Chapter 95 The Price of Stealing Shadows
But Chloe hesitated and didn't touch the key first.
Although I don’t know if this key has any early warning function...it’s better to take it away at the end just in case.
The closer they got to victory, the calmer Chloe became. She began to ponder various possibilities, reflecting on her own oversights and mistakes.
After a quiet review, it was confirmed that there were no loopholes.
Aiwass was really drunk, and there was nothing abnormal about his behavior in his sleep.
So she walked forward boldly, took out a dark red lipstick from her bosom, and gently applied it on herself.
The fundamental ability of the Adaptive Path is resistance to poison and disease, which increases with rank. This ability allows them to consume vast quantities of herbs without fear of side effects, or consume any living creature in the wild to replenish their energy and nutrients. Many poisons are useless to them, but effective against others. Through this cognitive difference, Adaptive Path members possess a formidable assassination capability.
As a member of the "Eagle Eye" organization, she knew how to make various secret poisons and curse poisons from the organization. In addition to applying this paste of poison to the "Eagle Feather" throwing knives, she also made them into lipsticks that were easy to carry and hide, and triggered with a fatal kiss.
Of course, this didn't really mean anything. It was just a bit of a bad taste... If you had to say it, a kiss was always a bit less tedious than applying lipstick. But what she really wanted to do was just a "kiss."
The kiss that quietly takes someone's life gives people a romantic and charming feeling. It's like being a legendary succubus or a banshee. It has a sense of ritual.
But Chloe thought about it now... perhaps she had been leaning towards the Path of Love from the very beginning. Her habits along the way had actually been constantly strengthening her compatibility with the Path of Love, and she had never noticed it. Only now did she truly realize the depth of her desire.
Just like how she always dressed herself up beautifully, wearing clothes that were too revealing and conspicuous for the people of Avalon. This seemed a bit too high-profile for an assassin.
She had always disguised herself as a follower of the Path of Beauty, but perhaps she was more suited to the Path of Love. Unfortunately, Iris's Path of Love was completely controlled by the Moon Child. While she might be able to leave the organization, she could never become a Moon Child—otherwise, she would be found and killed by her colleagues.
——But it doesn’t matter.
Once I get this sacred weapon, I will have the confidence to negotiate with the organization.
After applying lipstick, Chloe smiled at the drunken Aiwass who was sleeping soundly.
...Looking closely, although he looked quite irritating before, this young man is still quite handsome when you look closely.
Then I won’t lose anything if I kiss him.
She leaned over and kissed Aiwass gently - but for some reason, she could only bend halfway.
She could already smell the faint scent of alcohol emanating from the sleeping Aiwass's breath, as well as the scent of the opposite sex emanating from him. However, her waist seemed to be anesthetized, maintaining this laborious movement, unable to move at all.
"—Have you had enough of the commotion?"
A cold female voice sounded in her mind.
Judging from her voice and tone, she sounds like a strong and proud mature woman.
——Not Aiwass’s personal maid.
Damn, is there someone else lurking in this room?!
Chloe woke up in an instant, and subconsciously melted into the shadow, breaking free from the shackles of unknown origin and diving into the shadow of Aiwas.
But it was different from every previous shadow sneaking——
Or perhaps it was just like the last time she had slipped into Aiwass's shadow. A great, intense fear gripped her heart.
——But it was too late for her to escape.
The shadow that had been moving freely before now seemed like frozen ice, cold and solid.
It was as if she had thrown herself into a cage and frozen herself in ice.
And that cold voice mocked her ear: "You little thief who stole the power of shadows, you actually trust this power..."
At this moment, Chloe felt dizzy.
When she regained her sight, she saw that Aiwass, lying on the bed, had become very far away.
And my own perspective...
——It’s like being sealed in a mirror!
And the "other self" who looked almost exactly like himself, except that his hair and eyes were pure black, was standing in the same position as before, sneering at Chloe in the mirror.
She slowly "approached" the mirror, drawing closer—her "walking" was merely a movement, while in reality she was floating. Her feet half melted into the ground as she walked. Her body didn't rise or fall with her steps, but instead emitted a faint, black smoke.
Chloe's body in the mirror was completely out of control. She was forced to make the same movements as the one outside the mirror, getting closer to the "other self" that made her feel extremely scared.
Only after her "other self" came closer did Chloe notice...her pupils and hair weren't black, but rather a constant flow of nothingness. Not the kind of black that reflected light and allowed one to see through hair, but rather "non-existence."
Her skin was so white that it looked like a ghost, with an almost translucent texture... only the clothes on her body were solid.
--Who are you?
Chloe wanted to speak, but she couldn't even open her mouth. It was as if she had truly become a reflection.
But the self outside the mirror seemed to hear his own inner voice, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a very charming smile.
But at this time, the self who was trapped in the mirror did not make the same synchronous movements.
Chloe in the mirror still had her short, caramel-colored hair, but visible fear appeared on her face, distorting her beautiful features.
"Follower of the Lord of Scales and Feathers, thief who steals the scales of fish and the feathers of birds... Have you forgotten the source of your power?"
She laughed, stretched out her slender white fingers, and gently slid them across Chloe's cheek.
Click——
Chloe thought she heard a phantom sound. Like her soul being sliced apart, she felt an indescribable pain—a crack appeared in her reflection, and she couldn't utter a single word.
Her mind went blank due to the pain, but soon the word flooded into her heart -
——Where does your strength come from?
It's Shadow Fiend!
...There's a shadow demon in Aiwass's shadow?!
How is that possible!
But...if this is true...
At that moment, she understood everything.
Why could Aiwass see him, why was he not afraid of him at all, why did he feel so terrified when he entered Aiwass's shadow...
And she also understood that what Aiwass said at the banquet was just a trap and disguise to lure herself into it!
——What priest, what hero! It's all fake!
He is not a good guy at all - a demonologist who can make a contract with a higher-level demon cannot be so young!
This must be some extremely powerful demon scholar who worked part-time as a Path of Twilight, reincarnated into Aiwass's body, and stole his identity and body!
At that moment, regret overwhelmed her.
If she had another chance, she would never provoke Aiwass!
But it was too late.
There is absolutely no way she can escape from the Shadow Demon!
The power of the Adaptive Path comes from emulating others. Whether it's poison, precognition, invisibility, regeneration, or other abilities, they all come from imitating other life forms in nature. Her shadow stealth ability, for example, was developed by the predecessors of the Hawkeye Organization by imitating demons like the "Shadow Fiend."
However, it was ultimately a pirated version; they couldn't truly capture a shadow demon and copy its talents. It was merely a weakened version constructed through observation and imagination.
Now she knew that the Shadow Demon's control over "shadows" actually also included mirror images!
Rather than saying that this was the only way to catch her, it would be more accurate to say that the Shadow Fiend had already caught her, and then specifically demonstrated to her how a real Shadow Fiend hunts...
"I don't mind if you copied its talent from one of my kind. But you used it so ugly, like a toad singing or a donkey dancing. It felt like an elephant was running over my head... It was so noisy."
The Shadow Demon's voice was full of malice, and Chloe became increasingly aware that the Shadow Demon's voice was gradually moving closer to hers—from that arrogant and mature female voice to her own voice that was as charming as honey.
"And, more importantly—the master's shadow. That's my territory."
Her voice was soft but cold, and her slender fingers reached through the mirror and grasped the neck of the person in the mirror: "You've crossed the line, little thief.
"If it weren't for my master's mercy, I would have torn you to pieces. Fortunately, the snake father protected you and you dared to come back.
"You are so foolish as to even want to kill my master—who do you think you are? So weak, yet so confident..."
The image in the mirror showed Chloe in agony, her entire body corroded by shadows. Blood began to seep from the edges of the floor-length mirror, as if it were not a solid mirror but an iron maiden gradually closing in.
Before Chloe lost consciousness, Shadow Fiend's voice echoed in her mind: "You copied mine, so I'll copy yours. It just so happens that I'm in need of a set of skins that suit human aesthetics.
“Since you tried to steal Shadow…your voice and face are now mine.
"In human terms, this would be called debt repayment."
As he spoke, the Shadow Demon touched the mirror with his finger and gave her a big cross: "You are now insolvent, young lady."
In an instant, Chloe's soul, which was already full of cracks, was completely torn apart by the shadow demon's nails.
It was not until the next day that Aiwas woke up in a daze, and he was not awakened by the Shadow Demon.
This was what he had agreed with Shadow Fiend before, to quietly kill the assassin. There was no need to wake him up unless there was something special.
This is also how he expresses his trust in Shadow Fiend.
"How was last night?"
The first thing he asked himself when he woke up was, "What were her last words?"
Aiwass was not worried that the Shadow Fiend would let her escape.
Because when he woke up, a pop-up window appeared in front of him:
[Kill the fourth-level extraordinary person and gain 120 free experience]
It was about a hundred points lower than the Deformed, but the experience he'd brought to him was more than enough. Counting the unused experience Aiwass had previously, he already had 364 free experience points. This way, after advancing to Demonologist at the beginning of the month, Aiwass could continue advancing at the beginning of the next month—in just two months, he could reach the third level!
Now, Aiwass's only constraint is the ritual's cooldown. Of course, to prevent experience overflow, he should continue with the game as normal, then use free experience to level up at the end.
Every bit you can save is a bit!
Aiwass was just a little worried - would the Shadow Demon tear and corrode everything on her body?
"I remember I told you to keep whatever equipment she had... where did you put it?"
He pressed on, "Also. The floor and everything isn't dirty, right?"
"She left no last words, not a single word until her death. She simply expressed regret for offending you."
The Shadow Demon's voice, different from yesterday's, more human-like than yesterday's, echoed in his heart: "The spoils are on the sofa next to you, all of them, Master... As for her blood, I drank it all. There will be no trace left."
Aiwass looked over there—and it was.
The clothes were neatly folded, organized, and arranged into categories. It looked as if they had just taken them off and put them there. They were completely intact, without a single scratch.
"...Lily has been here?"
Aiwass's first reaction was, was it Lily who came and set it up?
But he soon realized that he had reminded Lily last night not to call him today. She would not enter her room without permission.
This Shadow Demon... is quite organized in his work?
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(End of this chapter)
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