[Gift Game: Biter of Light and Shadow]
[Participants: All members of Perseus]
[Game Leader: Lamia Draculea]
[Participant Defeat Condition: When one’s shadow is devoured by the Shadow Beasts and one loses their shadow.]
[Participant Victory Condition: Locate the Game Leader or eliminate all Shadow Beasts.]
[By victory and glory, the Game is established.]
Laius stared silently at the parchment in his hands, his expression shifting between dark and pale.
Then a cold sneer crept across his face.
“So it’s the remnants of the vampire clan, is it?”
He understood now why Perseus had been targeted.
It was because of that piece of merchandise he’d purchased — Leticia Draculea.
The former Little Garden Knight, the full-authority Floor Master, queen of the vampire clan and head of House Draculea.
The remnants had come to rescue Leticia.
“But if this is all it is…
even without the Authority of Medusa, we can still win.”
Laius let out a breath of relief.
At least it wasn’t the kind of Demon Lord that had destroyed Arcadia — the kind that even Canary, known as Little Garden’s greatest strategist, and Kasukabe Kōmei, the strongest human, had been powerless against.
Against something like that, he might as well lie down and wait for death.
But against Lamia?
He could still struggle.
At least there was still a chance.
After all, he came from a hero’s bloodline.
Waste of space though he was, his upbringing and training kicked in, and he quickly forced himself to calm down.
“So the key to this game is shadows, then?”
Laius fell into thought, searching for a way to break the game.
At the same time, his hands moved without pause, retrieving Perseus’s inherited Gifts from his Gift Card.
The Helm of Hades.
The Winged Sandals of Hermes.
The sickle-sword that had cut off the Star Spirit’s head.
And most crucially, the Bronze Shield — the one thing that could defend against the Authority of Medusa’s effects.
If the Demon Lord tried to use the Authority of Medusa against him, he could block it with the Bronze Shield and reflect the petrification back at her.
Suddenly, a smile spread across Laius’s face.
He’d thought of the key to victory.
Lamia, is it?
I’ll make you my plaything!!”
Laius covered his face and laughed.
The next instant, his figure vanished, reappearing outside the castle, looking down at his subordinates.
Seeing them panicking over the Demon Lord’s attack — legs shaking, some frozen in fear — Laius couldn’t help but sneer.
“What’s with those faces?
It’s just a Demon Lord’s game!
I’ve already figured out how to beat it!!”
On the other side, Ryo and Lamia emerged from the shadows in the room and exchanged glances.
“What was he laughing about?”
“No idea.
Maybe the shock broke him.”
Lamia shook her head.
She had no clue what had suddenly possessed Laius.
“Whatever.
Let’s find Perseus’s treasure vault.”
Ryo shrugged.
Spending time in the shadows still felt a little uncomfortable.
But that didn’t matter.
From what they could sense, the members of Perseus had either hidden themselves or gathered outside to try to break the Demon Lord’s game.
For the moment, the castle interior was nearly empty — allowing Ryo and Lamia to wander about at their leisure.
“Gotta hand it to Thousand Eyes.
They even marked where the vault is.”
“No wonder people still buy their intel despite the price.”
“Lord Chief, what’s the plan?”
Hearing the confidence in Laius’s voice, the soldiers below felt a flicker of hope.
“The defeat condition is having your shadow devoured, right?
So all we have to do is go invisible — no shadow, nothing to devour!!”
Laius declared, grandly and obnoxiously.
One of Perseus’s biggest businesses was selling Gifts.
And their best-selling items were replicas of Hermes’s Winged Sandals and Hades’s Helm.
Practically everyone had one.
With Hades’s Helm equipped, they could vanish from sight, then turn on the lights and search for the Demon Lord’s hiding place.
If it was all about shadows, then surely the enemy would fear the light?
The soldiers thought it over, saw the logic, and donned their invisibility helms one by one.
In an instant, the entire compound blazed as bright as day.
Occasionally, objects would float through the air with no visible person carrying them, adding an extra layer of eeriness to the atmosphere.
“But where exactly will they go?”
Laius narrowed his eyes.
The estate was massive.
If the enemy truly intended to hide, even the entire Perseus community would struggle to find them.
But if you worked backward from their goal, their destination was obvious.
Leticia Draculea — the auction item Perseus had purchased.
Her contract documents were now stored in the Perseus vault.
“So they’re in the vault, then?”
Laius activated his helm and vanished.
The helm he wore was the original, passed down from his ancestor Perseus — none of the flaws of the replicas.
It granted true invisibility, not mere camouflage.
Even a three-digit being might overlook him without paying close attention.
This time, he was careful.
Soon, before the vault’s great door, Laius spotted the two thieves in black cloaks.
Ryo and Lamia were puzzling over how to pry open the door.
Perseus still had some depth after all — the vault door wasn’t something they could crack in a hurry.
“Filthy thieves!
I’ve found you!!”
“Your Gift Game is already broken!!”
Laius’s arrogant voice came from behind them.
Ryo paused, turned to look at Laius, and a wicked grin spread across his face.
“Perfect timing.
Now come here and open your vault for us.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Laius’s body moved on its own.
He walked to the vault door and opened it himself.
“Wait…
didn’t I already break the game?”
Laius questioned reality itself.
“The game ended the moment you went invisible, you know.”
Lamia smiled brightly, patiently answering Laius’s confusion.