Chapter 14: The Awakened Shadow Demon
In the game, when searching Veronica’s corpse, one can obtain “A Letter to the Noble Red Society from an Unknown Person.”
This is a crucial early-game main quest item that is guaranteed to drop. It directly unlocks the next stage of the main quest.
This “unknown person” is the agent of “a certain minister” who would later be involved in the incident.
Eivass couldn’t recall who this unknown person specifically was, nor could he remember which minister it was… but knowing a general range was enough.
It was like when a teacher gives advance notice of the exam scope for the final.
Excluding those Eivass had no impression of, and those he knew for a fact couldn’t be it, there were only three remaining possibilities.
The Minister of Finance, the Minister of Law Enforcement, and the Trade Minister.
The commonality was that all three were high-ranking, over fifty years old, usually amiable, well-liked, and were portly middle-aged men whose shoes couldn’t be seen when they looked down while wearing casual clothes—this was Eivass’s impression of this “certain minister.”
It was a classic “choose one out of three” scenario.
One of the three was bribed by a spy sent by the Star Antimony Kingdom, regularly and secretly supplying the Star Antimony Kingdom with top-secret high-level information. The other two were innocent.
—The “Noble Red Society” was the medium they used to transmit this information.
The Star Antimony Kingdom, behind the Noble Red Society, intended to subvert the Avalon Kingdom—this was the main questline up until version 0.
This minister was the mole connecting the Star Antimony Kingdom to Avalon.
A genuine traitor.
The letters exchanged with him were naturally top secret. Such important items would never leave his person.
After all, there were many thieves in Avalon, and if such an item were quietly stolen and publicized, they wouldn’t have enough lives to pay for it.
If this letter fell into the hands of the Inspection Bureau, it might not be effective. If he had a spy within the Inspection Bureau, it might be directly erased.
But the situation was different with Eivass obtaining it.
He could use this letter to track down that “unknown person.” Then he would know which of the classic “three” was the traitor.
“…My Master.”
A low, rumbling, hoarse voice, like a lion just waking up, sounded in Eivass’s ears.
It was the Shadow Demon beneath Eivass.
A slender black snake, as thick as a girl’s arm, made of pure shadow, slithered along Eivass’s left leg, waist, and chest, all the way to his throat.
The shadow snake’s eyes glowed with a scarlet light, and it hissed, flicking a smoke-like black forked tongue.
The lion-like voice then turned into a husky, snake-like whisper:
“What are you… doing?”
“As you can see, destroying my own criminal evidence.”
Eivass showed no fear, not even looking down at the black snake coiled around his neck.
He was solely focused on searching Veronica for evidence, casually replying, “And searching for other people’s criminal evidence.”
When interacting with these demons, one must never appear tired or afraid.
The more you fear it, the more the demon will look down on you.
The so-called “demons” were not otherworldly creatures from the abyss as depicted in other fantasy settings, but a type of Phantom Demon.
More precisely, only Phantom Demons from the Transcendent Path were called demons. But as the term became generalized, Phantom Demons that committed evil on other paths, dark-attribute Phantom Demons, and Phantom Demons that resembled demons were all collectively referred to as demons.
Phantom Demons were special life forms that had no material bodies, no lifespan, and would not truly die. They belonged to a single path, possessed self-awareness, and had the potential to grow stronger. They mostly drew power from different paths to be born, with a small number being transformed from living beings.
Eivass’s sister, Yulia, was in very poor health, specifically in a state of near-perpetual fever—this was because she harbored a Phantom Demon seed within her. From this perspective, she could be considered a sacrifice for the birth of a Phantom Demon.
Also, Demon Scholars who advanced incorrectly could transform themselves into demons through a complex ritual. In other words, they directly turned into Phantom Demons.
These were the two main ways to transform into a Phantom Demon.
Since true demons originated from the Transcendent Path, they all possessed the pure characteristic of “intending to surpass the strong and scorn the weak.” That is, they were proud, ambitious individuals with strength and the will to act.
Demons that signed a contract could gain experience in practicing the path while their master walked the Transcendent Path. They themselves were incapable of doing this.
This was because native demons lacked their own desires—they lacked a goal to surpass.
As long as their future was promising and they had a clear goal and strength… meaning they proved their determination and ability to walk the “Transcendent Path,” demons would not betray their master for the time being.
If a demon recognized its temporary master, even if the master fell into an desperate situation, they would not defect; they would even fight to the last moment for them. Since demons would not dissipate with their master’s death, they were not afraid of death. If the master could survive a seemingly inevitable end, this strong fate of overcoming adversity would greatly satisfy the demon.
Therefore, if a demon felt that you were not pure enough, lacked sufficient ability, or had no hope for the future. If you couldn’t provide them with enough sustenance through your actions of rising above your station, it would plot how to leave you.
It sounded normal, even quite reasonable—like changing jobs if you felt your boss wasn’t good enough.
But after signing a contract, a demon could not leave the Demon Scholar’s body unless the scholar died. Therefore, if a demon grew to dislike the master they contracted with, they would find a way to kill them. Demons couldn’t harm their masters directly, but there were many ways to kill a person.
Many Demon Scholars only summoned demons slightly stronger than themselves, precisely because they were too wary of demons, fearing they couldn’t satisfy their appetites.
But Eivass was completely unfazed.
To Eivass, these demons were like ambitious workers.
He found them very relatable.
Some with ability and ambition sought out big companies, meaning they sent their resumes to higher-level Demon Scholars; but there were also demons that preferred to respond to lower-level Demon Scholars—these were like workers who preferred startup companies.
Some lacked the ability and weren’t accepted by big companies, these were Lower Demons and Imps; some wanted to start their own companies but lacked capital, so they contributed their technology to early-stage companies, intending to seize power one day—these were high-level demons that intentionally responded to the summons of low-level Demon Scholars, coming because their masters couldn’t control them; and some were simply tricked into it—they sent their resumes to a big company, only to be assigned to a subsidiary with a lot of work and little pay.
This was akin to being summoned by a high-level Demon Scholar, then controlled and handed over to a low-level Demon Scholar for contract. In the Star Antimony Kingdom, where the Transcendent Path was legal, their mentors would capture demons for their students this way.
Eivass’s Shadow Demon was of this type.
Of course, the Shadow Demon’s situation was more complex—because Eivass himself was the sacrifice that tricked it.
It was like a salary card becoming sentient and turning into the boss.
If only the Shadow Demon were a little stronger… Once Eivass fed it some other demons as sustenance, allowing it to evolve again, it would be qualified to be sealed as a great beast. At that point, it would no longer be a demon and could not betray him.
But for now, Eivass still needed to demonstrate his abilities.
…He had no choice; it was a labor market right now.
He still had to put on a show.
Once he signed a lifelong contract, he wouldn’t have to worry about the Shadow Demon devouring him.
Although the Shadow Demon was sealed by Eivass’s wheelchair, it had always been within Eivass’s shadow. It must have seen and heard everything that had happened.
This was another purpose of Eivass’s journey—to stabilize this trickster job seeker by showcasing his strategic planning ability, his level of conspiracy, and his lying skills along the way. To provide the Shadow Demon with enough spiritual sustenance to recognize him.
“Now, what do you think of me?”
Eivass asked casually.
Upon hearing this, the black snake around his neck melted and dripped down, transforming into a pure black hound.
It affectionately rubbed against Eivass’s calf, letting out a low growl.
“Perfect, delicious, excellent…”
Clearly, the Shadow Demon was very satisfied.
The black dog spoke word by word, with alternating intonation: “I eagerly anticipate your future… our future.”
“—Since that is the case,”
Eivass casually discarded his own letter: “Then destroy it and leave.”
“Hehehe…”
The Shadow Demon let out a low chuckle.
After a few seconds, it replied:
“Your will… Master.”
“I look forward to you… summoning me again next time.”
“At that time, I hope to gnaw on true flesh and blood.”
The black dog leaped up, snatched the letter in its mouth, and landed, sinking into the mud-like shadow, disappearing along with it.
The letter was instantly dissolved into nothingness. Like a plastic bag being burned, it blackened, shriveled, wrinkled, shrank, and vanished without a trace.
Undoubtedly, if a living creature were bitten by it, it would also be dragged into the shadow and melted away.
This was by no means something Eivass’s level one “Shadow Ability” could achieve. It was the result of the Shadow Demon’s personal action.
—This was precisely the Shadow Demon showing off its “hunting” capabilities to its master.
