When the plot-skips players into the game world

Lily said so, but Aiwass still found a gap and used Illumination Art to treat her first.

Although she claimed her injuries were not serious, Aiwass used nearly two points of Mana to treat her—which for the vitality of ordinary people, was quite high.

This indicated that she was likely injured in the bones or internal organs and it was just that Lily was particularly good at enduring pain. Fortunately, Aiwass's timely treatment prevented the injury from worsening.

Unlike the poisoning incident that happened at the White Ballet Shoes Club last time, this time the rescue by the clergy for the external injuries was very professional and timely.

This incident could not be called the "White Ballet Shoes Tragedy" because there was only one death in the whole incident. Moreover, it was that middle-aged man who had been controlled by the Demon Scholar even before entering the commendation ceremony.

——It was that man who incubated the Aberrant Limb Demon from his own body, like a chrysalis, and recalled the Aberrant Limb Demon lingering outside Glass Island back to the Contractor's side.

Generally, the Demon Scholar's recall of his Contract Demons would require a large ritual. It wasn't something that could easily be done with just a wave of a hand or a snap of the fingers. Otherwise, there would be no need for them to carry demons with them at all times; they could just leave the demons in a safe and hidden place and act alone.

Just like the Demon Scholar Aiwass encountered in the ritual, who was controlling the Hook Demon, he always stayed within his ritual site, maintained a mental connection with the demon, and was ready to recall it at any time. The Demon Scholar who infiltrated the White Ballet Shoes Club this time, obviously, could not have conducted a large ritual at the venue. Therefore, he needed a sacrifice for the recall.

That "Mr. Sacrifice" ingested a part of the Aberrant Limb Demon's flesh and blood and wrote a large number of runes on his body—using his own body as a temple and completing the ritual within himself. That's why the Aberrant Limb Demon, which was larger than him, could emerge from his body.

Although it's unclear whether his will was controlled, or he was beguiled and deceived, or even kidnapped and threatened... But since he remained silent throughout, helped the Demon Scholars safely blend into the venue, and summoned demons with his own body and life, he had to bear some of the responsibility regardless.

Therefore, that person is not considered a "victim" of this incident.

Excluding him, this incident was a miraculous survival of everyone!

Because the situation was resolved quickly enough, those Inspectors and Monitors severely injured by the Aberrant Limb Demon received a large amount of treatment from the clergy and were all successfully saved.

——Successfully confronting an Upper-Level Demon and expelling it ensured that Her Royal Highness, all the officials, businessmen, and clergy present, and even the civilians on the second floor who were observing, were unharmed. Not a single official Transcendent fled in fear, no Inspector or Monitor was unfortunately lost in the line of duty... and in the end, a fourth Energy Level Demon Scholar was killed, and a second Energy Level apprentice was captured alive.

This was an indisputable victory. It had been a long time since Avalon had such a resounding victory.

As expected, the newspapers would likely mention this event repeatedly for the next half a month or even a month.

Aiwass's title would no longer be "Detective". It would be "Hero".

He was a true hero—

If he hadn't stepped forward to severely wound the demon with the Holy Sword, the Demon Scholar would not have been interrupted from his mental control; Gordon would have likely died, and others might have suffered misfortune; even if the Demon Scholar was caught by other means, who knew how many people the demon would have killed before being expelled.

Isabel also became very happy, even ecstatic. It seemed as if she had a lot to say, but in the end, she held back.

That's because she was not allowed to attend the banquet outside, or else she would probably have followed along.

The other people who witnessed all this were also exceptionally excited.

The sudden attack didn't cause them too much fear—because the joy of a perfect victory diluted the unease. After the award ceremony concluded, the banquet was held as scheduled. And the number of people attending the banquet was several times more than before, with people who had no previous dealings with Aiwass now conversing amiably with him at the banquet.

Aiwass indeed drank a lot of alcohol and even told Angela that if he didn't get up, to please call in sick for him tomorrow morning.

Implicitly meaning he had drunk too much and might not be able to get up tomorrow morning. But he was going to go back to the dormitory tonight, not directly take a leave of absence to go home.

——Croix, who was lurking in the shadows the entire time, clearly heard this sentence.

Aiwass had long noticed her presence, but he did not make it public. He was surrounded by several high-ranking Transcendents with top-notch vigilance, and Croix would not dare to attack him unless she was absolutely sure of a fatal blow.

But as the saying goes, it's not the fear of the thief stealing, but the fear of the thief's persistent thoughts.

Therefore, Aiwass planned to deliberately create a perfect flaw to lure her into assassinating him.

Another reason Croix did not immediately attack Aiwass was that a needless greed had budded in her heart.

——Upon further reflection, why did she harbor hatred towards Aiwass, a person unrelated to her mission? Wasn't it because his words exposed her, leading to the loss of the many hard-to-collect life-saving artifacts she had been hoarding!

Her work was already very dangerous. It was only thanks to these life-saving artifacts that she could ensure a response to various emergencies. In a sense, these artifacts were her second life—a pre-paid pseudo-life. Having lost more than one life, of course, she would want to take revenge.

However, the "Red-Handled Sword" displayed by Aiwass attracted her attention.

This weapon belonged to the "Holy Sword Guardian Samuel" and was also what led to his shift to the occupation of "Cursed Holy Knight"—a boss from version 3.2. Aiwass used the Holy Sword Skill once a month to restore its appearance, which was just another shell for storing curses.

There was no doubt about Croix's judgment.

This sword possessed Transcendent value and even involved secrets of the Angel Envoy and Celestial Marshal. If she wanted to seize this sword, the best way was to kill Aiwass without anyone knowing she was the one who did it.

Not knowing who the specific target was for the theft of the Holy Sword, she was safe holding it. Otherwise, she would bring unnecessary trouble upon herself.

Of course, if she were purely a Transcendent who followed the Path of Adaptation, she would mostly remain sober. She would realize that since Aiwass could possess the Holy Sword, he was not someone she could provoke easily.

But Aiwass knew that she was not that type of person.

If she came to his award ceremony, it could only mean she wanted revenge. This act alone proved she was not a pure follower of the Path of Adaptation. There must be some other Path's adaptability skewing her actions; and with real-time updates from the Shadow Demon, Aiwass knew she even followed the crowd to the subsequent banquet.

She was there to gather information.

Sure enough, after Aiwass said this, Croix soon left.

—The fish had taken the bait.

Aiwass thought.

He was not afraid of getting drunk.

Because [Alcohol], this type of food, falls under the Path of Love creation. The madness and chaos caused by drinking were also a way to communicate with the Eternal Self. When priests perform the Rite of Fire for the Eternal Self, they must do so in a state of gluttony and drunkenness.

Similarly, the "shadow" ability of the Shadow Demon also belongs to the Path of Love, just as the flames of the Flame Demon belong to the Path of Devotion. This is why Aiwass used the "Moon" card when extracting the power of the Shadow Demon to create the Sin Tarot.

From this perspective, the more Aiwass drank, the tighter his spiritual connection with the Shadow Demon became.

Even if he got completely drunk, he would not pass out. At most, he would let the Shadow Demon take over and play for him.

And the Shadow Demon, in this state, was completely trustworthy.

Therefore, Aiwass did not pretend to be drunk, as that would only make Croix possibly vigilant.

Just like Aiwass had just used his body as bait, luring the Aberrant Limb Demon to attack him before counterattacking—he did not mind using himself as bait. On the contrary, he enjoyed the strategy of "casting a large amount of bait." Perhaps that was why he had such a high compatibility with the Nurturing Skill.

If he was going to act, he might as well do it thoroughly—Aiwass was truly drunk, and it was by his own intention.

Otherwise, the Fire Rite Skill, or the Illumination Art used by the other priests, could dispel the state of drunkenness.

But Aiwass deliberately did not do so.

His excuse was that he also wanted to experience being drunk and what it felt like—now was a particularly joyful occasion and might be a good opportunity.

Some were concerned and asked if his legs were okay... and Aiwass took the opportunity to lay some groundwork for others and updated his persona.

He pre-emptively explained that he was not actually disabled, which was why the Aberrant Limb Demon targeted him. It was because he had been sacrificed by the Demon Scholar during the ceremony, which resulted in muscle weakness in his legs. He could actually move, but doing so increased the risk of falling... So, to save effort, he usually sat in a wheelchair.

In other words, he could stand up. It was just tiring, so he used a wheelchair to get around during his rehabilitation. He also performed rehabilitation exercises to restore his physical strength.

This way, if he accidentally stood up later, he would have an explanation.

Although Lily was utterly confused, she did not expose Aiwass. When asked, she would confidently add some settings and details for Aiwass as if it were all true.

Lies and deception were also abilities of the Path of Adaptation. Aiwass could finally confirm that Lily's talent lay in the Path of Adaptation.

After all, the Shadow Demon had submitted faster than Aiwass had anticipated; and the experience gift from the Aberrant Limb Demon allowed Aiwass, who had no time to train in the "ritual" skill, to rapidly advance his career level on the Path of Transcendence. Aiwass had predicted it would take half a year, but now it seemed he might shed the identity of the Wheelchair Hero sooner than that.

Whether he traveled to other countries or followed his mentor on an archaeological expedition, he needed to be able to walk.

No one has ever heard of someone pushing a wheelchair on archaeological digs and adventures.

As the star of the banquet, Aiwass was proactive in his participation, making the atmosphere exceptionally lively.

When they returned to 14 Roning Street, it was already past midnight.

On the way, Aiwass had already fallen asleep, covered with Lily's coat until they got home.

After Lily wiped down the sleeping Aiwass and fed him a sobering medicine, she placed him on the bed. Then she went to sleep in the adjoining guest room.

Another two and a half hours passed after that.

It was three in the morning when Croix, who had been lying in wait, appeared silently, her green pupils gleaming like a wolf's.

She paced silently around the room, effortlessly finding the huge key hanging on the wheelchair.