When the plot-skips players into the game world

——Who are you?

Croix wanted to speak, but she couldn't even open her mouth. It was as if she had truly become a reflection.

Yet, the Croix outside the mirror seemed to hear her very thoughts, a slight smile curling her lips, revealing a quite charming grin.

But the Croix sealed inside the mirror did not mirror the same action.

The Croix within the mirror still had caramel-colored short curls. Visible fear surfaced on her face, distorting her lovely features.

"Follower of the Lord of Scalefeather, thief who steals the scales of fish and the feathers of birds... Have you forgotten where your power comes from after all this?"

She mocked, extending her slender, pale fingers to glide gently across Croix's cheek.

Click——

Croix seemed to hear a phantom sound. Like her soul being sliced, an indescribable agony came to her—her reflection cracked, yet she was unable to utter a single word.

Her mind went blank from pain, but soon that word flooded into her heart——

——Where does my power come from?

It's the Shadow Demon!

...A Shadow Demon in Aiwass's shadow?!

Impossible!

But... if this were true...

In that moment, she understood everything.

Why Aiwass could see her, why he was not at all afraid of her, why she felt such immense fear when stepping into Aiwass's shadow...

And she also realized, the words Aiwass had said at the banquet were nothing but a trap and disguise to lure her in!

——What priest, what hero! All fake!

He was not the least bit decent——a Demon Scholar who made a pact with an Upper-Level Demon couldn't possibly be so young!

It must have been an exceedingly powerful Demon Scholar, who had taken on the Path of Dusk, reincarnated into Aiwass's body, and stolen his identity and shell!

In that instant, regret flooded her heart.

If she had another chance, she would never have messed with Aiwass!

But it was too late.

There was no way she could escape from the hands of the Shadow Demon!

The power from the Path of Adaptation came from imitating others. Whether it was poison, precognition, invisibility, regeneration, or other abilities, they all stemmed from mimicking the abilities of other creatures in the natural world. And her Shadow Stealth skill was an ability constructed by the predecessors of the Hawkeye Organization, modeled after the abilities of the "Shadow Demon".

Yet, after all, it was a pirated version; they could never truly capture a Shadow Demon to directly copy its gifts. It was merely a weakened version of the ability built through observation and imagination.

Only now did she realize that the Shadow Demon's control over "shadows" also included mirror images!

It wasn't so much that this was the way to catch her as it was that the Shadow Demon had already caught her, and then, especially performed the real way a Shadow Demon hunts...

"I don't really mind you copied the talent from one of my kind. But you do it so hideously, like a toad singing or a donkey dancing. It's like having an elephant run thumping over my head... so noisy."

The Shadow Demon's voice was full of malice, and Croix became increasingly aware that its voice was gradually drawing closer to her own—from that proud and mature female voice to her own voice, as sweet and charming as honey.

"Also, more importantly——the shadow of the master, that is my territory."

Her voice was soft yet icy cold, and slender fingers reached through the mirror surface, gripping the person in the mirror's throat, "You've overstepped your bounds, little thief."

"If it hadn't been for the master's mercy, I would have torn you to pieces right then and there. You're lucky the Serpent Father protects you, yet you dare come back."

"You're even foolish enough to try to kill my master— who do you think you are? So weak, yet so confident..."

The Croix reflected in the mirror writhed in agony, her body being continually corroded by shadows. The edge of the standing mirror also began to seep blood, as if it were not a solid mirror but a slowly closing iron maiden.

And before Croix lost consciousness, the Shadow Demon's voice echoed in her heart: "You've copied me, so I'll copy you. I just happen to need a set of skin that suits human aesthetics."

"Since you attempted to steal the shadow... your throat and face now belong to me."

Using a human expression, this could be called 'settling debts.'

Speaking thus, the Shadow Demon's finger touched the mirror surface, marking a large cross and saying, "You're now insolvent, Miss."

In an instant, Croix's soul, already full of cracks, was completely shredded by the Shadow Demon's nails.

Not until the next day did Aiwass wake up groggy, and he wasn't awakened by the Shadow Demon.

It was part of the agreement he had with the Shadow Demon, to quietly take care of that assassin. There was no need to wake him up if nothing special happened.

This was also his way of showing his trust in the Shadow Demon.

"How did last night go?"

The moment he woke up, he asked this in his mind, "What were her last words?"

Aiwass wasn't worried that the Shadow Demon had let her get away.

Because upon waking, a notification window had already appeared before his eyes:

[Eliminated a fourth energy-level Transcendent, gained 120 free experience]

About one hundred less than from the Aberrant Limb Demon, but experience delivered to his doorstep was still useful. Together with the experience that Aiwass hadn't used up before, he now had a total of 364 free experience points. With this, after advancing as a Demon Scholar at the beginning of the month, Aiwass could advance again at the beginning of the following month— to climb directly to the third energy level in just two months!

Now, what constrained Aiwass was actually the cooldown time for rituals. Of course, to prevent experience overflow, it would still be normal to read books and then use free experience to level up at the end.

Every bit saved was one bit earned!

Aiwass was just a little worried— the Shadow Demon hadn't shredded and corroded everything on her person, had it?

"I remember telling you to keep any equipment that could be kept on her... where did you put it?"

He inquired further, "And, you didn't make a mess of the floor or anything, right?"

"She had no last words; she remained silent until death. She only regretted having offended you," replied the Shadow Demon, whose voice sounded more human than yesterday as it rose from the depths of his heart, "The spoils are on the couch beside you, all there, Master... As for her blood, I've consumed it all. There won't be a trace left."

Aiwass looked over— indeed it was so.

The clothes were neatly folded, organized, and sorted. They were laid out as if they had been placed there by the wearer herself— completely intact, without a single sign of damage.

"... Did Lily come by?"

Aiwass's first reaction was to wonder if Lily had come over and arranged everything?

But he soon realized— he had already reminded Lily the night before not to come wake him today. She wouldn't have entered his room without permission.

This Shadow Demon... was quite well-organized in its work?