Chapter 131
Alistair’s Famous Flash Spirit Scene
Antler fled all the way back to the “storage room.” But it wasn’t his storage room, it was Alistair’s.
He revived the remaining two corpses to protect himself and petrified the storage room door, preparing to stay there until the ritual ended. Unfortunately, the revived corpses were stripped of their Fourfold Domain, rendering them unable to use the powers of Love, Beauty, Wisdom, and Transcendence. These two corpses should have belonged to “Hong” and the monk, corresponding to the Path of Love and the Path of Wisdom respectively.
This meant that these two corpses were only capable of movement. However, in reality, it wasn’t a big problem. The door was sealed, and no one would come here except for the Giant. If the Giant arrived, he would send the corpses for them to eat.
“There are at most three survivors…” Antler muttered to himself. “Gray is impossible to survive. So, the ritual is actually over. I just need to stay here and last until the end.”
He could never have imagined that Mr. Gray could survive Alistair’s attack. For Fiends, who had weak reason, low intelligence, and were prone to madness, chasing an assassin who was fast and skilled at hiding was like a cat playing with a mouse, merely piquing their hunting interest. Moreover, the Shadow Demon could grant him the ability to perceive shadows, rendering Gray’s stealth ineffective.
“I hope Gray can hold on a bit longer,” Antler muttered with schadenfreude. “Anyway, you young people have plenty of opportunities. Let me have this one…”
As expected of a Fiend, he was terrifying. He marveled. Although in the eyes of a Demon Scholar, Fiends were merely humanoid beasts with a dangerous facade, to other professions, especially in the lower Energy Levels, Fiends possessed by Upper Demons were far more dangerous than Demon Scholars.
According to the Demonology knowledge Antler had acquired through trade with the Noble Red Society, a First Tier Fiend could at least exert one-tenth of the power of an Upper Demon and one-third of the power of a Lower Demon. As they forged more pacts with demons, their combat power would further increase. Fiends were like excellent Mediums, gradually transforming their bodies to be more suitable for demonic use. For demons, Fiends were their “armor” to circumvent their weaknesses and “houses” to manifest in the Material Realm without contracts, making them extremely valuable assets.
Unless absolutely necessary, demons would be reluctant to kill the Fiends they possessed. Thus, Fiends could gradually relinquish control of their bodies, trading it for ever-increasing power. As their Energy Levels rose, their bodies would be continuously strengthened, allowing them to develop techniques to borrow more demonic power in advance or permanently distort their bodies into a demonic form.
Until a Demon Scholar advanced to become a Demon Avatar, transforming into a higher demon and gaining immortality, a Demon Scholar would always be outmatched in pure combat power by a Fiend of the same Energy Level, just as Law Masters would find it difficult to contend with Supervisors of the same tier. The combat power of Casters in early-stage skirmishes was ultimately weaker. However, in terms of their relationship with demons, Demon Scholars and demons were always collaborators. Higher-level Demon Scholars held a relationship of partnership, or even near-enslavement, with minor demons and Lower Demons.
Fiends, however, were always at the lower end. What they needed to transcend was their very fate of being controlled by demons. Alistair, clearly, was of the type enslaved by the Shadow Demon. The voice Alistair emitted in the waiting room could not have been human. Judging by the tone and inflection, it must have been caused by the Shadow Demon controlling his body.
At the time, Antler deduced that Alistair, perhaps due to a lack of guidance, was stronger than a normally possessed Fiend. It was likely that he had sold more of his soul in his past life to gain greater power. At his current rate of trading, he would probably be consumed into an empty shell by the Shadow Demon before reaching the Third Tier. However, Antler had underestimated him.
The moment that hound appeared, Antler abandoned all thoughts of probing and turned to flee. Antler recognized that hound; it was the Shadow Demon’s signature attack and its avatar. Antler was friends with Vice President Boka of the Lloyd Society, and Boka was also a member of the Noble Red Society, the one who introduced him to the society.
Boka was a high-level Demon Scholar, and Antler had personally witnessed him perform extremely powerful Upper Demon Ritual spells. The ritual “Shadow Hound’s Devour” involved temporarily summoning a Shadow Hound-form Shadow Demon, launching a single attack, and then sending it back. The creature, appearing like a swift hound, would open its mouth wider than a human and could swallow someone in a single bite. If it leaped and attacked, it could drag the bitten portion back into the shadow domain of the Dream Realm upon landing. That would be equivalent to directly erasing that part of the body. If it completely swallowed a person, it could drag them directly into the Dream Realm.
The biggest difference between Phantom Demons and species in the Material Realm was that all Phantom Demons could enter the Dream Realm physically. Humans, however, could not, and would die instantly and irresistibly upon being dragged into the Dream Realm. If this attack could perfectly hit a Fifth Tier powerhouse, swallow them whole, and carry them away without them breaking out of its belly, even a Fifth Tier powerhouse would be killed in one strike.
This was a classic Transcendent Path spell. It emphasized victory against stronger opponents by preparing meticulously, investing time and material costs, and bearing the risk of missing or failing the devour, all to perform a complex ritual and gamble on a single, fatal blow. Vice President Boka had correctly gambled at the time; the Arbiter, far stronger than them, was taken away by the Shadow Demon, disappearing without a trace, not even leaving a remnant.
If Alistair could summon a Shadow Hound… it meant the Shadow Demon’s power could manifest through him externally. As a vessel for the Shadow Demon, if its power could flow externally, it meant the vessel was already leaking. For a Fiend, it was only one step away from losing control. Those Phantom Demon Eggs nearing loss of control were similar.
“…It’s fine, it’s my victory in the end.” Antler consoled himself. This promotion would only accelerate Alistair’s death. His will was almost completely eroded; this promotion would be the last straw that broke the camel’s back. He vaguely heard that the lightning seemed to have let the Knight escape, but in Antler’s view, the Knight wouldn’t be able to escape either. The only one who could survive was himself, hiding here.
So, after Alistair was promoted and completely consumed by the Shadow Demon, this ritual would effectively mean he was the sole victor. The location he was currently in was the storage room where Alistair had originally appeared. This was a splendid hiding spot that Antler had painstakingly found. His reasoning was simple: Thunder’s team had three members, while Alistair appeared alone. Therefore, the storage room with two corpses must be Alistair’s. This was a blind spot in thinking. Alistair would either pursue the Knight or search for the Holy Lance. With time being so pressing, no one would think of retracing their steps, especially to the birthplace they had taken a long detour to escape from.
“Seventeen minutes left,” Antler muttered softly. “It’s coming soon, it’s almost here…” Although he didn’t have a pocket watch, as an Extraordinary of the Twilight Path, he had a keen sense of the passage of time.
“—What’s coming soon?” A faint, low voice suddenly came from outside the door.
Antler immediately held his breath. A great sense of fear seized his heart. Even knowing that this was all a dream, the incomprehensible yet imminent sense of crisis instinctively made him feel suffocated. He desperately suppressed the fear in his heart and tried to calm himself. Without a word, he unhesitatingly raised his hand and used his remaining magic power to cast Petrifying Ray at the door again.
In this dim environment, it was hard to see clearly, but Antler wore a bone ring on his right index finger. It was a magic artifact he had personally crafted using a baby’s skull as material. It allowed Antler to skip the incantation for First Tier spells and cast instantly. This was also why, despite his Energy Level being slightly lower than Hong and Thunder’s, he occupied the first position. Antler had deliberately complained to Mr. Gray about “not having a bone staff” and then slowly performed a full incantation while petrifying the door, all to hide his instant casting ability and set a trap for Mr. Gray. If Gray believed he had seen through his trump card and intended to make a move, he would give Gray a surprise.
However, he hadn’t expected that Thunder, who had inexplicably fainted earlier, would suddenly wake up. Compared to the Knight and the unknown Caster, Thunder posed a much greater threat, forcing Antler to reveal his trump card and attempt to sneak attack Thunder, petrifying him instantly. But for some reason, Thunder reacted—or rather, predicted. The speed of Petrification Spell was faster than a bullet; by the time one saw it, it was already too late to dodge.
It was truly strange. Why could Thunder sense that he was about to cast Petrification Spell on him? Antler, who was not adept at combat, could not figure out what flaw he had exposed. At this point, there was no need to hide anything further… All he could do was seal the door. Without being locked, even pushing open this bronze door would require considerable effort from these strong young warriors. With its keyhole, handle, and seams welded shut, Alistair would be unable to open it no matter what. As long as Alistair was frustrated, he should leave. After all, there was no need for him to kill himself; Alistair had already successfully advanced.
But at this moment, there was a loud bang. It was as if something had struck the bronze door—the incredibly sturdy solid bronze door was cleaved through with a single blow. This was the door to the Shrine, not a mere sheet of bronze! Antler’s heart pounded violently. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Are you insane?! You’ll attract the Giant!”
Then, Alistair’s low, sinister voice came from outside: “Then open the door, sir…” Before he finished speaking, another deafening boom sounded, the ground trembled, and dust billowed. This time, Antler finally saw it clearly: a giant spiral spear made of shadows. Even the protected Shrine door could not withstand the Shadow Demon’s full force. Another strike would likely blast a large hole through it.
“—You’re crazy, you demon!” Without hesitation, Antler raised his hand and shot Petrifying Ray at the hole. However, there was no Third attack. Just as Antler thought his petrification had succeeded, he prepared to send a corpse to test it: “Go and see…”
“I’m here…” A low, hoarse voice whispered right behind him, by his ear. “Who do you want him… to see?”
When did it happen—
Instantly, countless sharp spikes with barbs pierced out from behind Antler. Crimson blood dripped from the slender black thorns, lifting his body forward and upward, suspending him in the air.
“Ugh…” The intense pain blanked Antler’s mind. He didn’t even have time to understand what had happened before he saw an incredibly thick, black spiral spear piercing through him from behind, through his chest and abdomen, appearing in front of him.
“Did you want to see… this?” The Shadow Demon’s evil, hoarse voice echoed. Then, amidst its frenzied laughter and Antler’s shrill screams, Antler was torn to shreds by the Shadow Demon, starting from his limbs.
