When the plot-skips players into the game world

Four Demon Scholars, three Demons—apart from the Whiplash Demon which hadn't participated in the fight and was naturally dispelled, Aiwass received all the remaining experience points.

Although it was not of the same "quality" as the Aberrant Limb Demon and that Miss Assassin, the "quantity" had sufficiently compensated. Together, these experience points amounted to one hundred forty... Aiwass's experience reserves officially exceeded 500 points.

Since his natural leveling speed currently matched perfectly with the cooldown for advancement, Aiwass had no need to use experience points to supplement his level. After all, levels obtained through experience were hollow as they lacked the corresponding knowledge, despite the Path level increasing.

Once his Energy Level increased further, and the leveling speed slowed down, Aiwass would be able to use the experience to make up for the time.

After all, he needed to evenly advance along two Paths, otherwise, the Nurturing Skill would not be usable. Whereas Isabel and Lily were both on single Paths. Although Sherlock was on dual Paths, his Authority was no longer increasing, so it was effectively like being on a single Path.

Their talents were strong, and they advanced very quickly.

Aiwass's reserve of free experience was there to make up for that time.

The Defiant Flame Butterfly returned to its following state, transforming into an ordinary-looking Flame Butterfly and landing on Aiwass's shoulder.

Aiwass gently touched her wings. The fiery wings that should have been scorching instead felt like warm silk upon his touch. It was as if he was feeling the warmth of someone's skin through a silk nightgown.

"You're quite clever, aren't you..."

I won't need to command you anymore.

Aiwass spoke softly as he took an apple, red as if dripping blood, from his pocket to take a bite, then offered it to the Defiant Flame Butterfly for her to sip.

After the team leader's death, the ongoing Curse on him had ended. But the damage that had been done still lingered.

Having taken just a bite of the apple, the wounds on Aiwass's body that were bleeding profusely began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye.

The Blade Demon with the iron helmet could take on all sorts of mechanics, which was truly remarkable—after all, it would have died long ago had it been any more fragile. It was incredibly tough.

If it had been a Hook Demon, it probably would have been killed before it could even finish spewing out the first round of "Guiding Flame Stream."

Of course, if it had been a Hook Demon, it likely would have dodged...

The Blade Demon was all about brute force—obviously, it had gotten used to bullying others with its hardness. It just didn't expect the Defiant Flame Butterfly's damage to be so high.

What surprised Aiwass even more was that the Defiant Flame Butterfly's battle IQ was not low at all.

Even without having fought before, her actions were flawless.

At first, when she used the force of "Guiding Flame Stream" to forcefully repel the Blade Demon, Aiwass thought it was a coincidence. Therefore, when she later used "Butterfly Worship Fire" to heal herself on the spot, Aiwass was somewhat worried that she might be killed by the Blade Demon in one stroke because she was focused on healing.

Being a mass of flames, the Defiant Flame Butterfly was immune to paralysis. "Butterfly Worship Fire" was a second phase that would only be triggered when the Defiant Flame Butterfly's life was critical—when it fell below one-third of its health.

"Butterfly Worship Fire" was a self-healing method available to the Defiant Flame Butterfly at level fifty. In that resting state, the Defiant Flame Butterfly would continuously regain health. If attacked slowly, she would fully recover, but if attacked hastily, she might trigger a counterattack.

If handled correctly, she would enter the third phase after the weakened phase ended—that being the skill "Fire Meteor," where she turns into a meteor and charges wildly across the field.

In that state, the Defiant Flame Butterfly would target the enemy with the lowest percentage of health, dashing three times successively and leaving behind scorching traces. If she missed three times in a row, she would enter a weakened state; if she hit at least one person, she would charge three more times until she missed three times consecutively.

This meant that the Blade Demon had reduced the Defiant Flame Butterfly to half health in one stroke.

At that moment, Aiwass was taken aback—worried that, after initiating "Butterfly Worship Fire," the Defiant Flame Butterfly would be finished with one stroke from the Blade Demon. At that time, Aiwass was already pondering whether to detonate the Defiant Flame Butterfly immediately.

But the Defiant Flame Butterfly's fighting IQ turned out to be quite good.

She didn't reactively go on a rampage after being attacked, but instead on her own initiative ended "Butterfly Worship Fire," using the explosive force of the flames to create a strong knockback effect that interrupted the Blade Demon's attack, sending it flying away.

Taking advantage of the Blade Demon not yet landing, the Defiant Flame Butterfly didn't waste words and directly launched "Doomsday Ray."

That was an AOE with three rays for each remaining wing.

Because if "Butterfly Worship Fire" were not interrupted, she would automatically recover health, players usually wouldn't destroy all four wings, but rather only two to provoke an active rage—six rays with two wings, sweeping across the field in a circle.

This damage could also be dodged. With decent enough movement, one would likely get hit at most twice.

The rage with two wings generally wouldn't be lethal unless it was closely followed up on.

The Defiant Flame Butterfly's Doomsday Ray was focused with precision directly onto the Blade Demon, making the Blade Demon endure twelve sweeping strikes!

Even after taking the full brunt of the attack, it was left with just a sliver of health. Truly impressive.

It was worthy of a demon bearing the Mark of Sin.

Although it didn't have any special abilities, it was really tough, and its damage was also quite high. It nearly took the Defiant Flame Butterfly out in a single blow.

—But their deaths were of value!

After all, the Defiant Flame Butterfly was not a Great Beast existing in the game, and Aiwass didn't know how much of its capabilities as a boss template would remain after becoming his summoned beast. However, with these people as targets, Aiwass got a clear understanding of just how powerful the Defiant Flame Butterfly was.

After being fed once with the Shepherd's Nurturing Skill, the Defiant Flame Butterfly's level was now 30, just on the brink of entering the fourth Energy Level.

The Blade Demon's level usually would be 29. The Defiant Flame Butterfly was somewhat frail, but there was definitely no issue with its damage.

At the right moment, just initiate "Doomsday Ray" for an explosive burst—if it hits half the time. it could instantly kill a fourth-level Transcendent. In that case, the daily maintenance cost of just five mana points was a sheer steal.

Moreover, the Defiant Flame Butterfly's "Fire Meteor" no longer needed near-death conditions to be used.

If it could be used at full health, Aiwass could also have it charge right after landing, followed by self-detonation. That was another way to use it.

Although Aiwass had only used two kinds of regular Flame Butterflies, he had a rough idea now.

It wasn't especially high, but at least it was not a loss either.

The power of the High-Temperature Flame Butterfly was about equivalent to a Mage with two levels of fire affinity, using a spell that consumed five points of fire-attribute mana; and the effect of the Dispel Flame Butterfly was roughly similar to a Priest using five points of fire-attribute mana to cast a dispel on the undead.

The numbers were quite normal, but the mechanics were very strong—four effects to choose from on summoning, and because it was instant, there was no need to draw a card.

The downside was that the butterflies flew way too slowly, at a pace like they were taking a stroll, and they could be intercepted and triggered to explode by others.

The upside was that they could fly for a full minute and could even make turns. Compared to spells of the same rank, their approach was remarkably subtle, and they wouldn't trigger a Transcendent's premonition of danger until just before they were about to explode.

Furthermore, the Flame Butterfly could be released instantly, homing in on the enemy automatically, which spared Aiwass the extra trouble. It could also be recalled temporarily; if Aiwass had the energy to manually control it, he could prevent its premature detonation—if it was about to be wrongly triggered by the enemy, Aiwass could recall it back to his side at any moment.

It was truly a skill that had transcended through two versions.

Aiwass was very satisfied.

"See that, Shadow Demon?"

Aiwass spoke half in bragging, half as a warning, "Little Butterfly is very strong, isn't it?"

"Very strong. Although it's still in its larval stage, it's already strong..."

The Shadow Demon beneath him only then emerged, responding in a melancholic tone with Croix's honey-like voice, "After a bit more growth, it won't even need me, will it?"

"That won't do. We are partners, after all. How could I leave you behind?"

Aiwass said cheerfully, tucking the accompanying form of the Defiant Flame Butterfly into his sleeve, "Look, it's our turn to fight together next, isn't it?"

Then Aiwass turned and ordered, "Lily, go clean up the rituals; Shadow Demon, leave your scent in the house. The noise from the earlier fight was quite significant, we need to prepare to make an escape—"

"To what extent should I leave it?"

The Shadow Demon didn't throw the tantrum it had suggested, instead asking very seriously.

Aiwass didn't respond directly, but told a story, "Aleister always lurked in the shadows, following the four of them to Roning Street No. 14. Seeing me using my trump cards to defeat them all, he stealthily moved into the house. As I let my guard down and used the Rite of Fire to heal myself, he suddenly attacked, took me down and captured me—something to that extent."

"Understood," the Shadow Demon replied, "Give me two minutes."

Although Aiwass's request was elaborate, it was at least very precise.

"I'll give you three minutes."

Aiwass leaned on the doorway, tilting his head slightly and said with a light chuckle, "Take care, Shadow Demon."