Inside a nutrient tank filled with pale green liquid.
A silver-haired woman in a black dress curled up like an infant.
Both Puck and Emilia stared in shock at the silver-haired woman before them.
Because the woman floating in the tank was Echidna.
Or rather, Echidna's corpse.
"How... Echidna is already dead..."
Puck's expression shifted rapidly:
"The connection remains unbroken, yet this is unmistakably Echidna's body. What's going on?"
Lacus stood nearby, seemingly disinclined to explain.
Instead, Luo Shu chuckled mockingly:
"Not just any trick can fool an Apostle."
While Nak, the Apostle of Night residing within Lana, hadn't seen through Echidna's scheme, Echidna clearly lacked the capability to perform any sleight of hand under Nak's watchful gaze—like sending a fake version of herself to battle.
Moreover, Echidna needed to deceive not only Nak but also Hao Asakura, who was observing from outside.
Attempting tricks under the surveillance of two Apostles? Echidna didn't possess that level of skill.
Therefore, the Echidna who participated in the battle was indeed her original body.
And she had truly been shot in the head by La Folia's curse bullet.
But who said being shot in the head necessarily means death?
"Spirit transformation."
Lacus casually revealed Echidna's method of escape.
"It's highly likely that before attacking the Hidden Management Department's garrison, Echidna successfully separated her soul from her body and partially transformed her soul into a vengeful spirit."
"Though the exact method remains unclear, she indeed survived as a vengeful spirit. Utilising their ability to traverse the gaps of the Abyss, she escaped the Hidden Management Department and assaulted the Onmyou Agency."
"The cost was losing her physical form and becoming an emotionally extreme vengeful spirit."
"To go to such lengths..."
Emilia's expression grew unusually complex upon hearing Echidna's actions.
She couldn't comprehend why Echidna would willingly abandon her human body and existence to become a vengeful spirit.
All for the sake of stealing the pureblood demon contained by the Onmyou Agency to advance to Demigod Rank.
Was it truly worth it?
Such relentless pursuit of power was beyond Emilia's understanding.
"Perhaps becoming a vengeful spirit was part of Echidna's advancement ritual?"
Puck speculated uncertainly. He refused to believe Echidna's transformation was purely out of desperation – there must be deeper schemes at play:
"Could it be she wasn't following the Witch Class path after all, but another route?"
From Puck's knowledge, the Desire Faction of Truth Astronomy only possessed one known method for Demigod advancement.
That being the Witch Class, pioneered by Aya Tokoyogi.
Using pureblood demons as primary material, the esoteric knowledge of True Hell as its core, combined with Aya Tokoyogi's own wisdom.
Since its creation, the Witch Class had been categorised as a High Tier Class – an exceptionally versatile path within the Demigod Rank, particularly advantageous for women.
Therefore, most members of the Desire Faction follow the Witch Class, making it essentially a faction of witches.
Apart from the witch system, Truth Astronomy primarily possesses Common Classes inherited from True Hell, with hardly any High Tier Classes—those that exist are treated as core secrets by major factions.
As a Sin Witch of the Desire Faction, Echidna clearly had no chance to obtain those core inheritances.
Under such circumstances, she actually chose to become a vengeful spirit...
Could Echidna's true Class be something related to vengeful spirits, a special Class superior to the Witch Class?
To make such a great sacrifice... could it be a Top Tier Class?
Just as Puck's expression shifted, Luo Shu and Lacus stood chatting casually before Echidna's corpse.
"Are you planning to use the corpse and Puck's contract to track Echidna?"
"At the moment, that seems like the best approach."
Lacus frowned slightly as she continued:
"Though I'm not entirely sure it'll work. Nia's Raziel did detect the existence of the Tome of Wisdom, but she also made it clear that, as she is now, she can't suppress the other party's anti-divination measures."
"Nia can't suppress her?" Luo Shu found this troublesome.
After reaching Demigod rank, he had indeed begun to feel that Nia Honjo's Raziel was falling behind the times.
Not to mention the recent ambush by the Apostle of the Night, Nak—Raziel provided no useful intelligence on that.
Even after Luo Shu's own promotion to Demigod, he had noticed the limitations of Raziel's manifestation.
Simply put, there were too many things capable of blocking Raziel's probing.
At the Demigod level, methods to interfere with divination and conceal personal information were practically standard—just a slight manipulation of Concepts could achieve it.
Higher-tier Demigods specialising in information-based abilities, or Apostles wielding Authority Embryos, could even detect Raziel's probing and trace its source.
This was precisely why Nia Honjo had sought Luo Shu's protection in the past.
Her reckless probing into classified information had earned her the enmity of many Apostles in True Hell.
Though Echidna wasn't a Demigod—merely a Hero Rank—the Tome of Wisdom still granted her means to resist Nia Honjo's investigations.
Considering this, Luo Shu sighed slightly:
"Well, in that case, if we want to find Echidna, we'll first need to figure out a way to strengthen Nia's abilities."
Listening to their conversation, Emilia, her face full of worry, finally couldn't hold back:
"Mr Luo Shu, aren't you concerned about Echidna potentially becoming a Demigod in the vengeful spirit domain?"
"Huh?"
Luo Shu blinked, turning to look at Emilia. Seeing her anxious expression, he couldn't help but smile:
"Concerned? Well, not particularly, I suppose."
Choosing his words carefully, he replied as gently as possible:
"To you, Emilia, Echidna may seem like a dangerously insane witch. If she successfully advanced to Demigod, she could indeed cause significant harm. And since there are no recorded instances of a Demigod being killed, things could become quite troublesome."
"However, while I've never killed a Demigod before, I did just slay an Apostle not long ago."
At Luo Shu's words, Emilia froze, her face gradually turning increasingly red.
Demigods are dangerous, but I've killed Apostles?
This... this...
In an instant, Emilia suddenly understood why Luo Shu had remained so calm about Echidna potentially becoming a Demigod in the field of vengeful spirits.
If he could slay even stronger Apostles, wouldn't a mere Demigod be easier to handle?
The only real challenge was finding the hidden Echidna.
And Luo Shu's earlier frustration seemed precisely about locating Echidna.
So in that sense, Luo Shu had indeed been focusing on serious matters just now!
"Apologies, Mr Luo Shu, I shouldn't have underestimated your capabilities..."
Before Emilia could finish her apology, Luo Shu suddenly smiled and said:
"However, Emilia, you've reminded me of something important - becoming a Demigod is indeed significant."
After careful consideration, Luo Shu continued:
"It's about time we tried helping Nia become a Demigod!"