The Shadow Demon, which had been full of complaints, immediately fell silent.
It rose from the ground like a mad creature, wrapping around Aiwass's right hand as gently as dozens of entwined snakes, greedily licking up every drop of blood, along with the spaces between fingers and the back of the hand.
Not until the Mana Pool within Aiwass was completely depleted, unable to produce another drop of mana, did the "Shepherd's Nurturing" ritual come to an end.
Aiwass withdrew the Ritual Dagger, and the wound scabbed over by itself.
Even though that scorching, searing blood had vanished without a trace, the Shadow Demon still intently licked Aiwass's right hand, reminiscent of a pup continuing to lick its master's palm even after having eaten the food from it.
"...It seems you like it a lot."
Aiwass's face was pale, but the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
His voice was somewhat weak—half due to blood loss, half due to severe pain.
During the ritual, he couldn't afford to furrow his brow or show disgust and fear due to the pain, or the nurturing ritual would fail.
The deep, bone-visible wound indeed caused him tremendous pain, but fortunately, he endured it forcefully, allowing the ritual to succeed.
The attitude of the Shadow Demon changed instantly, becoming obedient.
[I... like it very much]
The tone became visibly flattering, no longer the murky danger of wildness, but a hoarse and deep female voice.
The Shadow Demon was an amorphous entity, without a physical body or gender.
This was simply its way of expressing fawning and submission to Aiwass—in its own clumsy manner.
"Let's return for now," Aiwass said calmly, "Do you still remember what I asked you to do?"
[Of course, my noble Master...]
The Shadow Demon replied without hesitation.
It transformed into a sleek black hound, leapt up high, and charged at the Codex Book that Aiwass had tossed on the ground.
The black leather book burst into searing light upon the Shadow Demon's impact, like a hammer striking an anvil.
One strike merely tore the leather book, but it did not corrode immediately.
The Shadow Demon, as if provoked and losing face, instantly morphed into an even more ferocious and massive wolf and charged again at the "Nurturing Secret Sequel."
This time it could no longer resist—the corrosive shadow continued to pour into the pages, and they withered, decayed, darkened, shriveled, and twisted at a visible pace until they turned to dust and vanished without a trace.
The Shadow Demon sunk back into Aiwass's shadow, disappearing without a trace.
Aiwass had no time to carefully wipe off the blood remaining on the Ritual Dagger and could only thrust the silver blade back into its sheath. This would undoubtedly ruin the Ritual Dagger, but he had no choice but to ignore that now.
After the ritual was over, he felt an increasingly intense exhaustion and dizziness.
His fingers trembled wildly from the intense pain and loss of blood, the completely depleted mana making his brain swell wave after wave. Everything before his eyes contracted and then expanded, as if he was drunk and on the verge of blacking out, or as sleepy as one might feel during a complex mathematics class...
—Next time, at least I need to reserve some mana for the Rite of the Sacred Fire. Being entirely devoid of mana is indeed debilitating...
Good, this is a very important lesson. Better to learn it in a safe place than to first understand it in a moment of crisis...
With these choppy thoughts floating in his mind, Aiwass stumbled toward the bed.
He didn't even manage to undress or cover himself with a blanket before he passed out on his own bed.