Chapter 52: No Way Out

Luka didn’t dare act rashly. He listened carefully to the stone statue demons’ conversation, trying to gather information.

When he heard them start complaining at length, his expression turned odd. He kept shooting strange glances at the Sky Eye Demon.

The Sky Eye Demon watched these stone statue demons completely ignore it and chat freely among themselves. Then it caught Luka’s strange look. Its authority felt deeply insulted, and it flew into a rage.

Its single eye burned with shame and fury. Sharp mental messages full of warning and threat poured into the stone statue demons’ minds.

The five stone statue demons seemed to hear something specific. Their behavior became a bit more restrained.

But one of them still sneered. “You spent a huge amount of vital energy to cast teleportation magic and summon us, all for this worthless Magica cub? Is she really worth all five of us?”

Another spoke up. “Hmph, right! Forget five Sitongtu stone statue demons, even one is too many! Where did all your guards go? Don’t tell me they were all killed by this Magica cub?”

Yet another laughed loudly. “Hahaha, right, that’s hilarious! It was too stupid and too eager for results. It sent every guard out to hunt down lone Magica, and this cub slipped through the cracks. Now it’s made a complete fool of itself!”

“Exactly. Eye demons like Esotu are cowards. If its magic were enough to summon us, it would shamelessly call down even the high and mighty ones too!” another stone statue demon agreed.

These vicious taunts reached the Sky Eye Demon. Its single eye shrank to a pinprick. The shame, anger, and grief in it nearly burst out.

It lashed out with its wilted tentacles, slapping at the stone statue demons, while sending sharp mental messages stabbing into their minds.

The stone statue demons took the hits. Their bodies only trembled slightly. They were unmoved.

But the moment they heard the mental message, their contemptuous expressions quickly faded.

They exchanged glances, then turned to look at Luka. Their eyes no longer held mockery. There was caution and vigilance instead.

‘Not good!’

Luka’s heart tightened.

He could tell from their expressions that the Sky Eye Demon had described its earlier encounter with him and his abilities in detail.

Maybe it had also added threats backed by its authority to force them to take him seriously.

These stone statue demons were highly intelligent elite demons, not stupid. Their expressions showed they had instantly recalibrated how they saw him. They were truly on guard now.

What he was about to face would likely be a full-power strike with nothing held back.

‘I have to kill the Sky Eye Demon before it’s ready!’

Luka didn’t think twice. He raised the Canary and fired a magic bullet at the weakened Sky Eye Demon.

Bang.

The bullet burst before it even reached the Sky Eye Demon’s tentacles.

One of the stone statue demons had moved the instant he raised his gun. It appeared in front of the Sky Eye Demon, blocking his line of fire.

The magic bullet, driven by Luka’s one-star, second-tier magic, hit its body and only knocked off a few stone chips. It didn’t even penetrate the demon’s skin.

“Heh heh!”

The stone statue demon let out a low, cold laugh. It lowered its arm, which had been dented by the bullet, and looked at Luka with contempt.

Its eyes seemed to say that attacks from a mere Magica cub were nothing.

Luka’s eyes narrowed. His heart sank.

His attacks could barely hurt these things!

With that kind of defense, he would have to land more than ten full-power shots in a row, all on the head, to threaten their lives.

What was he supposed to do?

While his mind raced, the stone statue demon that had blocked his bullet didn’t make another move. It just stayed in front of the Sky Eye Demon, guarding it.

The other four exchanged glances, then beat their wings and lunged at Luka with terrifying speed.

‘Damn, they’re fast!’

Luka’s scalp went numb. He didn’t have time to think. He instinctively cast Phantom Mirage and dodged upward.

Crack.

The phantom clone’s shield was shredded by the stone statue demon’s claws in an instant.

The claws passed through without resistance, tearing the clone in two and flinging it away, where it dissolved.

The sheer killing power made Luka’s already pale face even whiter.

If he took a hit like that, he’d end up exactly like his phantom clone.

‘I can’t fight them up close. I need distance!’

Luka forced more magic and accelerated, trying to break away from the stone statue demons.

But before he could fly a few meters…

Hum.

The Sky Eye Demon’s mental message rang out.

The four stone statue demons reacted instantly. Half a second after receiving the message, they all looked up at Luka and tensed to pounce.

‘Shit!’

Luka’s soul nearly left his body. Every pore on his skin stung under the stone statue demons’ piercing gazes. The sensation screamed an alarm.

Whoosh.

He cast Phantom Mirage again.

Almost at the same moment he dodged backward.

The four stone statue demons swung their arms and shot past right in front of him, like dump trucks.

The phantom clone left behind burst apart like an ant crushed by an elephant. It had no chance to resist.

Luka could clearly see how grotesquely thick the stone statue demons’ hands and claws were.

That meant they could never use any kind of magic gun.

But they didn’t need such weapons. Their raw strength and speed alone were enough to tear apart anyone who dared stand in their way.

Luka’s heart hit rock bottom.

After the grueling fight with the batwing demons and two consecutive Phantom Mirage casts, his magic was almost empty.

And the stone statue demons’ sheer combat power, like cannons in the air, had nearly driven him to despair.

Luka had already used Death Rewind four times today. He only had one chance left.

Even if he rewound, after this death he would have no safety net left.

Was he supposed to fight enemies like these with that last life?

Even if the stone statue demons were strong enough to trigger his Revenge Rewind…

That only worked against the single enemy who killed him.

And there were five of them here!

There was no plan, only helplessness and despair.

Luka’s heart began to ache.

It seemed all his previous attempts had been wasted.

He’d lured away most of the batwing demons, pushed his combat ability and wits to the absolute limit, and achieved results no ordinary one-star magical girl could ever manage.

But in the end, he still had no hope of killing the Sky Eye Demon.

That glimpse of hope for a perfect ending was all an illusion.

He had failed. He had failed against a truly powerful enemy.

After rewinding, he would only be able to flee from this place in disgrace. His body would ache from multiple deaths, and he would have just one life left, with no chance to start over.

Then he would have to watch as the Sky Eye Demon commanded its demon army and hunted down the magical girls of the Canary Battalion one by one.

Even he himself would eventually find nowhere to hide, no chance to rest, and face impossible odds under the demon army’s pursuit.

That ending was too cruel.

Luka felt a frustration he had never known before.

This world was too cruel and too real. Giving everything didn’t mean you would survive.

Had all his efforts really earned him nothing?

While Luka’s heart twisted and his thoughts churned, the four stone statue demons in the air had already turned toward him under the Sky Eye Demon’s direction.

And he didn’t have enough magic left to cast Phantom Mirage one more time.

Whoosh.

A stone statue demon lunged at him, its body cutting through the air.

It was all over.

Luka closed his eyes, red from grief and rage, and waited quietly for death.

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