The Shepherds Are Dense

Chapter 143. Great Sin Card: Butterfly of Paradoxical Flame

Upon touching the crimson crystal, a vertical deep-red magical array instantly formed, twice Aiwass’s size. The crystal, barely half the array’s radius, saw its silver sealing runes dissolve instantly. Instead of spilling blood, it crumbled, its cracks giving way.As the crystal shattered, the array surged through the sleeping Yulia, manifesting behind her. In the blank center of the dark red array, a complex crimson butterfly pattern emerged, as if drawn from her body. A black circular seal branded itself over the butterfly.

Aiwass instinctively scooped Yulia up with one arm, his other hand maintaining the array’s vertical alignment. The array began collapsing from its outer edges, shrinking circle by circle until only a man-sized crimson ring remained, its butterfly pattern pulsing like a heartbeat.

The ring contracted to a point, snapping Aiwass from the vision. The crimson chain retracted into his body. The butterfly ring, once a vision, now hovered between them, palm-sized and horizontal to the ground.

Two new tarot cards materialized, one above and one below the ring, connected by red electric arcs, drawing them together like magnets.

The card, once depicting a child on a white horse basking in golden sunlight, holding a victory flag, now showed a swirling, radiant golden sun. Two cherubs flanked it, raising hands in praise, with zodiac shadows circling the sun’s golden flames.

The , once a saint bound and hung upside-down from a tree, serene despite pain with a halo above, was now blue-green, balancing the ’s gold. One foot was bound by a serpent to an Ankh cross dangling from the sun, the other pierced by a holy nail. Below his head, a giant serpent coiled in a lightless abyss. His freed hands, also nailed, stretched toward the lower corners, forming a sacred arrow pointing to the sky’s sun, glowing with divine light from three holy nails.

As the cards formed and drew closer, flames poured from Yulia into the butterfly array. When the cards fused, a dazzling brilliance erupted.

Yulia’s hollow eyes snapped open, as if waking from a dream. She tried to speak but, drained of strength, fell into a faint. Lily caught her, checking her pulse and temperature—both normal.

Joyfully, Lily nodded at Aiwass.

She restrained a cheer to avoid disrupting the ritual.

“A miracle…” the shadow demon murmured. “A complete Great Sin Ritual!”

Having witnessed it, the demon felt it might be losing its mind. Where had its master learned this profane ritual to seal an upper demon? And it worked…

Would it be next? The shadow demon pondered nervously.

The fused card, now a translucent crimson crystal with a black-outlined butterfly, seemed alive, fluttering before settling in front of Aiwass. He touched it, inscribing his name.

Its attributes appeared:

Great Sin: Butterfly of Paradoxical Flame (Sun, Hanged Man)

Level: 28 (Juvenile)

Devotion Path, Fire Attribute

This was Aiwass’s first Great Sin Beast. As expected, the Butterfly’s level was low, its temperament mild. Juvenile demons’ personalities mirrored their hosts, sharing experiences and memories. In a way, it was another sister to Aiwass—or an alternate Yulia.

This explained the ritual’s ease. Normally, demons required near-death weakening to seal, and Aiwass had prepared contingencies, but none were needed. The “Poké Ball” caught it effortlessly.

No wonder, in the original timeline, the Butterfly, even after consuming Yulia’s soul, remained restrained against players—a hallmark of a Devotion Path demon.

The card revealed two uses:

Upright Summon: Flame Butterflies

- Cost: Fire 5

- Maintenance: Fire 5 per minute per butterfly

- Instant, Summon, Echo

- Effect: Summons a unique flame butterfly, treated as a summon. It auto-tracks a target, exploding with blast/heat/healing/purification effects, scaling with the Butterfly’s level. If dispersed, it revives at its origin; can be dismissed and resummoned nearby.

Reverse Summon: Butterfly of Paradoxical Flame

- Cost: Fire 5

- Maintenance: Fire 5 per day

- Action, Summon, Recast

- Effect: Summons the Sloth-Beast Butterfly to fight, treated as a summon. In non-combat, it becomes flame butterflies in follow mode. Only one Great Sin Beast can exist at a time.

- Effect: Reuse to command rebirth or self-detonation.

This was Aiwass’s first card with Echo (unlimited daily uses with identical effects) and Recast (reusable for different effects). The and aspects allowed one use each.

Aiwass could summon varied flame butterflies for attacks—blast, heat, healing, or purification—effectively a scalable, area-effect skill. At five mana per butterfly, these instant-cast spells allowed him to summon seven or eight for a devastating burst. Plus, he gained ranged healing, a rarity even for priests.

Summoning the Butterfly itself was possible, but at third-tier without card enhancements, its combat power was likely modest. It needed “dog food” to grow—namely, Aiwass’s flesh.

The shadow demon could wait a bit; Aiwass needed to feed it too, or he couldn’t seal it later. Both butterflies were summons, eligible for card buffs.

The Enchanted Card: Shadow Blade required a weapon, unusable by the weaponless Butterfly now, but future weapon-wielding beasts could benefit by stacking cards. The Spell Card: Shadow Cloak could free the Butterfly from control and grant invisibility if needed, though its rebirth/self-detonation ability might render this redundant.

Reverse summons typically had an instant field or aura effect, but as a juvenile, the Butterfly lacked one.

Aiwass, out of mana, couldn’t summon it yet. Tomorrow, he’d test it, feeding spare light mana to the shadow demon for its ritual efforts.

But first…

“I’ll use Illumination to heal Yuli,” Aiwass said, smiling gently at Yulia in Lily’s arms, her temperature normal, hair soft. He felt a lump in his throat, eyes misty.

Lily whispered, “Is Miss Yulia free of the demon now?”

“Yes,” Aiwass replied softly. “Her fate is hers alone now.”

Saying it, he felt dazed. Memories of their years together flooded back, his nose stinging, eyes watering. The tangible sense of altering fate gripped him, thrilling yet calming.

Yulia’s destiny had changed.

What he’d feared and planned for was, in execution, so simple, so swift.

Saving someone he loved felt profoundly good.

A realization hit him clearly:

(Chapter End)