Chapter 85: Despair

Performing an agile footwork, I disappear from my initial position in the blink of an eye. I concentrate my aura, enveloping my body with growing intensity as I prepare for the inevitable: the one-on-one confrontation with the demon looming before me.

In an instant, I reappear behind her, moving with an almost supernatural speed. My sword rises in a swift diagonal motion, aiming at her unprotected back. But before my strike can land, the demon reacts with astonishing quickness. The branches on her back morph into a dense lattice, forming a makeshift shield that halts my attack dead in its tracks.

Bang!!!