Chapter 754 It’s Better to Say It’s a Gift

but……

Aleister stroked the restless little crow while narrowing his eyes and thinking to himself.

If Anna Kingsford was the mastermind behind Alphonse's actions, he would be killed by the Night Devil's power... Doesn't this also mean that Ms. Kingsford has some kind of relationship with the Night Devil?

"I'm so sorry, my dear boss..."

At this moment, a series of overlapping voices suddenly rang out, as if four or five people with similar voices were speaking the same sentence in slightly different rhythms.

That sound came from the mirror destroyed in the explosion. Although the ceiling and floor had been reduced to hollow, the mirror behind which Aiwass and Night Demon had been shielding was simply shattered by the shockwave.

Now, in these tattered fragments, the images of multiple mirror demons are reflected at the same time.

Because each remaining mirror fragment was too small to contain its existence, in order to immediately report its safety, the Mirror Demon directly split itself into several parts, making a sound like several recordings pieced together.

"That was an attack from the Night Demon. It was far too ferocious for a poor little devil like me..."

"——Okay, stop talking."

Before the Mirror Demon could say anything irreversible, Aleister quickly spoke up to stop it.

However, the Mirror Demon did not feel the slightest bit disgusted by this.

Instead, he smoothly began his second wave of flattery: "As expected of you, you truly understand the nature of us demons. Now I can rest assured—at least you won't be in danger by listening to the slander of other demons."

...Professional, so professional.

After being interrupted by Aleister, he immediately stated that if he did something wrong, it was the instinct of his race, not his individual demon problem; secondly, he expressed his determination to stand firmly with Aleister no matter what; then he secretly said, "Other demons are not as good as me"... This sentence can be seen as a kind concern for Aleister's safety, or it can be seen as a subtle poke at the Night Demon - after all, she is also one of the "other demons".

Aleister hissed, struggling a little.

——Damn Earl Dawn, what have you taught your demon to be like!

How could the devil be tainted with the filth of the human world... Tsk, why does this sound so weird...

...but it doesn't seem too strange.

The phantom demons of the Dream Realm were ultimately fashioned from souls from the physical realm. And according to the Fallen Angels' custom, they would only brand individuals with transcendental adaptability with the Sin Mark—these souls would not enter the Dream Realm through the normal route, but would instead be directly transformed into demons.

This behavior is equivalent to intercepting supplies on the roadside, stopping the supply truck that was originally heading to the destination, and taking the supplies for yourself.

Many demons are actually humans who were transformed during the Herasil Empire. In other words, they are actually "ancients" from five hundred years ago, or even a thousand years ago.

——How could the ancients be as bad as the modern people!

As human civilization progresses, the desire for transcendence grows stronger, and the path of depravity spreads. Those who were chosen by the Fallen Angels five or six hundred years ago are now considered good children in their eyes...

Apparently, the Mirror Demon, who had signed a new temporary employment contract with Aleister, was particularly impressed by his other identity as the "Eternal Pope." He had originally considered taking a vacation, but now seemed less anxious.

Seeing that Aleister didn't respond, the Mirror Demon smoothly changed the subject without feeling awkward at all: "Who do you think is the murderer behind this incident?"

Seeing that the Mirror Demon had said something serious—or rather, something that would not make the little crow feel wronged even if he answered it—Aleister also turned serious and quickly changed the subject: "If you ask me, it was still Ms. Kingsford who did it."

"But this is 'The Kiss of Betrayal'."

The Mirror Demon bluntly revealed the name of this move: "From what I know, Ms. Kingsford is a witch. Although she also possesses the power of the Path of Love, this likely wasn't done by her."

"That's not necessarily true."

Aleister said meaningfully, "After all, it's the path of love... I'm not surprised by what they do."

After all, that is the power of the source river of "creation".

Although both the Path of Beasts and the Path of Love have strayed somewhat, this does not shake the fact that the Path of Love is the most viable path at present.

Compared to the Mirror Demon, Vignes understood Aleister's subtext: "Master, is there anything else Ms. Kingsford wants to do?"

"Let me ask you," Aleister did not answer, but asked in return, "If this was done by Kingsford, then what do you think of this behavior?"

"I suppose this is an attempt to silence Alphonse von Pilotti."

The Mirror Demon answered without hesitation, clearly having pondered this answer for a long time. "Because his ritual was taught to him by Lady Kingsford. One could even say that the ritual itself is closely tied to Lady Kingsford's interests. To destroy the evidence, Lady Kingsford immediately arrived to silence Mr. Pilotti upon learning of the intelligence..."

"—But I think this is just a wrong answer, a vulgar inference based on my preconceived notions and faulty intelligence. I believe that the boss will have some different opinions on this, and I am eager to hear your wise thoughts."

It then changed the subject and gave a completely opposite statement very smoothly.

Like Kogoro Mouri who had just been pricked by Conan, he denied his own quite reasonable inference.

"It's simple. Whether it was the Night Demon or Anna who did it, they both came from the Path of Love—and cursing is also a skill that the Path of Love masters.

"The question is - is someone on the path of love so normal? Or, in other words, does she really care about the so-called 'truth' and 'silencing'?"

Although Aleister's words sounded a bit argumentative, when you think about it carefully, you will find that she is right.

Since Aleister was able to bypass so many interferences and go straight to Alphonse, who was definitely not capable of performing this ritual, it means he had sufficient evidence. Since Aleister already knew that Anna was the mastermind behind Alphonse's actions, then Anna would commit such a blatant murder and silence...

...isn't it a bit like taking off pants to fart?

"Rather than silencing her, it's more likely that this has solidified the impression that she's the mastermind behind this. But to say this is a frame-up is meaningless—unless you told me that this matter is related to Ms. Kingsford, which is false."

"—Absolutely not, Boss!"

The Mirror Demon shouted without hesitation, "I will never do such lies and deception!"

"I trust you."

Aleister answered without hesitation: "So there is only one other possible answer.

"The other party—let's call her 'the other party' for now—her actions were carried out with the protection of the Night Demon.

"Look, despite the deafening roar of the explosion, it didn't cause much actual damage. After the billowing black smoke cleared, the broken wall still managed to maintain its outline. And the ground-shaking blast didn't even completely shatter the mirror I was blocking...

"And I was completely absorbed by the Night Demon's explosion, not even a hair was messed up. If you say this is an assassination attempt on me, isn't that a bit too much of a disdain for me? After all, I was still able to kill Earl Dawn's men quietly."

"So, you think..."

The Mirror Demon spoke, speaking softly and slowly, "Perhaps this is just a test?"

"I prefer to call it a 'gift'."

Aleister squinted his eyes, his crimson pupils lighting up like lights amidst the gray smoke. "It's like fireworks going off when a friend enters the house, or a salute when distinguished guests arrive."

(End of this chapter)