When the plot-skips players into the game world

Lily's current location was not far from Aiwass.

Or to be more precise… the new Minister of Commerce, Griffiths' residence, was near the Iris Flower Restaurant "Serpent Coiling Heart".

The situation was different from when they had assassinated Minister Drost.

Aiwass no longer needed to follow Lily closely to be able to airdrop the Shadow Demon remotely… He followed Lily this time with another plan in mind.

He had invited a reporter over, but had provided only one seat for the journalist. As a result, his photographer could only stay at the entrance.

And it just so happened that the photographer was in a position to see Griffiths Manor.

Should any disturbance emerge from the manor, the photographer could perform the shoot immediately.

Meanwhile, Aiwass was conveniently nearby for an interview.

This was the exact opposite of the plan conceived during the assassination of the Minister of Commerce, which involved staging his own kidnapping to prevent people from suspecting the incident might be related to Aiwass… Now, however, Aiwass intentionally wanted them to think the incident was related to him.

Everyone knew Aiwass had a solid alibi. At this moment, Griffiths Manor, located very close to Aiwass, was under attack by a Shadow Demon; there was only one active Shadow Demon in Avalon, which belonged to Aiwass' "rumored girlfriend, Aleister". Clearly, there was a connection between these events.

At the very least, the ministers—especially those from the Chocolate Faction—would definitely think of this.

Otherwise, Aiwass would have had no need to leave the Hall of Silver and Tin.

He had come to apply pressure on them.

As Aiwass "Demonic Pact" and "Shepherd's Nurturing" (essence) extraordinary skills' levels increased, the distance Lily could bear the Shadow Demon also multiplied.

Aiwass himself wasn't quite clear on how long the contract could now extend.

But the primary enhancement to the Shadow Demon was actually due to Lily's Shadow Affinity, which had reached level four.

When Lily's "Shadow Affinity" reached level three, she had already fully mastered the Shadow Demon's power without any conflict arising again.

At that time, Aiwass could send the Shadow Demon to Eagle Cape Village while he himself went to subdue the Earthbound Spirit; even if it exceeded the limit, the Shadow Demon was not forcibly recalled, but instead fell into a slumber within Lily's shadow.

After Lily emerged victorious from the last promotion ceremony and gained the "Shadow Avatar" Path trait, her Shadow Affinity reached level four. She was only one level away from fully encompassing the Shadow Demon's power.

This level of Shadow Affinity had already surpassed that of "Miss Assassin". Coupled with the Shadow Demon essence Aiwass granted to Lily while nurturing her, as well as the Shadow Stealth ability personally imparted by the Shadow Demon… Aside from still having a fundamental weakness in energy level, Lily's combat ability could be said to have surpassed that of the "Hawkeye" organization's Miss Assassin.

At this level, even if Aiwass were inside the Hall of Silver and Tin, Lily's shadow radiation range could cover the entire Red-White Queen District. One could say that any "Knight" without a Guardian Spirit at home was now defenseless against Lily's assassination.

Even a veteran Knight at the fourth energy level, with the aid of his equipment and help from the Shadow Demon, could be easily killed by Lily.

And if she were forced to reveal herself, she could also become a Werewolf to gain direct combat and life regeneration abilities.

—If one excludes the fully unleashed Defiant Flame Butterfly under the enhancement of the Book of Law, Lily is now the strongest member of Aiwass' team.

There's no help for it; Aiwass simply has too many resources at hand.

He knows far too many methods to acquire equipment, rituals, professions, skills… But people he can trust entirely and who can trust him back in full are not that numerous. Among them, the first one is Lily.

With Aiwass intentionally piling up resources, her development is entirely ahead of the curve. Aiwass is "tuning" Lily to player standards, and Lily is completely loyal—she replicates everything Aiwass gives without adding her own "special understanding".

With Aiwass' support, when Lily advances to the fourth energy level, she might even be able to confront Guardian Spirits.

After all, in this world where all "optional Path traits" are wholly monopolized by the upper class, the advantage that Aiwass can provide in construction is too significant.

— It's like a Yu-Gi-Oh! real card game player entering the world of the Yu-Gi-Oh! anime.

Not long ago, Aiwass also began to take over the construction of Sherlock. As for Isabel, being Yanis' successor, she wouldn't need much guidance from Aiwass initially. But starting from her fourth energy level promotion ceremony, Aiwass would have to offer consultation for her class change—right at the time when Yanis should also be leaving Avalon, making Aiwass her subsequent mentor.

At this time, Lily was lurking in the shadows of a corner in Minister Griffiths' basement.

But she had yet to make her move.

The reason was simple.

— Because she had made some unexpected discoveries.

There was a Demon in Minister Griffiths' basement.

It looked like a gigantic eyeball, with numerous eye stalks floating like tentacles. At the end of each stalk was an eyeball of varying size.
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This was an Eye Demon.

Demons capable of the Path of Adaptation have powers like Clairvoyance, Perspective Eye, Detecting Invisibility, and Future Prediction.

If it weren't for the Shadow Demon suppressing it, Lily, invisible, would be easily caught. However, even with Shadow Demon's presence, the moment Lily made a move, it would immediately detect her existence.

She had also considered whether to directly ambush and kill the Eye Demon... but upon further consideration, she decided to play it safe.

It wasn't a question of whether she could defeat it... It was that without a one-hit kill, there could arise complications.

After all, Lily was an assassin, and Gryphons were patrolling everywhere nearby.

If she were forced into a prolonged battle, she could inadvertently expose her identity. That might directly compromise Aiwass' plans.

So she quietly shrank into a corner, waiting for the Eye Demon to leave.

Soon after, Minister Griffiths carefully entered the basement.

He shut the door and affixed a silver-white seal— an extraordinary item forged with the power of the Path of Authority, able to form a simple barrier.

Minister Griffiths asked with reverence and caution, "Your Excellency, I have done all that you asked of me..."

"Very well..."

The Eye Demon's voice trembled the air, sounding somewhat ethereal.

"But I still want to know... what exactly does the master wish for me to do?"

Griffiths was obviously puzzled, "If I don't know my exact objective, I might not be able to ensure every step I take is correct... "

"Take, for instance, this attack on Minister Moriarty, which seemed quite unprovoked. I even suspect that Minister Camelot and the others have begun to sense something is not right. Because there was never any conflict between me and Minister Moriarty, yet I attacked him vigorously. And he is clearly a minister trusted by the queen; such an attack on him at this time is not only pointless, but also might provoke Her Majesty's ire."

His request was very reasonable. However, the Eye Demon remained silent, not answering directly.

It observed Griffiths, having already read his inner thoughts.

"You desire more."

"Yes, I want more, my lord," Griffiths answered without hesitation. "I want to become the Son of the Moon! What must I do to achieve that—"

"But you can no longer obtain it."

The Eye Demon gave a clear answer.

An answer that could drive him to despair.

"...What?"

Minister Griffiths asked, trembling, "Why? Didn't we agree? Isn't it enough to get Yulia Moriarty's blood?"

But at that moment, a counter-summoning array suddenly appeared beneath the Eye Demon. It turned into a blinding purple light and dissipated into the air.

"Because it has already seen your death in the future."

Miss Assassin's sweet voice rose within the sealed basement.

Lily emerged expressionlessly, her lips sealed shut. Black smoke billowed around her, and shadows undulated into twisted shapes beneath her skirt.

A malicious laugh emanated from below Lily.

Her pupils fixed on Minister Griffiths as her fingertips rested on a handle-less dark golden blade.

That was the "Hawk Feather" dagger.

"Sir, what did you mean by that last sentence?"

Lily pushed up her glasses, her voice echoing in the basement, gentle and somewhat shy like a literary girl fond of poetry, "Could you explain it to me in detail? Why is Miss Julia's blood needed? To which demon's subordinate were you trading?

"Or... do you need me to express some sincerity first?

"Rest assured, I won't kill you, no matter what."

Along with the brittle and thin lie, grey webs emerged from the void, ensnaring the trembling Minister Griffiths mid-air.