"...Anyway, once it's in my hands, it's mine!"
Lightly touching the black waistguard he had just taken off, Aiwass made up his mind.
Even if the Assassin Master is strong, he's no match for Star Antimony Kingdom and the Rose Cross Society; Aiwass's future enemies are the Fallen Celestial Marshals, what's an Assassin Master of only the fifth Energy Level compared to them?
Give me a year to develop, and I can bring both Paths to the fifth Energy Level!
Plus, Meg is still alive.
If there truly were a fifth Energy Level expert entering the territory, those big shots would definitely monitor them the moment they arrive.
"Speaking of which," Aiwass suddenly thought of something and instantly became completely relaxed, "the Assassin Master... Does he also use Shadow Stealth?"
He asked, "Shadow Demon... If a fifth Energy Level assassin uses Shadow Stealth, can you handle him?"
"If he enters your shadow voluntarily, I can easily kill him, and he won't have any ability to resist. However, if he doesn't come in, I can only use your body to confront him... but I can only fully enter your body without causing irreversible harm to you if you have mastered the third stage of Shadow Affinity."
The Shadow Demon spoke tactfully.
—Otherwise, Aiwass's body would burst.
"Shadow Affinity," this Path attribute, allows Transcendents on the Path of Adaptation to learn Shadow Assault or Shadow Stealth; for Aiwass on the Path of Transcendence, it's just creating a shadow ball. But as Aiwass's level of Shadow Affinity rises, his body can contain more of the Shadow Demon's power.
When it reaches the third level, Aiwass would be able to barely accommodate the Shadow Demon using his own body. That way, the Shadow Demon wouldn't have to hide in Aiwass's shadow and could enter his body instead. Others would no longer be aware of something in Aiwass's shadow.
And when "Shadow Affinity" reaches the fifth level, Aiwass would be able to merge with the Shadow Demon and truly unleash all of its abilities.
Maybe even stronger than the entity of the Shadow Demon itself!
Shadow Demon, Flame Demon, Mirror Demon, these Upper-Level Demons, don't have physical bodies. Because they lack physical bodies, they are subject to certain limitations—such as the Shadow Demon's fear of the noonday sunlight and being severely wounded by various spells involving sunlight. But if the Shadow Demon operated the Aiwass Mech, it wouldn't need to fear such things, as Aiwass's shell could easily deflect those spells that it most fears.
However, upgrading Shadow Affinity even by a fifth means Aiwass won't think about upgrading other attributes. Only by choosing a compound trait like "Vessel of Blaze and Brilliance" can that work. So Aiwass's current plan is to upgrade to the third level and then pick a vessel-type trait—after reaching level fifty and removing the upper limit, he'll go back and fill up Shadow Affinity.
"So," Aiwass pressed on, "if I have third-level Shadow Affinity, can you confront him?"
The Shadow Demon simply answered: "Their understanding of the shadows is very poor, they can't even transition between discontinuous shadows. As long as he enters a shadow near me, I can sense him."
Aiwass felt relieved.
That meant when his Path of Transcendence reached the third Energy Level, that Assassin Master would no longer be a match for him.
Consequently, he became somewhat impatient.
—So when are you going to come over again and bring me some equipment?
There are still two pieces missing from Lily's set.
Speaking of which, could you bring some skill books next time you come? Codex Books are not easy to come by...
By now, the merits Aiwass had accumulated were probably enough to exchange for another Codex Book.
He hoped to choose this time—if he could, he would select a Codex Book suitable for Lily's Path of Adaptation.
"...You talk much more fluently than before,"
Aiwass said in a lighter tone, teasingly.
It spoke much more fluently than before. Previously, it would mostly stumble if it had to say such a long string of words all at once.
Plus, its voice was now soft and sweet, definitely more pleasant to hear than before—previously, it had sounded too cool, like a brooding empress or a hoarse female demon.
Now it sounded much younger.
Just then, the shadows behind Aiwass suddenly gathered.
Black tendrils made of pure shadow rose from the ground, flowed into Aiwass's pants, and out from his collar.
The dispersed black smoke came together to form the upper body of a beautiful girl.
She was light as a feather, without any weight, even somewhat translucent. Her short, curly hair that reached her shoulders and her pupils were abyss-like pure black, and all of her form below her collarbone was unclothed.
With her arms wrapped around Aiwass's head, her upper body emerged from his neck and sleeves. But Aiwass felt no softness or warmth, only a snake-scale-like cold and slippery touch that made him inadvertently shiver.
"Master... How do you like my new look?"
The Shadow Demon looked expectantly at Aiwass.
Aiwass looked at her with some surprise, then understood: this must be the Shadow Demon using that Miss Assassin as a template to construct its new appearance. Restricted to only black and white, it seemed a bit forced—it was like a 3D-printed obituary picture.
He reached out, touching the Shadow Demon's cheek and head. And her hair.
The skin of the Shadow Demon felt like jade stone wet with shower gel in winter, and her hair was like cold spiderwebs, like some substance that was almost gaseous yet barely tangible.
he praised sincerely, "Your voice is also very pleasant. But the voice is fine—change back anyway. I still prefer something more cat or dog-like."
The Shadow Demon looked puzzled, but obediently melted away, transforming into a black hound.
Aiwass crouched down, affectionately petting the dog's head and said with a smile, "It's very pretty, and I like it very much.
"Occasionally changing into that form is okay. But I am the one to feed you, and you should have the willingness and awareness of being a pet. If you were to do certain things in human form, let's not."
"—Whether it is to turn one's own kind into a pet, or to consume one's own flesh, either will twist my mind. Our relationship, pure enough as it is, relying on each other, and carefully reviewing each other, would also grow corrupt."
Aiwass was explaining seriously when the agile black hound he was stroking melted and transformed into a black cat.
Its eyes and fur were pure black, like a sphere. If placed in a corner, it would be almost guaranteed to become completely invisible and impossible to find.
"See, how cute is that?" Aiwass exclaimed.
"...And Shadow Demon, up to now, you haven't even told me your real name, have you? You don't think I've forgotten about this, do you?
"Or do you think... I assume your name is just 'Shadow Demon'?"
Looking at the silent Shadow Demon, Aiwass's mouth curved into a smile: "When you decide to tell me your real name, and no longer call me master—when we become genuine, equal, and mutually trustworthy companions. Then, you can change into that form again."
"...Will there ever be such a time?"
The Shadow Demon couldn't help but counter, "Humans can only advance to the fifth or sixth Energy Level at most, right?"
"There will be," Aiwass said calmly, petting the black cat, "you just have to kill the Fallen Celestial Marshal."
Upon hearing this, the Shadow Demon buzzed and disintegrated into a puddle of black slime.
It clearly hadn't expected Aiwass's ambition to be so great—
Such a sweet heart for Transcendence, it couldn't help becoming excited, unable to maintain its disguise.
Aiwass clapped his hands and stood up. He spoke slowly to the turbulent shadow at his feet: "Even so, your loyal heart still deserves a reward.
"Ten days left until the next advancement. Once we successfully advance next weekend, I'll treat you to a big meal as a reward for your adorable thoughts at this moment... my lamb."
"...I look forward to that day, my master."
The voice of the Shadow Demon was so excited it nearly trembled.