Chapter 300
Punisher Demon and Dawn Fire
“Cassiem, Master! Don’t do this!”
The demon residing in the giant’s body sensed Cassiem’s resolve and panicked. “If you take that step, there’s no turning back—”
“Nonsense.”
Cassiem glared with crimson eyes, thrust his hand into his chest, and pulled out a slender demon entwined with smoke and smoldering flames.
—This was a Smoke Demon, a demon that controlled concepts like fire.
It was not an Upper Demon, but a Lower Demon Cassiem had contracted with when he first became a Demon Scholar.
Cassiem was not a naturally gifted individual. Instead, he had acquired Path Power through an extreme and radical will. He had long been dissatisfied with his natal demon… but he had no choice.
Once he became a Demon Avatar, separating from his physical body and transforming into a demon, he could never change back. The more this was the case, the more resentment he harbored towards the Smoke Demon.
—If you were an Upper Demon like a Shadow Demon, Flame Demon, or Succubus, you wouldn’t be holding me back.
“Isn’t it precisely because you are too weak that I must take this step?”
Cassiem’s eyes were crimson and purplish. The faint, almost transparent flames made his eyes look so eerie.
After entering the Fourth Tier, he could summon more powerful demons, even Upper Demons.
The final step of a Demon Avatar hatching from its shell allowed one to sever all previously signed contracts. Even the most stringent contracts were rendered void if not fulfilled, essentially a free ride. He could now abandon the contract at any time, and the Smoke Demon would leave him… but he could also choose another method.
—The giant grabbed the Smoke Demon, put it in its mouth, and chewed forcefully.
Thick smoke accompanied by erupting flames overflowed from its mouth, and a fiery shell gradually enveloped its entire body. This allowed him to slightly weaken the attacks of the unknown Phantom Demon, making it easier for him to complete the transformation ritual.
Dark clouds gathered rapidly as if in fast-forward, and a storm descended without warning.
A wild gale swept across the land. Torrential rain went from non-existent to pouring in mere seconds, finally washing down in sheets—
This level of rainfall was enough to extinguish a forest fire. However, it had almost no effect on the Butterfly.
She still flew proudly in the air, her wings spread wide.
She knew what the giant was doing, but she never intended to attack him.
Like a demon god bringing about the end of the world—under Eivass’s command, she disregarded the severe consumption of her mana and used her strongest abilities as soon as combat began, indiscriminately expending her mana. Those slender, scorching laser beams were like divine judgment, carving one mark after another on the ground, shattering the formations of those Demon Scholars.
Burning corpses, exploding flesh, scorched marks on bodies cut in half… and demons that were gradually dissipating.
They were generally defenseless, only able to flee in disarray by their own means. As they fled, their formation collapsed. The visibility further narrowed under the torrential rain, and some even collided with each other without looking where they were going, then were cut into four pieces by two intersecting lasers.
Most spells could only slightly suppress the Butterfly, forcing her to maneuver to reduce her attack frequency. But she was too agile, and several Law Spells replicated through rituals were ineffective against her, completely resisted.
Fed to Level 38 by Eivass using the Shepherd’s Method, the Butterfly was approaching the peak of the Fourth Tier.
While there was no level breakthrough yet, with the addition of the Upper Phantom Demon’s status, at least the giant could not suppress her in terms of tier if he did not reveal his true demon form. And lower-tier spells were already difficult to affect her.
Although the process for a Demon Avatar to hatch its final stage was quick… it wasn’t instantaneous.
During this window of time when he disengaged from combat, Eivass could control the Butterfly to clear out the stragglers first.
Fighting a BOSS with or without adds made for a drastically different difficulty. Especially since these Demon Scholars were proficient in rituals and curses, they could cause significant trouble if given enough time.
Eivass took them very seriously—even more so than the Upper Demon the giant was about to transform into.
Therefore, the Butterfly’s attacks never targeted the giant, but were constantly sweeping through the fragile Demon Scholars.
And the giant, wasn’t he also buying time by sacrificing those Demon Scholars to complete his transformation?
Just then, a bolt of lightning struck!
The lightning struck Cassiem’s body, and his body suddenly cracked amidst the electric light!
Born amidst the raging lightning was a new Upper Demon—
A ferocious face like an ogre, yet as fierce as a lion; its body, more than two meters tall, was covered in matte black scales and slightly hunched; behind it were a pair of black, fleshy wings like those of a bat. Its legs were incredibly strong, like those of a crocodile or a turtle.
Its right hand held a halberd crackling with lightning, and its left hand carried a silver metal chain with sharp, backward-facing barbs.
—This was a Punisher Demon!
Eivass immediately recognized its identity.
Just as Flame Demons possessed the power of the Path of Devotion, and Shadow Demons were related to the Shadow Domain of the Path of Love… Punisher Demons were Upper Demons who mastered the power of authority and bore the Mark of Sin of “Greed.”
They were direct subordinates of Heavenly Envoys, wielding the power of sin and punishment, and would smite sinners with lightning strikes.
The heavier one’s sins, the greater the damage inflicted by their lightning. Therefore, they possessed extreme suppression against demons themselves.
Those who died under lightning strikes in broad daylight were targeted by Punisher Demons.
But they were not embodiments of justice; rather, they would actively seek out sinners and extort them—demanding their obedience, souls, and flesh. Their appetites would grow, and if refused, they would bind the sinner’s body with their barbed chains and drag them, tearing their flesh.
Unlike Upper Demons who acted alone, Punisher Demons typically kept a group of mortal servants. These servants had to obey the Punisher Demon completely in their actions, or they would be punished with chains or electric shocks—but if they were genuinely and completely loyal to the Punisher Demon, the demon would be satisfied and devour their souls. Therefore, sinners targeted by Punisher Demons had to harbor rebellion and hatred at all times.
—This is bad!
Eivass’s heart sank.
Punisher Demons were demons adept at internal conflict. And the Butterfly, as a Beast of Sin, bore the Mark of Sin… she could be a prime target for the Punisher Demon’s special attack…
The Punisher Demon threw its chain—as soon as it flew out, it vanished into the void, and then multiple portals materialized around the Butterfly. The chains emerged from them, instantly binding the unable-to-dodge Butterfly!
Lightning formed a cocoon of seals, directly enclosing her in mid-air.
Then, the Punisher Demon roared and issued a command in an unknown language.
Those crippled or battered Demon Scholars suddenly had their bodies flash with crackling electricity, letting out groans under the rain.
But their bodies moved on their own—
They uniformly aimed at the civilian house where Eivass was located and performed their final ritual spell.
—Self-sacrifice.
Their livers, hearts, spines, and skin ignited with purple flames, runes representing sacrifice gradually branded onto their bodies, their organs disappearing one by one, but their bodies did not immediately die.
Under the Punisher Demon’s control, they were forcibly sacrificed, their lives poured into the Punisher Demon’s grand spell.
The Punisher Demon could not control the Butterfly for too long… and it didn’t know how many more trump cards the Butterfly had, so it chose to directly attack the summoner of the Butterfly.
—This power, it must be that Book of Law!
The Shadow Demon, transformed into a hound, sternly blocked Eivass’s path—it also realized that this was an attack that could not be blocked.
“Take me there, Eivass!”
The Shadow Demon’s voice urgently echoed in Eivass’s mind. “We need to attack the Punisher Demon directly!”
This was a true Upper Demon, and the Shadow Demon was never good at defense. Not to mention that Eivass’s Shadow Affinity was not high enough for it to fully channel its power into Eivass.
If it gave all its power to Lily, she might be able to block this attack—but she herself would be in danger.
So the Shadow Demon decided to strike first.
Gathering power to attack what the enemy must save—
“—No need.”
Eivass said softly.
He gazed solemnly at the Punisher Demon, and a card appeared between his fingers.
It was a Spell Card—Shadow Cloak.
[Spell: Shadow Cloak (Moon)]
[Requirement: Dark 1]
[Instant, Non-contact, Immediate Effect]
[Effect: Repel all surrounding targets, immediately remove any sealed, frozen, burning, bound, or petrified states you are currently under, and enter a state of complete invisibility for one minute (+30%). When your invisibility is broken by this effect, inflict a curse on all enemy targets that visually perceive you, equivalent to the “Blindness Curse.”]
It could also be attached to summoned creatures!
Eivass raised his left hand, and the Butterfly’s red card appeared in it.
He overlapped the two cards, injected mana, and activated them.
“—Shadow Cloak!”
A dense shadow power erupted from the lightning ball in the sky.
A howling black storm surged from the bound Butterfly, like a black sphere that materialized in the sky.
“—It disappeared?”
The Punisher Demon looked up in astonishment but found that the Butterfly had vanished into thin air.
But it quickly realized something was wrong—
An incredibly radiant, golden-red sacred fire ring exploded from the sky, instantly evaporating the rain curtain high in the sky. The intense purifying power made the twilight sky seem to have an additional noon sun, illuminating the ground as if it were daylight.
That was Dawn Fire!
[Reverse Summon · Butterfly]
[Requirement: Fire 5]
[Maintenance: Fire 5 * Daily]
[Action, Summon, Re-cast]
[Effect: Summon the Sloth Beast · Butterfly to fight for you. Butterfly is considered a summon; in a non-combat state, the Sloth Beast · Butterfly can transform into a Flame Butterfly and enter follow mode; only one Beast of Sin can exist at a time.]
[Effect: Re-use to command Butterfly to be reborn or self-destruct.]
The Butterfly could be summoned once a day, and she could be commanded to be reborn once or self-destruct.
If self-destruction was chosen, she could not be reborn that day. It was equivalent to reaching the gray, unsummonable state until the next sunrise.
But now it was twilight—
Eivass looked up, narrowing his eyes at the gathering dark clouds.
—That giant would never realize what the storm he summoned meant.
Now, Eivass only needed to stall for a little longer!
Just a little while longer, and the King of the Wild Hunt would arrive!
“Self-destruct, Butterfly!”
Eivass commanded.
The next moment, the Butterfly, whose mana was depleted from using [Doomsday Ray] and whose life was nearing exhaustion from using [Dawn Fire], transformed into a fiercely burning meteor with her strongest stats, falling towards the Punisher Demon who was channeling an unknown spell.
Eivass grabbed the Shadow Demon and pulled it back into his shadow.
Then he turned his back and crouched down, using his body to leave a patch of shadow for Lily and the Shadow Demon.
Afterward, a brilliant and resplendent radiance suddenly erupted from behind him—
Update complete!
