Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"Aqua. My demon beast!"

Eren nodded in agreement with Rodrick's realization before continuing forward.

"That's right. Summoners are glass cannons. But demon beast owners would find it convenient to have such a class. They would always have their beasts to count on, no matter if they are battling solo or in a team. Their companion can support them until they get high enough in their class."

Eren said and remembered the animated spell Rodrick had executed in his battle against Altashhia. He started pacing in the room with his snakes in tow before speaking further.

"What's more? Rodrick's demon beast can take flight. That means he'd always have an option to retreat.

With the Summoner class, he can just keep a safe distance from his enemies and overwhelm them using his summons without facing any consequences. His demon beast also has a few long-range attacks.

The wyvern basically nullifies all the drawbacks of being a summoner. It'd be a shame not to take advantage of it.

Don't worry too much about regressing in rank. It will only get complicated when you break through to Adept rank. Ace rank is still nothing. You still have time.

Plus, I'm sure that you would take enough precautions while changing your class to minimize the recovery period. You'd have royal means at your disposal. Use them. Who would if you didn't?"

Eren said casually. Rodrick pondered with his head down for a bit before coming to a decision.

"You are right, Eren. I'll… I'll fucking do it. To hell with everything else.

Thanks, man. It's not like I didn't consult my problem with high ranking entities. But for some reason, I couldn't make a decision. Because their suggestions didn't click with me. Yours did. It's like you know what it takes to be a berserker and also know what it takes to abandon that all of a sudden.

Just wait for a few days. Your copy of the transcendent-grade spell will be delivered to you after I clear it up with my people. You have my word."

Rodrick stood abruptly from his seat and started talking while walking in Eren's direction. The latter nodded before shaking the soon-to-be-ex berserker's hand.

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"So this is Aqua. Rodrick, she gives off an extremely intense aura."

Eren said after looking at Rodrick's demon beast. He saw that the wyvern was a full-grown demon beast that looked intimidating. Aqua was the same size and had the same features as the animated spell Rodrick had displayed during the battle. But the real deal was leagues apart from the fake.

Eren, Altashia, and Rodrick had come outside of the city to fetch their demon beast. The city walls could still faintly be seen in the distance. Rodrick's demon beast was the closest in the area. The butcher had also had a suspicion that Rodrick had found a way to sneak his demon beast inside the city's protective layer. But he didn't ask.

"Of course, she looks intimidating. She's an epic tier after all. Where's yours?"

Rodrick asked while stroking his demon beast's long neck that was wrapped around his body like a snake's embrace. The wyvern was making guttural sounds to indicate that she liked it.

Screeeeeeeeech!

Before Eren could answer his beast's whereabouts, a sharp eagle cry resounded in the surroundings. Aqua raised her head at the sky and growled when she heard the screech.

A black shadow that was far up in the sky soon started taking shape before Argo's features were revealed. The beast landed right in front of Eren in the next moment while generating a gush of wind.

"A gryphon? That's… rare. Even rarer than a wyvern I'd say. How did you tame him?"

Rodrick asked while trying to calm Aqua down. Eren explained to him the answer he had already prepared while petting his demon beast. Altashia on the other hand was waiting with her demon beast for Eren to wrap up his conversation with the royal.

Argo wanted to challenge Aqua for a duel. But the butcher forced him to drop the idea since he was barely half the size of the wyvern. Eren and Altashia had decided that they would ride their beasts for some time. Then find a colt service in a nearby city when their beasts get tired.

Rodrick was also going to part ways with them here. Before experiencing a life-altering change, he had so much to do.

The three demon beast tamers got onto their respective mounts soon after discussing some more. Rodrick smiled at Eren before saying his parting words.

"I'll come to meet you someday after I change my class. Crash at your place for a few days, wherever that is. Will that be alright?"

Eren didn't understand what Rodrick meant by hosting him for a few days. But he needed the guy to give him his copy of the transcendent-grade spell. So he nodded at him nonetheless.

"Excellent. Good luck with your newly-founded guild, my friend. We'll fight again after my class changes, Miss Altashia. Hopefully, I'll make it interesting for you at that time. Hahaha!"

Rodrick patted his demon beast as he spoke. Aqua released a draconic roar at Argo before flapping her wings. The royal paranoid soon disappeared from the duo's eyes. Eren could see a few shadows in the distance following him in his direction from the ground.

Eren and Altashia soon left the place too. The butcher never stopped flirting with the scythe queen the whole way.

Amid those flirtatious talks, Eren also kept on thinking about summoning, animated spells, necromancy, and their links with the revival techniques. Rodrick's dilemma about his path had made the butcher see his problems in a different light.

Eren had been studying some of the half-destroyed research papers of his own on the sidelines. But since they were incoherent due to the poor state they were in, he couldn't make sense of them for the most part.

By sheer coincidence, the same research papers had suddenly started to make sense to him when he got busy solving someone else's problems.

What about the source of those half-destroyed research papers? They were obtained by the butcher from a place that had it's geo-coordinates encrypted into the array disk. It was given to him by Lin Karr.

Eren decided that he needed to do some experiments of his own on this subject. After all, he was tasked with reviving a Sage. He wouldn't want to be in the dark when the time comes.

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"Haah! We finally have time to talk."

Layla appeared in front of Eren when he was back in his room inside the army base. Her features were still the same. She had worn a simple grey dress adorned with white floral details. The young witch had gotten rid of her witch hat for a change. She had worn spectacles this time, giving her a nerdy look.

"Indeed. I'm so busy these days, you see."

Eren said casually while checking the mission his team was assigned for the week on his spectral screen. The young witch twitched her nose before commenting in a sarcastic tone.

"Busy getting in girls' pants, you mean. Hmph! But it's not like you are willing to change your ways. So I might as well accept the leecher that you are and carry on with our plan."

Layla sighed. She then adjusted her specs and took out a few scrolls from her storage. She laid them open on the only work desk the room had before verbally marched on.

"I have done everything Master Eliza had asked me. All these days, I have been gathering information about the things she needs to revive herself. Master is also okay with it after I consulted with her. Now it's our job to get those things as soon as we can."

Layla said and slammed her open palms on the table to grab Eren's attention.

"I call this… the Lazarus Project!"

AN: The description of animated spells that we had to read through a few chapters back can be linked with the Summoner class's information. The advantages, as well as disadvantages Eren has faced so far after using the animated spells, foreshadow everything that has been said in these last few chapters.

Because Summoner is a very special class, its details have been extensively discussed. The chapter's name is special too. Without spoiling too much, a shout out to Ash*** and Hil**. ;)

VEH will have a mass release after this upload. Stay tuned. ;)