707 Compulsion
In the dark, silent tunnel, Franca advanced slowly, holding the Primordial Demoness figurine made of bone. Her footsteps were so soft they were nearly inaudible.
Lumian, clutching his carbide lamp, and Jenna trailed silently behind her.
With a Hunter’s keen understanding of the terrain and memories, the three had finished exploring the area where they had obtained the classic silver mirror. They had even expanded their search to include the nearby underground tunnels and connected quarry caves.
However, the Primordial Demoness figurine showed no abnormal reactions, and neither Franca nor Jenna sensed anything out of the ordinary.
Franca sighed. “Well, this is disappointing. Bold assumptions leading to a shameful failure!”
She had no intention of giving up, but wanted to return to the surface first and contact 007. She hoped to use the authorities’ detailed records of underground abnormalities to search for any areas where a high-level Demoness’s power might be seeping out.
Having experienced numerous mystical incidents, Lumian surveyed the area, pondering for a few seconds.
“Let’s investigate again. This time, I’ll extinguish the carbide lamp.
“In mysticism, Demonesses and the mirror world are always associated with darkness, evil, and quiet depth. Perhaps subtle reactions can occur in the absence of light.”
“Subtle reactions… What is this, a chemistry experiment?” Franca scoffed, but chose to comply. She turned to Jenna. “Hold your Mirror World Fragment in your hand. If we’re giving this a shot, we should try everything.”
Jenna took out the Mirror World Fragment she had obtained from the Tamara family tomb, and Lumian turned the switch to extinguish the carbide lamp.
The silent tunnel plunged into absolute darkness. As a Hunter, Lumian couldn’t see a thing.
“You can hold onto my sleeve,” Jenna suggested calmly. “Or activate your Spirit Vision and follow our spiritual light.”
Lumian replied with a smile, “That would make me look weak. I suspect you’re deliberately showing off. Have you forgotten? I can gain night vision by changing my life form.”
Jenna was silent for a moment before retorting, “Dammit! Would it kill you to be a bit nicer about it?”
“She’s right,” Franca agreed. “Jenna was just trying to help. It’s fine if you don’t want her assistance, but there’s no need to mock her.”
“That’s a Hunter for you.” Lumian chuckled as he activated the black mark on his body, transforming into a shadow creature.
He blended into the shadows and followed Franca and Jenna as they explored the area for the second time.
As Franca passed a corner of a quarry cave, she suddenly felt the bone figurine in her hand tremble slightly.
“There’s a reaction! There’s a reaction!” she exclaimed joyfully.
Lumian immediately left the shadows, transforming back into human form, his blue eyes tinged with silver-black.
In the absolute darkness, he saw the mercury rivers of fate belonging to Franca and Jenna.
As his spirituality rapidly depleted from the brief observation, Lumian found a possibility among the tributaries symbolizing Franca’s future fate.
This was something that might happen in ten seconds or more. Furthermore, the probability of it occurring was extremely low—something Curse, or rather, Magnify, couldn’t influence.
Without hesitation, Lumian extended his right palm toward Franca.
Franca, with her night vision, witnessed his actions and noticed his silver-black eyes. She jumped in fright.
“W-what are you doing?”
She didn’t dodge, fully trusting Lumian.
Lumian roused his spirituality, transforming it into a violent illusory river that surged out of his palm.
Franca’s fate was instantly thrust into a future by the mighty torrent.
Compelling Fate!
Franca suddenly had an idea.
“Are you influencing my future, allowing me to successfully utilize the corrupted fate fragments here to make it a reality?
“Dammit, I really do have an idea. Maybe I should give it a try!”
Lumian, his spirituality greatly depleted, chuckled. “Life is short, why not give it a try?”
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“…” Franca could clearly detect the mockery in his tone. She gritted her teeth. “I’ll deal with you later!”
As she spoke, Franca placed the Primordial Demoness’s bone figurine on a protruding rock in a corner of the mine. Then she took out a mirror and placed it in front of the figurine.
Lumian conjured a blazing white fireball and observed as Franca retrieved essential oils, extracts, perfume, and herbal powder from her Traveler’s Bag, preparing for the ritual.
Uh… Lumian turned to Jenna, who happened to look back at him.
Franca simultaneously turned to face them.
The three were taken aback for a moment before bursting into laughter.
“You two thought of it too?” Franca said happily. “Jenna shouldn’t stay here. The Primordial Demoness might cast Her gaze here later.”
As a pure female Demoness, it would definitely not bode well for Jenna to be noticed by the Primordial Demoness. It could even mean death.
Lumian replied with a smile, “I’ll send Jenna back first and come back after the ritual.”
With that, he reached out and grabbed Jenna’s shoulder.
Jenna said to Franca, “Be careful.”
“Don’t worry, I’m a skilled worker,” Franca replied, waving her hand cheerfully.
As a member of the Demoness Sect, she regularly prayed to the Primordial Demoness through the bone figurine, following the Demoness of Black’s instructions. Occasionally, she even held a solo Mass.
Of course, this was the first time she would be praying to the Primordial Demoness through a ritual.
After Lumian teleported away with Jenna, the quarry cave returned to darkness.
With the bone figurine, Franca decided to use a dualistic ritual.
After lighting the candle representing herself, she drew her needs on a faux goatskin with the corresponding symbols and patterns, drawing upon her extensive mysticism knowledge.
Following that, she sanctified the ritual silver dagger and created a wall of spirituality. She dripped rose essential oil, musk, and perfume into the candle flame.
Franca’s heart skipped a beat as the alluring, complex scent quickly entered her nostrils. She couldn’t help but inhale deeply.
After completing all the preparations, Franca took two steps back and recited the Primordial Demoness’s honorific name in Hermes.
“The source of all catastrophes, the symbol of destruction and the apocalypse, the Demoness who controls Chaos.”
In the altar, a small amount of moss suddenly grew, entangling into vines that rose high, as if staring at Franca.
The ground softened, and a frigid wind blew, causing Franca to tremble.
Simultaneously, Franca sensed the fragrance in the area grow sweeter, carrying a warm charm that made her blush.
This invigorated her specific desires, and charming scenes surfaced in her mind.
Suppressing the heat in her body and shaking off her discomfort, Franca briefly recounted how Moran Avigny was a Mirror Person and how she wanted to capture him. Then, following the ritual’s standard procedure, she said,
“I pray for the power of the mirror.
“I pray for the power of chaos.
“I pray for God’s protection.
“I pray for a fixed entrance to the mirror world to appear here.
“Roses, a herb that belongs to the Demoness, please pass your power to my incantation.
“Musk, a herb that belongs to the Demoness, please pass your power to my incantation…”
After reciting the incantation, Franca ignited the faux goatskin and placed it on the mirror in front of the bone figurine.
As the faux goatskin burned away, Franca felt the candle flame dim, as if a layer of translucent mullioned glass had materialized around it.
A strange power was activated, gathering in the mirror.
The human-head-sized mirror suddenly darkened, turning shadowy and illusory.
It melded with the protruding rock where the figurine was placed and vanished.
In the next moment, the candle flame returned to normal, and the fragrance lingering in the air still unsettled Franca. Her thoughts raced, requiring immense strength to control herself.
After tidying up the bone figurine and other items, Franca took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Dammit, just the charm and pleasure emanating from the ritual nearly made me lose myself. All I wanted was to approach the source of the charm and enjoy the pleasures bestowed by Her.
As expected of the Primordial Demoness who controls pleasure and feminine charm…
Dammit! I’m an idiot. Why did I take a deep breath? The smell here hasn’t dissipated!
I need to quickly confirm if there’s an entrance to the mirror world before heading back to Jenna…
As these thoughts raced through Franca’s mind, she saw Lumian’s figure swiftly materialize at the edge of the quarry cave.
Franca jumped in fright. “Why are you back already?”
Lumian chuckled. “You’re in pretty good shape. Didn’t I say I’d return after your ritual…?”
As he spoke, Lumian noticed Franca’s lake-blue eyes rippling under the dim candlelight, as if they could captivate one’s soul.
Lumian’s words faltered.
After a brief pause, he added, “Besides, Jenna was worried about you and asked me to come check on you.
“I believe the Primordial Demoness can understand that a Demoness of Pleasure has a friend who cares about her.”
“Yeah.” Franca nodded gently, bit her lip, and pointed at the protruding rock. “That spot seems to have become a fixed entrance to the mirror world. Let’s see if we can enter.”
Lumian didn’t inquire further. He approached the protruding rock and, together with Franca, extended his right palm, pressing it against the cold stone.
A faint light flickered, and the two vanished on the spot.
After a brief moment of vertigo, a dark, illusory path appeared before Lumian and Franca’s eyes. Surrounding them were numerous similar “tunnels,” intertwining to form a complicated and mysterious colossal spiderweb.
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