The walls on both sides of the abandoned chemical plant were cracked brick, but from the outside, the place still appeared somewhat tidy.
There weren’t too many creeping vines or weeds, just a coating of dusty yellow ash and grime.
It looked more like a deserted villa or storage warehouse than an actual factory.
The corridor inside wasn’t wide—barely enough to let two or three people walk shoulder to shoulder.
Without any lighting, even though it was midday outside, the interior remained pitch black.
As soon as Aiwass entered, he was struck by a thick smell of dust—along with a pungent, durian-like stench that made him choke.
Lulu, holding the baby in her arms, coughed softly as she tiptoed inside.
Even knowing no one else was here, she still moved quietly and carefully.
Her heart was racing—
Though she hadn’t even left Glass Island, she felt a surge of adventure unlike anything she’d experienced.
Everything here was so unfamiliar, so thrilling.
"We came here…"
Lulu whispered,
"To hide from that killer, right? Since this is a chemical plant, should we try grabbing some chemical reagents for self-defense? What if he followed us?"
"He’d have to find the door first."
Aiwass didn’t shy away from revealing overly detailed intel,
"This factory doesn’t have a front entrance. Technically, the back door we used is a dead end. It’s only accessible through the rear warehouse entrance. After the plant was abandoned, the original front gate was blocked off by a newly built stone warehouse. When that warehouse was expanded, it completely sealed the way in.
"This place has two floors, with a ladder-accessible upper level.
Each level contains many interconnected rooms, and there are three staircases connecting the floors.
If the intruder is alone, we’ve got more than enough space for guerrilla tactics…"
He trailed off mid-sentence as a sudden knell echoed in their minds.
Aiwass fell silent at once and turned to exchange glances with the others.
"The fourth one,"
Sherlock said softly.
"With the three of us, plus 'Bone Carver'—that makes four survivors."
Aiwass narrowed his eyes,
"Who else do you think could’ve survived?"
"Coco. I suspect she’s a dual-path transcendent."
Sherlock quietly reminded them,
"Remember, Fox? Lady Eirene mentioned that three of us undergoing advancement this time have dual Paths.
"You, the Knight, and Lulu are clearly new.
The King and Cheese aren’t exactly brilliant either.
Leaving me and Bone Carver aside, that means there’s one more… Either Basil or Coco."
"I don’t have much impression of Ms. Basil,"
Lulu whispered,
"I can’t even remember what she looks like."
"That’s one of the signs of a Path of Adaptation. They gain advantage by blending in and hiding themselves. Don’t underestimate her.
Think carefully: among the nine of us, only Basil gave away no information at all. We know nothing about her."
The paperboy warned,
"If this were a Crescent Moon ritual, she’s the one I’d be most wary of—not Bone Carver.
Every Adaptation Path transcendent is a trained hunter and assassin.
I won’t rest easy until she’s dead."
"And Coco?"
Aiwass countered,
"Why do you think she’s a dual Path?"
"I’m not sure. Just leaning toward her being the third one.
As for why…"
Sherlock explained,
"She said her profession wasn’t a 'Demonologist.'
She was one of the last to be pulled in—later than even the King.
Since the King was from Stannum, that means Coco wasn’t in Avalon either.
"But in Stannum, even though multi-Path transcendence is legal, ordinary people still can’t access non-demonic professions."
"Like how in Avalon, only two professions exist under the Path of Authority—Lawmages and Arbiters, right?"
Lulu asked.
"To be precise," Sherlock corrected,
"Only Lawmages and Inspectors. Not all Inspectors can become Arbiters.
Even if they meet the level requirements, without approval from the Round Table Hall, they can’t advance.
"To become an Arbiter, one must gain ‘Arbitral Authority’—
That allows them to judge cases without going through formal court proceedings.
"Inspectors, even if promoted to Overseers, at best only hold enforcement rights.
They can’t qualify to become Arbiters.
"And that 'Knight' gentleman’s Sky Cavalier class—
It’s a military-exclusive advancement for Light Cavalry, only available within the army."
"Oh, I know this one!"
Lulu’s eyes lit up,
"To go from Light Cavalry to Sky Cavalier, the red griffin has to grow into a talking white griffin, right?"
"Exactly.
When their griffin partners reach maturity—
Shedding their dangerous reddish fur for pure white, growing from 1.8 meters tall to over 2.5 meters,
Their temper stabilizes, their intelligence increases to the point of speech…
Only then can Light Cavalry advance to Sky Cavaliers.
They need the Path of Authority to continually strengthen their griffins.
"A white griffin eats thirty pounds of fresh meat a day without training—double that during battle.
"Griffins raised by regular Inspectors are a different breed—
Even after a lifetime, they only grow to about 1.5 meters and can’t speak.
They eat just five pounds of meat daily and live only thirty years.
"They’re more like flying pets than battle partners.
The white-feathered griffins used in the military live for centuries.
When their human partners grow old and die, the griffins are still alive.
"In the Kingdom of Stannum, the class equivalent to Inspector is ‘Fiendhunter,’
And the class equivalent to Lawmage is ‘Demonologist.’
If a normal person enters the Royal Law Academy and becomes a transcendent,
There’s no way they graduate as a Sky Cavalier.
Purebred griffins are scarce, and loyalty must be assured—
So Sky Cavaliers are only chosen from knight families.
"Just like our ‘Knight’—
He wore a helmet during the ritual."
The Knight likely didn’t realize it—
But he was the first to ‘open his box,’ even earlier than Lulu.
In Avalon, anyone not from a knight family caught possessing armor is subject to capital punishment.
That meant his father or mother must be a knight of the Round Table.
That’s why he could obtain a knight’s helmet, and why he could become Light Cavalry.
"…So, a noble from the Kingdom of Stannum?"
Lulu muttered,
"I’ve read in plays and poems that Stannum has hereditary nobility…
With titles, land, and manors passed down through generations."
Avalon viewed Stannum as a rival nation but dared not wage war—
Partly because they couldn’t be sure the royal curse originated from Stannum.
Avalon’s real power didn’t lie solely with the Queen, but with the Round Table Hall.
Such vague suspicions weren’t enough for the much weaker Avalon to initiate a war.
The Kingdom of Stannum was currently the most powerful nation on the continent.
It had once been the only empire on this land.
Even after splitting into four countries, it remained strong.
Founded by Valentine I, author of the sacred scripture The Triumphal Chariot of Stannum,
The kingdom had since reabsorbed two of its former imperial territories—recovering nearly 80% of the old empire’s land.
Avalon could defeat Iris, but definitely not Stannum.
Its alchemical technology was fifty years ahead of Avalon’s.
Only by allying with Iris and the Church could Avalon maintain balance.
But if Stannum attacked first, the other nations might not come to Avalon’s aid unless it showed fierce resistance.
Yet a new question arose in Princess Isabel’s mind:
For someone from such a powerful nation…
Why would Coco become a transcendent at her age?
Though she appeared to be in her early twenties,
Isabel’s Beauty Path perception—and female intuition—told her Coco was at least thirty.
She must’ve used alchemical youth-retaining potions to maintain that pure, girlish look.
Becoming a transcendent at over thirty? Isn’t that a bit late?
Which is why Isabel suddenly concluded:
"Coco must be the one with dual Paths!"
"Why so certain?"
Sherlock asked.
"Because Coco isn’t as young as she looks. She’s used alchemy to appear that way."
"…That makes sense."
Sherlock slowly nodded, his expression growing grim.
"Then this might be bad."
Aiwass raised an eyebrow.
"You mean, the enemy could be a Demonologist?"
"Listen carefully, both of you. I just remembered an incident."
Sherlock spoke in a low voice,
"In 1888—four years from now in this timeline—there was a serial murder case in the Lawrow District.
Every eight days, a pregnant woman was killed.
The fetus was cruelly cut out, and her kidneys were taken.
Clear signs of ritualistic killing.
"The Inspectorate called it the ‘Jack the Ripper’ case.
I was sixteen then, and part of the investigation."
The boy detective continued,
"The culprit was a young Demonologist who had inherited a ‘Hook Demon’ from his mentor—
A demon born over a century ago from the concept of surgical abortion.
He tried to reinforce its image through such ritual killings.
"Eventually, we captured and executed him.
But before he died, Jack confessed to having a mentor.
"—He said his mentor had spent a long time on Glass Island, serving a certain figure in secret.
Over the past few years, this person killed many people, then left the country—possibly to the Horus Empire or the Kingdom of Repose.
"‘To cross the desert, he needed to purify himself,’ Jack said, ‘so he transferred the demon to me.’
"And was never seen again.
"According to the timeline, that Demonologist should be on Glass Island now.
The Hook Demon is a low-ranked demon—not strong in direct combat, but specializes in ambushes…"
Then Sherlock suddenly asked,
"Did you have a curse on you when you arrived?"
Aiwass and Lulu exchanged looks.
"No, we didn’t—but Little Aiwass had one.
It wasn’t very strong, but it was a tracking curse."
"That explains it!"
Sherlock said with certainty,
"I had the same one when I arrived. Same type.
I dispelled it with a spell.
"That might be why we haven’t been attacked yet—
The tracking curse cancels out Adaptation Path concealment.
The one who just died… was probably Basil.
She held out for a while, but still didn’t escape.
"The Hook Demon uses curses to track targets—
It can teleport to its victims.
"The only other demons fitting that criteria—Mirror Demons and Shadow Demons—
Either require mirrors as conduits or can’t appear at noon.
Besides, those are upper-ranked demons…"
"But Coco’s only First Tier, right?" Aiwass asked.
"The Transcendence Path already grants deep demon knowledge.
She may’ve used an anti-demon ritual to dispel it.
Or transferred the curse to someone else."
"So, our enemy is the Hook Demon being remotely controlled by its master?"
Lulu asked.
"Yes—
To be precise, the demonologist is controlling it from afar.
The problem is, even though the Hook Demon is only Second Tier, it’s extremely fast and excels at ambushes.
"Even Second Tier transcendents struggle to beat it.
"Unless one of us is a Lawmage who can suppress it instantly, we don’t stand a chance."
Sherlock’s brow furrowed, voice heavy with frustration.
"I don’t know how much Bone Carver and Coco have raised this ritual’s difficulty—
They made things harder and still won’t cooperate!
"The three of us alone can’t beat the Hook Demon.
Even with the Knight, we likely can’t.
He’s not an Inspector or Lawmage—just a Light Cavalryman.
No suppression capability.
"Given this difficulty curve, at least one of Coco or Bone Carver has to help, or we’ve got no shot.
"Let’s just hope you two aren’t carrying more cursed items…
A Second Tier Demonologist can only curse one person per day.
I’ve already been cursed.
"That leaves just you two.
"If we’re lucky, maybe we can stall until the ritual ends—only two hours left."
Upon hearing that, Aiwass subconsciously rubbed his nose.
…Honestly?
Not to brag,
But if the enemy is a demon…
This whole ritual’s absurd difficulty spike
…might’ve been my fault.
(End of Chapter)