Circle of Inevitability

The healing agent's effects and the incineration of the original flames had largely stemmed the bleeding from Lumian's wounds. Flesh and blood had even started to regrow and form scabs over his skin.

Putting on the Lie earring, Lumian tried to shift the gruesome hole in his chest and abdomen to a less vital location. As he did so, he stared intently at the oil painting hanging on the rocky wall, his thoughts racing.

As an Overseer, Perle is unlikely to directly engage in combat herself?

Has her true form been lurking in the shadows this whole time to avoid any potential mishaps?

But if she had personally intervened, perhaps we would have been defeated long ago, with no chance for any slip-ups…

Furthermore, Perle doesn't appear overly concerned about capturing me alive. Doesn't the failure of her painting version indicate that the Under the Table deal she initiated didn't meet the requirements? She's bound to face severe consequences for that in the future.

It's not as if she's a fraud…

Coming to this realization, Lumian suddenly came up with a guess:

Perle was the sole person to mention capturing me alive. There's no other evidence to support it…

While this may indeed be a request from the other party in the Under the Table transaction, it's probably not the only one. It's likely one of multiple requests and the least critical. That's why, after creating the special mirror world, Perle immediately left this painting behind, allowing her painting version to handle us while she went off elsewhere.

Was she going to carry out the most vital and important requirement?

I can't fully trust a Broker's words either…

Based on her tone, she seems to have succeeded. This strongly suggests she's confident the vortex is on the brink of taking shape. It won't be long before it entraps everyone…

Apparently, she wasn't in the vicinity at all. She merely used the link to her painting self to briefly speak remotely before vanishing completely. We have no way to track her.

Lumian felt his theory could account for Perle's actions and certain details from the prior battle. This realization made his heart sink.

If his suspicions were correct, the School of Truth's vortex hadn't been successfully halted and was about to manifest!

What would transpire after some time had passed?

Right then, Mr. K approached Lumian, his gaze locked on the tattered oil painting.

In a hoarse voice, he spoke, "I have sinned. I failed to discover the School of Truth's scheme beforehand, letting the issue escalate until it was on the verge of erupting."

As he talked, the flesh on Mr. K's shoulders writhed, and two pale, slender, damp arms gradually grew out. The black robe, its sleeves severed, was beyond repair.

Not waiting for Lumian to respond, Mr. K turned his head and said, "The disturbance here will soon be noticed. We shouldn't stay. Meet me tomorrow morning."

"Got it." Lumian glanced at his companions, who had concealed themselves in the shadows or used Psychological Invisibility, and nodded subtly.

He also intended to head to the safe house as quickly as possible to avoid any accidental attacks by official Beyonders.

Once Mr. K teleported away, Franca, Jenna, and Anthony came out of hiding.

"We should get back to the safe house now," Lumian said decisively.

Franca nodded and said with regret and sorrow, "I wonder where Pride Armor was sent. It would be such a shame if we truly lost it."

If Pride Armor hadn't hit Overseer Perle's painted self, compelling her to alter her life form and indirectly making the transformed Punishers disappear, even if Lumian could have still found a way to lure out the Islander swindler, Monette, they wouldn't have survived the following stages. In that case, he would face not only Perle's punishment but also Anthony's Punisher.

For Lumian and the others, Pride Armor had performed exceptionally; it was a Sealed Artifact of tremendous value. Nobody wanted it to be lost.

"If it were human and smart, it could find its way back. But now…" Lumian sighed, grasping Anthony's shoulder with his left hand.

Suddenly, dazzling starlight emerged from the void, rapidly forming a dreamlike door.

The door opened, and out came Magician, Judgment, and Hermit.

Surveying the scene, Magician noticed Lumian's dire condition, one arm missing. With an odd expression, she asked, "You were attacked?"

As she spoke, the quarry cave, lit solely by the carbide lamp's glow, darkened, as if an unseen curtain had been pulled around it.

"Yes," Franca replied on behalf of Lumian, who had only gained enough reprieve from his injuries to avoid imminent death. She concisely recounted the whole situation.

"The one who attacked you came from Perle's painted self. Her true form departed to do something else?" Magician sought confirmation.

"That appears to be the case," Lumian responded.

Magician exchanged glances with Judgment and Hermit, their eyes meeting without hiding their bewilderment.

After a short pause, Magician offered no explanation. Starlight gathered in her eyes, as if tracing a pattern.

A gentle rain fell, soaking Lumian's body and fully healing his wounds.

Nourished by the rain, Franca and the others felt their weariness melt away.

It closely resembles the power Madame Night used in the dream… Lumian drew a connection.

Magician nodded and instructed, "Provide me the details in writing tomorrow."

With that, she disappeared along with Judgment and Hermit.

As the darkness around them lifted, Lumian realized they had returned to the safe house in the administrative district, where Jenna had summoned Judgment's messenger.

"Madam Magician and the others are perplexed that we were attacked by Perle's painting self," Anthony remarked while putting away the blank painting collection, voicing his thoughts.

Lumian nodded and replied, "What's perplexing shouldn't be Perle attacking us. It's not unusual for an Overseer with an Under the Table transaction at the heart of it all to do something like that."

"So what were they perplexed about?" Jenna and Franca couldn't figure out an answer.

Anthony tried to analyze the situation.

"They're not perplexed by Perle's attack itself, but why we were targeted by her painted self specifically.

"They seem to think we wouldn't be attacked by Perle directly. Whether she had such intentions or acted on them is irrelevant."

Lumian and the others became lost in thought.

Abruptly, Franca exclaimed.

Looking at Lumian and the others, she slowly withdrew her hand from her Traveler's Bag in astonishment.

"Pride Armor is in here. It's returned!"

"Did Madam Magician help locate it?" As this thought crossed Lumian's mind, he noticed Franca's actions.

He instantly shouted, "Stop!"

He couldn't allow Franca to retrieve the Pride Armor!

This is a confined room, and I'm present!

Franca's expression froze, and she immediately stopped moving her elbow.

…

In the mirror world created by dark void tunnels, Overseer Perle continuously moved from mirror to mirror, searching for her final destination.

Her expression stayed calm, thrilled that the calamity had instead accelerated the vortex's formation.

On the other side of the dark, vacant tunnel, a vibrant ball of yarn quietly trailed her, leaving a concealed path.

…

The next morning, having sent the letter to Magician, Lumian reached Psychic's headquarters and met Mr. K in the basement.

Both their limbs had been restored.

Clad in an enormous hood and black robe, Mr. K disregarded this. In a grating voice, he told Lumian, "Come with me somewhere."

"For what purpose?" Lumian's demeanor toward Mr. K had become more at ease after their collaboration the previous night.

Mr. K nodded and explained, "First, I wish to atone for this incident. Second, through the idol, I want to notify the Lord that you've grown and can serve as His envoy. He will make preparations when the moment is right. Have faith in the Lord, and trust Him completely."

Just going to a location with the True Creator's idol? That's okay… It would be problematic if I actually had to encounter a god… Lumian bowed his head humbly and said, "It would be my honor."

Mr. K came up to him, grasped his arm, and transported him into the spirit world via teleportation.

Traversing dense layers of colors and innumerable indescribable transparent beings, the pair arrived at a cathedral.

The cathedral seemed to be located in a deep valley. Its surface was a watery black, decorated with many human bones. The top resembled the Eternal Blazing Sun Church's cathedral, forming a hemispherical shape.

Mr. K silently entered through the open door, his back slightly hunched.

Lumian followed closely behind.

Then, he saw the vast but dimly lit prayer hall and an enormous, pitch-black cross standing in the cathedral's depths.

A naked male idol hung upside down from the cross. Rust-

colored iron nails jutted out from various parts of its body, each nail stained with vivid red blood.

Is this the True Creator's idol? Lumian's heart raced as he quickly averted his gaze.

What he had seen in the Church of The Fool, the Eternal Blazing Sun Church, and the God of Steam and Machinery Church were merely Sacred Emblems. There were no idols. He had assumed Mr. K was referring to the Sacred Emblem as an idol.

Mr. K walked until he was four to five meters from the idol and halted.

Lumian trailed slightly behind and stopped.

As he made his way from the entrance, he got a clear look at the hanging idol's face.

Its nose, mouth, and ears were quite blurry, with only a rough outline. However, its eyes were very distinct and tightly closed, as if enduring all the pain and guilt.

Mr. K drew a cross on his chest and cried out in a raspy voice, "Praise you! Praise you for creating everything! Praise you for shouldering the world's sins!"

Lumian followed suit in offering praise.

Abruptly, his head spun, and his eyes burned with a sense of familiarity.

Wh— Lumian's spiritual intuition alerted him that the negative effects of the Baynfel contract had been triggered. The effect was: In scenes intimately connected to Baynfel's past, he would witness truths better left unknown.

This place is closely tied to Baynfel's past? Was he once a clergyman of the True Creator? Lumian suppressed his curiosity as he continued to focus on the ground.

Suddenly, his eyes froze.

He spotted a blurry, lizard-like creature.

It was the lizard-like elf that had appeared in his dream about Cordu. The same one that had crawled out of Aurore's mouth!

It might have influenced Aurore, stopping her from seeking Hela's help in time!

At the conclusion of the Tree of Shadow incident, the lizard-

like elf had also made an appearance.

Why was it present now, in the True Creator's cathedral?

As Mr. K sprawled on the ground, pressing his face firmly against the watery black stone bricks, Lumian instinctively looked up.

He witnessed the huge pitch-black cross transform into an illusory shape, as if it loomed over a mountain range's peak. On the indistinct figure hanging upside down, lizard-like elves crawled in and out, circling and dancing…

Lumian watched the scene in a daze as Mr. K's slightly muffled voice resounded in his ears.

"Oh, merciful Father, I implore your mercy for the transgressions I've made."

End of Volume—Sinner

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