Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"Master Eliza!"

Suddenly a young girl appeared behind Eliza and called out to her. "Did you see—"

"Yeah. it's him, alright," Eliza confirmed Layla's hunch before the latter could even confide it in her. "The question is– what does he plan to do?"

Layla sighed before speaking further. "Even after dealing with him for so many years in Anfang, we still don't know much about him, do we? Makes me wonder if he is an incarnation of some Immortal?" Layla wondered out loud.

"Even an incarnation can't do what he has done in Anfang," Eliza commented while patting the head of the dragon baby playing in her arms. "And no Immortal would try to turn others of his kind against them by doing something as crazy as what he had done and said just now."

Eliza then gave the newly born dragon into Layla's hands while speaking up. "In any case, we can somewhat guess what he is up to by checking out what he has kept in Menaka's Market for his followers."

"Aaah. I was so lost in thoughts that I forgot to check that," Layla slapped her forehead before quickly accessing the Spectral Screen of the Menaka's Blessing. Since she was a homunculus, there were certain restrictions placed on Layla regarding the use of Menaka's Blessing. Thankfully, she was still able to access Menaka's Market.

Layla soon found a new section within Menaka's Market named Tools of Liberation. It was created by Eren under the title of True Inheritor of Elder Ichor. This section had several products available for people to buy.

Layla quickly started going through these Tools of Liberation one by one.

[Fiend Transformation Potion: Initiates a fiend transformation within the user. Users can harness demonic energies without the need for Faustian Contracts, ensuring compatibility with their natural talents and elemental mana type.

The fiend transformation allows users to seamlessly shift between their standard forms and the altered forms triggered by the transformation. The transformation will be instant and always controlled by the user's will.

Facilitated by the Mesh, this transformation unlocks an additional Skill Tree tailored to the specific altered form. While the fiend transformation enhances body stats and increases mana efficiency, a fixed amount of mana points is consumed to activate the transformation each time. There will be no mana consumption for undoing the transformation.

Users are advised to exercise caution – the fiend transformation permanently alters the user's state of being, transforming them into corrupted life forms. Both their bodies and souls undergo corruption, rendering the faith energy generated by such fiends incompatible with the divine and demonic factions.

Thus, users will be unable to unlock divine or demonic Skill Trees. The existing Blessings from their patron Immortals would cease to work on them. Any additional buffs caused by the Immortals' influence would also be nullified.

Potions are available in limited quantities, exclusively in Maneka's Market.

Can only be used by Children of Creation.

A single potion per Menaka's Blessing User.

Buyout price: 1000 Menaka's Runes.]

"This, Master Eliza... have you seen it?"

Layla's voice trembled as she confronted Eliza, her shock evident. The product description Eren had listed under the dedicated section called "Tools of Liberation" within Menaka's Market had left her astounded.

Layla and Eliza, well aware of the fiends created by Eren for the Lazarus Project, understood the implications of these potions. By creating and distributing these potions to the masses, he was going to swindle the number of worshippers of all the faiths across both factions.

After all, those who used the fiend transformation potion wouldn't be able to keep their faith. They would be forced out by their respective organizations permanently. It meant that joining the Elder Ichor faction was a one-way street.

The users would be able to wield the intent-driven magic in their own way, skipping the brokers. They wouldn't have to sign Faustian Contracts with the seven Demon Princes or seventy-

two Ars Goetia Demons. The inability to still be privy to have faith in Immortals was the cost of skipping Faustian Contracts– skipping these so-called brokers.

The purchasing price of the potion was neither too cheap nor too expensive considering the kind of benefits it offered. It made it so that most regular buyers would be able to buy this potion. The purchasing limit of one unit per user would prohibit the rich entities from hoarding the potions to some extent, allowing Eren to spread these potions among the masses.

"I have indeed read it," Eliza confirmed, nodding.

"Eren effectively utilized the fiend creation process he crafted in Anfang. It seems that he has managed to synthesize its effects into a potion.

This potion is going to shake the foundation of this world because of how revolutionary it is. The manufacturing of this potion makes that guy one hell of an Array Expert, top-tier Potioneer, exceptional researcher, competitive developer, and talented seller in one go. I guess we underestimated the time and effort he had spent in Anfang to sharpen his fangs before coming here.

I remember what his fiends were able to do in Anfang at the time of the Lazarus Project. The adaptability of those fiends impressed even me.

Even then I knew that this transformation had a lot of untapped potential. While I expected him to transform some of his subordinates into fiends, I never imagined it would be on such a global scale," Eliza expressed how impressed she was by Eren's move. After all, not even a year had passed since Eren's arrival in the city.

'Is he a better Potioneer than I? I… I have to find out. Maybe— maybe I can reproduce his stuff.'

Clasping her fists, Layla decided to invest. Opting for the buyout, she spent a substantial sum of 1000 Menaka's Runes to secure the last available potion. The moment she completed the purchase, the potion was marked as sold out.

Checking her Inventory, Layla discovered a new entry. Uncorking the vial, she inhaled the potion's scent and scrutinized its contents using her Spiritual Sense.

"Layla dear, don't try to reverse engineer it," Eliza warned, anticipating Layla's intentions. "Eren is cautious, and I'm sure he has implemented safety measures to prevent duplication. I know how he works and why he might dare to sell such potions here.

Trying to mess with his products could backfire, possibly injuring yourself."

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AN: Fiend transformation was mentioned in chapters 1138, 1496, 1497, and 1499.