When the plot-skips players into the game world

The demon that had already signed a contract would be immediately forced to return once its contractor was killed.

So, with so many people on the second floor, how to discern who the summoner is?

... What a joke, she wasn't an Avalonian, why should she distinguish?

As long as they looked like it, just kill them all.

Of course, she had to be sure first but couldn't make the first move.

She would have to wait until Gordon and Aiwass were killed, then she could make her move and kill all the suspected targets. Otherwise, she would have trouble escaping herself later.

She didn't want to be chased again—this time she didn't have any life-saving artifacts with her, she couldn't be impulsive. She needed to be even more cautious than last time. Once the people here were mostly dead, she could turn around, kill the Demon Scholar and then make a run for it.

Thinking this, Croix took advantage of the chaos to slip out from under the shadows of the cameras and quietly moved among the crowd, making her way to the second floor.

Demon Scholars usually worked in pairs. She easily found the one who was the apprentice.

— The jar returned to her hand by the spell was called "Eyes of Fear". It was a ritual spell made with twenty fresh human eyeballs of those who died in fear. Once activated with dark attribute mana and shattered by an external force, everyone within a thirty-meter radius would instantly fall into intense fear and chaos, running around or attacking each other.

Although it was a very low-level ritual spell, it was quite practical. Even if a high-level transcendent could exempt themselves from the spell with their willpower, the chaos it caused to others was enough to disrupt the situation instantaneously.

Croix had one such jar before. She bought it from the wild elf bartender at the Pelican Bar before it was sealed shut.

Used correctly, this thing could complete very high-level assassination tasks.

But a few days ago, in order to escape, she used it almost pointlessly...

... But are you sure you can just throw it out there with no problem? Aren't these things usually set up as traps?

Croix thought to herself.

If she threw down this jar, the lower-level transcendents below would be done for. But throwing the jar from this height, even if it was not bounced back by a spell, she would definitely be caught in the fear herself.

Doesn't she think about how many meters there are between the first and second floor? So young, huh? A newbie?

... I see, she was meant to be sacrificed?

Specifically sending an apprentice who knew nothing of the mission details— did her dear mentor think he could still make a getaway? Demon Scholars didn't have any means to hide themselves, how could he possibly escape from Glass Island under the Gryphons' watchful eyes?

Or is it that there's someone inside the Royal Capital who could provide temporary shelter and protection for him?

Ah, it must be the Minister of Commerce.

So it's you... Are you in a hurry? Then I guess I should take some credit for this...

With these thoughts, Croix turned her gaze to the other side of the second floor.

This young apprentice had also exposed something else— that her mentor should be in a symmetrical position to her, at least thirty meters away. Including the distance thrown, that could extend to forty-five meters...

Lurking in the shadows, she had more or less pinpointed the area where the mentor was.

And at that moment, she suddenly noticed that the Aberrant Limb Demon seemed to become anxious for some reason.

As if sensing a threat, the target shifted from Gordon to Aiwass. It took two sword strikes from Gordon, spurting two sprays of blood as a price, in a determined effort to attack Aiwass, who was away from the battlefield.

"— What are you doing, demon!"

Hiding in the shadows, Croix thought with frustration, "Try a little harder, and Gordon will be dead! Once the suppression stops, any priest here could just touch him with an Illumination Art, and he might come around!"

Just as she was contemplating whether to hurl a poisoned dagger at Gordon's back while he was receiving treatment, she suddenly froze.

For she saw a brilliantly radiant light burst forth, completely enveloping the club!

Aiwass had pulled out a Holy Sword, gushing with fire and light, and easily severed the encroaching arm of the Aberrant Limb Demon!

The demon let out a pained howl like that of an injured wolf and quickly retracted. Hissing black smoke rose from the wound, and golden-red cracks spread slowly from it like a spiderweb.

...That was a Sacred Weapon!

Only a Sacred Weapon could sever the flesh of an Upper-Level Demon so effortlessly!

So, this was his trump card!

Croix's pupils shrank, first feeling a wave of relief that she had not acted rashly—then a strong desire for greed welled up in her heart.

—"I want it! I so want it!"

She was just one step away from reaching the fifth energy level, having slain over fifty nobles and high-ranking Transcendents along the way. Yet, in all the people she had seen, only the leader of "Hawkeye" possessed a Sacred Weapon!

As greed began to take root in her heart, the emerald light of the Path of Adaptation in Croix's soul... started to tint with a shadow-like darkness.

That was the influence from the Path of Love.

And Croix clearly saw that on the opposite side of the petrified Demon Scholar apprentice, a plain-looking middle-aged man suddenly cried out in pain, his body shuddering violently, as if he had been shocked awake from a nightmare!

Without a doubt, that man was the Contractor!

Croix took note of this. And she wasn't the only one who did.

Edward, who had been watching from the second floor, immediately noticed him, and with a cry of [Capture], hoisted him into the air!

The other Legal Mages, though unsure of what was happening, immediately cooperated with Edward's spell, subjecting the middle-aged man to Decree Spells.

A gathering of Legal Mages is incredibly frightening.

Unless one is completely immune or too fast to lock onto, immunities are virtually non-existent once the number of Legal Mages increases —

[Still],[Silence],[Capture],[Search],[Shackles],[Cage]...

Though the Legal Mages subconsciously refrained from using lethal Decree Spells, the middle-aged man was instantly wrapped in layers of spectacular luminous effects, utterly controlled!

He couldn't even make a single move before his body was bound by dense, silver-white chains and manacles, unable to budge.

It looked like they had successfully captured the enemy, which made the Legal Mages subconsciously breathe a sigh of relief.

But only Bishop Maya gasped in alarm and urged loudly without hesitation, "Kill him now, immediately!"

Before her words had even finished, she saw the Aberrant Limb Demon, now missing an arm and slightly decreased in size, suddenly raise its head and let out a furious howl like a wolf.

The next moment, its speed increased manifold —

It did not avoid the wheelchair-bound Aiwass but, as if seeking revenge, launched a thunderous attack on Aiwass, the one who had just inflicted a severe blow on it!