"Chī————!"
The icy blade light flashed through the space at a terrifying speed, imperceptible to any ordinary person, akin to a fleeting glimmer, slicing through a person's body.
"Peng————!"
The person struck by the blade light immediately burst into flames, burning like a candle nearing its end, gradually extinguishing, finally turning into a wisp of fire and disappearing into the air.
"Hoo..."
Fang Li walked on the unnoticed streets where this scene unfolded. With a sigh of relief, he raised his head, gazing at the darkening sky.
By now, the day had gradually turned into night.
In other words, Fang Li, who had been eliminating Torches since morning, had been working for an entire day.
"How many Torches have I eliminated?"
Fang Li had lost count.
He only knew that initially, the Torches he eliminated were those on the brink of extinguishing. But since when, the flames of the Torches Fang Li extinguished were slightly larger.
The Torch he just dealt with, the Power of Existence within its body had just dissipated enough to render it a walking corpse, devoid of will.
In this way, it's imaginable how many Torches Fang Li had eliminated.
"But Friagne still hasn't appeared. Is he afraid?"
This was an impossible scenario.
The opponent was among the top five Crimson Lords in the modern era, with numerous Treasure Tools at his disposal. Yet, his adversary was just a single human, possessing a treasure coveted by Crimson World Denizens.
In such a situation, Friagne would absolutely not abandon his entire plan due to fear of a mere human.
"In other words, is he still observing from the sidelines?" Fang Li pondered.
This wasn't strange either.
Since Friagne prided himself on cunning and strategy, he wouldn't act recklessly.
Otherwise, Fang Li wouldn't have needed to use the Reiji Maigo (Midnight Lost Child) to lure Friagne and make him lose his composure.
Now, Friagne was likely becoming cautious. Even if the set Torches were being eliminated by Fang Li, he still wouldn't dare to act rashly.
Was it because Fang Li, with the Reiji Maigo (Midnight Lost Child), could compensate for this loss?
Otherwise, if someone disrupted the City Devourer's plan, even if Friagne remained composed, it would be impossible for him to keep observing in the shadows.
"If only we could actively find him here." Fang Li couldn't help but feel regretful at this thought.
He had used the Reiji Maigo (Midnight Lost Child) as an indicator to enter the world of "Shakugan no Shana (Burning-Eyed Shana)," all to expand his advantage. Yet, the outcome was unexpected, involving Friagne in the process.
"I didn't expect Friagne to show up."
If Fang Li had known that he would encounter this "Hunter" upon arrival, he would have exchanged for some exploration and reconnaissance items in the Main God's Dimension.
"What a miscalculation..."
In fact, it wasn't entirely Fang Li's fault.
After all, Fang Li had been exposed to "Shakugan no Shana (Burning-Eyed Shana)" earlier than "Hidan no Aria," and many plot details had been completely forgotten.
If it weren't for the large number of Torches stirring Fang Li's memory, he might not even recall anything about Friagne.
"Never mind," Fang Li slapped his cheeks as he spoke to himself. "Anyway, the other party will sooner or later come knocking, so let's patiently wait."
That being said, Fang Li also hoped to resolve Friagne as soon as possible.
This was because the earlier the completion of the Main Quest issued by the Main God's Dimension, the higher the evaluation during clearance.
Conversely, if too much time was spent, the clearance evaluation would correspondingly decrease. Until the Main God's Dimension judged that the Divine Envoy lacked the ability to complete the Main Quest, the Main Quest would be declared a failure, deducting Exchange Points.
Moreover, with the plot guiding, Fang Li naturally wanted to complete the Main Quest as quickly as possible.
From this perspective, Friagne was indeed an excellent prey.
Once he was dealt with and obtained the numerous Treasure Tools from his body, Fang Li could complete both Main Quest One and Main Quest Two simultaneously, killing two birds with one stone.
So, Fang Li was so persistent in seeing Friagne as prey.
"I consider Friagne as prey, and Friagne sees me as prey. Isn't this a competition between Hunters?" Fang Li smirked.
"Let's see in the end who will be the Hunter and who will be the prey." Leaving behind these words, Fang Li turned around, ready to go home.
However, at this moment, shouts came from a nearby stall.
"Melon Bread! Freshly baked melon bread just out of the oven!"
Fang Li's steps abruptly stopped. His lips curled slightly, and he turned toward the direction of the shouting.
...
In a dimly lit room, with the sound of a switch being turned on, the electric light began to illuminate the entire room.
Fang Li sat down at a short table, opened the bag in his hand, and emptied its contents.
Suddenly, freshly baked melon bread emerged one by one, filling the entire table.
There were at least a dozen of them.
At that moment, Fang Li opened the packaging of one melon bread.
A fragrance wafted out of the bag.
"Gūlp..."
The next second, a subtle sound came from the direction of the balcony.
It sounded like swallowing saliva or a growling stomach, maybe both.
A mischievous smile appeared on Fang Li's face.
If Sylvia were here, she would surely notice that this smile was similar to the one Fang Li showed when she tried to tease him, right?
The saying "proximity to pitch makes you black" applied, and Fang Li had been influenced by the world's number one Diva.
So, Fang Li began to eat the melon bread in his hand.
After finishing one, Fang Li picked up another.
In this way, the melon bread on the table gradually decreased.
In the direction of the balcony, the air seemed to become a bit restless as the number of melon bread decreased.
When Fang Li reached for the fourth melon bread, the other party couldn't endure it any longer.
"Stop it!"
With this scolding, the curtains and windows of the balcony were forcefully opened.
Fang Li's hand immediately stopped with a triumphant emotion gradually appearing in his eyes.
In Fang Li's view, the other party was also close to the breaking point and would probably rush in regardless of restraint.
However, as Fang Li thought so, outside the balcony, a girl in black stared angrily at Fang Li and loudly said these words.
"You, you don't even know how to eat melon bread properly, you're just ruining it!"
As soon as these words were spoken, Fang Li's hand slipped, nearly causing him to fall.
...