Durin frowned and fell into thought. Piltover's council system was essentially very similar to the parliamentary system implemented by a certain empire before he transmigrated, also divided into two houses: the upper house for nobles and the lower house for commoners.
Since the establishment of Piltover, the noble house has always had seven positions, neither added nor reduced.
However, here, Piltover's council system had some differences. The only people with the right to pass Piltover's laws were these seven councilors. As for the people in the lower house, they only had the right to observe.
Moreover, one of the seven councilors' positions was reserved for the Piltover University Headmaster. To be precise, only the patriarchs of the six great families participated.
It was conceivable how much fear this Demon had brought to Piltover's upper echelons during this period. Upon hearing that there was a survivor, they were impatient to meet in person.
As Durin was thinking, Vayne, who was standing by Durin's bed, suddenly bent down and sniffed towards Durin's chest, her high nose bridge wiggling slightly, as if smelling Durin's aura.
This startled Durin greatly. He thought Vayne had discovered the Darkin energy within him.
But Vayne did not make any further unusual moves. Instead, she straightened up again and slowly said, "Hmm… the smell of Black Magic on you has disappeared. It seems the Demon's spell on you has completely lost its effect."
"Uh, Black Magic?"
"Yes, you are a Mage Apprentice, you should know better than I. Aside from those magics that sound evil and are harmful to nature, like summoning Demons, summoning skeletons, trying to achieve immortality through magic, or abandoning human flesh to pursue various strange beast bodies—all these spells can actually be categorized as Black Magic. The most important point is that any Black Magic has repercussions, varying in severity, but mostly tending to deplete life."
"But the lethality of Black Magic also far exceeds other magics. Once an ordinary person is hit by Black Magic, they are almost certainly doomed. Although you are a Mage Apprentice, much stronger than ordinary people, being able to survive almost completely unharmed like this can be said to be the greatest luck."
After saying this, Vayne crossed her arms, her expression remaining consistently calm, and she said word by word, "Alright, idle chat time ends here. You haven't forgotten what that Demon said to you when she left, have you?"
"Of course I haven't forgotten," Durin shook his head and replied, "She told me angrily that she had remembered me and would definitely come back for me. What should I do?"
Towards the end, Durin's face naturally showed an expression of helplessness and panic.
This contained both an element of performance and his genuine thoughts.
After all, just thinking about the crushing power of that Demon after she revealed her true form last night made him shiver.
"Hmm… then you need to be careful. You have been completely targeted by this Demon. Since she said she would come back for you, she will definitely do it. And most people targeted by Demons have become mere walking corpses," Vayne said seriously.
"What about the remaining small portion of people?" Durin pressed.
"Of course they survived. They are all master-level existences who forcibly killed the Demon with absolute force, leaving no trace," Vayne replied calmly, "But you are just a Mage Apprentice, not even a formal mage. In Demacia, there are many excellent mages who can single-handedly resist the pursuit of the Soul Hunter Corps, but when facing Demons, they can only become walking corpses."
"…"
Durin fell silent. This time, he was able to escape from the Demon's clutches partly due to Darkin power and partly because Vayne arrived in time.
But what about next time?
If he encountered a Demon again, what should he do?
"Don't worry. Since I have already come to Piltover and there is a Demon here, I will definitely kill her completely before she finds you! But before that, you need to tell me how you encountered this Demon, and how you fought her. In short, tell me everything you know about her."
"Alright." Durin pondered for a moment, then recounted everything to Vayne, from encountering the Demoness's noblewoman incarnation to breaking the illusion, only changing the part where he used Darkin Magic to him relying on a magical item to contend with her.
Vayne fell into contemplation after hearing Durin's words.
"Hmm… a Demon who dislikes close combat, female, skilled in illusion and mental manipulation abilities, with a true form that has four eyes, deep purple skin, and a pair of curved horns extending forward…"
Under her deep red sunglasses, Vayne's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she murmured to herself, then a black leather-bound book suddenly appeared out of thin air in her hand, with the words 'Demonology' written on its spine.
"This is…" Durin was a little curious.
Vayne didn't even look at Durin, simply opening the book and saying, "It's a bestiary of Demons I compiled myself, which teaches people how to better identify or avoid them. If you're interested, you can copy a portion, then return it to me."
Vayne quickly flipped through the pages, making a rustling sound.
"Found it! It turns out to be a subordinate Demon of Pain Embrace—the Heart of Manipulation Demon. The illusion you mentioned is a special technique called Demon Vision, a unique space woven by her as a medium. Unless one's mental strength is sufficiently powerful, or there are similar psychological suggestions, once a normal person enters, it is extremely difficult to escape. It seems your magical item that helps you resist illusions is quite reliable."
Vayne closed the book in her hand and earnestly instructed Durin, "Remember, I cannot protect you 24 hours a day, so when you truly face the Mad Heart of Manipulation Demon again, all you can do is maintain absolute rationality and wait for my support, understand?"
"Uh…" What else could Durin say? He could only nod helplessly, "Understood."
"Don't make that face, I don't intend to use you as cannon fodder."
Vayne's tone shifted from her previous low voice, speaking with a slight ease, "How about this, I can teach you a method to train your will and spirit, but this method will be quite painful, similar to repeatedly tearing your soul to extract it, but the longer you persist, the greater the gain. In this process, your soul and willpower will become more profound and steadfast."
"Oh? Master Vayne, I want to learn!" Durin's eyes immediately lit up. He didn't want to encounter such a situation of being mentally controlled again in the future! However, he then cautiously added, "And the tuition is… how much?"
"No charge."
Vayne scoffed, looked up at the wall clock, stood up from her chair, and instructed Durin, "Time is almost up. Pack your things and prepare to be discharged. A carriage will be waiting for you at the hospital entrance this afternoon to take you to the Council Tower. As for the method of training mental strength, I will tell you after the Council meeting concludes this afternoon."
Watching Vayne's departing back, Durin couldn't help but fall into thought. He had originally thought he would be treated as a heretic using Black Magic by Vayne and dealt with, but fortunately, Styraatu had fallen into extreme slumber, causing the Darkin energy to completely integrate into the heart within his body.
This allowed Durin to escape a tribulation. To be honest, he sincerely hoped Styraatu would never wake up and would remain in slumber. For Durin, she was a ticking time bomb, liable to explode at any moment.
Durin closed his eyes, and with a slight perception, he discovered a faint trace of Darkin energy lingering in his heart, like a tadpole swimming in the blood vessels around his heart.
Furthermore, this Darkin energy was now moving according to his will.
This was an experience Durin had never had before. Prior to this, every time he used Darkin Magic, it appeared alongside the most extreme emotions.
That kind of Madness, anger, and desire to destroy everything almost completely changed Durin at the time. Now it seems he can control the Darkin energy at will, but this energy is too weak now, so weak that even Vayne cannot detect it.
Durin mused that he would have lunch first, then complete the discharge procedures, and then head to the Council Tower in the afternoon.
However, before that, shouldn't he add the two specialty points and skill specialization points in the character card system? He felt extremely unsafe now, as if the Demoness could come knocking at any moment.
Only by quickly strengthening himself could Durin regain a sense of security.
Thinking of this, Durin opened the character card system.
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