The Squad Leader

Shadow Demon Lord Silvester, harnessing shadow power,

enveloped himself, Vivian, and Molly,

racing through the crevice between reality and shadow

in a manner defying all convention.

In less than half a day,

the three traversed a vast distance,

cutting straight across the long borderlines and defenses

between Demon Clan and human territories.

Deep in human-controlled territory,

near the vital Rhine Holy Church city [Court of Radiance]—

in an abandoned, dimly lit warehouse,

the shadow-shrouded black floor suddenly began to churn

like boiling water.

Then, three blurred black silhouettes rose silently

from the shadowy ground as if surfacing from depths,

swiftly condensing into human forms.

With a crisp pop, the darkness burst like bubbles.

The last traces of active shadow cloaking them dissipated completely.

The three Demon Lords now stood boldly

in the heart of human core territory.

“Huff, huff, huff.

The shadows could only bring us this far.

Ahead lies that false god of Holy Light’s domain—

I cannot proceed further.”

Shadow Demon Lord Silvester panted as the traversal ended.

Clearly, the effort had taxed even him.

The ambient energy had utterly transformed.

The order of human lands, faint Holy Light particles in the air—

all proclaimed their successful breach of border defenses

into the Rhine Holy Church’s core zone.

In under half a day—

a journey that would take Demon Lords nearly a week on foot,

not counting Rhine Holy Church and human defenses and detection arrays along the way.

“Gugu gaga!”

Nearby Demon Lord Wilfred crouched,

cleared his throat,

and awkwardly mimicked a rooster’s crow

to signal continuation.

Such sounds were common in human-populated areas

and wouldn’t raise alarms.

Molly nearby gave a slight hop,

lightly fanning her six wings,

emitting a faintly surprised sound.

“…This is one of my more covert abilities.

I generally avoid using it outside special circumstances—

the risk of exposure is too high.

I hope you two will keep it confidential.”

Still cloaked in shadow, as if wrapped head to toe in black cloth,

Silvester spoke in a slightly weakened tone.

He had clearly understood Molly’s implication.

“Guda wei.”

“Rest assured, we’re Demon Lords of the same camp and front.

We’ll naturally keep your secret.”

Molly and Vivian responded one after another.

Truth be told, Silvester’s ability had somewhat exceeded Vivian’s expectations.

As fellow Demon Lords wielding darkness,

she could sense what he used wasn’t simple shadow magic or high-speed movement—

but an extremely advanced application

between spatial teleportation and planar stealth.

Though both drew from shadow power,

Vivian and Silvester shared similarities

yet subtle essential differences.

Their combat styles were worlds apart.

Vivian’s power was darkness,

but infused with stellar forces from heaven and earth’s natural cycles,

void-born night, primal fear of the dark—

leaning toward grand, natural “phenomena.”

Silvester’s was purer, more extreme—

rooted directly in the [Shadow Plane] itself.

He was shadow incarnate.

In broad daylight, his power would be severely suppressed—

possibly weaker than some mighty demon lords.

But in pure darkness,

the bizarre abilities and threat he could unleash

were incalculable.

Overall, Vivian grew stronger at night

but retained decent power by day.

Shadow Demon Lord Silvester, however,

was bottom-tier among Demon Lords in daylight—

his true strength emerged only in absolute darkness.

“Our current position…

should be less than a day’s journey from [Court of Radiance].”

Vivian sensed her location,

drew a deep breath, and spoke.

Though unsure how Moggs knew Charles was in [Court of Radiance],

the Demon Clan had long infiltrated human intelligence networks.

If he dared plan and arrange this,

it shouldn’t be wrong.

“You two rest first.

We move at night.”

She approached the warehouse’s dilapidated window,

peering cautiously through a crack.

Mid-afternoon—harsh sunlight,

air thick with uncomfortably “pure” Holy Light energy,

like dense poison mist to demons.

She withdrew immediately

and addressed her two colleagues.

“Guga.”

Molly voiced no objection,

lightly settling near Vivian

in a relatively clean spot.

Shadow Demon Lord Silvester shrank into a warehouse corner,

merging completely with the shadows

to recover alone.

Per Decaying Demon Lord Moggs’s arrangement,

Vivian was the [captain] of this three-Demon-Lord squad,

responsible for executing the Demon Clan’s will.

The other two seemed ill-suited to command and coordination—

hence Moggs entrusted the “squad leader” role to Vivian.

Simply put, Shadow Demon Lord Silvester

seemed a bit socially anxious.

Vault Demon Lord Molly’s thinking

was straightforward to a fault.

“Sigh—hope everything goes smoothly.”

Vivian sighed silently in her mind.

Moggs had crafted a detailed plan,

including long-embedded Demon Clan agents in human lands for support.

But much still required the trio’s “improvisation.”

Vivian felt the pressure mounting.

Assassinating the Son of God under the Holy Church’s nose…

the task was truly outrageous.

But not impossible.

Shadow Demon Lord Silvester recovered in the corner.

Vault Demon Lord Molly had already dozed off nearby.

Vivian stroked her chin,

reviewing every detail of Moggs’s plan,

waiting quietly with the other two Demon Lords

for night’s descent.

Time flowed slowly in oppressive silence.

Outside the warehouse, faint sounds of human daily life

only heightened the trio’s venomous, dormant stillness.

When window light turned yellowish,

the last harsh white yielding to gentle dusk,

finally swallowed by deep night—

Vivian slowly opened her eyes.

Her crimson demonic pupils gleamed coldly in the dark.

“Time’s up, you two.”

She spoke softly, rising.