The Demoness's Methods

A beautiful young girl, her eyelashes trembling, slowly opened her eyes, looking at the mirror with a mixture of anticipation and fear. When she saw the beautiful girl's face in the mirror, an almost frenzied joy bloomed within her. She leaned forward abruptly, gripping the sides of the Full-Length Mirror with both hands, her eyes glued to the mirror, refusing to move an inch.

"How was it?" a soft female voice called out, followed by a graceful figure sliding into the mirror from the side. "I didn't lie to you, did I?"

"I can't believe it—" the girl's voice trembled as she gripped the Mirror, "Just like that, I've turned back into a woman, it's amazing—"

"Alright, stop staring at the Mirror. You'll have plenty of time to look at yourself later," another voice reminded her. "Sherman, no, you should be called Shermane now."

She paused, a smile appearing on her round, gentle face, causing Shermane to momentarily lose her composure. Then, Shermane heard that familiar, soft voice. "Shermane, you should first use meditation to calm your Spirituality fluctuations. Next, you can go to your room and take a look. I've prepared a gift for you; I believe you'll like it."

"A gift?" Shermane reluctantly looked away from the Mirror. "What is it, Ms. Trissy?"

"You'll see when you go," Trissy smiled gently at her, "You definitely won't be disappointed."

So, in this anticipation, Shermane temporarily abandoned admiring her own beauty. She calmed her Spirituality as instructed, then went into the room. A short while later, she opened the Door Opening and came out, wearing an exquisite dark red dress.

"Looks like my estimate was right," Trissy said, looking at Shermane with a satisfied smile. "It fits perfectly."

Shermane was still very happy. She twirled in front of the Mirror, admiring her new look and clothes, and said joyfully, "Thank you, Ms. Trissy! I love this gift!"

"Well," Trissy nodded with Han Xiao, "In that case, let's talk about your last mission."

The joy on Shermane's face vanished instantly. It was as if she had fallen from a dream high in the sky to the ground, and was jolted awake in an instant. Her face was pale, and she stammered, "Yes, yes."

"Task - My Duty -"

"Don't be so nervous," Trissy shook her head. "This is the last mission, Shermane. Once you finish this mission, you can start your New Life, and I promise you'll enjoy it."

This offered some comfort to Shermane, and a glimmer of hope returned to her eyes as she asked, "Ms. Trissy, what do I need to do?"

Trissy gave a soft chuckle and asked, "Have you heard of Viscount Stratford?"

Shermane's eyes were filled with confusion. Given her social standing, she naturally had no opportunity to meet people of this caliber, so she simply shook her head. Trissy didn't mind and said frankly, "He is Viscount directly appointed by the King and also serves as the Palace Guard Captain. He is middle-aged this year and is old enough to be your father."

Before this, he had been married once, but his wife had died, and he never remarried.

"Shermane, I want you to approach him, seduce him, and make him fall in love with you."

Shermane ignored the long string of background information and focused only on the last sentence. "Make him fall in love with me?"

"Yes," Trissy nodded, "So, this mission isn't so bad for you, is it?"

"I—" Shermane hesitated, "Ms. Trissy, what do you want from him?"

"Hmm?" Trissy looked at her in surprise. "Not bad, you've improved. If it were at the beginning, you wouldn't have asked that question at all."

Shermane didn't speak, Trissy thought for a moment before replying, "I want to know who he truly pledges his allegiance to."

"Isn't he the King?" Shermane paused, taken aback.

"He is loyal to the Royal Family, but the Royal Family is not just the King," Trissy shook her head and said. "That's all you need to investigate. Once you've done that, I won't interfere in your life anymore. After all, someone of his level couldn't possibly know what I'm really investigating."

Trissy paused, then smiled and said, "If you can really make him fall in love with you, it wouldn't matter if you married him."

Shermane's heart pounded, excitement welling up within her. Filled with hope for the future, she accepted the task. "I will do my best to investigate."

Trissy gave a soft "hmm," then reminded her, "Don't let him find out you're Beyonder."

"Remember, you are just a pitiful, beautiful young girl longing for love."

Inside Warehouse in the Harbor Borough, where many goods were stored.

Shermane sat on the dirty wooden box, her hands tied behind her back, her body covered in thin, tough Spider Silk.

She was as if she had been encased in a transparent silkworm, unable to even utter a sound.

"This isn't necessarily a bad thing for you," Trissy, standing in front of Shermane, holding a ball of jet-black flame. "At least you can be sure he truly loves you, or is deceiving you."

Shermane was both angry and terrified, and tried her best to plead with whimpering sounds, but Trissy was unmoved. She flipped her hand, which was holding the black flame, and pressed it against Shermane's stomach.

The flames seemed to possess Spirituality; they first dispersed like flowing water, then, as if without form, they penetrated the skin and flesh, attempting to burrow inside.

Trissy's smooth, jet-black hair began to sway against the laws of nature, as if pulled by invisible hands, extending outwards, so much so that the surrounding air was tinged with a strange scent.

The hairs subtly thickened, becoming more separated and distinct from one another.

From their bottoms, streams of deep light emerged, carrying Curse and words, flowing swiftly forward, merging with the dark flames, entering Shermane's belly, and disappearing quickly.

Shermane's face twitched uncontrollably, but she felt no Affliction; it seemed to be just a purely instinctive reaction.

She quickly calmed down and saw Trissy's body, dressed in a dark long dress, gradually fade, becoming transparent, until it disappeared.

Shermane's pupils dilated, and she struggled again, but she couldn't break free from the restraints.

She exhausted herself time and time again, yet she started again and again, like a flood slowly rising centimeter by centimeter in a silent Warehouse.

After an unknown amount of time, the Warehouse door suddenly swung open with a loud bang, crashing against the walls on both sides.

A figure staggered in; it was none other than Viscount Stratford, who was already middle-aged.

Unlike his usual outings, he didn't wear a white wig, revealing a high hairline and rather messy black hair, the latter sticking together in strands, as if soaked by the downpour and then dried a bit. But for the past few hours, the clouds had been thin, the Red Moon hung in the sky, and it hadn't rained at all.

On Viscount Stratford's face, beads of sweat slid down his hard lines to his neck, and beneath his skin, countless fine black lines seemed to flow.

His body was slightly hunched, his facial muscles Distortion, and his eyes were filled with Affliction and worry.

Looking around, he was initially delighted to spot Shermane, but then became anxious and rushed over, almost losing his balance.

When Shermane saw him enter the Warehouse, her face suddenly came to life, as if it had been bathed in light.

She immediately showed a mixture of worry and fear, and frantically tried to shake her head, but her neck was firmly fixed by the Spider Silk and she could not turn it no matter what she did.

She grew increasingly anxious, so much so that tears welled up in her eyes, drop by drop, glistening and fragile.

Just as Viscount Stratford was about to reach her, a loud bang suddenly erupted between them.

There seemed to be an invisible wall separating Viscount Stratford and Shermane on opposite sides, an insurmountable barrier.

"If you want to lift the Curse and take her away, then answer my questions without any concealment." At that moment, a figure swiftly emerged from the corner of the Warehouse.

Each of her features was charming, and together they created an exceptionally sweet beauty, resembling the Lovers every boy had dreamed of in his youth—the very Demoness Trissy.

Before Viscount Stratford could respond, she raised her right hand and unleashed a jet-black flame.

Viscount Stratford's face, hands, and neck—all the exposed skin—suddenly became transparent, revealing his veins.

Within each blood vessel, black flames burned quietly and flowed silently.

The Affliction in Viscount Stratford's eyes reached its peak at that moment, but vanished in an instant.

His expression turned extremely cold, and his eyes even carried a hint of mockery, as if the one Curse was not himself, but Trissy was a long distance away.

Suddenly, a large amount of Black Flame rose around Trissy in the corner of the Warehouse, illuminating the dense, invisible Spider Silk, but they could not be ignited.

In an instant, Trissy, like Shermane, was "sealed" inside a transparent "cocoon," unable to move or escape.

At the ventilation opening high up in the Warehouse, another figure emerged. She wore a champagne-colored long dress and a headdress shaped like a vertical eye, which resembled a perfectly cut diamond eye set in a brass base.

This attire allowed Trissy to recognize her. Although she had never seen her before, Trissy stared at her champagne-colored dress and shouted out the name with all her might, "The Witch of Gold— "

At that moment, Viscount Stratford reached out and pulled out a phantom doll tightly wrapped in black fire threads.

He glanced at Shermane beside him, then turned to Trissy and smiled, "I never take matters of life lightly. After Sykes died, I knew it would be my turn someday."

"Hehe, you're hunting me, but of course there are others who want to hunt you too. We've been very patient, afraid of scaring you away, so we haven't done anything and have waited until today."

"Also, your gift is very nice."

Upon hearing Viscount Stratford's words, Shermane, who was still habitually struggling, stopped all movement abruptly, her expression blanker than ever before.

Her eyes were wide open, but unfocused, as if she were sinking inch by inch in the water.

"Love—" Trissy suddenly laughed, a laugh that sounded both sarcastic and self-deprecating.

She showed no nervousness or panic.

The "Witch of Gold" was not careless. Light refracted continuously within the diamond's vertical eye, emitting a pure and dreamlike luster, scanning Trissy and the entire Warehouse. Then, her expression changed.

Through the Sealed Artifact, the "Witch of Gold" discovered a complete void, a blurry humanoid shape. That area seemed to have been erased, as if it never existed. This created a distinct hole in her vision, invisible to the naked eye, but the Sealed Artifact made it all clear.

"Who!" she shouted, pointing towards that direction.

"As expected of a Level 0 Sealed Artifact— " a voice filled with admiration rang out, "It actually managed to detect me? Heh, you actually call it the Eye of God," what a coincidence—though I feel I need the Heart of God more—

The pure white mist quickly outlined a figure in that spot. She wore a white robe without a single blemish and a wide-brimmed, pointed soft hat adorned with a blue-green feather Hat Ornament.

She had the face of a girl who looked only eighteen or nineteen years old, but her hair was spotless white. The most striking color on her body was around her eyes, which at first glance appeared blue-green, but upon closer inspection, they rippled with several different hues.

The moment this figure appeared, the "Witch of Gold's " expression changed. She looked at the bound Trissy and asked in astonishment, "You actually managed to summon an Angel?!"

Angel?!

Trissy's eyes showed even greater shock and confusion, but she admitted it without hesitation. "Of course."

"If you want to hunt me, then naturally someone will want to hunt you."

"Don't even mention it," Neph showed her no mercy, "I wasn't invited by this lady. I just wanted to see who you would send if Katarina were dead, and who knew—"

She glanced at the vertical eye on the "Witch of Gold's " forehead and sighed, "So, all things considered, your colleague died at the hands of my colleague, and you died at my hands. You could say you died a worthy death."

"Oh, right----"

Neph blinked, turned to look at the Warehouse entrance, and said in a cheerful tone, "You two ladies over there, aren't you coming in?"

The door opened silently and automatically, Xio Derecha and Fors Wall seemed to be pushed by an unseen force, stumbling inside.

At this moment, the "Witch of Gold" stared at Neph, seemingly finally realizing her identity: "Miss ' Pure White'— "

"Hmm?" Neph turned to look at her.

A cluster of black flames ignited within the "Witch of Gold," bursting forth and enveloping her entire body.

Clang!

To Neph's astonishment, she burned herself to ashes, and the "Eye of God" fell to the ground, awaiting a new master.

"----This is outrageous," Neph gasped, praising, "No wonder she's the uncanny, Demoness of Unaging."