Chapter 161
What Methods Did I Use?
“…Hoo.”
Lawyer York’s eyes snapped open, and he began to cough violently.
He rolled over, and only after coughing up a clot of foul blood did his breathing become smoother.
He glanced back.
The door to the archives was tightly shut; the other party had already left. The accomplice who stole the data was also gone.
Then, his body began to undergo a radical transformation. As he demonized, the characteristics of a Trapping Demon began to manifest on him.
Numerous soft, pink fleshy buds, like tentacles, emerged on his hands and arms. They writhed unconsciously in the air, like antennae sensing everything around him. These were digestive organs capable of capturing dreams and memories.
His pupils dissolved into a hazy pink, with a crimson cross star shining in the center. His spine hunched, his body became emaciated, and a long, snake-like tail emerged from behind him.
During the demonization process, the injuries he had sustained were also healed.
“I… I survived…”
York mumbled.
His voice turned sharp, like a woman’s, accompanied by a faint metallic scraping sound.
Regardless of the type of contracted demon, fiends possessed powerful vitality. Even after evolving into a parasitic demon, the fiend’s fundamental characteristics would not vanish.
A fatal wound, such as one that pierced the heart, would not directly cause their death.
The best way to kill a fiend outright was to blow off their head, sever it, or directly remove the heart. The heart, even if torn in half, could regenerate thanks to the abundant life force shared by the demon.
This vitality was very similar to the barbaric trolls of the Southern Continent. Because of this, when fiends who had just been possessed by demons were discovered in Avalon, they were historically subjected to immolation. If a fiend died and was left unattended, they would get back up and run away after a while.
Fire could disrupt the regeneration abilities of trolls, leading people to deduce from this phenomenon that it could also completely kill fiends.
However, the reason immolation truly killed these fiends was the continuous damage inflicted by the flames. Their bodies would constantly recover and be re-burned, leading to death after prolonged torment. Later, Queen Sophia abolished this cruel punishment, resorting to ordinary capital punishment.
Undoubtedly… since the other party was also a fiend, they would certainly know about the fiends’ abundant vitality.
Since they did not choose to kill him completely, it must have been intentional to leave him alive.
York did not feel resentment for being attacked—perhaps a little, but not much. More importantly, he gained valuable information.
Combining his earlier words, that person was clearly acting under his mentor’s orders. But judging by their actions, they were not loyal to that mentor.
It was possible they were bound by a contract, thus necessitating his death.
This was highly probable.
After all, that was a fiend possessed by a Shadow Demon, and it appeared they had sold a considerable number of souls, with their body already largely controlled by the Shadow Demon. Such a fiend, even at the First Tier, could surpass a Third Tier—it was reasonable for their mentor to be wary.
It was due to their dissatisfaction that they defied their mentor’s intentions and deliberately let him live, even going so far as to say superfluous things to reveal their background.
What did they want to do?
York suddenly thought of a possibility.
“Could they be seeking the art of ‘Breaching Contracts’?”
“Heh…”
The Trapping Demon within him, hearing his thoughts, couldn’t help but mock him. “Keep guessing, you’re almost there—you’ve reached 1%.”
“Don’t disturb me,” York replied mentally, annoyed.
The Trapping Demon was always like this, adept at deception. Even though he was its master, the Trapping Demon would always mislead him.
He used to believe the Trapping Demon’s analysis and opinions a few times before, but later he realized the other party was deliberately leading him astray. They wanted him dead so they could be free. Since then, York had stopped believing its words.
This was highly probable.
The Lloyd Society inherited the mysterious art of “Breaching Contracts” left by the first President Lloyd, which allowed one to break contracts and oaths without punishment.
If they were controlled by a contract, then seeking his help to break it would be perfectly logical.
Then, why didn’t they seek out the President?
And as someone on the President’s side, how could they not know Boka’s address and require him to provide it?
After demonizing into a Trapping Demon, York’s thinking speed increased significantly.
He quickly arrived at a plausible possibility:
That fiend’s mentor was likely not from the Lloyd Society, but from the Noble Red Society!
Within the Lloyd Society, only the President’s faction had fully aligned with the Noble Red Society. Although he and the Vice President had joined the society, perhaps the society’s higher-ups had already perceived their “Ambition to Transcend.”
The society was keeping them around only as a check and balance, to extract more benefits from both sides.
But perhaps the current society… or at least, the fiend’s mentor, believed that keeping the President was sufficient. That was why they specifically intended to eliminate the Vice President’s faction’s influence, a plan the President was unaware of.
—This made everything logical!
The fiend and their mentor belonged to a certain faction within the Noble Red Society, but not a very high-ranking one. Because the information they possessed only included the names of the Vice President and himself… and their reason for attacking his office now was that they actually didn’t know his specific residence. They could only trace him to his law office, so they planned to ambush him there, waiting for him like a rabbit.
And this fiend did not believe their mentor’s plan was foolproof. Therefore, they intended to hedge their bets, not planning for him to die directly and cut off all avenues of return. Hence, they deliberately spared his life.
All these possibilities were inferred by Lawyer York from his observations, what he had heard, and the fact that he was still alive.
There might be slight discrepancies with the truth, but the rest should be the actual situation.
“Then I must fake my own death.”
York Hermes realized. “If I show myself again, they might send me to be killed by their mentor again.”
“Therefore, I cannot handle this matter myself. I must inform the Vice President…”
With this thought, he walked out of the archives and into the living room to call the Vice President.
“This is Bran Boka.”
Even though it was still before dawn, the call was answered instantly. A stable voice then sounded.
York said in a low voice, “Something has happened, Mr. Boka.”
“I know,” Vice President Boka replied.
…You know?
What did you know? Did you know I was killed? Or did you know I disclosed your information?
York muttered inwardly.
But soon, Vice President Boka reacted. “Your voice? You are…?”
“It’s York. I was attacked, killed once, and demonized. It might take another half a day to recover.”
Lawyer York continued, stating his reasoning, “The person who attacked me is a very powerful fiend, likely from the Noble Red Society. They are close to President Lloyd, so they intend to eliminate us.”
On the other end of the call, Vice President Boka retorted, “A fiend possessed by a Shadow Demon?”
“How do you know?”
York was taken aback. “You’ve already seen them?”
“No, I haven’t. Eivass was attacked by them last night and went missing. That’s why I woke up so early… Although Eivass has not yet inherited the Moriarty family name, their status is essentially the same. His attack and disappearance is a matter that would shock the Round Table Hall.”
“Didn’t we send people to attack Eivass last night?” York frowned deeply.
“Yes, they all died. The exact details are still unclear, and I am working hard to figure it all out… I suspect they might have been killed by this Shadow Demon as well. Since you say they are President Lloyd’s people… I roughly understand the situation now.”
Vice President Boka responded calmly.
“The person who attacked you and the person who attacked Eivass are the same group.”
His voice, though calm, carried a hint of barely concealed hatred and annoyance. “They still intend to obstruct my plans! They also acknowledged Eivass’s status and talent, which is why they are wary of him. Because they don’t want Eivass to join my ranks, they intend to kill him directly… even at the cost of exposing the Lloyd Society!”
“From the very beginning, they never intended for us to properly demonstrate our abilities and loyalty—they directly eliminated the people I sent out and abducted Eivass. I think they might want to force that ‘Moriarty’ to join their faction.”
“If that happens, we may have to be prepared to completely destroy them. If a ‘Moriarty’ turns their guns on us, the consequences would be unimaginable.”
“I, for one, think…”
It was likely someone from the Noble Red Society—Lawyer York thought.
But before he could utter the words, shadow blades pierced his chest, shoulders, and the back of his head.
The phone slipped from York’s hand and fell to the floor.
He let out a sharp, piercing scream—this cry finally woke his servant.
“York? York!”
A voice came from the other end of the phone. But York’s death was confirmed; it was all in vain.
The moment he instinctively turned his head, the Shadow Hellhound had already bitten his throat and pinned him to the ground. Then, countless blades pierced his entire body before retracting.
It was as if dozens of daggers were thrusting out in an instant, a high-frequency piercing attack that caused York’s blood to splatter continuously, yet it was contained by shadows. It looked like ink splashing.
Soon, he stopped moving.
His head was cleanly severed by a shadow guillotine.
In his dying moments, Lawyer York vaguely heard the sound of the other party opening the door. “Good thing I came back. You used such a despicable method to escape…”
—What methods did I use??
York had a stomach full of words, but he could no longer speak.
His consciousness, filled with anger and hatred, and the sound of the Trapping Demon’s laughter, gradually sank into the abyss.
He didn’t even have a chance to transform into a demon—as a fiend who had signed a contract with a demon, his soul had long been sold to the Trapping Demon.
Upon his death, his soul would be harvested by them.
[Killed Fourth Tier Extraordinary, awarded 130 Free Experience.]
—The experience is quite generous.
Eivass smiled silently.
Besides, he didn’t come back at all… because Eivass never left.
He had been quietly hiding in the shadows behind the living room sofa. As soon as York made the call, he would appear behind him.
Watching the experience points from killing York appear, Eivass picked up the fallen phone and handed the receiver directly to the Shadow Demon, who had transformed into a hellhound and was tearing apart and dissolving York’s corpse.
Here, the receiver is for you, please speak.
“Hello, Mr. Boka. This is Alistair. President Lloyd sends his regards…”
The Shadow Demon looked up at the receiver and spoke in a low, hoarse voice very cooperatively, smiling sinisterly, “Best not to be alone, I know where you are.”
After speaking, Eivass hung up the phone. He then tore the receiver’s cord and threw it into the shadows.
“Well said,” he said softly. “I’ll reward you with a receiver.”
“You should reward me with a syringe.”
The Shadow Demon complained but swiftly corroded and melted the corpse, bloodstains, and receiver while saying, “You fed so much blood to the Butterfly of Fiery Flames, you should give me some too.”
“I’ll give you both tomorrow’s and the day after’s share, since you’ll be the main force from now on.”
Eivass said with a smile. “I need to give you some overtime pay.”
“By the way, aren’t you worried about turning into a Great Beast yourself?”
“The Butterfly of Fiery Flames already said that her consciousness is fused with yours. That means whatever you can see, she can see too… so I’m not afraid. I’m just afraid of being sealed in darkness.” The Shadow Demon replied.
Eivass was somewhat surprised. “As a Shadow Demon, you’re afraid of the dark?”
“…Not exactly.”
“Then you’re afraid of being lonely,” Eivass stated with certainty.
“Perhaps.”
The Shadow Demon was noncommittal.
“Don’t worry,” Eivass said softly. “I will be with you.”
“…Mr. York?”
The male servant, awakened earlier, walked fearfully into the darkened living room.
Before opening it, he thought he heard some chewing sounds in the living room and ghostly whispers… but upon opening it, he found the living room completely silent, with no one present.
He turned on the lights and searched thoroughly. He even checked inside the closet.
He found that apart from one phone handset being missing at some point, nothing in the house was lost.
“Strange… Did I have a nightmare?”
The servant shook his head and went back to his room to sleep.
As soon as he closed the door, Eivass silently materialized at his doorstep.
He was leaning against the wall, with the Shadow Demon entwined around him.
“How fortunate, he didn’t turn on the light here.”
Eivass smiled at the servant’s bedroom and said softly, “Good night, sir. Get some sleep, it’s not dawn yet.”
“Young Master, what do we do next?”
Lily also materialized beside Eivass.
“Wait.”
Eivass replied. “Let’s wait for the situation to develop.”
“However, I think we should find a place to sleep first? I think the Bishop’s place would be good… I can meet Sherlock there and confirm if the plan has any issues. And report the good news of Lawyer York’s death to him.”
Today’s update is 4,000 characters. I’ll take half a day off!
My mother is going on a trip to BJ, so I’ll take her to the high-speed rail station this afternoon!
