When the plot-skips players into the game world

After confirming that Sherlock wasn't coming, Aiwass got into the carriage alone.

"Mr. Norbert, to Cat Claw Street, No. 33."

Aiwass said to the coachman.

"Oh, young master, you're too kind... I'm no 'Mr.'..."

The coachman, both fearful and delighted, responded: "You actually... someone of your stature could even remember my name..."

This coachman, seemingly in his forties, naturally belonged to the Vandom Family.

Aiwass often visited the Vandom Family as a guest and as "Miss Annie's illegitimate child," and had become familiar with the servants.

Even though he was an illegitimate child, he was now Avalon's Crown Prince and the former Pope of the Holy Nation! A genuine big figure, more prestigious than the 'Benevolent Lords.' Addressing him as 'young master' even seemed like a respectful diminution.

Yet, he was not arrogant or temperamental; instead, he was so kind and gentle...

Coachman Norbert recalled the first time he met Mr. Aiwass; he kindly cured his old problem of leg pain.

It was completely different from the priests who merely touched the patients; just by taking a glance at him, a warm flow surged into his body out of nowhere. Not only was the leg pain instantly healed, but even his common pains like backache, shoulder pain ceased. His vision even cleared up entirely.

His leg muscles grew, the bulging stomach receded, and the thick neck slimmed down.

In that moment, Norbert realized... the feeling of having a healthy body.

He had long gotten used to that sickly body, not knowing that it was already a decaying one.

...like an Iris Flower.

The Son of the Moon controlled officials and wealthy people. Big figures employed assassins among themselves. Walking down the street, wallets could disappear at any moment; if one were out with a child, the child could vanish if not closely monitored. Keeping items in the house wasn't safe; even a safe was completely unsafe. Jewelry placed in a bank could be stolen, and banks wouldn't compensate. If a child ran away from home or returned late from work, they could be captured by the Son of the Moon and turned into a Blood Slave...

If Aiwass didn't speak with him, Norbert wouldn't have realized this was considered a pathological state.

He thought this was life.

And over these few days, from Aiwass and Isabel, he learned of the suffering of other countries' people—

He only recently learned that in the Parthian Ancient Country, people really starved to death; he had just learned that even for a mere opera or printed novel, Avalon's censorship involved months-long scrutiny, and a careless remark offending the Royal Family's Glory could land someone in prison; during the most chaotic times in Star Antimony, even police and military were unemployed; the noble Count of Moon's Son would print counterfeit money to lure talents, leading to a scenario where the entire city's circulating currency turned fake...

"—It's simply unbelievable, young master!"

Norbert could only exclaim this in awe.

He felt himself becoming like a machine that could only say this one sentence.

Yet Aiwass would merely laugh heartily, enthusiastically narrating fresh stories.

Today, however, Aiwass seemed to have some concerns, speaking little.

"Are you troubled by something?" Norbert asked with concern.

"No, nothing," Aiwass shook his head, glancing beside him.

—This morning, when Aiwass left his house, he suddenly felt uneasy.

He became alert immediately.

Without a doubt, there couldn't be any issue with Aiwass's health.

Therefore, if this feeling persists, there would be two possibilities—either someone was cursing him strongly, intercepted solely by his Transcendent trait: the Soul of Dissolution.

Or someone was persistently watching him with ill intent from the shadows.

Aiwass had no perception of anyone around. Even though positions like Great Sin Scholar and Illuminator aren't particularly specialized in enhanced sensory attributes, he felt no premonition of impending danger. Instead, his body sensed discomfort...

If it were the latter, a significant issue was at hand.

Like the mind saying that glass of water is drinkable, but the body oddly feels discomfort merely looking at it—the drink would directly be rejected upon consumption.

The intent to kill was concealed, what they refer to as "concealing the celestial mechanism"—unperceivable killing intent, unnoticeable danger. Even predicting the future or using astrology might only reflect "everything normal."

If this were the case, there would likely be only one reason.

——The one staring at me is an Assassin Master of the Fifth Power Level.

Even after I got into the carriage, they kept staring... Do they want to assassinate me?

But... why? I've never offended the Hawkeye Organization; I'm even beneficial to them. Given Hawkeye's reluctance to cause trouble, they'd never dare to assassinate Aiwass again, as that could only lead to catastrophic disaster.

But who cares.

The stealth abilities of Hawkeye Assassins were stolen from the Shadow Demon. At times like this, it's enough to summon Vinesse.

But that might be a bit too loud—Aiwass's current routine summoning is the Holy Sword Clarent at his waist, switching would be a hassle... after all, the little raven is somewhat ostentatious. Besides, when Vinesse appears, it causes a blood rain as well as an outburst of intense Fallen Power...

Not to alert the enemy, Aiwass chose another way.

——That is Advanced Divine Art.

Aiwass directly summoned the boss, this Pillar God on the Path of Adaptation.

No matter how powerful your stealth ability is, it's useless against me, because I've gone directly to your boss!

The true top of the top, the best of the best!

Aiwass didn't chat with the driver because there was another person here—the Lord of Scalefeather appearing in the form of a hallucination, sitting opposite Aiwass in his vision, engaged in conversation.

"——Assassin Master?"

Aiwass asked inwardly, "What does he want with me?"

The Lord of Scalefeather, dressed in a black suit and black gloves, with a nebula for a head, let out a hearty laugh: "Who told you to kill their genius granddaughter? At twenty-four, she had reached the peak of the Fourth Power Level, her desire and knowledge met the requirements, only the promotion ceremony was left to reach the Fifth Power Level and become an Assassin Master—a genius girl who was skinned alive by you.

"Now, the Cherioux, an assassin family with over two hundred years of heritage, is officially extinct."

"...Croix?"

Aiwass quickly recalled the name. The beautiful girl with caramel-colored hair and a voice like a sweet, arcane magic blade streamer.

His memory wasn't the best, but that female assassin whose voice and appearance were taken by the Shadow Demon left too deep an impression on Aiwass.

Especially when she suddenly followed the Shadow Demon hiding in the shadow beneath Aiwass's wheelchair.

At the time, Aiwass was almost caught off guard.

Back then, Aiwass wasn't in full control of the Shadow Demon. The Shadow Demon was evidently enraged by this behavior—Shadow Stealth was originally an ability stolen from the Shadow Demon for the Path of Adaptation, and now she was getting up close and personal with the Shadow Demon. This behavior was clearly seen as a provocation by the Shadow Demon.

It's like a plagiarized novel author's comments section suddenly has a message saying, "You didn't write this part well, go read such-and-such book; it's written better than yours," only to find out it's the one that plagiarized their work.

At that time, Aiwass merely shot to drive her away, never truly confronting her. Strictly speaking, she came looking for death herself, and ended up being automatically skinned by the Shadow Demon. This really had nothing to do with Aiwass; Aiwass didn't even know she was so strong—on the verge of the Fifth Power Level at twenty-four?

"No," Aiwass clearly felt it was a bit baffling, "They were almost extinct, yet still sent their granddaughter out on missions? A young genius of the Fourth Power Level was out doing special missions abroad instead of being honored at home?"

"Gaining credentials, you see. After all, once promoted, she becomes an Assassin Master... But the upgrade was too fast, leaving her without credentials. She officially executed missions for only three years before reaching the Assassin Master level, and she was the current Assassin Master's granddaughter, who would be convinced by that."

The Lord of Scalefeather said cheerfully: "But actually, her mission was only to 'distribute "Dracula," and promote the harm of the Son of the Moon'. At most, also to 'find the location of the Red-Handled Sword'.

"The task given by the one called Bone Sculptor was actually already completed. When she returned to the Iris Flower with this task, it could be turned into 'roots-level extermination of the Son of the Moon and his potential allies in a neighboring country'. It was just because you shot the young lady once that she refused to accept and came looking for you at night."

"I knew it, promoting too fast can easily lead to the sin of arrogance... So, her grandfather came looking for me?"

Aiwass sighed: "I knew this day would come."

"If you ask me, you really should let the Little Shadow Demon out. Let it take the form of his granddaughter, speak in her voice... Maybe reciting some last words before death. Perhaps it could stir up a second stage transformation."

The Lord of Scalefeather said maliciously: "Wouldn't you want to see? An unpredictable stage of fate... I'm quite inclined to watch."

"This... This might be too much."

Aiwass was instantly horrified: "That would be utterly wicked!"

The boss's sense of dark humor is too strong!

——Wait, are you really a righteous god?

Why do you sound like a great evil god who fears the world isn't chaotic enough?