Tokyo: I am the Lord of All Demons!

With a "snap," divine power erupted in front of the giant face, flashing like lightning, but these "special effects" quickly dissipated.

After the sparks dissipated, the large black face reappeared, but judging from its face, it did not seem to have suffered much damage.

All the damage was just some scratches, so Big Face laughed again: "It's useless, your strength is nothing to me!"

As the big face spoke, it swelled up at a very tricky angle, then opened its blood-red maw and bit into the delicate body of the divine messenger girl in front of it!

Seeing this, Ishikawa Risa transformed into a flash of divine light and appeared behind the giant face before being bitten.

Immediately afterwards, Big Face took a big bite of air and chewed it a few more times. After chewing several times, it realized that it had not actually succeeded in hunting.

While the big-faced man was puzzled, Ishikawa Risa gathered her strength again. This time, she raised the Staff of Bondage high and absorbed the power of the sun.

That move was just a small test for Ishikawa Risa, equivalent to a normal attack in a game, where the move emphasizes quick strikes.

Now, Risa Ishikawa's Binding Staff has absorbed several seconds of sunlight and has completed its power-charging.

However, Ishikawa Risa was still not satisfied with her current state of power accumulation; she felt that she needed to accumulate power for a longer period of time before she could destroy the giant face.

After another five or six seconds, the big-faced man finally turned his head and stared menacingly at the divine messenger girl beneath him.

Man of few words!

Risa Ishikawa swung the fully charged Bond Staff forward, sending out a beam of energy.

The next second!!

The big face didn't dodge; instead, it opened its blood-red maw and swallowed the beam of divine power emitted by the Bond Staff!

"?!" Ishikawa Risa's pupils suddenly contracted. She had never seen a ghost spirit that could devour divine power before, and for a moment she forgot to cut off the divine power of the Binding Staff.

Actually, it can't be cut off.

Risa Ishikawa is now completely passively cooperating with the big face to absorb divine power. For example, when the intensity of the divine power that the Binding Staff had just shot out was too great, it was adjusted to be a little smaller to adapt to the speed at which the big face absorbed the divine power.

Her divine power was being eroded, which meant that Ishikawa Risa's body was being hollowed out, and she could clearly feel her power disappearing.

Even so, Ishikawa Risa could do nothing; she couldn't cancel the release of the divine power of the Binding Staff, nor could she escape.

The power of the Fate-Binding Staff acted like a rope, binding Big Face's throat to the staff.

The matchmaking staff was coated with superglue, making it impossible for Ishikawa Risa to put it down.

Because so much divine power had been drained, Ishikawa Risa could no longer stand. Her knees buckled and she knelt down, awaiting her fate.

During this process, Ishikawa Risa discovered a phenomenon: the big face could not absorb demonic power indefinitely, and its "belly" had already been stretched to the point of deformation.

To use an analogy, it's like a human who has eaten until they are 20% full, and their stomach has expanded several times its normal size, looking very uncomfortable, as if they are about to reach their limit.

Pity.

If his divine power were stronger, perhaps he could have directly burst the big face apart, thus subduing the enemy without a fight. Unfortunately, such a thing is a bit of a pipe dream...

While waiting to die, Ishikawa Risa suddenly discovered a strange phenomenon: when her divine power was depleted, she should have felt extremely cold and entered a near-death state.

But now it's the other way around; she doesn't feel cold, but rather warm.

what's the situation?

Risa Ishikawa looked up and quickly noticed something—the blazing sun was shining directly on her body, and divine power was constantly replenishing her body through the sunlight, nourishing her soul and making her feel warm.

This wasn't the end of it. The divine power that Ishikawa Risa had just lost was gradually returning to her in a new form, replenishing her.

Chapter 186 The Hunt

With the help of the sun, or rather, with the help of the supreme god, Ishikawa Risa felt as if she had undergone a complete transformation!

It's like being reborn from the ashes.

It is also full of power!

It was at this moment that Risa Ishikawa witnessed the enormous black face, which had swelled to its limit, burst open with a loud "boom" from the excessive divine power.

Because the interior of the black face was filled with divine power, the explosion did not leak out black matter; instead, it showered down a sky full of golden divine light.

The ghostly activity was quickly quelled, and the scene soon returned to tranquility, as if nothing had happened.

However, this is not the end.

Not long after the black face exploded, Suwa Shrine returned to its usual bustling state. These people looked different from ordinary people; their souls lacked spiritual energy, making them appear like pseudo-humans.

But these fake people with demonic powers are not afraid of the scorching sun, nor are they afraid of Ishikawa Risa, who is right next to them.

Even though Ishikawa Risa was holding the Binding Staff tightly to guard against their sneak attacks, ready to pounce, these fake people still ignored her completely.

what happened?

Risa Ishikawa found a spot where the sun wouldn't be blocked, sat down, and began to study what these fake people were trying to do.

The results showed that, apart from lacking intelligence, they behaved no differently from normal people. Their comings and goings here were, of course, imitating ordinary people visiting shrines.

Thus, Ishikawa Risa remained fully armed and vigilant for a long time, but no imposters attacked her; instead, it seemed as if such attacks were commonplace.

Risa Ishikawa muttered to herself, "These guys, do they think they're human just because they're doing the same things as humans...?"

She originally wanted to investigate further, such as why the person with the big black face impersonated Shimizu Suzune and what their motives were.

The motive is relatively simple: the guy with the black face probably lured her in first, and then ate her.

However, in the world of ghosts, the ghosts should all know that Shimizu Suzune has already been "eaten" by the Ghost King Akane.

With this in mind, Ishikawa Risa could roughly deduce that the black-faced creatures probably didn't know about the Demon King Akane, or that the two of them were actually not on the same side.

Things have become even more complicated at this point. Ishikawa Risa and her group are not only facing the Demon King Akane, but also a new, unknown force.

Risa Ishikawa frowned and began to ponder again: "But speaking of which, why hasn't the Demon King Akane launched an attack yet?"

Based on past experience, once the Ghost King is fully prepared, he will launch an attack on human cities.

For example, Hanako Sachiko is one such case, while Enma Ai and Yamamura Kikuko are nowhere to be found. Due to their infrequent activities, the trail has gone cold, and they have recently faded from the Shinto Hall's view.

And now, even though the Demon King Akane sounds terrifying, in Ishikawa Risa's eyes, it's still all bark and no bite.

Why did this happen? Ishikawa Risa was completely baffled, but a mysterious man far away in Kanagawa had already drawn a preliminary conclusion about the fake man incident.

evening.

Kanagawa.

At Fujita Mino's villa.

The second floor.

Seated on a luxurious sofa, Makoto Araki picked up his teacup, took a sip of strong tea, and then said meaningfully, "This world may be out of balance."

Standing or sitting opposite him are the shikigami Jun, the Genshin Impact girl Fujita Mino, and the ghostly girl Kitamura Eri.

Makoto Araki still felt that this matter was not simple, so after Eri Kitamura got up, he immediately called a meeting with the three of them.

The meeting's agenda, of course, concerned the recent incident involving fake people. The meeting analyzed the causes of the incident and the methods for handling it.

Araki Makoto glanced at the three girls—the shikigami, the spirits, and the demons—and asked, "I've finished stating my opinion. Do you have any comments?"

“No—” Fujita Mino spoke first, “I think Cami-sama’s analysis is absolutely correct, so I support your opinion and have no personal objection.”

Araki Makoto wasn't very satisfied with what Fujita Mino said, but there was nothing he could do about it; after being brainwashed, Fujita Mino was absolutely loyal to him.

Makoto Araki turned his head and reminded Eri Kitamura, "And what about you?"

Kitamura Eri was taken aback. She seemed surprised to be called out, so she feigned ignorance: "Huh? I don't know. I've been playing games these past few days. How would I know about any fake human incident..."

Araki Makoto gave her a look of disgust: "Then why don't you go and investigate?"

"Eh? Okay, okay!" Kitamura Eri looked flustered, but she quickly recovered and said, "Eri will go investigate right now!"

After saying that, she bowed deeply to Makoto Araki, then turned around and flew off the balcony.

After Kitamura Eri left, Araki Makoto looked at Jun and asked, "And you? Jun, I haven't summoned you much these past few days. You've been traveling the world and have seen quite a bit, haven't you?"

Upon hearing this, Ah Chun floated up and knelt down, saying, "In response to Your Excellency, Ah Chun does indeed have some knowledge of the fake people."

Then, she raised her head, looked at Araki Makoto's face, and slowly said, "A-Chun discovered that these fake people all have one characteristic, that is, they are all a third power that emerges from the fusion of human and demon. This power is invisible, is not afraid of the scorching sun, and has a restraining effect on divine and demonic power. Ordinary methods really can't do anything about them."

Araki Makoto was not surprised by Chun's statement; in fact, he had anticipated this development from the beginning, otherwise he would not have orchestrated the drama involving the three demon kings.

He did that to prevent the world from becoming unbalanced, but unexpectedly, it still became unbalanced in the end, turning into what it is today.

So, Makoto Araki asked Jun directly, "Then what kind of methods do you think are not considered ordinary methods?"

Ah Chun said, "It can only restrain divine and demonic power, but it is not invincible. Ah Chun believes that as long as there is enough power, it can be destroyed."

The conversation between the two was profound and unfathomable. Fujita Mino listened from the side, completely bewildered. In addition, she had already been tamed, so she just listened quietly and did not intend to interrupt.

"If the power is strong enough, then I'll have to take action myself, won't I?" Araki Makoto scratched the back of his head and asked Jun, "Isn't there any other way?"

Ah Chun thought for a moment, and after several seconds answered, "Not at the moment."

Araki Makoto was somewhat disappointed by Jun's answer, but it was actually within his expectations.

To be honest, Makoto Araki didn't want to get involved because he had some concerns, but it wasn't because he was afraid of losing or dying.

He feared that if he were to intervene, the balance of Yin and Yang in the world would be disrupted again, and new troubles might arise.

Therefore, unless it's a desperate situation like when Shimizu Suzune and Ishikawa Risa are attacked at the same time, and the divine messengers might face total annihilation, Makoto Araki would never personally intervene.

Ultimately, if Shimizu Suzune and Ishikawa Risa were to be attacked and wiped out, it would undoubtedly be an imbalance of yin and yang. Therefore, from this perspective, Araki Makoto's actions were principled.

As we all know, it's not just Shimizu Suzune and Ishikawa Risa who are troubled by the "fake people," nor are it just Araki Makoto, Fujita Mino, Kitamura Eri, and Ari; the ghosts like Oni King Akane and Ooi Yuomi are also caught off guard by the appearance of the fake people.

……

……

Tokyo.

Minato Ward, Tokyo Tower.

After Akane absorbed Fujita Mino's divine power, her demonic power became unprecedentedly strong, to the point that she could almost glimpse the will of heaven.

It was 7 p.m.

Akane stood atop Tokyo Tower, squinting as she looked down at the city below.

Facing the night breeze, Qian slowly asked, "I still don't understand why you chose to join our Ghost Spirit Clan."

The person she asked was none other than Ooi Yuomi, who was standing next to her. This traitorous messenger was currently standing on Tokyo Tower.