Antlers and Thunder

Dark and damp.

Like being immersed in a warm but viscous liquid, Gordon's consciousness was gradually dragged into a deeper level.

When Gordon woke up again, he found that someone had already arrived.

"It's been a long time, Chief Gordon..."

A deep, middle-aged woman's voice rang out. "Now I should call you Inspector Gordon, shouldn't I?"

Gordon slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a space filled with crimson light.

Unlike the waiting room for the Full Moon Ritual, this place is not purely dark; it feels more like being in the middle of the ocean.

A sliver of a black crimson moon hung in the almost black sky. And beneath their sufficiently high chairs lay a sea of the Blood Sea, rising and falling rhythmically like the tides, foaming profusely.

In the very center of the nine chairs stood a massive, fully armed, silver-white stone statue of a knight. It appeared to be about five or six meters tall, its hands resting on its greatsword in front of it, like a stone monument piercing the heavens and the earth.

But its legs, treading in the Blood Sea, and the tip of its sword were both stained crimson with blood. It was a horrifying sight.

This was also Gordon's first time performing the New Moon Ritual.

The pervasive stench of blood in the environment displeased him. He subconsciously frowned slightly and looked to his left.

There were two people who arrived before me.

This indicates that both of them are in Avalon, and their overall rank is higher than his.

The first was an elderly man with white hair, dressed in a simple black suit and sitting upright. His belly was large, bulging even though he was only wearing a suit. The old man's hands were placed on his knees, which alone gave people a faint sense of oppression. When he saw Gordon appear, he nodded slightly to Gordon.

The second woman was a middle-aged woman with her hair simply tied in a ponytail. She was dressed in a gorgeous red dress, as if she were attending a banquet. But what completely clashed with her demeanor was the hideous boar mask she wore on her head.

"They're all acquaintances," Gordon thought.

Although they didn't have the chance to meet during the ceremony... they could recognize each other in real life with just one glance.

We are all extraordinary individuals on the Path of Authority. Yet now we have the unexpected opportunity to meet during Promotion Ritual ...

"... Yes, it's been a long time, Red Lady. From now on, we'll be colleagues in the Inspectorate."

Gordon then countered, "And which path are you planning to take this time?"

"Love. Power leads to desire, and it is time for me to be born as well."

Red Lady answered without hesitation, "Also, you should call me 'Red' here."

"Then you should call me [Thunder]."

Gordon replied, "By the way, your codename doesn't seem to make any sense. You can tell who you are just by this suit, right?"

"' Red Lady ' is just a nickname. I don't need to use a nickname to hide another one. Besides, I don't need to hide my identity—just like you."

Red Lady replied.

After saying that, she looked at the old man and said meaningfully, "Minister Drost... how should we address you here?"

"Antlers."

The Minister of Trade, whose surname was Drost, said in a deep voice, "This time I am to be promoted to the Path of Twilight."

"Although we are mortal enemies at this moment, this is only the first Crescent New Moon Ritual to advance, and there is no consequence for failure. There is no need for us to fight to the death—we are both on the Path of Authority and know each other's real identities. How about we form a temporary alliance? Let's eliminate the others first, and then we will settle the score from within."

"It's not impossible."

Red Lady nodded. "Then let's not reveal each other's true identities and paths to the outside world, and just refer to each other by code names."

"Anyway, the New Moon Ritual only has a maximum of three promotions," Gordon agreed, "Which is better than letting it fall on foreigners... By the way, my promotion this time is through the Dedication Path."

"Dedication Path? Do you know the Illumination Spell?" Red Lady asked.

"How could that be?" Gordon shook his head. "I'm not from the church. I don't want to get into trouble."

Do you have any other healing abilities?

"No, not at all."

Gordon answered without hesitation, "But I can protect you."

—Then how dare you say you're Dedication Path?

This was the first time she had ever heard of a transcendent being who Dedication Path being completely incapable of healing.

Red Lady's words lingered in her throat for a moment, but she swallowed them back down reluctantly.

When she heard that Inspector Gordon was going to be promoted to the Dedication Path, she thought she would have the opportunity to enjoy the help of a healer in the New Moon Ritual — the Extraordinary Profession of the Path of Love usually have self-damaging characteristics, which makes them very dependent on healers.

Indeed, those extraordinary Dedication Path who dared to participate in the New Moon Ritual alone were not proper devotees.

Just then, blood mist began to rise from the fourth seat.

The three of them immediately stopped talking and turned to look at that seat.

"This is..."

Gordon's eyes widened quickly.

On the fourth seat, a viscous shadow flowed and coalesced into a black humanoid figure dressed in a blood-red robe.

"Hehehe..."

A deep, booming, and hoarse voice, like that of a lion just awakened, rang out from the fourth seat. "You all arrived quite early..."

"... You're Demon Scholar, aren't you?"

Gordon, quite certain, said in a deep, hostile voice, "A member of the Noble Red Society?"

Having been attacked by the Noble Red Society not long ago, he is now unusually sensitive.

He could immediately tell that the color stained the man's red robe was the color of fresh blood. He could even smell the stench. The materials for the New Moon Ritual were hard to come by, but materials obtained from human bodies could replace six of them. Obtaining only the wax figure, the snake, and the mirror would be much simpler.

It's only just gotten dark, and at this time, only those extraordinary individuals in Avalon... or even those located on Glass Island, can enter their ritual.

Demon Scholar have a habit of killing people to obtain materials for rituals. According to Gordon's understanding, the advanced profession of Demon Scholar, "Demon Avatar," requires killing a large number of people and extracting materials from living people to perform rituals. Without doing such cruel things, Demon Scholar can only ever be a "scholar."

The allure of being reborn as an immortal and powerful demon is immense. Those Demon Scholar who walk the Path of Transcendence almost always succumb to the call of the power of the path, attempting to transcend the essence of life, to transcend the limitations of lifespan and the physical body, ultimately leading to this inevitable end.

... However, even the well-informed Gordon had never seen Demon Scholar make such a fuss during his first Promotion Ritual.

Even if he has extraordinary levels in other paths, he should only be able to use the power of the Path of Transcendence when advancing to Path of Transcendence.

How could First Level Demon Scholar possess such a powerful demon? "You are Demon Scholar from Star Antimony."

[Deer Antlers] spoke in an aged yet composed voice, "Who is your mentor?"

At this moment, Iver, including his hair... his entire body was covered in liquid Shadow Fiend.

The shadows dripping from the Shadow Fiend made his originally short hair appear as if it were long, jet-black hair.

Iver, who had just woken up, simply raised an eyebrow.

You old codger, you're quite experienced.

They actually know that Demon Scholar from the Stibium Kingdom can pre-contract high-level demons—by being summoned by a powerful Demon Scholar and having their apprentices sign the contract. Whether the apprentices can control themselves is their own problem.

Those powerful demons, tricked into making pacts with the weak, are bound to be resentful. Their disobedience and malicious desire to escape their masters will put immense pressure on the young Demon Scholar.

If these young people don't want to be devoured by the demons, they can only do their best to demonstrate their talents. But these demons are far stronger than their level, so no matter how they demonstrate their abilities, it is difficult for them to gain the demons' approval.

Like being chased by a ferocious beast, these young Demon Scholar are constantly squeezed by a sense of crisis, forcing them to unleash their potential beyond the Path of Transcendence to the fullest extent.

If things ultimately get out of control, it's just a matter of ruining one student, and such people are everywhere on Star Antimony. Countless people yearn to become Demon Scholar, to change their own fate and control the fate of others. Anyway, the summoned demon is still there; they can just give it another master.

Through this repeated selection process, each Demon Scholar ultimately cultivated controls a demon far more powerful than themselves and possesses an incomparably strong desire to surpass it.

"Tell him, 'I don't know anything about any mentor. Reveal your identity, or I won't answer any of your questions.'"

Iver mentally instructed Shadow Fiend: "Remember to be ruthless, preferably appearing reckless and arrogant—disguise yourself as someone who seems unintelligent and easily manipulated. Distinguish yourself from who you really are."

The Shadow Demon immediately responded in his mind in the voice of the Assassin Miss: "Yes, Master."

Then, the black liquid on Iver's body resonated in sync with the sound, emitting a deep, echoing roar like a lion's growl, "You lack the most basic manners, old man. I don't need a mentor—state your name immediately, or I'll let demons devour your flesh!"

As "Iver" spoke, the viscous shadows on his body began to flow and solidify into a hideous Magic Creature head. A blooming black flower opened on his raised face, and countless black fangs were wrapped in a chilling black aura.

"... Oh, no. You're not Demon Scholar, you're a demon."

The old man said with great interest, "A demon possessed by a shadow demon, how rare! It's unbelievable that we in Avalon have such extraordinary beings."

"Since we still have time, why don't we get to know each other, Mr. Shadow Fiend? I'm Deer Antlers, this is Thunder, and that's Red... You're a newcomer, aren't you? In that case, perhaps we can cooperate. Let's eliminate the others first... How about it?"

Demons are different from Demon Scholar. If Demon Scholar has made a pact with a powerful demon, then he/she will most likely have a mentor.

However, the possession of a demon by a demon is completely random—meaning that even a complete novice without a mentor could be possessed by a powerful demon.

When Deer Horn realized that this "demon" might be a newcomer, he immediately understood that Iver could be manipulated. His attitude instantly became very sincere, seemingly showing little prejudice against the Path of Transcendence.

Meanwhile, "Thunder" and "Red" remained silent, simply watching the deer perform.

—Trying to put on an acting show, huh?

Iver realized that the confrontation over the New Moon Ritual had already begun at this point.

"Your attitude is very good, sir. Then just pretend I didn't say anything before."

So he narrowed his eyes slightly, and the Shadow Demon wrapped around his body replied in a very natural manner, "Then you can call me Aleister... that's my name."

"Yes, I am a newcomer. I come from the Noble Red Society, and this is my first time participating in the Promotion Ritual."

This is the first chapter for today! The second chapter isn't finished yet; I'll post it at 6 PM tonight!