Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability
chapter-896

Seeing that the Demoness of Black had no immediate intention to attack her, and didn't seem to be secretly releasing Plague, Franca steadied herself and began reciting her pre-rehearsed words, "That day, Lumian suddenly said that the Rose School of Thought had brought a very important item to Trier, which could potentially cause chaos and affect us, so we needed to quickly move to another safe house…"

This time, Franca pushed all the problems and abnormalities onto Lumian, saying she didn't know why this lover she met through the Iron and Blood Cross Order was hiding so many secrets. Despite not being very powerful, he seemed to have a very high status, to the extent that after a dazzling light suddenly burst in the sky over Trier, it attracted the attack of two bestowed demigods.

Franca truthfully recounted her role in the subsequent battle, only omitting Jenna's abilities and Anthony's revolver. Finally, she said, "At the most critical moment, Lumian came back. He had actually become a Demoness of Despair and quickly killed Higdon, then dealt with Voisin Sanson."

"And then?" the Demoness of Black in the glass window asked.

"She left," Franca answered simply, without further explanation.

She originally felt that although her description was reasonably fabricated, as someone who wasn't a descendant of the Demoness family, with an origin that only seemed clear, having long shared a bed with someone carrying many secrets and special qualities, experiencing many things together, was inherently suspicious. Who could guarantee she hadn't developed some issues because of this?

After the brief battle earlier, she had completely lost confidence in her ability to deceive the Demoness of Black, and was merely giving her a reason to pretend.

"Lumian Lee indeed has quite a few issues. Once exposed, he certainly wouldn't dare stay here anymore," the Demoness of Black said in a very calm tone.

Then, she chuckled softly. "The only pity is that you've lost the most valiant lover below demigod level. The few times I came to look, you were always enjoying yourself immensely, it was enviable."

"…" Franca was stunned for a moment, instinctively cursing in her heart, Dammit! When did she see that? Wasn't there a Bottle of Fiction?

Thinking about the Demoness of Black seeing her in that state, her face nearly turned green.

She carefully recalled and realized this couldn't really be blamed on Lumian, it was all her own doing—after the first two or three times, she had gotten used to it and found an entertaining point, which was to tease and Charm Lumian until he became urgent, to the point where even the Ascetic couldn't remind him to create the Bottle of Fiction.

What is this called? It's called bringing a calamity upon oneself! I hope the Demoness of Black hadn't seen what I did later to digest the Affliction potion… I hope… Mr. Fool, please protect your devout believer from social death! Franca laughed dryly. "Indeed, he was much more impressive than I had anticipated, but I don't want to mention him anymore. No, her. This bastard not only kept so many secrets from me, but also seduced my other lover Jenna, cuckolding me. I've even digested half of the Affliction potion because of this."

She was laying the groundwork for her rapid digestion of the Affliction potion.

Of course, as said before, giving the Demoness of Black a reason to keep pretending.

"There was such a thing?" The Demoness of Black's face, white to the point of slight transparency, revealed a slight smile, as if she had long guessed that a Sequence 5 Beyonder of the manly pathway like Lumian Lee, frequently in contact with Franca's female lover, would inevitably have a day when he couldn't resist.

"Yes." Franca dug up her true feelings from that time and gritted her teeth.

"You didn't cut off his thing, or force-feed him a potion from the Demoness pathway?" The Demoness of Black relaxed her expression, rarely making a joke. "Well, his sequence is too high, you couldn't make him advance to become a Demoness of Despair.

"Among my lovers, if any male lover is destined to become a Demoness, I don't mind him sleeping with my female lovers, since he'll lose it sooner or later and become a female lover. If I hadn't originally planned for him to walk the Demoness pathway, I would have let him know what pain really is."

You real Demonesses sure play a perverted game… Franca inwardly criticized before saying, "I initially had thoughts of revenge, but later gave up. As an adult, I don't make choices—I take everything!"

At this point, Franca deliberately hesitated. "Moreover, I sensed some issues at the time. He seemed to have a false high status, and torturing him would make my Affliction potion digest rapidly, but before I could probe the real reason, everything exploded."

The Demoness of Black nodded slightly, looking at Franca with an appreciative gaze for two seconds. "No wonder you played that kind of game. It's very interesting, very suitable for a Demoness."

"…" Franca's toes were already constantly scratching the ground inside her boots.

"However, your endurance isn't too good," the Demoness of Black said in an instructive tone.

Franca smiled sheepishly and said, "I only made him endure, not myself…"

"Endurance is also a form of pain. This would allow you to digest the potion from another aspect," the Demoness of Black said seriously, suppressing the smile on her face.

"That's true…" Franca blinked her eyes.

Why didn't I think of that at the time? Otherwise, I would have completely digested the Affliction potion by now!

Ah, I was too focused on having fun!

But Beyonders can't think about "acting" every moment, right? One needs to learn to relax, to learn to use pure entertainment to relieve mental pressure and accumulated tendencies towards losing control!

Franca really didn't want to continue this embarrassing topic, so she took the initiative to say, "But I'll be able to completely digest the Affliction potion in at most two or three weeks."

She had recently been recalling previously learned knowledge, purchasing general-purpose textbooks, and trying to create exam papers for Ludwig.

She believed that just once would be enough to achieve her goal.

This would only take a few days.

The Demoness of Black didn't mention anything about subsequent advancement, which Franca didn't find strange—her current self was highly suspicious, and if the Demoness of Black were to promise to provide the formula and ingredients for the Demoness of Despair, it would mean that the subsequent arrangements would inevitably involve very dangerous traps.

What a situation this is… I know I'm lying, the Demoness of Black knows I'm lying, and I also know that the Demoness of Black knows I'm lying… Franca sighed inwardly, and according to the Demoness of Black's questions, she detailed Lumian's appearance and abilities after he became a Demoness of Despair.

The Demoness of Black listened quietly, then suddenly walked out of the glass window into the grayish-white dominated living room.

Seeing this, alarm bells immediately rang in Franca's heart.

The current situation was clearly the result of Petrification, an ability unique to high-ranking members of the Demoness pathway, yet the Demoness of Black hadn't asked a single question about what had happened!

The Demoness of Black looked at Franca, her lips gently blossoming into a smile that seemed to cast a glow over the stone room.

Franca found herself uncontrollably drawn in, completely unable to look away.

The Demoness of Black extended her right hand and said in a gentle voice, "You only have one lover left now, but you can become my lover."

Franca suddenly felt that the Demoness of Black was filled with a sacred aura, making her want to protect and also ravish her.

Then, a watery gleam appeared in the Demoness of Black's eyes, taking on a soft and sorrowful quality that made Franca want to merge with her out of pity.

The Demoness of Black walked step by step towards Franca, her right hand still extended, like a queen waiting for her knight to kiss it.

Franca was suddenly overwhelmed by a strong desire to conquer.

In this way, the Demoness of Black continuously changed her aura, as if searching for the one that would most captivate Franca.

Franca's breathing had already become belabored, and she instinctively blurted out, "No need."

This sentence was like a spell, instantly dispelling the current romantic atmosphere. The Demoness of Black returned to her original appearance, stopping just two steps away from Franca.

"Give me a reason," the Demoness of Black asked very calmly, showing no signs of disappointment or anger.

Franca's cheeks had become flushed at some point, her body trembling slightly, as if that refusal had used up all her strength.

Her mind raced, quickly finding a very good reason.

"Madame, you said that endurance is also a form of pain. I want to take the opportunity of losing a lover to practice abstinence for a while, to accelerate the complete digestion of the Affliction potion."

A faint smile reappeared on the Demoness of Black's face.

"Your willpower is stronger than I expected. Although I wasn't using my full Charm on you just now, the fact that you could still refuse my proposal without me deliberately suppressing the Charm shows that your willpower is among the best among Sequence 5 Beyonders."

Is that so… What was I thinking of that made me refuse such a great temptation… Franca recalled, her expression changing slightly.

At that moment, she had thought of Jenna, and also of Lumian.

This both surprised and didn't surprise her.

The lack of surprise referred to thinking of Jenna at the critical moment of being Charmed, while the surprise was that she had also thought of Lumian!

The Demoness of Black looked around and said, "I'll wait for you to completely digest the Affliction potion. During this time, I have a task for you. Make contact with the core members of the Emperor Party. You should have heard the voice saying 'Your emperor has returned' that day. Those fantasists who worship Roselle and want to restore the empire seem to have new ideas because of this. Perhaps we can use them to do something.

"The specific situation will be told to you by Niceea. She was originally a spy employed by the government, specifically monitoring the Emperor Party. She has just become a Witch not long ago.

"This is her contact information…

"If you want to obtain the formula and ingredients for the Demoness of Despair from me, you need to make good contributions to the sect."

Franca took the paper handed over by the Demoness of Black and "sincerely" responded, "Yes, Madame Clarice."

The Demoness of Black didn't say anything more. Layers of dark spaces appeared in her eyes.

Her figure then disappeared from the room. She hadn't mentioned a single word about the complete grayish-white state of the scene.

Not long after, Lumian walked out of Jenna's bedroom, grabbed Franca's arm, and entered the full-length mirror in the living room.

The corpse pieces of the Demoness of Black in the area behind the mirror had completely disappeared.