Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

Valentine caught sight of the woman in the grayish-white dress. His eyes brimmed with hatred as he stretched his arms out as if embracing the sun.

A blinding pillar of light descended from the sky and struck the target clutching the enormous scissors.

The surroundings burst into light in an instant. The transparent faces on the walls and glass vanished before they could even scream.

The woman's body had clearly caught fire and was evaporating, but then it suddenly vanished.

Lumian found this scene eerily familiar. The mouth-orifice monster had displayed similar behavior when he was hunting it.

Invisibility!

The woman might not have concealed herself, but she certainly wasn't dead. Thus, Lumian didn't feel any relief. Instead, he approached Ryan, who now towered over him.

Ryan, covered in silver armor and wielding a broadsword of light, was the person Lumian trusted the most among those present.

It was evident that Ryan excelled at combat!

Leah stood there when suddenly, the face of a pale child emerged on the wall behind her, transforming into the woman in the grayish-white dress.

The woman's enormous scissors clamped down on Leah's neck.

Crack!

Leah's head drooped, but no blood spurted forth. Her body and head swiftly shriveled and thinned, transforming into a ragged, paper effigy that softly settled onto the ground.

Not far away, her silhouette donning a pleated cashmere dress outlined itself.

With a clang, Ryan, his face concealed by a silver visor, hoisted the Sword of Dawn and strode towards the spot where Leah had stood, sweeping the weapon diagonally at the woman.

The woman brandished her scissors in an attempt to block the attack, but was pushed back into the wall by the force of the blow.

Her form vanished once again.

As Valentine, clad in a thin blue tweed jacket, stood with his back turned, the woman suddenly replaced the swollen and pallid visage.

She leaned out and struck the nape of Valentine's neck.

"Look out!" Leah cried out as soon as she spotted the woman, alerting her companion.

Valentine snorted and crossed his arms.

Golden, illusory flames burst forth from the void surrounding him, intertwining and transforming the corridor into an ocean pulsating with the radiance of the sun.

The woman winced in agony as her body was consumed by the intense flames.

She retreated back into the "interior" of the walls, reverting to the swollen, pallid face.

The translucent face melted instantly into wisps of black gas within the golden, illusory flames before dissipating.

Clang!

Ryan's Sword of Dawn struck the same spot again, causing the entire castle to tremble.

Despite his efforts, he was still a step too late to stop the woman.

Lumian quickly grasped the gravity of the situation. The woman who had delivered Louis Lund was linked to the transparent faces of children on the wall and glass. Not only could she transform into one of them, but she could also transform into a ghost form, evading attacks and deflecting damage.

In other words, she could attack from any wall or glass on the third floor of the castle at any given time, and Ryan and the others' counterattacks were ineffective.

With this realization, Lumian immediately distanced himself from the floor-to-ceiling windows and the surrounding walls, and walked to the middle of the solarium.

At that moment, ghostly faces appeared on the ground and ceiling.

The woman suddenly emerged from behind Lumian's feet and quickly reached for his thigh with the pair of scissors.

Lumian's heart raced with a sense of danger.

Without bothering to confirm where the attack was coming from, he jumped into the air and dodged to the side.

Despite his efforts, he was still half a beat too slow. A deep gash was left on the lower part of his thigh, and blood instantly gushed out.

As soon as the drops of blood landed on the ground, the woman—who had switched spots—pointed at them and they condensed into a thin blood-colored figure.

Without any hesitation, the blood-colored figure turned to Lumian, who had rolled to the recliner, and pounced at him,

feeding on his blood and growing stronger with each drop.

At the same time, Lumian endured intense pain and felt his blood running out of control.

Almost instantly, Ryan jumped in.

In midair, he raised the broadsword of light high and slashed at the blood-colored figure, pinning it to the ground and shattering it with the transparent faces around him.

Leah had somersaulted to Lumian's side and pressed her right hand on his thigh wound.

To Lumian's surprise, the wound magically moved along with Leah's right palm, all the way down to the side of his calf, which wasn't rich in blood vessels.

The bleeding immediately decreased.

The woman suddenly appeared from the ceiling. Her brown eyes burned with a blazing life.

The blood dripping from Lumian's calf was ignited, producing a bright flame that resembled the spring sun. It quickly spread deep into the wound and into the blood vessels in his body.

At that moment, Lumian felt his life rapidly draining away.

With a pop, Ryan stabbed the two-handed broadsword condensed from light into the ground.

Around him, in the area where Lumian and Leah were, rays of dawn-like light appeared, filling all space.

In the morning light, the remaining blood-colored figures quickly melted, and the bright and beautiful flames on Lumian's calf quickly extinguished.

The second of burning had sealed his wounds together, stopping the bleeding.

Ryan pulled out his broadsword and bellowed in a deep, commanding voice, "This environment is unsuitable. We must depart at once!"

What he really meant was that the woman was not as powerful as she appeared. She was almost invincible and impossible to target due to the unique conditions on the third floor of the castle that greatly enhanced her abilities.

Without waiting for his companions to react, Ryan charged after the woman.

Although he was still slightly slower than his opponent, who could move with the aid of translucent faces, he spared no effort and attacked with powerful slashes, diagonal cuts, and stabs. He forced his adversary into a constant state of motion, forcing her to constantly shift positions after each attack.

Together with the holy light summoned by Valentine and the golden flames he conjured, the two of them managed to temporarily subdue the woman, thus preventing Leah and Lumian from being harmed.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Leah leapt onto the armchair and dashed back and forth across the sofa, tables, recliners, and ornaments, making sure to avoid touching the ground.

Throughout this process, the silver bells on her veil and boots chimed incessantly, sometimes melodious and sometimes grating.

Lumian no longer felt safe on the ground. He climbed onto the table and scanned the ceiling above and the floor below, analyzing Leah's movements.

Drawing from his previous experience, he deduced the route the woman was attempting to use to escape.

Soon, Leah ceased her acrobatic maneuvers.

"To the tower, quickly!"

Just as she finished speaking, the woman thrust her head out of the ceiling and barked in a stern voice, "You damned bastards!"

Each word was enunciated with precision, causing Lumian and his companions' hearts to race, their heads to spin, and their vision to blur. It was a thoroughly unpleasant experience.

Valentine endured the discomfort and stretched his arms out once more.

A brilliant and pristine light flooded the ceiling.

"Let's move!" Ryan commanded.

Lumian immediately leaped off the table, enduring the pain in his calf. Stepping on the transparent faces, he raced towards the tower, with Leah and Valentine close behind. Only Ryan, covered in silver armor, wasn't in a rush to escape. He lifted the Sword of Dawn and sliced the woman who had poked her head out, preventing her from stopping his companions from fleeing.

After Leah and the others ascended the stairs leading to the tower, he turned around and gave chase with a leap.

A woman emerged from a transparent face on the side wall and let out a piercing scream.

Accompanied by the scream, a layer of black, malevolent flames ignited on the surface of Ryan's silver armor.

Ryan immediately felt his stamina rapidly depleting.

Without hesitation, he deactivated the Dawn Armor.

Spots of light resembling the morning sun scattered in all directions, along with the black flames, and dissipated into the air.

Holding the broadsword of light, Ryan took the opportunity to leap and depart from the castle's third floor, entering the stairs.

At this moment, Lumian, aware that he was a little weak and unable to make use of the environment, ran in second place. Ahead of him was Leah, whose silver bell was ringing softly.

Leah suddenly came to a halt.

Lumian hastily slowed down as he heard chattering.

He then looked ahead and was taken aback.

The tower was not large, and it could even be considered small. There were stairs leading to various firing ports.

The walls were densely packed with children.

They were dressed in different clothes. Some appeared to have just been born, while others were three or four years old. Their limbs resembled bird claws with unnaturally sharp tips.

Using their "bird claws," these children were like birds in a forest, perching on the wall and occupying most of the area.

Lumian's scalp tingled as he saw over a hundred human children's faces, bodies, and wicked, sharp bird claws combined with an abnormal perching method. He once again felt as though his mind, eyes, and soul had been corrupted, just as when he had witnessed Louis Lund give birth.

The "children" had not yet noticed the intrusion. A small number of them were happily discussing different topics.

"The sky is so blue out there."

"I want to go outside."

"No way."

"Mummy said we have to be able to retract our claws and be like normal humans before we can go out…"

At that moment, Ryan caught up to the three of them and said urgently, "Stay away!"

He then turned around and barricaded the entrance of the tower like a giant, holding the Sword of Dawn in his hand.

Leah and Valentine didn't inquire why. They ran frantically and found stairs and other obstacles to hide behind. Although Lumian didn't comprehend, his survival instincts told him to follow orders.

"All of you, come down here!"

The woman's sharp voice reverberated.

Each word drilled into Lumian and his companions' ears, weakening them simultaneously.

Immediately afterwards, the woman in the grayish-white dress appeared at the corner of the staircase. The entire tower was filled with the aura of life, and no pale faces were visible.