Punishment Demon and Dawnfire

"Cassiem, Master! Don't do this!"

The demon residing within the giant sensed Cassiem's resolve and panicked. "If we take that step, there will be no turning back—"

"Wordy."

With his bloodshot eyes wide open, Cassiem reached into his chest and pulled out the slender demon wreathed in smoke and smoldering flames.

—That's the Smoke Demon, a demon that controls concepts like fire.

It is not Greater Demon, but Lower Demon that Cassiem made a pact with when he first became Demon Scholar.

Cassiem wasn't the naturally gifted type; rather, he acquired his Path Power through sheer, extreme willpower. He had long been dissatisfied with his innate demon... but there was nothing he could do about it.

Once he becomes the Demon Avatar, separating from his physical body to become a demon, he can never go back. And the more this happens, the more resentment he harbors towards the Smoke Demon.

—If you were Greater Demon like Shadow Fiend, Fire Fiend, or Dream Demon, you wouldn't be holding me back.

"Isn't it because you are too weak that I have to take this step?"

Cassiem's eyes were crimson with a purple tinge, and the almost transparent flames made them appear eerily sinister.

After reaching the Fourth Level, he can summon more powerful demons, and even Greater Demon.

Because the final step in the Demon Avatar's transformation from its physical form allows it to sever all the contracts it once signed. Even the most demanding contracts are rendered meaningless if not fulfilled. He can now abandon these contracts at any time, and the Smoke Demon will leave him... but he can also choose another path.

The giant grabbed the Smoke Demon, put it in his mouth, and chewed it vigorously.

Thick smoke, accompanied by bursts of flame, spilled from his mouth, and a layer of flames gradually enveloped his entire body. This allowed him to slightly weaken the attack of the unknown phantom demon, making it easier for him to complete the transformation ritual.

The dark clouds gathered rapidly, as if in fast forward, and the storm arrived without warning.

A raging storm swept across the land, and the rainstorm quickly escalated from nothing to a downpour in just a few seconds, eventually unleashing a torrential downpour.

This level of rain was enough to extinguish the forest fire. However, it had almost no effect on the Paradox Flame Butterfly.

She still flew proudly in the air, her butterfly wings spread wide.

She knew what the giant had done, but she hadn't originally intended to attack him.

Like a demon god bringing about the end of the world—under Iver's command, she disregarded the severe depletion of her magical power, unleashing her strongest abilities and recklessly squandering her magic power as soon as she entered the battle. Those slender yet scorching beams of laser light were like divine judgments, carving lines on the ground and shattering the ranks of the Demon Scholar.

Burning corpses, shattered flesh, charred marks on bodies cut in two... and those demons gradually dissipating.

They were basically powerless to fight back and could only flee in a sorry state, which caused their formation to fall into complete chaos. The heavy rain further narrowed their vision, and some people even bumped into each other because they weren't looking where they were going, and were then cut into four pieces by the two intersecting laser beams.

Those spells could only slightly suppress the Paradox Flame Butterfly, allowing her to maneuver and reduce her attack frequency. But she was simply too agile, and several ritually copied Law Spell were ineffective against her and were completely resisted.

The Paradox Flame Butterfly, which was fed to level 38 by Iver using the Shepherding Method, is already close to the peak of the Fourth Level.

Although there has been no leap in energy level, with the bonus of being Greater Phantom Demon, at least the giant wouldn't be able to suppress her energy level unless he revealed his true demonic form. And low-level spells are already having little effect on her.

The Demon Avatar wanted to complete the final step of incubation, which, although quick... was not instantaneous.

During this brief period of time when he was out of the fight, Iver was able to manipulate the Paradox Flame Butterfly to prioritize eliminating the minions.

Whether or not you bring mobs when fighting a boss makes a world of difference in difficulty. Especially since these Demon Scholar are masters of rituals and curses, they can easily cause a lot of trouble if given enough time.

Iver valued them highly—even more than the Greater Demon that the giant was about to transform into.

Therefore, the Paradox Flame Butterfly's attacks were basically never aimed at the giant, but were instead constantly swarming the vulnerable Demon Scholar.

And wasn't that giant also using those Demon Scholar to buy himself time, giving himself enough time to complete his transformation? Just then, a bolt of lightning crashed down! The lightning struck Cassiem's body, and his body suddenly split open amidst the lightning! Born from the raging lightning was a newly born Greater Demon—

Its face was as ferocious as a demon or a lion, its body covered in matte black scales, and its strong body, over two meters tall, was slightly hunched. Behind it were a pair of black, fleshy wings like those of a bat. Its legs were incredibly strong, resembling both a crocodile and a turtle.

Its right hand gripped a halberd that gleamed with lightning, while its left hand held a silver metal chain with sharp barbs.

"This is the Punishment Demon!" Iver immediately recognized the other party's identity.

Just as the Balrog possesses the power of the Dedication Path, and the Shadow Demon is associated with the Shadow Domain of the Path of Love... the Punishment Demon is Greater Demon wields authoritarian power and bears the mark of the great sin of "greed".

They are the direct demons of the Fallen Angel, wielding the power of Sin and Punishment, and judging sinners by striking them with lightning.

The heavier the sins one carries, the greater the damage inflicted by their lightning strikes. Therefore, they possess an extremely strong suppressive power over demons themselves.

Those who are struck dead by lightning in broad daylight are those targeted by the Punishment Demon.

But it is not a messenger of justice; instead, it actively seeks out sinners and extorts them—demanding their obedience and the provision of their souls and flesh. And their appetite grows ever larger; if the sinner refuses, they will bind the sinner's body with barbed chains and drag them along, leaving them a bloody mess.

Unlike solitary Greater Demon, Punishment Demon typically keep a retinue of mortal servants. These servants must be completely obedient to the Punishment Demon, or face punishment with chains or electric shocks—but if they are truly loyal to the Punishment Demon from the bottom of their hearts, the Punishment Demon will gladly devour their souls. Thus, sinners targeted by Punishment Demon must constantly harbor rebellion and hatred.

—This is terrible!

Iver's heart sank.

The Punishment Demon is a demon skilled in Civil War. Furthermore, the Paradox Flame Butterfly, as Great Sin Beast, bears the Great Sin Imprint... making it vulnerable to the Punishment Demon's special attacks...

The Punishment Demon tossed out the chain in its hand—it vanished into the void as soon as it flew out, and then multiple portals materialized around the Paradox Flame Butterfly. The chains emerged from these portals, instantly binding the Paradox Flame Butterfly, who couldn't dodge in time! Lightning formed a cocoon of sealing light, enveloping her directly in mid-air.

Immediately afterwards, the Punishment Demon roared and issued a command in an unknown language.

Those Demon Scholar, some crippled and others in a sorry state, suddenly had their bodies crackled with electricity and let out wails in the pouring rain.

But their bodies started moving on their own—

They aligned themselves perfectly with the house where Iver was and performed the final ritual spell.

—Self -Self-Sacrifice.

Their livers, gallbladders, hearts, spines, and skin burst into purple flames, and runes representing sacrifice were slowly branded onto their bodies. One by one, their organs disappeared, but their bodies did not die immediately.

Under the control of the Punishment Demon, they were forced to sacrifice themselves, pouring their lives into the Punishment Demon's powerful spell.

The Punishment Demon couldn't control the Paradox Flame Butterfly for too long... and he didn't know how many more trump cards the Paradox Flame Butterfly had left, so he chose to directly attack the Paradox Flame Butterfly's summoner.

—This power must be the Book of Law! The Shadow Demon, transformed into a hound, stood solemnly in front of Iver —it too realized that this was an attack it could not withstand.

"Take me there, Iver!"

The Shadow Fiend's urgent voice rang in Iver's mind. "We have to attack the Punishment Demon directly!"

This is a true Greater Demon, and Shadow Fiend has never been good at defense. Not to mention that Iver's Shadow Affinity level is not high enough, so it cannot fully channel its power into Iver.

If all the power were given to Lily, she might be able to block the attack—but she herself would be in danger.

Therefore, Shadow Fiend decided to strike first.

Accumulate strength and attack where the enemy must defend.

"No need."

"Iver said softly."

He stared intently at the Punishment Demon, a card appearing between his fingers.

That's Spell Card — Shadow Cloak.

[Spell: Shadow Cloak (Moon)]

[Required: Dark 1]

[Immediate, contactless, and effective immediately]

[Effect: Knocks back all nearby targets, immediately removes any current status effects such as Seal, Freeze, Burn, Bind, and Petrify, and grants complete invisibility for one minute (+30%). This effect inflicts a curse on all hostile targets who are in your sight when your invisibility is broken, with an effect equivalent to "Blinding Curse".]

It can also attach to summoned creatures!

Iver raised his left hand, and the red card of the Paradox Flame Butterfly appeared within it.

He overlapped the two cards, infused them with mana, and activated them.

" —Shadow Cloak!"

A dense Shadow Power erupted from the electric sphere in the air.

A howling black storm surged from the bound Paradox Flame Butterfly, like a black sphere appearing in the sky.

"—Disappeared?"

The Punishment Demon looked up in astonishment, only to find that the Paradox Flame Butterfly had vanished into thin air.

But it quickly realized something was wrong—

A magnificent, golden-red, Holy Fire erupted from the sky, instantly evaporating the rain curtain high above. The intense purifying power made the twilight sky seem as if it had gained another midday sun, illuminating the ground as if it were daytime.

That's the Dawnfire!

[Reversed Summoning: Paradox Flame Butterfly]

[Required: Fire 5]

[Maintain: Fire 5* Daily]

[Action, Summoning, Repeat]

[Effect: Summons the Sloth Beast · Paradox Flame Butterfly, to fight for you. The Paradox Flame Butterfly is considered a summoned creature. Outside of combat, the Sloth Beast · Paradox Flame Butterfly, can transform into a Flame Butterfly and enter a follow state. Only one Great Sin Beast can exist at a time.]

[Effect: Upon reuse, command the Paradox Flame Butterfly to either regenerate or Self-Destruct.]

The Paradox Flame Butterfly can be summoned once a day, and you can command her to regenerate once or Self-Destruct.

If you choose to Self-Destruct, you cannot be reborn for that day. This means that until sunrise tomorrow, the summoned creature, the Paradox Flame Butterfly, will enter a grayed-out, unsummonable state.

But now it is dusk—

Iver looked up and squinted at the cluster of dark clouds.

That giant would never have realized what the storm he himself had summoned meant.

Now, Iver only needs to stall for a little longer! Hold on a little longer, and the Wild Hunt King will be here!

"Self-Destruct yourself, Paradox Flame Butterfly!"

"Iver commanded."

The next moment, the Paradox Flame Butterfly, whose mana was exhausted from using [Doomsday Ray] and whose life was on the verge of being exhausted from using [Dawnfire], transformed into a blazing meteor from the sky and fell towards the Punishment Demon who was channeling an unknown spell, thanks to her strongest stats.

Iver grabbed the Shadow Fiend and pressed it back into his own shadow.

He then turned his back and lay down, casting a shadow of himself on Lily and the Shadow Fiend.

Then, a magnificent and dazzling light suddenly erupted from behind him—

Update complete!