I adopted a child demon from the Gap, and I'm a special agent for the Bureau of Supernatural Ab

It's almost as if it can transform the two sides of everything in the world.

He could sense that he was far from uncovering the essence of this power. If he truly comprehended and fully mastered its key aspects, the heights he could reach were beyond even Li Cheng's own imagination.

He couldn't help but wonder if Zi, who possessed this complete power, was really just—the so-called last remaining monster in the world, nothing more.

She remained ambiguous about her origins, refusing to tell Li Cheng what had happened. Initially, Li Cheng was somewhat dissatisfied. But now, having grasped a rudimentary understanding of this power, all Li Cheng felt was a chill run down his spine.

The ability to teleport anywhere with almost no cost, the power to transform the duality and opposition of all things in the world—a terrifying ability that reaches the conceptual level. Compared to myself, who has only glimpsed the basics, what kind of enemy did Zi, who was born with these powers and cultivated them to a sufficiently powerful level, face to damage her original will into a dormant state, even to the point that she couldn't support her body and turned into a childlike form with lost memories?

What kind of enemy could have wounded her so badly? And who would have the audacity to harm her like this?

Although he didn't know her past, after forming a life-bonding contract, Li Cheng could clearly understand Zi's personality. Although she seemed full of ideas and mysterious, at her core, she was someone content with a simple life. Zi wasn't someone who excessively pursued profit or practical value. In terms of values, she was actually quite similar to those elderly people who had experienced great ups and downs in their youth but now had no worries and just wanted to live a peaceful life.

Wait a minute, I seem to remember her telling me she was seventeen? This kind of mentality doesn't seem like something a seventeen-year-old should have, does it? One hundred and seventy would be more like it!

Li Cheng discovered the blind spot.

(In the Future Gadget Research Institute, Shio, who had fallen asleep on the sofa, suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze extremely dangerous, and slowly sat up.)

Fine, since Zi says so, I'll just believe her. Anyway, she wouldn't hurt me, so why bother with such a small thing?

Li Cheng put aside his distracting thoughts. (tide yawned contentedly and went back to sleep.)

In short, Zi's personality dictates that she will not actively get involved in anything. That means someone must have approached her, injured her to the point of near death, and she barely managed to escape through a gap before being found by herself.

If that's the case, then is someone trying to obtain Purple's power? Is someone trying to use Purple to achieve some purpose?

Whatever the reason, that enemy must possess power stronger than Zi, perhaps even completely overwhelming him. What kind of enemy could reach such a level of strength? A Transcendent? Among Transcendents, this power would probably rank among the top three. However, among the world's strongest Transcendents, it seems none have the motive to do such a thing. Surely there can't be some unknown Transcendent secretly plotting something, right?

Li Cheng pressed his head, feeling a headache coming on. He felt as if a raging underground river was roaring and surging deep beneath his feet, slowly about to burst forth from the earth.

However, regardless of the truth, Zi had at least told him one thing: he must become stronger, much stronger. While A-rank strength allowed him to look down on the vast majority of experts in the world, he was still far from being qualified before those at the very top.

In other words, the goal is to find a way to surpass others...

Li Cheng silently recited it.

A gust of wind swept past his ear, accompanied by a powerful flow of magic. Without even raising his head, Li Cheng created a rift beside him, absorbing the deadly sneak attack without a trace.

"How is that possible? Can you really withstand this level of power?"

The enemy's utterly incompetent shouting began to annoy Li Cheng. Considering that Emiya Kiritsugu and the others were still outside fighting tanks and machine guns, he decided to end the battle quickly and not delay any longer.

Seemingly sensing Li Cheng's thoughts, Jester let out a strange cry and darted towards the believer lying on the ground. But before he could take two steps closer, a heavy flying kick landed squarely on his face, snapping his neck. Amidst spurting blood, Jester's headless body slumped to the ground, his head rolling a considerable distance away.

But Li Cheng didn't stop. He vanished from his spot once more, reappearing on the other side of the believer, and stepped on a thin shadow. With a scream, Jester's body emerged from the ground, only to be killed by Li Cheng's single blow.

"Damn it, this isn't magic or superpowers at all! What exactly is this power of yours?!"

Jester, who reappeared at the bottom of the staircase, shouted angrily at Li Cheng.

Sure enough, there are just too many of these guys to kill. Before we know their exact abilities, it's best not to get too entangled with them.

Thinking this, Li Cheng turned to pick up the believer, but unexpectedly, Jester screamed and pounced at top speed. Li Cheng hadn't anticipated his speed and quickly turned to meet him. Unexpectedly, the believer, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly sprang up and pierced Jester's head with his hand.

"you're awake?"

Li Cheng spoke with some surprise, while the believer simply stood up in silence, threw away Jester's corpse, and looked pale and depressed.

"Now is not the time to let you leave!"

With a twisted expression, Jester reappeared in the factory.

The believer almost immediately wanted to rush forward, but Li Cheng reached out and stopped her, shaking his head at her.

"Don't let him provoke you, it's useless. Let's leave first, there's no point in continuing to fight like this."

"..."

Biting his lip, the believer stared wide-eyed without saying a word, but he understood the current situation and stopped rushing forward.

“Hmph, that expression of forbearance is quite amusing,” Jester laughed again when he saw the believer stop. “But are you really going to run away? My darling, if you run away this time, you’ll have even less chance to kill me next time!”

Just as Jester had predicted, the believer's expression immediately turned murderous upon hearing his words. But unexpectedly, she then knelt down in fear and trepidation, her face filled with guilt and pain. At the same time, Li Cheng, standing beside her, stared wide-eyed at him.

No, that's not right. It doesn't seem like they're looking at me.

Jester froze in place. He could feel a gaze, devoid of joy or sorrow, silently watching him from behind.

"yours?"

With a strange and ethereal voice, the other person calmly asked the question from behind Jester.

…………

Thank you to readers Warm-hearted Shrine Maiden Hakurei Yumu and Beyond the Fantasy Land for their recommendation votes.

The second update is here as always, Rua!

I'm off to pass the torch.

Chapter 18, Section 116: The Real Assassin

That kind of aura is definitely not something an ordinary person can achieve...

Without even turning around, Jester knew from the other person's seemingly casual remark that the tall figure standing behind him was a Transcendent-level powerhouse. Of course, in reality, he couldn't turn around anymore; that powerful aura locked onto his body, rendering him completely immobile.

"What... are you kidding me..."

Sharp teeth clashed tightly, even piercing flesh. Jester struggled with all his might, managing only to squeeze out this one sentence with great difficulty.

You're kidding, this must be a joke!

How could a mere assassin possibly be a Transcendent-level individual? Moreover, such audacity would place him among the strongest Transcendents. How could someone of that caliber be here?!

No, we have to move quickly, this body is already—what, the backup in this factory is already…

Jester, attempting to transfer his consciousness to a spare body hidden within the factory, suddenly wore an expression of disbelief. All of the more than one hundred B-rank magician bodies he had prepared in advance in this factory had now lost contact.

Could it be that this guy erased all my backups beforehand before showing up in front of me?

"Ughhhhhh—"

Fighting against the overwhelming pressure from his opponent with all his might, Jester twisted his body, trying to see the figure standing behind him clearly at the last moment.

The next moment, a dark blue light magnified before his eyes. The tall figure swiftly severed Jester's head, instantly extinguishing his life force.

All Jester could perceive at the end were a few metallic scraping sounds, like the friction between different parts of an armor during movement.

He swept aside the headless corpse of Jester with the blade of his sword, and the tall figure holding the greatsword silently walked forward, toward Li Cheng and his followers not far away.

Li Cheng subconsciously took a step back, almost assuming a defensive stance. It wasn't that he was deliberately being wary; it was simply that the aura emanating from his opponent was too powerful, making it difficult for Li Cheng to even maintain his balance.

But then, Li Cheng felt that the other party instantly withdrew his aura, and in an instant, the killing intent that was almost numbing his body disappeared without a trace.

"Faithful ones—"

Slowly, the mysterious transcendent being, clad in black spiked armor and with a skull emitting blue flames on his head, gently uttered a syllable and walked to the kneeling believer.

"First Lord, I have failed the trial and betrayed my faith. Please execute me and lead me to the other side of the valley below."

Kneeling on the ground, the believer spoke softly, sobbing uncontrollably, her expression pained as if she had committed an unforgivable sin.

"..."

The armored skeleton wielding the greatsword simply stood silently, neither responding nor making any move, watching the weeping believer without moving.

"As expected, I, who failed the test and could not attain the position of Hassan, am not even qualified to be led to my death by the First Lord?"

Finding that the other party did not react at all, the believer's expression became increasingly desperate.

“O believer,” the skeleton said calmly, gazing at the agonizing believer lying on the ground, “no matter how dire the situation, you must not reveal your vulnerability. This is a principle I taught you Hassans, a principle you should already know. Why then do you violate it now?”

The believer was slightly taken aback, and for a moment did not know how to react.

"You have completed your test well," the tall skeleton said, shaking its head. "With a body that was not yet fully healed, you fought against a special enemy that you did not know, and fought until you were exhausted. There is nothing about this achievement that I am dissatisfied with."

"...First Generation Sir!"

Receiving such positive feedback from the person she admired and followed made the believer somewhat flustered. She waved her hands, her face slightly flushed, unsure of what to do.

"However, your actions this time also had shortcomings."

However, the skeleton, who was then respectfully addressed as "the First Lord," spoke in a rather unfriendly tone:

"Advancing recklessly without gathering intelligence on the enemy, resulting in injury, is one; recovering under the care of potential allies, yet leaving alone before fully healed, stubbornly insisting on completing the mission alone, is another; when the enemy exhibits multiple individuals with incomprehensible characteristics, fighting to the death instead of retreating, ultimately leading to capture, is a third..."

Speaking slowly and deliberately, the skeleton listed out all the mistakes the believer had made during this period in an extremely stern tone.

"First Lord, I..."

The believer, blushing and on the verge of tears, was then patted on the head by the other party.

Ah, finally, is the First Lord about to behead me? Is this the final fate of a fool like me, who dared to try and become Hassan? Well, that's fine too…

With her eyes closed, the believer awaited her death. But to her surprise, the large hand encased in armor that had patted her head gently stroked her hair, as if petting a kitten.

"If Hassan is the one who made the mistake, then only by surrendering his head can he atone for it. However, you are not Hassan, and you still have shortcomings that need to be improved. This time, I will not pursue the matter further."

"...The First Lord (choking up)..."

Why do I always feel like I'm standing here—in a particularly conspicuous way?

With a somewhat awkward expression, Li Cheng stood not far away watching the interaction between the two, unsure of what he should do.

"Men from the action team, thank you for your help and rescue of my worthless disciple."

Just then, the armored skeleton suddenly spoke to Li Cheng.

“My name is the Old Man of the Mountain. You may call me the Old Man of the Mountain, or, as the outer followers may call me King Hassan. I will remember this kindness. When the day comes that I shall repay it, I will become your claws and tear apart the enemy before you. This is my oath.”

"Is that so, Master Shanweng? You're really amazing, hahaha..."

What am I saying? Li Cheng was somewhat amused and exasperated by his own reaction, then suddenly remembered that it was his own powerful punch that had seriously injured the believer. His amused and exasperated expression became subtle again, with a few beads of sweat glistening on his cheeks.

"Stand up."

Bending down, the old man of the mountain grasped the believer's hand and pulled her up from the ground. Then, he led her to a window. Outside, the fighting continued, clearly indicating that Kiritsugu Emiya and his men were still engaged in battle with the tanks and machine guns.

“Watch closely,” the old man said calmly, his eyes burning with ghostly fire staring directly at the bewildered believer. “What I am about to show you is the true assassin.”

The next moment, the tall figure vanished like lightning, crashing through the wall and arriving in front of a tank.

With a large outstretched hand, the old man lifted the tank with one hand, then swung it away as if it were made of paper. With a whooshing sound, the tank crashed into another tank, and both were engulfed in the flames of the explosion.