These stairs are a bit creepy. It’s really dark down there. Even though the lights are on behind me, I can’t see past the third step! My divine sense is blocked too, and that usually helps when it’s dark. Mm. There’s only one thing left to do. Since I can’t see, I’ll just use my Unrelenting Path of Slaughter! It’s been a while since I’ve used it to help me get around in the dark. While I’m at it, maybe I should take Mrs. Feather’s Future Husband out of the life pouch and chop him up into little bite-sized pieces. That way, when I’m hungry, I’ll have something to snack on. He might be a bit raw because the ruler didn’t teach me how to cook a phoenix or vermillion bird yet, but a raw snack is better than no snack at all.

“You don’t want to do that.”

Ah? The ruler’s telling me I don’t want to do what? Ooh, right, right, there’s the side effect of the pill she fed me: sudden bouts of bloodthirstiness. Hmm. I thought it’d only make me want to kill people; the ruler never said anything about it making me hungry! Well, I’ll put this limp bird back inside the life pouch, store this cutting board, and sheathe Durandal’s weapon body. Mm? Did something happen to Durandal? His weapon body feels a bit … warm? That’s really weird because I’m not supposed to feel things while my Unrelenting Path of Slaughter is active. Well, whatever! I’m racing against some demons who’re exploiting their home field advantage; I don’t have time to worry about Durandal. No matter what happens to Durandal, I can always fix him with the ruler’s help. I can’t say the same about the heaven-defying treasure being taken away! The ruler might not let the demons get away with it, but I don’t think she’ll give the treasure to me if she has to interfere.

Speaking of catching up to those demons, my Unrelenting Path of Slaughter is working as intended! I can see the outline of the stairs just fine. There’s actually a big gap three steps wide down there with spike traps at the bottom! If I tried to walk down without looking, I’d fall into the hole and probably get a few new piercings. My body might be tough, but whatever the walls and floor of this place are made out of, it’s tough too. The only problem is I can’t hear anything while my Unrelenting Path of Slaughter is active. …Is the ruler a ghost? I swear I heard her talk to me!

“I’m speaking directly into your head.”

That explains it. She’s going to have to teach me how to do that someday. I bet I could do a lot with a trick like that. I could fool people into believing a house is haunted. I could talk to Ilya when she’s wearing earplugs. Mm, there’s lots I could do. Anyway, I’ll grab Mrs. Mu and sling her over my shoulder…? Why is she so heavy? I can’t even lift her! “There’s a hole in the middle of the steps. I’ll carry you over it, and you can’t say no because I can’t hear you.”

Ah? Mrs. Mu became as light as air. If I dropped her into the pit, would she die, or would she float on top of the spikes? Maybe if I threw her down really hard it wouldn’t matter how light she is. Ahem. Not that I would do something like that. The ruler really did try to spin bloodthirstiness as a benefit to using my Unrelenting Path of Slaughter, but I don’t see it!

“That’s because you’re using the Unrelenting Path of Slaughter to help your allies walk down a dark flight of stairs. It’s called the Unrelenting Path of Slaughter, not the path for the blind.”

…The ruler does have a point. How’s she following me down these stairs anyway? Does the darkness not affect her vision? It’s definitely not normal darkness because I usually don’t have a problem seeing in the dark. This darkness is more like I’m walking into a room filled with black spiritual energy. It’s really weird because in my vision, everything looks a bit green. I haven’t seen green while using my Unrelenting Path of Slaughter in ages! What did it mean again? I think it means there’s the presence of mana, but I could be wrong. Mm, well, demons are magical like Ilya, so it’s most likely some sort of mana. …Doesn’t that mean mana can block divine sense? There’ll be a day where I can’t conveniently locate Ilya!? Ah, that’s impossible. Ilya only has three places she ever goes: her lab, the herb garden, and wherever I decide to kidnap her to.

Oh? The green tint disappeared after I went down the flight of stairs. I’ll deactivate my Unrelenting Path of Slaughter, and … as expected! I can see again. Oh, right, I’ll put Mrs. Mu down now. Why is she looking at me with wary eyes? I only hesitated a teensy little bit while standing over that gap! Maybe I might’ve lifted her over my head, but I really wasn’t going to throw her in! Besides, it was so dark in there that she shouldn’t have known there was a trap in there that could’ve killed her. Ahem, moving on. “We barged our way through the first part! What’s next?”

Barging through was Mrs. Mu’s idea in the first place, so it’s only reasonable she comes up with the rest of the plan. It’s not that I can’t think up of a plan on my own; it just wouldn’t be an efficient use of our abilities. Mrs. Mu’s good at thinking and plotting. I’m good at hitting things. There’s a clear division of labor for us to follow. Wait a second. Isn’t Mrs. Mu good at hitting things too? She’s definitely better than me for now. In that case, I’ll just let her do everything! She can think, plot, and hit while I do what I do best! “Also, are you hungry? I can make us a snack.”