“[Weeping Angel]. No one knows its exact origin; it is suspected to be a flawed avatar discarded by some ancient existence. The exact number of these entities is unknown, and each one takes the form of an angel weeping with its face covered by its hands.”
Shade knew that the Doctor was informing him of exactly what this relic was.
“In its normal state, a [Weeping Angel] is an indestructible statue. However, once the gaze of two or more different living beings falls upon it, the relic is officially activated. A [Weeping Angel] that has begun to move will release the hands covering its face. In this state, any creature that sees its face will be petrified; any creature that touches it will vanish completely from the material world; and any flesh-and-blood body that attempts to stop it will be devoured and assimilated into a new angel.
The [Weeping Angel] is essentially a type of high-dimensional creature. This creature harbors immense malice toward the lives of the mortal realm; once it begins to move, all mortals in the vicinity become targets. Means of attempting to depict the image of a [Weeping Angel], such as text or images, will give birth to new [Weeping Angels]. Mortals who know the appearance of a Weeping Angel become breeding grounds for the birth of new ones. Unstable, aberrant souls are its favorite prey; it loves to seize such souls and occupy the bodies they inhabit. It is not a benevolent angel, but a malevolent one.”
The Doctor spoke rapidly, knowing exactly how dangerous this thing was
“It can also be considered a unique kind of angel, and therefore harbors even greater malice toward demons and those who use demonic power. Currently, the only way to make a [Weeping Angel] return to dormancy is—”
The demon did not let the Doctor finish providing this information; it turned its head to look at the grey stone statue. Amidst the snowflakes fluttering in the winter night, the hands covering the “Weeping Angel’s” face trembled and began to move downward.
【Close your eyes.】
A voice sounded in his ear almost instantly. Shade immediately understood that even he could not look directly at this strange relic.
But closing his eyes tightly meant that the human body's most important sensory organ had ceased to function. In the darkness, he heard the sound of the statue sliding across the floor, the demon's loud laughter, and the Doctor's cursing.
The Doctor and the demon seemed to have already begun their clash. Crackling sounds echoed through the wind, and then he heard the door at the top of the stairs collapse with a crash.
“Detective, that statue has me pinned! Go after the demon first! We can't let this statue get downstairs!”
The Doctor's anxious voice reached his ears. Under “her” direction, Shade turned around and opened his eyes. A massive shadow was looming over him; it appeared to be Doctor Schneider in the form of the Pus of Man
“Doctor, catch up as soon as you can. I can only hold this fellow off temporarily.”
Having said that, he grabbed his violin case and ran toward the stairwell where the iron door had been smashed open. Black blood remained on the ground; although the demon had successfully escaped from the Doctor's grasp, it had already been wounded.
Shade blinked. “Blood Echo” clearly guided him, showing a bright red trajectory of moving blood, and he immediately gave chase. While preparing his spell components, he made his way down the stairs from the top floor to the second floor. He circled the second-floor corridor, even brushing past a Church Ring-Warlock, before finally seeing the demon enter the backstage area of the second floor's main concert hall.
At this moment, the performance in front of the stage had already begun. Although the waiting area was still lit, a few scattered people were all lying collapsed in black mud on the floor. The black mud covered the walls and the floor, used to block the perception of the Ring-Warlocks. The demon, its eyes glowing with a scarlet light, stood before a row of chairs in the waiting area. Its right hand, flowing with black sludge, clutched its left shoulder; it no longer wished to flee
“How interesting. What benefits did your demon companion give you? I'll offer double; come help me.”
Shade entered the room, paying no mind to the door closing automatically behind him.
Dropping a silence charm, he coldly placed the violin case at his feet and drew the Moonlight Greatsword from the air. The holy moonlight caused the demon to feel an instinctive discomfort; it could sense just how ancient this moonlight was
“Not long ago on the roof, I saw another moon, but he was not as pure as you.”
As soon as Shade heard this, he knew that before he and the Doctor had gone upstairs, Sir Prishia, the “Moon of Guidance,” had met this demon. He also knew the demon was inducing him to keep questioning, but Shade was well aware that engaging in unnecessary conversation with a demon would only lead him deeper into a trap.
Just as the resonant sound of the French horn blared from the concert stage one wall away, Shade's left hand had already thrown a crashing Thunder Spear.
The demon laughed loudly, transforming into a cloud of black mist to dodge. It circled the ceiling, exploding into tens of thousands of tiny black air currents
“I am the demon of proliferating desire. As long as human desire does not perish, I shall not vanish. Oh human, even if you have gained the favor of [Desire], how can you possibly contend with me!”
The black air currents, like tens of thousands of steel needles, stabbed densely toward Shade on the ground
“Hitton Sigil!”
As the Moonlight Greatsword pierced the ground, a golden shield erupted around Shade. Scattering golden light continuously crushed the black cyclones. While the gold and black were entwined, the Moonlight Greatsword was raised forward
“Moonlight!”
Brilliant moonlight exploded within the room. The demon, already wounded by the counterattack of the “Hitton Sigil,” was hit by the moonlight at close range, and at least a third of the black cyclones vanished into the air.
But its manic laughter still echoed in the room
“So it's you, the fellow from the Three Cats Inn! I'll kill you, then wait for your demon companion to find this place. Both of your souls shall belong to me! Oh, I won't forget—you have two female companions as well.”
Shade's expression darkened slightly, and the black mud flowing on the ground “came to life,” with writhing, transforming tentacles spreading across the entire room almost instantly. The circling black mist refused to approach Shade, but Shade did not fear this terrifying scene
“Felianna's Witchlight!”
The golden light melted the black mud tentacles attempting to entwine Shade. Maintaining his spell, Shade took a step forward and, in the next second, appeared directly in front of the black mist in the air.
The “Moonlight Greatsword” combined with the “Blade of Distorted Space-Time”; two shining greatswords pierced into the black mist simultaneously. However, Shade did not feel that he had hit his target; instead, a fist extending from the black mist struck him squarely in the chest. With a loud *boom*, he was sent flying back, leaving cracks in the floor before barely managing to stand up from the black sludge.
The black mist and the sludge were merging. With a series of *pop pop pop* explosions, all the gas lamps in the room were extinguished.
Feeling a tightness in his chest and privately guessing he had broken several ribs, Shade raised his sword. He saw several humanoid black figures emerging from the mud
“Clones?”
Shade asked softly, standing beside his violin case. The demon's voice seemed to be everywhere in the dim room
“By devouring desire and souls, I possess their power. Even in the distant ancient eras, someone like you would have been qualified to be called a hero. I cannot wait to taste your soul!”
Black mud holding a sword, black mud drawing a bow, black mud raising a staff, black mud lifting a gun, black mud riding a horse—five figures emerged from the black mist and launched a charge at Shade.
Still feeling the pain in his chest, Shade swung his sword to meet them. After the first moonlight slash tested the strength of the five opponents, six figures became entwined in the pitch-black room.
Only the [Moonlight Greatsword] in Shade's hand continued to glow, leaving trails of brilliant light and shadow in the dark interior.
The demon's voice was incessant; it tried to corrupt Shade's soul, only to find it unexpectedly steadfast; it tried to persuade him to throw himself into its embrace, but received only Shade's indifference.
Taking advantage of the moment Shade was entangled by the summoned desires, the rotating black mist suddenly plummeted from above his head, enveloping him entirely.
The black mist attempted to enter his body through his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, seeking to manipulate his body just as it had manipulated the old musician.
But the moment the black mist touched Shade's skin, burning crimson embers suddenly erupted across the surface of his skin
“This demon can be burned too!”
Shade was startled; the sparks of the First Fire almost immediately clung to the cloud of black mist. The demon's manic laughter finally turned into a scream. Having intended to lure the demon into approaching him, Shade reached down with his left hand, grabbed the violin case, and hurled it into the black mist.
The sparks of the First Fire were quickly extinguished by the demon. Facing the flying “case,” it cautiously knocked it away.
The wooden case exploded in mid-air. Shade, still fighting the black mud, took a step and leaped into the air. Amidst the wreckage of the exploded wooden case, on the surface of a glowing silver sword, the runes for 【My heart is clear, the sword slays the demon】 flashed with a bright yellow light. Using “Ragley's Leap” to reach the air, Shade kicked forward with his right foot. The [Night Watchman], radiating brilliant silver light, shot out like a flying arrow and struck the nearby demon directly in the dark room.
With the sharpest scream heard thus far, the five black mud figures on the ground dissolved back into disgusting sludge. Driven by immense kinetic energy, the Night Watchman pierced the demon's main body within the black mist, pinning it to the wall. Immediately after, the Great Sin chains flew from Shade's sleeve, firmly binding the black mass pierced by the [Night Watchman].
“You liar, you're a Demon Hunter!”
The demon, speaking with the power of a curse, cursed out the name of a specialized profession originating from the Dark Age of the Third Era. Shade tightened the pitch-black chains in his hand and waved his hand toward the window; the spell [Move Object] pulled open the tightly closed curtains.
The moonlight was hazy on the snowy night, and the light entering through the window illuminated the links of [Gluttony], [Greed], and [Sloth].
Shade was very worried about the Doctor's current situation—that was, after all, a Sage-level relic—but he was more concerned about another matter
“Before we met you, what did you say to Lagins Prishia?”
PS: This demon is currently heavily injured, which is why Shade was able to gain the upper hand.
(End of Chapter)