The roaring pressure of the wind, a shrill spiral, instantly shredded the body of the Dead Apostle, leaving no chance to resist; a Dead Apostle who held hope of challenging the position of "Ancestor" was thus reduced to ash under the attack of the Seven-Jeweled Tree’s close-range Anti-Army Noble Phantasm.

It is said that one’s success and failure stem from the same source; because of Lin Luo, his injuries were healed, and his potential even burst forth, yet it was also because of Lin Luo that he utterly lost his life—a true irony for this Dead Apostle.

As the Dead Apostle vanished, Rei emerged from her weapon form. She appeared visibly strained by the previous attack; as soon as her feet touched the ground, her body swayed slightly, nearly causing her to fall.

“Rei.” Lin Luo rushed to support her, his face etched with concern. “Are you tired?”

“I’m fine, I had plenty of sleep,” Rei replied with a sweet smile.

Hearing this, Lin Luo let out a breath of relief. For Rei, her source of power was sleep; with sufficient rest, she possessed ample vitality. However, in her current state, she could probably only unleash two more ‘East Wind Rings’ at most... Speaking of which, although the East Wind Ring was one of Rei’s major skills, it possessed power nearly equivalent to an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm; it was far stronger than anticipated.

With such combat power, even facing a weaker Ancestor, she could likely retreat unharmed. But... would there even be a weaker Ancestor?

Any Ancestor possessed power bordering on defying the heavens—at least, to the two of him. Lin Luo felt it was best not to encounter such monstrosities. He opened his mouth, about to say something, when a rustling sound emanated from his body. Little ABER had already unbuttoned her clothing and scrambled out of his pocket, looking utterly excited.

“You were amazing! You actually destroyed that big white monster! You protected me perfectly...” At this point, she seemed to realize that, strictly speaking, it should be the Servant protecting the Master, and her face flushed slightly with embarrassment. She coughed twice and said sternly, “Well, I think you were too reckless. Dealing with the enemy should have been my role, the strongest one. This time, seeing as you tried so hard, I will graciously overlook it.”

Lin Luo felt utterly exasperated. Who was it that was hiding fearfully in his pocket just moments ago?

Sighing, Lin Luo plucked her out of his pocket.

“Whoa, don’t grab me! Let go!” Little ABER protested fiercely, waving her tiny hands. But with her meager strength, she couldn’t possibly break free. Finally, Lin Luo held her pinched between his fingers, resting on his palm.

Standing on Lin Luo’s palm, Little ABER adjusted her slightly askew armor and declared in a puffed-up manner, “Honestly, you’re so rough! How dare a mere human treat me, the strongest Heroic Spirit, this way? Be careful, or I might go on strike.”

“I think no matter how hard you work, it won’t make much of a difference,” Lin Luo couldn’t help but say. Beside him, Rei looked at Little ABER with great affection, her hand reaching out and then dropping, seemingly wanting to touch her but fearing she might get upset, remaining hesitant.

“That is such an insult!” Little ABER became quite indignant, placing her hands on her hips and tilting her head up to question him indignantly, “Do you think I, the strongest SERVANT, am some useless waste?”

This little one always loved to keep the word ‘strongest’ on her lips, but she was actually the weakest. Lin Luo figured he should probably interpret her words in reverse... Thinking this, he felt slightly more balanced and said, “Then tell me about the abilities you, the strongest, possess.”

“Hmph, hmph-hmph…” Upon hearing this, she immediately transformed from Angry-ABER to Proud-ABER, declaring with an air of arrogance, “Then lend me your ears and listen well! My abilities are unique among SERVANTs! Firstly…”

The little one dangled a finger in front of Lin Luo’s eyes. “Firstly, I can fly! I can soar freely in the sky without relying on any tools. Mountains or rivers pose no obstacle to me. Impressive, right?”

“Yes, that is certainly impressive. As far as I know, almost no SERVANT can fly. But this ability alone shouldn't qualify you as the strongest, should it?” Seeing the little one look so eager, Lin Luo couldn't bear to crush her spirits and happily indulged her chatter, treating it as a way to pass the time.

“Of course not! Besides flying, I can also turn invisible,” Little ABER held up a second finger. “Once I enter the invisible state, no one can detect me. Even the most adept reconnaissance Mage—the Caster—won’t be able to find even a trace of my presence.”

“Oh?” Now Lin Luo felt a flicker of interest. Although Heroic Spirits enter an invisible state when they materialize their spirit core, even then, one Heroic Spirit can sense another. To be undetectable even by a Caster suggests an ability exclusive to Assassins. “Then make yourself invisible for me to see.”

“Since it’s the Master’s request, I shall grant you a demonstration.” She proudly puffed out her small chest, then her lips moved—no incantation was heard—and her entire figure vanished from Lin Luo’s palm.

Initially, because she was a Heroic Spirit summoned by him, there was a connection between them, and Lin Luo could still sense a faint trace of her aura. But after a few seconds, Little ABER seemed to evaporate from this world; he couldn't feel her existence at all.

“This…” Lin Luo was genuinely startled this time. Forget an aura, her very existence had completely disappeared. This level of concealment must be a notch above even the Assassin class.

“Little ABER, where are you?” A few minutes later, when Lin Luo found that he absolutely could not locate the little one no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't help but call out.

“Ah!” Suddenly, Lin Luo felt a faint, sharp sting on the top of his head. Instinctively glancing sideways, he saw Little ABER vigorously pulling his hair, clearly putting a lot of effort into it.

Lin Luo was instantly speechless. He casually grasped her and asked in surprise, “You were here the whole time?”

“Hmph-hmph, naturally,” Little ABER replied with an expression of utter satisfaction. “Well? Do you see how formidable I am now?”

“Indeed, that ability is quite powerful,” Lin Luo nodded. Although Little ABER’s combat power seemed... a bit low, her abilities in flight and invisibility could make her an excellent scout if used correctly. The only concern was that if discovered by some monstrous being, given her combat strength, it would be hard for her to return. Well, perhaps she shouldn't take the scout position for now. Being a mascot would be fine; children should act like children; fighting and killing isn't cute.

“But speaking of which, since you can hide your presence, why were you being chased by that white thing? Couldn’t you have just turned invisible?” Thinking of this, Lin Luo suddenly realized a serious issue. Was her invisibility useless against Dead Apostles?

However, upon hearing this question, Little ABER displayed an extremely awkward expression, blushing and fidgeting. Finally, under Lin Luo’s intense gaze, she whispered softly, “Well, well… I was too scared earlier and forgot.”

Lin Luo face-palmed. What kind of absentmindedness was this, to forget to use her own ability? Indeed, it was best to let this little one remain a mascot.

Perhaps feeling embarrassed that her forgetfulness was exposed, Little ABER stayed in Lin Luo’s palm for a moment. “Um, I’m going back to sleep now.” With that, her entire form suddenly transformed into a white light, whooshing into the back of Lin Luo’s hand, coalescing into a star-shaped mark... which then reverted to three Command Spells.

“Huh?” For a moment, Lin Luo was completely stunned, unable to comprehend.

“Ah.” Meanwhile, Rei, seeing Little ABER disappear, also wore a look of regret. She had been quite entertained watching Little ABER act cute earlier.

“Additional Special Contractor registered. Please confirm receipt.”

Just then, Lin Luo distinctly heard the cold prompt from the Book of Contracts in his mind... Although the phrase "Please confirm receipt" was quite ridiculous.

Little ABER is a Contractor too?

Lin Luo once again felt that things were becoming inexplicable. He submerged his consciousness deep into his mind, ‘opening’ the Book of Contracts to check the details.

Currently contracted Contractors were only Mikoto, Rin, and Mugino. The pending Contractors were Rei and Misaki. Following Rei’s entry, a new page appeared. In the upper left corner was a shrunken full-body image of the character, identical to Little ABER, followed by the status panel below.

Special Contractor: ABER (Fake) Race: Phantasmal Species Class: Heroic Spirit Status: Self-Dormant Gender: Female Alignment: Lawful Good Strength: F- Magic: F- Endurance: F- Luck: E Agility: A Noble Phantasm: C Abilities: Independent Action: A+, can act freely without Master’s power support, maximum distance 100 kilometers. Air Flight: B, can fly freely without any tool, cannot attack while flying; flight interrupted upon being attacked. Concealment: A++, completely eliminates own aura and existence. Unless she reveals herself, no one without special abilities can detect her. Cannot attack while concealed. Noble Phantasm: Sword of Vows (Fake), F- Noble Phantasm: Aerial Overlord, C (Current Master has not used; Master level too low for inquiry) Noble Phantasm: Flash of Light, C (Current Master has not used; Master level too low for inquiry) Reason for Special Contractor Generation: Current Master level too low for inquiry.

…Well, seeing this page, Lin Luo truly face-palmed. How could he put it? Little ABER really was a bootleg copy! Even her Sword of Vows was a fake, and her race was 'Phantasmal Species'—what kind of species was that? The most depressing part was the attributes. Except for Agility, which was somewhat decent, the other three were F-—practically approaching zero!

He wouldn't comment on the Flight or Independent Action abilities, but the Concealment was truly impressive at A++; it was indeed above the others.

But what about those last three entries? As the Master, he couldn't even look up the Contractor’s data... This was a total ripoff!