freak she is today. As a result, Shirley doesn't deliberately avoid that matter.

She simply felt that becoming a monster was like breaking a line, or rather, a shackle; she had never felt so free. Nothing brought her more pleasure than harming others. She had tried to become the researcher Sherry she once was, but in the end, she gave up. That kind of life was clearly not as free as her current one—living entirely for herself, able to do whatever she wanted—a feeling she had never dared to imagine before. Therefore, she absolutely could not believe that Saya, also a monster, would protect a human girl; it was tantamount to fundamentally denying the meaning of her existence.

Unless, of course, Sawa's actions stem from some more elaborate conspiracy, then it would make more sense. Like what she did back then—outwardly choosing to cooperate with Haruyu and the brewery, but secretly betraying them, leaving the brewery still reeling.

The most hurtful thing is the knife in one's back. Something that could force Saya to suppress her strange nature—she definitely had some interest in it. And the fact that the Church of Truth seemed so concerned about that girl named Kaguya Hanesaki made it even more intriguing. Just how many secrets did this girl hold that drew all these people to her side?

"I'm not some kind of beauty like you, and I've emphasized this many times: I'm not some kind of weirdo." Wihl Sōyu shook his head, and as he spoke, he raised his hand and fired a fully drawn arrow at the girl over there. There's no need to talk about martial ethics with weirdos, and Sōyu himself didn't consider himself to be one of those.

Unfortunately, the sneak attack arrow was cut in half by the sword the girl had drawn, and Shirley, who was leaning back in her seat, didn't even seem to have changed her posture much.

"More troublesome than I imagined." Saya frowned, muttering to herself. Judging from her reaction speed, she was already close to Saya's usual level, but this person clearly hadn't even gotten serious yet, and hadn't even activated the most basic transformation required of a vampire. Such terrifying speed and reaction ability even in her normal state—no wonder she's approaching the level of a True Ancestor!

"Why deny your own existence? Being strange is being strange, what's wrong with that? I don't think I'm wrong in judging people, and besides, your aura can't be hidden from others." Sherry sheathed her drawn katana, clearly unperturbed by Saya's actions, and continued to question him.

"I guess it's because I genuinely look down on you lot? Cursed by a fate that's inherently evil, yet you've lost even the will to resist it—that's truly pathetic." Sōyu waved his hand. Since she liked to chat, he didn't mind spending a few more words with her. In battles where he was confident, chatting was for showing off; in battles where he wasn't confident, it was just for gathering information.

"Oh? So you hate being a weirdo that much? That's a shame. Whether you're really not weirdo as you say or not, you're left with only one ending now."

Shirley's eyes narrowed. Even though she hadn't shown any anger when Saya attacked her, she seemed to have been broken by Saya's words, and her voice turned icy cold.

"I will make you my familiar, and then you'll know what it feels like when your consciousness can no longer be called your own. I think it would be quite interesting to have you personally betray that young lady, wouldn't it?"

"I remember that young lady seemed to trust you a lot. I really can't wait to see her expression."

Sherry gently clapped her hands, finally looking somewhat serious, and straightened up from the stool where the person sitting upright was, pointing her finger at Saya opposite her.

"So, are you ready to become my familiar?" Before Saya could answer her question, with Shirley's pointing gesture, the entire reception room was instantly swallowed by darkness. Although it was still afternoon, Saya felt as if he were in a bottomless abyss, with only darkness before his eyes.

"What kind of weird ability is this? I don't remember it." Frustrated, he pulled a torch from his backpack, only to find, to his surprise, that although he could clearly feel the torch in his hand, he still couldn't see the flame that should have appeared.

If it weren't for the tool files and status bar still visible in his field of vision, Saku would have thought he was blind. "So... it's not that I'm blind, but that this place is truly and completely shrouded in darkness?" Saku muttered to himself, frowning, then felt a sense of danger coming from the side. Instinctively, he raised his diamond sword to parry, but heard a crisp sound of metal snapping. Immediately following, his health was reduced by half, and a sharp pain shot through his chest.

Sōyū glanced at the Undead Slayer Diamond Sword, whose durability had suddenly reached zero. He then looked at the Diamond Armor, which had also lost a portion of its durability, and his lips twitched silently, revealing a helpless expression. Even without its terrifying special power, this Yamato Blade was still quite troublesome to work with.

Chapter 220 I've Found You

However, the main problem right now is that Saiyu's vision problem doesn't seem to be resolved. After checking the status bar to no avail, Saiyu finally confirmed that this might be one of those strange special abilities—manipulating darkness or something—a truly disgusting skill. Fortunately, after finding the problem, Saiyu quickly found a solution.

"You idiot, don't you bleed at all? I was really looking forward to enjoying the feeling of your blood spraying all over this room. You've disappointed me again."

Shirley's voice came from the darkness, so close it felt like she was right next to Saya's ear. But Saya, who had a premonition of danger, didn't flinch and instead decisively pulled a bottle of medicine from his backpack and gulped it down.

"Where did you pull this weird stuff out of? I don't like drinking the blood of drug addicts; it changes the taste a lot." whl

Shirley frowned. After being attacked once, Sōyu didn't retaliate or panic; instead, he started taking drugs, which truly puzzled her. Even if he recovered from his injuries with the help of drugs, wouldn't that still leave the initiative in her hands? How could he, shrouded in darkness, possibly be her opponent? Her power wasn't simply about being invisible. In this darkness, she was the master of the entire area; not only could no light penetrate, but even her voice could be silenced if she wanted to. In other words, if Sōyu wanted to detect her attacks in this space, he could only rely on his senses to avoid them. However, no matter how much combat talent he possessed, no matter how much luck he had, he could only barely sustain it for a short time. And this was only a small part of her power; not only was it not depleted, but being in this darkness also provided her with additional, all-around enhancements.

"Attacking from the shadows is indeed something a vampire would do. But you think you can terrify me with just one attack? You're underestimating me a bit." Saya decisively removed his diamond armor, leaving only his slightly slick pumpkin head. He even sheathed his diamond sword and silently flexed his wrists. Since his defense was practically paper-thin against that blade, he figured it was better to just go without it and save some durability. As for attack, Saya felt there was nothing more powerful than his fist. Even that physical hammer, without any buffs, probably wouldn't be as powerful as his iron fist.

However, Shirley saw his actions as a sign of giving up and abandoning resistance.

"It's not that I look down on you, it's just that you haven't even reached the point where I need to take you seriously. If you give up now, I won't let you off so easily."

Upon realizing that Sōyū was actually a magician, Sherry smiled and silently activated her other ability.

Or are you doing this just to lower my guard so you can launch a magical attack? If that's what you're thinking, then your plan is doomed. "Zayou felt a strange power enveloping his entire body from the darkness, a strange attraction coming from all directions, and soon he realized that his magic bar was decreasing at an eerie speed.

"So, it even has mana drain, right? No wonder this guy is so confident." His already furrowed brows tightened even more, but Zuoyou remained completely still, as if utterly unconcerned that his mana was decreasing.

"It doesn't feel good to have your magic drained, does it? After all, the range of my abilities has its limits. What if you unleash some kind of area-of-effect (AOE) saturation attack and actually hurt me?"

"Of course, if your magic is drained, it will continue to absorb your life force. I must say, even the magic absorbed from you is purer than that of others. As if enjoying the feeling of draining Saya, Sherry did not launch a second attack for a long time, as if she was waiting for Saya to be completely drained."

"Has anyone ever told you that chatting during a fight is okay, but directly stating your abilities to someone is just a bit stupid?" Wihl Sōyū circled around, as if searching for Rōshūri in the darkness.

"Then retaliate against me, if you can." Shirley, who had silently come to within a meter of Saya's back, once again drew the weapon she had deliberately brought from the brewery and aimed it at Saya's chest.