You're the Only One Left
Lars Graham, dressed in an elaborate silk robe, slowly stroked his Bone Carver cane.
That was a bone staff that he carved and processed using the vertebrae of one of his students.
The cane is engraved with twelve love letters she wrote to Lars, overflowing with adoration, and sonnets he wrote in return.
It fills the space perfectly from top to bottom, with not a single word added or omitted.
The old woman didn't see it as some kind of cruel act—it was undoubtedly art. Her soul still loved itself, and that was proof enough.
"Elodie, what do you think?"
The old man asked.
Behind him stood a girl who looked only seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed in a white priest's robe.
She wore a white priest's robe, her body was translucent, except for her spine, which appeared a brighter pure white. She looked like a white jellyfish.
She lowered her head slightly, her lips moving as if she were saying something.
She made no sound—the dead who return from the realm of the dead are all silent.
But Lars seemed to have heard something and nodded slightly.
You're right.
Old Lars muttered to himself, "That means there are four possibilities..."
"The first possibility is that Aleister is Chloe. Her uncontrollable inclination towards the Path of Love ultimately led her to choose betrayal..."
After all, Avalon is not Iris.
The Avalon know almost nothing about the power of the shadows.
The most common shadow forces come from the Path of Love. For example, the Child of the Moon, witches, and those who are cursed into werewolves by witches' "werewolf spells".
Whether it's a Shadow Demon that Path of Transcendence or a biomimetic that Path of Adaptation, both are relatively rare types.
The Bureau of Supervision's belief in a Shadow Fiend intrusion is likely a preconceived notion. If they only found traces of shadow power, it's entirely possible that it was Chloe also wields shadow power.
She never liked being an assassin. She's in Hawkeye Organization only because she has no other choice.
She had once studied sculpture under Lars. But even after six months of instruction from a Fifth Level, she still hadn't grasped the basics... Lars could only conclude that she lacked the talent in this area.
Chloe, however, was proud. She couldn't tolerate the fact that she was a useless person, so she taught herself to Path of Adaptation —after all, her father and grandfather were both excellent assassins. Sure enough, she reached the Fourth Level in just a few years, and now she was almost at the Fifth Level.
But Lars also warned her—because while she had a talent for adaptability, her personality was simply not suited to be an assassin.
However, Chloe was stubborn and ignored Lars's warnings. So Lars stopped paying attention to her.
Based on his experience and judgment, Chloe's true path is the Path of Love.
Sensibility, savagery, impulsiveness, love, narcissism, instinct... these are all keywords on the Path of Love.
However, they couldn't allow Chloe to convert to the Path of Love —the reason being simple: Hawkeye Organization's primary target was the Child of the Moon of the Path of Love. And those extraordinary beings of the Path of Love had their bodies transformed into newborn Child of the Moon after death.
This is similar to how the Grand Guardian or Grand Justice of Avalon cannot allow their descendants to become Demon Scholar.
Lars felt that Chloe had probably done something unnecessary.
It was indeed Chloe's mission to assassinate Iver Moriarty. But he believed his judgment was correct. Iver would be exhausted after returning from his medal ceremony that day, and Chloe only needed to apply the poison to his lips before leaving.
But knowing Chloe's personality, she might have applied lipstick to her lips, trying to send him off with a kiss.
That's definitely her personality.
As an extraordinary being who Path of Adaptation, she will not be killed by the poison she concocts.
Since she possesses this characteristic, she is determined to use it—even if the process is entirely unnecessary.
Perhaps it was around that time that Chloe and Chloe met after her assassination attempt failed.
Then, at Iver's urging, she left Hawkeye Organization and unilaterally cut off all contact with him... This is entirely possible. That headstrong young lady is certainly capable of doing something like that.
This is also the most likely possibility.
After all, according to the public opinion he investigated, Iver was indeed such a libertine and dissolute person.
Chloe, who is proud and narcissistic, adaptable to the Path of Love, but has never truly been in love, might be easily manipulated.
"But there's another possibility... that she did indeed fail in her assassination attempt and was killed. But Iver should have been unable to resist at that time, so she was killed before the assassination attempt—for example, by Demon Scholar who controlled the Shadow Demon and then stole her appearance. Then the other party chose to help Iver and was mistaken for someone else."
Old Lars murmured under his breath, "But that's unlikely..."
As members of the Hawkeye Organization, they had conducted research on the Shadow Fiend. The Shadow Fiend can indeed acquire the appearance of animals or humans by devouring them, but this is limited to Shadow Fiends that move freely.
It is said that Aleister is a demon possessed by the Shadow Fiend... but the Shadow Fiend inside the demon's body does not have this function, because the Shadow Fiend cannot leave the body at all.
But only a handful of people can form a contract with the Shadow Fiend. Old Lars knows them all.
Moreover, Avalon will not allow them to enter freely—unless someone goes through great lengths to successfully infiltrate and, at the risk of being discovered by the Eye of Avalon, devours Chloe.
"There is another possibility... that is, Iver is the real Aleister. Or rather, he is the demon possessed by the Shadow Fiend."
Ultimately, there are only two witnesses to this matter— Iver and his little maid Lily.
If they both chose to give false testimony, then the truth would be impossible to uncover. If he possessed the Shadow Fiend, then that would explain why Chloe was discovered.
"Shadow Stealth" is an ability that is theoretically almost impossible for humans to obtain, and it is even a secret of the Hawkeye Organization.
Because even achieving level three Shadow Affinity is extremely difficult. And even if you obtain it, you've only just reached the threshold. The Hawkeye Organization was able to acquire this skill because they had spent generations researching and replicating the Shadow Fiend's stealth ability through simulation. After that, they still needed to study diligently to master it.
Even within the Iris organization, Shadow Stealth is a trump card for Hawkeye Organization. Currently, fewer than five members of the entire Hawkeye Organization possess the ability to use Shadow Stealth.
Even if she gets close to other Fourth Level powerhouses, they will definitely assume that she is hiding in thin air at first glance—unless they have come into contact with this ability before, how could they immediately associate her with hiding in the shadows?
Even if they had anticipated this possibility, only light or shadow-type damage would be needed to force her out. Ordinary spells wouldn't affect Chloe in the shadows, and they couldn't even lock onto her.
Old Lars had previously thought it was just a coincidence.
After all, if someone guesses that there's something in the shadows, they could easily be shot out. The priests of Avalon possess the magic of light and fire, while the magic pool of the Law Mage is attributed to light and wind—therefore, stealthily moving around safely here is more difficult than in Iris.
However, since Iver could accurately describe Chloe's appearance and identity... then if Chloe didn't betray him, it means Iver could see her from the very beginning. And what happened later was simply him using Chloe's name to make her take the blame.
If there is a Shadow Fiend inside Iver, then everything makes sense.
Hawkeye's Shadow Assassin was ultimately just imitating Shadow Fiend's innate abilities. To the true Shadow Fiend, it was as foolish and laughable as a dog trying to learn to walk upright.
"Of course, there is another possibility... that the demon is not Iver, but his maid Lily."
Of the four possibilities, three are that Chloe is dead, and one is that she has defected.
However, these four possibilities have one thing in common.
—That person who possesses the power of shadow must live with Iver. Otherwise, "she" would have been completely unable to detect and stop Noble Red's assassination plot against Iver.
Is she Chloe or not?
Does Iver actually have a Shadow Fiend inside him?
"Then let me try it myself..."
The Bone Carver murmured softly.
He didn't feel much emotion about Chloe's death. As an assassin, dying in the line of duty was perfectly normal; especially since Chloe had a tendency to disobey orders and opinions, she was the very danger to Hawkeye Organization.
Even if Chloe hadn't died, he would still report back to the country and request that Chloe be placed under house arrest and not allowed to go out on missions again.
On the other hand, Chloe is ultimately a powerful individual carefully cultivated by the organization. She is an elite assassin capable of assassinating Fourth Level transcendent beings.
Her death would be a significant loss to the organization.
—But if that demon is Iver or Lily, then the loss can be made up for many times over.
The Hawkeye Organization has been researching the Shadow Fiend for a very long time, but they have never obtained a real one. If they could capture a Shadow Fiend alive, the organization's strength would undoubtedly increase significantly.
Even if those old guys from Xingti really came in person, they wouldn't be able to kill him.
Even though he was tormented by bone cancer, he was still a veteran superhuman.
If I cause trouble, the other side won't be able to hide anymore... In that case, it might trigger a war between Avalon and Star Antimony. At the very least, it could make them hostile to each other again.
Furthermore, if Chloe truly betrayed the organization, he would have to arrest his former student and bring him back to be executed.
He had to go no matter what.
Moreover, in either case, I can at least survive safely.
... To put it another way, even if he died, it wouldn't matter much, given his body was repeatedly tormented by a terminal illness.
"Let's wait downstairs at Iver's dorm first; he'll come back eventually."
The old man spoke in a low voice, using his cane to support himself as he swayed to his feet.
He was hunched over, with rounded shoulders, a bowed head, and bent legs. His legs were even thinner than a girl's arms, and he looked like a skeleton draped in a long robe. Hard, protruding lumps could be seen on his body.
The Maiden Ghost "Elodie" vanished like an illusion, while Old Lars slowly moved to a corner of his workshop at a tortoise-like pace.
It was a small statue, only about half a person's height. On it was a blond young man who looked to be in his thirties and full of vigor.
That's Prince Andrew.
He is Princess Isabel's brother and is currently the Queen's first in line to the throne.
If he dies, then the only adults left who can inherit the throne... are Isabel and her father, Prince Albert.
"Just in case, to be on the safe side..."
The old man said in a low voice, "If we don't come back this time... at least let's finish the last task first."
After all, they've been preparing for this for so long. From poisoning to cursing, then back to poisoning and then back to cursing... two countries, three organizations, a plan spanning over a decade, is finally coming to an end today.
He reached out and stroked the statue, softly reciting the coded text given by the chief. Slowly, numerous scarlet cracks appeared on the statue. Blood seeped out slowly from them.
"Die, child."
The old man sighed, "You're the only one left. You're free now, and so am I."
Upon hearing this, two lines of bloody tears slowly flowed from the statue's emerald green eyes.
This chapter is quite long, 3,500 words... Chapter 2 isn't finished yet, will be updated before 2 PM!