Chapter 9 - 9 – The Advanced Evil Spirit That Launched a Sneak Attack

"Damn it!" Looking at the drastically changed appearance of the samurai evil spirit, Hachiman Hikigaya couldn't help but curse aloud. Someone please tell him—why on earth does an evil spirit have firearms?! Bang! But the samurai evil spirit had no intention of answering Hachiman's question. It simply raised its matchlock gun and fired at him. Hachiman dodged the shot just in time. The spirit then charged at him with a katana in one hand and the matchlock aimed with the other. Bang! Bang! Two more gunshots rang out. To Hachiman's dismay, the matchlock gun didn't need manual reloading—it just had a 3-second cooldown before it could fire again. That's totally cheating! Just as he avoided a bullet, the samurai evil spirit swung its katana down at him. Hachiman had no room to counter this relentless combo attack. "I have to destroy that matchlock gun..." After blocking an attack and retreating a few steps to ease the pressure, Hachiman fixated on the firearm in the spirit's hand and made a decision. He raised his left hand. His last usable spell began to charge in his palm, but he didn't release it yet. Holding the Demon-Slaying Blade in his right hand, he bent low and dashed straight at the evil spirit. Seeing him charge, the samurai evil spirit didn't hesitate—it raised the matchlock and fired. But the bullet was deflected by Hachiman's blade. Three seconds to the next shot. The force from the bullet nearly knocked the Demon-Slaying Blade from his grip, but Hachiman held on tight and pressed forward. Seeing its gun attack fail, the spirit calmly put away the matchlock, gripped the katana with both hands, and assumed a defensive stance. Another second passed. With no further resistance, Hachiman reached the spirit. Without hesitation, he swung the blade straight at its neck. Just like in their first encounter, the samurai spirit blocked his sword and followed up with a downward slash. "Watch out!" Yotsuya Miko, watching from the side, shouted out in alarm at the déjà vu moment. But this time, Hachiman was prepared. He stomped with his left foot, tilting his body to the right and narrowly dodging the spirit's counter. It wasn't over yet. Exactly three seconds had passed—just enough time for the spirit's matchlock to reload. Failing to land a strike, the firearm slid from its sleeve into its hand. The spirit aimed at the fallen Hachiman's head to finish him off. But right at that moment—Hachiman's long-charged spell in his left hand finally activated! A powerful surge of spiritual energy shot out, directly destroying the matchlock gun and blasting through the spirit's chest. "It's over..." Seeing his spell hit, Hachiman finally felt the weight in his chest lift. If he had activated it even a second later, he would've been the one to die... But something felt off. "No system notification sound!" Hachiman immediately rolled to the side. Sure enough, a katana stabbed the spot he'd just rolled away from. "Why isn't it dead?!" Getting back up, Hachiman stared in disbelief at the samurai spirit. It had lost one arm, had a gaping hole in its chest—and it could still move! That spider-type evil spirit, also mid-level, had gone down so easily. But this one? It had tanked two of his spells and was still going. "!!!!" With its only remaining hand, the spirit pulled the katana from the ground and let out a deafening roar toward the blood-red moon above. It then slashed the blade across its own armor. Fwoosh... Flames suddenly ignited before Hachiman's eyes. "Crap!" Seeing the katana now engulfed in flames, Hachiman's expression changed dramatically. He immediately turned and leapt toward Yotsuya Miko. The spirit calmly watched him move, then casually tossed its flaming katana behind him and fell to its knees. Ding! You have successfully defeated a mid-level evil spirit. Earned 200 Spirit Coins. The system finally gave the notification, but Hachiman had no time to care. He gathered all his spiritual power into his legs to run faster. Reaching Miko, he didn't say a word—just scooped her up and leapt beyond the gasoline perimeter. Fwoosh! The flame from the discarded katana ignited the fuel, instantly turning the area into a sea of fire. Feeling the burning pain on his skin, Hachiman gritted his teeth and charged through the flames without letting go. He emerged onto open ground and gently laid the well-protected Yotsuya Miko down. Then he immediately began rolling on the dirt to put out the fire on his body. Seeing the flames spreading on Hachiman's uniform, Miko panicked. She grabbed nearby soil and tossed it on him, trying to smother the fire. But gasoline fires don't go out so easily. After a desperate struggle, not only did she fail to extinguish the flames—she burned her own hands. "Wait—the fuel!" Seeing her injured hands, Miko suddenly realized. Ignoring the flames, she pulled at Hachiman's uniform. Understanding her intent, Hachiman helped her take off his school blazer. After more frantic effort, they finally put out the flames. Exhausted, the two collapsed back-to-back on the ground. But before they could even catch their breath, a sinister wind swept across the schoolyard. A shadow flashed in their vision. Before Hachiman could react, he was smacked and sent flying. Cough cough... He tumbled across the track and finally stopped. He tried to get up—but something suddenly pressed down hard on his back. "Warning: High-level evil spirit detected. Host, please be careful..." Only now did the system issue a belated warning. Struggling to lift his head and look at the high-level spirit in front of him, a terrifying thought crossed Hachiman's mind. "Don't tell me... it never left—and has been following me all along?"