155. Chapter 154: Since You've Come, Don't Leave

As night fell, the lights at 14 Ronin Street were finally turned off at 10:30 p. m.

Two hours later, when the campus fell silent, the group quietly approached.

They hadn't been waiting outside Iver's door before.

These Demon Scholar didn't even bother to hide anywhere; they just went into a bar and have been drinking ever since.

No one expected four completely drunkards to pose any threat—especially since this wasn't their first time here; they'd been coming almost daily for the past week or so to drink and play cards. They'd even become familiar with some of the students.

But this time is different.

After leaving the bar, they found a small alley and used a half-prepared sobering-up ritual to dispel the effects of the alcohol.

"Get ready to make your move."

The leader of the group was a blond man with slicked-back hair, wearing a white suit and dressed like a lawyer.

He said in a deep voice, "Jim, go and set up the curse. Brayden, go and cut his phone line. Pero and I will set up the ritual to summon our two demons first. Then you two come over and summon your demon hounds."

"Are you sure it's just the Sleeping Curse?"

Jim, the shortest and youngest, retorted, "The Sleeping Curse can be nested within the Weakness Curse... Didn't you say that cripple is a master swordsman? I still think that nesting the Sleeping Curse within the Weakness Curse, and then adding a Suffocation Curse, would be enough to kill him. That would be the safest way, and we could report back to our superiors."

"I'm sure."

The team leader answered with certainty, "If Moriarty were alone in his dormitory, that would be fine... but there's also his maid and his sister. With three people, the power of the curse will be diluted considerably. That way, they won't be able to sleep very soundly."

"And the Weakness Curse makes people aware that they are cursed. If one of them is a light sleeper, he might wake up from the sudden feeling of weakness and then wake the others as well. Don't do that, Jim. More curses are not necessarily better."

"Then how about..."

Jim continued, "Or we could cast the curse and then pour poison gas into his bedroom. That way, no one would even realize he was killed; they might just think he was poisoned by gas... That way, we wouldn't be investigated by the authorities."

"Do you think the dormitories where those rich kids live are the same as your shabby little house?"

Fat Pero scoffed, "How could his bedroom be connected to the kitchen? Don't you use your brain?"

"... I just feel a little uneasy, mentor."

Jim whispered, "Isn't this going a little too smoothly?"

The team leader shook his head. "It went smoothly because we were well-prepared, it has nothing to do with him. You're overthinking it."

About half an hour later, the preparations were almost complete.

The Sleeping Curse has taken effect; the telephone line has been cut; and two demons and two Demon Dog have been summoned.

Jim was somewhat uneasy.

But the team leader felt that this was simply because his apprentice was too timid.

Jim was only sixteen years old, even younger than Iver, whom they were trying to assassinate. He hadn't graduated high school and had instead joined a gang. Because of his quick wit, he was noticed by Lloyd's, and because of his Path of Transcendence, he became an apprentice to a leader.

Powerful Demon Scholar are always accompanied by their apprentices.

Curses and rituals are, in a sense, similar to cooking—the actual time spent cooking is minimal; the most time-consuming parts are preparing the ingredients and cleaning them afterwards. These apprentices are specifically there to do these meaningless, repetitive tasks for their mentors.

That's basically equivalent to being a kitchen helper.

But actually, the team leader didn't really like Jim.

Demon Scholar typically need a certain degree of unbridled recklessness; otherwise, advancement is difficult. Jim, however, was far too timid, always making pessimistic predictions... At first, the team leader paid some attention, thinking perhaps this kid was actually Path of Adaptation, and his words carried a hint of prophecy. But after many predictions failed to materialize, the Jim leader finally realized he was simply too cowardly.

—Aren't they being cautious enough?

They laid an ambush a full week in advance, deploying four superhumans, two of whom were elites at the Third Level. They also had an incredibly powerful Blade Demon, capable of directly confronting Fourth Level superhuman, and Lash Demon to assist the Blade Demon. Furthermore, they had preemptively cursed Iver and severed all his connections to the outside world—

For a superhuman who is only at the First Level and Dedication Path, even the team leader feels that his caution is ridiculous.

It was only because Iver was capable of instantly killing the Deformed Limb Demon that he valued him so much.

Although Iver himself isn't particularly strong, he is, after all, a member of the Moriarty Family. The extraordinary artifacts he possesses are all powerful, and he might even have others in his possession...

So their plan was to use a curse to put Iver into an unawakable slumber, then sneak in and assassinate him.

Iver has class tomorrow. So at 1 a. m., he should already be asleep.

Since he's already asleep, he won't realize he's under the sleeping curse. It will only make him sleep even deeper and sounder, and even if a thief breaks into his house and takes everything they can, he definitely won't wake up.

If all goes well, it would be best to finish them off with a single shot. That would make them look more like assassins who have mastered curse techniques, making it harder to investigate them.

The demons they brought were only meant to fight off any hidden ambush troops, henchmen, or bodyguards.

What a pity.

The team leader thought to himself.

This was ultimately an away game, so many of the ritual props he had prepared were unusable. Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed to be so cautious.

For example, the "Curse Infant," made from a cursed infant who died, can deliver a powerful, guaranteed blow that can directly destroy someone's heart; the "Nightmare Illusion," made from the scalp of someone suffering from migraines, can drive someone mad with unbearable, intense pain; and the "Stiff Corpse Bait," made from an elderly person who hanged themselves, can infect everyone around them with a chilling aura, causing them to move increasingly slowly...

These are consumable items that allow him to kill other extraordinary cultivators of higher levels.

However, because they all require specific conditions to be preserved, they cannot be used in this kind of raid.

Or rather, it is precisely because the ritual props he relies on are unusable that the leader is so cautious.

Because once you become accustomed to the immense power gained from using ritual materials made by your own kind, leaving it feels incredibly uncomfortable. You feel suddenly weak... even if this "weakness" is your true level.

Just as Brayden, a thief by trade, was picking the lock, Jim was looking around, suddenly pointed to the sky. "What's that, a firefly?"

"That must be some kind of butterfly."

Fat Pero crossed his arms and commented, "What a pity, it would have been better if it had a net bag. This thing looks quite valuable."

"Jim, concentrate..."

The team leader said irritably.

But just then, he unconsciously looked up and suddenly saw the butterfly slowly flying towards them.

It was so beautiful, trailing sparks as it flew.

Like powdery scales.

The team leader suddenly raised his right hand and pointed at the butterfly with his index finger.

He didn't utter a word, nor did he expend any magical power. The butterfly, as beautiful as a spark, seemed to be pierced in two by some invisible, dark force, and suddenly extinguished.

He wore a smug and pleased smile.

It's not because the butterfly has any significance, but simply because it destroys something beautiful and finds pleasure in it.

"The mentor's curse is truly powerful..."

Jim flattered.

Pero shook his head with a hint of regret. "It looks quite valuable, you didn't need to curse it."

"What valuable thing could a butterfly that can fly in the city be?"

The team leader countered, "At most, it probably escaped from a school lab... which means it can't be resold. Let's just curse it to death."

Pointing your finger at someone is the simplest curse.

When someone points at you behind your back, you sometimes feel a sharp sensation; it's the same feeling as being pointed at with the tip of a knife.

The leader's third Path Trait, [Damage-Type Curse], is a very powerful purple Path Trait.

He can imbue all the curses he casts with physical damage—which is why he sends his apprentices to curse their targets. If he casts a Sleep Curse himself, it becomes a Nightmare Curse, making it easier to wake the target; if he uses Poison Food Curse, in addition to corrosive damage, it can also cause continuous, minor cuts to the esophagus; and if he uses Filthy Blood Curse, it will cause the target to bleed continuously from the uterus.

He could make his target bleed profusely as if he had been stabbed with a knife with just a flick of his wrist.

The damage isn't very high. A healthy, ordinary person would need to be pointed at and pointed at by him forty or fifty times before dying from blood loss.

He personally tested and found this number.

When the team leader first obtained this Path Trait, he killed many people in the Lloyd District with curses before he could figure out the pattern of this Path Trait.

After all, he could only see vague phrases like "[Damage-Type Curse: All curses can harm people]". He would have to try it out himself to see the actual effects.

However, this kind of thing wouldn't be too much trouble for him.

Just like a child getting a fun toy—what new effects would the curses he was familiar with have after being imbued with this property? He was very curious about this and conducted an experiment based on it.

It was precisely this unbridled desire to harm others with extraordinary power that enabled him to successfully summon and tame the Blade Demon.

Just then, the team leader noticed a glimmer of fire out of the corner of his eye.

It stood out so brightly in the pitch-black night.

He turned around and saw that it was indeed a ball of fire in the air—the butterfly he had shattered earlier had been reborn in the flames from the spot closest to them after falling!

As the butterfly slowly flew towards Jim, Jim curiously reached out to catch it.

The team leader's expression suddenly changed, sensing a strong sense of danger. He leaped into the air, tumbling awkwardly to the side.

Fat Pero sensed something was wrong, just like him, but his body was too bulky and clumsy. He tried to escape but failed.

As soon as Jim touched the butterfly, a blazing flame suddenly spread outwards from the butterfly, forming a huge fireball with a radius of about three meters.

The fireball didn't explode; instead, it spun continuously, engulfing Jim and Pero and pulling them away, making it difficult for them to escape. Their piercing screams pierced through the flames and echoed in the silent night.

"What the hell is that?!"

The team leader's expression immediately changed drastically.

The next moment, the bodies of a Demon Dog and Lash Demon suddenly blurred. They gradually collapsed and disintegrated at a visible speed—this was the expulsion phenomenon caused by the death of a contractor.

In a single glance, Jim and Pero were engulfed in flames. Jim was one thing, but Pero, Third Level being, shouldn't have died so inexplicably in such a place—he was completely killed by Jim! Only he, who had dodged the butterflies, and Brayden, who was picking the lock, escaped unscathed.

Just then, the same butterfly as before flew towards him again.

Without hesitation, the team leader condensed a dark, eerie sphere and launched it directly.

It shattered the butterfly once again...

This time, however, the leader could see clearly that after the butterfly was shattered, it quickly regenerated in the flames. The leader then used a different spell to shatter it again, and it regenerated once more.

What on earth is this thing?! The team leader became extremely wary; he had never heard of such an ability before.

"It's open! It's open!"

Brayden shouted with delight and opened the door.

"Let's go inside and hide!"

The team leader said without hesitation.

But the next moment, Brayden let out a scream and scrambled out.

But as the gunshot rang out, he was shot in the calf and screamed as he fell to his knees.

As the door opened.

Iver, who should have been asleep, slowly walked out with a dangerous smile on his face.

His left hand was behind his back, while his right hand was placed in front of him, naturally bent. A butterfly made of flames stood quietly on the tip of his middle finger.

"You've arrived, guests..."

Iver said with a smile, "Since you're here, why don't you stay?"

The update is complete an hour ahead of schedule!