Charm Deadlock

After taking the elevator from the top floor of Lloyd's's headquarters, Iver did not leave Lloyd's's directly, but instead went to the seventeenth floor.

That's the floor where Attorney York Holmes ' office is located.

He has been dead for some time now, but Lloyd's of London did not immediately transfer his office to Lloyd's's.

This is partly because more than half of Lloyd's's top management have been imprisoned, and the remaining people dare not make any major moves; another reason is that the Inspectorate has used Law Spell to impose a ban on the area.

Without hesitation, Iver broke the seal, and the raven on his shoulder flew down and pecked at the lock. The door opened by itself, and they went straight in.

The room, which hadn't been opened for a long time, was filled with a dusty, old-fashioned atmosphere.

The surrounding furnishings are almost unchanged from the past.

However, most of the plants that Lawyer York had taken such good care of were now withered and dead. The beautiful green parrot in the birdcage was long dead; its body, instead of rotting and smelling, had become dry and shriveled. And the water tank was full of dead goldfish, the water now murky.

Only the group photos hanging on the wall are no different from before.

Lawyer York's once spirited and charismatic days are frozen in time in this photograph. Even though he has been dead for many days and is now disgraced, he still smiles so brightly and happily in the picture.

"Oh..."

Iver looked up at the photos and suddenly chuckled softly, as if mocking something.

The crow on his shoulder vanished silently, like a shadow.

She transformed into the Night Demon, one hand resting on the chair behind the desk.

The Night Demon unfurled its shadowy wings, and a whirlwind arose from the room, instantly dispersing all the dust. The corpses in the fish tank and birdcage crumbled and vanished. A murky stream of filth surged from the fish tank.

And the faces of the people in those photos all went blank after a black wind blew by.

When Iver turned around, she had transformed back into the raven, standing quietly in the birdcage. Only the chair she had pulled out from behind her desk was slowly rotating.

"... So you're trying to take over, huh?"

Iver smiled and calmly sat down in the chair that Night Demon had pulled out for him.

He took a deep breath and said softly, "Please get me a candle, Viennes."

The crow opened the cage itself and flew out, heading towards the cabinet on the side.

Iver sat in Lawyer York's seat, gently touching the deep, bone-revealing wound on his collarbone. The intense pain made him gasp.

The flesh from his collarbone to his shoulder blade had been stripped away and eaten away, and the bones were visible to the naked eye.

Iver's blood had already soaked through his upper body clothing, his sensitive nerves were groaning and aching, and the veins on his forehead were throbbing violently with pain. This meant that Iver had reached the Third Level of the Dedication Path... If an ordinary person suffered such a severe injury, it would be impossible for them to walk around carefree; if left unattended, they would only die from excessive bleeding.

But for Iver, the injury was no longer life-threatening. Having only walked a few steps, the bleeding had already stopped, and the injury was no longer worsening. At most, by the time it woke up tomorrow, it would be mostly healed.

However, it might take a few more days to regenerate all that lost flesh and blood.

However, Iver still needed to pick up Isabel later. Therefore, Iver still needed to use the Sacrificial Fire Art to quickly recover from his injuries.

After lighting the candle that the crow had brought him, Iver reached out his hand toward the flame and closed his eyes.

The wound on his neck hissed and steamed, healing rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye; the missing flesh and blood grew back—the flesh, nerves, and blood vessels were pulled out like tentacles and pieced together. Just like building a house, it was quickly watered, shaped, and finally fully restored.

Meanwhile, in the tranquility of being immersed in the fire, Iver reviewed his actions.

—He was a bit too overconfident this time.

Perhaps it was because during the last Promotion Ritual, Iver had broken free from Bayard's "bewitching" state... which made him subconsciously underestimate the value of the "Succubus" Emma.

Another reason was that he was also accompanied by Night Demon.

Although Iver tried his best to control the Night Demon and prevent it from attacking the other party... as long as Iver was truly in danger, Viennes would definitely come to Iver's rescue. This made Iver relax his vigilance a little.

As a result, Iver was subdued in a single encounter.

He savored the feeling of being seduced and controlled.

Well, how should I put it?

Like an innocent young boy in his first love, he jumps high, wanting to fulfill every wish of the person he likes. Just a glance is enough to bring joy, and the moment physical contact and the feeling of warmth cause him to become infatuated. And when the other person feels troubled, Iver subconsciously switches his perspective to "thinking about the other person."

Even when the Night Demon tried to attack him several times, he stopped him out of concern for the other's safety. He could hear Viennes's anxious cries in his mind, but he just comforted him nonchalantly—even explaining that he was perfectly fine.

"Is this the effect of Love Spirit Medicine...?"

Iver murmured softly, a hint of fear in his voice. "The Path of Love... is truly terrifying."

Fortunately, Viennes ' attack briefly brought him back to his senses.

The pain that momentarily brought Iver to his senses.

Although Emma quickly tried to seduce Iver again, Iver had already begun to realize what had happened. He then gave Viennes a task: whenever he fell into this "unresponsive" state again, he would attack him and begin to consume his own flesh and blood.

Then, when Emma held Iver's hand, Iver immediately felt his heart soften.

He was even trying to cancel the task he had just assigned.

He resisted the allure with sheer willpower, but amidst Emma's soft whispers, Iver's consciousness gradually sank into the abyss once more.

Perhaps because he maintained physical contact with Emma this time, the mental control he exerted was even deeper than before.

Even if Viennes attacked Iver again, he could not regain his senses as quickly as before.

So Viennes then proceeded to do exactly as Iver had instructed, and began to fiercely attack Iver and devour his flesh.

During this time, Iver had almost made it a habit to use the Art of Shepherding so frequently every day. The charm state only made Iver not want to be enemies with Emma and want to obey her orders and demands... but it did not distort Iver's other behavioral logic and habits.

When Viennes expressed her hunger, Iver instinctively tried to feed her, just as a breastfeeding mother would instinctively want to nurse when she hears her child crying.

—And the moment Iver entered that state of "compassion and sacrifice" in Shepherding Method, the allure was suddenly dispelled.

One reason is that the Shepherding Method overshadowed Emma's Bewitching Aura; another reason is that Emma was also controlled by Iver.

As a vampire-drinking Moon Child and also a demon incarnate, she couldn't resist the allure of Aiwass's taming magic. In this sense, Aiwass even bewitched her—just like the techniques used to tame the Shadow Fiend.

In other words, even though the demon within Emma hasn't yet broken free, she has already been deemed a demon by the Shepherding Method. The Shepherding Method is effective against all phantom demons, but especially effective against demons who Path of Transcendence.

Or rather, it is because her demonic soul and the body of the Child of the Moon both crave Iver's flesh and blood that her extremely strong appetite has overwhelmed the Great Sin Imprint of lust that originally represented the succubus.

Using control to interrupt control... this might also be considered a form of control cancellation.

Although Iver did not complete the nurturing of her, the moment Emma expressed her longing for Iver's flesh and blood, she had already become Iver's "child".

Just as Emma's image still lingers in Iver's mind—when he closes his eyes and thinks of Emma, her pink pupils flash through his mind—he still cannot bring himself to kill Emma. And as long as Emma cannot completely forget the abnormally bloated appetite she felt when she looked at Iver, she cannot wholeheartedly seduce Iver.

In this "deadlock" situation, the person who has the initiative to break the deadlock is Iver.

Because he can enter a state of Shepherding Method at any time to paralyze Emma's innate abilities as a succubus.

Although that also meant that Iver was also under his control and rapidly losing his life force... he still had Viennes to protect him.

Even so, Iver was extremely wary of Emma.

Although she is merely a succubus... she is far from being the most powerful or dangerous.

However, she was the first enemy boss Iver encountered after awakening his Previous Life memories, yet he was unaware of her information, and also the only person who could truly kill Iver.

"Etc..."

Iver's expression stiffened slightly.

He suddenly realized something was wrong.

... From yesterday to today.

Isn't everything I've experienced a bit too coincidental?