Demonic cultivators pursued strength far more aggressively than those of the righteous path.

Unlike regular cultivators who carefully built their foundations step by step, demonic practitioners often chose faster and more dangerous methods, caring little about consequences as long as they gained power.

Because of this, most people viewed them as unstable and extremely dangerous opponents.

Fighting someone like that was often the worst kind of battle. They ignored injuries, ignored risks, and sometimes fought as though dragging their opponent down with them was enough.

With those thoughts in mind, Derik gradually began regretting fighting Darius.

Despite being confident in his own strength and being a demonic cultivator himself, he still felt wary. The bloodshot eyes, reckless attacks, and complete disregard for injury that Darius displayed all gave him a dangerous feeling.

In Derik’s eyes, it no longer mattered whether Darius cultivated righteous techniques or not.

The man before him simply fought like someone who had stopped caring about consequences.

"I need to finish this quickly."

Killing intent flashed through Derik’s eyes as dark-blue energy surged from his palm.

The surrounding air instantly turned cold.

Even Moon, who was hiding several meters away behind a nearby rooftop, felt the biting chill spread through his body.

’Tsk...’

Moon clicked his tongue in frustration.

’Should I interfere or leave him alone?’

His mission was to monitor Darius, but Elder Albreto had also instructed him to ensure the young man survived if possible.

After all, the agreement between both parties was far more important than a single mission.

Darius would continue providing information regarding demons in exchange for cooperation and certain protections from the Demon Suppression Office.

To Albreto, this deal was extremely worthwhile.

Not only would they gain a steady stream of missions and hidden demons, but Darius himself was also someone filled with mysteries worth investing in.

While Moon was deep in thought, Derik suddenly moved.

His body turned into a black blur as he charged forward.

The flowers along the ground withered wherever he passed.

"High-Ranked Martial Art—FrostFist!"

Bam!

The blackish-blue energy violently struck Darius’s chest.

Blood mixed with fragments of ice instantly sprayed from Darius’s mouth.

Derik’s eyes brightened slightly.

"Humph, I have your heart now. No matter what tricks you have, it’s useless."

The successful strike finally allowed him to relax slightly.

Two layers were separating them, and for someone like Derik, that gap was more than enough to contend with.

Once the heart was sealed, most martial arts and spells became nearly impossible to use properly.

For mages, such attacks were even more terrifying.

During the early years of humanity’s war against demons, countless mages died because their bodies were too fragile in close combat.

Only later, after a genius mage developed a method to form protective energy shields around the body, did mages finally become respected on the battlefield.

Before that...

Most were viewed as liabilities unless heavily protected.

’I’ll report that he resisted and died during capture,’ Derik thought inwardly.

It was the safest option.

No matter what, he could not leave Darius alive.

The young man before him was simply too dangerous and unpredictable.

Meanwhile, Derik still remained convinced that Darius was some kind of demonic cultivator despite the techniques he used clearly belonging to the righteous path.

Darius simply fought too recklessly.

As those thoughts crossed his mind, Derik launched another palm strike toward Darius’s head.

"Die!"

However...

Seeing Darius’s calm expression at such close range suddenly made Derik’s heart skip.

’Why is he so calm?’

Still, the distance was too short for Darius to retaliate.

Reassuring himself, Derik pushed forward with full force.

But then...

Boom!

An explosive shockwave erupted.

Derik’s body was sent flying backward like a ragdoll, blood spraying from his mouth midair.

"Nine Swords!"

Darius roared while remaining in the attack stance.

"That’s impossible!"

Derik forcefully climbed back to his feet while clutching his chest.

"I sealed your heart! How can you still use martial arts?!"

Logically speaking, once the heart was restrained, spiritual circulation should collapse.

Yet Darius merely spat another mouthful of blood.

A bloody hole could now be seen on his chest.

’If it wasn’t for the Golden Bell Shield, I would’ve died from that earlier attack,’ Darius thought while breathing heavily.

What Derik perceived as sealing his heart had only partially succeeded.

The protective layer surrounding Darius’s body had prevented the attack from fully locking his spiritual flow, allowing him to barely retaliate.

Even then, he had been forced to use the Nine Swords Technique without an actual sword.

The backlash alone almost tore apart his arm.

Still...

Minor Success mastery had barely allowed him to execute the attack.

From afar, Moon narrowed his eyes.

’Golden Bell Shield...’

A faint realization surfaced within his mind.

Was this one of the clauses in the contract?

Moon did not know the exact details of the agreement between Darius and Albreto, but after witnessing this fight, he finally understood something.

Darius truly possessed abilities far beyond ordinary cultivators of his level that made Albreto tempted to support.

Still...

Moon revealed a slight smile.

’Where is that terrifying pressure from earlier?’

At this moment, Derik recalled a thing and finally understood, "Golden Bell Shield. No matter your affiliation with the demon suppression office, if you die today, no one would know who killed you."

Derik stood upright as he ridiculed the hazy-eyed Darius, "Such a pity. If you were a true demonic cultivator, your move would have ended with mutual destruction. But it ended with quickening your death. Do you feel a lot of pain? I can finish you off, rest assured."

He rushed for Darius and, though his speed dropped, it wasn’t something Darius could cope with.

Whoosh!

Derik threw the orders out to the back of his mind and was adamant on taking Darius’s life.

Sensing the incoming danger, Darius gave out a strange smile.

Bam!

Suddenly, the blackish claw was caught in a vice-like grip.