Chapter 14 The Awakened Shadow Demon

In the game, when searching Veronica's corpse, one can obtain the "Letter Sent to the Noble Red Society by Someone".

This is a guaranteed drop, an early main quest item that directly initiates the next stage of the main quest.

And this "Someone" is a proxy for a certain minister who later gets involved in the incident.

Aiwass couldn't remember who this somebody was, nor could he remember which minister it was... but knowing a general range was enough.

It's just like when a teacher outlines the scope of the final exam before it takes place.

Eliminating those who Aiwass had no impression of, as well as those he was sure could not possibly be involved, the remaining possibilities were actually only three.

The Minister of Finance, the Minister of Justice, and the Minister of Commerce.

What they have in common is that all three are highly ranked and influential, over fifty, amiable in their dealings, well-liked, and middle-aged fat men who can't see their shoes when they look down in their regular clothes—that was Aiwass's impression of this "certain minister".

Classic process of elimination.

One of these three had been bought by spies sent by the Star Antimony Kingdom, delivering top-secret high-level intelligence to them regularly and secretly. The other two were innocent.

—And the medium they used to transmit intelligence was "the Noble Red Society".

Behind the Noble Red Society was the Star Antimony Kingdom, intent on overthrowing Avalon—this was the main storyline up until version 2.0.

This minister was the internal link between Star Antimony Kingdom and Avalon.

A bona fide traitor.

Certainly, his letters of communication were top secret. Such important items surely wouldn't leave his person.

After all, there were many thieves within Avalon; should such an item be quietly stolen and made public, they wouldn't have enough lives to pay with.

If this letter fell into the hands of the Supervisory Bureau, it might not have any effect. If he had planted moles within the Bureau, perhaps it would be disposed of directly.

But, if Aiwass got hold of it, things would be different.

He could use this letter to track down that "someone". Then he could know which one of the classic three choices was the traitor.

[...My master]

A low, roaring, raspy voice, like a lion that had just awoken, sounded by Aiwass's ear.

It was the Shadow Demon beneath Aiwass.

A slender black serpent made purely of shadows, as thick as a young girl's arm, was climbing up Aiwass's left leg, waist, chest, all the way to his throat.

The eyes of the shadow serpent glowed with a sanguine light as it hissed, exhaling black, smoky forked tongues.

Then that lion-like voice turned into a raspy, serpentine hiss:

[What are you... doing?]

"As you see, destroying evidence of my own crimes," Aiwass answered, showing no fear and not even bothering to look down at the black serpent wrapped around his neck.

He was focused on searching Veronica for evidence, casually adding, "And looking for evidence of others' crimes."

When communicating with demons, one must not appear tired or afraid.

The more you fear and revere them, the more despised you become in the eyes of a demon.

The so-called "Demons" were not creatures from the abyss as in other fantastical settings, but rather a category of Phantom Demons.

To be precise, only those Phantom Demons that come from the Path of Transcendence are called Demons. However, after the generalization of the term, other Phantom Demons that act malevolently on different Paths, those with the attribute of Darkness, or those that look like demons, were also colloquially referred to as Demons.

Phantom Demons are a special kind of life-form without a material body or lifespan, unable to die completely, belonging solely to a single Path, with self-awareness and the potential to grow stronger. Most are born by drawing power from various Paths, while a few are transformed from living creatures.

Aiwass's sister, Yulia, was in very poor health—specifically, she was nearly in a state of perpetual fever—because she was nurturing the seed of a Phantom Demon within her. From this perspective, she could be considered a sacrificial offering for the birth of a Phantom Demon.

A Demon Scholar who errs in their advancement has the option, through a complex ritual, to transform themselves into a Demon. In other words, they become a Phantom Demon.

These are the two main pathways to transformation into Phantom Demons.

Because authentic Demons all stem from the Path of Transcendence, they possess the singular trait of "aspiring to surpass the strong and despising the weak." That is, they have the ambitious nature of proud, action-oriented, and power-seeking individuals.

And a Demon that has forged a contract can gain experience on the Path of Transcendence while serving their master. They cannot do this on their own.

Because native-born Demons lack their own desires—they are devoid of a target to surpass.

As long as one has a hopeful future, as well as clear goals and strengths... That is, as long as one proves their determination and ability to walk the "Path of Transcendence," a Demon will temporarily refrain from betraying its master.

If a demon recognized a temporary master, even if the person fell into a desperate situation, they wouldn't flee or even would fight for them until the last moment. Because demons wouldn't vanish along with their master's death, they didn't fear dying. If the master managed to survive a certain-death situation, the strong fate of transcending hardships would greatly satisfy the demons.

Therefore, if a demon felt that you lacked purity, ability or had a hopeless future, and couldn't provide enough sustenance from an act of rebellion, it would start planning how to leave you.

It doesn't sound too bad, even quite normal—just like changing companies if one thinks their boss isn't up to par.

But once a contract had been signed, if the Demon Scholar didn't die, the demon couldn't leave their body. So once a demon became displeased with the master they had contracted with, it would find a way to kill them. A demon wasn't allowed to harm its own master, but there were still many ways to kill a person.

Many Demon Scholars would only summon demons that were slightly stronger than themselves. It was because they were overly wary of demons, worried that they couldn't satisfy the demons' appetites.

But Aiwass wasn't afraid at all.

In his view, these demons were like workers with ambitious goals.

He found that very endearing.

Some capable and determined ones would look for big companies, which are high-level Demon Scholars to submit their resumes to; but there were also demons who liked to respond to low-level Demon Scholars, similar to workers who preferred startups.

Some were incompetent and not wanted by big companies, the lesser and lesser demons; some wanted to start their company but lacked capital, so they used their skills to gain shares in startup companies, intending to seize control one day. These higher-level demons deliberately responded to calls from low-level Demon Scholars, coming because the other side couldn't control them. There were also some that were simply tricked—sent resumes to a big company but ended up in a subsidiary with lots of work and little pay.

This was like being summoned by a high-level Demon Scholar and then, once controlled, being handed over for a low-level Demon Scholar to contract with. In the legallly operating Star Antimony Kingdom's Path of Transcendence, their tutors did just that to catch demons for their students.

Aiwass's Shadow Demon was this type as well.

Of course, the situation of the Shadow Demon was a bit more complicated—because Aiwass himself was the bait that tricked it.

The essence of a wage card turned boss.

If only the Shadow Demon was a bit stronger... After Aiwass fed it some other demons as sustenance, allowing it to evolve again, it would qualify to be sealed as a Great Beast. At that point, it wouldn't be a demon anymore, nor could it possibly betray him.

But for now, Aiwass still needed to particularly demonstrate his abilities.

...No choice, it was a worker's market.

He still had to put on a bit of a show.

Afterward, once he signed a lifelong contract, he wouldn't have to worry about the Shadow Demon devouring its master.

Though the Shadow Demon was sealed in a wheelchair by Aiwass, it had always stayed in his shadow. Everything that had happened before was certainly witnessed by it.

This was also another purpose of Aiwass's trip—by showcasing his layout abilities, scheming level, and standard of lies along the way, to stabilize the job-seeking demon that was tricked. To give the Shadow Demon enough mental sustenance to gain its approval.

"Now, what do you think of me?"

Aiwass asked casually in return.

At these words, the black snake on his neck melted and dripped down, transforming into a pure black hound.

It affectionately nuzzled Aiwass's calf, making a low sound.

[Perfect, delicious, outstanding...]

Clearly, the Shadow Demon was quite satisfied.

The black dog articulated each word clearly with cadence: [I am looking forward immensely to your future... our future.]

"—Since that's the case."

Aiwass casually discarded the letter that belonged to him, "Then destroy it and leave."

[Hehehe...]

The Shadow Demon chuckled with a deep, low laugh.

After several seconds, it finally responded:

[As you wish... Master.]

[Looking forward to the time you wake me up again...]

[I hope to feast on real flesh then.]

The black dog leaped up, snatched the letter, and upon landing, submerged into the mire-like shadows, disappearing along with it.

The letter was directly dissolved into nothingness. Just like a plastic bag being roasted by fire, turning black, shrinking, wrinkling, diminishing, vanishing without a trace.

Without a doubt, if what it bit into was a living being, it would also be dragged into the shadows and melted away.

This was certainly not something Aiwass, with only level one "Shadow Ability," could accomplish. It was the work of the Shadow Demon itself.

—This was the Shadow Demon showing off its "hunting" capabilities to its master.