The youth's ability reminded Charles of his identity: one of the Demon World envoys, Kaname Hagiri, codename Sniper.
His ability is called the Death Mark Cross, namely the mark on Charles's chest; he can control objects to accurately strike the mark.
Unfortunately, although Kaname Hagiri landed a hit on Charles, it still registered as a miss.
Hagiri finally understood why Sensui had warned them all after returning last time that if they encountered Charles, they had to give him a wide berth.
But it was already too late for him to leave!
Hagiri pulled out everything on him that could be thrown and hurled it all at Charles, then, without hesitation, turned and fled.
Among all the Demon World envoys, besides Itsuki, who had been with him from the start, the one Shinobu Sensui trusted most was Hagiri. In both temperament and ability, Hagiri was indeed the most reliable.
He had chosen this spot long ago; it was perfect for slipping away. Leaping onto a red motorcycle at the side, Hagiri started it up immediately.
The engine had barely roared once when, before the wheels could turn, the whole bike split apart on the spot.
Hagiri still had the bike's handlebars in his hands as a bead of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
There was a circular pit in the ground, wisps of bluish smoke curling up from it.
As a sniper, Hagiri had excellent dynamic vision, so he vaguely saw what had happened.
Just now, something had pierced through the bike at extreme speed; the impact made the frame disintegrate instantly and then slammed into the ground.
If he wasn't mistaken, that high-speed object was the very glass marble he had thrown.
In that split second, Charles had shattered everything flying at him, then snatched the last glass marble and flicked it back.
Hagiri could, by channeling spiritual power, make even a rubber eraser hit with the force of a sniper's bullet. But to match Charles's casual throw just now, he would probably have to use all his spiritual power.
Dropping the handlebars, Hagiri turned back to face Charles.
At first, Hagiri had regretted being so rash this time, thinking he might not have lost if he'd prepared.
But he now understood there was absolutely no possibility of victory; the other side could kill him anytime he wished.
Even so, he had no intention of giving up just like that.
With a flick of his palm, a pistol slid from his sleeve. But before he could raise his hand to fire, Charles was already in front of him.
"The traces of your spiritual power circulation are far too obvious. If you want a sneak attack, hiding your killing intent alone won't cut it!"
As Charles lectured him, Hagiri felt a sharp pain at the side of his neck, and darkness closed over his vision.
Charles grabbed Hagiri, and after confirming no one else had seen, lifted off into the air.
Back at the temporary camp, Charles immediately began his study of Hagiri.
Charles wasn't a mad scientist, after all; by "study" he basically meant using magic to sense Hagiri's ability.
Like Hagiri, the abilities awakened by other humans took the form of domains, producing rule-like special effects within a certain area centered on the user.
Even with only Hagiri as a sample, Charles still worked out a few findings.
As Charles had guessed, Hagiri himself had the potential to be a spiritual power user, which was the prerequisite for his awakening.
Normally, people like this can master spiritual power with proper guidance and training, but what induced them to awaken abilities without cultivation was the miasma pouring from the Demon World Tunnel into the Human World.
Ordinary people can't perceive Demon World miasma at all, but those with latent spiritual power are different.
To them, the miasma is an invasive foreign body; their internal spiritual power forms a domain to expel it.
The source of spiritual power is the human soul, and differences in one's character and thoughts result in different special abilities taking effect within the domain.
The soul is indeed the most mysterious thing; obviously ordinary humans before, yet they can awaken rule-like abilities.
However, this way of directly manifesting soul power as a domain also let Charles study soul power more intuitively, giving him much more understanding of many spells he had previously known by rote without grasping the underlying reasons.
While Charles conducted his research, others were not idle either.
Devil's Cave was a famous suicide site in Mushiyori City.
The man-made junction between the Human World and the Demon World, the Demon World Tunnel, was here as well. This was also where Sensui planned to open the Demon World gateway.
Because the Dark Tournament had diverted most people's attention, including Koenma's, the first few stages of opening the Demon World gateway had proceeded smoothly.
Now there were only three days left until the final, fourth stage.
A handsome man sat cross-legged at the hyperspace rift, using his demonic power to control the expansion of the Demon World Tunnel.
He was not human but a demon, and a rare kind at that—one who could command hyperspace and its denizens.
Only someone with such an ability could serve as the caster to enlarge the Demon World Tunnel.
He was the first to follow Sensui, Itsuki, codename Gatekeeper.
Itsuki's green hair hung loose, rippling in the Demon World miasma continuously surging from the hyperspace fissure.
With his hands in his pockets, Sensui said, "Low-level demons have already come into the Human World through the Demon World Tunnel. Looks like the fourth stage will be complete very soon. Good work, Itsuki."
Itsuki simply shook his head. There was no need for extra words between him and Sensui.
Just then, of the four figures lingering in the shadows of the cave, one spoke: "That Sniper guy has been out for quite a while, hasn't he?"
Sensui's expression grew serious as he said, "The fourth stage is about to be completed, and we need an ability user who can break dimensions.
"As far as I know, only one person currently fits the bill: Kazuma Kuwabara of Team Urameshi, who competed in the Dark Tournament and took the championship.
"So I asked Sniper to gather intel on Kazuma Kuwabara, but he hasn't returned yet. Something must have happened."
Sensui didn't guess that Hagiri had run into Charles and acted rashly; he thought Yusuke Urameshi and his group had found him.
"Looks like the current Spirit World Detective won't be easy to deal with, but no one can stop what we're going to do.
"Get ready. We'll go together to secure the final key we need."
Meanwhile, Yusuke Urameshi and his group arrived in Mushiyori City as well.
Although they ultimately won the Dark Tournament, Yusuke didn't get carried away as in the original plot, requiring Genkai to set trials to remind him.
This championship was a disgrace to Yusuke, because he hadn't defeated Younger Toguro by his own strength.
So after returning, he hadn't relaxed his training at all, secretly resolving to challenge Charles again to prove himself.
In taking on Koenma's mission this time, beyond saving the Human World, he also wanted to find the resolve Charles had spoken of.
And just like in the original plot, several teenagers who had awakened abilities, like Kuwabara who had previously been troubled by overly strong sensitivity, sought out Genkai for help.
Genkai brought them to rendezvous with Yusuke, and together they came to Mushiyori City.
In the Spirit World, the gradual opening of the Demon World Tunnel also drew Koenma's attention.
He had a vague suspicion as to the mastermind's identity, but lacking proof, he could only focus on investigating the situation surrounding the Demon World Tunnel.
And so, all parties began moving toward the Demon World Tunnel, on the verge of colliding.
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