Circle of Inevitability

815 Super Augmentation

As Wanak's figure faded from the mirror's surface, Lumian reluctantly stowed the books on his desk into his Traveler's Bag.

He stood up, left the room, and walked to Julie's door, knocking lightly twice.

Julie quickly opened the door, hugging a blanket to her chest, her bare shoulders glowing like twin mounds of snow under the moonlight.

"I wasn't trying to harass you!" she said with a hint of anticipation.

Lumian spoke as if to himself, "Wanak has invited me to deal with Gusain and Albus together, right in the ruins of Dades Agricultural Company."

Without waiting for Julie's response, Lumian turned and walked down the stairs, merging into the darkness that enveloped the night.

...

Inside a fog-filled hollow, in front of four statues facing each other, Gusain, wearing a silk top hat, said to Albus, who was clad in a black jacket with red stripes, "We can't be sure if the clues about Wanak are bait. We might step into a trap later."

Albus, hands in his pockets, chuckled. "That's why we're here. Whether there's a trap or not, as long as we're strong enough, we can invalidate their schemes and make them swallow the bitter fruit of their failure."

Gusain nodded lightly. "Yes, I've heard a saying: no matter how many eggs band together, they can't break a stone. What we need to do now is become that stone. Last time, we weren't sure if we could pinpoint Wanak, so we didn't risk activating the altar's full power to avoid wasting it. Now, we can give Wanak a 'surprise'."

Albus chuckled. "Not using it last time was good. The illusion might have made Wanak gather all our targets together, allowing us to deal with them all at once."

Looking around, Albus sneered. "I thought Lumian would return here these days, so I had you leave the Lamp of Calamity on the altar to lure him into using it. I didn't expect him to be such a coward."

"He should have been here," Gusain said, showing detailed knowledge of the altar's surroundings. "He tried multiple times to destroy the statues but failed. This led the altar to draw some power from the earth to repair itself, causing slight changes in the details. I didn't expect him to resist the urge and call of the Lamp of Calamity and not light it on the spot. For the Hunter pathway, such self-control is rare."

Albus lifted his chin. "You'd better perform the ritual now. Heh heh, and check the Lamp of Calamity to see if it's been tampered with or has had something added to it. A Hunter not causing some damage would be unworthy of the pathway's name."

"Are you underestimating my caution?" Gusain laughed, approaching the pedestal and picking up the lamp containing a semi-solid, semi-liquid pale yellow grease.

He carefully inspected it, sniffed its scent, and finally dipped his fingers into the lamp, touching the wick twice.

Gusain immediately withdrew his fingers, letting the white-hot flame ignite the pale yellow grease on them.

The scent of warmth, allure, dark fragrance, and rust quickly filled his nostrils. He half-closed his eyes, nodding slightly. "No problem."

Albus laughed. "Where did you learn the method to create the Lamp of Calamity and the corresponding secret ritual? It's quite fascinating."

"You'll find out later. Once we finish this, we'll be true companions," Gusain replied with a smile.

He turned, facing the four statues and the Lamp of Calamity, and took a small blue iron soldier from a hidden pocket, placing it on the pedestal.

Isn't it just the Fourth Epoch Trier? What's so hard to guess? Still keeping secrets... Companions, heh heh... Albus began to back away from Gusain, instinctively keeping a distance out of caution.

Finally, Albus stopped about fifteen meters away, watching through the thick fog as Gusain lit the lamp, sat cross-legged on the ground, and entered Cogitation to complete the secret ritual.

In just over ten seconds, Gusain, surrounded by a seductive dark fragrance, "saw" a dense fog.

Unlike the war fog in the hollow, this fog was tinged with a ghostly black hue, covering a city with no visible boundaries, only faint outlines.

Half-dazed, half-awake, Gusain floated to a familiar place.

After some time, he reached a tall shadow-like tower and descended rapidly, entering its eerie, sinister base.

Here, it seemed there was a well, blending into the darkness.

Gusain repeated the purpose of the ritual to fight off the increasing drowsiness.

He neared the well, gazing into it.

He then "saw" moss-covered stones and iron-black chains attached to the well's walls. The engravings on the chains were blurred, hard to discern.

I can now see the inside of the well's walls?

Never could before...

The ritual's effectiveness is due to my proximity to the great existence?

Gusain felt a surge of joy.

He excitedly looked at the dark water in the well.

The water rippled lightly, gradually forming a figure.

Gusain strained to see, suddenly spotting patches of brown bark.

The bark was embedded in a face, bringing an indescribable horror.

Bark... Gusain was simultaneously frightened and puzzled.

Why would bark appear here?

Shouldn't it be steel and blood?

Instinctively, Gusain looked at his hands, finding patches of brown bark rising on his skin.

Wh- Gusain's pupils dilated as he looked back at the well's dark water surface.

He saw the reflected figure clearly.

It was himself!

His face was covered with mottled bark!

The next moment, the bark squirmed, sinking inward and turning flesh-colored.

They became wet spores embedded in flesh, blooming to release countless tiny naked figures.

Gusain's terror broke its limits. He abruptly opened his eyes, breaking free from the ritual experience.

Huff... Panting heavily, he saw the iron soldier on the pedestal rapidly expanding to three or four meters tall, its eyes iron-black instead of the burning dark-red.

The iron soldier's spear was quickly covered in white-blue flames.

"Success..." Gusain steadied himself, no longer tense.

He thought the anomaly was due to his proximity to the great existence, deepening the ritual experience, thus showing more details.

"I'm stronger now..." Gusain stood up, extinguishing the Lamp of Calamity.

"This is a soldier puppet with some of the Iron-blooded Knight's power and status?" Albus walked back from a distance.

"Yes, treat it as a weakened Iron-blooded Knight. It's not something Wanak can compare to," Gusain answered confidently.

He hadn't yet examined the benefits and knowledge gained from the ritual.

Albus took a few steps and then stopped, looking at Gusain with a playful smile. "Your hair has grown."

My hair has grown? Gusain turned his head, seeing his brown hair had grown to his cheeks from above his ears.

He suddenly had a guess:

Did this ritual bring me closer to the Demoness pathway?

With this suspicion, he lowered his head.

Sure enough, his chest was slowly bulging, stretching his shirt, sweater, and coat.

At the same time, Gusain smelled a faint milky scent.

Milky scent... Gusain was stunned.

Does the Demoness mutation cause this?

He was about to ask Albus about his changes when he saw his collaborator backing away.

Immediately, Gusain felt the iron soldier behind him bending over, its head lowering to his ear with the sound of metal clashing and rubbing.

The iron soldier spoke with a metallic voice, softly calling, "Mother."

"Mother... Me?" Gusain, confused, looked down to see his abdomen swelling visibly.

Seeing this, his mind buzzed, feeling as if he was reborn.

Albus, retreating slowly to avoid triggering anomalies, saw Gusain looking at him, smiling with maternal radiance, his blue eyes icy and sinister.

...

Rumble!

A massive explosion occurred in a district with a volcanic crater, sending a white fireball rolling into the sky, turning red, creating thick smoke.

In the ruins of Dades Agricultural Company, hidden in the underground chamber, Lumian and Wanak felt the near-earthquake-like disturbance.

From the direction of the tremor, Lumian quickly guessed:

The hollow filled with war fog?

A fierce explosion happened there?

Did Albus and Gusain make some preparations before dealing with Wanak, lighting the lamp I tampered with, causing an accident?

Lumian immediately shouted to Wanak, "The situation has changed!"

Then, he left the shadow state, teleporting to the corresponding district.

He didn't choose the hollow entrance with war fog as his destination, fearing the explosion was a bait by Albus and Gusain!

Only a Hunter knew how treacherous a Hunter could be!

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