I sat on Old Ray's back as he carried me, leaning forward a bit. Old Eccentric walked very slowly. The ground, which had been ravaged by last night's battle, had already returned to normal—there was no sign that a fierce fight had taken place here just hours ago.
Old Eccentric once said that his techniques were quite interesting. I was very curious about what he meant by that.
“I've never seen this old man actually fight. The only time was when he took that Vermilion Mantle off you,” Old Ray said.
Previously, I hadn't seen Old Eccentric do anything unusual. He just reached his hand out toward me, and then a birdcage appeared. The Vermilion Mantle turned into a Vermilion Bird and was locked inside the cage.
A constant rumbling came from the ground, shaking the whole area. I swallowed hard. With a roar, a massive figure leapt out of the pit.
Its crimson eyes instantly locked onto us. I watched intently as Old Eccentric walked over to the other side.
Looking at Old Eccentric, he didn't seem all that remarkable. He just walked toward the Desire Fiend, hands clasped behind his back and hunched over.
With a thunderous crash, the Desire Fiend landed on the ground. Its crimson eyes spun around, as if it had noticed Old Eccentric's movements.
Accompanied by a roar, a giant fist smashed toward Old Eccentric. With a bang, a violent gust of air swept toward us, and the ground began to tremble violently.
“Look, what is that?”
Old Ray ignored the blowing sand and wind, carrying me as he charged forward. I raised my hand and looked up at the sky. It looked like a thin piece of paper—Old Eccentric had turned into a paper cutout, spinning and floating in the air like a paper kite.
I gasped and looked over, just in time to see the Desire Fiend swing its fists at Old Eccentric again. But before its fists could even touch him, the powerful wind pressure sent Old Eccentric—now as light as a paper scrap—flying away.
“Let’s just hold out for half the night,” Old Eccentric’s voice floated down from above. I gasped again as the Desire Fiend kept swinging its massive fists, trying to knock the drifting Old Eccentric out of the air.
But now, it was like trying to hit a feather-light paper cutout—even if the Desire Fiend managed to land a blow, Old Eccentric just seemed unfazed, getting pushed aside by the wind pressure.
“Come on, let’s go back and get some sleep,” Old Ray said. I responded with a quiet 'okay.' There was nothing more to see.
Just as we were about to leave, I suddenly noticed the Desire Fiend had stopped swinging its fists and was charging straight toward us.
A chill ran down my spine. Without a word, Old Ray spun around and started sprinting. The rumbling behind us grew louder. When I glanced back, I saw the Desire Fiend charging on all fours like a gorilla—now less than twenty meters away.
Suddenly, the Desire Fiend leapt at us, its massive body blotting out the sky. I watched as it bore down on me and Old Ray.
My mouth hung open and I clenched my fists. My mind buzzed, and a shiver ran through my body as Old Ray broke into a run.
“What are you afraid of? I’m here.” Old Eccentric’s voice came, and suddenly I saw a blurry figure—it was Old Eccentric, appearing above our heads.
"Origami..."
He simply uttered two words. Suddenly, just as the Desire Fiend was about to crush us, I sensed something was off. The Desire Fiend turned into a sheet of paper, its descent slowed, floating gently. With a swoosh, Old Eccentric flew up, grabbed the edge of the Desire Fiend, and flipped it.
The Desire Fiend was folded in half like a piece of paper, growing smaller and smaller until the moon reappeared in the sky.
"The Art of Ninefold..."
As he spoke, the Desire Fiend had already become a small ball of folded paper. Old Ray muttered to himself.
"It just happened to be folded nine times."
Light as a feather, the Desire Fiend drifted down to the ground as if it were really just a piece of paper, making barely a sound.
"Heh, now you can't move, can you?" Old Eccentric landed in front of us, laughing heartily. But I noticed beads of sweat on his forehead—he looked exhausted.
I looked over. Though it had been turned into a folded paper ball, the Desire Fiend was still struggling, and the paper ball was slowly starting to unfold.
"Sigh, even like this, it still won’t behave. Sigh."
Old Eccentric spoke as he walked over, then raised his right hand, holding up a single finger.
"Word Spirit... Fire..."
As he spoke, Old Eccentric traced in the air. Suddenly, a fiery character the size of a head appeared before him, glowing with flames. He tapped the fire character with his finger, sending it flying toward the origami Desire Fiend.
"Burn, make it a little cleaner," Old Eccentric said. With a thunderous boom, I was utterly shocked—everything before my eyes overturned what I thought I knew.
A huge mass of crimson flames ignited, burning away the Desire Fiend's paper body bit by bit, until it became smoldering black ashes.
"What on earth is this?" I couldn't help but ask, full of questions.
"Should I tell you? This is my signature skill. Heh, get ready for round two."
Old Eccentric traced in the air again, writing the character for 'Wind.' Pale green light appeared, and the wind character materialized. Suddenly, a fierce wind whipped up before Old Eccentric, and the wind character gradually dissolved, sparkling like grains of sand blown away.
The ashes left from the burning Desire Fiend were swept up and scattered toward the pit.
Old Eccentric plopped down in front of Old Ray, leaning against his front paw and grinning.
Sure enough, after a short while, chunks of stone began to appear near the pit, formed from the ashes. They quickly gathered in the air.
"Can’t we get a break? Sigh."
Old Eccentric muttered as he stood up again.
"So fast..." I couldn't help but stare at the merging stones. They fused together, changing like clay, gradually taking the shape of the Desire Fiend. With a roar, the Desire Fiend landed on the ground again and charged at us.
"Ugh, what a hassle. I'm really tired."
"Sorry."
I lowered my head and apologized. Old Eccentric got up and smiled.
"It’s fine. When you get old, you need to keep moving. But you, kid—if you get out of here, you have to take me with you. I want to see the world again. It’s been over two hundred years since I’ve seen the human realm."
I nodded vigorously.
Old Eccentric walked forward once more, seemingly deep in thought.
"Alright, let me use something to play with you for a bit."
As he spoke, Old Eccentric suddenly squatted down and extended his right hand like a pair of scissors, snipping at the ground.
"Rise..."
I let out a loud cry as a large rectangular piece of ground peeled away like paper. Old Eccentric waved his hands, folding the rectangle, and soon I heard a croak. A brown frog landed on the ground with a thud.
The frog croaked and sprang forward, slamming into the Desire Fiend's chest, sending it flying into the pit.
Old Eccentric walked back and sat on the ground. It was clear he was exhausted.
The frog kept croaking, and soon the Desire Fiend crawled out of the pit again, roaring furiously as it charged at us.
"Keep jumping," Old Eccentric said. Instantly, the frog croaked and sprang at the Desire Fiend again.
In an instant, the charging Desire Fiend abruptly stopped and dodged to the right, avoiding the oncoming frog.
I gasped as Old Eccentric stood up from the ground.
"Damn, this thing’s intelligence has gone up a bit. But it’s useless—Sticky Tongue."
Just as Old Eccentric finished speaking, the frog croaked, opened its mouth, and shot out a sticky tongue, wrapping around the Desire Fiend and pulling itself back, slamming the Desire Fiend to the ground.
Old Eccentric quickly wiped his sweat and calmly sat down again.
"Big and small, strength—Mount Tai Presses Down."
The frog croaked again, and I saw it grow heavier. With a thud, the Desire Fiend was unable to withstand the pressure and collapsed to the ground.
"Alright, just hold out a little longer. Heh."
Old Eccentric spoke as the Desire Fiend struggled to get up, the frog still croaking atop it.
"What exactly is this..." I was about to ask when Old Eccentric suddenly stood up.
"Time’s up. The first half of the night is over. That kid should be coming to take over."
With that, Old Eccentric raised his hand. The frog pressing down on the Desire Fiend burst into dust, freeing the Desire Fiend, which leaped up and charged at us again.
"Alright, I’m going back to sleep. If you want to keep watching, go ahead, but you still need to sleep."
I murmured in response. Old Eccentric paid no mind to the Desire Fiend charging at us. I turned my head, surprised as the rumbling on the ground grew louder.
"Ha, simple-minded idiot."
A voice drifted past my ear—it was Leprosy, his sly, raspy tone, though I couldn’t see him anywhere.