He became the White-Haired Evil God after wearing the Seven Curses Rings.

As night deepened, in a corner of the Dome Academy, a shadow quietly emerged, coalescing into a human shape in the air.

"Hmm... I'm finally back from that awful place. It really took me a lot of effort to gain the trust of the Shadow World..."

Neferi landed on the ground from the air, her steps so steady that she made no sound.

She looked at her still tender little hands and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"Is it still the same? Oh well, let it be."

After saying that, she raised her head and gazed at the long-lost bright moon.

Since returning to the Dome Academy with Ivy last time, Neferi has been secretly researching the Shadow World.

The Shadow World was originally the exclusive property of the Shadow Department, and was mainly explored and developed by Vesparo, the former Shadow Department teacher.

Apart from this, no other faction of teachers and students knew of the existence of the Shadow World.

Even if they knew, they wouldn't be able to infiltrate because they weren't proficient in shadow-based abilities.

As a result, Vesparo died suddenly and mysteriously, leaving a huge vacancy in the leadership of the Shadow faction, which caused considerable chaos within the faction at the time.

This includes losing control of the shadow world.

Taking advantage of this opening, Neferi directly infiltrated the Shadow World, attempting to gain control of it all by herself.

But the Shadow World had a rather strange temperament; for so long, its attitude toward Neferi had been a mix of yes and no.

However, Nafili couldn't pinpoint exactly what was wrong, so she could only keep trying and failing in the dark and shadowy world, which is why it's dragged on until today.

Although she finally gained the approval of the Shadow World, so much time had passed that she had no idea how many opportunities she had missed.

When she came out again, she almost didn't recognize that she was in the Dome Academy.

Not only had the layout changed drastically, but she had also never seen some of the novel buildings before, and had no idea what their purpose was.

This sense of unfamiliarity made her wonder if she had been living in the shadows for decades.

"Well... why bother with these things? They're not really my concern anyway. I'd rather use that time to experiment with what the Shadow World does."

As she spoke, a shadow beneath Neferi's feet suddenly began to twist.

Guided by her, the writhing shadow crawled onto her arm and finally spat out a pure black dagger from her palm.

[Shadow Godhood]

This black dagger was entirely pure black, and under the moonlight it did not reflect any light at all; only its outermost outline could be roughly seen.

Neferi examined the dagger, her eyes filled with curiosity.

"One of the treasures stored in the Shadow World, the Shadow Godhead. I didn't expect it to be taken out so easily. That old bastard Vesparo is really useless. He didn't even notice something so important when he was about to die. In that case, hand it over to me."

After saying that, Neferi put the black dagger back into her waistband.

"But I think it's more appropriate for me to handle this."

A sudden voice came from behind, startling Neferi.

She was about to duck into the shadows to avoid danger when, in the next second, her entire body was lifted up and she was abducted into the air.

"Hmm... If I remember correctly, the only person who can possess such emerald green hair and also have high-level shadow-based abilities is probably the former number one assassin of the Assassination Association."

"Am I right, Miss Neferi... no, I should call you little sister now."

Upon hearing this, Neferi struggled to turn her head and discovered that the person hugging her was a purple-haired girl she had never seen before.

"Uh...who are you? Why can't I sense your presence? And how do you know me...?"

Before she could finish speaking, her mouth was suddenly wrapped tightly with a piece of black cloth three times.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Cecilia. I was one of your juniors. Strictly speaking, this isn't our first meeting, but you just hadn't noticed me before."

"As for the issue of concealing my aura, that's because I'm stronger than you now. You know, the World Tree's trials aren't easy to pass. Besides, there's also some minor technical assistance involved."

As she spoke, Cecilia reached into the shadows around Neferi's waist and pulled out the black dagger she had just used.

"The godhood of shadows, huh? That suits me quite well. Wherever there is light, shadows will appear. But now that we have shadows, what about the light...?"

Cecilia smiled and then put the black dagger into the storage badge on her chest.

"Forget about all that nonsense, let's focus on the present. Little sister Nafili, can you tell me what color burlap sack I like?"

"Ugh...! Ugh!"

"Oh? You don't care about the color? Little Nafiri is such a good girl, so caring about her older sister. In that case, how about I take you home now?"

Cecilia placed her hand on the storage badge, preparing to take out the living creature storage bag, when two figures suddenly broke through the concealment field she had set up.

"Finally found you, you thief who stole the Fate Contract Stone!"

"Stand right there! If you try to run away, I won't hold back!"

As the concealment field dissipated, two men appeared before Cecilia and the others; they were Nemo and Kairos.

Ever since the Fate Contract Stone was stolen, they have been secretly investigating any related clues.

It wasn't until they saw Neferi, whom they hadn't seen in a long time, appear before them that they realized what was happening and pointed their swords at her.

Cecilia looked at Neferi with some confusion as she saw the two who had suddenly appeared.

"You...stole their things?"

"Ugh...! Ugh!"

You're the one who stole their things! I've been in the Shadow World for so long, where would I find the time to steal! This is a disgrace, a disgrace!

"Don't be so shy. Things that involve profit aren't considered stealing. At least I've done it quite a few times."

"Ugh...!"

Get the hell out of here!

Neferi struggled desperately in Cecilia's grasp, but not knowing what the black cloth wrapped around her mouth was, she couldn't utter a single clear syllable.

Just as Neferi was trying to continue struggling and resisting, the shadow around her waist suddenly crept to the ground.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, it spat out a piece of golden crystal from the ground.

……