Chapter 157
Eivass’s Clever Little Butterfly
Four Demon Scholars, three Demons—apart from the Whip Demon, which was naturally dispersed without directly participating in the battle, Eivass obtained all the remaining experience.
Although their “quality” was still inferior to the Deformed and Miss Assassin, their “quantity” more than compensated. This accumulated experience amounted to a full 140 points… Eivass’s experience reserves officially surpassed 500 points.
His natural leveling speed now perfectly matched the cooldown of his advancement, so Eivass didn’t need experience to boost his level. After all, levels gained through experience were superficial; while the Path level increased, the corresponding knowledge was lacking.
Once his Energy Level increased further and leveling slowed down, Eivass could use experience to make up for the time lost.
After all, he needed to advance two Paths uniformly, otherwise, the Shepherd’s Method couldn’t be used. Meanwhile, both Isabel and Lily were single-Path users. Although Sherlock was a dual-Path user, his Authority was no longer increasing, making him effectively a single-Path user as well.
Their talents were all exceptional, resulting in very rapid advancement.
The free experience Eivass had reserved was intended to compensate for this time deficit.
The Butterfly once again transformed into its companion form, becoming an ordinary Flame Butterfly and landing on Eivass’s shoulder.
Eivass gently touched its butterfly wings. When he touched the flame-burning wings, they didn’t feel scorching but warm like silk. It was akin to the warmth felt when touching someone’s skin through a silk nightgown.
“You’re quite clever, aren’t you…”
This way, he wouldn’t need to command it.
Eivass sighed softly, took out a blood-red apple from his pocket, took a bite, and then offered some to the Butterfly to drink.
After the leader died, the curse that had been continuously affecting him ended. However, the damage inflicted before still remained.
As soon as he took a bite of the apple, the profusely bleeding wounds on Eivass’s body began to heal at a visible rate.
The Blade Demon, that iron-headed guy with the iron helmet, was truly remarkable for being able to tank all mechanisms—after all, if it were any more fragile, it would have died long ago. Its toughness was admirable.
If it had been a Hooked Demon Jack, it probably would have been eliminated before it could even finish unleashing the first round of [Flame Stream].
Of course, if it were a Hooked Demon Jack, it would probably have dodged…
The Blade Demon’s strategy was straightforward: brute force—it was clearly accustomed to bullying others with its toughness, just not expecting the Butterfly’s damage to be so high.
What surprised Eivass even more was that the Butterfly’s combat intelligence was not low at all.
Despite having never fought before, its actions were flawless.
At first, when it used the impact force of “Flame Stream” to forcibly push back the Blade Demon, Eivass thought it was a coincidence. Therefore, later, when it used “Butterfly Worship Fire” to heal itself, Eivass was somewhat concerned that it might be instantly killed by the Blade Demon while focusing on healing.
As a mass of flames, the Butterfly was immune to paralysis. And “Butterfly Worship Fire” was the second stage, activated only when the Butterfly was on the brink of death—that is, when its life dropped to one-third.
“Butterfly Worship Fire” was a self-healing method possessed by a level 50 Butterfly, during which it would continuously regenerate health in a resting state. If the fight dragged on, it would fully heal. However, if the fight was rushed, it could trigger a counterattack.
If the mechanics were handled correctly, it would enter the third stage after the weakened phase ended—that was the skill “Meteor Flame,” where it transformed into a meteor and charged around the arena.
In this state, the Butterfly would target the enemy with the lowest percentage of health, charging three consecutive times and leaving behind burning traces. If it missed all three times, it would enter a weakened state; if it hit at least one person, it would charge three more times. This would continue until it missed three consecutive times.
This meant that the Blade Demon’s single strike had cut the Butterfly down to half its health.
Eivass was suddenly startled at that moment—he worried that after the Butterfly activated “Butterfly Worship Fire,” it would be instantly killed by another strike from the Blade Demon. At that point, Eivass was already contemplating whether to detonate the Butterfly.
However, the Butterfly’s combat intelligence was quite good.
Instead of retaliating furiously after being attacked, it autonomously ended “Butterfly Worship Fire” without Eivass’s command, using the forceful pushback effect of the erupting flames to interrupt the Blade Demon’s attack and send it flying.
While the Blade Demon was still airborne, the Butterfly wasted no words and activated “Doomsday Ray.”
This was an area-of-effect attack where three rays were shot for every remaining wing.
If “Butterfly Worship Fire” wasn’t interrupted, it would automatically regenerate health. Therefore, players usually wouldn’t destroy all four wings; instead, they would destroy two to trigger an active berserk state—two wings meant six rays sweeping across the arena.
This damage could also be dodged. With slightly better footwork, one might only take about two hits at most.
The berserk state with two wings generally wouldn’t kill anyone, unless their footwork was particularly poor.
As a result, the Butterfly’s “Doomsday Ray” was precisely focused on the Blade Demon, causing it to endure a full twelve sweeps!
It was indeed admirable to survive with mere scraps of health even after tanking all the mechanics.
As expected of a demon with a Mark of Sin.
Although it lacked any special abilities, it was exceptionally tough. And its damage was quite high, nearly instantly killing the Butterfly with a single strike.
—But their deaths were not in vain!
After all, the Butterfly wasn’t a Great Sin demon that existed in the game, and Eivass didn’t know how many abilities the BOSS-version Butterfly retained after becoming his Summoned Beast. However, with these individuals as targets, Eivass understood just how powerful the Butterfly was.
After being fed once by him using the Shepherd’s Method, the Butterfly was now level 30, barely entering the Fourth Tier.
The Blade Demon’s level was typically 29. The Butterfly was somewhat fragile, but its damage was definitely not an issue.
When the timing was right, unleashing “Doomsday Ray” for a burst of damage—if it hit half its targets, it could potentially kill a Fourth Tier Extraordinary. Calculating it this way, the daily maintenance cost of only five Mana was a massive profit.
Furthermore, the Butterfly’s “Meteor Flame” didn’t necessarily have to be used when near death.
If it could be used at full health, Eivass could have it charge immediately upon landing and then self-detonate afterward. This was also a viable strategy.
Although Eivass had only used two of the Ordinary Flame Butterfly’s abilities, he had a general idea of its capabilities.
It wasn’t exceptionally strong, but it certainly wasn’t a loss.
The High-Temperature Flame Butterfly’s power was roughly equivalent to a Mage with a two-level Flame Affinity, casting a spell that consumed five Fire Mana; the effect of the Dispelling Flame Butterfly was similar to a Priest using five Fire Mana to cast a spell to dispel Undead.
The stats were normal, but the mechanics were very powerful—one of four effects could be chosen upon summoning. And because it was an instant cast, there was no need to draw cards.
The downside was that the butterflies flew too slowly, about the pace of a stroll. And they could be blocked by others to induce detonation.
The advantage was that they could fly for a full minute and even change direction. Compared to spells of the same level, their movements were exceptionally quiet, and they wouldn’t trigger an Extraordinary’s premonition of danger just before exploding.
Moreover, Flame Butterflies were instant-cast and automatically sought their targets, requiring no extra effort from Eivass. They could also be recalled temporarily. If Eivass had the energy to manually control them, he could prevent them from being detonated by others—just before being incorrectly detonated, Eivass could recall them to his side at any time.
It was truly an ability that spanned two versions.
Eivass was very satisfied.
“Did you see that, Shadow Demon?”
Eivass said, partly to show off and partly to caution, “The Little Butterfly is very strong, right?”
“Very strong. Although it’s still in its nascent stage, it’s already very powerful…”
The Shadow Demon beneath him finally emerged and responded in Chloe’s honey-like voice, “If it develops further, you won’t need me anymore, will you?”
“That won’t do; we are partners. How could I abandon you?”
Eivass said with a smiling face, tucking the companion-form Butterfly into his sleeve, “See, isn’t it our turn to fight together next?”
Then Eivass turned and issued new orders, “Lily, clear away all the rituals; Shadow Demon, leave your aura inside the house. The commotion from the previous battle was quite significant; we need to prepare to flee—”
“To what extent?”
The Shadow Demon didn’t act temperamental as it had implied, but rather asked seriously.
Eivass didn’t respond directly, but instead, told a story, “Alastair had been lurking in the shadows, following the four of them to No. 14 Ronin Street. Upon seeing me use my trump card to defeat them all, he snuck into the house from the shadows. When I let my guard down and was performing the Fire Worship Ritual to heal myself, he suddenly attacked, knocked me down, and captured me—leave traces to that extent.”
“Understood,” the Shadow Demon replied, “Give me two minutes.”
Although Eivass’s request was meticulous, it was at least precise.
“I’ll wait three minutes for you,”
Eivass leaned against the doorway, tilting his head slightly, and said with a chuckle, “Thank you for your hard work, Shadow Demon.”
Just a little bit left, the second chapter of the previous issue~
