Fairy Tail: Igneel's eldest son in Anime Multiverse Chapter 493 493: Who Threw the Knife Handle

Charles sorts villains into his personal categories, and a guy like Shinobu Sensui perfectly embodies the classic chuunibyo villain type.

Shinobu constantly rants about humanity's guilt and his scheme to exterminate the whole human race, leaving Charles cringing with secondhand embarrassment at the mere thought.

Anybody with even a bit of maturity grasps how intricate human groups truly are; judging the entirety by a mere fraction—what sort of twisted reasoning produces that?

That Charles refrained from telling Shinobu Sensui "if you're sick, get treatment," opting instead to debate with him, already demonstrated notable restraint and respect.

In ordinary times, Shinobu Sensui possesses a pure enough heart to harness Sacred Energy, and Charles's arguments did cause him to hesitate briefly.

Regrettably, the current Sensui isn't ordinary. He's genuinely ill.

After several seconds of quiet, Sensui abruptly bowed his head, then lifted a hand to shield his face.

Upon lifting his head once more to expose his features, his look shifted dramatically in a flash. Just that facial change made him seem like an entirely new individual.

And truly, it was basically another person. With his face brimming with haughtiness, Sensui declared, "I almost let you fool me with your fancy words!

No matter your arguments, humanity's darkness remains undeniable. Thus, my objective and path stand utterly correct, and that's the key point!"

Charles let out a sigh, replying, "Did you get the wrong idea? I'm not trying to make you turn back or repent. I just want to say don't assume everyone else matches your own flaws.

"Whatever you plan to do, others will handle stopping you. If you leave me alone, I won't bother getting involved."

In the persona called Shi, Sensui responded icily, "Are you threatening me?"

Shi's nature is smug and sermonizing; how could he stomach Charles's demeanor?

Charles refused to yield. He advanced a step, declaring, "If that's how you see it, then consider it a threat!"

Sensui's pupils shrank. It appeared as if a massive red-scaled dragon loomed behind Charles, its slit-like eyes locking onto him.

Fearing the confrontation might spiral out of control, Shinobu Sensui reverted to his main personality and stated, "I get it. As long as you stay out of our way, we won't take any unnecessary actions!"

With those words, Shinobu Sensui spun around and departed. Charles retracted his intimidating presence and took no further action.

What's up with this street? Why do incidents always pop up here? How many times now have I bumped into plot characters right on this road!

Never mind. I'm off to the Demon World shortly anyway, so no more visits here likely.

As his thoughts raced, Charles made his way back home.

This encounter with Sensui served as a reminder to Charles that the Demon World gateway's opening loomed near.

Sensui had kicked off his moves prior to the Dark Tournament. Per Koenma's explanation in the original story, the gateway's activation unfolds in four phases.

Based on the prevailing Demon World miasma density and insect numbers, they've reached the third phase already.

The fourth phase sees the gateway balloon to 2,000 meters wide, allowing B-class demons free passage.

Yet Sensui aims to wipe out humanity entirely, so he seeks to shatter the Spirit World's seal, unleashing A-class and even deadlier S-class demons into the Human World.

That's precisely why Charles views Sensui as undependable. In the canon tale, Seaman from the Demon World envoys assaulted Kuwabara, sparking his Dimension Sword awakening.

Sensui launched his scheme without verifying if a dimensional attack user even existed.

However, Shinobu Sensui faces no such risk now, thanks to Charles's intensive training—Kuwabara has fully grasped the Dimension Sword.

During the Dark Tournament finals, he deployed it against Elder Toguro.

Though Elder Toguro got carved up in that clash, his powers suggest he survived.

And should Sensui have whisked him away as in the original, then Sensui knows this detail already.

Thus, Sensui can swing the Demon World gateway wide open any day now.

After conferring with Stella, Charles departed for Mushiyori City the following day.

Charles loathes urban worlds mainly because travel demands vehicles. This round, he picked a remote area and soared directly to Mushiyori City.

That choice let Charles witness the dire state firsthand.

Mushiyori City lay blanketed in Demon World miasma. The miasma poses little direct threat to humans, but demons crave it fiercely.

It's clear that even sans full gateway opening, Mushiyori City will draw demon hordes.

Even worse, Demon World insects infested every corner.

These pests aren't as lethal as Suzaku's controlled demon worms, yet they parasitize spiritually attuned humans, devouring their spiritual energy. Some even boost hosts' dark emotions.

Damage starts subtle but snowballs into catastrophe over time.

With troubles mounting pre-gateway, one shudders at the chaos if it persists.

Charles unleashed a wisp of magic to envelop himself and Stella, repelling the insects effectively.

Tracking the miasma's origin, Charles located the Demon World cave precisely.

All that remained was for Charles to bide his time until Sensui delivered Kuwabara, triggering the gateway's full bloom.

Despite growth under Charles's tutelage, Kuwabara likely can't defy Sensui yet.

Kuwabara hovers at low B-class now. Even with the core trio plus revived Genkai, they can't match S-class Sensui.

Sensui boasts strong allies too.

Since Sensui covets Kuwabara's power, he'll hold back, giving Charles no cause to intervene.

Still, counting the five humans in the Demon World envoys, why does gateway activation unlock unique powers in them? That merits investigation.

These awakened powers pack serious punch—some rival rule-level forces.

Thus, during the wait, Charles intended some experiments.

Experiments demand subjects, so Charles roamed Mushiyori City seeking an awakened ability user as a specimen.

Luck eluded Charles, though; extensive searches yielded zilch.

In the original story, Yusuke Urameshi stumbled on a mind-reading uncle effortlessly, so Charles expected similar ease.

But come noon next day, success struck.

Passing an intersection that afternoon, Charles detected an anomaly. He instinctively scanned the disturbance's source and spotted a jacketed young man.

The youth flashed Charles a taunting look before pivoting and striding off.

Charles recognized the deliberate bait but trusted his prowess; with the perfect mark in sight, he trailed along.

Charles maintained a steady gait yet always kept the youth in view.

Upon rounding a corner after the youth, Charles instinctively ducked as a glass marble whizzed at his head.

At that instant, a bullseye mark materialized on Charles's chest.

The red-jacketed youth juggled his glass marble, smirking derisively at Charles.

"So you're the cocky fool who spurned Mr. Sensui, eh? No escape now. Time to pay for your deeds!"

True to his boast, he hurled the marble, which rocketed toward the chest mark.

The youth grinned triumphantly. His power ensures surefire hits: ranged strikes always nail his designated targets.

Charles's reaction stunned him, however—Charles stood firm, allowing the marble to smack his chest.

The youth understood his attack's might; spiritually charged, that marble outdid bullets.

But upon impact, it crumbled to dust. Peering through the torn clothing, no blemish marred Charles's skin.

Charles eyed the pulverized marble indifferently, utterly unshaken, tempted even to quip… who tosses the hilt!

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