The Shepherds Are Dense

Chapter 155. Aiwass: Show Me Ch 155. Aiwass: Show Me

The moment he saw Aiwass, the leader froze.He’d considered an ambush, but never imagined it would come from Aiwass himself—the man who should’ve been wheelchair-bound or deep in a cursed sleep!

At this close range, his senses were unmistakable:

…What?

Was this even Aiwass?

Shock, wariness, confusion—his mind raced through possibilities, weighing whether to strike, curse, or flee.

His instinct was to use Nightmare Phantom to control this “Aiwass” and buy time, but he hadn’t brought it. Like a seasoned gunman reaching for an empty holster in a crisis, he hesitated.

Brayden’s freshly summoned demon hound, however, didn’t pause. It lunged at Aiwass with ferocious abandon, joined by the second hound, fading due to its master’s death.

These weren’t true dogs but demons mimicking canine form and behavior, standing a meter tall even when crouched. Their crude, rusted metal armor had sharp edges, and their grotesque heads burned with inner flames, reeking of rotting corpses. Beneath the armor wasn’t flesh but human remains—decaying meat animated by a cursed soul.

The fading flayer demon, its master dead, stood still, arms crossed, sneering silently at the leader. Its high intelligence had already foreseen the outcome.

Facing the hounds’ savage charge, Aiwass didn’t dodge.

A month ago, at the Pelican Bar, he’d have dreaded the second boss, “Hound” Shell. Unlike Big Purple, which he could one-shot with a headshot, demon hounds had no vital points.

Their essence was a weak demonic soul controlling decayed flesh via curses. Low-tier transcendents without soul-targeting abilities had to shatter the armor, expose the meat, or cripple legs and head to disable the “mech” the hound piloted.

Their tenacity and low-tier advantage made them a staple for Noble Red Society’s junior scholars.

But Aiwass was different now.

The butterfly perched on his right middle finger took flight, clearing space.

As the hounds charged, he flipped his right hand, palm outward.

Flames gathered, forming a golden butterfly with red-edged wings.

Its attribute: . It could remove allies’ negative effects, break enemies’ shields, and banish undead.

Though demonic, the hounds were undead in nature.

The butterfly didn’t scatter but exploded in place, its wings unfurling. A radiant golden halo spread outward, passing harmlessly through Aiwass but stopping the hounds mid-air as if they’d hit an invisible wall.

They yelped like struck dogs, crashing onto the lawn, their rusty armor clanging. Golden flames seeped from the armor’s gaps—the curses animating their corpses being dispelled.

Their movements slowed, stiffened, then ceased entirely.

In the fleeting light, the leader spotted the sapphire accessories on Aiwass.

Clearly anti-curse items, likely what woke him from the sleep curse. But they were ordinary sapphires, not transcendent artifacts.

Realizing this, the leader’s fear ebbed.

He pointed at Aiwass, shouting, “Die!”

Invisible cursed energy surged, and blood sprayed from Aiwass as if three unseen blades struck him.

But an impromptu curse could only do so much. He was a demon scholar, not a curse ritualist.

Aiwass swayed slightly but raised his left hand—the same pistol that shot Brayden’s calf.

He didn’t aim at the leader but at Brayden, writhing in pain on the ground, too agonized to counter.

“—Brayden!” the leader shouted, alarmed. “Relax, don’t resist!”

His eyes glowed purple, his right hand shimmering with violet light. His left grabbed at Pero’s charred corpse, transferring three lingering ritual effects to Brayden:

, , .

Transcendent power, drawn from the Dream Realm, acted on the soul, making damage far outstrip durability for most paths. Until the fourth tier’s vitality boost, two-thirds of classes couldn’t withstand basic firearms, necessitating temporary resistance rituals.

Transcendence Path relied on such rituals.

deflected small-caliber rounds like invisible armor. hardened skin against rifle bullets or first-tier melee lances. shielded vulnerable spots like eyes, throat, heart, and head with a light barrier.

These rituals cost three to four red candle coins, took ten minutes total to cast, and lasted an hour. In Lloyd’s Ward, they were standard for public appearances to avoid ambushes.

While summoning demons and waiting for Jim’s curse, the leader and Pero had applied these resistances, never expecting Aiwass—a first-tier Devotion Path user—to fight like a mage, wasting Pero’s protections.

But the leader’s “Ritual Transfer” ability repurposed them onto Brayden.

Relieved as Brayden gained full bullet resistance, the leader relaxed.

“Why didn’t I aim at you?” Aiwass asked softly. “Why am I not rushing?”

He pulled the trigger.

A black line pierced Brayden’s skull, shattering it in a spray of blood. His screams stopped abruptly.

Three-quarters of the four-man, four-demon team were dead in moments.

“Because I wanted to see your blade demon,” Aiwass said, lips curling as he aimed at the leader. “Now the obstacles are gone.

“—Show me, or I’ll kill you.”

(Chapter End)