The Shepherds Are Dense – Chapter 82

Chapter 83
Shadow Demon: How Dare You?
Chloe had invested almost all of her Path Traits into “Shadow Affinity” during her advancement.
The first level of Shadow Affinity only made one less conspicuous when in shadows, or reduced one’s presence when their face was obscured by shadow.
Starting from the second level, Shadow Affinity could begin to interfere with reality.
After Chloe strengthened Shadow Affinity to the second level, she could infuse shadow-attribute power into her daggers and arrows. This was because the power of shadow had permeated the Mystical Art of “Assassination.”
By the third level, the power of shadow had infiltrated the profession ability of “Stealth.”
Now, she could completely vanish into the shadows.
Because people generally wouldn’t specifically choose the path trait of Shadow Affinity, which was useless in the early stages, and it required Path Adaptation and a threshold of Level Three Shadow Affinity to barely learn, this ability was undoubtedly quite rare. At least, most people in Avalon wouldn’t know about this secret.
Even among the “Eagle Eye” organization, few had mastered this skill.
This difference in perception was undoubtedly fatal.
However, she wasn’t the legendary “Shadow Demon,” capable of melting into shadows at will. To maintain her shadow state, she had to remain focused and continuously expend physical strength and energy.
If her hidden shadow was destroyed, she would also be injured. Furthermore, walking too fast would cause the shadow environment underfoot to change too quickly, draining her stamina and leaving her fatigued. If her target happened to walk into a light source, shrinking her shadow, she might also fail to remain hidden.
Despite these drawbacks, they didn’t diminish the power of this technique.
Combined with extraordinary equipment that reduced her presence, she could make others completely overlook her shadow. To date, she had used this skill to kill many people silently. She had even used it to infiltrate a politician’s bedroom under heavy guard, killed him, and then hid in the shadows, leaving with the guards’ shadows when they came to investigate.
After using this skill multiple times, Chloe had gained some experience.
The larger and more stable the shadow she hid in, the less physical strength and energy it consumed.
Therefore, Chloe found a perfect hiding spot.
—It was directly beneath the wheelchair Eivass was sitting in.
As the wheelchair moved, the area of its shadow remained essentially constant. This allowed her to hide within it almost effortlessly. Even if Inspector Edward or Detective Sherlock arrived later, they wouldn’t consider the possibility that “the killer was hiding under Eivass.”
This was the so-called “darkness under the lamp.”
And after Eivass went to sleep at night, she could quietly emerge from the shadow beneath the wheelchair and kill him.
This was a contingency plan to minimize variables.
She truly couldn’t understand how Eivass had figured out her actions.
Eivass could, at most, only guess that the Trade Minister was involved with the Noble Red Society, but the society members and the secretary were allies; they had no reason or ability to kill him. Even if Eivass knew of “Hawk Feather” and the existence of the “Eagle Eye” organization, he shouldn’t have thought of this—no one knew their true purpose and mission; everything was hidden in the shadows.
Eivass even managed to say, “The other party might have hidden the document inside a book,” as if he had witnessed everything.
It was too terrifying.
Unfathomable. She couldn’t comprehend it.
Could he be an innate prophet capable of precognition?
But Chloe was broad-minded and didn’t trouble herself. If she couldn’t figure something out, she generally stopped thinking about it.
—Since she couldn’t figure it out, she would get rid of this unstable factor, Eivass, tonight.
She would borrow his shadow for now and deliver a fatal blow in the dead of night.
No one would know she did it, and even if they did, it would be useless.
With this thought, Chloe transformed into a creeping shadow and merged into the shadow of a supervisor preparing to go downstairs. As he passed Eivass, she followed his shadow and crawled beneath Eivass’s wheelchair.
But at this moment.
Chloe suddenly felt an immense, extremely intense fear.
This fear and avoidance of danger was her Path Adaptation warning her. Whenever she ventured into danger without realizing it, the power of Path Adaptation would manifest as “fear” to try and save her.
…But, what was it?
Chloe’s common sense told her that she absolutely shouldn’t come out at this time. Otherwise, her sudden appearance near Eivass would make her the target of everyone’s attention, and it would be difficult for her to escape the encirclement of the aerial cavalry outside.
But the sense of dread grew stronger, making Chloe’s entire brain tingle and her body tremble uncontrollably.
If someone were to look at the shadow cast by Eivass’s wheelchair at this moment, they would see it constantly trembling slightly, as if sitting before a fireplace.
At this moment, Eivass suddenly seemed to fall into thought, pinching his chin with his right hand and gazing intently ahead.
Then, under Chloe’s gaze, he nodded thoughtfully.
—Then, he lowered his head and looked at his own shadow.
A pair of sapphire pupils were as calm as still water, as deep as an abyss.
Beneath those unwavering eyes, Chloe felt a shiver run down her spine.
Was my previous crisis warning referring to this?
Had he figured me out again?
Realizing this possibility, her fear was nearly overwhelmed by surprise and confusion.
Why?
How could he possibly have guessed I was here?!
Was there some kind of tracking marker on me? Had he noticed the shadow’s change? Or had I made some mistake I wasn’t aware of?
“Director Gordon.”
Just as the increasingly panicked Chloe hesitated whether to leave Eivass’s shadow, Eivass suddenly called out, “Please come here.”
She felt an opportunity arise. Taking advantage of Eivass looking up to call someone, she immediately teleported into Princess Isabel’s shadow, which was next to Eivass.
Now you definitely won’t find me!
Princess Isabel seemed to sense something. She wore a bitter expression, her brows slightly furrowed, as if feeling a bit unwell.
This was actually normal.
Extraordinaries on the Path of Beauty were much more sensitive than those on other paths… But fortunately, she didn’t know about Shadow Stealth.
Chloe reassured herself that she hadn’t directly detected something within the shadow.
Hearing Eivass’s call, Director Gordon frowned slightly but obediently walked over.
“Did you find something, Mr. Eivass?”
The old director asked.
As Director Gordon approached, Eivass displayed a gentle and composed smile.
It was a confident smile of a winner.
“It’s like this, Director Gordon. Please protect me.”
Eivass said, taking out an exquisite elf pistol from his embrace.
Whether it was an illusion or not, Director Gordon felt that its hollowed, silver casing carved with thorns seemed to darken for a moment.
The old man’s expression turned serious the next moment. Without even seeing him move, the old knight, who was initially over a meter away, instantly appeared beside Eivass, his strong right hand hovering over Eivass’s wrist.
This was because Eivass’s gun barrel was too close to Princess Isabel.
If Eivass hadn’t specifically called out to him before acting and had aimed at the shadow beneath his feet, the old knight would likely have subdued him the moment Eivass drew his gun.
He now placed his hand on Eivass’s wrist, confident that his movements would be faster than any bullet. At this distance, if Eivass intended to target Isabel’s vital points, he could easily intervene.
Eivass remained unhurried, his gaze fixed on the shadow beneath his feet.
Looking in the direction of his gaze, Chloe also breathed a sigh of relief. Although she still felt a sense of danger, it was much less intense than the feeling of imminent death she had experienced beneath Eivass.
Under the silent gaze of almost everyone in the club, Eivass slowly spoke, “After complex thought and reasoning, I have come up with a bold idea. Of course, this also contains an element of irrational inspiration. I cannot guarantee that this conjecture is correct; it is merely an idea. But just in case, I have called Director Gordon over.”
After reloading, Eivass suddenly pulled the trigger, aiming at the shadow beneath him.
Bang—
Smoke billowed from the muzzle, and a bullet was indeed fired. This startled almost everyone, but Chloe felt a slight sense of relief.
And in the next instant, Eivass, without hesitation, slightly adjusted the muzzle and aimed at Isabel’s shadow, which was connected to his own.
Bang—
A second shot was fired, and a sharp, piercing scream erupted from beneath Isabel’s shadow.
A beautiful girl with a pained and twisted face, wearing a thin white dress, stumbled out from her shadow.
This sent a chill down Isabel’s spine.
When did she get into my shadow!
The old knight reacted with lightning speed.
Almost without hesitation, his right hand, which had been on Eivass’s wrist, shot out, striking Chloe, who stood between Eivass and Isabel.
Although it was just a single bullet, Chloe’s right shoulder felt as if it had been severed by a sharp object, nearly breaking.
A gust of wind blew through, and Chloe was sent flying backward.
The hair of Eivass and Isabel beside her was instantly tossed about by the powerful wind, and Chloe crashed through the counter with a loud thud, hitting the wine cabinet behind the bar heavily.
The several copies of “Dracula” Chloe was holding, as well as her glasses, scattered on the ground.
After pushing the assailant away from Princess Isabel, the old knight finally drew his sword.
As he unsheathed the two-handed sword, its brilliant silver radiance burned like liquid fire across the blade.
He immediately charged forward, like an ancient knight.
Chloe, pinned to the wall, clutched her shoulder in pain, melting back into a shadow and streaking across the floor at high speed, escaping the club. Director Gordon immediately pursued her.
“Confirmed the mark, right?”
Eivass asked the Shadow Demon in his mind.
[Of course, my master… foolproof.]
The Shadow Demon’s hoarse, low voice replied.
[I can’t wait to drown this audacious little thief in the shadows.]
Just now, his Shadow Demon had been suddenly awakened.
Someone had entered his shadow.
The Shadow Demon was furious about its territory being invaded. If Eivass hadn’t quickly appeased it, it would have probably torn the arrogant assassin to shreds in front of everyone, scattering her remains evenly within a fifty-meter radius.
—But that would have put Eivass in trouble.
So, his moment of contemplation was him conversing with the Shadow Demon, trying to calm it down.
Unless Eivass faced an irreversible and immediately life-threatening danger, he would always hide the fact that he had a contract with a Shadow Demon. Even though Avalon no longer prohibited Transcendent Paths, he would not reveal it proactively. This was his trump card.
See, it was precisely because Chloe was unaware of the Shadow Demon’s existence that she attempted to invade Eivass’s shadow.
However, according to Eivass’s experience, without the Shadow Demon’s intervention, that single shot couldn’t kill a high-level assassin of at least level thirty or forty.
Extraordinaries with Path Adaptation were particularly adept at escaping.
Unless instantly killed, they were unlikely to be brought down once a chase began.
So, the Shadow Demon offered an alternative solution beforehand.
Eivass attacked Chloe with the “Enchantment Card: Blade of Shadow,” created by extracting power from the Shadow Demon, leaving a trace of the Shadow Demon in the shadow she controlled.
This way, as long as she appeared nearby again, the Shadow Demon would immediately sense it; or Eivass could actively track her… or use it as a medium to cast a curse directly on her.
Although he hadn’t mastered the skill of curses yet. Eivass was certain that she would return.
Because when he had shot her out, Eivass had felt her intense killing intent and astonishment.
She clearly hadn’t understood how she had been exposed. But she should understand that Eivass had found a way to locate her.
To prevent herself from being exposed again, she would likely try to attack Eivass at his most unguarded and least capable of thinking moment—which was when Eivass was sleeping.
She might even interrogate Eivass in a secluded place to extract the secret of how he saw through her Shadow Stealth weakness.
But unfortunately…
When Eivass slept, the Shadow Demon was awake.
As soon as she came, she would die.
Not only would she drop loot, but she would also drop experience.
This was much simpler than actively seeking her out.
An assassin specializing in shadow abilities could never defeat an Upper Demon “Shadow Demon” who controlled the shadow domain.
Eivass even knew her profession better than the assassin. This was a skill developed by imitating the Shadow Demon’s innate abilities.
Suddenly, Eivass noticed the glasses on the ground. They looked familiar.
Had something dropped?
“Lily.”
Eivass looked at her and called out softly.
Lily understood Eivass’s meaning and, before he could speak, picked it up and handed it to him.
Allen, standing nearby, also saw this, but he was astute enough to say nothing.
He turned his head away, pretending he had seen nothing.
Eivass took the glasses, and their properties appeared before his eyes:
[Observer in Shadows]
[Extraordinary Equipment (Light Purple)]
[Armor – Head]
[Trait: Commandment · Indivisible (Triggerable only by Path Adaptation)]
[Trait: When the enemy has not discovered you, by continuously observing the enemy, you can slowly increase the hit rate of the first attack on them (Once per day, 0/1)]
[Set: Eagle in the Shadow (1/4)]
[“—Continue observing, continue analyzing. Remember, you only have one chance to strike.”]
—It really dropped loot!
And it was good equipment too!
This was a PVP set that could be exchanged with favor points after reaching the “respect” level with the “Eagle Eye” assassin organization.
The permanent spell “Indivisible” allowed the user’s presence to continuously decrease when stationary, becoming more transparent until invisible. The other trait, called “Observer,” continuously increased the hit rate of the first attack when the target remained within sight. Specifically, it continuously erased the user’s presence before hitting the target.
This was indeed good stuff. It was a pity that he wasn’t someone with Path Adaptation, nor did he know any friends with Path Adaptation…
Eivass paused.
He suddenly had an idea.
…Speaking of which, Lily’s presence has always been quite low. Could she have the Adaptability of Path Adaptation?
With this thought, Eivass handed it to Lily.
“Try wearing it.”
Eivass’s eyes held a hint of anticipation. “It might suit you very well.”
When Lily suddenly turned invisible, it would mean she had awakened her potential!
And if Lily truly possessed the talent for Path Adaptation… perhaps when he advanced to Transcend Path later, he could form an illegal party!
Lily, holding the glasses, was momentarily at a loss.
“Eivass, Eivass…”
At this moment, Isabel, who was beside him, lightly rested her fingers on Eivass’s forearm.
This intimate gesture made Allen’s eyelids twitch again.
Can’t see, can’t see…
He repeated inwardly.
Isabel’s eyes held a trace of curiosity and lingering fear. Obviously, a living person suddenly appearing from her shadow had startled Isabel greatly. “How did you guess she was in the shadow?”
“—It’s basic deduction, my friend.”
Eivass’s lips curved upward, and he uttered Sherlock’s catchphrase without hesitation.
He raised an eyebrow and scanned his surroundings. “What do you say, everyone? Would you like to hear it too?”
His tone at this moment made it seem as if he were not a freshman student but a renowned detective.
The people around him felt nothing amiss, but looked at Eivass with almost astonished gazes, as if he had performed an incomprehensible magical feat.
Eivass relaxed his body and leaned back into his wheelchair, facing their scrutiny with a calm and confident smile. “The specific deduction steps are too complex and involve an element of chance, so I won’t waste everyone’s time.
“Of course, I still hope the killer will confess themselves. I am neither a supervisor nor a detective, but merely an ordinary reserve priest. If the killer is apprehended by our director, their voluntary confession will demonstrate the majesty of the law; and if the killer unfortunately escapes justice for the time being, then I cannot expose their flaw, can I? This would only help them perfect their disguise.”
“As if I knew how I figured it out myself,” Eivass thought.
But Eivass had full confidence that Sherlock would come up with a plausible explanation.
—I’ll ask Mr. Sherlock to make something up for me then.
I updated eight thousand eight hundred characters today, finishing this section in one go. Request monthly passes!
Cat thought about it, and since she hasn’t “relapsed” yet, she won’t take a leave this month. Let’s see how many consecutive updates she can achieve… This book has now had 290,000 characters without a leave, and old readers know what an incredible achievement this is!
I’ll try, I’ll try!