"Go, Sis Qu Yi!"

"Go, Miss Qu Yi!"

...

Facing the crowd’s cheers, Qu Yi planted her left hand on her hip, flashed a V-sign with her right, and beamed a confident grin.

"Don’t worry—I’m a Demonhunter!"

With that, she turned and strode against the fleeing tide.

Positioning herself behind the retreating crowd, she gripped a baseball bat tightly in her right hand.

As she spun to face the goblins slowly closing in, her smile vanished.

Qu Yi was furious—*absolutely* furious!

"Today was supposed to be my very first date ever!"

"Couldn’t you at least check the timing and mood?!"

She sidestepped a descending sword slash. Her bat slammed squarely into the goblin’s torso.

At that instant, the bracer on her arm blinked with a faint red glow.

The goblin’s head turned into a bloody mess—as the bat shattered to splinters.

In one fluid motion, Qu Yi snatched the goblin’s sword, kicked the creature flying, seized the weapon, and leaped back to evade a spiked club’s crushing blow.

*Crash!* Gravel and concrete shards exploded upward.

The ambushing goblin had smashed the spot where she’d stood moments before.

Landing lightly, Qu Yi now gripped the sword with both hands and charged again.

This time, the goblins no longer underestimated the petite, red-haired human. Another leaped out, slashing *ahead* of her path—not at her, but to cover its comrade!

Steel clashed. Sparks flew.

Though goblins were second-tier monsters, third-tier Qu Yi held no strength advantage.

Yet her combat experience shone: dodging the next strike with agile footwork, she disengaged instantly.

The street was wide, but choked with cars and debris—only three goblins could press her at once.

Qu Yi fought with hit-and-run precision: strike when an opening appeared, retreat immediately, outcome irrelevant.

No longer dealing heavy damage, but staying safe.

Her tactics pinned the dozen-odd goblins to this single alley.

They smashed through obstacles and vehicles—but remained contained.

Ye Thirteen gazed down, voice calm:

"Waiting for backup, huh..."

*ROAR!* A deafening engine scream cut through the street.

From the distance, a white heavy-duty motorcycle tore toward them at absurd speed.

Amid the roar, the rider’s long white hair streamed wildly in the wind.

Ye Thirteen glanced at the bike, then at Qu Yi—whose shoulders visibly relaxed—and nodded.

Clearly, Qu Yi had planned for this.

Even the rescue arrived right on cue.

With the scene stabilized, Ye Thirteen’s thoughts drifted.

What the Dragon Realm called "Sky Rift," the world termed "spatial rift"—gateways from which demons descended upon the Blue Star, spreading chaos.

Not all Sky Rifts were this small. Not all monsters this manageable.

A major rift could erase a city… even a nation.

Once, the Blue Star hosted over a hundred nations—a vibrant tapestry of civilizations.

Now, fewer than thirty percent remained.

Ye Thirteen stared at the rift’s former location, tone laced with belated realization:

"So… it was *that* small? No wonder it caused barely a ripple."

Sky Rifts always heralded signs: energy fields surging, wildlife fleeing.

Larger rifts meant greater disturbances.

The largest had been detected six months early. Humanity mobilized Demonhunters and armies worldwide—and still lost.

Official reports claimed "successful interception."

Ye Thirteen knew the truth: they’d barely contained the spread. Not suppression. Not victory.

The alliance aimed for annihilation. The result? Far from ideal.

He knew because he’d served in the Dragon Realm’s expeditionary force.

The lone scar on his face was earned there.

Ye Thirteen rarely hunted demons himself—he trained Demonhunters in allied squads.

But if *he* was deployed? The battle shaped humanity’s fate.

Small rifts formed fast, stirred little.

Like this one: Ye Thirteen only recognized it *after* approaching—the sudden rift had triggered the attack.

Formed in moments. No time to evacuate.

Thankfully, small rifts were unstable. They closed quickly.

Unlike massive ones, which acted like they meant to take root on the Blue Star.

First time Ye Thirteen faced such a tiny rift. Admittedly unfamiliar.

Still troublesome—especially popping up in downtown zones.

*Qu Yi only handles low-tier demons and rifts like this.*

Relief washed over him.

His demons were city-erasers.

With that bias, he’d genuinely wondered how someone like Qu Yi—a petite girl—could possibly survive *those*.

Just then, the white motorcycle screeched to a halt at the street mouth.

Qu Yi pivoted and retreated toward it without hesitation.

The goblins roared in fury, charging with weapons raised.

But as Qu Yi executed a graceful mid-air spin and landed behind the bike—

—a loaded rifle faced them.

*Rat-tat-tat!*

Bullets streamed from the white-haired girl’s rifle, striking goblins over a hundred meters away.

Huh?

(⊙_⊙)?

Ye Thirteen blinked, puzzled.

"...Exorcism via physics?"

Then he relaxed.

*Right. Low-tier monsters *can* fall to firearms.*