The Shepherds Are Dense-Chapter 14: The Awakened Shadow Demon

### Chapter 14: The Awakened Shadow Demon
Searching Veronica's body had been yielding [A Letter Sent to the Noble Red Society] in a game.
This was a certain drop, a boss item of the succeeding part of the main storyline.
The "someone" who wrote the letter served as a stand-in for the "certain minister" eventually brought into the drama.
Aiwass couldn't remember who this "someone" was or which minister precisely, but having the rough scope was fine.
It was like a professor going over the exam areas ahead of time.
Barring those he had no recollection of and those he was sure it couldn't be, only three were left:
The Finance Minister, the Justice Minister, and the Trade Minister.
All were imposing, more than fifty, friendly, popular, and—when informally dressed—middle-aged, stout men whose middles concealed their shoes. That was Aiwass's impression of the "certain minister."
A stereotypical three-way decision.
One of them was purchased by Star Antimony spies, secretly passing on classified information to them. The other two were innocent ones.
The conduit for this information was the "Noble Red Society.
Supported by Star Antimony, the society sought to destabilize Avalon—a major plot point until version 2.0.
This minister was a true turncoat.
His letters were extremely sensitive, never leaving his body.
With Avalon's burglars galore, losing such a letter to public scrutiny would be capital punishment, regardless of how many lives he had.
If the Inspectorate acquired the letter, it may not matter—particularly if the minister had moles within to quash it.
But with Aiwass, it was different.
He could follow the letter back to the sender and see which of the three was the traitor.
[…My master.]
A low, rumbling, hoarse voice, like a lion stirring from sleep, echoed in Aiwass's ear.
It was the shadow demon below him.
A thin black snake, made of pure shadow, as big around as a girl's arm, slid up his left leg, waist, chest, and wrapped itself around his throat.
Its eyes burned scarlet, hissing with misty black tongue-flicks.
The lion-like voice turned to a serpent hiss:
[What… are you doing?]
"Gutting my own incriminating evidence, as you see," Aiwass replied offhand, unruffled, not looking at the snake around his neck. "And hunting for someone else's."
He concentrated on getting evidence from Veronica's body.
In dealing with demons, one may never display fatigue or fear.
The more you feared them, the more they loathed you.
Here, "demons" in this world weren't mysterious abyss creatures like in other fantasy worlds but a category of Phantom Demon.
Specifically, only those Phantom Demons from the Transcendence Path were referred to as demons. Gradually, this term broadened to encompass evil Phantom Demons from other Paths, dark-tagged ones, or demonic-looking ones.
Phantom Demons were non-corporeal, ageless beings who did not completely die, and were bound to one Path, with self-consciousness and the ability to become more powerful. The majority were created by sucking power from a Path, but some were altered from living creatures.
Aiwass's sister, Yulia, was weak, with almost perpetual fevers—a sign she carried a Phantom Demon seed, and thus could potentially be used as a sacrifice to give birth to it.
Failed Demonologists were also able to become demons through elaborate rituals, and they became Phantom Demons in the process.
These were the two principal ways of becoming a Phantom Demon.
Because orthodox demons originated from the Transcendence Path, they inherited its characteristic: a desire to excel over the powerful and despise the weak, having ambitious, prideful personalities.
Contracted demons acquired hands-on experience through their master's progress on the Transcendence Path, something they were unable to do alone.
Without personal goals, native demons required a master with definite goals to serve.
Where the master demonstrated potential, definite goals, and power—demonstrating determination and capability in the Transcendence Path—demons would not betray him.
If a demon honored its temporary master, it would battle to the death, even in the most desperate of circumstances. Demons did not die with their master, so they had no fear of death. If the master were to live past a hopeless fate, that victory over adversity greatly pleased the demon.
However, if a demon considered its master unclean, feeble, or lost—incapable of bringing "sustenance" through demonstrations of mastery—it would plot to depart.
That made sense, like leaving a bad employment.
But a Demonologist's death was the only means a demon would depart. Therefore, if a demon hated its master, it would take measures to cause their demise. Even though not able to kill the master directly, there were sufficient indirect ways.
Most Demonologists conjured demons who were merely stronger than they were, fearing they could not fulfill a stronger one's hunger.
Aiwass was not afraid.
Demons, to him, were ambitious employees.
Very real.
Some, competent and ambitious, applied to large firms—high-ranking Demonologists. Others, equivalent to answering low-ranking Demonologists, were like startup believers.
Some were too feeble for large firms—lesser or minor demons. Others, without the capital to launch their own firms, joined startups to take the reins later, answering low-ranking Demonologists' calls to overtake them. Some were fooled—applying to a large company but sent to an exhausting subsidiary.
This was akin to a high-rank Demonologist calling down a demon, and binding him to a low-rank one. In Star Antimony, where Transcendence Path was lawful, instructors did this to pupils.
In this same vein, Aiwass's shadow demon belonged to the same category.
Its circumstances were more intricate—Aiwass was the "sacrifice" who deceived it.
The paycheck became CEO.
If the shadow demon was more powerful, Aiwass could give it other demons to transform it into a Great Beast, no longer a demon and not able to betray.
For the time being, he needed to demonstrate his proficiency.
…It was a labor market, after all.
He had to stage something.
Although confined in his wheelchair, the shadow demon lived within his shadow, watching everything.
This was yet another aim of Aiwass's excursion: to show off his cunning, scheming, and prevaricating skills to win the allegiance of this conned "employee" with psychic nourishment.
"So what do you think about me now?" Aiwass inquired indifferently.
The black snake dissolved, re-coalescing as a white black hound.
It nuzzled his leg, and spoke in a low voice.
[Superb, delectable, exceptional…]
Evidently, the shadow demon was satisfied.
The hound spoke slowly, cadenced: [I look forward to your future… our future.]
"—In that case," Aiwass flung his letter aside, "burn it and let's go."
[Heh heh heh…]
The shadow demon laughed richly.
A few seconds later, it replied:
[Your will… Master.]
[I look forward to you calling me next time…]
[I hope to dine on real flesh then.]
The black hound sprang, grabbing the letter, plunging into the swamp-like shadow and disappearing.
The note dissolved like a plastic bag in flames—blackening, withering, wrinkling, shrinking, gone.
Had it bitten something alive, it would have pulled it into the shadow to disintegrate.
This was not Aiwass's level 1 "Shadow Affinity" magic at work—it was the handiwork of the shadow demon.
—It was boasting its "hunting" skill in front of its master.
(End of Chapter)