Circle of Inevitability

829 Deception and Betrayal

Cooperate? You just want to use me as cannon fodder, right?

Well, let's see if I can find out what item Julie has... With his eyes covered by white bandages, Lumian wore an expression of skepticism. "How dangerous could it be?"

Albus, also blindfolded and holding a lantern, leaned against the wall of a burial chamber, watching Lumian through the eyes of the iron puppet soldiers twenty meters away.

He chuckled inwardly. You didn't put that ragged head in your bag but carried it in your hand. Not afraid of trouble, or are you planning something?

And your right hand has been in that bag made by a high-level Apprentice...

The half-body should already be inside. You don't want to reunite the head and body now, fearing unforeseen consequences. You plan to use it as an indiscriminate weapon at a crucial moment, don't you?

Perfect for surprising Julie and the others. I won't try it myself to avoid unnecessary consumption.

Cooperation is great; it gathers the dangers together, letting them cancel each other out...

Albus made an iron puppet's mouth move, its metallic voice saying, ''The item on that Demoness is one of five created by the Primordial Demoness before Her slumber after the Pale Disaster of the Fourth Epoch. It can make the bearer a vessel for the Primordial Demoness's descent."

"A vessel for a deity's descent..." Lumian repeated.

The Demoness Sect plays high-stake games, don't they?

He had thought Julie's item could only temporarily grant her the power of a Sequence 4 Demoness of Despair, not that she could briefly become the Primordial Demoness herself!

Even a fraction of a true god's power was immense!

Albus's laughter echoed in the metal cavity.

"Yes, a vessel.

"Fortunately, Julie isn't sturdy enough as a vessel. If she were an Angel-level Demoness, she could sustain the descent for a minute or two without dying. A Saint-level Demoness could hold it for a few seconds, but her soul and body would collapse. Julie, as a Demoness of Affliction, can't maintain the state for more than three seconds and that's with the cost of complete annihilation.

"Even without invoking the descent, the item grants her various special abilities, temporarily allowing her to use Sequence 4 powers.

"If we don't cooperate, facing Julie's normal state alone is tough but not hopeless. But if she's pushed to the brink and tries the descent, we won't last three seconds.

"By working together and using all our trump cards, we might last until her descent ends. Then, we rely on our skills."

Last three seconds in front of a Demoness... Such ambiguous words would be a field day for the scandal reporters on Trier's Avenue du Boulevard. They'd twist your words into questioning your prowess... Influenced by vulgar jokes from Trier's Ghost Face and other tabloids and Franca's quips, Lumian mentally criticized.

He didn't believe in Albus's sincere cooperation. He thought this Red Angel's descendant would throw him out as a shield at the critical moment to endure Julie's deity's descent. This might be Albus's ultimate plan to survive.

Like Emperor Roselle's parable: in a forest, you don't need to outrun a bear, just your companion.

Franca often joked that in adventures, companions were the best shields.

But Julie and Celeste likely know my true identity, that I'm a lover of one of their peers, and that I was once an Iron and Blood Cross Order member. They wouldn't place as much importance on me as much as they'd be wary of a Medici. So it's still a question who's the primary target and who's the shield... In a hesitant, distrustful tone, Lumian said, "I can sense Julie's danger but didn't expect it to be this severe.

"Of course, I still don't trust you."

"Cooperation and mutual vigilance are not contradictory. I can't truly trust you either," Albus replied with a hint of amusement.

"When there's a common interest, even enemies who killed one's parents can temporarily cooperate. How much more so for us?"

While speaking, Albus thought to himself, Working together against those two Demonesses is better than fighting you now and facing your hidden trump cards head-on. Even if I win, the cost would be high, and how would I deal with the Demonesses and Wanak afterward?

Heh heh, in a real fight with the Demonesses, you won't be able to hide your trump cards. The situation will become chaotic, everyone will go all out, and the dangers will cancel each other out. I'm best at winning in chaos...

After a moment of contemplation, Lumian gritted his teeth and said, "Let's cooperate until we deal with the two Demonesses."

"A very wise choice." Albus did not hide his joy.

Lumian, holding the carbide lamp and the Abscessed Hand's head, began to walk slowly.

With a posture of "I am trying to show sincerity," he said, "Besides the two Demonesses and Wanak, we have another enemy.

"That's the Mirror Person from the special mirror world from Fourth Epoch Trier. His name in Morora is Guei."

"Mirror Person..." The iron puppet ahead repeated the term, then laughed. "I'm not surprised. It's a problem left by that lunatic Alista Tudor."

"What do you mean?" Lumian took the opportunity to ask.

Albus, with a tone of clear reverence, said, "You should know my ancestor was a King of Angels. He told me that the special mirror world was likely created by Tudor."

"Red Angel? Wasn't He killed before Alista Tudor became the Blood Emperor? How did He know the origin of the special mirror world?" Lumian expressed his doubts.

"What do you mean 'killed'?" Albus sighed. "That's why I dislike working with Hunters. If it weren't for today's necessity, I wouldn't have sought you out. Hunters really have a way with words."

"I also dislike working with Hunters, like you," Lumian agreed.

Albus switched to another iron puppet: ''My ancestor entered the Fourth Epoch Trier and confirmed its various problems. He said the special mirror world might not be a product of those problems but the cause of them."

The Red Angel meant that the special mirror world wasn't created by the fall of the Blood Emperor and the destruction of Fourth Epoch Trier, but existed before and led to the need for a new Trier to seal it after Fourth Epoch Trier's fall? Could the Red Angel be deliberately spreading false information for some consOriginal?

But this matches what I found in the Blue Avenger's treasure vault-the Blood Emperor might have been using the mirror world for His resurrection arrangements before His fall.

Similarly, the Tamara family's connection with the special mirror world was also before the War of the Four Emperors...

Lumian stopped, thought for a few seconds, and said, "'Alista Tudor left too many problems behind, didn't He?"

Though the Knight of Swords said that among the crazy ancient gods of the Second Epoch, the Undying Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace was the most troublesome, causing many issues, and was quite similar to the Fourth Epoch's Blood Emperor Alista Tudor, Lumian had only encountered problems related to the Underworld from the Phoenix Ancestor. In contrast, he encountered troubles from the Blood Emperor frequently. So, in his mind, the Blood Emperor was the most troublesome, much more so than the Phoenix Ancestor.

Albus seemed to share a similar sentiment. Using the iron puppet's mouth, he said, "Because He is the symbol of calamity."

Wh- Lumian suddenly had a deeper understanding of the Hunter pathway.

Albus then asked, "As temporary collaborators, do you need me to share the puppet's vision with you? That way, you won't have to pretend to be blind."

Such a good thing? Lumian instantly became wary.

Thinking about how Wanak had to fully submit to 0-01 to share a bit of power, and considering that all the puppets here were 0-01's minions, Lumian pondered for a few seconds and said, "No need."

In a situation where he was not truly part of Albus's team, he worried that sharing vision might gradually turn him into a puppet.

"Sometimes, being too cautious isn't good," Albus Medici said without further persuasion, his tone containing a hint of undisguised regret.

For the next while, Lumian followed his mental map, winding through the underground tombs. Albus occasionally used the iron puppets scattered around the area to remind him he wasn't left behind.

After a while, Lumian slowed his steps, mumbling to himself, In the Examples of Mausoleum Construction, there's nothing marked ahead...

This is where Albus comes in, isn't it?

Without hesitation, Lumian walked past what seemed to be a gate and entered the blank area on his mental map.

The next second, he felt his skin prickling, as if approaching a fierce lightning bolt yet not touching it.

Lumian immediately recalled the forest of lightning from his previous nightmare.

His ears then caught Albus's voice through the iron puppet:

"Wanak is coming. Just a dozen meters ahead."

Wanak? Lumian's mind immediately pictured the most dangerous figure in Morora, with blood-red hair and iron-black eyes, and his spirit instantly tensed up.

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