"Abyss" Card

"I'm so sorry, Cons."

"Viscount Leerhsen" said with a regretful expression, smoothing the hair of the two heads on the plate with his fingers to make them look more presentable.

The mansion was empty; the usually busy servants had all vanished. Apart from the two headless corpses on the seats, only the "father and son" remained.

"You"

Cons's body was stiff, his feet felt like they were nailed into the ground, unable to move. He couldn't understand the situation, couldn't accept what he was seeing, and felt as if he were trapped in an incredibly real nightmare from which he couldn't wake up.

He could only stand there helplessly, staring at the corpses of his mother and brother, and at his "father," who had become utterly unfamiliar and Distortion, listening to his usual incessant rambling:

"According to my original plan, we would maintain a familial relationship for a long time. Meanwhile, I would secretly manipulate the people and events around you, causing you to encounter various difficulties and setbacks in your career and interpersonal relationships. For example, I would make your colleagues look down on you, and make the noble lady you secretly admire date other people."

"Viscount Leerhsen" said nonchalantly, "Then, I will appear in the form of a mysterious being and make Contract with you. I will grant you the power to change the status quo, but I will also gradually guide you to betray the god you believe in and the organization you are loyal to."

"And as you gradually fall into painful contradictions, I will discover your change as your father, and in the midst of an argument, I will be accidentally killed by you in front of the other family members. This will drive you to utter despair."

In other words, everything "Viscount Leerhsen" originally planned to do was to completely break Cons's spirit!

"Why."

Cons's head was buzzing, and he asked almost instinctively.

"Because."

The Viscount was about to explain when he saw the other man was still standing there, so he changed to an apologetic tone, "Oh dear, how rude of me! You should have sat down first. Please, sit down, Cons, next to your mother and brother."

Cons was naturally reluctant to sit down, but some unseen force propelled him to the table and make him sit down.

"That's good. A family should be all together like this."

The Viscount offered a word of praise, then continued the previous topic, saying, "Don't misunderstand, we have no grudges against each other. I'm doing this entirely for the sake of the Acting."

"Acting?"

"That's right, I Acting of Sequence 4 'Demon'," the latter chuckled, "By making Contract with humans, deceiving them, manipulating them, until they are utterly desperate and willingly offer up their souls."

At this point, he showed a regretful expression again, "But unfortunately, because of that person's request, I have to interrupt this Acting. Even though I've just been promoted, and quickly Acting the digestion of the Potion is extremely important, I still decided to do it. After all, the reward that person offered was just too generous."

As he spoke, he took out a playing card from his pocket and showed it to Cons.

The card depicts a gigantic Devil with ram's horns, bat wings, and animal hair covering its lower limbs. One hand is raised, while the other holds a torch downwards. A man and a woman stand at the Devil's feet, seemingly enslaved by it. The other end of the chains around their necks is bound to the Altar where the Devil, and they also exhibit Devil Transformation physical characteristics.

Tarot cards?

Cons, who had some knowledge of the occult, immediately recognized the card as one of the Tarot cards invented by Roselle: The Devil!

Surprisingly, the Devil's face on this card isn't that of a typical male goat, but rather replaced by Roselle's own face. Above the card are the words—

[Sequence 0, Abyss]

"This is the 'Card of Blasphemy' invented by Roselle."

"Viscount Leerhsen" said, his gaze burning as he stroked the card, "Such a generous reward, even an advance payment, is simply impossible for me to refuse. So, I'm sorry, Cons, our family relationship must end here."

He reached out and stroked Viscountess Leerhsen's face. "My dear, don't you think so too?"

The so-called family members were just an Acting, a mere formality to complete a certain Ritual.

Who are you?!

Cons couldn't help but shout.

"Just a low-key Devil."

The latter chuckled, "I come from an ancient Devil race, the Nois Family."

You are not my father.

Of course not.

"Viscount Leerhsen," no, "the Demon" Nois chuckled, "I merely replaced your father."

As he spoke, he pressed his hand to his face. With a "rip," a crack appeared on his face, like an insect molting, emerging from Viscount Leerhsen's shell.

Before Cons stood a strange young man with pale green eyes, a thin face, and meticulously combed hair. The father Cons had believed to be was now a shed skin lying on the ground.

"You all went completely undetected while I was in this disguise. I don't know whether to be thankful or feel sorry for your father."

The young man shook his head.

"Asshole."

Seeing this scene before him, Cons murmured.

He should have been angry, and he certainly felt angry. But for some reason, his emotions remained strangely calm, as if an invisible hand had forcibly suppressed his emotional fluctuations. His anger had nowhere to vent, and this stifling pain was driving him mad!

"Okay, don't be so angry."

Cons heard the Devil speak casually as he walked around the other side of the table. He wanted to resist, to fight him to the death, but the difference in their levels was simply too great, an insurmountable gap.

"The House of Lords' regular meeting is the day after tomorrow, right? Perfect timing, the Duke Negan will be attending."

"The Demon," Nois asked, placing a hand on Cons's shoulder, causing the latter to tremble. "I need to use your body to blend into the crowd and carry out the assassination."

Is he going to kill me?

Cons couldn't help but think.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I won't skin you alive like I did with your father. The House of Lords has detection equipment, so I plan to only infiltrate your body."

"The Demon," Nois said earnestly, "I am merciful and will minimize harm while achieving my goal."

"Lie."

Cons glared at the other man and forced out two words through clenched teeth.

As the distance closed, he could clearly see that the Demon's eyes always revealed a look of pleasure, as he carefully observed his own subtle changes and became increasingly pleased.

That bastard is having a blast.

"Hehe, you found out?"

Nois couldn't help but laugh, then reached out and placed his hand on Cons's chest.