The Vixen's Gambit: Tonight We Hunt

Ten minutes. What to do?

Li Bei's mind raced, searching for a solution.

The Gun Devil, a devil that hadn't even had a chance to appear in the altered storyline, might not sound as impressive as the Control or Darkness Devils, but its destructive power was undeniable.

Every appearance was a massacre, measured in seconds and tens of thousands of casualties. It could cross continents in minutes… a force of nature, a walking calamity.

Aki Hayakawa had even been mocked for his ambition to kill the Gun Devil. Many considered it a pipe dream.

And this was in a world where firearms were strictly controlled, where the true horror of guns was somewhat abstract. If the Gun Devil arrived here, where fear of firearms was rampant, especially in war-torn regions and among the gun-traumatized citizens of the United States… The sheer terror would amplify the Gun Devil's power exponentially!

This was a real problem. He'd anticipated a few slightly stronger-than-average Honkai Beasts, maybe something on par with the Great Eruption Fox. But this… This was a whole different level.

Subconsciously flexing his wrist, Li Bei could feel the dormant Honkai energy within him, ready to erupt and incinerate everything in its path – but was that enough?

He wasn't sure he could kill the Gun Devil instantly. If it arrived too early, before he could act, and was amplified by Earth's fear of firearms… a protracted battle was possible, even a defeat.

The Gun Devil's greatest strength was its destructive power. Coincidentally, Li Bei's Herrscher of Flames powers were also primarily destructive, not exactly suited for protecting others.

If they clashed here, not only would the tens of thousands in the plaza be vaporized, but half of Japan might be leveled.

Add in the ensuing earthquakes, tsunamis, and fires… the casualties could reach hundreds of millions…

The easiest solution for Li Bei was to simply run. With his power, avoiding a fight with the Gun Devil and escaping this disaster zone was trivial. He could even take Gao Ming and Liu Yue with him, ensuring their safety.

As for the others… well, they could pray the Gun Devil would disappear on its own. Or wait a few days. When Fu Hua, the powerhouse from the Honkai universe, arrived, she wouldn't stand idly by while the Gun Devil wreaked havoc.

He could let the Immortal Phoenix and the Gun Devil duke it out, have Lihua's incarnation self-destruct a few times for support, and if they were lucky, a few more powerful heroes from other worlds might appear… Problem solved.

His identity would remain hidden, his interests unharmed, his friends safe. A perfect solution.

Just a slightly higher body count. A minor inconvenience, a tragic side effect of dimensional fusion.

"...Sigh."

After a moment of silence, Li Bei sighed.

No. Sleeping soundly with the weight of over a billion lives on his conscience wasn't his style.

"Do you two believe in the light?" Li Bei asked suddenly.

"Of course!" Gao Ming grinned. "I became the light with Tiga when I was a kid!"

"No one can refuse Ultraman Tiga." Liu Yue said seriously. "Male or female."

"But if possible, I'd rather not see Tiga suddenly appear and fight a monster like Lihua did."

Gao Ming looked at the dense crowd, shrugging. "There's no Victory Team here to warn and evacuate people. We'd probably be trampled to death."

"I'd rather see my waifu. There are some high-quality cosplayers here, but none of them have Lihua's… authenticity…"

"Look at you, prioritizing waifus over the light!" Liu Yue exclaimed indignantly.

Don't worry, you'll see both your waifu and Tiga. Two wishes, one stone.

The Spark Lens, his trump card, was about to be used.

But transforming in public wasn't his style. He'd leave that to someone who enjoyed the spotlight.

Looking at the numerous people with cameras, some even with television station logos, Li Bei figured the whole world would know about dimensional fusion after this.

Keeping this under wraps would be difficult.

In a nearby McDonald's, a breathtakingly beautiful figure calmly emerged from the restroom.

Under the intense scrutiny of the surrounding patrons, she paused, grabbed a McDonald's bag, poked two holes in it, placed it over her head, and strode confidently out the door.

This young woman was, of course, Li Bei's newly summoned incarnation number two – Shoko.

Since he'd decided to use the Spark Lens to transform into Tiga and eliminate the Gun Devil, the strength of the user was irrelevant.

He didn't want to expose himself just yet, and observing from the sidelines would allow him to intervene if necessary. So, his choice was Shoko.

Besides, they were both from the Chainsaw Man world. The Gun Devil might have even taken a bite out of Shoko at some point.

While Shoko's physical form was so weak a single bullet could probably kill her, Tiga's light was fundamentally opposed to devils. That radiant, hopeful light had a natural suppressive effect on devils, beings born of fear.

Back in Hell, Shoko had merely channeled a sliver of the Spark Lens' aura through a wish and created a domain that even the Darkness Devil hesitated to enter. Now, transformed into Tiga, dealing with a mere Gun Devil would be child's play.

This was the best solution. Obliterate the Gun Devil before it could even act, minimizing casualties.

The only downside was that Li Bei's trump card was now gone…

He didn't have any light.

How would he recharge the Spark Lens?