When the plot-skips players into the game world

Perhaps only a little while had passed, or perhaps it had been much longer.

Perhaps it was due to a severe injury, or some other problem... The Penalty Demon felt as if its sense of time had been stripped away. It couldn't discern the passage of time at all—it lay on the ground, yet the sensation seemed unreal, as if caught within a dream.

—Most likely, it was going to die here.

Such a thought roughly surfaced in the Penalty Demon's mind.

Besides, it might also become ritual material for that guy or Aleister, just as it had once turned other humans into materials...

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That was also a cycle. A cycle was an act of transcendence, like the Ouroboros devouring itself.

Even so, it did not wish to commit suicide.

To kill oneself would mean self-denial—Demons couldn't do such a thing; it was a negation of the Fallen Celestial Marshal and likewise an act of cowardice.

—Moreover, after "Kazim" had fully transformed into the Penalty Demon, he would no longer be affected by death in the Material Realm.

Even if he were to die, it would only mean a loss of strength, returning to sleep in the Dream Realm. At most, he would become a Phantom Demon Egg, re-inhabiting the body of some child. Once the child grew up and was gradually assimilated by his Mark of Sin into a Demon, he would ultimately hatch again.

If not on the first attempt, then on the second; and if not on the second, then on the third. Mortals all have their life's end, but the Phantom Demon could achieve immortality...

The Penalty Demon comforted itself in its mind.

Just then,

a flock of bats flapped by overhead in the night sky.

They regrouped in front of the Penalty Demon, taking on the form of Aiwass.

His eyes slightly narrowed, a dark red hue, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised. His face bore an unmistakable look of disdain and mockery, completely different from the gentle and firm expression he had shown during their previous encounter.

Seeing this scene, the Penalty Demon's eyes suddenly widened: "Son of the Moon?"

At that moment, there was a buzzing in its head.

It instantly understood why the Prince's curse had had no effect on Aiwass just now...

Because, from some unknown time, Aiwass had become a pure Son of the Moon!

—Since Aiwass was not human to begin with, the previous targeting was naturally invalid!

"Good evening, Mr. Kazim."

Aiwass said leisurely.

He looked around, then focused his gaze on the Werewolf.

Upon noticing this, the grey wolf shrank back somewhat, her front legs trembling uncontrollably.

But Aiwass just smiled, crouched down, and beckoned to her with his hand.

With just one glance, he recognized her identity.

Although he didn't know how she managed it... there was no doubt that this was Lily.

While Lily hadn't mentioned this to Aiwass at first, now that she was willing to reveal her identity to him... Aiwass naturally had no intention of probing further.

The grey wolf hesitated for a moment, then bounded over, her tail wagging. She affectionately rubbed her head against Aiwass's hand, pushing her head insistently under his palm, greedily sniffing his scent.

...So fragrant, so sweet.@@novelbin@@

It had been manageable from a distance, but upon coming close enough, Lily's mind was overwhelmed by the scent of Aiwass's blood and flesh. Like a starving person entering a steamy bakery, her eyes started to glaze over.

She longed for a bite...

But no, absolutely not.

If she showed her wild side, her aggressiveness and danger... she would no longer be able to stay by Aiwass's side. She would no longer be the person that Aiwass could trust forever.

When she became a Werewolf before, Lily had subconsciously chosen to hide it. But she soon regretted doing so.

When Lily was very young, she envied a classmate's hairband studded with gemstone fragments, so she lied to her mother. She said the school was asking for money, wanting to buy that hairband herself.

She might have been a natural at lying. Even though it was the first lie of her life, even though no one had ever taught her how to perform, she managed to deceive very naturally and smoothly and got the money. Her mother did not suspect a thing.

It was not a small amount of money—Lily realized it only after she got the money and wanted to buy a bun. She understood how many buns that money could buy, and then realized how many days of sustenance it was.

Lily felt a sudden surge of fear at that time.

She couldn't truly spend the money, she thought.

But hiding it was equally painful. She worried about losing it herself, worried it would be discovered by her mother, and also worried that it would be seen by her classmates. Meanwhile, she had to maintain her composure, as if nothing had happened.

Half a year passed with days like these until the school really started asking for money. Only then did Lily breathe a sigh of relief, eager to use this money to fill the void and balance the accounts. This matter was finally in the past.

However, when she turned into a werewolf and did not tell Aiwass immediately, she felt a similar fear.

She was constantly searching for a suitable excuse, a suitable occasion to bring it up. But after that, Aiwass was always too busy; she never found the right opportunity.

Strictly speaking, the current opportunity wasn't the best either.

But perhaps it was the actions of Shadow Demon before Aiwass set off that suddenly gave her a sense of crisis.

It was a fear of being "abandoned again."

So, Lily finally couldn't bear it any longer, choosing to reveal everything at this less-than-ideal time. To her delight, Aiwass recognized her at a glance, but at the same time, he did not show fear toward her or question why she concealed the truth. Even so, she still felt uneasy.

This intense anxiety formed a cage that constrained her instincts.

—That was "Adaptation."

People inherently have lazy instincts, just as beasts have gluttonous ones. But the power of adaptation twists these instincts... all for better survival, better "adaptation." It doesn't stem from hope, but from fear.

Watching the crimson in the werewolf's eyes fade away, Aiwass's mouth curled slightly upward.

"Good child."

Aiwass gently patted the grey wolf's head, speaking softly.

In that moment, Lily finally sensed with utter certainty that the Son of the Moon's form of Aiwass and the human Aiwass were indeed the same person. That sense of arrogance and the feeling of aggression, which Aiwass didn't show normally, was just another aspect he didn't reveal.

And Aiwass was also pleased.

He wouldn't mind Lily biting him.

Even if Lily had enough longing, was too thirsty, he could even feed her proactively—the reason he chose "Sacrifice of Flesh" was to feed these hungry children more conveniently, wasn't it?

But the fact that Lily could suppress the werewolf's bloodthirsty instinct with her own reason, rationality, or something else naturally pleased Aiwass more. After all, he possessed the purple-level trait of "Sacrifice of Flesh". He was more susceptible to luring the appetite of vampires and werewolves than others—Miss Beyard in the Dream Realm also couldn't completely control herself.

—Yet Lily, who had not long become a werewolf, managed to do so.

It was undoubtedly a commendable deed; he would feed her twice after this was over.

Thinking this, Aiwass stood up.

He looked at the Penalty Demon and retrieved the ritual materials from his bag.

That was the material bag Sherlock had been carrying before, and now it had been lent to Aiwass by Sherlock.

Seeing this, the Penalty Demon couldn't help but say, "Even if you defeat me, it's useless. With me, there is also the leader of the Noble Red Society. He is the only royal bloodline of the Giants—Wolfram!

"He is a great wizard at the Fifth Power Level, just like your grandfather and our former leader Jacob, with all sorts of unfathomable methods. He won't die so easily... and he also has the profession level of the Bound One, having received education from the Star Antimony Rose Cross Society. Even in Star Antimony, he has many friends and tutors at the Fifth Power Level—"

—On the surface, this was the Penalty Demon flaunting its alliance.

But in actuality, it was inadvertently supplying Aiwass with information about Wolfram.

However, this was not out of goodwill towards Aiwass, but out of fear of Wolfram.

Wolfram was no good person. He was cunning, experienced. His methods of punishing subordinates were cruel and decisive, keeping the Penalty Demon in perpetual fear. Even having become an immortal demon, it still harbored fear of Wolfram.

When it realized Aiwass was prepared and that it was a trap, the Penalty Demon became clearly aware of what it had done. Facing the hatred of a great wizard who liked to lurk in the Material Realm and who knew it through and through was more unsettling than death in the material world.

If it could lead Aiwass to target Wolfram, then even if it died once, that wouldn't be a problem.

It could die, but Wolfram must die with it!

And so, with this thought, the Penalty Demon continued to up the ante, trying hard to draw hatred towards Wolfram on its behalf: "His goal is to take the Book of Law from your hands! He will kill you, avenge me!"

"Enough with the yelling. He will die before you... at least this first life, he will die far quicker than you," said Aiwass with a sneer, shaking open the Tarot Cards.

"—What do you think I was doing just now with Sherlock?"