BOSS Had Learned How to Handle Mechanics

After channeling his mana, Iver used three fingers to flick the red card that was bursting with flames out of his hand.

The butterfly card, spinning and flying through the air, spewed forth golden-red flames, transforming into a flaming flying disc.

It spun and flew out of the dilapidated doorway, and then flames burst forth from the center—

Four crimson butterfly wings, as grim as a setting sun, emerged from it, surrounded by a ring of pure black ash. As it burned, it continuously shed snow-black ashes, while in the center, a girl curled up like an infant slowly opened her body and stretched.

She originally looked to be a little younger Yulia, but now she looked about the same age as Yulia. She was still wearing that black gauze dress that looked like it was burning like a widow's, but she had grown a bit, from eighty centimeters tall to about one and a half meters.

Her long, black hair reached her ankles and moved without wind. Her dark red pupils were filled with murderous intent.

As soon as the Paradox Flame Butterfly appeared, it immediately opened its mouth, and a molten light gathered around its lips.

It visibly expanded rapidly, and a stream of extremely hot, deep red flames burst forth!

The heatwave whipped up a storm, scattering dust and bits of grass in all directions. Even the grass about half a meter beneath the Paradox Flame Butterfly's feet was flattened and trembled violently by the wind pressure. Then, it began to wither and turn yellow at a visible speed, before spontaneously combusting.

The stream of flames landed squarely in the crowd—

These Demon Scholar had no idea that casually breaking down a village house would suddenly unleash a powerful and hostile phantom demon.

The protective ritual they had just prepared was designed to resist bullets, arrows, and explosives—after all, even Fourth Level powerhouse would find it unlikely to approach them against a horde of demons.

The best way to pose a threat to them is through long-range attacks. That's why they specifically prepared countermeasures in advance.

These skills were honed through countless battles.

However, their defenses were completely useless against the Paradox Flame Butterfly.

As the Paradox Flame Butterfly slowly rotated its flames—it only turned a small angle on her side, yet at the end it shifted several meters—those people screamed in agony as their bodies burned in flames and turned into charred remains.

In just a moment, five or six people had already been killed by the Paradox Flame Butterfly! After releasing the Paradox Flame Butterfly, Iver immediately turned to Lily and commanded, "Let's sneak into the shadows first, Lily."

"Yes."

Lily hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Seeing Iver suddenly attacked and nearly injured while protecting her, she felt a surge of anger. This anger had nothing to do with the resonance of Path of Adaptation, but rather stemmed from the influence of the Path of Love.

However, Lily did not lose her mind.

She was ultimately just Second Level assassin and witch. Even with the trump card of transforming into a werewolf, it was meaningless in a group battle of that level.

She will only be a burden to Iver, making Shadow Fiend need to protect one more person.

So Lily slipped into the shadows beneath Iver's feet, and the Shadow Fiend that had been inside her returned to Iver's body along with her.

Feeling the renewed connection with Shadow Fiend, and sensing the rage within that connection, Iver felt a slight regret.

If only there were Shepherding Method at this moment... that might be able to calm the Shadow Fiend down.

—This ritual is so annoying.

Iver even felt that his temper had gotten a little worse.

"Prioritize the destruction of rituals, the Paradox Flame Butterfly."

After giving the Little Butterfly its orders, Iver turned to Shadow Fiend and commanded, "Protect me, Shadow Fiend—I allow you to eat them."

"Now that things have come to this, I can no longer stand that rotten flesh, my dear master..."

The Shadow Fiend let out an increasingly dry, hoarse, and almost manic laugh, "You've really spoiled my appetite..."

The dark, muddy shadows rolled and boiled, beginning to slowly spread across the ground.

The next moment, a shadow wolf, its body covered in hideous shadow tentacles, pitch black except for its scarlet pupils, slowly emerged.

This is a form Shadow Fiend has never shown before—

Just then, the wooden door, which had been mostly shattered by the fireball, was violently kicked open from the outside!

A grotesque, Deformed Limb Demon, accompanied by two winged, alien-like crawling demons, charged in from outside, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws.

The opponent's strategic thinking was very clear—without any command, at least three Demon Scholar immediately realized that the butterfly-shaped phantom was likely a product of a ritual.

If it was summoned by a ritual... whether it was a prayer of Dedication Path or a ritual performed by Ritual Mage, it can be dispelled by destroying the Ritual Site!

Instead of probing and attacking the Paradox Flame Butterfly, they directly turned around and planned to cut off Iver and disrupt the ritual!

If it weren't for Shadow Fiend, they might actually have succeeded.

However, nowadays, Iver doesn't even need to give orders.

A sharp shadow, like a shark fin rising from the sea, flashed across the surface—slicing the Deformed Limb Demon in two! Then, a shadow wolf, its entire body covered in tentacles, emerged from the tip of the shadowy shark fin. Its tentacles transformed into countless sharp, slender shadow spears, making it resemble a sea urchin, and instantly pierced through the bodies of the two reptilian demons!

The shadows, imbued with intense corrosive power, rapidly corroded and destroyed their bodies.

Instead of rushing out of the room and exposing himself to the Demon Scholar, Iver cautiously crouched in the corner of the house, peering through the equally dilapidated window at the battle outside.

The Fifth Level Demon Scholar is quite something.

After inflicting considerable casualties at the start, the Paradox Flame Butterfly's damage was immediately suppressed—the giant swiftly constructed a [Flame Nullification Barrier] ritual. The crimson barrier effectively reduced the temperature of the Paradox Flame Butterfly's flames.

The originally concentrated, Light Cannon -like stream of flames dispersed into scattered tongues of fire after passing through the barrier. The temperature remained high, but it had lost its penetrating power.

This is because the Paradox Flame Butterfly's rank is high enough—if it didn't bear the mark of Greater Phantom Demon, it probably wouldn't have turned into a tongue of fire, but would have been blocked outside the barrier.

Even so, the other side was unable to mount an effective counterattack.

After all, the Paradox Flame Butterfly can fly, and it's quite fast.

Under Iver's careful guidance during his daily blood-feeding sessions, she no longer fights instinctively—simply put, she has learned to skip mechanics.

She is now like a bomber, opening the eerie eyes atop her twelve butterfly wings.

While flying at high speed to dodge spells, it continuously fired lasers from its twelve eyes.

She was very clever; she attacked the ritual's base.

Her attacks, even after penetrating the [Flame Nullification Barrier], still possessed enough power to damage the core components of the ritual. With just two sweeps, the barrier visibly became transparent. She even managed to kill two more people while still protected by the [Flame Nullification Barrier].

Upon seeing this, the giant finally realized—this was Greater Phantom Demon.

Greater Phantom Demon of the Fourth Level is an enemy roughly on the same level as oneself.

If he wanted to continue hiding his strength, he could no longer do so.

However, if one wants to unleash power beyond the Fourth Level... then Demon Scholar is not enough.

—It has to be Demon Avatar.