Episode 4 - A Spirit

Jiexin's heart pounded in his chest as he watched the woman's transformation from a fragile woman into a savage otherworldly creature. 

Her once-frail appearance had given way to the visage of a nightmarish beast, and terror washed over the onlookers.

In the blink of an eye, Rifena became a relentless force of death and destruction. Her movements were swift, and her claws cut through the air with deadly precision. 

Panic and chaos reigned as people desperately tried to escape the demonic onslaught, but there was no eluding the monster. 

"HEHEHAHAHA!"

She laughed maniacally as she left a trail of lifeless bodies in her wake, her eyes devoid of any humanity.

Jiexin, frozen in horror, felt the weight of helplessness pressing down on him. His instincts warred with his compassionate nature, leaving him torn between running to save his own life or staying to confront this nightmarish threat.

But he couldn't simply abandon the unconscious old man lying beside him. He couldn't bear to leave someone defenseless in the face of such terror.

Just as he was grappling with this impossible decision, to his astonishment, the poor man stirred and then stood up, his posture filled with unexpected confidence.

The old man stepped forward, his eyes still tightly closed. Yet there was an unyielding confidence in his stance.

His voice, despite his frail appearance, echoed through the night with an authority that was nothing short of divine.

"Demon!", the old man shouted, his voice a thunderous proclamation.

The demon, Rifena, turned her malevolent gaze to the old man. Her eyes seemed to smolder with bloodlust intent, and the sinister smirk on her face sent shivers down the spine of anyone who met her gaze. 

Fresh blood dripped from her razor-sharp claws, creating a gruesome tableau against the backdrop of the now-silent city streets.

Then, in a moment that defied the laws of the natural world, a radiant wave of white energy suddenly burst through the old man's frail form. 

The energy was a brilliant blend of white and blue hues, creating an ethereal aura that seemed to channel the very power of the unknown.

He radiated confidence and power, and the air around him seemed to shimmer with an otherworldly light. 

It was a sight that transcended the ordinary, a fusion of celestial energy and mortal determination that held the potential to challenge the very forces of darkness.

With his eyes closed, the old man spoke with authority in his voice.

"In the name of the heavens. I, Mai Ke, A Spirit of Agnea, and a lesser spirit of the heavens, shall punish you and send you back to the abyss!"

The demon, Rifena, responded with maniacal laughter. 

"HAHAHAHA! A lowly Agnean Spirit of the heavens has come to pursue me? Pft!" She continued to laugh.

The old man was silent, his eyes tight shut.

"Well, it's more fun to kill a spirit than these mere weak humans. It's been so long since I killed one!", Rifena licked her claws, her eyes gleaming with insanity.

The old man remained silent and calm, and a radiant yellow aura began to flow around his hand. 

He glanced briefly at Jiexin, who was standing right beside him. 

The old man pushed Jiexin away with an unseen inexplicable force, sending him flying several meters away. An unexpected action.

Jiexin experienced pain as he landed, and his vision blurred momentarily from the impact. 

He struggled to get up, confusion swirling in his mind. Why had the old man pushed him away like that?

As he tried to gather his thoughts and make sense of the chaos around him, he heard a weak but very sinister laugh. 

'Hahaha'

It was a voice unlike Rifena's,  it was the voice of a man that sent shivers down his spine and made his forehead break into a cold sweat.

He looked around to find who it was, but he didn't see anyone near him.

"Hey you!", he heard the voice of Rifena. 

He turned around and she was coming towards him, in the blink of an eye. She quickly appeared right in front of him.

Panicking,  he looked up and found himself face to face with the horrifying demon, mere inches away. Their eyes locked, and a feeling of impending doom washed over him. 

He was trembling with fear, his heart beating erratically, and his mind in a state of utter confusion as the demon looked down on him.

The demon stared into his eyes, and something strange happened. 

Her expression, once sinister, shifted to something different. She quickly averted her gaze from Jiexin, distancing herself from him. 

In a hushed whisper, she uttered words that Su Jiexin couldn't comprehend, 

"Mi riso yam drol. Rof kilong otni rouy seye. Ya tondid teman ot iod it no esosrup."

The demon's behavior had taken an even stranger turn. After uttering incomprehensible words in a whisper, she continued to speak cryptically. 

"Ya liw ekat erac fo taht ylwol tirips rof gnitruh oy, tser derussa rouy nesshay."

The demon then assumed an attack stance, her malevolent gaze fixed on the old man. In an instant, she unleashed a deafening scream and lunged at him with terrifying speed, her sharp claws poised to strike. 

What followed was a battle of unimaginable proportions, a clash of forces beyond the realm of human understanding.

The old man's voice rang out with commands,

"Light Shield, The Scroll!" 

As he uttered these words, a thin yellow aura resembling a scroll materialized before him, acting as a protective barrier against the demon's clawed assault.

Undeterred, the demon swiftly blinked to the side, attempting another attack from a different angle. 

"Yaer!"

Once again, the old man responded with authority,

"Light Shield, The Barrier!"

A dome-like aura enveloped his surroundings, causing the demon's claws to be deflected.

"Yaerrr! How dare you embarrass me, you lowly spirit!" 

The demon was frustrated, but the old man remained composed, his eyes still tightly shut.

The demon's fury knew no bounds as her hissing grew louder, reminiscent of a predatory beast closing in on its prey. 

Her already menacing claws grew exponentially, now covering her entire body.

With a sinister clang, she collided her massive claws together, creating an eerie, metallic sound.

"I will finish you now!"

The demon dashed in a zigzag form that made her create double images of herself due to her incredible speed.

"Claw Technique, Mirage Claws!"

The old man remained calm despite being surrounded by her techniques. He observed her movements closely, predicting her attack. 

"Light Shield, The Barrier!" 

"You think that barrier can't stop me?" the demon sneered. 

"Claw technique, Mirage Double Strike!" 

The demon and her afterimages lunged together to attack the old man, but the barrier proved too strong to be pierced. 

The doubles clawed and attacked the barrier from every side, but it held firm. All of her attacks were ineffective. 

"Yaerr! You're so freaking annoying!" the demon growled in irritation.

"This one will finish you for sure!", the demon gave an eerie smile, her sharp teeth showing.

Then, in a display of supernatural agility, the demon leaped to great heights, initiating a whirlwind-like spin akin to a spinning blade. 

"Claw technique, Wheel of Death!" 

She hurtled downward at a terrifying speed, directly towards the old man's position.

The old man, still maintaining his composure, chanted his protective incantation, 

"Light Shield, The Barrier!" 

The old man tries to intercept the oncoming relentless spinning demon. 

A burst of dazzling luminescence erupted from the clash, leaving Su Jiexin in a state of awe and dread.

"Haha! You can't take this, you lowly spirit!" 

The demon's laughter resonated, and the old man's protective dome began to flicker, a sign that the spinning demon was overpowering the barrier.

The old man strained under the pressure of maintaining the shield. 

"You're going to die now, you worthless scum!" the demon taunted.

But just as the spinning demon threatened to breach the weakened shield, the old man shouted, 

"Light shield, The Hands of Kei!"