Circle of Inevitability

826 Entry

Lumian directly activated the black mark on his right shoulder and teleported to the edge of the boundless cemetery, right at the entrance to the underground mausoleum.

This place looked like the mouth of a giant beast, with gray-white stone steps stretching down into the dark, deep throat.

Lumian suspected Julie had already entered the mausoleum.

Whatever the Demoness Sect's plan was, it ultimately had to involve the sealed 0-01 deep within the mausoleum!

Lumian sniffed around the entrance, detecting only the scents of grass, trees, and the earthy smell after rain. There was no trace of Julie's fragrance.

At the same time, he scrutinized the gray-white stone steps descending into the darkness, looking for fresh footprints-there had been a thunderstorm earlier.

No signs of Julie... Lumian turned and transformed into a blazing white spear, shooting across hundreds of meters and landing beside the Knowledge Cathedral.

He didn't take a detour, opening the nearest stained glass window and jumping into the church, quickly running to Heraberg, who was dressed in a plain white robe with brass thread.

"Your Grace, do you know which room Celeste is staying in?" Lumian's breath was steady, but he spoke quickly.

Heraberg, the archbishop of Morora, smiled and replied, "The third floor, the room closest to the cemetery, with a view of the mausoleum entrance."

Lumian was taken aback.

You knew all along...

He didn't waste time asking further, igniting white flames on his body and darting like a javelin towards the staircase.

After a few turns, Lumian reached Celeste's room.

He grasped the brass handle, gently twisted it, and pushed open the wooden door.

The room was tidy, with minimal furnishings-a single bed, a desk, a chair, and a shelf for books and miscellaneous items, giving off a monastic austerity.

Indeed, Celeste is gone as well... Lumian confirmed his suspicion.

He didn't immediately enter the room, sensing it was filled with invisible, pathogen-laden webs, like a poisonous spider's nest.

While preparing to burn the unseen webs, he observed further.

He noticed Celeste might have been playing the part of a corrupted experiment subject, as the room lacked any unnecessary items. With her disappearance, even the spare black robes were gone, leaving the room empty, save for a mirror on the desk by the window.

The mirror was a common dressing mirror, not unusual in a Demoness's room.

But it sparked a thought in Lumian: Did Celeste leave through the mirror world?

The law enforcers usually entered and exited together. She couldn't have bet on the Knowledge Cathedral turning a blind eye and walked out alone...

Is she meeting Julie somewhere in the mirror world?

Did Julie and Celeste use the mirror world to enter the mausoleum, leaving no traces at the entrance?

With this in mind, Lumian's thoughts raced, forming a web of connections from various bits of information and ideas.

He quickly made a guess: Did Celeste patrol the mausoleum as an experiment subject several times to place mirrors at key points or obtain coordinates of similar reflective items?

When I used the Mirror Cufflink before, I couldn't identify which mirrors were in the mausoleum or if they were dangerous...

This was the Demoness Sect's preparation, and now, Celeste has control over the mirrors in the mausoleum and can start the operation?

Why not act immediately after her last patrol?

Were a few days needed for other preparations?

As his thoughts raced, Lumian whispered, "Termiboros, do you think I should enter the mausoleum now or continue my studies, hoping Julie and Celeste fail?"

Before Termiboros could respond, Lumian laughed and said, "I won't rely on others to fail."

He had made his decision.

He would enter the mausoleum to disrupt and stop the Demoness Sect's actions, buying a few more days!

The only issue was that in the mausoleum, he had to be blindfolded and couldn't read or study during the downtime.

Is there a way to convert text to sound? Aurore's grimoires mentioned related ideas and preliminary results, but I'm not a Warlock... Lumian sighed internally, then heard Termiboros's layered, majestic voice: "It's very dangerous."

You're actually answering... Is this a genuine warning or a hidden plot?

He only mentioned the danger, without strongly dissuading me... No matter, whether Termiboros opposes or tempts me, I'm going... Lumian quickly calmed himself, chuckled, and said, "Maybe we'll both become 0-01's puppets."

"Not including me," Termiboros responded in a powerful voice.

Is that so? Lumian once again transformed into a flaming spear and swiftly returned to the cathedral hall.

He approached Heraberg, holding three books, and smiled. "Your Grace, I still have two and a half books left to read. Do you have a way to convert the remaining knowledge into sound so I can study while exploring the mausoleum?"

Heraberg's wrinkles smoothed out, and his expression became even gentler. "Good, good, this is the attitude needed for study."

He took out a brass sheet and accepted the books from Lumian.

In Heraberg's amber eyes, countless symbols and words swirled and spun.

Lumian saw tiny glimmers rising from the books, converging into a river that flowed into the brass sheet.

What kind of mystic art is this... Lumian was mesmerized.

Before coming to Lenburg, he had gathered detailed information about the Church of Knowledge, including some details about the Reader pathway.

He knew the Sequence 5 of the Reader pathway was called Mysticism Magister, capable of inventing and creating unique spells.

Soon, the glimmers vanished, and the brass sheet became more lustrous, with its symbols and patterns gaining more depth.

With two snaps, Heraberg broke off two corners from the brass sheet and molded them into cylindrical shapes.

Lumian watched, jaw dropping.

Without the aid of fire, breaking off two pieces of brass with just my hands is quite difficult, let alone molding them like clay with my fingers...

Your Grace, are all Readers this strong, or is it unique to you as a puppet?

Your fingers could probably crush my bones to dust...

Or is this a side effect of the mystic art?

"Insert them into your ears. The activation spell is 'listen' in ancient Hermes, as I know you only speak this language and haven't mastered Jotun or Elvish yet. The deactivation spell is 'stop.'" Heraberg handed the brass sheet and the two cylindrical brass earplugs to Lumian.

Lumian instinctively argued, "I know Hermes too."

He understood Heraberg was referring to languages capable of invoking supernatural powers.

"Hermes?" Heraberg laughed.

Lumian sensed contempt for the Hermes language in his laughter and expression.

With time running out, Lumian didn't ask further, inserting one brass earplug and pocketing the rest. He then transformed into a blazing white spear and flew from the open stained glass window to the mausoleum entrance.

Lumian calmed his breathing, took a carbide lamp and white bandages from the Traveler's Bag.

After lighting the carbide lamp, he wrapped the bandages around his head, covering his eyes.

Lumian's vision gradually turned pitch black.

For a Hunter who relied heavily on sight, this was far from a pleasant experience.

Feeling his way, he picked up the carbide lamp and cautiously descended the gray-white stone steps.

He focused on maintaining his balance, worried about stepping wrong and tumbling down like a wheel into the mausoleum.

He wasn't afraid of getting hurt but feared extinguishing the lamp.

Being blind is no fun... Lumian muttered, constructing a mental map.

Most of the map's content came from the 0-01 sealing information and the book Examples of Mausoleum Construction, with some from his nightmares over the past few days.

Using the mental map, his heightened senses, and his control over his body, Lumian gradually adapted to the darkness, descending more steadily.

Finally, he reached the bottom of the stairs and officially entered the mausoleum.

He felt the surrounding darkness surge like a tide, eroding his skin, bringing a chill and a slow drain of life force.

Almost simultaneously, his right palm turned icy cold.

The abnormal life force drain stopped.

The Underworld Daoist's mark activated? Lumian silently mused, In this situation, even without a lit carbide lamp, I shouldn't encounter any issues in the mausoleum's darkness. Hehe, when I find Julie and Celeste, I could use my Hunter ability to extinguish their lamps directly. But Julie is special, and Celeste likely is too. It might not be easy to have the darkness engulf them...

Blindfolded, Lumian turned and sensed the Abscessed Hand's head location using the semi-activated black mark on his right shoulder.

He planned to find this thing first, then stop Julie and Celeste.

Then, he could toss the separated Abscessed Hand parts together and see what mutation occurs, giving the enemies a "surprise."

Perhaps because they were in the same mausoleum, Lumian quickly sensed the summoning and special connection from Hand Bro.

It was not far!

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