Chapter 46 The Man Behind the Scenes
At this moment, there is less than an hour left before the ceremony ends.
Twenty minutes to be exact.
Even if Aiwass could control the Iron Hook Demon and let it lead him, it would be too late.
Not to mention how scary it would be to ride in a carriage with this thing, even if he could find a way to ride in a carriage, he would not be able to make it in time.
The ceremony was scheduled for four hours, and upon entering, Little Aiwass was already cursed.
According to the "ideal situation" calculated by the Pillar God who created the dream, Aiwass should take Lulu out of the cathedral and go directly to Legal Square, a journey of half an hour.
Upon arrival, the Hook Demon appears for the first time. After cooperating with Sherlock to repel it, they still have more than three hours to gather their companions, follow the Hook Demon to find the murderer, and defeat it. This requires Sherlock's wisdom.
This suggests that his location is not so easy to find. It may require reasoning on the path of wisdom to find it.
However, Aiwass felt that he had a good brain and should be able to find it with the help of the Hook Demon.
The only thing Aiwass miscalculated was that this enemy was a bit stubborn.
After trying to attack the bone sculpture once, the curse master still refused to give up and sent the hook demon to try again.
But this time, they failed to defeat him, and instead injured the Iron Hook Demon. This showed that the "Bone Sculptor" was indeed a very powerful transcendent, and he should be the force of their team. This directly led to the fact that when Aiwas was attacked, the time was almost up.
This should have been a good thing. It meant that he only needed to dodge and he would be able to run out of time and win.
However, what Aiwass wanted was to fight back.
Even if I can't find out who is behind this, I at least want to see with my own eyes what this curse master looks like.
...So, now we can only hope for "possibility".
He still had one more chance to meet the curse master in less than twenty minutes.
It wasn't teleportation. This was because Aiwass had no means to curse the curser in return.
——It’s a counter-summoning.
After the Hooked Fiend completes its mission, it will be recalled by the Curse Master, just as it was recalled after its failed attack on Lulu.
Suddenly appearing in front of the curse master could certainly be considered a form of "teleportation".
All we need to do is let Aiwass merge his mind into the Hook Demon like Jack the Ripper.
This ceremony specifically emphasized that it was not necessary to survive.
Well, he could do an experiment now.
An experiment that would definitely not be a loss even if it failed... an experiment that could not be carried out in reality.
——How powerful can the "pastoral skill" of voluntarily sacrificing one's entire life be?
Without using any auxiliary materials and without being strong itself, can efficient self-sacrifice be as effective as the enhancement of the Hook Demon by Jack the Ripper's serial killing ritual?
Anyway…
"Eat in silence, my lamb."
Looking at the hook demon staring at him with wide eyes, Aiwass whispered, tightening his grip on the paper cutter: "I am the sacrament, this is mercy."
He had no magically infused oils, and instead of a sterling silver ritual knife, he had a paper cutter.
It's like a meal without the spices to flavor it. It's also without the garnish.
But as long as the food is delicious enough and there is enough of it, its natural flavor is enough to move people.
Moreover, the one enjoying the delicious meal was not a proud upper-level demon, but merely a despicable hook demon born from the embryonic soul crushed by the hook.
It was a little devil that broke free from the hatred of its predetermined death and became out of hatred and anger in order to defy the will that "it could not be born".
There is nothing arrogant about it.
"Drink the blood from my neck like sweet wine—"
Aiwass chanted loudly, opening himself up like a zipper.
——From left to right, he resolutely cut his throat with a paper cutter.
What he cut was the artery above the collarbone.
Aiwas's consciousness immediately became blurred and his vision became dim.
My mind seemed to become clearer, as if the flow of time had slowed down.
He clearly felt his life force rapidly draining away. However, it wasn't as if his life had been ripped from his flesh and bones, disappearing into the void... Instead, his entire soul, along with its fiery magical power, flowed out along with the blood from his neck, condensing into crystals.
Boom——
“…He should have committed suicide.”
When the death knell rang, Sherlock said in a deep voice.
Lulu nodded sadly.
In the abandoned warehouse, the lifeless body of "Julio" fell heavily backwards.
But his blood did not soak the surrounding ground. Instead, it spurted out upwards like a fountain, defying common sense of physics.
It wasn't even liquid, but rubies, one after another, flying into the air and solidifying into red pearls.
Like a puppy or kitten anxious to eat, the Iron Hook Demon made a whimpering sound, and the anger and ferocity on his face completely disappeared, leaving only the purest greed and obsession.
One after another, crystal blood beads flew towards it and landed on it.
The hook demon ate greedily.
The frost marks on its body faded at a speed visible to the naked eye, and its body gradually expanded, from the size of a hound to the size of a human teenager, and then to the size of an adult.
The blood-soaked crimson on its body gradually faded, revealing pure, smooth white skin, with only scarlet lines like sutures remaining. Muscles even grew on its four arms, and the four rusty, blood-stained hooks had vanished.
Its face was hideous and hideous, its features completely misplaced on its massive head, and its four arms pointed in different directions.
The size, thickness, joints, and orientation of its six limbs were completely different. Crouching on the ground, it resembled a fragmented human figure drawn by an abstract artist.
Its ignorant yet hateful eyes became a little clearer, revealing some incomplete humanity.
And that anger and hatred also precipitated into more solid grief and hatred.
The blood was quickly licked up by it.
It whimpered, squatted on the ground, lay on Aiwass's body, and continued to lick the bloody wound on Aiwass's neck.
As it licked, it suddenly looked up to the sky and howled, a roar like a wolf gazing at the moon.
Then, as if determined, it began to eat Aiwas's body.
When Aiwass gradually woke up from the chaos, he saw his body disappeared on the scarlet ground.
And his perspective at this moment has become that of the Iron Hook Demon.
——Or rather, it is the evolved "Deformed Limb Demon".
That's because the demons born from the souls of those born with limb deformities or who died from persecution have a deep hatred for almost the entire group of "normal people."
This is already a high-level demon.
This was an elite who was over level 40, less than ten levels behind the Shadow Fiend.
While losing the ability to teleport around the cursed, it possesses an almost immortal vitality, powerful strength and speed, as well as the ability to temporarily reshape its six deformed limbs at will according to its own wishes.
And an equally low level of intelligence.
Aiwass felt very clearly the seemingly endless vitality and the surging power like the sea coming from his body, and his three hearts beating strongly.
He is now confident that even if he is chopped into pieces by a chainsaw or repeatedly crushed by boulders, he will never die easily.
However, the ecstasy, joy, sadness, hatred... from the "Deformed Devil" were also continuously transmitted, proving that it had not died after being possessed by Aiwass. Instead, it had voluntarily become his partner...
…and “Bearer”.
Carrying Aiwass's soul like a turtle until he finds the opportunity to be reborn.
"So, after using the pastoral method to feed myself completely to the demon, I will temporarily become one with the demon?"
He crouched low, his two mouths uttering a vague and moist low voice: "Its 'nutrition' is enough to allow even a low-level demon to directly evolve into a high-level demon..."
No wonder demons follow the "Shepherd." For demons who have transcended the Tao, this is truly an irresistible temptation.
According to the normal evolutionary route, it would take several years to evolve from the Iron Hook Demon to the Deformed Limb Demon, or according to the extreme training method of Jack the Ripper.
Aiwas originally thought that the growth of ten rituals would be enough, but he never expected that he had greatly underestimated the value of pastoral care and "voluntary sacrifices".
It's not that Shadow Fiend is greedy.
But he does smell good...
On that completely dislocated head, with three eyes, each looked in a different direction. He adjusted to this new and different vision, and gradually became familiar with the instinct of using his "deformed limbs."
After a long while, he finally heard his "master"'s somewhat urgent call.
"...William? William? Great, we've made contact... If everything goes well, come back soon, kid! Be careful not to scream too loudly and don't reveal your presence—"
The hideous demon lying on the ground showed a terrible and terrifying smile.
“Wow—wah—”
He imitated the former Hook Demon and responded with meaningless sounds like a baby crying and a puppy whimpering.
The curse master on the opposite side obviously did not expect this.
"Hey, hey, hey, stop shouting. I'm going to pull you back here. Don't move..."
He launched the anti-summoning spell without any warning.
The space around me seemed dislocated and cracked. It was like the feeling of weightlessness and overweight in an elevator, except that the "source" of that feeling was behind me.
It was as if I was suddenly "pulled back" by a huge force and dragged to a far place behind.
Suddenly appearing in front of Aiwass was a middle-aged man with a brown face and huge gem rings on all ten fingers. He looked to be in his fifties.
He looked slightly overweight, with a rounded belly and a slightly stooped back. His black, curly hair was greasy, and his small, dark, focused eyes lacked much of the white. If it weren't for his lavish attire, his features would have suggested the simpler appearance of a country bumpkin. Even if his attire looked expensive, he would have simply been a wealthy country gentleman.
"William, you did a great job..."
The curse master habitually wanted to appease the hook demon.
But when he saw the twisted demon emerging from the ritual formation and crouching on the ground like a spider, his expression suddenly froze.
Fear froze his face, and his body was unable to move, making him like a mute stone statue.
This is……
—A deformed limb?!
How could a demon's race suddenly change?!
Or, is it... is it really William?
Or perhaps some other demonologist had seized and modified William's contract, allowing the monstrous limb he controlled to be teleported here through the anti-summoning ritual—
But he didn't have time to think about it.
Aiwass controlled the deformed limb and pulled out a twisted and dislocated limb from his body at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
The "right hand" that originally looked normal was suddenly stretched rapidly - it became only two centimeters thick, but the claws grew to more than two meters long.
The hideous claws like bones grabbed his face, pushed him against the wall, and slowly lifted him up.
"Who are you……"
The deformed limb demon made an indistinct sound, a sound like something from a nightmare.
Can talk... ?
The curser, whose face was frozen by fear, looked like he was about to cry.
He tried his best to hold the deformed-limbed demon's "right hand" with both hands to prevent his throat from being torn apart by his own weight.
Being able to make the Devil-limb speak so clearly...
...Have I met a senior?
"Say your name..."
The deformed limb demon repeated the question.
It stretched out its deformed limbs and slowly exerted force, trying to crush the curser's head like a pair of steel pliers.
Under the intense pain, the curse master couldn't help but scream:
“—Aziz! Aziz bin Abdul—save me…Senior, spare me!”
But the deformed limb demon did not let go.
Instead, he increased his strength, feeling the skull "in his hands" gradually deforming and making creaking sounds.
"Who do you work for..." The deformed limb demon changed his tone and asked in a sharp voice.
"—Moriarty! It's Professor James Moriarty!"
The curse master named Aziz screamed miserably and abandoned his employer without hesitation: "It has nothing to do with me. I just did the job for the money. Please spare me, senior, sir, please, it's not me... spare me! Help - help -"
Puff——
The deformed limb that the deformed demon stretched out easily crushed the curser's head.
It's as easy as crushing a tomato.
——Even if everything in the ceremony was fake, Aiwass had no intention of letting him off.
"It's just a little interest, Aziz. I wish you weren't dead."
The Deformed Devil made an indistinct sound: "I will remember you...
"I'll find you."
Having successfully obtained such important information, Aiwass felt that he should be happy.
He confirmed the upper limit of the "Pastoral Law" at no cost, and finished everything he had to do before the end of the ceremony... He should relax and celebrate.
But at this moment he was a little unhappy.
What made Aiwas feel bad was that he heard another name from the curse master Aziz that he didn't want to hear... but was also a name he had expected.
—James Moriarty.
As usual, correct any typos as soon as you get up~
It took me eight o'clock to write these six thousand words (sad)
(End of this chapter)
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