When the plot-skips players into the game world

Its visage was grotesque and ugly, the facial features on its enormous skull completely misplaced. Its four arms pointed in different directions.

The size and thickness of its six limbs, even the joints and orientation, were all wholly disparate. It crouched low on the ground, resembling a disjointed human drawn by an abstract painter.

Its bewildered yet hate-filled eyes became a touch clearer, revealing a hint of damaged humanity.

That anger and hatred had settled into a more tangible sorrow and abhorrence.

It quickly lapped up the blood.

While whimpering, it squatted on the ground, lying on Aiwass's corpse, continuing to lick the bloody wound on the neck of Aiwass's body.

As it lapped, it suddenly howled mournfully at the sky, emitting a roar akin to a wolf baying at the moon.

Then, as if making up its mind, it began to gnaw on the corpse of Aiwass.

When Aiwass gradually awoke from that chaos, he saw a crimson-stained ground where his own body had disappeared.

His perspective had now become that of the Hook Demon.

—Or rather, the evolved "Aberrant Limb Demon."

It was a demon born from the souls of those who died persecuted due to their congenital deformities, harboring a profound hatred for almost the entire "normal" population.

This was already an Upper-Level Demon.

An elite above level forty, barely less than ten levels below the Shadow Demon.

While it had lost the ability to move instantly around the cursed, it possessed an almost undead vitality, formidable strength and speed, as well as the ability to reshape its six aberrant limbs at will with arbitrary temporary restructuring.

And equally low intelligence.

Aiwass was sharply aware of the seemingly endless vitality within him, as well as the surging power like the sea, and his three vigorously pumping hearts.

He now had the confidence that even if the "current self" was shredded by a chainsaw or repeatedly crushed by a boulder, it would not die easily.

However, the ecstasy, joy, sadness, and hatred from the "Aberrant Limb Demon" were also continuously transmitted, proving it had not died when Aiwass took over. Instead, it had willingly become his companion...

...and "bearer."

Carying Aiwass's soul like a turtle, until he found the opportunity to be reborn.

"So using the Nurturing Skill to feed oneself wholly to a demon results in a temporary fusion with the demon?"

He lowered his body, and with two mouths, made an unclear, moist, deep sound: "Its 'nourishment' is even sufficient to enable a lower demon to directly evolve into an upper demon..."

No wonder demons follow the "Shepherd." For those on the path of Transcendence, this is indeed an irresistible temptation.

According to the normal evolutionary route, to evolve from a Hook Demon to an Aberrant Limb Demon, even using Jack the Ripper's extreme cultivation method, it would probably take several years.

Aiwass had originally thought that growing enough to withstand ten rituals would be sufficient, but he had vastly underestimated the impact of the Art of Herding and the "willingly sacrificed offering."

It was not that the Shadow Demon was greedy.

It was that he truly was enticing...

The head with its features completely misplaced, even with three eyes, had each eye looking in a different direction. Adapting to this unique new perspective and slowly getting used to the instinct of using its "aberrant limbs."

After a while, he finally heard the somewhat urgent call of his "master."

"...William? William? Good, you've made contact...come back quickly if all goes well, good boy! Be careful not to make too much noise, don't expose yourself—"

The hideous demon lying on the ground revealed a terrifying and ghastly smile.

"Woo ah—wa—"

He mimicked the sounds of the Hook Demon, emitting baby-like cries and puppy-like whimpers as a nonsensical response.

The Cursing Sorcerer on the other end did not expect this.

"Hey, hey, stop yelling. I'm pulling you back now, don't move around too much..."

He unguardedly initiated the counter-summoning spell.

The space around him seemed misplaced, splintering. It was like experiencing weightlessness and overpowering gravity in an elevator, except the "direction" of that sensation came from behind.

As if suddenly dragged "backwards" by a tremendous force, he was whisked far behind.

Appearing suddenly in front of Aiwass was a middle-aged man of around fifty, with sallow brown skin and each of his ten fingers adorned with large gemstone rings.

He looked slightly overweight with a round belly and a modest hunchback. His black curly hair was slightly greasy, and his small eyes were dark and concentrated, showing little white of the eye. If not for his lavish attire, his features would only remind one of a simple, good-natured villager. Even with his costly appearance, he only resembled a wealthy rural landowner.

"William, very well..."

The Cursing Sorcerer habitually tried to calm the Hook Demon.

But when he saw clearly the twisted demon that emerged from the Ritual Array, low on the ground like a spider, his complexion suddenly froze.

Fear petrified his face, his whole body immobilized, making him resemble a mute stone statue.

This is...

—— the Aberrant Limb Demon?!

How could the breed of a demon change so suddenly?!

Or could it be... Is it really William?

Or did another Demon Scholar snatch and modify William's contract, controlling the Aberrant Limb Demon to transmit here following the reverse summoning ritual——

But he had no time to think further.

Aiwass, manipulating the Aberrant Limb Demon, extracted a warped, misplaced limb from itself at a speed invisible to the naked eye.

What looked like a normal "right hand" suddenly stretched rapidly——becoming only two centimeters thick, yet growing to a little over two meters in length as a razor-sharp claw.

The ghastly claw, skeletal in appearance, caught his face and pushed him against the wall, then slowly lifted.

"Who are you..."

The voice of the Aberrant Limb Demon was a blur. It was as if coming from a nightmare.

It can talk...?

The Cursing Sorcerer, with his face frozen in fear, now looked as if he was about to cry.

With both hands, he tightly held the "right hand" of the Aberrant Limb Demon, trying not to have his throat ripped open by its sheer weight.

To make an Aberrant Limb Demon speak so clearly...

...have I encountered a senior?

"State your name..."

The Aberrant Limb Demon repeated the question.

Its stretched limb slowly exerted force, like a steel clamp about to crush the Cursing Sorcerer's skull.

Under the excruciating pain, the Cursing Sorcerer could not help but scream out:

"——Aziz! Aziz Ben Abdul——save me... senior, spare me!"

But the Aberrant Limb Demon did not let go.

Instead, it increased the pressure, feeling the "skull in its hand" gradually deform, emitting cracking sounds.

"Who do you work for..." the Aberrant Limb Demon asked in a different, sharper tone of voice.

"——Moriarty! It is Professor James Moriarty!"

Crying out in agony, the Cursing Sorcerer named Aziz did not hesitate to betray his own employer: "It has nothing to do with me, I'm just paid to do a job——spare me, senior, my lord, please, it wasn't me... spare me! Save me——save——"

Spurt——

The limb extended by the Aberrant Limb Demon effortlessly crushed the Cursing Sorcerer's head.

It was as simple as crushing a tomato.

——Even if everything in the ritual were a sham, Aiwass had no intention of sparing him.

"This is just a little interest, Aziz. I hope you didn't die."

The voice of the Aberrant Limb Demon was muffled: "I remember you...

"I will find you."

Having obtained such crucial information so easily, Aiwass felt he should probably be pleased.

He had confirmed the limits of the "Nurturing Skill" without any cost, and he finished everything he wanted to do before the end of the ritual... he should indeed be in a mood for celebration.

But at that moment, he did not quite feel like rejoicing.

What soured Aiwass's mood was a name he heard from the Cursing Sorcerer Aziz, one he didn't particularly want to hear... yet it was something he had anticipated.

——James Moriarty. Stay tuned with m,v le,mpyr