Chapter 92
War Correspondent Chloe
Chloe, hiding in the shadows, was stunned.
Although she knew before coming that the Noble Red Society intended to retaliate against Eivass, the scale of this retaliation was too great!
Princess Isabel was still inside, along with a large number of officials and merchants. The Inspection Bureau and the Inspection Department were also present… were they not even pretending anymore?
Previously, Chloe had wondered how they planned to assassinate Eivass with such tight security.
Then, when she saw the Deformed Demon being forcibly summoned back with a sacrifice, she almost lost it.
“Well, Eivass definitely won’t survive this time, and it won’t be my turn to assassinate him,” she thought. “The problem now is that I might not be able to escape either.”
An Upper Demon was a demon of at least the Fifth Tier. The number of Fifth Tier Extraordinary individuals in all of Avalon capable of defeating them one-on-one could be counted on one hand.
The Deformed Demon was the weakest of the Upper Demons. Due to its low intelligence and lack of particularly complex abilities, it was also the Upper Demon most easily contracted and the most recognized.
Even Chloe dared not provoke the Deformed Demon. Its limbs and organs could transform at will, rendering an assassin’s “vital strike” ability essentially useless against it. Moreover, it was immune to curses and poisons, highly resistant to law and petrification, could match Chloe’s speed and Gordon’s strength, possessed powerful regenerative abilities as long as its limbs weren’t severed, and had boundless energy that hardly experienced fatigue.
The Deformed Demon lacked the bizarre and complex special abilities of other Upper Demons, but it hardly needed them. It was simply and brutally powerful – the type of enemy assassins hated most: too fast to outrun, too strong to defeat, too resilient to kill, and too formidable to withstand. Unless Chloe could successfully advance to the Fifth Tier, she would surely die if it targeted her. This was far more terrifying than the Inspection Bureau.
Therefore, her first reaction upon seeing the Deformed Demon was to run. If this Deformed Demon rampaged through the venue, it could easily pull her out of the shadows as it passed by.
But she couldn’t run! Because those damned Law Masters had, of all things, affixed seals to the walls… Chloe had a specialized item for breaking barriers, but she had used it a few days ago. Now, she had to wait for them to remove the seals themselves before she could leave. The problem wasn’t too big, as Princess Isabel was also trapped, and they surely had to let her out, right? Chloe soon gave up.
It turned out that the Demon Scholars had set up a ritual in advance, fixing and demonizing the walls with the seals, thus preventing entry and exit. Even the Law Masters who had applied the seals couldn’t remove them now… Let alone the Ordinary Persons on the second floor, even Princess Isabel couldn’t escape anytime soon. The only one who could easily cut through the demonic wall was Gordon, as an aerial cavalry, but he was currently entangled with the Deformed Demon.
“You Avalonians are really hopeless!” Chloe thought resentfully. “Do I have to step in as a Veridian?”
It was clear that a spy had infiltrated the Inspection or Supervision personnel preparing the venue. They had taken the opportunity to prepare the demonic ritual while affixing seals to the walls. This was the power of prepared Demon Scholars. The Extraordinary individuals of the Demon Scholar profession were not on the same level in a surprise encounter or an ambush.
“Since that’s the case, I must find its summoner or contractor while the Deformed Demon is being held back.” She couldn’t defeat the Deformed Demon, but that was when she faced it alone. Assassins had their ways. The Deformed Demon, unlike the Hooked Demon Jack, didn’t have teleportation abilities. its sudden appearance meant it was either just summoned or recalled by its contractor. And it clearly had a master. The Deformed Demon’s attack priority prioritized normal people over disabled ones, healthy people over the sick. The younger the age, the higher the probability of being attacked. Eivass, sitting in a wheelchair, would normally not be prioritized by the Deformed Demon, so manual control was necessary. This operation had a delay, preventing it from speaking or performing overly complex actions. Its limb transformation speed was much slower than a normal Deformed Demon, and its reaction speed was also much slower. Otherwise, after a few exchanges, Gordon would have been impaled. It was impossible for the fight to be as back-and-forth as it was now. The controller was, after all, human; they lacked the instinct to freely transform limbs to dodge attacks, and their reaction speed was certainly not as fast as the Deformed Demon’s. For a demon like the Deformed Demon, having a brain was a weakness. But without a brain, it couldn’t command precisely and could only let it attack indiscriminately with anger and hatred towards healthy humans.
But even if Gordon could last a while longer, it wouldn’t be for long. If Gordon’s partner, the Gryphon, were still by his side and he could fight guerrilla warfare from the air, he might have been able to hold them off for several hours. However, as a cavalryman and an aerial unit, he now had to stand on the ground alone, fighting the Deformed Demon head-on to protect the numerous ordinary people in the club venue. It meant that the current Demon Scholar had not yet adapted to the Deformed Demon’s body. When they gradually got used to it, that would be Gordon’s defeat. Chloe had to kill the demon’s contractor before Gordon’s defeat. Since seals were already in place, the contractor was definitely inside. For a contracted demon, killing its contractor would immediately force its return.
So, with so many people on the second floor, how could she identify the summoner?
“…Seriously, I’m not from Avalon, why should I distinguish?” she thought. “If they look like it, I’ll just kill them all.” Of course, she had to confirm first, but she couldn’t make the first move. She had to wait until Gordon and Eivass were killed, and then she could act to kill all the suspected targets. Otherwise, it would be difficult for her to escape. She didn’t want to be chased again. This time, she had no life-saving items left, so she couldn’t be impulsive. She had to be more cautious than last time. When most of the people here were killed, she could then turn around and finish off the Demon Scholar and escape.
Thinking this, Chloe seized the chaos, leaving the shadows beneath the cameras and silently moving among the crowd’s feet, extending towards the second floor. Demon Scholars usually worked in pairs. She easily found the one who was an apprentice.
—The jar that was bounced back into her hand by a spell was called the “Eye of Fear.” It was made from the fresh eyeballs of twenty humans who died in terror. When infused with dark-attribute mana and shattered by external force, it would immediately plunge everyone within a thirty-meter radius into intense fear and chaos, causing them to flee or attack each other. Although it was a low-level ritual spell, it was quite practical. Even high-level Extraordinarys could resist it with their willpower, but the chaos it caused to others was enough to instantly disrupt the situation. Chloe had one of these jars before, purchased from the wild Elf bartender at the Pelican Bar before it was shut down. If used well, this item could complete very high-level assassination missions. However, a few days ago, to escape, she had used it almost meaninglessly…
…But are you sure throwing it out directly is okay? This thing is usually used for setting traps, right? Chloe thought. If this jar were to fall, half of the low-level Extraordinarys below would be incapacitated. But from this height, if she threw the jar, even if it didn’t rebound from the spell, she would undoubtedly be affected by the fear herself. Doesn’t she realize the second floor is only a few meters above the first? Is she that young? A newcomer?
…I see, she was being used as a scapegoat? Sending an apprentice who was completely unaware of the mission details – her mentor, wouldn’t he think he could still escape? Demon Scholars had no means of concealing themselves. How could he escape Glass Island under the eyes of the Gryphon flocks? Or perhaps someone in the royal capital could provide him with temporary shelter? Ah, it must be the Trade Minister. So it’s you… Are you in a hurry? Then I guess I deserve some credit for that…
Chloe thought this and turned her gaze to the other side of the second floor. This young apprentice also revealed another piece of information – that her mentor should be at a symmetrical position to her, at least thirty meters away. Including the throwing distance, it could extend to forty-five meters… Hidden in the shadows, she had roughly pinpointed the area where her mentor was located.
At this moment, she suddenly noticed that the Deformed Demon had inexplicably become agitated. It seemed to perceive some threat, and its primary target shifted from Gordon to Eivass. It took two sword strikes from Gordon, causing two gushes of blood, but it still forcibly attacked Eivass, who was moving away from the battlefield.
“—What are you doing, demon!” Chloe, watching from the shadows, thought with frustration. “If you try a little harder, Gordon will die! Once the continuous suppression stops, Gordon could be revived by any random Priest here using an Illuminate Spell!”
Just as she was contemplating whether to throw a poisoned flying knife at Gordon’s back while he was receiving treatment, she suddenly froze. Because she saw an incomparably brilliant radiance erupt, completely covering the entire club! Eivass, pulling out a Holy Sword spewing fire and light from somewhere, easily severed the arm that the Deformed Demon had extended! The Deformed Demon suddenly let out a wolf-like whimper of pain and quickly retracted. Black smoke hissed and evaporated from the wound, like spiderwebs of golden-red cracks slowly spreading from it.
…That’s a Holy Weapon! Only a Holy Weapon could so easily sever the body of an Upper Demon! So this was his trump card! Chloe’s pupils contracted. First, she felt a pang of fear, relieved that she hadn’t made a move—then, a strong desire for greed surged within her.
—I want this! I really want it! She was only one step away from the Fifth Tier, having killed over fifty nobles and high-level Extraordinarys along the way. But among those she had personally seen, only the leader of “Eagle Eye” possessed a Holy Weapon! As her greed grew, the emerald green radiance of the Path of Adaptation emanating from Chloe’s soul gradually became tinged with a shadowy black. This was the influence of the Path of Love.
And Chloe clearly saw, on the opposite side of the petrified Demon Scholar apprentice, a normal-looking Middle-aged Man suddenly cry out and tremble violently, as if startled awake from a nightmare! Undoubtedly, that person was the contractor! Chloe noticed this. And she wasn’t the only one. Edward, who had been watching the second floor, immediately noticed him, and with a command of “Arrest,” he was directly suspended!
The other Law Masters, though unaware of the situation, immediately cooperated with Edward’s spell, casting Law Spells on the Middle-aged Man. A group of Law Masters was terrifying. Unless one was completely immune and incredibly fast, with enough Law Masters, exemption was virtually nonexistent—”Stasis,” “Silence,” “Arrest,” “Search,” “Shackles,” “Cage”… Although the Law Masters subconsciously avoided using lethal Law Spells, the Middle-aged Man was instantly enveloped in layers of exceptionally gorgeous light effects, completely controlled! He hadn’t even unleashed a single move before his body was bound by dense silvery-white light chains and handcuffs, unable to move.
It seemed like the enemy had been successfully captured, and the Law Masters subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. But Bishop Maya suddenly started, and without hesitation, loudly warned, “Kill him now, immediately!”
Before her words could even fall, she saw the Deformed Demon, now missing an arm and slightly shrunk in size, suddenly raise its head and let out a ferocious, wolf-like howl. In the next moment, its speed increased severalfold—it did not dodge the wheelchair-bound Eivass, but vengefully launched a lightning-like attack on Eivass, who had just heavily wounded it!
