93 COI
Finishing the last stroke, Anthony sighed in relief, confirming he still lived.
Though unsure if Amon's incarnation--Monette's drawn form--could help turn the tables and find a way out of the mirror world, he had obeyed his partner's orders and done his part.
Almost at once, Anthony saw the corners of Monette's sketched mouth turn up, eyes appearing to come to life.
But the curling paper and translucent flames stirred once more.
In an instant, the drawing of Monette condensed into a ball, devoured by clear flames and absorbed into the dim Bottle of Fiction.
Wh-- Had it failed? Anthony's heart squeezed tight again.
Even a disciplined Hypnotist found it hard to stay calm in the face of this.
Right then, Overseer Perle, still next to the jutting rock, pulled her right hand from the Under the Table bag of coins.
The transaction was made; Lumian's group would teeter on the edge of sleep!
Perle looked back at her target. Lumian stood firm, wearing a gold mask painted black and white. His aura was gone, body radiating an icy breath of death.
But Lumian's now blue eyes stayed open.
As an Overseer, Perle knew something was wrong.
About to act, a thick darkness swallowed her, snuffing out the carbide lamp.
Perle's eyes shut as she swayed unsteadily.
She fell asleep.
Somehow, the sleep effect meant for Lumian's team had hit her instead, leaving them untouched.
Seeing this, Lumian felt shock, then immense joy.
He sensed a strange power pulsing from the Bottle of Fiction he had made with his body.
Did it work?
Had Anthony done it?
As expected, the entity's prior actions sought to help His father.
And His father is on our side against heretics!
Lumian quickly deactivated the Bottle of Fiction, ready to teleport to the sleeping Perle. He would get Moran Avigny's mirror and try to escape through the mirror world's set entrance.
If he could just get out, he could find help to make Perle leave.
Just then, Perle's coin bag and Moran Avigny's mirror fell to the ground.
Smack!
Moran Avigny's mirror broke, cracking the entire mirror world barrier. Perle, driven by flaming ambition, woke up with a start.
As Lumian's hopes sank, a shadow raced out of the shattered mirror.
It combined with strewn bits of flesh and blood, instantly reforming into Mr. K in his black robe.
When the mirror world took damage, the Aurora Order Oracle felt his finger and teleported on instinct, turning to shadow to slip through the cracks.
...
In the dark cathedral in an unknown location, Magician Blinked over and over, unable to shake off the flood of random information.
As she Blinked, starlight filled her eyes, solidifying into a weird, ancient stone wall clock.
Clang!
Grand, majestic chimes echoed in every nook of the cathedral.
An old, mottled phantom appeared in the air--a stone wall clock split into twelve sections, each crossing grayish-white or bluish-black symbols.
Clang!
The chimes carried an unspeakable, invisible torrent through long ages past, freezing all present.
The horrifying torrent of information froze. Hermit, changed into an incomplete Mythical Creature, stopped cold. Judgment, floating over the cathedral, turned to a statue.
Loki's hand, reaching into the void, also paused, failing to pull out a silhouette.
In this frozen state, the starlight in Magician's eyes changed again.
Countless complex mercury symbols appeared, quickly joining into a huge, unreal, scaleless serpent.
The silver-white giant snake, layered with dense patterns and symbols, made connected cylinders with different markings.
The next second, the mercury serpent bent to bite its tail before it began slowly turning.
The massive torrent of information started to reverse, going back the way it came until it turned back into the woman in the black dress with the gold crown.
The black-dressed woman faded, becoming a ghost and a floating, oddly captivating tarot card. In the end, both went back to the void and disappeared.
Fallen rocks flew back to Hermit's body, turning back to eyes or pure white. Hermit quickly lost her terrifying look that would make anyone go mad.
Judgment returned to the surface, going back past the "door" as the mystery-weakening limit faded.
Loki drew back his hand, settling into the pitch-black wooden chair.
…
In the fractured special mirror world, Overseer Perle saw the hooded, black-robed Mr. K and his many sins upon waking up.
Oddly, the criminal who had done worse things than Lumian only had a small gray spot.
This suggested that finishing an Under the Table transaction with Mr. K would be hard, as if it needed certain conditions.
It seems to come from extreme devotion. All Under the Table transactions can only keep going with the permission of the one he has faith in… As Perle's mind raced, she glared at Mr. K and said with the Words of Order, "You stand guilty! You murdered someone!"
The space over Mr. K went dark at once as something awful took shape.
Having heard Lumian talk about Jebus's powers, he knew a deadly punishment was coming. He quickly changed his Grazing target, using Devil Transformation and Rose Bishop's flesh and blood magic to endure the unknown attack.
But in a flash, the growing penalties vanished, as if going to an unknown place.
The scary pressure, like thick smoke, blew away in fierce winds.
Mr. K was stunned for a moment before exploding in crazed laughter.
"Haha! Hahaha!
"I'm guilty, but the Lord carries my sins!"
"I'm innocent. I'm innocent to this world!"
Amid the laughter, Mr. K changed Grazing targets. Layers of unreal doors showed up in his eyes.
Many doors to different places came together, turning into ghostly books.
The book materialized in front of Mr. K, pages flipping fast.
"I came, I saw, I recorded."
As the ethereal voice rang out, the illusory book stopped on a page.
In an instant, Mr. K turned into a two- to three-meter-tall half-giant in cold black armor, holding a pitch-black sword.
He sprinted towards the Overseer.
"Praise you!" Mr. K roared, slicing down with the Sword of Darkness.
Perle's face went grim, seeing the prosecution had no effect on Mr. K.
Of course, as a demigod, though caught off guard, she knew what to do.
Amid Mr. K's wild laughter, she stressed with the Words of Order, "An Overseer is protected!"
The black-armored half-giant used all his might, slashing at Perle's head with the dark broadsword, but an unseen barrier blocked it.
The barrier cracked. Mr. K's body quietly fell apart. A clean cut took off his right arm and shoulder, dropping them to the ground.
Though Mr. K used recorded demigod powers and had a bit of godhood, he still faced punishment for attacking a "clearly" protected Overseer.
This was a freshly done crime, not yet borne!
The flesh on Mr. K's shoulder writhed, as if a new arm would grow. But he ignored it. His left hand grabbed the falling dark sword, yelling again, "Praise you for creating everything!"
As the rough voice echoed, the dark broadsword slashed at Overseer Perle.
With Perle's former protection, the dropped coin bag floated back to her hand.
She quickly made an Under the Table deal aimed at everyone there.
Crack!
As the dark broadsword swung, the unseen barrier guarding the Overseer fully shattered.
Mr. K's left arm came off his body, showing a huge cut.
In the cut, blood-colored flesh tendrils grew fast, as if alive, as if a new Mr. K would emerge.
Overseer Perle wasn't happy. Based on the Under the Table deal, Mr. K, Lumian, and the rest should have gotten much weaker.
But in truth, nothing changed!
Could it be that I'm unlucky? The person who made the deal was a fraud who never meant to keep their end? Perle's heart sank as she couldn't move for some reason.
Then she saw the armless Mr. K bow in an exaggerated way.
The Aurora Order Oracle's mouth opened as wide as it could, corners going to his ears. Blood churned where it tore, flesh tendrils thickly covering the spot.
Using his stretched mouth, the black-armored Mr. K bit the dark sword's handle.
He jumped high, voice ringing from his chest.
"Praise you for bearing the world's sins!"
Amid hoarse yells, Mr. K fell, a straight dark sword using himself as the grip, slashing at Overseer Perle.
-x-X-x-
Lumian stood at the quarry cave's exit, wanting to work with Mr. K to take on Perle, but unsure of how to proceed.
Past experience had shown him that without godhood, any action against an Overseer would only come back to haunt him, without affecting the demigod at all.
With his golden mask removed, Lumian could only remain in place, considering what items he possessed that might be useful and effective. He was left with no option but to watch the fight between Mr. K and Perle unfold as a mere spectator.
At the same time, he scanned the area, looking for a way to utterly destroy the existing mirror world.
Anthony kept his posture and continued drawing on the blank painting album, which was missing a page.
His current subject was to be Madam Magician.
As he observed Mr. K's movements and listened to each slash, Lumian sensed a slight corruption creeping into his mind.
It surprised him that Mr. K could hold the Overseer at bay to some degree, unafraid of her accusations and armed with a means to harm her.
Lumian silently hoped that even if Mr. K couldn't defeat Perle, he would at least be able to drive her off.
Mustering strength from his waist and core, Mr. K swung his upper body as he descended, bringing the dark broadsword down on Overseer Perle's head for the third time.
Perle remained motionless, not using any Mirror Traversal-like ability to evade, nor rolling to the side. She stood firm beside the jutting rock, her body turning pitch-black and dissolving into a constantly dissipating shadow.
The dark, enigmatic broadsword plunged down abruptly, silently cleaving the shadows in two.
The shadows rapidly encircled the protruding rock, perpetually moving and merging once again. They writhed, striving to reassemble Overseer Perle's form.
Where the Sword of Darkness had cut through, the shadows struggled to form proper connections, barely managing to stack together into a humanoid shape riddled with cracks and misaligned parts.
Mr. K sprang up, ready to swing the dark broadsword gripped in the gaping crack of his mouth.
Suddenly, his body shrank rapidly, the cold black armor encasing him vanishing.
He reverted to his original form, dressed in a black hood and matching robe.
The precariously assembled shadow gradually shed its black color, revealing human skin and a vivid red dress inch by inch.
…
In the shadowy cathedral at an undisclosed location, the mercury giant serpent phantom hanging in midair slowly faded away.
The Reboot was finished.
Perched on a black wooden armchair, Loki abruptly thinned and shrank, transforming into a paper figurine.
The paper figurine and chair then crumbled, disintegrating into dust.
Loki materialized in a far corner of the cathedral. Magician, appearing to still be airborne, quickly conjured an alternate self behind him.
As Loki reached into the void to pull out an assistant, his jet-black eyes suddenly shifted to blue.
The blue rapidly stained black, then reverted to blue, the two colors continually alternating.
Loki was paralyzed, unable to summon an aide, allowing Magician to stretch out her right hand and grasp with all her might.
The dark void warped, swallowing Loki. Then, the two shattered into fragments, ultimately buried in a bottomless abyss.
Throughout this, Loki's body instantly became ethereal, unreal, as if he were a projection or puppet that had been swapped at some moment.
Hermit, Judgment, and Magician simultaneously heard a regretful sigh and witnessed the shadowy cathedral itself turn ethereal and slowly disintegrate.
It, too, seemed to be a projection.
An aged, ethereal voice then echoed from the distance.
"My wish is for all the demigods present to be lost for three minutes."
The shadowy cathedral fully collapsed, and darkness engulfed the surroundings, devoid of starlight or boundaries.
…
In the special mirror world, realizing Mr. K could no longer maintain his godhood-enhanced half-giant state and Overseer Perle was close to returning to her human form, Lumian's first instinct was to shape-shift into a shadow being and flee through the growing rift in the mirror world to find other allies.
However, he was unsure if Mr. K had employed any mystical items upon entry, and whether Shadow Transformation alone would allow passage through the mirror world's fissure.
As Lumian watched Overseer Perle's face gradually come into view, her eyes and nostrils both vertically misaligned, a sudden realization struck him.
I, too, can wound an Overseer…
If Mr. K can do it, so can I!
My fate is intertwined with Termiboros. To a degree, we can be considered one. I've long known I possess a fake angelic level!
The powers and items I wield won't hold godhood and can't touch an Overseer, but I should be able to do it myself.
I will become my own weapon!
These thoughts raced through Lumian's mind as a slightly manic grin spread across his face. His blood seemed to boil, as if set aflame.
In a flash, he disappeared and reappeared before Overseer Perle.
His eyes had already taken on an iron-black tint, revealing a few pale spots that marked Perle's vulnerabilities.
One such spot was just below the left side of her face!
Before Perle's shadows could fully reconstruct the Overseer, a multitude of incandescent white flames burst forth from Lumian's body.
Like a rushing current, they poured out from Lumian's eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, skin, and pores, completely enveloping him, transforming him into a raging inferno.
Let's do this!
Let us burn as one!
Let us explode together!
Lumian, now one with the blazing white flames, swung his right fist at Perle's left cheek.
Perle's vertically-misaligned eyes betrayed a flicker of confusion before understanding dawned.
But it was too late for her to protest or react. She had not even fully returned.
Bang!
Lumian's right fist collided with Perle's left cheek, caving it in.
As he struck, a ghastly wound appeared on his own chest and abdomen, but it was quickly consumed by the blazing white flames.
Perle felt the pain, but it was not a mortal blow.
At that instant, Lumian's face, wreathed in blazing white flames, displayed a sinister and frenzied smile.
It actually works!
I can truly use myself as a weapon to strike an Overseer!
Boom!
He detonated his right arm, using the incandescent white flames he had pre-injected to make it explode.
His right fist, propelled by a fierce, blazing white wave of flames, pierced Perle's left cheek and penetrated her skull.
Cull!
Crack! The special mirror world, with its dark barrier and numerous cracks, let out a shattering sound. It rapidly disintegrated and fell apart.
Lumian's head took an invisible blow, his skull caving in and teeth falling out.
Deprived of his right arm, he was hurled through the air, his entire body wreathed in blazing white flames.
His face twisted in agony, yet his eyes shone with elation.
Success!
He beheld a horrific, blood-red wound on the left side of Overseer Perle's face. Within the wound, a pale-white fog intermingled with the grayish-white brain. The shattered fist had ripped it asunder and set it ablaze.
As the blazing white flames faded, Overseer Perle's remaining right eye dulled, and her body slowly crumpled.
The cage imprisoning Franca and Jenna quickly disintegrated.
Mr. K, observing this, nodded approvingly.
Lumian is like me!
The fighting style is quite alike!
The only shortcoming is that he did not loudly praise the Lord during the final blow.
At the same time, Lumian's head buzzed, and he nearly blacked out. He collapsed to the ground, on the verge of losing consciousness.
He managed to stay awake only because he had undergone significant digestion of the Reaper potion. It felt as if he had completed another massive cull by the ancient tomb during the Dream Festival.
Wh— Lumian was initially thrilled, but then he forced himself to stand, shocked and suspicious.
He knew the digestion must have resulted from his Culling of Overseer Perle, but shouldn't a demigod suffice for him to fully digest the Reaper potion?
Lumian extinguished the incandescent white flames burning within and without. With his left hand, he retrieved the healing agent and Lie earring obtained from Jebus from his Traveler's Bag, all while examining Overseer Perle's corpse.
Just then, the special mirror world completely collapsed, and they found themselves back in reality, inside the quarry cave with a fixed mirror world entrance.
Next to the protruding rock where Perle had stood, there was no corpse or white fog to be seen.
Lumian spotted an oil painting hanging on the corresponding rock wall.
The painting looked torn and ruined, but one could faintly discern that it had once portrayed a woman in a red dress.
Perle?
We weren't facing the true Overseer, but a painted figure she created using a Pixie pathway item?
This oil painting grants the depicted demigod a short lifespan, but no freedom of movement?
Is that why Perle never budged and always took the attacks head-on?
Amid his bewilderment, Lumian drank the healing agent Jebus had procured from the Great Mother's followers to ensure he would survive past 6 a.m.
At that moment, Perle's smiling voice resonated from the depths of the shattered oil painting.
"I didn't anticipate my painting person failing.
"But no matter. What's important is that the vortex is about to manifest. It won't be long before you're officially consumed.
"Everyone will be caught up in it…"
Perle's voice gradually faded into the depths of the oil painting, thwarting Mr. K's attempt to track her through teleportation.
-x-X-x-
The healing agent's effects and the incineration of the original flames had largely stemmed the bleeding from Lumian's wounds. Flesh and blood had even started to regrow and form scabs over his skin.
Putting on the Lie earring, Lumian tried to shift the gruesome hole in his chest and abdomen to a less vital location. As he did so, he stared intently at the oil painting hanging on the rocky wall, his thoughts racing.
As an Overseer, Perle is unlikely to directly engage in combat herself?
Has her true form been lurking in the shadows this whole time to avoid any potential mishaps?
But if she had personally intervened, perhaps we would have been defeated long ago, with no chance for any slip-ups…
Furthermore, Perle doesn't appear overly concerned about capturing me alive. Doesn't the failure of her painting version indicate that the Under the Table deal she initiated didn't meet the requirements? She's bound to face severe consequences for that in the future.
It's not as if she's a fraud…
Coming to this realization, Lumian suddenly came up with a guess:
Perle was the sole person to mention capturing me alive. There's no other evidence to support it…
While this may indeed be a request from the other party in the Under the Table transaction, it's probably not the only one. It's likely one of multiple requests and the least critical. That's why, after creating the special mirror world, Perle immediately left this painting behind, allowing her painting version to handle us while she went off elsewhere.
Was she going to carry out the most vital and important requirement?
I can't fully trust a Broker's words either…
Based on her tone, she seems to have succeeded. This strongly suggests she's confident the vortex is on the brink of taking shape. It won't be long before it entraps everyone…
Apparently, she wasn't in the vicinity at all. She merely used the link to her painting self to briefly speak remotely before vanishing completely. We have no way to track her.
Lumian felt his theory could account for Perle's actions and certain details from the prior battle. This realization made his heart sink.
If his suspicions were correct, the School of Truth's vortex hadn't been successfully halted and was about to manifest!
What would transpire after some time had passed?
Right then, Mr. K approached Lumian, his gaze locked on the tattered oil painting.
In a hoarse voice, he spoke, "I have sinned. I failed to discover the School of Truth's scheme beforehand, letting the issue escalate until it was on the verge of erupting."
As he talked, the flesh on Mr. K's shoulders writhed, and two pale, slender, damp arms gradually grew out. The black robe, its sleeves severed, was beyond repair.
Not waiting for Lumian to respond, Mr. K turned his head and said, "The disturbance here will soon be noticed. We shouldn't stay. Meet me tomorrow morning."
"Got it." Lumian glanced at his companions, who had concealed themselves in the shadows or used Psychological Invisibility, and nodded subtly.
He also intended to head to the safe house as quickly as possible to avoid any accidental attacks by official Beyonders.
Once Mr. K teleported away, Franca, Jenna, and Anthony came out of hiding.
"We should get back to the safe house now," Lumian said decisively.
Franca nodded and said with regret and sorrow, "I wonder where Pride Armor was sent. It would be such a shame if we truly lost it."
If Pride Armor hadn't hit Overseer Perle's painted self, compelling her to alter her life form and indirectly making the transformed Punishers disappear, even if Lumian could have still found a way to lure out the Islander swindler, Monette, they wouldn't have survived the following stages. In that case, he would face not only Perle's punishment but also Anthony's Punisher.
For Lumian and the others, Pride Armor had performed exceptionally; it was a Sealed Artifact of tremendous value. Nobody wanted it to be lost.
"If it were human and smart, it could find its way back. But now…" Lumian sighed, grasping Anthony's shoulder with his left hand.
Suddenly, dazzling starlight emerged from the void, rapidly forming a dreamlike door.
The door opened, and out came Magician, Judgment, and Hermit.
Surveying the scene, Magician noticed Lumian's dire condition, one arm missing. With an odd expression, she asked, "You were attacked?"
As she spoke, the quarry cave, lit solely by the carbide lamp's glow, darkened, as if an unseen curtain had been pulled around it.
"Yes," Franca replied on behalf of Lumian, who had only gained enough reprieve from his injuries to avoid imminent death. She concisely recounted the whole situation.
"The one who attacked you came from Perle's painted self. Her true form departed to do something else?" Magician sought confirmation.
"That appears to be the case," Lumian responded.
Magician exchanged glances with Judgment and Hermit, their eyes meeting without hiding their bewilderment.
After a short pause, Magician offered no explanation. Starlight gathered in her eyes, as if tracing a pattern.
A gentle rain fell, soaking Lumian's body and fully healing his wounds.
Nourished by the rain, Franca and the others felt their weariness melt away.
It closely resembles the power Madame Night used in the dream… Lumian drew a connection.
Magician nodded and instructed, "Provide me the details in writing tomorrow."
With that, she disappeared along with Judgment and Hermit.
As the darkness around them lifted, Lumian realized they had returned to the safe house in the administrative district, where Jenna had summoned Judgment's messenger.
"Madam Magician and the others are perplexed that we were attacked by Perle's painting self," Anthony remarked while putting away the blank painting collection, voicing his thoughts.
Lumian nodded and replied, "What's perplexing shouldn't be Perle attacking us. It's not unusual for an Overseer with an Under the Table transaction at the heart of it all to do something like that."
"So what were they perplexed about?" Jenna and Franca couldn't figure out an answer.
Anthony tried to analyze the situation.
"They're not perplexed by Perle's attack itself, but why we were targeted by her painted self specifically.
"They seem to think we wouldn't be attacked by Perle directly. Whether she had such intentions or acted on them is irrelevant."
Lumian and the others became lost in thought.
Abruptly, Franca exclaimed.
Looking at Lumian and the others, she slowly withdrew her hand from her Traveler's Bag in astonishment.
"Pride Armor is in here. It's returned!"
"Did Madam Magician help locate it?" As this thought crossed Lumian's mind, he noticed Franca's actions.
He instantly shouted, "Stop!"
He couldn't allow Franca to retrieve the Pride Armor!
This is a confined room, and I'm present!
Franca's expression froze, and she immediately stopped moving her elbow.
…
In the mirror world created by dark void tunnels, Overseer Perle continuously moved from mirror to mirror, searching for her final destination.
Her expression stayed calm, thrilled that the calamity had instead accelerated the vortex's formation.
On the other side of the dark, vacant tunnel, a vibrant ball of yarn quietly trailed her, leaving a concealed path.
…
The next morning, having sent the letter to Magician, Lumian reached Psychic's headquarters and met Mr. K in the basement.
Both their limbs had been restored.
Clad in an enormous hood and black robe, Mr. K disregarded this. In a grating voice, he told Lumian, "Come with me somewhere."
"For what purpose?" Lumian's demeanor toward Mr. K had become more at ease after their collaboration the previous night.
Mr. K nodded and explained, "First, I wish to atone for this incident. Second, through the idol, I want to notify the Lord that you've grown and can serve as His envoy. He will make preparations when the moment is right. Have faith in the Lord, and trust Him completely."
Just going to a location with the True Creator's idol? That's okay… It would be problematic if I actually had to encounter a god… Lumian bowed his head humbly and said, "It would be my honor."
Mr. K came up to him, grasped his arm, and transported him into the spirit world via teleportation.
Traversing dense layers of colors and innumerable indescribable transparent beings, the pair arrived at a cathedral.
The cathedral seemed to be located in a deep valley. Its surface was a watery black, decorated with many human bones. The top resembled the Eternal Blazing Sun Church's cathedral, forming a hemispherical shape.
Mr. K silently entered through the open door, his back slightly hunched.
Lumian followed closely behind.
Then, he saw the vast but dimly lit prayer hall and an enormous, pitch-black cross standing in the cathedral's depths.
A naked male idol hung upside down from the cross. Rust-
colored iron nails jutted out from various parts of its body, each nail stained with vivid red blood.
Is this the True Creator's idol? Lumian's heart raced as he quickly averted his gaze.
What he had seen in the Church of The Fool, the Eternal Blazing Sun Church, and the God of Steam and Machinery Church were merely Sacred Emblems. There were no idols. He had assumed Mr. K was referring to the Sacred Emblem as an idol.
Mr. K walked until he was four to five meters from the idol and halted.
Lumian trailed slightly behind and stopped.
As he made his way from the entrance, he got a clear look at the hanging idol's face.
Its nose, mouth, and ears were quite blurry, with only a rough outline. However, its eyes were very distinct and tightly closed, as if enduring all the pain and guilt.
Mr. K drew a cross on his chest and cried out in a raspy voice, "Praise you! Praise you for creating everything! Praise you for shouldering the world's sins!"
Lumian followed suit in offering praise.
Abruptly, his head spun, and his eyes burned with a sense of familiarity.
Wh— Lumian's spiritual intuition alerted him that the negative effects of the Baynfel contract had been triggered. The effect was: In scenes intimately connected to Baynfel's past, he would witness truths better left unknown.
This place is closely tied to Baynfel's past? Was he once a clergyman of the True Creator? Lumian suppressed his curiosity as he continued to focus on the ground.
Suddenly, his eyes froze.
He spotted a blurry, lizard-like creature.
It was the lizard-like elf that had appeared in his dream about Cordu. The same one that had crawled out of Aurore's mouth!
It might have influenced Aurore, stopping her from seeking Hela's help in time!
At the conclusion of the Tree of Shadow incident, the lizard-
like elf had also made an appearance.
Why was it present now, in the True Creator's cathedral?
As Mr. K sprawled on the ground, pressing his face firmly against the watery black stone bricks, Lumian instinctively looked up.
He witnessed the huge pitch-black cross transform into an illusory shape, as if it loomed over a mountain range's peak. On the indistinct figure hanging upside down, lizard-like elves crawled in and out, circling and dancing…
Lumian watched the scene in a daze as Mr. K's slightly muffled voice resounded in his ears.
"Oh, merciful Father, I implore your mercy for the transgressions I've made."
End of Volume—Sinner