When the art of pastoral care is on the path of consecration, it manifests itself in prayer and sacrifice.

But when this mystical skill is used with the power of transcendent paths, it becomes a ritual-

The ritual circle was once again carved on the ground by Ivus and Lily. But unlike before, this time the eight-pointed star circle did not engrave the name of any of the Nine Pillar Gods, but filled with the name of Ivas and its various variants in different languages.

They prepared a glass of fine wine in the middle of the night and soaked the cinnamon in it. After soaking for half an hour, bring it to a boil over low heat and remove the cinnamon.

After that, Lily put the most important element in.

It was an amethyst carved into an eight-sided dice by Ehuas.

Amethyst is the guardian gem of the transcendent path. Because it balances the incongruous parts of the rituals, and the core skill of transcending the path is the ritual.

The ritual, which was supposed to be almost completed but failed due to a subtle imbalance, was able to take effect normally after being coordinated by the Amethyst...... That is, to increase the tolerance of the ritual.

Shepherding is a taboo, like letting water flow backwards and keeping the flame burning. If you don't use amethyst for balancing, the ritual part of it will fail.

Once the Amethyst Octaedral Dice were inserted, Lily allowed the wine to cool naturally. Wait until the wine has cooled to room temperature and the ceremony can begin.

Lily half-knelt in front of Ivus, who sat on a chair with a backrest, and the chair was placed in the ritual circle.

He put his feet on the ground, and the Shadow Demon spontaneously flowed into Ivus's body. This made Ivus's whole body pale and cold, and a faint black smoke emanated from his body. His eyes were completely filled with black mist, and his hands looked like they were wearing gloves woven with black silk - limbs and seven orifices were the most visible parts of the demon.

"I am your shepherd, and I will keep you from need."

Ivus whispered.

As he spoke, he took out the ritual knife he had used to feed the Shadow Fiend.

He sliced his finger with the blade of a knife and used his bloody index finger to write his first name, including his last name, on Lily's forehead. Lily, on the other hand, looked up at Ivus as if asking for a gift.

After writing down his name, Ivas let the blood flow downward. A slight breath of the Shadow Fiend poured into the blood, making the dripping blood extraordinarily thick and pitch black. There is even a hint of a sour smell like rotten wood.

Lily, on the other hand, bowed her head and held the ceremonial glass of wine in her hands.

Amethyst is a symbol of Dionysus, as well as loyalty and love. It also represents two other qualities of the transcendent path – rebellion and contract.

"Here I give you grace, I give you hope, I give you bliss."

Ivus dripping blood into the wine, and the voice that coincided with the Shadow Fiend declared, "No return." ”

Lily looked up and drank her wine. Hold the eight-sided dice in your mouth.

She then placed the glass at Ivus's feet. Carefully exhale the eight-sided dice in your mouth.

If the ritual is successful, it will only show the number 8, regardless of the probability of throwing the other faces.

8 means infinity and endlessness, cycle and transcendence. At the same time, it is also a holy number that symbolizes the serpent father.

Sure enough, the dice rolled in the wine glass and then lay down. The slanted face was engraved with the number 8, and it appeared to Ivus and Lily lying on the ground. So it looks more like "infinity".

The moment the dice stopped, an infinite black mark suddenly appeared under the feet of Ivus and Lily. Two rings encased him and Lily, respectively.

Aihuath's dark mana flowed wildly, and the Shadow Demon instantly overflowed from Aihuas, flowed onto Lily, and then flowed back again.

After about a few seconds, the amount of black mist on the two of them became balanced as Evas's mana bottomed out.

And Ivus clearly sensed that there was another person at the end of his contract with the Shadow Fiend - Lily's relationship with the Shadow Fiend became extremely close, as if they were half of each other. Lily's authority is on Shadow Fiend, and Shadow Fiend's authority is on herself.

- It's like buying the "Home Edition" of Shadow Fiend yourself, and then sharing its children's rights with Lily.

"The ceremony was a success."

Ivas replied happily.

"About half of the power is gone."

Without waiting for Ivus to ask, Shadow Fiend replied to Chloe's voice and whispered, "But if you give me a little more, you can slowly replenish it......"

"Where's Lily?"

Ivus asked his maid.

Lily lowered her head, feeling the extra shadow aura in her body. Like ink falling into the water, she instantly blurred and dissipated into the material realm. Another moment of condensation came back like a step back in time.

She raised her head, and her tone was full of joy: "My relationship with the shadow has suddenly become so intimate! I feel like I can sneak into the shadows now! ”

"Of course."

Shadow Fiend's voice became a little stern for some reason: "You are half a Shadow Fiend now, but all the skills that Shadow Fiend possess need to be practiced from scratch. But if you can fully exert your power, you will be like a shadow demon with a physical body...... Don't live up to your master's gifts. ”

In fact, the Shadow Fiend was also surprised by the mystery of this pastoral method. It's just that in front of Ivus and Lily, it doesn't want to make too much of a fuss. So it was surprised, but it took it for granted.

After the ritual was established, there was a mysterious and strong bond between Shadow Fiend and Lily.

It had thought that Ivus had only taken away a portion of its power, and that it would need to replenish it after Lily had exhausted it. But it wasn't—a more appropriate metaphor would be that it used half of its strength to add a racial talent to Lily.

In a sense, they have a kinship with each other—some kind of connection that is closer than the possession of demons.

…… It's like a mom.

Lily vaguely felt like this, and the shadow fiend, who had been a little scared before, became intimate now.

Even vaguely, she could sense the thoughts and thoughts of the Shadow Fiend.

Right now, for example, Shadow Fiend is a little confused about the power of the shepherding method.

So Lily said to the Shadow Fiend intimately, "I feel as if I can carry your existence too......"

Lily said, and pressed a finger lightly against Ivus's shadow.

Immediately afterward, the Shadow Fiend flowed from the shadow cast by the finger into Lily's shadow, where it was safely hidden. Even more stable than under Ivus's shadow - at least not the kind of situation where Ivus was motionless and his shadow was shaking.

"Really?"

Ivus was a little surprised.

"It can't be too far, and it can't be too long."

Shadow Fiend's voice came from beneath Lily, "And I feel like I can't use my full power when I'm here with Lily......"

"You can do an experiment first. You go out with Lily to see where you can go and how much power you can use. ”

Ivas said, getting up from his chair, "I'll pack up the house first." If you see Oswald, you can tell him the good news that Yulia is healing. ”

At this moment, his shadow finally did not tremble. It's as if you've reverted to normal.

Lily nodded, and left silently with the Shadow Fiend.

After the Shadow Fiend left, Ivas whispered, "I finally feel the touch of the cashmere carpet again......

This was the first time since Ivus had recovered the memories of his previous life that he had stood and walked normally.

When he usually walks on his feet, no matter what ground he walks on, he will feel that he is stepping on some kind of elastic soft ground. In fact, it was the body of the Shadow Fiend.

The feeling of Shadow Fiend stepping on it is like rubber with a slightly soft texture.

The advantage is that Ivas can run normally on rough roads, perhaps even in swamps or sand. The downside is that it's really uncomfortable to step on.

It's even vaguely sticky...... It's like half a bottle of Coke sprinkled on the rubber floor.

This is because Eivus wore the cloth shoes of the clergy, not leather shoes or boots. At least not too clingy.

Ivus sighed and began to expertly clean up the ritual.

He had cleaned up the ceremonial arena three times in a row this night...... Ivas is even thinking about it now, why not make a basement or something like a room that no one goes to and transform it into a ritual room? Of course, my bedroom is definitely not good, it smells too much.

Now Ivas could faintly smell a bloody smell like killing chickens. He didn't even know where the smell came from, because the room had been exposed to blood too many times in one night. Even the floor may have been soaked in blood.

If you spray luminol reagent, Ivus's bedroom will probably light up like a slaughterhouse.

When the Shadow Fiend returns, let it roam the ground and corrupt the blood.

…… It's inexplicably as subtle as letting a puppy dispose of dropped food scraps.

In order not to wake Yulia, Ivus moved very lightly. He quickly cleaned up the ceremonial arena, and a shadow sped through the ground, submerging into his own shadow.

After a while, Lily also came back to give a debriefing.

"The farthest you should be able to get to Master Edward's room, and if you go farther, you will automatically go back. But when Miss Shadow Fiend is with me, she can only spread five or six steps outward. ”

Slave-parent router, right? Ivus complained inwardly.

And, why is it a young lady?

Is it because of Chloe's voice that she recognizes the shadow demon with no fixed body and gender as a woman?

Forget it, it doesn't matter. Ivas didn't bother to correct Lily.

"If you can get to Edward...... That means a radius of about fifty meters, and Lily's five or six steps are only about three meters......"

Eivus muttered under his breath.

With a radius of three meters, then in fact, the Shadow Demon can play a protective role at most, and it can't exert much destructive power. But on the flip side, you can also use this trait to get Shadow Fiend to follow Lily outside to find her way.

Because without the "Venue Card: Shadow Cellar", the Shadow Fiend will be restricted.

It can only appear on the shadow of Ivas itself, and the attached shadow cannot be entered. Otherwise, if it's at night, it can go anywhere.

For example, when Ivus is standing under a corner, Shadow Fiend cannot move through the shadows cast by the corner; When Ivus is in the company of others, it is unable to enter the shadows of others.

That's why Shadow Fiend is like a mushroom blanket, expanding the shadow realm to directly expand the size of Aihuas's shadow.

But now Lily can also be used as a temporary carrier for Shadow Fiend.

If you can have a three-meter radius, like the technique that Ivus used in the ritual before, basically Lily can also use it.

In a sense, this is equivalent to increasing Lily's attack ability in disguise!

And Ivas also realized that this has one of the biggest benefits-

"Let Lily raise her hand."

Ivus said to the Shadow Fiend in his heart.

He wanted to do an experiment.

Sure enough, after about two seconds or so, Lily raised her hand somewhat inexplicably.

Aihuas's eyes lit up, and it really worked!

If Shadow Fiend is his contractor, Lily is Shadow Fiend's contractor...... Then Ivas can now use Shadow Fiend as a transit station without even opening his mouth, and directly give precise orders to Lily remotely!

Outwardly, it's like telepathy with a slight delay. Or rather......

That's the squad voice!

Thank you to the alliance leader who fed the black eyes~Thank you, boss~

(End of chapter)