Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability



Staring at the unconscious enemy in the corridor, Lumian refrained from an immediate attack. He squatted down in silence.

He retrieved a bottle of sedative obtained from the Bliss Society's Rentas, unscrewed the cap, and brought it to the patient's nose.

Franca glanced over and advised, "Remove the broken arrow from his chest first. Otherwise, I think his body can handle most of the sedative's effects."

The grayish-white stone-like scales on the Beyonder suspected to be I Know Someone slowly dissipated due to the unconsciousness in spirituality brought about by the Spell of Harrumph.

Lumian nodded and used the hand holding the bottle cap to carefully remove the obsidian arrow.

Franca breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "The question now is how do we confirm if this guy is the real I Know Someone.

"A powerful Hypnotist can manipulate a Beyonder of the same pathway and Sequence, altering their self-awareness and making them believe they are 'I Know Someone.' They can substitute the real deal to appear in all sorts of occasions, completing different pranks and fight any adversaries.

"F*ck, why does it seem more troublesome than dealing with a Marionettist!?"

What Franca meant was that the enemy in front of her might also be a victim, someone whose perceptions had been altered to make them believe they were "I Know Someone."

This possibility couldn't be ruled out, so she wasn't capable of steeling herself to kill him before channeling his spirit.

Furthermore, Lumian's remaining truth serum wouldn't work in this case. The hypnotized person would only tell what they believed to be true.

Lumian screwed the cap back onto the sedative bottle and thought for a moment before suggesting, "Let's set up a ritual and seek confirmation from Mr. Fool. Since Loki can use Celestial Worthy's help to locate members of the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society within a certain range, we can employ a similar method to activate the special aura on I Know Someone. If it's there, he's real. If not, he's fake."

"What if he's a member of the Research Society who was captured by Loki and I Know Someone? In the past, several people went missing without their deaths being confirmed, including some Psychiatrists." Franca began to suspect the source of I Know Someone's Beyonder characteristics that allowed him to advance to Sequence 7.

Research Society members they had hunted?

Lumian pondered for a moment and replied, "In that case, let Jenna in. She might still have some lingering good luck in this aspect. If she doesn't encounter anyone else, it proves that the unconscious one is I Know Someone.

"You're responsible for protecting Jenna…"

Before Lumian could finish, Madam Magician's voice echoed in his ears, "There's no need to go through so much trouble."

Crouching in front of the unconscious person, Lumian sensed the space around him come alive, contracting inward and swallowing the Beyonder suspected to be I Know Someone.

"Wow," Franca exclaimed, and Lumian slowly stood up.

The two of them waited patiently. In just 20 to 30 seconds, the Beyonder in the blue-and-white-striped hospital gown was ejected from the void.

Immediately after, they heard Madam Magician's response: "It's 'I Know Someone.'"

…

Beneath the crimson moon in the sky, the Delta Asylum loomed, its darkness even denser and curved into an eerie arc compared to the surrounding night.

On the rooftop of the three-story grayish-blue building, the shadowy Magician turned to her companion and said, "Apart from the lunatic, there are no hidden dangers or traps.

"Did I overreact and overestimate the situation?"

Justice, resembling a dream, replied calmly, "There's nothing wrong with your choice. It's never wrong no matter how much importance you attach to matters related to that Celestial Worthy.

"Only by paying enough attention each time can we avoid being suddenly deceived and falling into a true trap."

Magician nodded slightly, closed the notebook in her hand, and cast her gaze towards the third-floor corridor which wasn't in her line of sight.

…

Upon hearing Madam Magician's conclusion, Lumian let out a chuckle.

He put away the remaining half of the sedative and turned to Franca, saying, "We can let Jenna in now."

Franca nodded and disappeared into the shadows along the corridor.

Lumian looked down at the seemingly ordinary I Know Someone, his eyes deep and a sly smile on his lips.

The effects of the Spell of Harrumph should have worn off long ago, but the Bliss Society's sedative was still doing its job.

Considering I Know Someone's physique, this sedative wouldn't last much longer. However, Lumian was prepared for this moment.

At that very instant, the Delta Asylum was in chaos due to the fire and shouting. Particularly on the first floor, the commotion was intense. The duty doctor and a few burly guards patrolled the area to ensure that no tinder remnants remained.

Meanwhile, Jenna and Franca skillfully navigated through the shadows and ascended to the third floor.

Lumian took a sheepskin from Guillaume Bénet, the padre, and spread it on the ground.

He carefully wrapped I Know Someone in it.

After a brief contemplation, Lumian raised the obsidian arrow in his hand and plunged it into I Know Someone's left eye.

The excruciating pain jolted I Know Someone awake, and his left eye turned bloodshot.

Almost simultaneously, he heard a sinister chuckle.

"Sheep!"

Amidst the echoing Hermes words, I Know Someone, cocooned in the ritual sheepskin, was instantly engulfed by dark light, rendering him powerless.

When the dark light finally subsided, he had transformed into a grayish-white sheep.

Lumian withdrew the obsidian arrow from the crushed eyeball and swiftly plunged it into I Know Someone's right eye.

A blood-curdling scream echoed through the room as Lumian pulled out the arrow. He pressed down on the struggling "sheep" with one hand and stroked its head with the other, a sinister smile playing on his lips.

"Now, we can finally have a good chat."

While Lumian engaged in this whispering conversation, he tossed the obsidian arrow to Jenna.

Next, Lumian produced an ordinary bottle of wound medicine and meticulously applied it to I Know Someone's blood-colored eye socket. He wrapped the other party's eyes in layers of white bandages he had prepared.

Only then did I Know Someone, who had awakened from his coma and was enduring intense pain, regained some composure. He attempted to use his abilities, but to no avail.

Franca and Jenna watched Lumian intently as he continued to tend to the transformed sheep, I Know Someone, feeling a mix of curiosity and unease. Initially, Jenna had wanted to assist Lumian in extracting information or exacting revenge, but now, she felt that this scenario was enough.

She shifted her attention to the obsidian broken arrow in her hand but noticed no negative effects. She wondered if it was one of the mystical items Franca had mentioned before.

As Lumian retrieved a brownish-yellow twine he had prepared in advance and began to wrap it around the sheep's neck, the duty doctor, alerted by the sheep's bleating, arrived on the third floor with several burly guards.

Franca and Jenna swiftly concealed themselves in the shadows, while Lumian, disguised as Aurore, calmly turned and led the sheep to the end of the corridor.

Crimson flames erupted from Lumian's body, which had regained some of its spirituality, and blazed fiercely in the corridor.

The duty doctor and the guards dared not approach, witnessing a figure walking through the flames, heading to the end of the annex corridor.

The figure was also guiding a sheep. It resisted, unwilling to leave, but the rope around its neck forced it to move forward.

After being dragged on the ground for a while, the sheep, its neck tightening and its breathing becoming labored, finally stood up and followed.

By the time the flames in the corridor abruptly extinguished, sparing any damage to the adjacent rooms, the doctor on duty and the guards had lost all trace of the man and the sheep.

Am I hallucinating… The situation was so odd and unbelievable that these individuals shared the same thoughts.

Meanwhile, the charred corridor stood as evidence that a fire had indeed occurred, miraculously without harming anyone.

Leaving a guard to report the incident to the nearest police headquarters, the duty doctor returned to his office on the first floor in a bewildered state.

As he sank into his chair, he couldn't help but wonder, Could it be that the infernal being associated with fire has emerged from the abyss? Is its signature to lead a sheep? Is this the embodiment of flames?

His thoughts grew more fantastical with each passing moment, and he couldn't shake the feeling that he should have gone straight to the cathedral to consult the bishops and padres rather than involve the police.

Knock, knock, knock!

He heard a knock on the door.

The doctor on duty jolted in his chair. He straightened up and responded with a deep voice, "Come in, please."

As the door creaked open, the doctor's eyes froze.

It was the blond devil, accompanied by the sheep with its eyes wrapped in white bandages, and its grayish-white face stained with blood.

"I need to trouble you with something," Lumian said calmly as he led I Know Someone into the doctor's office. "My sheep exhibits severe anti-human tendencies and extreme violence. I want to treat its mental illness."

How… Before he could formulate a response, the handsome blond devil inquired, "Do you know how to perform a lobotomy?"

"Yes, a little," the doctor on duty replied subconsciously. "But it's a sheep…"

Could the brain structure be the same?

As he contemplated this, he watched the sheep struggle frantically in its bindings, unable to escape.

Lumian chuckled.

"It doesn't matter. We can give it a try. It's just a sheep. If it dies, so be it. We can still roast it."

With that, he dragged the unruly sheep toward a nearby treatment table, using his hands and feet to pin it down.

If the patient had been human, the doctor, lacking experience and prohibited from performing a lobotomy, would never have dared to attempt it. However, because it was a sheep, he had no reservations.

In an effort to avoid antagonizing the arsonist devil and cooperate while awaiting the arrival of the police, the doctor on duty cautiously approached the treatment table.

He said hesitantly, "I need an ice pick."

His intention was to create an excuse to go to the ice warehouse and distance himself from the arsonist devil. However, just as he finished speaking, a hand emerged from the shadows, offering him a sharp icicle.

W-what's going on… In his shock, the doctor vaguely heard the words, "No need to thank me."

Numbly, he accepted the thin icicle and unwrapped the white bandage covering the sheep's head.

The sheep's struggle intensified.

Assessing the damage to its eye sockets, the doctor on duty inserted the thin, sharp icicle through the crack and carefully manipulated it, stirring its brain's frontal lobe.

After a few moments of struggle, the grayish-white sheep abruptly fell silent.