Bone Carver Fell into Deep Thought

Lars Graham, codenamed "Bone Carver," fell into deep thought.

He waited for almost half a week, crouching downstairs at the Iver dormitory building.

Every evening he would go there and wait, remaining in stealth until dawn. But he still hadn't returned by dawn... At first, Lars waited for half a day longer, then felt a little sleepy and went back to rest.

After all, he is quite old, and his physical strength and energy are clearly starting to decline.

Old Lars had reached the point where he could no longer live without taking on the Path of Twilight.

Even using elixirs to cure his illness was useless. His entire body and even his soul had begun to age irreversibly... This was also related to his failed advancement when he was young, which damaged his soul.

But after Lars set up his ambush, Iver, as if triggered by some kind of instinct, never returned. So Old Lars could only wait until dawn each day and leave on time.

—And today, Iver is finally back.

There's just a minor issue.

That is, the Grand Arbitrator Meg came back with him.

As a transcendent being of the third path, Lars, despite his advanced age, still holds an advantage over other transcendents of the Fifth Level. Even among those of the Fifth Level, the difference in strength between them is incredibly pronounced.

If facing the Grand Guardian, Lars is at least confident of escaping unscathed. With enough luck, he might even launch a very effective counterattack—the chances of a kill are slim unless the Grand Guardian isn't riding his mount.

But his power to suppress the Grand Guardian was not even as great as Meg's power to suppress him.

The two most troublesome superhumans in all of Avalon are the Grand Arbitrator and the Grand Justice. They are also the oldest superhumans, and neither is much younger than Lars.

Compared to the Grand Justice, the Grand Arbitrator is a level above in terms of combat effectiveness.

—Never go up against Meg.

Lars's thinking was very clear—he clearly admitted defeat.

So he chose to continue waiting. Two hours later, Meg finally left.

Lars breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Iver was still in the dormitory.

But the old man cautiously decided to wait a while longer... until it was completely dark and no one was on the road.

Before killing Iver, he had some questions to ask him.

For example, is that "Miss Aleister" actually Chloe? If so, he might have to kidnap Iver to force Chloe out.

That would at least prevent him from sending a distress signal.

After all, Iver has already been assassinated three times, and there's no doubt he might have other protectors hiding around him. If he continues to be assassinated, Avalon will lose all face. Considering this, it's not impossible that he might have Fourth Level or even Fifth Level protector by his side.

—As a Fifth Level transcendent being, Bone Carver believed he was being far too cautious.

Even when facing Second Level beings who Dedication Path, one must be prepared to fight against opponents of equal strength. One must use all one's power from the outset—only in this way can the ambush be meaningful.

If Chloe had been as cautious as he was, she would never have gotten into trouble.

It's just a pity that she probably won't be able to see my perfect assassination demonstration...

As darkness fell completely, the Bone Carver slightly tightened its grip on its cane. A translucent white phantom then appeared beside it.

"Let's go inside and take a look."

The Bone Carver carving whispered, "Is he inside? Is he asleep? Is there anyone else inside?"

As a high-level transcendent being on the Path of Beauty, he also possesses the ability of "Artistic Vision." However, as a painter, Yanis can project her gaze onto her paintings; but as a sculptor, he can only peer into others through his sculptures.

Compared to paintings, sculptures are not only rarer but also have a narrower scope. However, their advantage lies in their ability to bring sculptures to life on a large scale.

From a reconnaissance perspective, it would be better to simply send a ghost to take a look for you.

The ghost girl in the priest's robe nodded slightly and then turned into nothingness that could not be seen by the naked eye.

She slipped through the wall and silently entered 14 Ronin Street. She looked around and wandered through each room.

Looking at the sleeping Iver, she hesitated for a moment, but still reached out her finger and gently touched Iver's lips.

Only after confirming that he still had the warmth of a living person and was not an illusion or Doll did she finally leave.

The ghost leaned close to his ear, its lips moving slightly, but no sound came out.

This is an inherent characteristic of the dead who are resurrected after losing their physical bodies.

However, through the Path Trait of Bone Carver, "Creation Communication · Sculpture," he can disregard the other party's spirituality, intelligence, and language, and communicate directly with the life he has created.

This ability is typically used to communicate with the statues, doors, and reliefs on the walls that have been brought to life by oneself, to give them passwords, to have them monitor a certain area, or to directly send them into battle.

The spirit servants that Bone Carver created himself are, of course, also considered "works" carved by him.

"... There's only one person."

The Bone Carver nodded slightly and said approvingly, "Good, very well-behaved."

Because this was an assassination mission, he couldn't bring his sculptures with him, and there weren't many sculptures in the area that could be brought to life.

Otherwise, even if Meg really fought him, Bone Carver was confident that he could escape safely—the knight statues at the entrance of the Silver and Tin Palace alone would be a very powerful helper.

Fortunately, he had his own spirit servant.

It's a pity that he left the school a long time ago. If he wants to continue making spirit servants, he'll have to return to the Iris Flower Kingdom —as the vice dean of the Cite University Art Institute and a true master, he can still find many lovely and talented students.

More ghostly servants are needed, Bone Carver thought.

He stretched out his hand and swiped downwards.

The Bone Carver's entire body transformed into a spirit—as if it were being sucked away from the front by something, it instantly crossed the walls and restrictions, and was pulled into Iver's bedroom by some invisible force, before reforming itself.

But he was stunned as soon as he arrived.

—Because the bedroom was empty.

Didn't we just confirm that? He turned around abruptly to look at his spirit servant—but from her panicked and surprised expression, the Bone Carver immediately realized the problem.

He quickly scanned the room and discovered that a magical painting had appeared there sometime during the night.

The magic painting depicts Isabel reading in her bedroom.

— [The Gallery of Paintings]! This is the "art" controlled by Yanis, originating from the Path of Beauty! It was through this painting that Iver was transported to the other side of the artwork by Yanis! "Long time no see, Mr. Lars Graham."

Yanis's voice came from the air. "Or... should I call you Bone Carver?"

The Bone Carver turned around in the direction the sound came from and found that it was another ordinary painting.

The painting was originally just a spring landscape, meant to be hung on the wall as a decoration. At least it would add some color to the wall.

But now, that painting has become a portrait of Yanis.

She was in the painting, wearing a white wide-brimmed hat, dressed as if on a spring outing. It was as if Yanis had always been a part of this landscape painting—

She turned away from the painting and looked at the Bone Carver with a smile, "Since you're here, don't leave."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Bone Carver felt a suction force emanating from the painting. Like a vortex, it forcefully pulled at the Bone Carver's soul—his spirit servant was the first to be affected.

The Bone Carver cane in his hand did not slip from his grasp, but the ghost was directly sucked into the painting.

As the ghost was sealed away, the Bone Carver carving immediately sensed that the staff had lost its connection with the other party.

Her Clerical Robe instantly transformed into a white dress. Her translucent body regained its solidity.

She looked like a shy little girl, sitting on the grass, unsure of what to do. Yanis, however, smiled and pinched her cheek, making her look at her.

"I've been waiting for you until the wee hours of the morning. You're just wasting my time."

A hearty voice came from outside. "You fucking can squat really well—anyway, First Shut Up. If you want to surrender, put your hands up."

Meg appeared outside the window at some point.

A female Half-Elf, whom the Bone Carver had never seen before, followed behind Meg, wielding a wooden staff almost as tall as herself. She remained silent, only the staff in her hand glowing faintly. Both she and Meg had gained the ability to fly freely as a result.

Although the Bone Carver didn't recognize her, this tall Half-Elf exuded a similarly chilling aura. Her pupils, like luminous mercury, shone with dazzling brilliance.

By process of elimination, this must be the very mysterious Grand Adjudicator.

—What's going on? Almost immediately, the Bone Carver realized it was surrounded—unequipped and surrounded by three other superhumans of equal caliber, including Meg. Thunder rumbled outside, a strange phenomenon caused by the griffins unleashing their lightning power.

This means he has virtually no chance of retaliating, and his previous ambush was pointless.

"...interesting."

The Bone Carver was not afraid; it simply resisted Meg's silencing with its powerful willpower and then spoke calmly.

—Iver was merely a trap. A piece of meat laid out in a bear trap.

And he himself was the beast that had been tricked... but a trapped beast is not necessarily weak. Belonging to the same Fifth Level, Meg's Word of Power might not be effective.

"My plan should be perfect and foolproof."

"Where exactly did the problem go wrong? And at which stage did it first become apparent?"

Bone Carver Carving gripped the now meaningless Bone Carver cane tightly, and still asked in a deep voice without haste.

Update complete! By the way, the cat went to sleep at 4:30 AM not because of typical insomnia, but because it's the season and my rhinitis flared up yesterday. My nose was stuffy and I was sneezing so much, I kept getting up to blow my nose...

My eyes are still red, like I've been crying... and I have a bit of a headache.