Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

The Purifier team from Saint Viève Cathedral soon arrived at Moran Avigny's study, carrying a nearly sealed wooden box.

They each wore white robes adorned with waxed golden threads, thin rubber gloves, and leather hoods. Their masks curved downward, forming a bird's beak in front of their mouths and noses.

Angoulême signaled the other Purifiers to withdraw from this floor and clear the adjacent ones. Donning a bird-beak mask and similar attire himself, he tightly bandaged his wrists and ankles.

Peering through the red glass lenses of his mask, Angoulême watched his colleagues open the wooden box.

Mirrors of the perfect size lined the inner layer of the box on all sides—top, bottom, left, right, front, and back.

In the center, surrounded by the mirrors, stood a milky-white stone statue half the height of a person. It portrayed a beautiful half-naked woman, her dress torn away to the waist.

Despite the female figurine's broken arm, her other hand alluringly covered her navel. Her captivating figure and exquisite facial features stirred an inexplicable heat within Angoulême. A sudden urge to kiss "her" flooded his mind, a desire for an intimate encounter with the stone statue.

Not daring to breathe deeply, he forced himself to maintain control.

He recognized this as a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact under the Trier diocese, serial number 82, known as the Ullamos Statue.

This Grade 1 Sealed Artifact could gradually entice nearby creatures to obsess over it, spreading various illnesses, some common and others mystical in nature.

Left unchecked, the statue's influence would transform its surroundings into a nightmarish landscape of agony—living beings wailing, writhing, and perishing in horrifying ways. The relentless plague would expand, unleashing a widening catastrophe.

Angoulême had requested 1-82 for its ability to guide other creatures into the mirror world. Strictly controlling exposure time was crucial to prevent the spread of illness and obsession.

The two Purifiers gently lifted the Ullamos Statue and carried it to the full-body mirror in the study.

Angoulême and his two other teammates approached, placing their palms on 1-82's shoulders.

In perfect synchronicity, they magically phased through the glass mirror, vanishing from Moran Avigny's study.

As soon as Angoulême laid eyes on the dark, hazy, almost illusory space behind the mirror, a tickle in his throat urged him to cough.

"Sigh…" A soft exhalation escaped his lips.

Their attire couldn't isolate the disease spread by the Ullamos Statue…

Its sole purpose was to minimize the rate at which they succumbed to genuine infection!

Weakened yet inexplicably excited, Angoulême and his teammates investigated the area behind the mirror. They quickly discovered numerous dim mirror fragments scattered about.

"A battle took place here. Moran Avigny had to use Mirror Substitution multiple times, but there's no sign of blood, bodily fluids, hair, or any other traces," one of the Purifiers concluded.

Angoulême's heart raced as he speculated. A battle? Someone ambushed Moran Avigny in the mirror?

Impressive, Hidden Blade!

"It seems Moran Avigny couldn't escape right away and multiple Mirror Substitutions were shattered. There's a high chance he was captured," Angoulême analyzed seriously before pivoting to misdirection. "I see. The Aurora Order never expected the assassination to succeed. The assassin's only objective was to drive Moran Avigny into this mirror, where the rest of the Aurora Order awaited him!"

The other Purifiers concurred with this theory, nodding in agreement.

"Definitely the Aurora Order."

"They even utilized a potent item capable of accessing the mirror world to confront Moran Avigny."

"The absence of gruesome scenes suggests the Aurora Order aimed to capture Moran Avigny alive and extract vital information."

"Over the past five to six years, the Aurora Order has grown more intelligent…"

Following a short discussion, one of the Purifiers glanced back at the Ullamos Statue at the entrance and gulped.

"We need to leave now. Return 1-82 to the mirror box. I can't endure it any longer."

Angoulême agreed.

Back in the real world, they sealed 1-82 once more and removed their cumbersome attire. At last, he sighed with relief, feeling utterly exhausted in both body and mind.

…

Inside the quarry cave with a stable mirror world entrance,illuminated by the carbide lamp under the Eye of Calamity's gaze, Moran Avigny smiled as he answered Lumian's question,

"Also through a mirror."

While speaking, he retrieved a makeup mirror from his pocket and elaborated, "Every mirror in the mirror world is unique, each with its own corresponding coordinates. I provided him with my mirror's coordinates, and he reciprocated with the coordinates of a mirror on his side. With this arrangement, I can harness my abilities and the mirror world to transmit information to his mirror for a set duration. He contacts me in the same manner but relies on the Beyonder item I gave him."

"An IP address, I suppose…" Franca muttered in a language unfamiliar to anyone present.

Lumian smiled warmly and inquired, "Would you be willing to share the Overseer's mirror coordinates with us?"

Moran Avigny shook his head.

"It's indescribable and impossible to write down. Only those like us from the mirror world can perceive it. Or Demonesses with godhood—Demonesses of Despair."

Sequence 4 Demoness of Despair? And Sequence 5 is Demoness of Affliction… These two Sequences sound unpleasant. Uncomfortable to act, but the subsequent Demoness of Unaging is quite impressive… Franca gleaned information about the Demoness pathway from Moran Avigny's words.

"How can the Overseer perceive it then?" Jenna asked.

Moran Avigny smiled.

"He can't perceive it either, but his Beyonder item can record and use it."

Franca smiled and raised her sleeve, revealing the glass-like Mirror Cufflink.

Taken aback, Moran Avigny's expression shifted to one of relief.

"You're the ones who killed Jebus."

"The Overseer killed him," Lumian clarified sincerely. "We had no intention of killing him. We even wanted to befriend him, but the Overseer used a mysterious power from afar to end his life. I fear you may suffer the same fate."

Moran Avigny fell silent for a few moments before stating, "It can record it."

He referred to the Mirror Cufflink's ability to record the Overseer mirror's coordinates.

Franca wasn't surprised at all. "I knew it would work."

When she had used the Mirror Cufflink earlier, she realized the mirrors in the mirror world gave her a crystal-clear sense of the mirror world's entrances in the vicinity. There was the full-body mirror in Moran Avigny's study and a few other unknown mirrors.

Franca suspected the Mirror Cufflink would instinctively record the corresponding coordinates of each mirror.

Moran Avigny continued, "You won't be able to find the Overseer directly through that mirror. I've long suspected the mirror is actually with one of the Overseer's subordinates. Naturally, that subordinate must be very close to the Overseer. Otherwise, it would hinder the transmission of information."

Just like many members of the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society, the contact points reserved for Madame Hela's messenger are isolated from their real lives… Lumian nodded slightly and said, "That's not an issue. We can visit them one by one, as long as they're truly close. Can you provide us with those coordinates?"

Moran Avigny fell silent. The effects of hypnosis and truth serum battled fiercely against his resolve.

This was a Disciplinary Paladin's principle and corresponding restrictions.

Observing the shifts in his fate tributary, Lumian smiled and said, "You can think it over. Let's discuss something else first."

Having witnessed Moran Avigny's potential loss of control, he intended to inquire about other information. If the other party refused to divulge it later, he would kill him before channeling his spirit!

"Very well." Moran Avigny let out a lengthy sigh.

Lumian pondered briefly and asked,

"What deals did the Overseer make with you?"

Moran Avigny responded nonchalantly, "Primarily providing assistance to certain individuals. In turn, I received help through the Overseer. Consequently, we elevated our political status and acquired more resources.

"This is a common practice among politicians, but with the Overseer, it's even more covert, less detectable, and effective.

"Additionally, protecting specific individuals or indirectly granting benefits to non-high society members to fulfill the requirements on the other side of the Overseer's Under the Table transaction."

Lumian considered for a moment and asked, "Didn't that Overseer communicate with the leader of your Mirror People?"

Unsure if the Mirror People had a de facto leader, he said this to deceive Moran Avigny, implying they already possessed important information.

If the Mirror People truly lacked a de facto leader, Moran Avigny would see through the deception. With the truth serum and hypnosis, this wouldn't affect his subsequent answers.

Moran Avigny's expression shifted slightly. "He did communicate with our leader."

"How did they communicate?" Lumian asked calmly.

"Through a provided ritual. I don't know what was exchanged as I wasn't present," Moran Avigny replied honestly.

Franca asked curiously, "Is your leader in the real world or the mirror world of Fourth Epoch Trier?"

"In Fourth Epoch Trier," Moran Avigny said with a sigh. "Mirror People with powerful godhood can't escape through certain catastrophes via the leakage point."

Franca pondered for a moment and asked, "Does your leader have a corresponding self in reality?"

"Yes." Moran Avigny smiled. "You'll never guess who it is."