Chapter 8

The arrival of the man instantly changed the atmosphere in the temple courtyard.

The aura composed of "qi" can reveal the emotional fluctuations of a psychic to the greatest extent.

At this moment, the man's aura was emitting a cold and ruthless killing intent.

In the face of this killing intent-laden aura, Monica, an ordinary person, was tormented.

Moyou, on the other hand, remained unaffected, hiding his presence in the darkness and waiting for the right moment to act.

The man walked toward Monica.

Since stepping into the courtyard, his gaze had been fixed on Monica, never wavering.

He approached Monica and smiled, saying, "Do you know why I haven't killed you yet?"

Monica's face was ashen, and she could only stare wide-eyed at what she considered a "monster" approaching her step by step.

Shaken by the killing intent, she had completely lost her ability to think and was incapable of answering the man's question.

"Even the strength to guess is gone, huh?"

Seeing Monica's reaction, the man's smile grew wider.

"Don't worry, I love chatting. In the limited time we have, I'll tell you the reason. The reason I haven't killed you directly is, of course, because..."

Midway through his sentence, the man suddenly pounced like a tiger or a leopard, lunging at Moyou, who was hiding in the dark corner.

From that moment on, whether the man's words about not killing Monica were superfluous or not became irrelevant.

And whether he really enjoyed chatting was also no longer important.

What the man wanted was to attract and manipulate Moyou's attention with his words, then strike him down with a thunderous attack.

"..."

Faced with the man's sudden attack, Moyou's face involuntarily showed panic.

In the split second, the man saw Moyou's reaction.

"So, you're just a kid."

The man sneered, and his right fist, charged with abundant psychic energy, struck at Moyou's vital points at the fastest speed.

As the fatal attack approached, Moyou, seemingly frightened, hastily retreated to avoid the attack. He tripped over something and fell on his buttocks.

This caused the man's attack to miss.

However, Moyou, now on the ground, had clearly lost any ability to counterattack.

Unless he had a weapon to extend his reach, he would face the man's second fatal attack.

But Moyou clearly had no weapon.

After all...

The kid in front of him was at best a novice who had just glimpsed the world of psychic abilities and knew nothing about combat, not worth fearing.

"You must think that's what I'm thinking, right?"

The man suddenly reined in his sneer, and his gaze, like a venomous snake, fixed on Moyou's hands supporting him on the ground.

At that moment, Moyou, who had fallen, took the opportunity to draw a long, sharp Western kitchen knife hidden under a rag and thrust it at the man's right wrist, which was still in a punching position.

This was the closest part Moyou could attack.

However, the man had never been complacent and had immediately noticed Moyou's move, so there was no way he would be hit.

Dodging was not a problem—

But to end the fight faster and more decisively, this man, who seemed to enjoy killing, actually spread his right palm and met Moyou's thrusting kitchen knife.

Pfft!

The sharp blade pierced through the man's palm, spewing out a lot of blood.

However, the man's face remained expressionless. Not only did he not pull back his hand, but he pressed down on the blade with force.

As blood spurted, his entire hand slid down to the handle of the knife.

Then, as if he felt no pain, the man, with his blood-soaked hand pierced by the kitchen knife, firmly gripped Moyou's hand holding the knife.

"The amount of 'qi' I can release is far greater than yours, so from the moment I got close and controlled you, you were already defeated. Come on, let me see your true panic."

The man looked calm. If he wished, his other hand, floating with 'qi,' could put Moyou to sleep at any time.

He could defeat a psychic without even using his ability.

Even though it was just a kid, it still brought him some sense of accomplishment.

Moyou tried to struggle, but since his 'qi' was less than the man's, it was ineffective.

However, the man's high alertness surprised him, and his bold and ruthless move to gain the upper hand by taking a wound was not to be underestimated.

This guy... is more troublesome than he appears.

"So, you deliberately said all that nonsense to Monica not just to distract my attention, but because you really do enjoy chatting."

Moyou sighed lightly, not entirely calm, but not showing the panic and fear the man wanted to see.

The man stared at Moyou's reaction and said coldly, "It seems I underestimated you. Don't stick your neck out so easily in your next life; that way, you might live longer."

"Like you would let me go if I didn't act. Your aura reveals your true nature without reservation."

"Tsk, that obvious, huh?"

The man said, "Indeed, when I saw your aura, I already considered you prey."

Before he finished speaking, he punched straight for Moyou's vital points.

Moyou, who was restrained, had no way to avoid it and could only face death.

However, just as the man's powerful fist was about to crush Moyou's head, a pair of black hands, which had appeared at some point, reached out from both sides of the man's face, covered his face, and snapped it backward.

Crack!

The man's head was immediately bent backward by the black hands, and his throat bone broke through the skin, spewing out a lot of blood.

"Huh?"

The sudden turn of events froze the man's expression, and confusion grew like a rampant vine in his mind.

What happened?

He tried to say something but could only make a muffled, indistinct sound, quickly turning into a corpse that fell to the ground.

The shadow puppet that had appeared behind the man slowly retracted its hands and, at Moyou's command, returned to its normal shadow form.

First, he created a layered illusion to hide the shadow puppet's existence, then made it appear at the critical moment to deliver a fatal blow.

Thus, the battle ended in less than a minute.

Moyou looked down at the man's corpse, feeling a strange emotion.

It was a mix of pleasure and satisfaction.

"Strange, I'm sure I don't like killing, so why do I feel this way?"

Moyou raised his index finger to his chin and muttered to himself,

"Is it because I saw this guy fall into the trap I set step by step? Or because I didn't have to exert much effort to get rid of a troublemaker? The kind of thrill you get from a speed run in a game?"

"Right, I don't even know this guy's name, or if he has psychic abilities... Does he have psychic abilities?"

"Never mind, it doesn't matter."

Moyou shook his head slightly and looked at the man's corpse again.

The feeling of victory lingered in his heart.

Psychic battles are truly interesting. Just by successfully setting a trap, you can end a fight in an instant.

And I can become even stronger...

Thinking of this, Moyou couldn't help but smile.

Monica, seeing the man's fate and Moyou's smile, felt a chill run through her body.