124 COI
After Mr. Huang left the private room to take the call, Zaratulstra leaned towards the center of the window, as if trying to get a clearer view of the stage and the corresponding large screen.
At the same time, Mr. Ed and other Intis Group employees responsible for reception, as well as Zaratulstra's entourage, all heard their phones vibrate.
They instinctively picked up their phones, unlocked the screens, and saw a pop-up message.
This wasn't a text message or WeChat notification, nor was it an alert for an incoming call. It seemed to be just a simple dialog box that had taken over the screen.
The dialog box contained a brief line of text: "Please be quiet for one minute."
As Mr. Ed, the Intis Group employees, and Zaratulstra's entourage noticed this line of text, it jumped up one by one, directly out of the phone screens, transforming into an invisible, colorless stream of information carrying mystical power that entered the heads of the corresponding people.
Except for Mr. Huang, who was making a phone call outside the private room, and Zaratulstra, who was looking at the stage below, everyone present suddenly became dazed, their eyes vacant, their bodies frozen in their previous positions.
They had truly become quiet.
Zaratulstra sensed something amiss and turned his gaze back to the people in the private room.
As he did so, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his own reflection faintly appearing in the already open window.
His heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively pulled back his body, preventing the window from reflecting him anymore.
At this moment, behind the corresponding glass mirror surface, Lumian, in his Demoness of Despair form with disheveled black hair and wearing a dark T-shirt, quietly watched as Zaratulstra's ethereal figure appeared on the mirror and quickly moved towards the edge.
The normally invisible Spirit Body Threads on his body, upon touching the hard mirror surface, no longer extended as usual, but were drawn upwards by some force, disappearing into the deep, dark sky above.
This was Distortion's alteration of the Spirit Body Threads extension direction. This way, Zaratulstra wouldn't be able to detect in advance if someone was spying or lying in ambush behind the mirror by observing Spirit Body Threads.
The effect of Distortion came from the edge of the area behind the mirror, near the ghostly tunnel resembling a spider web, from a crown inlaid with numerous dark gems.
The crown floated silently in midair, with a tall, beautiful woman standing behind it.
This woman had tied her slightly curly chestnut hair into a bun, had straight eyebrows, blue eyes, and was wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt and light-colored trousers. She was none other than Miss Bernie Huang.
She held a phone in her hand, talking to Huang Tao.
Logically, there shouldn't be any signal in the mirror world, but Bernie Huang's words, after going through the phone, directly transformed into an invisible stream of information, drilling out of this place. The replies from Huang Tao were similarly affected by Beyonder powers, entering as pure information streams and being converted into sound by the phone.
Lumian glanced at Miss Huang, recalling what she had said before the operation: "I can provide help for you, but I can't directly participate in the battle.
"I've already been kicked out of this dream twice and am under certain restrictions. If Zaratulstra sees me as his enemy, I might be kicked out of the dream for the third time, and the problem with my father hasn't been resolved yet…
"I'll create opportunities for you, but killing Zaratulstra or kicking him out of the dream can only be done by yourselves…
"This item can't be lent to you, otherwise, before Zaratulstra dies, you'll die first…"
Lumian hesitated no longer and, looking at Zaratulstra's Mirror Projection that hadn't yet disappeared, raised his left hand.
On his wrist was a silver bracelet that lit up with a silver-white and black glow.
Circle Inhabitant!
Lumian seized the opportunity and used Circle Inhabitant on Zaratulstra's fading Mirror Projection!
Of course, this was also suppressed to the Sequence 7 level, unable to make the corresponding fate repeat, and could only be triggered twice at most.
The current implementation of Circle Inhabitant was to make similar scenes appear again in a short time through disturbances in fate.
In the private room, after Zaratulstra pulled back his body, preventing the glass window from reflecting him again, he suddenly felt a gust of wind blowing from the entrance of the hot pot restaurant.
Before he could check the status of the others at the table, he found the window being blown, moving towards closing.
This once again cast his reflection onto the corresponding glass.
In Zaratul's deep blue, almost pure black eyes, a dim light flashed, already sensing the presence of anomalies, not just simple vigilance.
He raised his right hand, using a Miracle Invoker's ability to influence the future.
He reduced the probability of his Mirror Projection being utilized by others!
In the mirror world, Lumian held an ice crystal thin sword wrapped in terrifying black flames in one hand, while touching the river of fate of Zaratulstra's Mirror Projection with the other, trying to magnify the fate tributary of his successful attack.
The two forces collided, with Zaratulstra's prevailing slightly, causing that fate tributary not only to fail to magnify but to shrink by one-tenth.
However, for Lumian, this was enough.
His use of the Magnified Fate ability wasn't to increase the probability of the curse succeeding, but to counteract the Miracle Invoker's interference with fate.
Being so close to Zaratulstra's Mirror Projection, as long as there was no interference from the Miracle Invoker, or as long as the Miracle Invoker's interference wasn't strong enough, his chances of achieving his goal were quite high.
Lumian's ice crystal thin sword darted out, striking the reappearing Mirror Projection of Zaratulstra.
The Fire of Destruction wrapped around the ice crystal thin sword instantly poured into that projection, igniting it from the inside out, placing it in pure, mad destruction.
This was a curse, a curse aimed at Zaratulstra!
The mystical principle behind many of a Demoness's curses was to utilize Mirror Projections, which was also a kind of Mirror Person, a temporary, short-lived Mirror Person with a very strong mystical connection to the original person!
When Lumian's Fire of Destruction ignited Zaratulstra's Mirror Projection, in the private room, Zaratulstra's eyes, nose, ears, mouth, skin pores, and other places erupted with violent black flames.
In an instant, this old man became a black torch, his body quickly thinning and shrinking, burning to ashes.
Paper Figurine Substitutes!
For an Angel like Zaratulstra, Paper Figurine Substitutes could long be used to transfer curses, but to escape a curse completed by a Demoness through a Mirror Projection, the main body still needed to hide in the fog of history in time.
After interfering with the development of fate using his Miracle Invoker ability, Zaratulstra didn't think the first wave of attacks would end there. He quickly used Paper Figurine Substitute, while he cautiously entered the fog of history, hiding in a crevice.
The scene of him burning into a paper figurine didn't attract the attention of those at the table.
Those people were still in a quiet state.
In the mirror world.
Near the illusory dark tunnel, Bernadette held a phone in one hand, while with the other, she made several dark gems on the crown in front of her light up with strange radiance.
Distortion!
She used Distortion again, swapping the spatial positions of Zaratulstra's main body plus Paper Figurine Substitute and his Mirror Projection.
Thus, Zaratulstra, who had hidden in the fog of history, and the Paper Figurine Substitute that had been burned to ashes, came to the mirror world.
This place was also connected to the spirit world, this place also had the fog of history.
Meanwhile, Zaratulstra's Mirror Projection sat by the hot pot table, quickly disappearing into nothingness amidst the madly growing black flames.
It vanished into the void along with these Flames of Destruction.
After completing this, Bernadette quickly put away the crown inlaid with dark gems, stepped back twice, and disappeared into the illusory, complex tunnel resembling a spider web.
Throughout this process, she maintained her call with Mr. Huang.
Lumian showed no emotional fluctuation at Bernadette's departure. According to their agreement, this princess was mainly responsible for three things:
First, to draw away Mr. Huang, who was suspected to be influenced by the mirrored Roselle;
Second, to use the Mystery Pryer pathway's control over the information world to "push" a message to the others in the private room that would make them "quiet", with the subsequent cleanup and erasure of traces to be done by the Information Shredder—Lumian still remembered that when Miss Huang saw the Information Shredder, her expression noticeably became more complex, as if seeing a natural enemy being artificially created;
Third, to help Lumian and the others hide their Spirit Body Threads, preventing Zaratulstra from discovering them in advance. If Lumian failed to assassinate successfully in the initial stage, she would help bring Zaratulstra into the mirror world, allowing them to change from assassination to forced killing, with the possibility of one more indirect assistance later depending on the situation.
This way, Lumian and the others wouldn't have to worry about their battle with Zaratulstra attracting the official forces of the dream city, being interrupted by them, or even hunted down.
Moreover, Zaratulstra would be separated from his marionettes.
Even if Zaratulstra could manipulate the Spirit Body Threads through the mirror, those marionettes, if they didn't possess the power to come to the mirror world, wouldn't be able to participate in this battle.
Cutting off the marionettes was the first step in dealing with high-level beings of the Seer pathway.
As the Paper Figurine Substitute was completely burned, Zaratulstra, at Sequence 7 and unable to stay in the fog of history for too long, returned to reality.
He saw that he was in the void dark area behind the mirror, and near the mirror surface stood a figure whose charm couldn't be concealed even by darkness.
Lumian smiled, making this area seem as if it was illuminated by clear moonlight.
Charm!
Zaratulstra's consciousness was momentarily stunned, all Worms of Spirit seemingly marveling at that heart-piercing beauty.
Almost simultaneously, the invisible spider silk that had long been spread throughout this place entangled him.
Lumian then drew the Sword of Courage and, from a distance of over ten meters, slashed towards Zaratulstra.
That iron-black straight sword created a highly compressed fire serpent, falling towards the old man dressed in a black formal suit from a distance.
At the edge of the area behind the mirror, Jenna emerged from her Invisible state, used the mirror in her hand to reflect Zaratulstra's figure, and smeared her other hand, covered in Demoness black flames, onto it.
-x-X-x-
Boom!
The highly compressed red fire serpent exploded, engulfing Zaratulstra before Jenna could complete her curse. It tore him into shreds of paper, causing them to ignite simultaneously.
Zaratulstra once again retreated into the fog of history.
As the explosion from the red fire serpent began to subside, he returned to the present from a corner of the area behind the mirror, dragging out his past self from the Historical Void—the self that was a Sequence 1 Attendant of Mysteries.
As soon as Zaratulstra appeared, clad in a black robe with eyes pure black and lightless, he immediately transformed into a massive vortex composed of countless maggots.
This enormous vortex was deep and dark, extending numerous slimy tentacles covered in bizarre patterns.
Mythical Creature form—the Mythical Creature form of the Seer pathway!
For Angels, the Mythical Creature form was their truest appearance, so there was no question of whether They could or could not transform into it within the dream city. Of course, this too was suppressed to the Sequence 7 level.
The instant he saw the maggot vortex, even Lumian, as a Demoness of Despair and possessing godhood, couldn't help but feel his thoughts stutter, his joints stiffen, and his mind as if it were under attack from a super-strong hurricane.
He instinctively closed his eyes, while Jenna, who was near the mirror tunnel, seemed to be twisting her entire body.
Seizing this opportunity, Zaratulstra's main body made a wish, "My wish is: For my marionettes to return to my side."
As soon as the words were spoken, two more figures appeared in the area behind the mirror.
They were dressed as business people, one male and one female.
As for the other marionettes, they of course belonged to other Marionettists. Zaratulstra could command their operators, not them directly.
Zaratulstra didn't wish to leave the mirror world because he had sensed the presence of Distortion power from the fact that he had been swapped into the mirror world despite hiding in the fog of history. So he chose not to directly leave the current area.
He feared having his position Distorted again, which might cause him to appear out of thin air in front of Yagates, the number one figure in the police department.
At this moment, because Zaratulstra's Mythical Creature form was restricted to Sequence 7, both the godhood impact and mental corruption effects were greatly reduced. So Lumian, as a Demoness of Despair, with his eyes closed and maintaining distance, began to recover. He raised his left hand and snapped his fingers with a loud crack.
In different parts of the area behind the mirror, under the cover of a Mirror Maze composed of numerous mirrors, groups of delayed explosion fireballs that had been prepared in advance received the order to explode immediately!
Rumble!
They exploded simultaneously, intertwining with each other, causing a fierce red flame storm to cover the entire area behind the mirror, completely engulfing Zaratulstra's Historical Void image, the two marionettes, along with Jenna and Lumian.
This was the Hunter's home turf, a battlefield meticulously prepared by Lumian!
As for Zaratulstra's main body, he had once again hidden in the fog of history.
Rumble!
Zaratulstra's two marionettes used Paper Figurine Substitutes, being torn to pieces in the violent impact waves and ignited by the red flames.
Zaratulstra's Historical Void image maintained its Mythical Creature form, extending numerous tentacles to entangle the oncoming flame storm.
He Grafted himself onto the flames, thus avoiding harm, merely drifting to another side with the storm.
Normally, Grafting suppressed to Sequence 7 wouldn't allow Zaratulstra's Historical Void image to recombine with the concept of fire, but Sequence 7 Magician of the Seer pathway could manipulate flames, having a very close connection with fire itself. Therefore, Zaratulstra's Historical Void image could become a special kind of flame, constantly flashing within the storm.
Lumian's body also shattered like a mirror.
Immediately after, he teleported near the newly emerged female marionette, using the mirror in his hand to reflect her figure, and smeared the Flames of Destruction imbued with Cull forces onto the mirror surface.
Affected by both Zaratulstra's main body entering the fog of history and his historical projection turning into a "flame" drifting with the storm, the female marionette had no time to react or time to hide in the fog of history. Extremely suppressed black flames hiding destruction, erupted from within her body.
She quickly regressed into a paper figurine, but when she emerged in another part of the area behind the mirror, the Flames of Destruction on her body had not extinguished.
After using Paper Figurine Substitute twice in succession, this marionette's main body also turned to ashes.
At this point, the terrifying scene created by the groups of delayed explosion fireballs finally subsided. Zaratulstra's Historical Void image extended his right hand and gently grasped.
The surrounding space-time distorted in response, covering the entire area behind the mirror as if with a giant curtain, forming a concealed area isolated from the surroundings.
Realm of Mysteries!
After confirming that Lumian and Jenna had been pulled into the Realm of Mysteries by his historical projection and could not prevent him for a short time, Zaratulstra returned from the fog of history, landing at the edge of the dark and void area behind the mirror.
He ignored his historical projection and the remaining marionettes that were also trapped in the Realm of Mysteries, walking directly towards the glass mirror surface leading to the hot pot restaurant's private room.
Now, he had the energy to be vigilant and avoid the influence of the Distortion forces.
Just as Zaratulstra approached the glass mirror surface, he suddenly heard a "bang" of a gunshot.
A golden bullet, carrying an indescribable sense of decay, flew out from one of the spider web-like tunnels, heading straight for his chest.
Anthony, wearing a cheap black T-shirt and sporting a crew cut, flashed out of the tunnel following the bullet.
He had been lurking there using the power of the Ice Mirror Charm, not venturing into the area behind the mirror, so he wasn't encompassed by the Realm of Mysteries created by Zaratulstra's historical projection.
As Zaratulstra's main body avoided the bullet, Anthony, using the remnant power of Mirror Traversal, instantly appeared beside the white-haired old man.
He raised a pre-drawn picture while his eyes turned golden and vertical.
Frenzy!
Anthony thought that Zaratulstra had resurrected by seizing Loki's body, so there might still be some struggle between them. Therefore, using Frenzy to target Zaratulstra's mental state might have a miraculous effect.
The picture in his hand was drawn on a blank sketchbook, depicting a door, a lock, and wooden bars completely sealing the door.
The picture spontaneously ignited, turning into a phantom image that attached itself to the glass mirror surface leading to the outside world, sealing it with wooden bars and adding a lock.
Zaratulstra, directly affected by Frenzy, suddenly faded, becoming a phantom.
This was a Magician's ability to create illusions.
After returning from the fog of history, the first thing Zaratulstra actually did was create an illusion, rather than directly approaching the exit.
He used this to make Anthony misjudge his position, only hitting the illusion.
Zaratulstra's true figure quickly sketched itself not far away, speaking coldly in Dragonese, "My wish is: To banish the enemies here."
Before Anthony could use his area-of-effect Awe, he suddenly blacked out, as if lifted by an invisible force and thrown into the air.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a prison, with no mirror-like objects around to use—all the iron bars were wrapped in cotton cloth.
Zaratulstra chose to banish Anthony rather than wish for his death because this Angel believed that the enemy mixed with the Demoness likely also had one or two Mirror Substitutions, which would lead to a momentary failure of the wish and a waste of time.
However, this meant that Lumian, who was inside the Realm of Mysteries, was unaffected by the miracle and remained inside.
Zaratulstra's wish was to banish the enemies "here", and the Realm of Mysteries no longer belonged to "here"!
No longer disturbed by Anthony, Zaratulstra turned his gaze back to the glass mirror surface.
He had already realized two wishes, creating two miracles, which had considerably drained him. So he just opened his mouth, preparing to use an Air Cannon to blast the wooden bars and lock, removing their blockade of the exit.
Inside the Realm of Mysteries,Jenna had disappeared, while Lumian, having slightly recovered, teleported behind Zaratulstra's historical projection.
He raised his head, looking up high, letting his eyes, which had burst many capillaries from directly viewing the Mythical Creature form earlier, turn iron-black. At the same time, he let out a harrumph.
As two beams of white light shot from his nostrils towards the dark vortex composed of worms, he threw the Sword of Courage in his hand upwards towards a certain point in the sky.
That place appeared pale white in his eyes.
It was the weakness of the Realm of Mysteries!
Even though the Realm of Mysteries was an ability that only Sequence 1 could use, it currently only had the strength of Sequence 7!
Outside the Realm of Mysteries.
Zaratulstra made a "bang" sound, firing an Air Cannon, causing the wooden bars and iron lock drawn on the glass mirror surface to shatter inch by inch.
At this moment, several figures traversed through another tunnel.
There was Ludwig wearing a child's formal attire, a slightly plump female version of Anthony with a mature demeanor and fairly pretty features, and a handsome male version of Jenna with flaxen hair styled dashingly.
The real Jenna was still hiding inside the tunnel, not entering this area behind the mirror.
Her previous appearance was a shallow mirror person created using special Mirror World Fragments, which could be maintained for a longer time to confuse Zaratulstra. However, under the influence of Lumian's area explosion and the Realm of Mysteries earlier, that weak shallow mirror person had been destroyed.
The current male version of Jenna and female version of Anthony were deep mirror people created in advance using the special Mirror World Fragments in Franca and Lumian's possession. They could only be maintained for three minutes, but in terms of abilities, they almost perfectly replicated the originals, and could also borrow power from the special mirror world to a certain extent.
After the battle with the reanimated female corpse, Lumian and the others began to pay more attention to the abilities that came with the special Mirror World Fragments.
In the real world, the effect might not be obvious, but in the dream city where everyone was suppressed to Sequence 7, the more mirror helpers, the better!
Jenna hadn't let her male version, the female version of Anthony, and Ludwig follow Anthony to attack Zaratulstra earlier because she remembered Lumian's prior reminder: "If we fail to assassinate successfully, subsequent attacks should come in batches. We can't all rush in at once, lest Zaratulstra's special ability takes us all away at once. This can also deplete his spirituality and the number of times he can use his special abilities…"
In the Hunter's home turf, although it couldn't be said that they could make arrangements for the enemy from beginning to end, at least the first few waves of attacks could reflect their intentions!
-x-X-x-
Faced with the attack from Ludwig, the male version of Jenna, and the female version of Anthony, Zaratulstra showed no surprise.
His body inside the black formal wear suddenly disintegrated, along with his face, collapsing inward into a dark vortex.
If one looked closely at this vortex, they would see countless transparent insects frantically writhing, seemingly crawling into the observer's mind and body, devouring thoughts and nerves.
From within the sleeves and pant legs of the black formal wear, numerous slimy tentacles covered in bizarre patterns extended outward.
Zaratulstra had also revealed his Mythical Creature form!
Unlike His Historical Void image, His clothes were real, not part of a historical projection. They didn't transform into the Mythical Creature, remaining draped over the surface of the maggot vortex.
This made Him appear even more terrifying.
As Zaratulstra revealed his Mythical Creature form, both the male version of Jenna and the female version of Anthony instantly froze.
One's hair rapidly grew thicker and longer, their skin losing its luster, while the other's face became covered in patches of grayish-white dragon scales.
Silently, their bodies simultaneously collapsed. The former turned into a writhing mass of flesh, covered in thick, slimy, and bizarre black hair as thick as small snakes. The tips of these hairs struggled to open black and white eyes or stick out snake-like tongues. The latter disintegrated into several lizards covered in grayish-white dragon scales.
They had lost control.
Although Zaratulstra's Mythical Creature form was suppressed to the Sequence 7 level, as deep Mirror People, their mental states were already unstable, and their emotions tended towards extremes. Naturally, they couldn't help but lose control.
With this development, Ludwig's movements slowed slightly, his mind bearing the impact of the female Anthony's indiscriminate Frenzy.
Just as he was about to succumb to the male Jenna's Charm and turn to devour that mass of flesh, the two out-of-control deep Mirror People began to fade and become transparent, quickly disappearing.
They were illusory to begin with.
Ludwig could only open his mouth wide, his mouth corners splitting to the back of his head.
Then, he leaped towards Zaratulstra's Mythical Creature form in its black formal wear, biting down on one of the extended bizarre tentacles.
He wanted to use this to Deprive Zaratulstra of His Paper Figurine Substitutes ability.
Crack!
Ludwig bit down, but only crushed a paper figurine.
Zaratulstra, transformed into a Mythical Creature, appeared in midair. Within the dark vortex of countless maggots that formed His face, several differently colored gems seemed to light up simultaneously.
Around Ludwig, who still had the paper figurine in his mouth, numerous illusory doors suddenly appeared.
These illusory doors took various forms: some double-doored, some single, some barely showing a crack, some covered in mysterious patterns… They were densely packed and numerous, completely enveloping Ludwig.
As Zaratulstra waved His slimy tentacles, one of the illusory doors suddenly opened, welcoming Ludwig as he was thrown towards it.
Ludwig's figure instantly disappeared into the profound darkness behind the door.
Exile!
This was a Secrets Sorcerer ability that Zaratulstra used with the aid of a certain Sealed Artifact. It could throw the target into a corresponding space-time turbulence, only able to return after five seconds. Of course, complete return was contingent on the person or object thrown into the space-time turbulence being able to withstand its impact.
Combined with a Miracle Invoker's influence on fate, this could banish Ludwig for a full ten seconds.
In just two or three seconds, Zaratulstra had permanently or temporarily dealt with the third wave of attacking enemies.
He spoke again in the Dragonese, "My wish is: that no one else will interfere with me from now on."
As soon as the words were spoken, Zaratulstra realized His wish.
Affected by this aspect of his abilities being suppressed to Sequence 7, the realization of his wish had clear boundaries—it was limited to only the next thirty seconds, with poor effectiveness against enemies possessing godhood. The stronger the godhood, the more likely they were to break through the restrictions and interfere with him.
At this moment, Jenna, hiding in one of the tunnels, suddenly found herself unable to "traverse" to the corresponding area behind the mirror.
Zaratulstra, maintaining His Mythical Creature form, descended from midair, floating towards the glass mirror surface leading to the hot pot restaurant's private room.
Rumble!
He heard a faint explosion and saw a place in the area behind the mirror where an illusory curtain seemed to be pushed up, but not completely broken through.
Inside the Realm of Mysteries.
When Lumian threw the Sword of Courage and used the Spell of Harrumph, Zaratulstra's historical projection instantly swapped positions with His marionette.
The marionette, hit by the two beams of white light, only shook slightly.
His spirit was essentially already dead.
Rumble!
The Sword of Courage struck the weak point of the Realm of Mysteries, creating a terrifying explosion, but failed to penetrate through.
Amidst this chaos, Lumian's figure disappeared, Blinking to the side of Zaratulstra's Historical Void image.
His left hand was already raised, the silver bracelet on his wrist glowing with a silvery-white light tinged with black.
Circle Inhabitant!
Lumian once again used Circle Inhabitant, targeting the position of Zaratulstra's Historical Void image!
Of course, this attempt also forced him to face the other's Mythical Creature form directly. His thoughts and joints were once again filled with glue, and his mental state showed signs of some confusion.
It was only because he possessed godhood, and the other's Mythical Creature form was also limited to the Sequence 7 level, that he didn't lose control on the spot. Otherwise, even if he hadn't lost control immediately, he would have been in a state where his mind was swept by a storm, unable to continue subsequent actions.
Just as Zaratulstra's Historical Void image was about to continue swapping positions with His marionette, He suddenly found the attempt failed.
He remained in place.
Seizing this opportunity, Lumian, his eyes showing a silver-black color, suddenly pushed his right palm forward.
All his remaining spirituality surged towards the river of fate of Zaratulstra's historical projection.
Compelling Fate!
He wanted to compel the fate of Zaratulstra's historical projection to rush towards the imagined tributary!
Due to the influence of Zaratulstra's historical projection's own status, the probability of success for this action was actually not high. But as a historical projection, there was a natural flaw, problem, and weakness in terms of fate, which was the time limit on their existence.
If Lumian wanted to compel fate to make Zaratulstra's historical projection fall into dire straits and be killed by his subsequent attacks, it would depend on whether Mr. Fool would provide protection. But if he chose the fate tributary of "historical projection prematurely terminated due to unexpected influence", there was a considerable chance of achieving the goal!
In an instant, Lumian's spirituality was completely drained, forcing him to release the part he had accumulated in advance to barely support himself.
His body involuntarily leaned back slightly, and on his bright face, streams of blood flowed from his eyes, nose, and the corners of his mouth. His black long hair seemed to have gained its own vitality, floating upwards and becoming slightly thicker.
This was the backlash from directly viewing the fate of a Mythical Creature.
Not only did one of his eyes go blind immediately, but his entire person became like a marionette, temporarily unable to think or move.
Almost simultaneously, Zaratulstra's Historical Void image became semi-transparent, with ripples appearing on its surface.
It was as if some accident had prevented the spirituality of Zaratulstra's main body from penetrating the Realm of Mysteries to maintain the existence of the historical projection.
In the blink of an eye, Zaratulstra's Historical Void image faded to invisibility, completely dissipating.
Without His presence, Lumian finally recovered.
His blue eye, covered in a blood mist, saw the black curtain enveloping this area rapidly collapsing. He saw that male marionette, having lost the control of Zaratulstra's Historical Void image and being isolated from Zaratulstra's main body by the Realm of Mysteries, standing still, motionless.
Taking advantage of the Realm of Mysteries not yet completely collapsing, Lumian took out a mirror, reflected that marionette, and cursed it with the Fire of Destruction.
The male marionette immediately erupted with black flames suppressing madness and destruction from the inside out, its body beginning to melt like steel.
Lumian didn't look at him again. After the Realm of Mysteries further collapsed, he used the ability of Mirror Traversal to return to the area behind the mirror.
Just as Zaratulstra approached the glass mirror surface, He sensed movement behind Him.
This maggot vortex, clad in black formal wear and extending numerous bizarre tentacles, suddenly turned around to see Lumian, one eye covered in blood, the other unfocused, with blood flowing from them.
Although Lumian didn't directly look at this complete Mythical Creature, only glancing towards the black shoes where things were vaguely crawling out, he still fell into intermittent thought stutters and slight mental confusion.
His tendency towards madness worsened.
At this moment, he had already retrieved the Sword of Courage with invisible spider silk. Holding this iron-black straight sword burning with scarlet flames in both hands, he was about to strike at Zaratulstra from a distance.
After overcoming difficulties and launching several waves of attacks, he and his teammates had finally taken out Zaratulstra's marionette and Historical Void image, and could now challenge His main body!
Within the dark vortex that formed Zaratulstra's head, each worm emitted an elderly voice.
The words they spoke came together, forming echoing speech in just one second.
"To be able to end my Historical Void image in such a short time, I'm indeed a bit surprised.
"But it doesn't matter, I'll just summon another one."
As He spoke, Zaratulstra extended a bizarre, slimy tentacle and dragged out another version of Himself from the fog of history.
This was still him as a Sequence 1 Attendant of Mysteries.
If it weren't for His concern about the hidden enemy who used the power of Distortion to transfer Him to the mirror world, Zaratulstra felt He could have killed this group entirely, rather than just thinking about escaping this place.
At this moment, Lumian couldn't help but feel a bit of despair.
Zaratulstra still has the spirituality to summon a Historical Void image?
Is this what an Angel is? Even suppressed to Sequence 7, so many of us have only taken out His marionette, not even scratching His skin!
Courage and madness occupied Lumian's body. Without fear, he slashed out a highly compressed scarlet fire serpent towards Zaratulstra and His Historical Void image from a distance.
-x-X-x-
Faced with the giant fire serpent slashed out by Lumian, Zaratulstra's Historical Void image had not yet fully emerged from the fog of history and was unable to respond effectively. Meanwhile, the countless transparent maggots within the dark vortex of Zaratulstra's main body merely watched, taking no action.
The highly compressed scarlet fire serpent had not yet truly approached Zaratulstra's main body when it suddenly changed direction, curving to the side, as if unwilling to conflict with this complete Mythical Creature.
This was the power of a "miracle".
Zaratulstra's previously made wish that "no one else will interfere with him" was still in effect, still functioning!
Although Lumian possessed a certain degree of godhood, the power of the wish was unable to prevent him from leaving the Realm of Mysteries and returning to this area behind the mirror. However, it could still prevent him from directly affecting Zaratulstra's main body, causing all his attacks to bypass the target.
At this moment, Lumian suddenly raised his head.
But he wasn't looking at Zaratulstra's Mythical Creature form. Instead, he was looking at the glass mirror surface not far from Zaratulstra.
His eye, covered in a blood mist due to burst capillaries, turned iron-black, reflecting the glass mirror surface that represented the entrance and exit, reflecting the pale spots on it.
This was the mirror's own weakness.
Immediately after, Lumian, wearing a silver-white earring on his left ear and his black hair floating gently, smiled and raised the Sword of Courage in his hand.
The giant fire serpent that had bypassed Zaratulstra's main body changed direction accordingly, fiercely pouncing towards the pale spot on the glass mirror surface.
The distance between them was extremely short. Before Zaratulstra's main body could react, the highly compressed scarlet fire serpent hit the target area.
Zaratulstra's head, composed of countless maggots forming a vortex, turned towards that spot, seeming somewhat stunned by Lumian's choice.
Once the mirror surface shattered, the corresponding area behind the mirror would collapse with it. If the people and objects in that area couldn't escape in time through the mirror tunnels, they would be swallowed by the turbulence of the mirror world and dragged into its depths. The dangers there were fatal for Beyonders without a complete Mythical Creature form, meaning Lumian!
Even for Angels with complete Mythical Creature forms, unless they were of the Door pathway or the Demoness pathway, the depths of the mirror world were places they were reluctant to venture into lightly.
Seeing this scene, Lumian's smile grew increasingly manic.
I never intended to attack you at all!
My initial goal was to shatter the mirror corresponding to this area, dragging you down into the depths of the mirror world, into dangerous space-time turbulence!
And to prevent you from detecting my true intentions, I pretended to attack you directly. That strange interference helped me save a lot of spirituality. Otherwise, even as a Pyromaniac wearing the Lie earring, changing the direction of the fire serpent midway would have been very strenuous and consumed a lot!
Boom!
The scarlet giant serpent, carrying the effects of Cull and Mighty Blow, exploded thunderously at the weak spot on the inside of the mirror, stirring up violent winds.
Amidst the gale, the sound of cracking was drowned out as the mirror instantly shattered into pieces, causing the entire area behind the mirror to collapse with a thunderous roar.
This dark, void world crumbled.
Neither Lumian nor Zaratulstra's main body managed to enter that spider web-like illusory tunnel. They plummeted sharply towards the unseen bottom of the darkness, not knowing where it led.
The collapse of this mirror world also brought intense shock waves to the historical fog that had previously permeated this place. Zaratulstra's Historical Void image returned to formlessness before it could be fully dragged out.
As they fell rapidly, Lumian's body became very light, noticeably slowing his descent.
He could already see the dark storm raging below, seemingly able to tear apart everything, and he was about to be engulfed by it.
He activated the black mark on his right shoulder, vanishing from the current void with a whoosh.
His figure didn't appear in the outside world. He didn't use a Demoness's control over the mirror world or the Spiritual World Traversal ability from Hand Bro to escape this dangerous place before being caught in the space-time turbulence. Instead, he Blinked to Zaratulstra's side.
Invisible spider silk then became visible, layer upon layer binding the maggot vortex clad in black formal wear.
After escaping from the Realm of Mysteries, Lumian had been secretly producing spider silk, letting it surround Zaratulstra's main body. When the area behind the mirror collapsed, these transparent spider threads immediately entangled the target, disregarding the corruption and effects brought by the Mythical Creature form on itself, making contact with Zaratulstra's main body.
It was through this contact, relying on the positioning provided by the Demoness's spider silk, that Lumian was able to find Zaratulstra's main body in this chaotic and dangerous space-time and Teleport to His side.
Those spider threads slowly and jerkily entangled Zaratulstra, while Lumian, positioned beside Him, closed his eyes and slashed the Sword of Courage towards the maggot vortex clad in black formal wear, following the pull of the spider silk.
The scarlet flames on this iron-black straight sword silently turned pitch black, restraining violence and madness.
Fire of Destruction!
As Lumian drew closer to Zaratulstra's main body, even with his eyes closed, his thoughts became sluggish, and the Sword of Courage he was slashing noticeably slowed.
This was the corruption brought by the Mythical Creature form, which was also a kind of marionettization.
Now, it took Zaratulstra 20 seconds to gain initial control over a target's Spirit Body Threads, but with the impact and corruption of the Mythical Creature form added, it only took 7 seconds!
From the moment Lumian left the Realm of Mysteries, He had been secretly diverting attention to manipulate the other's Spirit Body Threads!
As expected… it's like this… The manic smile didn't disappear from Lumian's bright face.
He activated the black mark on his right shoulder once again.
And now, he was depending on how Zaratulstra's main body was bound to the invisible spider silk.
In other words, his Teleportation would bring Zaratulstra along with him!
He wanted to go somewhere together with Zaratulstra!
Zaratulstra suddenly had a sense of danger. He abandoned manipulating Lumian's Spirit Body Threads and was about to use Paper Figurine Substitutes to escape the binding of the spider silk, and then leave this area that was about to be swallowed by space-time turbulence using the Secrets Sorcerer Sealed Artifact he carried.
At this moment, in a virtual tunnel of the mirror world, Bernadette, sitting on a green pea vine, was making a phone call while looking at a mirror.
That mirror was a substitute Lumian had made for himself, having a very close connection with him. It was relying on this connection and the abilities of the Mystery Pryer pathway that Bernadette was able to monitor every move on the battlefield.
She suddenly reached out her right hand and once again virtually wiped the dark crown she had taken out again.
The numerous gems on that crown lit up simultaneously, using Lumian's mirror to Disorder the corresponding space-time.
Zaratulstra first turned into a paper figurine, then His main body reappeared in the same position, still bound by spider silk.
This was the last bit of help Bernadette could provide.
Lumian's figure disappeared from the dark void that was about to be swallowed by space-time turbulence, taking Zaratulstra with him.
The two of them appeared on the surface of the large screen on the hot pot restaurant's stage and passed through it.
Zaratulstra then saw the private room that belonged to his group, saw tables of customers eating hot pot.
Thankfully, it's not the police station… Zaratulstra immediately contracted the maggot vortex, quickly changing back into a white-haired elderly man.
He was worried that his Mythical Creature form would cause massive casualties and madness in the public setting of the hot pot restaurant. If that happened, He would certainly be captured by the main consciousness of the dream and forcibly kicked out or turned into a marionette, which could no longer be avoided by historical projection.
Just as Zaratulstra regained human form, He suddenly saw a pair of eyes, dark brown eyes.
Those were Zhou Mingrui's eyes.
Zhou Mingrui was sitting at a table not far from the stage, staring blankly as he watched Zaratulstra and a beautiful woman with a bloody face walk out from the screen. He felt that a dangerous aura lingered on the former, as if he had just emerged from a state that could kill everyone in the hot pot restaurant.
This deeply shocked him, and the goose intestine he was holding with his chopsticks, not yet placed in the pot, froze in midair.
Outside the hot pot restaurant, the sky at 7 pm was still bright.
Zaratulstra's gaze instantly froze.
The next second, he turned his head to look at Lumian.
One of Lumian's eyes had lost focus, dazed and confused, while the other blue eye was shrouded in a bloody mist.
He put away the Sword of Courage and smirked at Zaratulstra, a dangerous yet beautiful smile playing on his lips.
Both of them felt pain simultaneously, as if tightly entangled by invisible tentacles, forcibly being dragged away from the world they relied on for survival.
Their thoughts were also rapidly becoming sluggish and stuttering.
Confirming that the situation was as he had anticipated, Lumian smiled even more happily.
Zaratulstra didn't put up much more resistance, as that would prevent Him from entering the dream again later.
He took a deep look at the Demoness of Despair before him, then left this world along with the force kicking Him out of the dream.
Lumian did the same.
Clap, clap, clap, warm applause suddenly came from all directions in the hot pot restaurant.
Whether that scene of the beautiful woman and the old man walking out of the screen was magic or an application of virtual reality technology, it was worth applauding!
What the audience didn't notice was that behind Zaratulstra, an illusory door discreetly appeared, and Ludwig, dressed in children's formal wear, walked out.
People and objects banished by the Secrets Sorcerer ability, when the time was up, didn't return to their original position but to the side of the person who used the Exile ability.
Ludwig glanced at Lumina and Zaratulstra in front of him, quickly changing his mouth back to its original form.
He walked around to the front and took Lumina's hand.
Lumina remembered that this was her child. Under Ludwig's guidance, she left the stage and walked towards the back of the hot pot restaurant—the resting place for the face-changing performers.
Zaratulstra looked at his position in confusion, and amidst the audience's applause, he also walked off the stage, heading towards the second floor.
After walking seven or eight steps, he saw the stairs, and for some unknown reason, his mood suddenly became joyful.
At this moment, he heard a "bang" sound.
A dim green bullet flew from somewhere above, hitting the side of his head.
On the surface of the glass window in the corner of the second floor, Franca's figure faintly appeared.
Located in the blind spot of surveillance, she had extended the Inevitable Gun slightly out of the glass mirror surface.
Certain Death!
As the gun fired, Zaratulstra's pupils suddenly dilated, and his head exploded, splattering red and white in all directions.
Franca quickly withdrew the Inevitable Gun and calmly left the current glass window using the remaining power of the Ice Amulet.
We may not be able to kill your main body, but can't we kill your dream manifestation?
Without this current identity, let's see how you obtain money and resources, see how long it takes you to get a new identity and return to the dream city!
-x-X-x-
At a table near the stage, Zhou Mingrui had been observing Zaratulstra and the unknown beautiful woman ever since they walked out from the screen.
Unlike the majority of people who were drawn to the woman with blood on her face, a dazed look in her eyes, and an strangely alluring beauty, he was more focused on Zaratulstra's state and actions.
Of course, during this process, he still used his peripheral vision to keep an eye on the woman, to see her condition and what she would do next.
After just a few seconds, he noticed a strange child appear from behind Zaratulstra, take the hand of the blood-faced woman, walk off the stage, and head towards the resting area for the face-changing performers. Meanwhile, Zaratulstra also looked confused, slowly following them off the stage and approaching the stairs leading to the second floor.
Zhou Mingrui noticed that Zaratulstra's pace quickened as he walked, his expression gradually becoming relaxed and showing a hint of joy.
Just then, he heard a "bang" and saw Zaratulstra's head explode like a watermelon dropped from a great height.
As red and white matter splattered in all directions, the applause, cheers, and chatter in the hot pot restaurant seemed to have been muted, disappearing instantly.
Everything froze or solidified in that moment, except for the fragments of Zaratulstra's head mixed with red and white liquid, blossoming like fireworks.
Thud!
Zaratulstra's corpse fell not far from the stairs.
Zaratulstra is dead… shot to death… In that moment, Zhou Mingrui was extremely confused and bewildered, feeling as if a movie special effect had intruded into daily life, making it all seem very unreal.
In all his life, this was the first time he had witnessed someone being shot to death.
He usually had full confidence in public safety and felt very secure.
The next second, Zhou Mingrui thought of the Li Ming, Luo Fu, and Luo Shan group who had been constantly reminding him to be careful of Zaratulstra. He also remembered that Luo Fu, who had been eating hot pot here just a few minutes ago, had gone to the restroom.
What a coincidence, she just happened to not be in the dining hall…
It couldn't have been her, could it?
Just as this thought flashed through Zhou Mingrui's mind, he heard screams and felt the entire hot pot restaurant in an uproar.
Just as this thought flashed through Zhou Mingrui's mind, he heard screams and felt the entire hot pot restaurant in an uproar.
People had finally reacted.
A bloody shooting had just occurred right before their eyes!
Some people immediately called the police, some tried to leave the hot pot restaurant, fearing there might be more gunfire, while others, both nauseated and terrified, wiped the stains from their faces…
"What happened?" Zhou Mingrui suddenly heard Luo Fu's voice.
This beautiful woman wearing a black T-shirt with sequins and black-framed glasses had returned to her original position.
Luo Shan abruptly stood up, pointing at where Zaratulstra had fallen, and said in a terrified and stammering voice, "S-someone died!
"Zaratulstra was shot dead!"
Seeing Luo Shan's reaction, Zhou Mingrui doubted his earlier judgment: Luo Shan seems completely unprepared for Zaratulstra's shooting…
"Huh?" Franca, taking advantage of her height, stood on tiptoes to look towards where the body lay.
After seeing the corpse with its head blown apart, her face gradually turned pale, and she hurriedly averted her gaze.
"It's really Zaratulstra?" she asked Luo Shan.
At this point, Luo Shan also suspected it was Luo Fu's doing, because inviting Zhou Mingrui to this hot pot restaurant and sitting near the stage were both Luo Fu's instructions. And just minutes before Zaratulstra was shot, Luo Fu had gone to the restroom and wasn't at her seat.
But Luo Fu's reaction and the change in her complexion made Luo Shan uncertain.
Luo Shan nodded with a grave expression. "Yes."
She was indeed scared. Since becoming a Beyonder, at most she had only killed monsters in the Shaman's world and subtly influenced a few people in reality through her paintings. She had never truly fought with any human, let alone killed one.
She knew Luo Fu and the others' purpose and target, but she hadn't expected them to use such drastic measures.
As she spoke, Luo Shan leaned closer to Franca, wanting to sniff her to check for any lingering gunpowder smell, like they did on TV. But she only caught a whiff of a pleasant, intoxicating fragrance.
Franca's face seemed to pale even more as she murmured, "How did he just die…"
Amidst the commotion in the entire hot pot restaurant, Zhou Mingrui's gaze moved from Luo Shan and Luo Fu's faces to the resting area for the face-changing performers.
He hadn't forgotten about the beautiful yet dangerous woman who had walked out of the screen along with Zaratulstra.
Inside the hot pot restaurant's rest area.
Lumina was led by Ludwig to a corner, where he drew a curtain, as if they were about to change clothes.
The face-changing performers present were all attracted by Lumina's beauty, aura, and dazed expression. No one questioned why she had come in.
After blocking the surrounding gazes, Ludwig took out a mirror from his pocket.
Inside the mirror, Jenna was already waiting.
Jenna reached out with both hands, grabbing Lumina and Ludwig, and pulled them into the mirror world.
Lumina didn't resist; she remembered this was Li Lu's mother.
What confused her was that she thought she was Li Lu's mother, so why did Li Lu have another mother? Yet her memories and consciousness told her this was the truth.
Smack!
As the mirror fell towards the ground, it burst into quiet and eerie black flames, then shattered into pieces.
Having already traversed to a mirror near the Dechuang Garden, Jenna began cleaning the makeup off herself and Ludwig, and removed the Lie earring from Lumina's ear.
Their action plan for this operation was divided into three parts:
The first part was to attempt an assassination;
The second part was to immediately switch to an encirclement attack if the assassination failed;
The third part, if the encirclement attack still couldn't kill Zaratulstra, was to "bring" the enemy before Zhou Mingrui in a way involving mysticism and Beyonder powers. This would likely result in both Zaratulstra and the person who "brought" Him being kicked out of the dream on the spot. Then, Franca, who hadn't appeared or participated in the battle before, would seize the opportunity to covertly assassinate Zaratulstra's dream image—now an ordinary person without an Angel's rank and temporarily unprotected by bodyguards. This would force this character off the stage, no longer able to be used by the real Zaratulstra to approach Huang Tao and obtain money and resources through company mergers and restructuring!
Moreover, this might even prevent Zaratul from re-entering the dream city for a considerable time, until He had a new identity. Lumian and the others would use this window of opportunity to make more attempts.
Because there was a possibility of being exposed to the audience at the end, and also the possibility of the plan failing with Zaratulstra successfully escaping, so except for Lumian who could transform into a female form and Franca who would only carry out the covert assassination in the final stage, Jenna, Anthony, and Ludwig all used the Lie earring to adjust their appearances to some extent, applying near-perfect makeup. Additionally, they used Lumian's Mystery Prying Glasses to add suggestive power to their disguises, making everyone who saw them believe this was their true appearance.
The Mystery Prying Glasses itself was not above Sequence 7, so the mystical effects it produced were not discounted.
In the hot pot restaurant, Mr. Huang, who was on the phone with his daughter, heard the gunshot and commotion in the hall and specifically walked to the stairway to look down.
His face, which had been wearing a faint smile, instantly darkened when he saw Zaratulstra's nearly headless corpse.
He moved the phone from his ear to in front of his eyes, staring at the call interface displaying the words "Bernie".
After a few seconds, Mr. Huang brought the phone back to his ear and said in a gentle voice, "Something's happened at the scene, I need to deal with it. I'll call you back later."
As soon as he hung up the phone, Zaratulstra's subordinates rushed past him in fear, panic, and anger, surrounding the corpse.
Edward—the vice president of Intis Group—followed behind them, approaching Mr. Huang and saying in a low voice, "Besides Zaratulstra, one bodyguard and one negotiator are missing."
Mr. Huang nodded slowly, looking at the chaos in the hall, and sighed. "Call the police, let them handle it."
…
As soon as she resumed her daily appearance in the dream city, Jenna took Lumina and Ludwig back to room 2303 of the Dechuang Garden.
She had used her Ice Mirror Charm once again; now only one use remained.
She then placed Franca's Traveler's Bag on the coffee table.
Franca had gone to the women's restroom under surveillance, used a mirror placed on the water tank to lurk in the surveillance blind spot, shot and killed Zaratulstra, then immediately drank the healing agent provided by the Tarot Club to delay the negative effects of using the special ability of the Inevitable Gun. This would allow the severe illness to manifest after she had been questioned by the police. Of course, before that, her complexion would still show some changes.
After doing this, she quickly handed over the Traveler's Bag and all items related to Beyonders to Jenna, letting Jenna take them away from the scene to prevent the police from discovering any clues.
Jenna took out a bottle of healing agent and handed it to the confused Lumina, saying in a gentle voice, "First, let's treat your wounds."
Lumina took the agent and trustingly opened the cap, tilted her head back slightly, and drank it.
Watching this scene, Jenna was actually quite anxious inside.
She discovered a problem that hadn't been anticipated before.
Lumian had exited the dream in female form, leaving behind Lumina, but the identity woven by Madam Justice was Li Ming, a male.
Normally, when an outsider was kicked out of the dream, their remaining manifestation would maintain daily life based on the woven identity and memories not involving Beyonders, just like "Luo Fu". But now, Lumina and the Li Ming identity were clearly different, even in gender.
This would cause a conflict between Lumina's self-perception and the actual identity situation!
Does this count as actively creating a dream loophole? Seeing that Lumina had quickly recovered, Jenna carefully asked, "Can you still… transform into a male?"
-x-X-x-
Lumina looked at Jenna with her now fully recovered eye and asked in confusion, "What do you mean by transforming into a male?"
Her previously blinded eye, limited by the effects of the healing agent, was still suppressed at Sequence 7 and recovering more slowly, with vision still blurry.
As expected, she can't do it, or doesn't know how… Jenna's thoughts raced as she quickly fabricated an excuse. "Don't you remember that you like to dress up as a man and wear men's clothes?"
Lumina looked down at her clothes and accepted Jenna's explanation. "Yes, I still like that."
She believed it… She's accepted this character setting? Jenna vaguely grasped the current loophole and probed further, "You seem a bit shaken and confused. Don't tell me you've forgotten that we're a couple raising Li Lu together?"
"Uh…" Lumina was stunned for a moment. "No wonder he calls me mother and you mom. I remember now, that's right!"
She just "remembered" like that? The corner of Jenna's mouth twitched slightly.
Lumina's reaction and changes also confirmed her theory: Due to the conflict between Lumina's true gender and background identity, a loophole had appeared in the dream. Before this loophole was patched, whatever character background story was fed to Lumina, she would become that person!
Of course, this couldn't involve the supernatural or conflict with actual character relationships—Lumina clearly remembered the people around her.
Recalling that she had brought Lumina and Ludwig back through the mirror world, Jenna felt a headache coming on, unsure what kind of changes such details might bring.
After a few seconds of thought, she decided not to mention the mirror world or why Lumina was injured for now, waiting for Lumina to bring it up herself before coming up with an explanation.
She pointed to the bedroom and said, "You look exhausted, and you're not fully recovered. Let me help you to bed to rest."
Lumina nodded slightly.
Jenna then helped her up and said to Ludwig, "You did well today. You can rest for a while before studying. There's food in the bag."
"Okay." Ludwig had been waiting for these words.
He quickly reached out and grabbed Jenna's Traveler's Bag.
After settling Ludwig and tucking Lumina into bed under the air-conditioned blanket, Jenna went to the bathroom to wet a towel to wipe Lumina's face, which still had traces of blood.
Just as she wet the towel, she saw Anthony's figure appear in the vanity mirror.
Jenna immediately felt relieved and turned off the faucet, saying, "I was just about to look for you after settling Lumina and the others. Are you all right?"
She used the name Lumina to quickly inform Anthony of what had happened afterwards.
Anthony asked a follow-up question as if to confirm, "What about Zaratulstra?"
"The third part of the plan was successfully executed," Jenna replied concisely.
Only then did Anthony describe his own experience, "I was transferred to a prison that clearly had defenses against Mirror Traversal. I Hypnotized my 'cellmate' to feel unwell and call for help loudly. Then, using Psychological Invisibility, I slipped out of the cell and made it to the guards' office area, where I finally managed to escape using the mirror I had on me and the Ice Mirror Charm.
"When I returned to the mirror world corresponding to the hot pot restaurant, I found you had already left, so I came here to confirm the situation. There are already police there, and the area behind the mirror might not be safe."
"You can clean off your makeup and return to your original appearance now," Jenna said as she tossed the Lie earring into the mirror. "I've already done anti-divination using mirror magic, and Queen Mystic will help with the aftermath. Don't worry, go home and rest. I'll keep Ludwig here for now."
"Alright." While the power of the Ice Mirror Charm was still active, Anthony took the Lie earring and traversed back to the rented apartment in Xinhong District.
He could only use his Ice Mirror Charm one more time as well.
Jenna let out a sigh, wrung out the towel, left the bathroom, entered the bedroom, and began wiping Lumina's face.
Along the way, she also checked how much Ludwig had eaten.
…
In the hot pot restaurant, the police had set up a cordon, isolating the corpse and the surrounding area.
Franca, looking shocked, was being questioned along with Luo Shan and Zhou Mingrui by a police officer named Li En.
She said fearfully, "We weren't eating quickly, waiting for the later performance. Then I went to the bathroom, and when I came back, I found someone had died!"
"So you weren't in the dining hall when it happened?" Li En probed.
"Yes, I was in the bathroom," Franca explained.
Li En made a note of this, deciding to check with his colleague monitoring the surveillance footage later to confirm if this woman named Luo Fu had indeed entered the women's restroom and how long she had stayed there.
He then turned to Zhou Mingrui.
"You saw the deceased and a woman walk out from the screen?"
"Yes." Zhou Mingrui glanced at Luo Fu.
After listening and observing for a while, he increasingly felt that Luo Fu didn't seem to be the culprit.
Or is her acting so superb that I can't detect any flaws? Zhou Mingrui mused as he added, "At the time, I thought it was a magic show. Thinking back now, there was something off—that woman had blood on her face…"
Li En asked a few more questions, then walked over to Officer Deng, summarizing the key points from his inquiries.
Deng held a pipe but didn't smoke it in public, only sniffing it to stimulate his nerves and make them more alert.
"Captain, we've found something," another police officer approached and said to Deng.
He was responsible for searching for the beautiful woman who had come out of the screen.
Deng nodded and followed this officer to the back of the hot pot restaurant, entering the resting room for the face-changing performers.
The performers were all a bit scared, huddled in corners, watching the police come and go.
"This is where the suspect was last seen," the officer who led Deng in pulled back a curtain, pointing to the changing area.
Deng scanned the area, his gaze falling on the shattered mirror on the ground.
…
In Trier, inside that luxurious villa.
Lumian opened his eyes to find one eye unable to sense light, while the other was tinged with a faint bloodiness.
Every joint in his body ached, his thoughts occasionally stuttering. His emotions were clearly off—despite achieving his goal, he felt a sinking depression as if trapped in inescapable darkness, along with an impulse to explode and tear everything apart.
This was the corruption from Zaratulstra's Mythical Creature form, which would affect reality, and the resulting damage was real too.
Lumian slowly stood up, confirming the presence of the Traveler's Bag and Beyonder items, then stumbled out of the room and down the stairs.
He hadn't immediately drunk the healing agent because he was mainly corrupted, not injured.
When Lumian reached the ground floor living room, Madam Magician, dressed in a yellow and white gown, was already waiting there.
Starlight flashed in Madam Magician's eyes, condensing into an illusory book that instantly flipped to a certain page.
Accompanied by an ethereal, illusory voice, drops of sweet dew fell, sprinkling onto Lumian, washing away his blood stains without wetting his clothes.
Lumian's blinded eye gradually regained sight, and the discomfort in his body quickly dissipated.
"The best way to deal with your current condition would actually be to have Mr. Sun come and purify you," Madam Magician said with a smile, "but you have too many things that need purification, and the rank is too high. That might be even more detrimental to you. Now, your spirit and mind certainly still have residual corruption. Later, Madam Justice will come to give you a targeted treatment. Fortunately, the corruption from the dream has also been suppressed to Sequence 7. As long as you don't encounter the Celestial Worthy, it shouldn't be a major problem."
Lumian tucked his falling black hair behind his ear and briefly recounted the actions he and the others had taken against Zaratulstra, as well as the assistance provided by Queen Mystic.
During this, Madam Magician gestured for him to sit in an armchair.
"I don't know if Franca ultimately killed Zaratulstra's dream image, but it shouldn't be a big issue. At the time, Zaratulstra's bodyguards were all in the private room upstairs, and the other demigod of the Seer pathway was stationed at the hotel. Even if Mr. Fool subconsciously believed that Zaratulstra also possessed Beyonder powers, he would just be an ordinary Sequence 7, without special abilities or an Angel's rank," Lumian said finally.
Madam Magician replied, "Divination on Mr. Fool's dream situation is very restricted and dangerous. I'm not sure yet if Two of Cups was successful. Well, we can ask Miss Justice when she arrives. She can glimpse some details of the dream using her Dreamweaver ability.
"What we need to pay attention to now is that your actions were a strong stimulus to Zhou Mingrui. No one knows what changes might occur in the dream next."
Lumian nodded, saying thoughtfully, "This time, our biggest gain wasn't kicking Zaratulstra out of the dream and likely being able to eliminate His corresponding dream manifestation. It was verifying one thing."
As Madam Magician turned her gaze to him, Lumian spoke slowly, "As long as we perform actions deeply involving Beyonders in front of Zhou Mingrui and make him feel danger, whether it's the subordinates of the Celestial Worthy or us, we'll all be kicked out of the dream and quickly marionettized.
"On this point, no matter what stance people take, they receive the same treatment."
…
Affected by the shooting incident, Zhou Mingrui, Franca, and Luo Shan couldn't continue eating hot pot.
Since many dishes hadn't been touched, Luo Shan was hesitant about how to pay the bill and how much to give.
At this moment, the hot pot restaurant manager came over and proactively said to them,
"No need to pay, no need to pay. Mr. Huang from Intis Group said he's covering everything. He said it was their client's issue that prevented everyone from enjoying their meal, so he'll foot the bill."
"Mr. Huang is as generous as ever," Zhou Mingrui remarked.
Luo Shan strongly agreed.
Seeing that Luo Fu wasn't feeling well, Zhou Mingrui didn't suggest finding another place to eat. He politely saw the two ladies off in a ride-hailing car.
Franca had been holding up, but upon returning to Dechuang Garden and entering the elevator, she suddenly went weak and leaned against Luo Shan.
"What's wrong?" Luo Shan asked in surprise.
"I seem to be… falling ill… How sudden…" Franca herself was puzzled.
Luo Shan didn't get off at the 15th floor but supported Franca to the 23rd floor.
Upon seeing the door of Room 2303, Franca suddenly "woke up".
The illness was due to using the Certain Death effect of the Inevitable Gun!
I really killed Zaratulstra…
-x-X-x-
Looking at the door of Room 2303, Franca suddenly recalled everything.
Considering that if the shooting of Zaratulstra was successful, the police department would inevitably be involved in the investigation. Regardless of whether the police department previously had Beyonders, now that Zhou Mingrui himself had gained Beyonder abilities and the dream subconscious recognized the Sequence 7 level, they, as representatives of the "official" side, would certainly have gained mystical power enhancements. Therefore, Lumian and the others had already thought of ways to avoid subsequent investigations.
Starting from the fact that the main officers of the dream city's Police Department were based on the Nighthawks of the Church of Evernight, Lumian reasonably deduced that their most commonly used and convenient method for finding clues in public was to forcibly drag suspects into a dream and directly question them there.
For this reason, he had Anthony give Franca a psychological suggestion in advance, making her forget everything related to the incident as soon as she drank the healing agent. The corresponding psychological suggestion would only be completely lifted when she returned to Dechuang Garden and saw the rented room.
This way, even in the dream, Franca's performance would be flawless.
If her own subconscious didn't believe she had shot Zaratulstra, how could she show any abnormality in the dream!
The performance that Luo Shan and Zhou Mingrui saw from Franca also came from her instinctive reactions, not acting. Only her complexion was enhanced by the negative effects of the Inevitable Gun, so it was completely flawless.
Phew… that shot of mine was really cool, calm, relaxed, natural, composed, that's what an assassin should be like! Franca, feeling a bit feverish and confused, proudly praised herself in her heart.
By this time, Luo Shan had already rung the doorbell and saw Jenna open the door.
She was about to ask in a low voice, "Was Zaratulstra's death your doing?" when she suddenly noticed a small boy writing furiously at the dining table.
"Who's that?" Luo Shan swallowed the question she was about to ask.
Franca let go of Luo Shan's support, glanced at Ludwig, and said with unsteady steps and a smile, "My godson."
Theoretically speaking, that's right!
As soon as Franca finished speaking, she was already panting, looking as if even talking was a great effort. Jenna quickly supported her.
Seeing this, Luo Shan waved her hand and said, "Get well soon. You probably won't need to work overtime tomorrow, you can rest at home."
The big client is dead, what overtime would there be!
Back in Room 1502, Luo Shan took out her phone and sent a WeChat message to Jenna:
"Is there anything wrong with Luo Fu? Does she need to go to the hospital?"
She intended to use this to open the conversation, then ask Jenna if "Zaratulstra's death was related to them".
Jenna quickly replied: "She took some fever medicine, let's observe for a while before deciding.
"I heard there was a shooting at the hot pot restaurant where you were eating?"
She instead asked about Zaratulstra being shot… What does this mean? Could it really not have been them? Luo Shan wondered, once again doubting her own deductions.
She briefly told Jenna about what happened in the hot pot restaurant, watching to see how she would respond.
Jenna sent a 😱 emoji: "No wonder Luo Fu got sick. She always falls ill when frightened, but she also recovers quickly. She'll be fine in a couple of days."
That doesn't make sense… She's a powerful Beyonder, from a future on the edge of the apocalypse; she must have seen countless deaths. How could she get sick from being frightened by a single shooting? Just as Luo Shan had this doubt, she suddenly understood what Jenna really meant: We'll tell you the truth about this matter in a couple of days.
Is it because this is the crucial period of the police investigation, and they're worried that if I know who the real killer is, I might let something slip or become nervous and anxious, and then be questioned by the police? Luo Shan nodded in understanding.
She then felt somewhat happy.
In the past, she wouldn't have been able to pick up on such hints. Sometimes when others mocked her, if it wasn't obvious enough, she wouldn't even realize it. But now, she had grasped the hidden meaning in the words!
Ah, I've grown too. Luo Shan leaned back on the sofa contentedly and started using her phone.
Soon, she saw the police announcement soliciting key information, part of which read: "This woman is involved in the case. We hope the public will actively provide clues…"
Next to this part of the content was a photo. The woman in the photo was the one who had walked out of the screen with Zaratulstra.
Luo Shan could clearly see that the photo came from someone's phone at the scene rather than from surveillance cameras. It captured the woman's exquisite and elegant features, her confused yet seductive gaze, and her blood-stained face quite clearly, bringing that dangerous beauty to life.
Looking at it again, she's still very beautiful, even a bit more beautiful than Luo Fu and Jenna when they're not downplaying themselves… Luo Shan mused as she scrolled through the comments:
"Such a beautiful woman, why become a villain?"
"I'm not just judging by her looks, but I feel like there's no way she'd kill someone for no reason, right?"
"Sister, give me a shot!"
"Do all the commenters let their morals follow their appendages?"
"Isn't she more beautiful than those female celebrities nowadays? She could definitely squeeze into the top tier!"
"This is my dream lover, her face stained with blood, holding a gun, pressing it against my head, forcing me to give up my true heart."
"So, who exactly was killed?"
Luo Shan scrolled through with a smile for a few minutes, then suddenly remembered something.
She had forgotten to check the details of the room.
Ever since Luo Fu and Jenna reminded her to be careful of Zaratulstra's group potentially attacking her in secret, every time she returned home, she would use her Beyonder ability to examine the details of every corner, to avoid being assassinated or ambushed.
Luo Shan stood up and walked to the oil painting of a parrot, extending her hand towards it.
The colorful parrot poked its beak and upper body out of the oil painting and said crisply, "No one has been here."
Luo Shan stroked the parrot's feathers, then turned and walked to the window.
She looked outside, raised her right hand, and pinched her eye socket.
She wanted to use a Reporter's ability to observe and uncover the true world.
This wasn't because she didn't trust the parrot, but because there were some intrusions the parrot couldn't detect.
However, she didn't dare to observe the true world for too long. Every time she used this ability, she felt danger and only dared to maintain it for about ten seconds.
This could only be used to look at the "corners" that the parrot couldn't reach.
The next second, the light and shadows before Luo Shan's eyes changed, and different scenes of the surrounding area overlapped in a strange way, presenting themselves in a chaotic and complex manner.
Luo Shan quickly saw the glass windows connecting to the dark world, saw the oil paintings pressed against the glass windows, saw different rooms stacked together like building blocks, saw people doing different things in different rooms yet mixing with each other, saw the thin gray fog permeating the edges of all these scenes.
What exactly is this fog… Luo Shan instinctively frowned.
Every time she used a Reporter's ability to observe reality, she would discover this thin gray fog, but she never knew what it symbolized, what it represented, or where it came from.
Just as Luo Shan noticed that the movements of a man in one of the rooms seemed to stutter, the colorful parrot fluttered its wings in her line of sight.
Then, she saw Luo Fu lying on the sofa, physically cooling herself with an ice pack.
Then, she heard Luo Fu's weak voice: "Is this what happens after being kicked out of the dream in a female identity?"
Kicked out of the dream… Luo Shan was stunned.
The scene before her eyes immediately shattered.
She instinctively ended her observation of "reality".
Luo Shan stood by the window, her expression bewildered as she recalled what she had just heard.
Kicked out of the dream? Did Luo Fu mean to say this is a dream? Was her condition last time because she was kicked out of the dream? Luo Shan's gaze gradually became vacant.
After a few seconds, she murmured very softly and weakly, "If this is a dream, then what am I…"
…
Late at night, the bedroom door where Franca and Lumina were sleeping opened silently, and a figure walked out without making any noise.
It was Lumina in her nightgown, her eyes like highland lakes, both confused and irritated.
Lumina walked along the darkest areas, stealthily reaching the door and unlocking it.
Then, she put her hand on the handle, trying to open the main door.
But the handle didn't move at all.
Is the lock broken? Just as Lumina showed a surprised expression, she heard Jenna's voice from behind. "Where are you going?"
Lumina turned around quickly, looking at Jenna. "Didn't you take Li Lu to An Ruide's place?"
"We later came back, but you were all asleep. I thought I shouldn't disturb you, so I just slept here on the sofa." Jenna stood up from the sofa and asked curiously, "You want to go out? It's the middle of the night."
"I-I feel very stuffy, very depressed, I want to go out for a walk," Lumina explained, "But the door lock is broken."
She then laughed self-mockingly. "Am I too unlucky?"
Being unlucky is normal, and inevitable, this is the negative impact of using the Circle Inhabitant effect… Jenna didn't explain, but shook her head and said, "The hot pot restaurant incident isn't over yet, and your body hasn't fully recovered. If you go out for a walk now and someone sees you, it will be very troublesome."
"Alright." Lumina pursed her lips and said, "I-I feel like there's always a voice, an impulse in my heart telling me to go out."
"A voice?" Jenna frowned, becoming more vigilant, "Go where?"
Lumina didn't conceal.
"On the one hand, I want to go to the rooftop, to feel the wind, to see if there are any stars, and to space out a bit. On the other hand, I want to go to a certain place, that place is calling me."
"Which place?" Jenna asked.
Lumina tried hard to recall. "I think it was… I think it was…"
She paused for a moment, finally remembering. "Mushu Hospital."
"Mushu Hospital." Jenna's pupils dilated slightly.
She suddenly remembered that Lumian, that is, Lumina, really did have the bloodline of Omebella, the Child of God—the Great Mother.
This wasn't a ruse to deceive Grimm and the others!