Chapter 122
Antlers and Lightning
Dark and damp.
As if submerged in a warm, viscous liquid, Gordon’s consciousness was gradually dragged into deeper layers.
When Gordon woke up again, he found that someone had already arrived.
“Long time no see, Director Gordon…”
A deep, middle-aged woman’s voice sounded: “Should I call you Inspector Gordon now?”
Gordon slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a space filled with crimson radiance.
It was different from the waiting room for the Full Moon Ritual. This place was not pure darkness, but rather like being in the sea.
Above the nearly black, deep-red sky hung a sliver of pitch-black crescent moon. And below their sufficiently high chairs was a blood sea that rhythmically ebbed and flowed like the ocean, churning with a large amount of white foam.
In the center of the nine chairs stood a giant, fully armored, silvery-white knight statue. It was about five to six meters tall, with its hands resting on its greatsword in front of it, like a stone tablet piercing heaven and earth.
But its legs, standing in the blood sea, and the tip of its sword were dyed red with blood, making for a striking sight.
This was also Gordon’s first New Moon Ritual.
The smell of blood that permeated the environment displeased him. He subconsciously frowned slightly and looked to his left.
There were two people who had arrived before him.
This meant that both of them were in Avalon and had a higher total level than him.
The first was an old man with white hair, wearing a simple black suit, sitting upright. His stomach was large, bulging even through his suit. The old man’s hands rested on his knees, and just by doing so, he exuded a faint sense of pressure. Seeing Gordon arrive, he nodded slightly.
The second was a middle-aged woman with her hair simply tied in a ponytail. She wore a gorgeous red dress as if attending a banquet. However, completely incongruous with her demeanor was the ferocious and terrifying wild boar mask she wore on her head.
“They are all acquaintances,” Gordon thought.
Although they didn’t have the opportunity to meet during the ritual… with just a glance, he could recognize who they corresponded to in reality.
They were all Extraordinary from the Path of Authority. And now, they had the chance to meet during an Ascension Ritual…
“…Yes, long time no see, Madame Red. We’ll be colleagues in the Inspection Department from now on.”
Gordon also retorted, “And which path are you planning to follow this time?”
“Love. Power leads to desire, and I have reached the time for derivation.”
Madame Red answered without hesitation: “Also, here you should call me ‘Red’.”
“Then you should call me ‘Lightning’.”
Gordon replied, “By the way, your codename doesn’t seem to have much meaning. Just this dress is enough to recognize your identity.”
“‘Madame Red’ is also an alias. I don’t need to hide one alias with another. Moreover, I don’t need to hide my identity—just like you.”
Madame Red replied.
After speaking, she looked at the old man meaningfully and said, “Minister Dross… how should we address you here?”
“Antlers.”
The Trade Minister, whose surname was Dross, said in a low voice: “I am ascending the Path of Twilight this time.
“Although we are mortal enemies at this moment, this is ultimately just the New Moon Ritual for the first advancement. There is no price for failure. There is no need for us to fight to the death—we are both on the Path of Authority, and we know each other’s real identities. How about we form a temporary alliance? Let’s eliminate the others first, and then we can have an internal showdown.”
“It’s not impossible.”
Madame Red nodded: “Then we will not announce our true identities and paths to the outside world, and only use codenames.”
“There are at most three promotion slots for the New Moon Ritual, anyway,” Gordon agreed. “It’s better than falling into the hands of foreigners… By the way, I am ascending the Path of Devotion this time.”
“Path of Devotion? Then do you know the Illuminate Spell?” Madame Red asked.
“How could I?” Gordon shook his head. “I’m not from the Church. I don’t want to cause trouble.”
“Then do you have any other Healing Abilities?”
“No.”
Gordon replied without hesitation: “But I can protect you.”
*You call yourself Path of Devotion?*
This was the first time she had heard of an Extraordinary on the Path of Devotion who completely lacked healing abilities.
Madame Red’s words caught in her throat, but she swallowed them down with disappointment.
When she had heard that Inspector Gordon was ascending the Path of Devotion this time, she had thought she would have a chance to be supported by a healer in the New Moon Ritual—Extraordinary Professions on the Path of Love usually had self-damaging characteristics, which made them heavily reliant on healers.
As expected, those Extraordinary on the Path of Devotion who dared to participate in the New Moon Ritual alone were not true devotees.
Just then, blood mist began to rise from the fourth seat.
The three immediately stopped their conversation and turned their heads to look at that seat.
“This is…”
Gordon’s eyes widened quickly.
He saw that from the fourth seat, viscous shadows were flowing and condensing into a black human figure wearing a blood-red robe.
“Hehehe…”
A deep, rumbling, hoarse voice, like that of a lion just waking up, sounded from the fourth seat: “You all arrived quite early…”
“…You are a Demon Scholar, aren’t you?”
Gordon said with absolute certainty, his voice filled with hostility. “Are you from the Noble Red Society?”
Having been attacked by the Noble Red Society not long ago, his nerves were now abnormally sensitive.
At a glance, he could tell that the color on this man’s red robe was the color of blood. He could even smell the foul odor. The materials for the New Moon Ritual were not easy to obtain, but materials from the human body could replace six of them. It would be much simpler to obtain only wax figures, snakes, and mirrors.
It was barely dark now, and the only Extraordinary in Avalon who could enter their ritual at this hour… was likely on Glass Island.
Demon Scholars had a habit of killing to obtain ritual materials. According to Gordon’s understanding, the advancement profession of a Demon Scholar, “Demon Avatar,” required killing a large number of people and extracting materials from living beings to perform a ritual in order to advance. If they didn’t do such cruel things, Demon Scholars could at most be just “Scholars.”
The temptation to reincarnate into an immortal and powerful demon was extremely great. Those Demon Scholars walking the Transcendent Path almost inevitably couldn’t resist the call of the Path’s power, attempting to transcend the essence of life, transcend lifespan and the limitations of the physical body, and head towards this inevitable end.
…However, even the well-traveled Gordon had never seen a Demon Scholar who could produce such a phenomenon during their first Ascension Ritual.
Even if they had an Extraordinary level in other paths, when advancing on a Transcendent Path, they should only be able to use the power of the Transcendent Path.
How could a First Tier Demon Scholar possess such a powerful demon?
“You are a Demon Scholar from Star Antimony.”
[Antlers] said in an old and steady voice: “Who is your mentor?”
At this moment, Eivass, including his hair… his entire body was covered by liquefied Shadow Demons.
The shadows dripping from the mass of Shadow Demons made his originally short hair look like pitch-black long hair.
Eivass, who had just woken up, merely raised an eyebrow.
*This old guy is quite experienced.*
*He actually knows that orthodox Demon Scholars from the Star Antimony Kingdom can contract high-level demons in advance—they summon a powerful demon and then have their apprentices sign the contract. Whether the apprentices can control them is their own problem.*
*These powerful demons, tricked into contracting with weaker beings, are naturally unwilling. Their disobedience and desire to escape from their contractor’s malice would put immense pressure on these young Demon Scholars.*
*If they don’t want to be backlashed by the demons, these young people can only try their best to display their talents. But these demons are already far stronger than their current tier, so no matter how much they display, it’s hard to gain the demons’ approval.*
*It’s like being chased by a fierce beast—these young Demon Scholars would be squeezed by a sense of crisis, pushing their Transcendent Path potential to the maximum. If they ultimately lose control, it’s just a wasted student. And there are countless such people in Star Antimony. Countless people are eager to become Demon Scholars, change their fate, and control the fate of others. Anyway, the summoned demon is still there; it can just be given to another master.*
*Through this repeated selection process, each Demon Scholar ultimately cultivated controls a demon far stronger than themselves and possesses an extremely intense desire for Transcendence.*
“Tell him, ‘I don’t know any mentor. Hand over your identity, or I won’t answer any of your questions’.”
Eivass commanded the Shadow Demon in his heart: “Remember to be fierce, preferably appearing reckless and arrogant—pretend to be someone who looks unintelligent and easy to manipulate. Differentiate yourself from me.”
The Shadow Demon immediately replied in his heart in the voice of the Assassin Miss: “Understood, Master.”
Then, the black liquid on Eivass’s body resonated with his voice, emitting a deep, echoing sound like a lion’s roar:
“You lack the most basic courtesy, old man. I don’t need a mentor—immediately state your name, or I will have the demon devour your flesh and blood!”
As “Eivass” spoke, the viscous shadows on his body began to flow, forming ferocious demonic heads. A blooming black flower opened on his raised face, and countless pitch-black fangs entwined with sinister black energy within it.
“…Oh, that’s not right. You are not a Demon Scholar, you are a Fiend.”
The old man said with great interest: “A Fiend possessed by a Shadow Demon, how rare. We in Avalon actually have such an Extraordinary.
“Since there’s still time, why don’t we get acquainted, Mr. Shadow Demon? I am Antlers, this is Lightning, and that one is Red… You are new, aren’t you? If so, perhaps we can cooperate. Let’s eliminate the others first… How about it?”
A Fiend is different from a Demon Scholar. If a Demon Scholar has contracted with a powerful demon, then it is likely they have a mentor.
But a Fiend being possessed by a demon is completely random—meaning, it is possible for a pure newcomer without a mentor to be possessed by a powerful demon.
When Antlers realized that this “Fiend” might be a newcomer, he immediately understood that Eivass could be manipulated. Thus, his attitude immediately became very sincere, appearing as if he didn’t have much prejudice against the Transcendent Path.
Meanwhile, “Lightning” and “Red” on the side remained silent, merely watching Antlers’ performance.
*Trying to act, are we?*
Eivass realized that the confrontation of the New Moon Ritual had already begun.
“Your attitude is very good, old man. Then consider what I said before as unsaid.”
So he narrowed his eyes slightly, letting the Shadow Demon wrapped around his body answer in a natural manner: “Then you can call me Alistair… that is my name.
“Yes, I am new. I am from the Noble Red Society and this is my first time participating in an Ascension Ritual.”
This is the first chapter of today!
The second chapter is not finished yet. It will be released at 6 PM!
