He suddenly recalled the impulse he had felt yesterday to advance the Shadow Demon.
If he had not suddenly had a flash of inspiration yesterday and advanced the Shadow Demon into a Night Demon along with that impulse... then relying on the Shadow Demon's strength alone, he might not have been able to scare Emma away.
Besides, the Shadow Demon had been overly sleepy and exhausted as it approached advancement. It might even have fallen asleep right there while Iver was being mentally controlled by Emma. By the time Iver became Emma's shape, it might have remained completely unaware, knowing nothing at all.
This development is way too tragic for the victim. Iver felt a lingering fear just thinking about it.
While advancing the Shadow Demon yesterday, Iver had even wondered whether he had been too hasty and prepared too carelessly.
Given Iver's usual caution, he should have prayed to the Candle Holder several days in advance to determine which Tarot Card he should use to seal the Shadow Demon. He should then have prepared the card ahead of time and stocked up on mana. The problem of insufficient mana would also have been easy to solve... Iver only needed to invest his Free Experience into the Demon Scholar class a day ahead of time, and he could have raised his level a little further.
He would not even have needed to raise it by much.
He had originally been short by only six mana—and at the time, the Book of Law could provide five Colorless Mana, while preparing the foundation of the Great Sin Card in advance would save four mana. Even if Iver had not raised his level at all, preparing the Great Sin Card ahead of time would have been enough.
Yet he had happened to be