Chapter 364
Shepherding Beyad
In the early morning, Eagle Cape Village returned to normal.
The sun still rose as usual, and the verdant forest exuded a natural fragrance. The bustling streets smelled of moist earth, and people chatted and lived their daily lives as they always did.
It was as if the turmoil of the previous evening had merely been an illusion.
Haina, leading her Gryphon and accompanied by Sherlock and Eivass, walked along a forest path.
—Despite having the Gryphon she’d longed for, she wasn’t riding it. Instead, she carefully led it by its reins. One couldn’t help but wonder what purpose she had for the Gryphon.
If it weren’t for the Gryphon, Liz, voluntarily carrying the luggage, Haina would have even carried Eivass’s bags.
“What did you two do last night?”
Haina looked somewhat suspiciously at Lily, then at Eivass.
Was it her imagination, or did Eivass’s complexion seem a bit pale, while Lily radiated vitality?
She had a conjecture that was inconvenient to voice.
However, considering that the Werewolf seemed to have been with Eivass and the others last night, she felt her conjecture might be a little too far-fetched.
“We just stayed up all night,” Eivass replied calmly. “We’re all Third Tier Extraordinary, so a few days without sleep are not a problem.”
“It also depends on the specific Path,” little Sherlock added. “My head still aches if I stay up too long, but perhaps priests don’t have this problem.”
They were currently planning to see Eivass and Lily off from Eagle Cape Village.
Yes, only Eivass and Lily.
Sherlock intended to stay for another month—he wanted to commission Haina’s father, Master Magnetic Hammer, to craft a staff for him. Haina would bring Sherlock back later; her Gryphon could carry an extra passenger like Sherlock without issue.
While it might sound like a joke to have a blacksmith forge a staff, this was the reason Sherlock had to stay.
He needed to assist Magnetic Hammer in engraving the magic circle on the staff and complete the mana infusion.
A qualified staff must have a core made of special materials to enhance the conductive efficiency of certain special spell types—that is, to increase the casting speed for corresponding attributes.
It should also have a magic circle engraved somewhere, either internally, externally, or in a corner, which could store some simple spells. These could then be directly activated at specific moments, releasing them without consuming mana or requiring incantations.
If that were all, Sherlock could have simply bought one. Although staffs were expensive and rare, they weren’t absent from the black market.
But Haina said that Sherlock’s requirements were too complex—a staff that met his desires could only be custom-made by Master Magnetic Hammer; it couldn’t be found elsewhere.
Eivass also curiously inquired about Sherlock’s requirements for this staff. The more he listened, the more subtle his expression became.
Sherlock had considered the possibility of his body changing in size now and in the future, so he requested that the staff be retractable for easy handling.
—Up to this point, this part of the requirement was relatively reasonable.
However, Sherlock also prudently considered concealment needs—a staff was, after all, a weapon, and if its appearance were too exaggerated, it would easily make people nervous when walking down the street. It would also make them wary and targeted.
Therefore, Sherlock also required that the staff be indistinguishable from a staff to the naked eye of ordinary people. Additionally, since Sherlock occasionally needed to venture into the wilderness, he needed the staff to also function as a walking cane.
Then, since he was skilled in swordsmanship and staff fighting, he needed it to be sturdy enough to be used for striking others conveniently. If possible, he’d also like to fit a miniature pistol inside, as a substitute for when casting spells was inconvenient—even if it only had one bullet.
“…You really do have a lot of demands,” Eivass quipped.
—What a demanding client.
Listening to it, Eivass almost felt sweat on behalf of Master Magnetic Hammer: “Don’t you realize that many of your demands conflict? You’re treating the staff like a nightstick; aren’t you afraid of shattering the core?”
Sherlock, however, was unfazed: “If it’s truly inconvenient to achieve, then let Master Magnetic Hammer remove the unreasonable requirements. As the orderer, it’s better for me to clearly state all my needs—it’s better than having things half-done and then adding last-minute requests.”
“That’s true.”
Haina, standing beside them, agreed: “In any case, Father is already considering the plan. When we leave, I saw him taking wine to his workbench—he usually doesn’t drink when he’s sketching blueprints; drinking means he’s thinking of some special ideas.”
Alright, it seems the contractor has no objections. I, as an outsider, won’t say anything more.
Haina and Sherlock escorted Eivass to the train station and saw Eivass and Lily onto the train.
The ticket Eivass bought was, naturally, for First Class Cabin. They had a private room to maintain privacy, which even included two single beds, a long sofa, and two single sofas. Eivass lay lazily on the bed, while Lily sat by the bedside, peeling an apple for Eivass.
Lily’s shadow trembled slightly and then flowed into Eivass’s shadow.
“My dear,”
The assassin’s honey-sweet voice, resentful, came from the depths of Eivass’s heart: “Are you truly wasting your blood like this?”
“Is this considered waste?”
Eivass chuckled, playing with the necklace hanging on his chest: “And remember to call me Master. My loyal hound.”
This was [Isolde’s Tears], the life-saving equipment Isabel had lent to Eivass. She was very worried that Eivass would encounter danger on his journey, so she had specially lent it to him.
Of course, she called it a loan… but Eivass felt that Isabel wanted to give it to him on the sly.
On one hand, it had protected Isabel through all those dark nights and helped her endure each day filled with unknown fear of sudden death. Now that Eivass had resolved her curse, she no longer needed it. Instead, looking at it every day reminded her of her not-so-bright childhood.
on the other hand, she also wanted to give this necklace, which carried her heavy past, to Eivass. With Eivass’s help, she had conquered her past self and become stronger, and this necklace was proof—thus, giving this necklace to Eivass was not without a cute desire to show off, like “handing in homework.”
Should I return it to her, or should I give her a better gift in return…
Eivass pondered in his mind.
“This is what you promised me, my dear Master,”
The Shadow Demon’s dissatisfaction was almost overflowing: “Now that you can use the Shepherd’s Method again, every drop of your blood is so precious. Why are you feeding it to the Werewolf? She’s not a Phantom Demon; she won’t get stronger from it.”
“Don’t rush, it’s just blood,” Eivass said nonchalantly. “It doesn’t contain any mana… If you want some, I’ll give it to you now.”
He said this and patted Lily’s back.
Lily, understanding, moved away from the bedside.
She struck a match and lit the brand-new large candle by the bed—the First Class Cabin had even considered the possibility that a priest might want to worship the Candlemaster, providing ritualistic items in convenient places.
Eivass extended his left hand and gently pinched the candle flame as if playing with jewelry. The flame was gathered by Eivass, and a surge of vitality, like bursting grapes, flowed out and into Eivass’s body.
“—Or do you want something warm to drink?”
Eivass chuckled: “I just performed Fire Worship Magic, and the blood inside me is boiling hot.”
“If I could order, I’d like something cold,”
The Shadow Demon transformed into a slender black snake, twining upwards from Eivass’s waist, its head stopping at Eivass’s neck, licking his neck and murmuring softly.
Eivass pushed it away and reached out to press the snake’s head back into the pool of shadow cast by Lily.
Soon, the black snake swam back again and was pushed back by Eivass.
“No,”
Like training a dog, Eivass issued a firm refusal: “I don’t give it to you, you can’t have it. What I give you is yours.”
Watching the Shadow Demon roll around in a confused tangle by his side, Eivass finally couldn’t hold back a smile: “But I can still satisfy this small request of yours.”
He got up from the bed and went to the bathroom.
When she returned, she had become No. 14.
The shadow beneath Lily transformed into a drooling black hound, circling around No. 14.
“I know, you want to drink this,”
No. 14 chuckled, her small and tender smile possessing a certain demonic aura: “Turn into Miss Beyad first, my pet.”
Soon, the black hound transformed into the appearance of Miss Beyad.
She eagerly hugged No. 14 from behind and knelt on the ground, as if begging for something.
Lily handed over a silver Ritual Knife from the side.
But the girl refused it.
No. 14 leaned close to Beyad’s ear and whispered, “This time, I’ll let you drink something fresh.”
With that, she directly bit her own wrist, her sharp fangs piercing a hole. Blood dripped down her fingertips.
She kissed Beyad, letting her lick the blood from her mouth. But there was no divine radiance of shepherding, just sweet blood.
As the Shadow Demon anxiously watched the blood on Eivass’s fingertips, No. 14 chuckled: “Turn back into a dog.”
She opened her right hand, and blood accumulated in her palm, forming a small pool. It shimmered with a scarlet yet sacred radiance, attracting the Shadow Demon’s gaze like an alluring demonic pool.
She brought her hand closer, allowing the black and loyal shadow hound to lick her palm.
She murmured softly, her young face radiating a Madonna-like brilliance: “Enjoy yourself, little dog. This is my flesh and blood, my life.
“This is my mercy to you.”
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