Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability
chapter-897

Lumian didn't rely entirely on his spirituality, but carefully searched the area behind the mirror, finding nothing.

"Could this have been the Demoness of Black's Mirror Person?" Franca asked doubtfully.

"The Demoness of Black's Mirror Person shouldn't be this weak." Lumian shook his head.

The two tried using Magic Mirror Divination, but received no effective revelation.

"Should we try asking the one with the most accurate divination results?" Franca suggested, barely concealing her fear and aversion.

After pondering for a moment, Lumian said, "Let's wait until we've consulted Madam Magician and the others before considering that option."

Perhaps Madam Magician could learn from the spirit world what exactly the dead Demoness of Black was.

Franca sighed in relief, turning her gaze to the mirror exit, saying with lingering fear, "Just now, the Demoness of Black completely ignoring the petrified state of the room nearly scared me to death. Such a glaring anomaly was right in front of her eyes, yet she acted as if she were blind. She could have at least pretended to notice!"

Even though I knew the reason I gave wouldn't convince you, I still acted professionally until the end, didn't I?

Lumian pondered for a moment before saying, "Perhaps she really didn't notice."

"Wh— You're even better at telling horror stories than I am!" Franca shuddered.

"It's possible that the death of this Demoness of Black will lead to a partial loss of sensory or spiritual perception in the real Demoness of Black, making her unable to perceive corresponding signs for a short time," Lumian speculated thoughtfully.

Franca nodded pensively. "So you're saying the Demoness of Black you killed was a part of the real Demoness of Black, split off for unknown reasons?"

"If we could master all the mystical knowledge related to the Demoness of Unaging, we should be able to find the answer to this question," Lumian affirmed.

"Not necessarily," Franca refuted, her thoughts jumping as usual. "Maybe this isn't a characteristic of the Demoness of Unaging, but rather a peculiarity of the Demoness of Black herself. Didn't you say her position and role in the Demoness Sect don't quite match her Sequence?"

"That's a possibility," Lumian agreed with Franca's statement. "Whether it's you, or me and Jenna, if we want to go further on the Demoness pathway in the future, these secrets are something we must understand and master. This is also why we can't bypass the Demoness Sect and must interact with them."

But I want to switch to Hunter in the future… Well, Sequence 4 has to be Demoness of Despair, and maybe by Sequence 3 I can leave the Demoness Sect. But the Demoness of Unaging sounds very appealing—eternally youthful, hard to kill, skilled at resurrection, basically both tenacious and long-lived, without aging… Switch pathways at Sequence 2? But becoming an Angel is certainly very difficult, I only know of Madam Magician among the Angels in the Major Arcana… Franca hesitated and struggled internally.

She glanced at Lumian, suddenly grinning and saying, "I resisted the Demoness of Black's Charm just now!"

Her eyebrows and eyes seemed to be saying "Praise me quickly".

Lumian glanced at her. "I remember when I first met you, you were mature, dashing, charming, and had determination. You were a reliable older sister. But now…"

"No, a reliable older brother," Franca instinctively retorted. "Everyone has different facets. Can you act the same way with strangers as you do with brothers you can entrust your life to? Can you handle daily trivial matters in the same style as sudden crises? That would be exhausting."

She became smug again. "That was a Sequence 3 Demoness of Unaging. Although she didn't directly use Charm, just based on her beauty, the innate allure of a high-sequence Demoness, and her constantly changing aura, not many men could refuse her. But I did it!"

Lumian walked towards the dark exit leading back to the living room, casually saying, "Being able to refuse is a good thing. Although becoming the Demoness of Black's lover would indeed allow you to enjoy the body of a High-Sequence Demoness and the pleasure she brings, and gradually gain her true trust, it would also make you gradually become addicted, ultimately unable to extricate yourself, becoming twisted and corrupted, abandoning everything you originally valued."

"Right," Franca responded instinctively, then grabbed her ponytail and said, "That's not the point! Do you know why I was able to refuse the Demoness of Black's proposal?"

"You thought of Jenna at that moment?" Lumian pondered briefly.

Franca nodded with satisfaction, speaking in a tone that suggested her bro understood her best, "That's right!"

Lumian didn't ask for details and continued forward, preparing to return to the real world.

At this moment, Franca, both struck by inspiration and suddenly impulsive, added, "I also thought of you…"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the Demoness of Affliction froze, as if struck by lightning.

Dammit, why did I say that out loud?

Franca instantly wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it. At the same time, she quickly examined her previous state to determine if she had been manipulated or if it was truly a moment of impulse.

Seeing Lumian stop in his tracks, his expression becoming somewhat complicated, Franca finally confirmed that it was her spirituality's inspiration that made her impulsive, making her try this.

Just as Jenna had said before, Lumian needed to clearly know that he as a person was still valued, liked, and needed.

Since I've already said it, I might as well continue! Franca looked at the dazed Lumian, deliberately using a stubborn tone. "I don't know why I thought of you at that moment either. I thought we only had a purely physical relationship. Maybe it's because you were watching from the guest room."

This made Lumian instinctively scoff, as if wanting to refute.

He didn't say similar words, instead asking in a slightly lower voice, "What did you think about me?"

Dammit, you're really asking? Bro, who could say those things out loud!? While Franca was inwardly cursing, she smiled and looked Lumian up and down.

"I don't know why, but I feel like you've become even more beautiful after coming into contact with the Sealed Artifact formed by Omebella's remains. You can even rival the Sequence 3 Demoness of Black now. Well, at least in one of her auras."

Normally, beauty and prettiness couldn't be quantified and compared, but in the Demoness pathway, they could. Higher Sequences would have more feminine charm than lower Sequences, and were generally more beautiful, unless the lower Sequence Demoness was originally very attractive or improved her appearance through other means, such as using the Lie earring or coming into contact with the extreme corruption of beauty. Lumian satisfied both conditions.

Without waiting for Lumian to respond, Franca deliberately sighed, "At that time, I should have recalled you, whose charm could rival the Demoness of Black, but strangely, I remembered the initial you who always liked to act tough, like a little brother. Maybe I didn't want to perform an improper act in front of a bro."

After a few seconds, Lumian glanced at Franca. "Perhaps Jenna and I have also become your anchors."

Hey, don't say it so seriously and textbook-like… Franca grumbled, then asked, "The Demoness of Black asked me to contact the core members of the Emperor Party. Could there be any hidden risks?"

"I thought she would make me deal with the special mirror world-related… uh, she doesn't seem to have withdrawn those tasks from earlier investigations of the Mirror People."

"The Emperor Party's new scheme might be related to the special mirror world," Lumian said in a flat tone.

"Ah?" Franca looked puzzled.

How are these connected?

Lumian explained simply, "Have you forgotten who the leader of the Mirror People is?"

"The mirror Emperor Roselle… the Emperor Party… I understand now!" Franca suddenly realized.

She immediately looked Lumian up and down. "Why do I feel like you've become smarter?"

"This is the result of blending the Demoness and Hunter pathways," Lumian said with a slight smirk. "Before, I used the Conspirer's ability to gather clues, study details, and deduce conclusions. Now, I first get some inspiration, come up with a few ideas, and then rely on Conspirer to analyze possibilities. This saves a lot of time. Just now, when the Demoness of Black mentioned the Emperor Party believing in Emperor Roselle and wanting to restore the empire, I naturally associated it with the mirror Roselle, and then connected the two."

"You're making me want to switch pathways…" Franca muttered as she followed Lumian back to the still grayish-white Apartment 702.

She took out 300 verl d'or from the Traveler's Bag and placed them under a small "stone".

This was compensation for the landlord.

After doing this, Franca looked back at the full-length mirror with a slight grayish tint and said in a disappointed tone,

"The Mirror Traversal ability of the Ice Amulet has been used up, and the Demoness of Black didn't give me another one…"

"You'll have a new one soon, although it can only be used about five or six times," Lumian said seemingly casually.

"What?" Franca looked at her companion in confusion. "Where is the new charm coming from?"

Lumian pointed at himself. "From me. Have you forgotten that I'm a Demoness of Despair and can make similar charms by praying to myself?"

"Oh, right," Franca was a bit captivated by Lumian's tone and expression just now.

Who could resist such a beautiful girl saying such things and making such gestures!

As Lumian opened the door to leave, Franca suddenly realized.

This guy's mood seems to have improved a bit; he can even occasionally answer my questions in a relatively light tone!

Hehe… Franca quickly caught up, her steps feeling light and airy.

…

At night, in Underground Trier, in a cavern of a certain quarry.

Lumian and Ludwig watched as Anthony successfully summoned a human-headed bird demon in the name of Mr. Fool, but failed to gain its acknowledgment and successfully sign a contract.

The human-headed bird demon, a creature from the spirit world, was part of the advancement ritual for Sequence 5 Dreamwalker of the Spectator pathway.

"If you had summoned it through normal means, I could force it to sign a contract with you," Lumian casually remarked as he saw Anthony dissolve the wall of spirituality and walk out.

But now it was summoned in the name of Mr. Fool, and both parties of the ritual were communicating in a peaceful state.

Anthony agreed with a nod.

"But it won't respond to normal summoning methods.

"I plan to pray to Mr. Fool again next month, hoping to receive the protection of his Angel. This is another method provided by Madam Justice, but such prayers should preferably be made after some time has passed."

"Next month, huh… In a few more days, we should be entering Mr. Fool's dream. Having a Dreamwalker would be much better…" Lumian's eyes shifted slightly as he turned his head to look at Ludwig beside him and asked, "Are there any ingredients that can help Anthony stay lucid in the dream? Even if it's just for a short time."