105 COI

Morora, fifth floor of the Knowledge Cathedral.

A law enforcer in a black robe stood at the window, looking at the entrance to the underground mausoleum, which resembled the mouth of a giant beast.

In his eyes, Lumian's figure could be seen descending the gray-white stone steps one by one.

Elsewhere in Morora, Albus Medici stood by another window.

However, his gaze was not on the nearby buildings but on the cemetery and Lumian, neither of which could be seen from this street.

Is it starting? the descendant of the Red Angel chuckled.

...

Blindfolded, Lumian moved steadily through the darkness, guided by the mental map in his mind, approaching the location of the Abscessed Hand's head.

This is the end. I need to turn left... It's exactly like the diagram in the book... Lumian reached out his right hand, not holding the carbide lamp, and touched something cold and hard.

It was likely a wall.

He then turned left, walked a bit further, and stopped.

He sensed the Abscessed Hand's head was just a few meters to his right, while the surroundings were eerily silent.

Lumian turned, extending his right hand in that direction, but he only felt an equally cold, hard wall.

Behind the wall? According to the diagram, there should be a room behind here, and the door is about five meters ahead...

Even though he couldn't see, the importance of knowledge became evident in this situation.

Counting his steps, he reached what should be the door and felt around, finding the wooden board.

He fumbled for the handle, gently twisted it, and pushed open the slightly ajar door.

Meanwhile, he mused internally, Albus casually threw it, and the Hand Bro's head ended up here?

Even if it bounced around, it shouldn't have gotten this far...

Even though it's not very far from the entrance, there were two turns, and the door is even closed.

Did the door close afterward?

Growing more cautious, Lumian listened for any sounds beyond the door.

It was completely silent.

He slowly entered the room, moving towards the corner from which the rotten stench emanated, his connection to the Abscessed Hand growing clearer.

His right hand was ready to draw the Sword of Courage from the Traveler's Bag at any moment, while his left, holding the carbide lamp, reached for Abscessed Hand's head.

The head was higher than he expected, placed on a shelf rather than the ground.

Suddenly, his fist brushed against something slimy and damp, which wriggled slightly.

Five cold, finger-like things instantly grabbed Lumian's left fist.

A chill ran down his spine.

Encountering such a thing while blindfolded was many times more terrifying.

He couldn't tell what it was!

But he was certain it wasn't the Abscessed Hand's head, as that was just a head!

In a flash, Lumian's left fist ignited with blazing white flames.

His fist moved forward, accelerating suddenly, snapping sharply between the finger-like things.

Boom!

The explosion scattered the slimy fingers, and Lumian used the semi-activated black mark on his right shoulder to teleport behind what he presumed was the Abscessed Hand's head.

"Hmph!"

Lumian exhaled two beams of white light from his nostrils.

He felt he had hit his target.

Without waiting for his opponent to fall, he swung his left fist, burning with intense flames, while his right hand stayed ready to draw the Sword of Courage.

Bang!

It felt like hitting an elastic, dead wood. He unleashed his accumulated flaming forces.

Boom!

The violent blast pushed the slimy "wood" forward a bit.

Then, there was silence, with no sound of something hitting the ground.

Cautiously, Lumian transformed into a blazing-white spear and charged.

He felt himself piercing through a withered tree filled with rust and flesh, landing in front of the Abscessed Hand's head amidst a strong, pungent odor.

There was no resistance, no real counterattack.

Is it over? Lumian, still blindfolded, felt uneasy.

He kept his right hand in the Traveler's Bag, holding the carbide lamp's handle with his mouth, reaching up with his left hand, prepared to use the Spirit World Traversal if needed.

In the still atmosphere, Lumian touched the slimy, foul-smelling, limp flesh and greasy, disgusting "weeds."

This should be Hand Bro's hair... No other abnormalities...

Lumian mustered his courage and continued feeling around.

Soon, he touched a decaying neck, then a wounded "shoulder."

A shoulder... Despite being mentally prepared, Lumian was still startled.

The Abscessed Hand's head couldn't have grown a body, right?

After waiting a few seconds with no sudden attack, Lumian grabbed the greasy "weeds" that were likely the hair and pulled.

As he applied force, there was a reluctant, cork-popping "plop" sound.

His center of gravity wavered as if he had pulled something free.

He had torn off the head!

Almost simultaneously, Lumian sensed the Abscessed Hand's body parts inside the Traveler's Bag moving, but they couldn't breach the spatial barrier, only wriggling closer, pushing away other items.

This is Hand Bro's head... Then who tried to 'shake hands' with me? Scenes flashed through Lumian's mind: A head dragging a bloody spine flying through the air, a headless body chasing it...

In the mausoleum sealing 0-01, there must be similar headless bodies, and one of them took Hand Bro's head, attaching it to its neck? No wonder Albus's casual toss brought Hand Bro's head all the way here... Lumian quickly guessed, finding the situation both amusing and horrifying.

If the headless body and the Abscessed Hand's head stayed together for months, something terrifying might happen...

Lumian didn't dare put the head in the Traveler's Bag, which would inevitably cause the body parts to reunite, summoning the Abscessed Hand. He wanted to wait until he encountered Julie, Celeste, Albus, or Wanak.

Holding the head and the lamp, Lumian prepared to leave the room.

Suddenly, Lumian felt something and flinched his right shoulder.

He sensed that something was trying to pat him.

But when he moved away, everything returned to normal, silent and still.

Lumian's body ignited with blazing-white flames that expanded outward in a spherical shape, pushing in all directions.

The flames only ignited the object that had originally held the Abscessed Hand's head.

Unable to see, Lumian didn't dwell on what had tried to pat his shoulder. Recalling the earlier battle, he quickly determined his position and direction.

Then, he walked steadily back to the door and exited, acting as if he could see every detail around him.

Finally obtaining the Abscessed Hand's head gave Lumian a bit of confidence. Using the mental map he had formed, he made his way to the lowest level of the underground mausoleum, filled with puppet soldiers.

Blindfolded with layers of white bandages, he occasionally turned right, walked forward, descended stairs, and fumbled to open heavy or simple doors.

He didn't forget to activate the brass amulet in ancient Hermes, listening with one ear and monitoring his surroundings with the other.

As he walked, Lumian suddenly conjured a flame in his right palm and flung it ahead, forming a burning straight sword.

It seemed to hit something, but it could have just been an illusion.

Lumian didn't maintain the flaming sword, letting it extinguish.

He didn't investigate whether he had encountered something real or if it was just a reaction from his tense, sightless state.

Though his knowledge didn't explicitly cover it, his past experiences hinted at a key point: In the underground mausoleum, if you believe something is real, it likely becomes real! As long as it doesn't pose a direct threat, it's best to ignore potential dangers!

After descending another staircase, Lumian suddenly felt like he was being watched by numerous eyes.

At that moment, he had the urge to tear off his bandages and see what was happening.

Plop! A cold drop of liquid fell on the back of his left hand.

It felt sticky, but there was no smell of blood.

Plop, plop, plop! The cold "droplets" increased, falling faster and faster, like a sudden downpour.

Inside the mausoleum, 20 to 30 meters underground, it started to "rain."

What the hell is going on? What's around me... The book only mentioned a hall here, straight ahead to the exit, but it didn't provide a detailed layout or mention anything special inside...

Lumian endured the soaking "rain" and, under countless watching eyes, stepped forward with his right foot.

Thud!

A drumbeat suddenly sounded, as if striking Lumian's heart, making him feel like he wanted to spit out blood.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The drumming grew clearer and more intense.

Lumian also faintly heard a soft, scratching chuckle.

-x-X-x-

Drumming echoed continuously, each beat resonating with Lumian's heartbeat, making him feel like he was about to vomit blood.

Enduring the discomfort, Lumian pushed through the cold liquid like a sudden downpour, under countless watching eyes and strange, soft chuckles, steadfastly moving forward.

One step, two steps, three steps, suddenly a blood-red color lit up his bandage-wrapped vision.

It was a reddish plain, with an army of undead in iron-black armor advancing.

My first nightmare after I started studying? The thought flashed through Lumian's mind. He then noticed the scene before him fracturing, overlaid with images of burning palaces, forests of thunder, mountains of corpses, and rows of blindfolded experimental subjects marching.

These were all from his recent nightmares.

Lumian realized it wasn't the bandages losing their effect but a powerful hallucination induced by something, blending reality and illusion.

Meanwhile, the monotone voice in his left ear stopped reciting knowledge from books and became sharp and raspy, shouting something unintelligible.

Lumian's right palm suddenly felt hot, with a slight burning sensation.

The residual aura of Blood Emperor Alista Tudor had been triggered!

Simultaneously, the mark from the Underworld Daoist grew colder, suppressing the emerging violence and madness, while a slight burning sensation appeared on Lumian's left chest.

Is this a mishmash of everything? Lumian mentally mocked himself.

With these changes, the cold liquid droplets softened, like cold, wet hands brushing against his body.

The war drumbeats no longer synchronized with his heartbeat, the mysterious gazes lost their unnerving power, and the scratching chuckles turned into soft, alluring singing.

Lumian paused, guessing at what was happening.

He maintained a steady pace, heading deeper into the hall marked on his mental map.

The "raindrops," drumming, gazes, and singing remained unchanged, allowing him to proceed smoothly.

This must be the corruption from the 0-01 sealing information and knowledge I've learned, triggering hallucinations and making the dangers here see me as one of their own, similarly corrupted?

This also triggered the Blood Emperor's residual aura, causing a chain reaction with the Underworld Daoist's mark and Mr. Fool's seal. Without these, I might have truly become a puppet like the others here, a real experimental subject...

Hmm, did Mr. Fool's seal also passively confuse perceptions?

Deciding based on similar levels of corruption could be a mysticism principle or an exploit...

As his thoughts cleared, Lumian raised his right hand, pressing it to his left chest, silently muttering and joking with himself, Praise Mr. Fool!

Thanks to Archbishop Heraberg, thanks to the power of knowledge!

Learning brings me joy!

While listening to the strange roars in his earplugs, Lumian tried to discern any hidden information, maintaining his quick pace to avoid provoking unseen dangers.

Estimating his steps and distance, comparing it with his mental map, Lumian finally reached what should be the hall's exit.

At that moment, the nightmare scenes in his vision changed.

He seemed to be at a high place, looking down at a mountain of corpses and bones.

His gaze moved down, past the burning pale flames and dark-red lights in the eye sockets of the skeletons, past the rotting flesh and pale bones, to the dark red near-black ground, and the iron-black armor.

The metallic surface of the armor reflected a single black figure.

Lumian saw it clearly: It was the bespectacled, scholarly-looking serial killer Guei!

This exile, sent to Morora with Lumian, Julie, and Lez, had vanished after spending some time in the Knowledge Cathedral.

The reflections of Guei on the armor seemed to sense Lumian's gaze, suddenly looking up, but quickly lowering his head again, as if realizing it was a mistake.

The fragmented scenes vanished.

Guei?

His reflection on the iron-black armot... like mirrors...

Is he the Mirror Person who infiltrated Morora?

Lumian's eyes widened behind the white bandages.

He quickly compared Guei's figure with the Mirror Person from his nightmares: Highly likely the same!

So it's him... and he even knows to study in the Knowledge Cathedral... He's now around that mountain of corpses? Lumian suddenly felt that Guei might be as troublesome and dangerous as Albus Medici, Julie, Celeste, or Wanak.

Recalling the recent scene, Lumian thought his perspective was odd:

At the top of the mountain of corpses?

Overlooking everything...

Did I share the perspective of 0-01?

Right, being heavily corrupted means becoming its puppet, and it seems high-level Hunters can share power, damage, vision, hearing, and feelings with their team...

0-01 just considered me one of its own?

It didn't give me power like Wanak, probably not fully 'accepted'... If I read all the remaining books and mastered the knowledge, would the corruption reach a critical point, making 0-01 see me as a fully submissive puppet, while I'm not? In such a case, I could approach it and find a way to leave a mark.

This matches my earlier guess. The purpose of the test is to gauge the level of corruption, my body's endurance, and the balance of the various corruptions within me.

I really needed to ace it. If I hid anything and colored Archbishop Heraberg's judgment, I'd have been the one suffering. I would either become a true puppet of 0-01 or die here due to insufficient corruption.

Knowledge is indeed power; knowledge indeed holds wealth!

Lumian couldn't help but curse Julie and Celeste. Those two Demonesses raised by pigs had prevented him from completing his studies!

Since it had already happened, he could only keep cursing while passing through the hall's exit.

After walking a few dozen meters along the marked passage, Lumian suddenly felt a disturbance to the side, hearing the sound of something heavy moving through the air.

Holding his carbide lamp and the head of the Abscessed Hand, he lunged forward and rolled away.

Thud!

The sound of something heavy hitting the ground echoed.

Using the sound, Lumian quickly sketched an image of the "enemy" in his mind: a giant sword!

In the underground mausoleum, the only beings carrying giant swords without feeling alive that Lumian could think of were the puppet soldiers.

Am I being attacked by a puppet soldier in this passage?

Hey, we're on the same side! We're both 0-01's soldiers!

Surprised, Lumian heard a whooshing sound as the giant sword swung down again.

Completely blind, Lumian activated the black mark on his right shoulder, teleporting behind the suspected puppet soldier attacker.

Simultaneously, knowledge from the Doll Crafting and Maintenance book flashed in his mind: "The puppet soldiers used in the underground tomb are uniformly two meters tall, made of iron...

"Their weapons come in four types: giant swords, hammers, spears, and bows...

"The weakest point of the puppet soldiers is their neck, due to mechanical structure issues and the inevitable development brought by the mausoleum's corrupting forces..."

As this knowledge flashed by, Lumian leaped, tensed his chest muscles, spread his arms, raised his right fist, and aimed at the back of the puppet soldier's neck, as constructed in his mind.

His fist ignited with layers of compressed white-hot flames, finally striking something hard and cold.

With a clang, the compressed flames were injected into the puppet soldier's neck.

Using the force, Lumian flipped back in midair, while an explosive sound echoed from within the puppet soldier.

A Cull completed with Fire Infusion!

The sound of heavy metal fragments hitting the ground followed.

As Lumian steadied himself, he heard Albus's voice in his ear:

"You can see?"

This member of the Medici family had a peculiar metallic quality in his voice.

Albus is here too? Did he witness me precisely dismantling the puppet soldier? Lumian's right hand stealthily reached into the Traveler's Bag, as he responded with a smile, ''Can you see too?"

Albus's metallic voice came from another direction:

"I can't see by myself; I'm blindfolded like you. But I can share the vision of the puppet soldiers here."

This is an example of the power of high-level Hunters... A gift from the Red Angel? This gift can even piggyback on 0-01's puppets... According to Madam Magician, that King of Angels once held 0-01... Lumian deliberately harrumphed and said, "Did you make the puppet soldier attack me?"

Albus switched locations again, seemingly using different puppet soldiers to speak.

"This was a test. Only those who pass the test are qualified to cooperate with me."

"You think you're worthy of cooperating with me? Why would you think I want to work with you?" Lumian said disdainfully.

Albus laughed. "That Demoness has a very dangerous item. If we don't work together, she could take us out one by one."

-x-X-x-

Cooperate? You just want to use me as cannon fodder, right?

Well, let's see if I can find out what item Julie has... With his eyes covered by white bandages, Lumian wore an expression of skepticism. "How dangerous could it be?"

Albus, also blindfolded and holding a lantern, leaned against the wall of a burial chamber, watching Lumian through the eyes of the iron puppet soldiers twenty meters away.

He chuckled inwardly. You didn't put that ragged head in your bag but carried it in your hand. Not afraid of trouble, or are you planning something?

And your right hand has been in that bag made by a high-level Apprentice...

The half-body should already be inside. You don't want to reunite the head and body now, fearing unforeseen consequences. You plan to use it as an indiscriminate weapon at a crucial moment, don't you?

Perfect for surprising Julie and the others. I won't try it myself to avoid unnecessary consumption.

Cooperation is great; it gathers the dangers together, letting them cancel each other out...

Albus made an iron puppet's mouth move, its metallic voice saying, ''The item on that Demoness is one of five created by the Primordial Demoness before Her slumber after the Pale Disaster of the Fourth Epoch. It can make the bearer a vessel for the Primordial Demoness's descent."

"A vessel for a deity's descent..." Lumian repeated.

The Demoness Sect plays high-stake games, don't they?

He had thought Julie's item could only temporarily grant her the power of a Sequence 4 Demoness of Despair, not that she could briefly become the Primordial Demoness herself!

Even a fraction of a true god's power was immense!

Albus's laughter echoed in the metal cavity.

"Yes, a vessel.

"Fortunately, Julie isn't sturdy enough as a vessel. If she were an Angel-level Demoness, she could sustain the descent for a minute or two without dying. A Saint-level Demoness could hold it for a few seconds, but her soul and body would collapse. Julie, as a Demoness of Affliction, can't maintain the state for more than three seconds and that's with the cost of complete annihilation.

"Even without invoking the descent, the item grants her various special abilities, temporarily allowing her to use Sequence 4 powers.

"If we don't cooperate, facing Julie's normal state alone is tough but not hopeless. But if she's pushed to the brink and tries the descent, we won't last three seconds.

"By working together and using all our trump cards, we might last until her descent ends. Then, we rely on our skills."

Last three seconds in front of a Demoness... Such ambiguous words would be a field day for the scandal reporters on Trier's Avenue du Boulevard. They'd twist your words into questioning your prowess... Influenced by vulgar jokes from Trier's Ghost Face and other tabloids and Franca's quips, Lumian mentally criticized.

He didn't believe in Albus's sincere cooperation. He thought this Red Angel's descendant would throw him out as a shield at the critical moment to endure Julie's deity's descent. This might be Albus's ultimate plan to survive.

Like Emperor Roselle's parable: in a forest, you don't need to outrun a bear, just your companion.

Franca often joked that in adventures, companions were the best shields.

But Julie and Celeste likely know my true identity, that I'm a lover of one of their peers, and that I was once an Iron and Blood Cross Order member. They wouldn't place as much importance on me as much as they'd be wary of a Medici. So it's still a question who's the primary target and who's the shield... In a hesitant, distrustful tone, Lumian said, "I can sense Julie's danger but didn't expect it to be this severe.

"Of course, I still don't trust you."

"Cooperation and mutual vigilance are not contradictory. I can't truly trust you either," Albus replied with a hint of amusement.

"When there's a common interest, even enemies who killed one's parents can temporarily cooperate. How much more so for us?"

While speaking, Albus thought to himself, Working together against those two Demonesses is better than fighting you now and facing your hidden trump cards head-on. Even if I win, the cost would be high, and how would I deal with the Demonesses and Wanak afterward?

Heh heh, in a real fight with the Demonesses, you won't be able to hide your trump cards. The situation will become chaotic, everyone will go all out, and the dangers will cancel each other out. I'm best at winning in chaos...

After a moment of contemplation, Lumian gritted his teeth and said, "Let's cooperate until we deal with the two Demonesses."

"A very wise choice." Albus did not hide his joy.

Lumian, holding the carbide lamp and the Abscessed Hand's head, began to walk slowly.

With a posture of "I am trying to show sincerity," he said, "Besides the two Demonesses and Wanak, we have another enemy.

"That's the Mirror Person from the special mirror world from Fourth Epoch Trier. His name in Morora is Guei."

"Mirror Person..." The iron puppet ahead repeated the term, then laughed. "I'm not surprised. It's a problem left by that lunatic Alista Tudor."

"What do you mean?" Lumian took the opportunity to ask.

Albus, with a tone of clear reverence, said, "You should know my ancestor was a King of Angels. He told me that the special mirror world was likely created by Tudor."

"Red Angel? Wasn't He killed before Alista Tudor became the Blood Emperor? How did He know the origin of the special mirror world?" Lumian expressed his doubts.

"What do you mean 'killed'?" Albus sighed. "That's why I dislike working with Hunters. If it weren't for today's necessity, I wouldn't have sought you out. Hunters really have a way with words."

"I also dislike working with Hunters, like you," Lumian agreed.

Albus switched to another iron puppet: ''My ancestor entered the Fourth Epoch Trier and confirmed its various problems. He said the special mirror world might not be a product of those problems but the cause of them."

The Red Angel meant that the special mirror world wasn't created by the fall of the Blood Emperor and the destruction of Fourth Epoch Trier, but existed before and led to the need for a new Trier to seal it after Fourth Epoch Trier's fall? Could the Red Angel be deliberately spreading false information for some consOriginal?

But this matches what I found in the Blue Avenger's treasure vault-the Blood Emperor might have been using the mirror world for His resurrection arrangements before His fall.

Similarly, the Tamara family's connection with the special mirror world was also before the War of the Four Emperors...

Lumian stopped, thought for a few seconds, and said, "'Alista Tudor left too many problems behind, didn't He?"

Though the Knight of Swords said that among the crazy ancient gods of the Second Epoch, the Undying Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace was the most troublesome, causing many issues, and was quite similar to the Fourth Epoch's Blood Emperor Alista Tudor, Lumian had only encountered problems related to the Underworld from the Phoenix Ancestor. In contrast, he encountered troubles from the Blood Emperor frequently. So, in his mind, the Blood Emperor was the most troublesome, much more so than the Phoenix Ancestor.

Albus seemed to share a similar sentiment. Using the iron puppet's mouth, he said, "Because He is the symbol of calamity."

Wh- Lumian suddenly had a deeper understanding of the Hunter pathway.

Albus then asked, "As temporary collaborators, do you need me to share the puppet's vision with you? That way, you won't have to pretend to be blind."

Such a good thing? Lumian instantly became wary.

Thinking about how Wanak had to fully submit to 0-01 to share a bit of power, and considering that all the puppets here were 0-01's minions, Lumian pondered for a few seconds and said, "No need."

In a situation where he was not truly part of Albus's team, he worried that sharing vision might gradually turn him into a puppet.

"Sometimes, being too cautious isn't good," Albus Medici said without further persuasion, his tone containing a hint of undisguised regret.

For the next while, Lumian followed his mental map, winding through the underground tombs. Albus occasionally used the iron puppets scattered around the area to remind him he wasn't left behind.

After a while, Lumian slowed his steps, mumbling to himself, In the Examples of Mausoleum Construction, there's nothing marked ahead...

This is where Albus comes in, isn't it?

Without hesitation, Lumian walked past what seemed to be a gate and entered the blank area on his mental map.

The next second, he felt his skin prickling, as if approaching a fierce lightning bolt yet not touching it.

Lumian immediately recalled the forest of lightning from his previous nightmare.

His ears then caught Albus's voice through the iron puppet:

"Wanak is coming. Just a dozen meters ahead."

Wanak? Lumian's mind immediately pictured the most dangerous figure in Morora, with blood-red hair and iron-black eyes, and his spirit instantly tensed up.

-x-X-x-

Lumian had always thought Wanak, who could draw power from 0-01, was more dangerous than Albus and Julie. This lightning-filled area was perfect for Wanak to unleash his potential.

No matter if Wanak could only change the weather slightly or if he was on par with Julie and Celeste, who could become vessels for a deity's descent, in this forest of lightning, he was as powerful as a true demigod.

Together, Albus and I would get beaten up by the thunderstorm...

Lumian's first instinct was to exit this area and find another path to 0-01.

That way, even if Wanak pursued him, outside his optimal environment, he wouldn't be invincible.

In a flash, Lumian remembered the nightmares he had.

After the forest of lightning, there were mountains of corpses and bones, with 0-01 possibly at the peak.

This meant this was the only way to the core sealing area-there was no way around it!

This fact was hinted at in "Examples of Mausoleum Construction," even if it wasn't clearly marked.

Or, I could pretend to retreat, draw Wanak out, and avoid fighting him in the lightning forest...

Wait a minute...

Lumian suddenly had a bold idea.

Since previous dangers saw him as one of their own, would Wanak, a puppet of 0-01, make the same judgment?

Wanak wasn't a fully intelligent human but more like a sentient puppet.

Such a target could likely be deceived!

When I first arrived in Morora, I had little corruption from 0-01, with a mix of other influences, so it made sense for Wanak to see me as an enemy. But now, after much learning, the corruption is approaching a critical point.

! should try.

If it fails, I'll use Shadow Animation to withstand the lightning attack and seize the chance to teleport out of the forest, avoiding a direct fight with Wanak...

Lumian made his decision and stepped forward.

As he walked, he recalled the nightmares he had since arriving in Morora, listening to the brass earplugs recounting knowledge to align himself with the corruption. At the same time, he thought aimlessly about various significant and insignificant questions to relax and prevent his body from being too tense.

This could prevent Wanak from noticing anything unusual!

Why did I end up in the forest of lightning?

According to the nightmare, there should be burning palaces and waterfall-like downpours ahead.

Are they on a different route?

...

Lumian endured the increasing prickling sensation, mentally calculating his distance.

Three or four more steps to meet Wanak...

As soon as this thought crossed Lumian's mind, he heard slow but steady breathing, masked by the rolling thunder, just a few meters away.

Lumian's back tensed involuntarily, and his right hand reached into the Traveler's Bag, ready to pull out the headless corpse of the Abscessed Hand.

After its previous writhing approach, they had fused together but were temporarily unable to break through the Traveler's Bag's seal and reunite with the head.

As he got closer to Wanak, Lumian, unable to see his expression, instinctively wanted to hold his breath.

He quickly adjusted, forcing himself to remain calm.

The next second, he felt a gaze fall upon him, making the skin on his face break out in barely noticeable bumps.

It was Wanak's gaze.

At this moment, Lumian wished he were a Hypnotist, but he could only keep telling himself, I am an experimental subject, I am an experimental subject...

He maintained the same pace as the black-robed experimental subjects, walking straight ahead.

Two steps... one step... Lumian tried to clear his mind.

He walked past the imagined figure of Wanak.

One step... two steps... three steps... Lumian didn't dare relax, feeling cold sweat on his back.

Outside the lightning forest, Albus Medici, through a guardian puppet's eyes, watched Lumian holding the carbide lamp and the ragged head, step by step, approaching Wanak, who had unbuttoned two buttons of his shirt.

He saw Wanak's gaze fall on Lumian, follow him for seven or eight seconds, then slowly shift away, watching Lumian pass the most dangerous person in Morora and head towards the end of the lightning forest.

Wh- Albus squinted his eyes, then laughed. So that's how he gets through dangerous areas, no wonder he's been reading and studying these past weeks... When we reach the destination, I'll have to guard against him using this trick...

Lumian walked a bit further, feeling the prickling sensation fade as faint echoes of sound from the brass earplugs leaked out, indicating he had left the lightning forest and entered a narrow corridor.

After this corridor, I should reach the area around the mountain of corpses...

Should I wait for Albus to catch up, or go face Julie and the others alone?

Heh heh, I wonder how Albus will get past Wanak...

Lumian stopped and listened for sounds from the direction of the lightning forest.

Thud, thud, thud. He heard slow, steady footsteps.

"Why did you stop?" Wanak's sharp voice suddenly rang in his ears.

A chill ran up Lumian's spine to the back of his head, making him almost pull out the headless corpse of the Abscessed Hand.

He stiffly wanted to "explain," but after a moment's thought, he chose to remain silent and continued walking.

In the nearly frozen air, Lumian heard the thudding footsteps pass him and head towards the end of the corridor.

Phew... He quietly exhaled.

He didn't stop again but slowed his pace, moving like a snail.

Soon, he felt countless eyes on him.

Seeing Wanak rush towards 0-01, Albus Medici laughed at Lumian's pointless risk-taking as he leisurely passed through the lightning forest.

Using the guardian puppets in the corridor, Albus saw the walls made of square iron plates, with surfaces as smooth as mirrors.

At this moment, twisted, pale faces appeared in these "mirrors."

These faces belonged to the residents of Morora, silently staring at Lumian. Occasionally, someone would cautiously extend a hand from the metal surface, quietly reaching for Lumian's body.

Lumian merely swung a fireball in that direction, not making any aggressive moves.

Seeing the pale hand retract into the iron wall, Albus made a puppet speak: "I see Wanak didn't blindfold himself. Do you want to try it too?"

In the underground mausoleum, puppets of Wanak's level don't need to blindfold themselves, not fearing replacement by a Mirror Person.

Theoretically, I should be able to do the same, given I'm almost like him now... Albus must have noticed Wanak didn't attack me and is suspecting my condition... Lumian calmly responded to Albus, "! don't want to die yet."

He then asked, "Should we wait here for a while, let Wanak and the two Demonesses fight it out, and then take advantage?"

Wanak rushing to the mountain of corpses must be to stop Julie and Celeste from doing something to 0-01!

Albus replied through a puppet: "I haven't seen the two Demonesses ahead."

Julie and Celeste haven't arrived yet? Did you two Demonesses get lost?

You were the first to enter the underground mausoleum! Or have you arrived but are hiding, waiting for the right moment? Lumian's thoughts raced, and he resumed his normal pace.

As he walked, he smiled at Albus. "You must have noticed Wanak won't attack me. So, will you let me go ahead unimpeded, join me, or rush ahead of me?"

Lumian worried Albus might lag behind, letting him face any unexpected dangers around the mountain of corpses alone. So he pointed out his unusual condition, making Albus cautious.

The next dangers, of course, should be faced together. No one should think of hanging back to reap the benefits after the fact!

Albus's laugh came from Lumian's side.

"Since we've agreed to cooperate, we'll go in together."

"That colors you in a different light," Lumian responded insincerely.

After several more steps, Lumian suddenly stopped, feeling he was about to reach the mountain of corpses.

"Why did you stop?" Albus asked through a puppet at the entrance.

"Why did you stop?" Lumian retorted.

"You still don't trust me," Albus sighed.

Lumian chuckled in amusement and replied, "Aren't you the same?"

Suddenly, he sped up, as if trying to leave Albus behind and rush to the foot of the mountain of corpses.

Moments later, he heard a swooshing sound, the noise of a flaming spear piercing the air.

Lumian scoffed and left the corridor completely.

The next second, he felt an intense sense of danger.

This wasn't a premonition but a Hunter's instinct to dodge an attack aimed at his head.

"Are you here to die too?" Julie's cold, indifferent voice echoed in Lumian's ears.

Lumian quickly activated the black mark on his right shoulder and withdrew his hand from the Traveler's Bag.

He pulled out a bluish-black, swollen, headless corpse!

...

Trier, in the apartment Franca and Jenna rented.

Jenna said to Franca, "Your suggestion worked. I've digested the Witch potion. Turns out, getting close to mystical dangers was the key."

Franca's face lit up with joy.

"Are you going to take a couple of days to adjust before going to the sacrificial square in the underground catacombs for the advancement, or do it now?"

Jenna pursed her lips and said, "My spiritual intuition tells me it's best to do it now."

-x-X-x-

When Lumian withdrew the headless corpse of the Abscessed Hand and activated the black mark on his right shoulder, he heard Julie's voice along with the sharp, exaggerated sound of a heavy object falling rapidly.

Instinctively, he chose the farthest place he could sense as his teleportation destination.

Just as Lumian's figure vanished, Albus entered the area with two iron puppets.

He hadn't been influenced by Lumian's feigned attempt to rush towards the mountain of corpses. Instead, he took advantage of Lumian's blindness, conjuring a blazing-white flame spear and manually hurling it forward to drive Lumian out of the corridor, forcing him to face potential dangers and possible concentrated attacks.

Albus himself lagged two to three meters behind, allowing him ample time to react—if Lumian were to be surrounded or controlled, Albus could avoid the dangerous zone and approach the mountain of corpses from the side.

Of course, Albus couldn't afford to fall too far behind. Lumian had just proven he could prevent Wanak from attacking him, potentially reaching the destination quickly and unhindered. If Albus delayed for more than ten to twenty seconds before entering the area, Lumian might have already made direct contact with 0-01!

In war, acting too quickly or too slowly can both lead to failure... As this thought crossed Albus's mind, he heard the terrifying explosion of something hitting the ground.

One of his iron puppets looked up, seeing a massive meteor engulfed in bright flames, illuminating the entire area. It plummeted towards the armored soldiers and countless corpses in the wasteland, heading towards the entrance area where Albus and Wanak were.

The meteor fell faster and faster, soon surpassing the speed of sound.

Further away, Julie, wearing a slit low-cut dress, stood in midair with the help of icy steps, holding a lantern.

With a sapphire ring on her left hand, she drew a downward arc, pointing at where Wanak and Albus were.

"Son of a bitch!"

For the first time since entering Morora, Albus cursed uncontrollably in his mind.

Isn't she supposed to not have invoked divine descent yet?

Isn't she not in a state of divine descent?

How could this sow summon a meteor?

What about Morora's rules? What about 0-01? Shouldn't there be some restrictions? This is the ability of a Demoness of Catastrophe!

And this Demoness isn't even blindfolded!

Something's wrong!

Although the meteor hadn't reached the level to destroy a city, or the true power of a Demoness of Catastrophe, Albus still felt genuine fear at that moment.

As a member of the Red of War rebuilt by the ancestor, he could concentrate his power towards the King of Angels, share some of the power in return, and distribute part of the damage he received. However, in Morora, within the core area of sealing 0-01, this special interaction was significantly weakened. Albus could at most temporarily use Sequence 4 powers and some weakened higher abilities, but could only transfer a third of the damage at most.

Now, even if he could transfer half or two-thirds of the damage, the remaining part would still be more than his current body could bear.

If the meteor had fallen instantly, Albus would have already turned into a charred corpse.

Wearing a black blindfold, he leaned back slightly, his hair igniting with red flames extending to his back.

Beneath his skin, his bones and flesh faintly glowed with an iron-black hue.

Next, he transformed into a blazing white flame spear, carrying the two iron puppets rapidly to the right.

He had borrowed the Red Angel's power. The plan was to first avoid the meteor's impact zone, then use the ancestor's damage sharing, his temporary metal transformation, and the two iron puppets as shields to survive the subsequent impact.

Yes, Albus didn't bring the iron puppets because he was fond of them or because he didn't want to lose his "eyes."

They made excellent shields!

As the primary target, Wanak made the same choice as Albus, but without the final protection of the iron puppets, and was hindered by layers of invisible webs around him.

As the strands of web became visible, turning grayish-white, Wanak's blazing white flame spear slowed down.

Bang!

The blazing meteor hit the ground about ten meters behind Wanak.

Boom!

Rolling dust, intense flames, and terrifying shockwaves engulfed Wanak.

The metal-colored body of Morora's most dangerous person cracked instantly, turning into a charred corpse.

Albus, who had fled some distance, was slammed into the white flame spear by the rushing shockwave, driving it to the ground.

With a clanging sound, the first iron puppet, acting as a shield, quickly dented and partially shattered, instantly losing its puppet-like feel and becoming scrap metal.

Next, the second iron puppet suffered severe damage, and then Albus Medici, who emerged from the flame spear state, spat a mouthful of blazing blood, his metalized body sustaining damage.

Not knowing where he had teleported to, Lumian first heard the explosion, then felt the tangible shockwave slam into him, followed by the burning flames.

His ears momentarily deafened, unable to draw knowledge from the brass earplugs. His whole body was flung out, but the shockwave's intensity had dropped to a level a Reaper could withstand.

As for the flames carried by the shockwave, they could only ignite clothes, bandages, and hair, barely causing significant burns to his body, and were quickly extinguished by his flame control ability.

Thua!

Lumian landed heavily, almost dropping the carbide lamp in his hand.

The burnt bandages on his face fell off, but fortunately, he kept his eyes shut.

At the same time, Lumian felt the headless corpse of the Abscessed Hand in his right hand and the rotting head in his left hand become agitated, each dragging his body towards the other with terrifying force.

Lumian didn't stop them; instead, he released his grip.

He once again activated the black mark on his right shoulder, teleporting to the limit of his current sensing range.

He needed to distance himself from the merging parts of the Abscessed Hand to avoid becoming the first target of attack. Otherwise, he might find himself surrounded and attacked!

When choosing a teleportation destination, Lumian deliberately avoided the impact zone and the place where Julie's voice had come from.

In the thick, smoky environment, Lumian's figure disappeared, and the two rotting parts of the Abscessed Hand moved towards each other.

The headless corpse grasped the tangled-haired head with its only hand, urgently placing it on its neck.

But this attempt was hindered by some force, as if an unspoken rule in the underground mausoleum required the head and body to remain separate.

Of course, the obstruction didn't truly prevent the head from reattaching; it only increased the difficulty and slowed the reassembly process.

On the other side, the rolling flames and scattered dust calmed down a bit. Julie, standing on the icy steps, saw that Wanak had lost his life force, lying on the ground with deep cracks and charred marks all over his body.

She quietly sighed in relief.

Wanak had always been her most dreaded opponent. She regretted that Lumian fled early, missing the chance to team up and kill Wanak.

Just then, Wanak's charred body moved.

The most dangerous person in Morora leaped up, with two dark red flames burning in his eye sockets.

He had become an undead creature!

For Wanak, who was a special puppet of 0-01, being alive or existing as an undead made little difference.

Moreover, as an undead, he could tap into additional powers!

He spread his arms, tilted his head back slightly, and let out a roar like a battle cry.

Suddenly, the lantern Julie held went out, and the flames around the mountain of corpses were extinguished. Only the lantern in Albus's hand and the carbide lamp Lumian held, protected by their Hunter powers, flickered but continued to burn.

Darkness surged back but failed to engulf Julie.

Nothing? Using the last iron puppet as his eyes, Albus couldn't help but frown upon seeing this scene.

That sapphire ring can protect Julie from the underground mausoleum's dark corrosion and dissolution?

That doesn't make sense!

Even if it could, why did Julie carry the lantern before? To mislead us?

And, there shouldn't be a Demoness of Catastrophe's ability, even if it's a weakened version...

Something's definitely wrong!

At this moment, Julie let out a low, soul-scratching laugh and pointed her left hand skyward again.

In the darkness above, faint light appeared as sharp icicles formed, raining down like a storm towards the wasteland, targeting Wanak, Albus, and Lumian.

Wanak roared again.

It was like a battle drum, striking Julie's heart and causing her to stiffen momentarily.

Next, a tornado connecting heaven and earth formed, sweeping all the icicles and reversing towards Julie.

At that moment, whether it was Lumian with his eyes shut, Albus with his eyes covered, or Julie and Wanak with normal vision, they all felt the world shake and heard the creaking sound of the void around them.

The rotting corpse of the Abscessed Hand had finally reattached its head to its neck.

-x-X-x-

The rotting chunks of flesh on the blue-black corpse's neck and head began to wriggle and merge back together.

It felt as if the whole world started to shake, with the void around them creaking.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

It was as if something outside the void was pounding forcefully, trying to get in.

Crack! A strange, ethereal breaking sound came from afar, piercing Lumian's ears.

Is Hand Bro trying to get in and reunite with its body?

Is the breaking sound a sign that the seal is temporarily broken?

Lumian, with his eyes still tightly shut, could only speculate from the sounds he heard and the movements he felt.

Just as these thoughts crossed his mind, he heard the metallic, scraping voice of an iron puppet several meters away: "Next to the assembled corpse, the space is cracking like glass."

This was Albus, relaying to Lumian what he saw through the iron puppet and the detail he thought was most important.

Unable to see, Lumian had teleported near Albus-he had to avoid the impact zone and Julie's location while staying away from the Abscessed Hand's corpse. The choices were limited, making an encounter with Albus likely.

Cracking like glass... Hearing Albus's description, Lumian suddenly had a realization.

He had been puzzled by Julie's display of confidence and the terrifying commotion she created.

He felt that if he hadn't teleported away in time, he would surely have died from such an attack.

This exceeded his assessment of Julie's strength, making him suspect she was in a state of divine descent, though it clearly didn't seem that way.

Now, Lumian had a vague guess.

Amid the intense shaking of the ground, Albus stopped using the iron puppet's voice and spoke directly, "Do you think it looks like a mirror shattering?"

A mirror... Yes! Lumian instantly understood the situation.

This is the mirror world!

This is an extension or projection of that special mirror world around 0-01!

After Julie and Celeste reached their destination, they set a trap, creating an entrance to the mirror world at the corpse mountain's entrance. So, whether it was Wanak, Albus, or himself, none of them saw the two Demonesses when they peered into the corridor, but were attacked after entering.

The Demoness of Black had told Franca that the Demoness Sect once controlled that special mirror world, losing some control after the War of the Four Emperors, and further diminishing after the Pale Disaster.

At this moment, Julie must have already worn the divine artifact left by the Primordial Demoness, possessing various special powers. One of these might be the limited use of the special mirror world's power.

With the special mirror world's support, she could launch such a terrifying attack!

If my guess is correct, and this really is the mirror world... Lumian felt the world's shaking, listened to the sounds of the void breaking, and the commotion caused by Julie and Wanak attacking the Abscessed Hand's corpse. He suddenly turned his head towards Albus.

He asked in a deep voice, "Is Julie blindfolded?"

"No," Albus replied firmly.

As expected! Lumian decisively opened his eyes.

If this truly was the mirror world, there was no need to worry about 0-01's power leaking out and creating a corresponding Mirror Person through the eyes, the mystical window of the soul.

In the next second, scenes filled Lumian's vision: Fallen soldiers in iron-black armor like stalks of straw, the corpse mountain several hundred meters to the side, Julie standing on icy steps with an unlit lantern by her feet, and Wanak with dark red flames burning in his eye sockets.

At this moment, Julie and Wanak both saw the bluish-black corpse of the Abscessed Hand as the primary target, launching rounds of attacks. To them, it seemed more dangerous than each other, Lumian, or Albus.

"Indeed..." Albus's voice carried a hint of laughter.

He even sighed in relief without hiding it when Lumian looked over.

Lumian's thoughts raced, quickly understanding what Albus meant by "indeed": This guy was also guessing this is the mirror world but couldn't be sure, so he encouraged me to open my eyes to verify?

Dammit! That's so sneaky!

Good thing I was certain before I opened my eyes!

In Lumian's sight, Albus, in his black jacket with red patterns and hair like burning flames, removed the burned blindfold and laughed.

"No wonder that Demoness kept carrying a lit lantern, to mislead us into not thinking this was the mirror world.

"No wonder nothing happened when her lantern went out. Truly insidious."

"Are you any less insidious?" Lumian replied just as the Abscessed Hand's corpse experienced a sudden change.

The surrounding void cracked like glass struck by a fist, dense white cracks spreading outward, becoming sparse and transparent.

Crack!

The cluster of dense white cracks shattered, and a rotting, pus-dripping, bluish-black swollen hand flew in.

The Abscessed Hand finally broke through the barriers and arrived here!

As soon as it appeared, it used Spirit World Traversal to place itself directly at the severed wrist.

Seeing this, Julie had a strong sense of foreboding.

She immediately let the sapphire ring on her left hand emit a faint light.

Next, she let her hands fall and then lifted them from below.

The ground shook violently, and a small volcano quickly formed under the bluish-black corpse of the Abscessed Hand, spewing out red-white lava and clouds of dust.

This immediately engulfed the bluish-black rotting corpse, melting its flesh and attempting to solidify it within the volcanic rock.

Wanak, with dark red flames in his eye sockets, had blood slowly oozing from his brow, twisting into a strange pattern.

As this change occurred, Wanak raised his right hand.

The dead soldiers in iron-black armor lying on the ground stood up again, their eye sockets rekindling with pale or dark red flames.

Wanak then formed an almost entirely green flame spear with a hint of blazing white, hurling it at the bluish-black corpse struggling in the fierce lava.

The undead soldiers followed suit, creating blazing-white flame spears, mimicking Wanak's action, and throwing them at the target.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The flame spears nearly obscured half the sky.

Seeing this, Albus moved towards the entrance, with Lumian silently following.

Soon, the flame spears covered the bluish-black corpse of the Abscessed Hand, tearing it into countless small chunks of rotting flesh.

These pieces ignited, falling into the red-white lava.

Suddenly, a part of the lava unexpectedly caved in, and the flaming rotting flesh seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, gathering together.

In the blink of an eye, the bluish-black corpse reappeared in the lava and flames.

The rotting flesh on its surface peeled off in pieces with flames, revealing fresh, vibrant flesh and pale skin as healthy as if it hadn't seen sunlight for a long time.

Julie and Wanak's attacks continued, with hailstones like cannonballs, black flames, lightning strikes, and flying fireballs, but the damage couldn't keep up with the reassembly and healing speed of the Abscessed Hand's complete body.

Within seconds, the charred skin and rotting flesh on the Abscessed Hand's face also fell off, revealing a delicate, handsome face.

Thick, long black eyelashes fluttered, and beneath the soft, pale eyelids, the eyes began to move slowly.

Whether living in the Demonesses' circle like Julie, frequently dealing with Demonesses like Lumian, or the deeply rooted Albus Medici, as well as the uniquely conditioned Wanak, they all held their breath at this moment, briefly entranced by the indescribable beauty.

It was like admiring a perfect, timeless work of art.

They didn't notice their hair growing visibly, previous injuries healing rapidly, and consumed spirituality replenishing as if a rainstorm had filled numerous evaporated lakes.

They saw that on the flawless but slightly feminine face, under the high nose bridge, the just-right lips parted slightly, revealing clean white teeth. The entirely white yet clearly muscular and perfectly proportioned body was completely exposed.

Seeing what was between the Abscessed Hand's legs, Julie instinctively swallowed, clenching her right hand.

The perfect body leaned back slightly, seemingly in some pain.

His chest began to swell, his nether region shrinking rapidly, and his body's lines softened.

He grew increasingly beautiful, nearing the limit of perfection.

But this transformation was stalled, as if missing some crucial element to succeed.

Taking advantage of this stall, Albus broke free from the stunning beauty's shock and immersion, touched the stubble around his mouth, burned it off with flames, and slightly frowned at Lumian. "What kind of monster did you put together?"

Lumian, barely recovering, chuckled. "I don't know either."

"..." Albus was momentarily speechless.

Lumian's gaze lingered on the complete corpse of the Abscessed Hand.

Indeed, it was a bro, but he seemed to be turning into a sister.

But if this change is due to Beyonder characteristics, like a Witch's, the gender should be fixed, not reverting to male after death and then turning female upon resurrection...

This feels more like corruption... He was killed and sealed in pieces before the corruption could fully change his body? To prevent his reassembly and revival, and the return of the corruption?

Now, what's stopping that corruption from fully transforming him? Is it an issue with the source of the corruption, or something special about Morora?

Just as Lumian made some guesses based on his limited mystical knowledge, he saw the white eyelids of the Abscessed Hand twitch and slowly open.

They revealed a pair of beautiful, crystalline scarlet eyes.

-x-X-x-

Lumian and the others were all captivated by those beautiful, crystalline eyes, feeling as if their very souls were being drawn into the depths of that scarlet.

But those eyes soon filled with irrational rage, madness, and chaos, creating a vortex of indescribable emptiness at their core.

It made all who saw it feel a deep discomfort, as if a flawless object had suddenly cracked.

Just as Lumian broke free from the trance, he saw the scarlet eyes of the Abscessed Hand focusing on him.

It first noticed its own contractee.

It showed no hesitation, displaying a ruthless, bloodthirsty impulse.

Lumian's heart skipped a beat, and his body hair stood on end.

Damn, it's going to attack me first! Lumian immediately prepared to teleport to the side of the corpse mountain in the mirror world, to avoid the impending attack from the Abscessed Hand.

He felt it was unfair-he had only been watching and hadn't tried to interfere with the reassembly of Hand Bro, yet he was being targeted.

The real culprits were Julie and Wanak!

And I went through all that trouble to gather your body. I don't expect you to thank me, but at least don't kill me first! Lumian grumbled internally while activating the black mark on his right shoulder, following his Hunter instincts and personality.

At this moment, both Julie and Wanak sensed that the body, which had transformed from a rotting mess to near perfection, had become even more dangerous.

Taking advantage of the Abscessed Hand's focus on Lumian, they each prepared their most powerful and effective attacks.

Julie raised her left hand and pointed to the sky.

High above, dark clouds swirled into a massive vortex, driven by a violent wind. At the center of the vortex, an iron-black meteor began to take shape, heavy and ominous.

The Abscessed Hand's gaze shifted from Lumian's disappearing figure to Julie.

In those crystalline, scarlet eyes, Julie's figure in her slit dress was reflected, followed by the image of the Abscessed Hand raising its white palm.

That hand clenched into a fist.

Julie's neck made a cracking sound, visibly indenting inward.

Crack, crack, the mirrors on her body shattered, but she couldn't escape her predicament.

She floated upward slowly, her face contorted in pain as if someone were lifting her by the neck.

Her hands instinctively pulled back, trying to pry open the invisible hand strangling her.

The forming iron-black meteor disintegrated, the wind stopped, and the clouds dispersed.

Lumian, who had just appeared at the side of the corpse mountain, saw this and genuinely marveled at the terror of the Abscessed Hand.

If this had happened outside, carrying out the contract without having Madam Magician as a safeguard would be suicide.

At this moment, Lumian felt a strange sense of relief, as if an invisible shackle within him had been broken.

He had completed the pact and was no longer barred from acquiring godhood.

Lumian's gaze swept over Julie, whose mouth was opening and her face turning a darker shade of blue and purple. He frowned in confusion.

Where is Celeste?

Julie is responsible for blocking and interfering with intruders in the mirror world. Is Celeste targeting 0-01?

His thoughts raced as he looked towards Albus Medici, now several hundred meters away.

This guy is also suspicious...

He could influence and use the iron puppets in the underground tomb.

Why did he wait until Julie and Celeste took action to enter here?

Was he preparing something or afraid he couldn't get past Wanak, waiting for a chaotic opportunity?

Just as Julie's eyes began to bulge and she resolved to unleash the full power of her sapphire ring, the mirror world shook violently again, and clear cracks appeared all around.

From within these cracks, nearly invisible flames emerged and seeped through.

In an instant, the sky and ground began to burn.

Lumian suddenly felt an urge to submit, his body instinctively avoiding the nearly invisible, flower-like flames and the melting earth, rocks, and void.

He realized his resistance to burning damage was useless against these flames; contact would surely reduce him to ashes.

At the same time, his right palm became unbearably hot, and a violent, crazed aura surged within him, unable to break free from the icy, deathly stillness of the Underworld Daoist mark's restraints.

The residual aura of Blood Emperor Alista Tudor had fully activated, completely triggered!

This left Lumian feeling like an overinflated balloon, pushed to its limit and still being pumped.

The pain was excruciating.

The area around the Abscessed Hand, where the mirror cracks were most numerous and the flames most dense, became a burning hell. Its head lowered, and the hand squeezing Julie's neck loosened.

Witnessing this change and feeling an indescribable pain, Lumian recalled a passage from the 0-01 sealing information: "Beyonders with strength surpassing Sequence 5 are forbidden from approaching.

Warning, Beyonders with strength surpassing Sequence 5 are forbidden from approaching!"

Now, the reassembled and revived Abscessed Hand clearly possessed strong godhood.

0-01 has detected the presence of a demigod level Beyonder and is forcibly breaking the mirror world's barrier?

My Blood Emperor mark was stimulated by 0-01's aura and triggered uncontrollably? Lumian thought painfully, his thoughts disjointed.

Albus Medici also lowered his head, his flaming hair growing another inch.

Julie fell to the top of the frosty steps, finally escaping a near-death state.

Her long, pale neck was swollen and bruised, marked by deep, blood-embedded finger imprints.

Julie exhaled, raising her left hand once more.

She intended to seize this chance while the enemy, who nearly killed her, was restrained by 0-01's power and eradicate it completely.

On the other side, Wanak ignited nearly blue flames.

He stretched out his right palm, directing the flames forward to form a giant fireball.

The fireball attracted the nearly invisible flames around it, drawing them in layer by layer.

Behind Wanak, his undead army was ignited by the flames seeping through the cracks, but instead of turning to ash, they merged with these flames, one by one flying into Wanak's fireball.

The fireball grew larger, its color gradually turning purple.

Wanak, his eye sockets burning with dark red flames, bit his lips tightly, reaching his limit.

He then pushed the enormous, pale purple fireball towards the Abscessed Hand.

As the fireball touched the Abscessed Hand's perfect body, a meteor ignited by air friction fell from the sky.

The meteor fell faster and faster, hitting the immobilized target directly.

Struggling against the residual aura of the Blood Emperor, Lumian first saw the explosion of light, then the rising dust, and finally heard the deafening boom, feeling the earth shake wildly.

The world turned colorless and dark.

Did it work? Julie eagerly looked towards the area where the meteor had fallen.

Though it was filled with dust, smoke, and invisible wind, Julie used her connection with the mirror world to make her eyes like mirrors, reflecting the scene at the explosion's core.

The perfect body had been blown to pieces, its flesh either charred or vaporized, leaving only a broken, black skeleton standing.

But on that skeleton, new tender flesh was growing, and the bone was slowly shedding its charred appearance.

It's still not dead? The weakened Julie felt an immense heaviness in her heart.

In the next second, Julie's forehead throbbed with pain, as if the flesh there had a will of its own, trying to break free from her skin.

Her ears buzzed, and her mind was filled with images of lofty, gently floating scarlet flags.

Her face twisted in pain, she thought with difficulty, H-has 0-01 noticed me?

I-I can't hold on any longer...

I'm going to become its puppet...

Julie's body bent forward under the invisible weight, her eyes turning black with visible veins.

She looked at Wanak on the wasteland, at the rising dust, her gaze growing crazed, resembling her state when first entering Morora.

Clenching her teeth, she whispered, "I will take everyone here with me!

Celeste, the rest is up to you! Remember the famous line from 'Eternal Love'? Stupid, live well!"

Live well! Julie silently screamed, and her sapphire ring burst into blinding light.

She was invoking the Primordial One's divine descent!

In the light, the bloody mark on Julie's forehead faded quickly, her hair floated and grew longer and thicker.

Gray-white quickly spread around her, turning the entire wasteland gray-white.

Lumian stiffened as if turned to stone, the residual aura of the Blood Emperor in his right palm causing endless burning pain.

Then he saw Julie, transformed by the gray-white, suddenly turn towards him.

...

Trier, in the sacrificial square at the entrance to the third level of the underground catacombs.

Franca had finished checking the surroundings, ensuring no one else was present, and had set up a mirror maze.

"You can drink the potion now." She nodded at Jenna.

Jenna took out the necessary materials from her Traveler's Bag and mixed the Pleasure potion in a crystal glass.

Without hesitation, she raised the glass and gulped it down.

She felt herself float as if walking on clouds, her body pricked by tiny, needle-like pains. Her hair, influenced by an unseen force, defied gravity, extending away.

Jenna vaguely saw snakes slithering through the surrounding gloom, rising up.

Each snake had a strange eye on its head, giving Jenna a strong sense of danger, as if she would be torn apart any second.

The hallucination quickly faded, and Jenna saw a blurry, holy figure in a plain white robe.

The figure sighed in a hollow, ethereal voice. "As a woman, do you know how dangerous this path is?"

"I have no choice," Jenna replied, half-awake and dazed.

The holy figure was silent for a moment and then said,"Make peace with your mirror self, for you were always one. Any other questions?"

The figure started to fade as if about to disappear.

Jenna blurted out, "Are you Lady Krismona? Who is your father?"

As soon as she asked, Jenna wanted to slap herself.

Had she gotten into the habit of discussing nonsense with Lumian and Franca? There were so many important things to ask, yet she asked such an irrelevant question!

The holy figure in the plain white robe was silent for a moment and then said, "My father is Alista Tudor."

-x-X-x-

The entire world seemed to turn gray and white, even the almost blue flames on Wanak's body solidifying into stone.

Lumian's first instinct was to reach into his Traveler's Bag to retrieve the mirror cufflink. He intended to use the opportunity, created by 0-01 breaking through the mirror world's barrier and Julie being too preoccupied to intervene, to escape the mirror world and return to the real corpse mountain, avoiding the impending divine battle.

He realized Julie had been praying for a divine descent.

And now, a fragment of the Primordial Demoness's power had descended!

Lumian couldn't avoid the influence. His body turned gray and stiff. The burning pain from the residual aura of the Blood Emperor in his right palm was the only thing keeping him moving, allowing him to slowly reach into his bag and grab the glass-like cufflink.

Just as he withdrew his hand, before he could activate the mirror cufflink, Julie, with her hair floating in the air, turned to look at him.

Her hair had turned raven black like thick, long serpents, and her eyes were now a brilliant, crystalline blue.

In that brief moment of eye contact, Lumian lost control of his body.

He saw the grayness spreading around him, climbing from his feet. Every inch of skin and flesh it touched turned to real stone.

Why am I the first target?

Wanak and Albus are far more dangerous, and the Abscessed Hand isn't completely dead. Why target the weakest one first?

Shouldn't I be caught in a broad attack instead?

Then I'd have a chance to escape the mirror world and wait out the divine descent!

Facing this hopeless situation, Lumian, as an Ascetic, couldn't help but feel intense anger and frustration.

Despite his limbs turning to stone, he tried to channel his spirituality to activate the Mirror Cufflink and other contract marks on his body.

But as his spirituality approached the grayness, it solidified, turning to stone and falling like rain to the ground.

His neck turned to stone, then his face and brain began to gray.

His last effort was to look toward Albus Medici's position.

The wasteland was empty.

The descendant of the Red Angel was gone.

He had disappeared or escaped somehow!

Son of a sow... Lumian couldn't help but curse.

In the next moment, his thoughts seemed to turn to stone.

His gray eyes saw Julie, transformed and radiating charm even to stone, floating in mid-air, engulfed in black flames.

The Demoness descended like a giant bird, trailing black flames that twisted and branched like countless serpents, their long tails gently swaying.

Silently, the mirror world began to collapse, dark voids mingling with black flames, swallowing the still skeletal Abscessed Hand, the immovable Wanak, and the petrified Lumian...

The end of this world had come.

Silent darkness filled every void.

After an indeterminate time, a violent, invisible flame flickered to life, illuminating Lumian's mind.

He felt the burning pain and icy rot in his right palm, the heat in his left chest.

He snapped his eyes open and saw a hundred-meter-high mountain of corpses and bones.

I'm... alive? Lumian was bewildered.

His last memory was turning to stone and the destruction of the mirror world by Julie.

He instinctively looked down, seeing the grayness rapidly recede from his body.

This confirmed it wasn't a nightmare or hallucination.

How did I survive?

Did someone help me?

Lumian doubted he could have survived such an apocalypse alone.

At that moment, he heard Albus Medici's voice, tinged with amusement.

"You can traverse the mirror world too, just like my escape plan, and you did it while partially petrified. Impressive. Did you rely on that cufflink in your hand?"

Lumian turned to see Albus, in a tattered black and red jacket, a crystal necklace around his wrist.

Albus had his eyes closed but was surrounded by undead soldiers in iron-black armor, their eyes burning with pale or dark red flames.

Lumian remembered he should also close his eyes.

This is likely the real area around the corpse mountain. Keeping his eyes open might result in being silently replaced by his mirror self!

Nothing happened... Just as I expected, I'm now Wanak's ally, one of the dangers, a puppet of 0-01. No need to fear any forbidden rules anymore... If only I'd realized it earlier, instead of being stunned and confused by my survival, I could have closed my eyes before Albus looked over, taking advantage of the situation to trick him... Lumian regretted this missed opportunity but also started to understand how Albus avoided the divine descent of the Primordial Demoness.

Like him, he took advantage of 0-01 breaking through the mirror world's barrier and Julie being too preoccupied with her prayer to notice them.

He used an item that allowed him to traverse the mirror world and escape back to the real mausoleum.

The only difference was, Julie, who hadn't fully completed her divine descent, targeted Lumian instead of Albus, allowing him to escape while he couldn't.

Why were you watching me? You should've focused on sealing the entire world. Then no one could've escaped! Lumian mentally cursed Julie, realizing that he must have activated the Mirror Cufflink just before his thoughts completely turned to stone, which saved him.

But as he checked, he realized something was wrong.

The Mirror Cufflink still had two uses left!

He hadn't used the Beyonder item at all!

Wh- Could Archbishop Heraberg secretly have helped me? After all, gods need special arrangements to descend a fraction of their power into Morola's underground mausoleum. It's unlikely an external entity intervened suddenly... It couldn't be Julie, who suddenly felt how kind I was as a boss and pushed me out of the mirror world at the last moment, could it? Lumian decided to put these thoughts aside for now.

Now wasn't the time to seek the truth!

There were still many dangers ahead!

He glanced at Albus, noticing the Red Angel's descendant studying him through the eyes of the surrounding undead soldiers.

Indeed, Albus didn't attack me just now, not because he didn't want to, but because he had concerns. My actions exceeded his expectations, and my escape was full of mysteries. He feared acting rashly might trigger a trap... Lumian's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden change in the sky.

Julie, wearing a long slit dress, appeared in the dimly lit sky.

Lumian's scalp tingled.

She's still alive and in the divine descent state?

He quickly noticed Julie's figure was unusually transparent, and the sapphire ring on her left hand was gone.

Phew... He heard Albus Medici sigh in relief.

Julie lowered her head and gazed at the top of the corpse mountain.

Following her gaze, Lumian saw a two to three meter tall iron-black metal pole with a charred banner at the top. The banner was covered in dark red and black bloodstains.

Just a glance made Lumian feel dizzy, his neck inexplicably stinging, and the smell of blood seeped from various parts of his face and forehead.

0-01? Salinger's Blood Banner? My corruption has deepened... It seems I don't need to finish reading all the remaining books. Mastering the current one should be enough... I can't rely on such direct corruption to save time; it's easy to surpass the critical point... Lumian quickly averted his gaze, noticing Celeste standing not far from the banner.

The Demoness, wearing a black robe, was looking down at the spot where the iron-black metal pole was embedded in the top of the corpse mountain.

The next second, she sensed something, raised her head, and looked at Julie in the sky.

Julie's lips curled into a beautiful and radiant smile.

She parted her moist lips as if to say, "I'll leave it to you."

In an instant, Lumian saw Julie's figure rapidly fade and shrink, turning into a puddle of filthy blood.

The blood, only palm-sized, fell straight down.

Its target was the charred banner of 0-01, seemingly to become one of the many bloodstains on it.

Celeste finally snapped out of her daze and shouted in pain, "Julie!"

At that moment, Albus's expression changed slightly. He transformed into a long spear of blazing white with a hint of blue flames, shooting towards the banner in mid-air.

He seemed unwilling to let Julie's remaining blood stain the charred banner.

You're finally putting in some effort... Lumian muttered, not rushing to follow Albus to the top of the corpse mountain to leave a mark or stop him and Celeste.

He planned to "join" after Albus and Celeste had fought for a while.

Of course, Lumian could see that Albus valued Julie's blood and didn't want it to become a mark on the 0-01 banner. If Albus didn't perform well and failed to stop the blood from reaching its intended spot, Lumian would teleport to help in time.

Seizing this rare opportunity, Lumian took an item from his Traveler's Bag.

It wasn't the Sword of Courage but the Devil's Whispers bone ring from Hisoka.

-x-X-x-

As soon as Lumian's fingers touched the glossy black bone ring, he felt searing pain spread from the point of contact throughout his entire body.

He looked down to see thin wisps of purple-blue sulfur flames emerging from every pore, charring the surrounding skin bit by bit and giving off a pungent odor.

This pain was so familiar to Lumian that he merely furrowed his brow slightly, gritted his teeth, his expression barely changing.

He then took out the Devil's Whispers bone ring, slipping it onto his right ring finger with the twisted, agonized Devil's face facing up.

Lumian's gaze turned icy cold, a deep blackness forming in his blue irises that no light could penetrate.

The malice within him rapidly swelled, overwhelming the Ascetic's tolerance and clashing fiercely with his own will in a fragile balance, the excess spilling outward.

Lumian took out some Ice Lemon Fish fillets from his Traveler's Bag, stuffing them into his mouth and chewing to temporarily boost his fire resistance a bit. At the same time, he sensed the surrounding malice.

He was searching for the Mirror Person Guei!

One negative effect of the Devil's Whispers was that it made the wearer and anyone within a hundred meters more prone to malicious thoughts and impulsive actions. And since Mirror People tended toward extremism and distortion to begin with, they would be even more obviously affected.

With this premise, the Devil's Whispers also granted the Malice Perception ability, allowing the wearer to sense if those around them harbored ill intent. It could not detect dangers in their brewing stages like a true Devil, but it was still a mystical form of perception.

As long as the Mirror Person developed malicious intentions toward him within a certain distance, Lumian believed he could use Malice Perception to pinpoint their location!

Sulfur flames slowly burning across his body, Lumian's icy gaze swept the surrounding area littered with corpses clad in iron-black full-body armor amid smoldering fires, remnants of some recent slaughter.

Faint, nearly invisible flames also flickered at various points on the corpse mountain itself.

They illuminated the wasteland and sky, preventing total darkness from taking hold and allowing Lumian, Albus, and Celeste to remain visible despite no longer holding their carbide lamps or lanterns.

After just a second or two, the corners of Lumian's mouth curled into a cruel, cold smile.

He sensed intense malice directed at him from about ten meters behind and to the side!

It emanated from a corpse-no, from the smooth, mirror-black breastplate on the corpse.

Found you... Without turning around, Lumian abruptly teleported to the corpse's side amid his slow movements and activated the Mirror Cufflink.

Through the metal mirror's surface, Mirror Person Guei peered outward from within the black breastplate.

After discovering the two Demonesses had used the mirror world to reach this area, he had slipped out quietly, leaving it to Julie and Celeste.

He wasn't worried they would beat him to 0-01, since based on his knowledge and on-site investigations, he believed no one could gain 0-01's approval before its agent Wanak was eliminated. Brute force or exploiting loopholes would achieve nothing until the "throne" was vacant and chaos ensued, giving others an opportunity.

Guei felt relieved he had made this wise choice, having directly experienced the mirror world projection's destruction just now.

A mere aftershock of that apocalyptic scene could have vaporized him instantly.

Confirming Wanak's death, he then slipped back through an ordinary mirror world to the corpse mountain's vicinity, seeking a chance to gain 0-01's approval and take it for himself.

He saw Julie turning to filthy blood and fall, Albus Medici transforming into a fiery spear to stop it, Celeste screaming Albus's name in anguish, and Lumian Lee calmly putting on the ring, preparing to make his entrance and reap the spoils of victory.

An intense malice welled up within Guei: You're all obstructing me from completing my mission!

After entering Morora as one of the rare Readers turned Mirror Person, Guei had initially felt confident, supplementing his knowledge at the Knowledge Cathedral while conducting field investigations to gather intel for his final operation.

But after covertly observing the capabilities of Albus Medici, Wanak, Julie, and Lumian Lee, Guei began doubting himself.

Which of them could I actually defeat one-on-one by exploiting the special mirror world's power? Probably only Lumian Lee, the one my superior warned me to watch out for...

And when it comes to learning speed, although I far outpace Lumian, it seems I can't handle nearly as much corruption as him...

Am I really the one with the least hope among these people?

Shaken by these doubts, Guei devised a plan to lurk in the shadows, using his special nature to emerge once the heavyweights had clashed and weakened each other, then sweep up the remains.

So far, his plan had progressed smoothly.

The biggest obstacle, Wanak, and the most dangerous threat, Julie, were dead, their souls completely extinguished with no chance of revival through 0-01's leaking power as undead beings!

Once Albus Medici and Celeste decide the winner between them, I can join the fray, kill the survivor, and take on the weakest Lumian Lee alone...

Should I, should I ambush Lumian while he's off-guard? He's no Demoness or Mirror Person, with no substitute active, a single hit could kill him for real...

These malicious thoughts grew clearer and stronger in Guei's mind.

But before he could decide, Lumian's figure abruptly enlarged, appearing right before his eyes.

Then Lumian vanished from his sight.

In his place, a viscous pool of black liquid emerged underfoot, as if the deepest, most vile desires of the human heart had taken physical form.

Desire Incarnation!

The black liquid suddenly surged upward, enveloping Guei.

Crack!

The sound of shattering glass came from within the inky fluid as Guei's silhouette appeared on the edge of the dim, empty space behind the metal mirror.

He saw the liquid rapidly coalescing into Lumian's form, chuckling coldly with a fondness of teaching others. "Didn't know I had a Mirror Substitution, did you?"

A direct attack like this only costs me one mirror.

Before the words had left his mouth, an exceptionally violent emotion welled up within Guei.

He instinctively reached for his neck, feeling warm blood.

Pain immediately lanced into his mind.

Crack!

Guei deliberately triggered his own Mirror Substitution, shattering countless shards of glass that rained to the ground.

His silhouette now flickered in another corner behind the mirror, but a thin, deep bloody gash remained on his neck.

His emotions had become completely frenzied, vicious, and insane. His facial skin rapidly aged and withered like patches of brown tree bark. The words "my child, my child" echoed in his ears as flesh rippled on either shoulder, seeming to sprout additional heads.

His abdomen slowly swelled while his eyes took on a silvery-white with streaks of black. His aura rapidly dissipated as his body visibly decayed, chunks of flesh sloughing off and wriggling like maggots...

Lumian saw the various corruptions afflicting him directly manifested in this stark way.

It was a veritable smorgasbord!

When he used Desire Incarnation, that inky black pool didn't just contain his own emotions and desires, but also those from the corruptive emotions and desires deeply influencing him.

These higher-level corruptions would be difficult for any non-godhood being to resist-even Saints would suffer serious effects!

Facing such potent corruption, failure to proactively trigger one's Mirror Substitution immediately would be too late once the viscous fluid made contact. By then, it would already have tainted the target!

Now Guei was a horrifically corrupted monstrosity.

Seeing the Mirror Person degenerating toward an unspeakable form, Lumian had the intuition that continuing to observe might catalyze a similar transformation within himself.

He immediately stepped back, leaving the metal mirror surface to return to the corpse and surrounding wasteland at the base of the corpse mountain.

He then saw the smooth mirror-like surface of his chest plate, with tendrils of black mist seeping out, like illusory shadows seeming to try and grasp him.

Lumian swiftly turned his body and sprinted toward the corpse mountain peak.

Sometimes transforming into a blazing-white flaming spear to propel himself forward, sometimes teleporting dozens of meters, he continually climbed upward through the mountain formed of corpses and bones, scattered with lingering embers.

He aimed to lead the out-of-control, collapsing Mirror Person Guei, corrupted into monstrosity, to Albus Medici and Celeste, telling them "you're welcome."

Whether climbing by hand and foot, using his contracted abilities for short-range teleports, or ascending in flaming spear form, Lumian felt an immense oppressive presence behind him. An indescribable, constantly shifting black shadow was cast onto him and his path ahead, inevitably filling him with fear.

He now had no way to know what horrific form the pursuing monster had taken or what state it was in-he only knew for certain it was not something a normal human should observe or discern.

Suddenly, Guei's deep voice rang in his ears: "Mommy..."

Mommy... Lumian's mouth twitched, realizing that even with all the strange corruptions on himself, the one from the Great Mother, from the Omebella bloodline, still stood out as the most exceptional-after all, Mr. Fool had left behind a seal, not a corruption.

Lumian fled even faster.

Finally, he saw the summit of the corpse mountain peak, Celeste and Albus Medici.