It was Qinxiu who stepped in just in time to block the blow for Amane, then kicked the Fish Demon away.
"Are you all right, Amane?"
"I'm fine. I had no idea you were this strong, Senior."
"This is no time to praise me. This demon is a deformed freak; even though it doesn't use a Blood Demon Art, it's still a huge pain."
The Fish Demon glared at Qinxiu and said furiously, "You stinking old man, you stole my prey."
"Let's take it together."
The two charged at the Fish Demon from opposite sides. The Fish Demon slithered between them and circled around to flank Amane.
"I'll start with you!"
Qinxiu leaped down from the air and used his crimson Nichirin Blade to pin the Fish Demon's tail to the ground, freezing it in place.
"To pierce my scales like that—this old man's got some tricks."
Without hesitation, the Fish Demon severed its own tail and put some distance between itself and the two of them.
The Fish Demon stared in shock, realizing its tail wasn't regenerating, and fell into deep thought.
Amane immediately rushed forward, giving the Fish Demon no time to think at all.
"(Water Breathing - Second Form: Water Wheel.)"
The Fish Demon easily parried the attack and delivered a punch straight to Amane's abdomen. Qinxiu stepped in, severing the Fish Demon's arm with his Nichirin Blade to save Amane.
"(Damn it, this old man's attacks can hurt me. I have to deal with him first.)"
"(Since this old man is so fond of protecting this brat...)"
The demon broke into a eerie smile just as its tail finished regenerating.
It quickly slid toward Amane, keeping a close eye on the old man's movements.
When the demon looked toward the old man, it saw Amane; but when it looked straight ahead, a crimson Nichirin Blade pierced right through the Fish Demon's neck.
"Did you really think your little tricks could best me? Amane, now's your chance!"
"(Water Breathing - First Form: Water Surface Slash!)"
The Fish Demon broke into that eerie smile once more, looking straight at Qinxiu.
"You're the real trickster, old man."
"Amane! Don't come over here!"
In a flash, the Fish Demon broke free, grabbed Amane, and dragged him down into the ocean. Qinxiu tried to lunge forward and stop it, but he was a step too late.
Amane was dragged right into the sea, where the Fish Demon moved with terrifying speed.
Down in the depths, Amane stood no chance at all. Though he knew how to swim and had practiced holding his breath during his Breathing Style training, the Fish Demon bared its sharp claws and closed in fast.
"(Water Breathing - Sixth Form: Whirlpool!)"
Just as Qinxiu stood on the shore, consumed by self-blame, a violent whirlpool churned up from the surface of the sea, thrusting both Amane and the Fish Demon back up onto the beach.
"My scales!"
Gasping heavily for air, Amane said to Qinxiu, "I just used the Sixth Form... I cleared away... all of his fish scales, and I cut deep into his body too."
"Qinxiu Senior, hurry... go cut off his neck!"
Qinxiu sprinted forward, raised his Nichirin Blade, and brought it down toward the Fish Demon's neck.
"Spare me! I really didn't kill anyone! I swear I didn't kill anyone!"
Without giving him a chance, Qinxiu swung his blade and sliced the Fish Demon's head right off its shoulders.
Qinxiu pressed his foot down onto the Fish Demon's severed head.
"I don't care what you have to say. You're a demon, and that means you die."
"Let's go. Our work here is done."
Amane lay flat on the ground.
"Qinxiu Senior, you head back first. Don't wait for me."
Shiquan woke up inside a shipping container warehouse. After resting for a bit, Amane changed into a fresh set of clothes and sat down right next to Shiquan.
"Just now—"
Before Shiquan could finish, Amane cut him off.
"You were the one who killed those two men, weren't you?"
Hearing this, Shiquan tensed up. Amane wore an icy expression, completely devoid of his usual warmth.
"Right now, I want to hear the truth from your own mouth. Did you kill those two men?"
"I did, but at the time—"
"If your child found out you were a murderer, how do you think she'd feel? What would she think of you? You're supposed to be your child's role model right now!"
Tears streamed uncontrollably down Shiquan's face.
"What am I supposed to do? What about my daughter?"
"Why did you have to kill? There's no turning back now. Go turn yourself in immediately."
"It was about the money. I had lent them money before. When I found out my daughter fell ill, I went to them over and over again to collect the debt, but there was nothing I could do."
"Shiquan, don't panic. The two of us will definitely pay you back another day."
"How am I supposed to wait for you? My daughter is about to have surgery!"
"There's nothing we can do either. We don't have the money to pay you back right now."
"I don't care about your excuses! You need to give me my money right now!"
"What's your problem, you gonna hit us?"
"Let me tell you something—we aren't paying you back a dime, and we're quitting our jobs tomorrow and getting out of here. You're a damn nuisance every single day."
The two men turned to leave. Shiquan picked up an iron rod from the ground and smashed it hard into the back of one man's head, causing him to bleed profusely. The other man was frozen in terror by the sudden attack.
Shiquan raised the iron rod at him, and the man turned and bolted, screaming at the top of his lungs. But he couldn't run fast enough; Shiquan caught up and beat him to the ground with the rod.
Even as the man kept struggling, Shiquan relentlessly pounded him with the iron rod until he went completely still.
Shiquan snapped out of his rage and placed a hand under their noses—neither of them was breathing. Realizing that his blind fury had led him to murder those two bastards, he decided to dump the bodies into the sea and drive away. The next day, someone discovered the bodies, and Luojing Port was cordoned off.
"I promise you. I'm a failure of a father, and I'll turn myself in... but I want to go see my daughter first."
Amane accompanied Shiquan to the hospital. Inside the ward lay a terribly frail little girl, about Maigo's age, attended by an elderly grandmother.
"Who is this?"
"A friend who helped me out."
Watching the scene unfold before him, Amane couldn't help but think of Naoya. Both of them carried far too much responsibility on their shoulders.
"Happy birthday!"
"You always loved eating birthday cake the most. Let's eat some cake together. The surgery is in three days, so my baby girl won't be scared at all, right?"
"Let's cut the cake. It's been a long time since I had any, too."
At that, Shiquan broke down and wept uncontrollably.
"These are tears of joy. The money for my daughter's surgery is finally all here. After this, you'll be able to live your life freely again, just like before."
Some time later.
"Yameba Shiquan, having acted under provocation and having turned himself in voluntarily, is hereby sentenced to life imprisonment for intentional homicide, with an additional—"
Over at the hospital:
"The surgery was a complete success. The patient is out of critical condition, but she still needs plenty of rest."
"Thank you, doctor. Thank you so much."
That night, a passenger plane landed at the airport. A tall, refined-looking man stepped out from the cabin.
Waiting to welcome them at the airport were Nijio Ran and Ms. Zuoye, who had been standing there for a long time.
"Axis, big bro! Over here!"
"Well, look at that. It's been a few years, Nijio Ran, and you've grown this tall. How come it's just the two of you? Where's the old man?"
"Your old man is too busy to come. And you need to call me 'Miss'."
The group got into a car and left the airport.
"Did you call me all the way back from Country M because something huge happened? I don't want to hear that Mom just missed me."
"As if I'd ever miss you."
"Wait, is there a financial crisis? Did our family's company go bankrupt?!"
"What kind of nonsense are you babbling about? Miss, you should be the one to explain."
"On April 24th, Hideharu is going to escort a scientist out of here. This scientist is a botanical expert, and the plant he's researching—the Blue Spider Lily—might have caught someone's attention. It's expected that Hideharu will be attacked by Muzan while escorting him."
"Muzan? Why not just leave during the day? Aren't those guys terrified of sunlight?"
"That may be true, but we still can't help worrying."
Sucking on a lollipop, Zuoye said, "Anyway, bringing you back isn't just a precaution—I also wanted to see if a little punk who was still wetting the bed at age eight has actually amounted to anything."
Axis's face flushed red.
"That's ancient history! Why bring it up?! I'm begging you, can you just forget about that?!"