What Means Did I Use?

"...call."

Lawyer York suddenly opened his eyes and began coughing violently.

He rolled over and coughed until he coughed up a mouthful of foul-smelling blood clots before his breathing became easier.

He glanced back.

The Archive Room door was tightly shut; the other party had already left. The accomplice who stole the documents was also nowhere to be found.

Then, his body began to undergo a dramatic change—as he became demonized, characteristics of the Enticement Demon began to emerge from his body.

Numerous soft, pink, tentacle-like growths appeared on his arms and hands, dancing unconsciously in the air like tentacles, sensing everything around them. They were feeding organs capable of capturing dreams and memories.

His pupils turned into a hazy pink, with a dark red cross shining in the center. His back became hunched, his body became emaciated, and a long, snake-like tail emerged from behind him.

During the demonic transformation, the wounds he suffered were also healed.

"I survived..."

York murmured.

His voice became shrill, like a woman's, with a subtle metallic scraping sound.

Regardless of the species of the demon contracted, demons possess powerful vitality. Even after advancing to become Parasitic Fiend, the fundamental characteristics inherited from demons do not disappear.

A fatal wound that merely pierces the heart would not directly cause his death.

The best way to kill a demon cleanly and efficiently is to blow its head off, sever it, or simply take its heart. Even if the heart is torn in two, it can regenerate thanks to the demon's abundant life force.

This vitality is very similar to that of the savage trolls of the Southern Continent. For this reason, when demons were found in Avalon that had just been possessed, they were burned at the Burning at the Stake —if the demons were left unattended, they would get up and run away after a while.

Since fire can block the troll's regenerative power, people inferred from the phenomenon to the essence that this could also completely kill the troll.

But the real reason these demons were burned at the Burning at the Stake was because the flames continuously damaged them. Their bodies would regenerate while being scorched, suffering torture for a very long time before finally dying. Queen Sophia later abolished this cruel punishment, replacing it with ordinary capital punishment.

Without a doubt... since the other party is also a demon, he must also know that demons have vigorous vitality.

So, if he didn't choose to kill himself completely, then he must have deliberately spared his life.

York wasn't resentful about the attack—perhaps a little, but not much. More important was the intelligence he had gained from it.

Based on what he said earlier, the man was clearly under the control of his mentor. However, judging from his behavior, he was not loyal to that mentor.

He may have been bound by a contract with his mentor, thus requiring him to kill himself once.

That's very likely.

That was, after all, a demon possessed by the Shadow Demon, and it seemed to have sold off a significant portion of its soul, with most of its body already controlled by the Shadow Demon. For such a demon to be able to defeat Third Level being at the First Level ... it was perfectly reasonable for his mentor to be worried.

Because of his dissatisfaction, he defied his mentor's wishes and deliberately allowed himself to survive. To this end, he even said some unnecessary things to highlight his background.

What was he trying to do? York suddenly thought of a possibility.

"Could it be that he wants the art of ' Breach of Covenant '?"

"Hehe..."

The silent Enticement Demon within him heard his thoughts and couldn't help but chuckle, "Keep guessing, you're getting close—you're already close to 1%."

"Don't bother me," York thought to himself, annoyed.

The Enticement Demon is always like this, adept at deception. Even if you are its master, the Enticement Demon will always fool you.

At first, he would believe the Enticement Demon's analysis and opinions, but later he realized that the other party was deliberately leading him into a trap. They wanted to kill him and then leave, and from then on, York stopped believing the other party.

That's very likely.

Lloyd's possesses the mysterious art of "Breach of Covenant" left by the first Lloyd President, which allows one to break contracts and oaths without punishment.

If he is being controlled by someone through a contract, then seeking my help to break that contract is perfectly reasonable.

So why didn't he go to the chairman? And as someone on the chairman's side, how could he not know Boca's address and need to provide it himself?

After transforming into Enticement Demon, York's thinking speed increased significantly.

He quickly came up with a plausible possibility: the demon's mentor might not be a member of Lloyd's's, but rather a member of the Noble Red Society!

Within Lloyd's, only the president's faction has completely aligned itself with the Noble Red Society. Although he and the vice president have also joined the Society, it's possible that the Society's higher-ups have already sensed their "ambition to surpass."

The association kept them around simply to maintain a balance of power and to extract more benefits from both sides.

But perhaps the current society... or rather, at least that demon's mentor, believes that keeping the president alive is enough. That's why they specifically want to eliminate the vice president's faction, a plan the president is unaware of.

—That makes sense! The Demon and his mentor belong to a faction within the Noble Red Society, but not a very high one. The only information they have is the vice-chairman's name and their own... And the reason they're attacking their office is because they don't actually know their exact address; they only know their law firm, so they plan to ambush them here.

This demon did not believe his mentor's plan was foolproof. Therefore, he intended to hedge his bets and not allow himself to die directly, thus cutting off all possibility of reversal, which is why he deliberately spared his own life.

These possibilities were all deduced by Lawyer York from what he had seen and heard, and from the fact that he was still alive.

There may be some discrepancies between the facts and reality, but the rest should be the truth.

"Then I have to fake my death."

York Holmes realized. "If I show myself again, he might be sent by his mentor to kill me again."

"Then I can't handle this myself. I must inform the vice president..."

With that thought in mind, he walked out of the Archive Room and went to the living room to dial the vice president's number.

"I am Bran Boca."

Although it was still dark, the phone was answered instantly. A steady voice then rang out.

York said in a low voice, "Something's happened, Mr. Boca."

"I know," Vice President Boca replied.

... You know that?

What do you know? Do you know I was murdered? Or do you know I gave away your information? York thought to himself.

But soon, Vice President Boca realized. "Your voice? You are...?"

"I am York. I was attacked and killed, and I have entered a demonic state. It may take another half a day for me to recover."

Lawyer York continued, stating his reasoning. "The person who attacked me was a very powerful demon, likely a member of the Noble Red Society. They have a close relationship with Lloyd President, so they intend to eliminate us."

On the other end of the phone, Vice President Boca countered, "A demon possessed by the Shadow Fiend?"

How did you know?

York paused for a moment. "You've already seen it?"

"No, no. Iver was attacked and disappeared last night. That's why I got up so early... Although Iver hasn't inherited the Moriarty Family yet, his status is practically there. His attack and disappearance is a major event that will alarm the Round Table Hall."

"Didn't we send men to attack Iver last night?" York frowned.

"Yes, they're all dead. The specifics are still unclear, and I'm trying to figure it all out... I think they might have been killed by this Shadow Fiend. Since you said he's one of the Guild Master's men... then I roughly understand what's going on."

Vice President Boca responded calmly.

"The people who attacked you are the same group that attacked Iver."

His voice, though calm, carried a hint of barely concealed hatred and anger. "He still intends to stop my plans! He acknowledges Iver's status and talent, which is why he's wary of Iver. It's because he doesn't want Iver to join my camp that he plans to eliminate him directly... even at the cost of exposing Lloyd's's! From the very beginning, he never intended for us to properly demonstrate our abilities and loyalty—he killed the men I sent out and kidnapped Iver. I think he might be trying to force that ' Moriarty ' to join their faction."

"In that case, we may have to prepare to completely destroy him. If a ' Moriarty ' were to turn his gun on us, the consequences would be unimaginable."

"I think..."

"It was probably done by someone from the Noble Red Society," Lawyer York thought.

But before he could even utter those words, his chest, shoulders, and the back of his head were all pierced by Shadow Blade.

York dropped the microphone from his hand.

He let out a sharp, piercing scream—this scream finally woke his servant.

"York? York!"

A voice came from the other end of the microphone. But York's death was already confirmed, and it was all in vain.

The instant he instinctively turned his head, the Shadow Hound had already bitten his throat and then pinned him to the ground. A dense array of sharp blades then pierced his body before retracting.

It was like dozens of daggers thrusting out in an instant, a high-frequency, penetrating attack that caused York's blood to splatter everywhere, yet remained shrouded in shadow. It was like ink being sprayed everywhere.

Soon, he stopped moving.

His head was cleanly and decisively severed by the Shadow Guillotine.

In his dying moments, Lawyer York vaguely heard the sound of the door opening, "Thank goodness I came back. You actually used such despicable means to escape..."

"What methods did I use?" York had a lot to say, but he couldn't say anything.

Filled with anger and hatred, and Enticement Demon's loud laughter, his consciousness gradually plummeted into the abyss.

He didn't even have the chance to transform into a demon—as a demon who had made a pact with a demon, his soul had long been sold to the Enticement Demon.

After his death, his soul will be harvested by the other party.

[Defeat Fourth Level transcendent being and gain 130 Free Experience]

—You seem to have quite a lot of experience.

Iver smiled silently.

Moreover, he didn't even come back... because Iver never left in the first place.

He remained quietly hidden in the shadows behind the living room sofa. Whenever York called, he would appear directly behind him.

Seeing the experience gained from killing York emerge, Iver picked up the fallen phone and handed the receiver directly to the Shadow Fiend, who had transformed into a hound and was tearing and dissolving York's corpse.

Here, take the microphone, please speak.

"Hello, Mr. Boca. I am Aleister. Lloyd sends his regards..."

Shadow Fiend raised his head and spoke into the microphone in a deep, hoarse voice, grinning sinisterly. "You'd better not be alone. I know where you are."

After he finished speaking, Iver hung up the phone. He then ripped the cord off the receiver and threw it into the shadows.

"Well said," he said softly. "Here's a receiver for you."

"You should reward me with a syringe."

The Shadow Demon complained, but quickly corroded and melted the corpse, bloodstains, and receiver together. "You fed the Paradox Flame Butterfly so much blood, it's time to give me some too."

"I'll give you the supply for tomorrow and the day after, since you'll be the main force going forward."

Iver said with a smile, "I'll have to give you some overtime pay."

"But aren't you worried about turning into a giant beast?"

"The Paradox Flame Butterfly has already said that her consciousness is merged with yours. That means she can see what you can see... So I'm not afraid. I'm only afraid of being sealed in the darkness," the Shadow Demon replied.

Iver was somewhat surprised. "You, as the Shadow Fiend, are actually afraid of the dark?"

"... No, that's not it."

"So you're afraid of being alone," Iver.

"I guess so."

Shadow Fiend remained noncommittal.

"Don't be afraid," Iver whispered, "I will be with you."

"... Mr York?"

The male servant, who had been startled awake, walked somewhat fearfully into the pitch-black living room.

Before opening the door, I seemed to hear chewing sounds and ghostly whispers in the living room... but after opening it, I found the living room completely silent and there was no one there.

He turned on the light and searched carefully. He even looked inside the wardrobe.

It turned out that apart from one of the telephone handsets being missing at some point, nothing else was missing from the house.

"Strange... Was I having a nightmare?"

The servant shook his head and went back to his room to continue sleeping.

Just after he closed the door, Iver silently appeared from his doorway.

He was leaning against the wall, with the Shadow Fiend wrapped around him.

How lucky! The lights on this side weren't on.

Iver smiled as he looked into the servant's bedroom and said softly, "Good night, sir. Go and get some sleep; it's not dawn yet."

"Young Master, what should we do next?"

Lily also appeared next to Iver.

"Just wait."

Iver replied, "Let's wait and see how things develop."

"However, I think we should find a place to sleep first? I think the bishop's place is quite nice... It's a good opportunity to meet with Sherlock and confirm if there are any problems with the plan. We can also report the good news that Lawyer York is dead to him."

Today's update is 4,000 words, so I'm taking a half-day off!

My mom is going to Beijing for a trip, and I'll go to the high-speed rail station this afternoon to see her off!