When the plot-skips players into the game world

The moment the team leader saw Aiwass, he was slightly stunned.

He had considered the possibility of an ambush... However, the last thing the team leader had expected was that the person lying in wait would be Aiwass, who should have either been confined to a wheelchair or deep in sleep due to a curse!

But at this distance, his senses were very clear. There was no mistake.

—Demon Scholar, second energy level.

...What was happening?

Or was it possible that this person wasn't Aiwass at all?

Amazement, wariness, confusion—just in a moment, the team leader's thoughts had raced through countless possibilities. His mind quickly lined up four or five different scenarios, as he rapidly pondered whether to ambush, curse, or retreat.

According to his combat habits, he should have launched a "Nightmare Illusion" to control this "Aiwass" in order to buy time, but he hadn't brought that with him.

It was like a gun expert, reaching for his gun during a crisis only to find he hadn't brought it.

Because of this, the strongest team leader fell into a brief hesitation.

But the Demon Dog that Braden had just summoned didn't pause at all. It lunged fiercely at Aiwass without a trace of fear.

The other Demon Dog, which was dissipating due to its master's death, also joined its companion in the assault on Aiwass.

It wasn't a real dog, but a demon with a dog-like shape and habits—it crouched on the ground, about a meter tall, its body clad in a crude armor of discarded metal. The red, rusted shell was riddled with sharp chinks due to its simple craftsmanship. The Demon Dog's head was fierce and terrifying, its mouth ablaze with flames, its body exuding the stench of a rotting corpse.

The armor was not shielding bones and organs, but a human corpse, decaying flesh.

The Whiplash Demon, which was about to be banished due to being taken out by Aiwass's preemptive strike, remained motionless. It simply crossed its arms over its chest, watching the team leader and the others with a cold laugh, silent.

This highly intelligent demon had already foresaw the outcome of the battle.

Facing the ferocious pounce of the Demon Dog, Aiwass didn't dodge or flee.

If this had been over a month ago, when Aiwass encountered the second boss "Demon Hound" Shell at Pelican Bar, he would have been intensely cautious of it.

After all, the Demon Dog had no vital point to target. It couldn't be taken out with a single headshot like Da Zi by Aiwass.

The Demon Dog was essentially a minor demon capable of using a curse to manipulate rotten flesh, with a soul-like form. The entire body, including the dog's head, was merely the mecha it controlled.

That's why, for low-level Transcendents lacking the ability to counteract souls, to defeat a Demon Dog meant having to smash the iron shell to expose the rotten flesh inside, or break a few dog legs, behead the dog, in short, crippling the dog-driven Gundam of its mobility.

Because of this tenacious vitality, as well as its suppression over the majority of low-level Transcendents, the Demon Dog has become a common Familiar for the junior Demon Scholars of the Noble Red Society.

But for Aiwass now, things were entirely different.

The butterfly that had been resting on his right middle finger flew up, making space.

As the Demon Dog charged towards him, Aiwass merely flipped his right hand outward, palm facing out.

Flames gathered in his palm, transforming into a Flame Butterfly.

This Flame Butterfly was golden, with only the edges showing the red outline of flames.

Its attribute was "dispersion." Its effects included dispersing some of the negative states of allies, dispersing some of the shields of enemies, and dispersing the undead.

Although the Demon Dog was a demon, it was also fundamentally an undead creature.

It didn't scatter, but simply spread its wings on the spot and exploded—

A brilliant golden halo spread out from it as the center, piercing through Aiwass's body without causing any harm. The Demon Dogs, however, seemed to have hit an invisible wall in mid-air, intercepted by the golden light and forcefully slammed back.

They emitted sharp yelps, like dogs being attacked, falling to the grass at the door, the iron armor making a muffled noise.

As the two Demon Dogs tumbled to the ground, wisps of golden fire steamed up from the gaps in their rusty armor.

It was a sign that the curse entwined with the carcasses was being dispersed.

The actions of the Demon Dogs visibly slowed and stiffened, then they fell to the ground motionless.

—Just a single strike had simultaneously taken down both Demon Dogs that had lunged at him the first chance they got!

And in the fleeting light, the team leader finally saw the sapphire ornament that Aiwass was wearing.

Without a doubt, that was an item used to counteract the curse. It likely woke him up previously because of the resistance he mounted against the Sleep Curse.

But it was nothing more than an ordinary sapphire ornament, devoid of any extraordinary traits.

Realizing this, the leader's fear subsided.

He stretched out his hand towards Aiwass and cursed loudly:

"[——Die!]"

As the invisible force of the curse spread, several sprays of blood suddenly burst forth from Aiwass.

It was as if three unseen blades had pierced his body, and blood poured from Aiwass instantaneously.

But a curse cast in haste could only do so much at best. After all, he was no Curse Ritual Magician, but a Demon Scholar.

Aiwass's body merely swayed slightly, and his left hand, previously behind him, was raised once again.

It was a gun, the very one that had earlier pierced through Braden's calf.

Aiwass did not aim at the leader but quietly targeted Braden, who was unable to dodge or even remember to counterattack due to the pain.

"——Braden!"

The leader was suddenly startled and anxiously reminded, "Relax your mind, do not resist!"

Purplish light shone in his pupils, his right hand glowing with a hazy purple radiance, and his left hand reached out forcefully towards the smoking remains of Pero's body!

As the purple light danced thrice on Braden's body, the leader transferred the threefold resistance from Pero's unfinished ritual onto Braden!

——[Bullet Protection], [Minor Piercing Natural Resistance], [Weakness Reinforcement]!

The power of the Path stemmed from the Dream Realm, acting upon the soul. Hence, a Transcendent's lethality was significantly stronger than their resistance, by more than just a notch.

Before reaching the fourth energy level, before the first time their life force was bolstered by the Path's power, at least two-thirds of occupations could not withstand ordinary firearms. That is why every Path had means to temporarily increase one's various resistances.

Transcendence Path's methods were ritual spells.

A standard [Bullet Protection] was sufficient for small-caliber bullets to be deflected by an invisible shield as though one was wearing iron armor. Adding [Minor Piercing Natural Resistance] would enhance the skin so that even rifle bullets could not penetrate it, and it could even withstand attacks from a spear wielded by a first energy level melee Transcendent.

With [Weakness Reinforcement], even if weak points such as the eyes, throat, heart, or skull were attacked, they would merely be blocked by the emergent light shield.

These three rituals were inexpensive and required simple materials.

All three would cost about three to four Red Candle Coins, needing a few minutes for each ritual, adding up to roughly ten minutes, and the effects would last for an hour.

In Lohar District, such rituals were common practice for those who made themselves known, to prevent stealthy gun attacks.

While summoning demons and waiting for his apprentices to cast curses, the leader and the fat Pero had taken the opportunity to endow themselves with resistance.

However, they never imagined that Aiwass, who was merely first energy level and of the Path of Devotion, would attack like a Mage, rendering the resistances on Pero's body completely wasted!

But the leader held the ability to perform "Ritual Transfer." He could transfer the effects of rituals he had cast from one person to another. It was an excellent reuse of waste.

Seeing that Braden had acquired complete bullet resistance, the leader finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do you know why I didn't aim at you?"

Aiwass asked softly, "Do you know why I'm not in a hurry?"

The next moment, he abruptly pulled the trigger.

A dark line pierced through Braden's skull.

His head burst apart, blood splattering everywhere. Braden's cries of agony abruptly ceased.

The squad of Demon Scholars, accompanied by four Demon Dogs, had three-quarters of their number slain by Aiwass upon their first encounter!

"Because I want to see your Blade Demon."

Aiwass's mouth curled slightly upward as he aimed the handgun at the leader: "Now there's no one in the way.

"——Show me, or I'll kill you."