Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

745 Three Items

Having checked his physical condition, Lumian slowly moved along the wall of the spacious corridor.

During this, he almost cleared his mind, not thinking or analyzing, focusing solely on whether he would be caught by the silver full-length mirror at the end of the deep corridor.

Finally, following his instincts, Lumian stopped.

He hoped to use the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence and a Fate Appropriator's sensitivity to fate to find the most "suitable" room among the doors of starlight.

There might be high-level items from the Hunter's path there, even the main ingredient for the lron-blooded Knight potion!

Looking at the translucent door formed by brilliant starlight beside him, Lumian, in a hushed tone, asked, "Termiboros, do you think there's great danger inside?"

After the ordeal with the School of Truth, Lumian grew more cautious and vigilant towards the Angel of Inevitability, but that didn't mean he wouldn't seek His opinion under the right circumstances and conditions, as Termiboros could still offer valuable advice.

As it was now, with Madam Magician outside, Termiboros had little hope of breaking His seal; his death or mutation would only worsen His situation, likely prompting Him to warn of any danger.

Lumian couldn't see changes in his own fate, but Termiboros could!

Termiboros remained silent, not answering Lumian's question.

Unfazed, Lumian placed his right hand, still pulsing with the Blood Emperor's residual essence, on the handle of the starlight door before him.

He slowly turned the handle, poised to push the door open, waiting for any reaction from Termiboros.

The door of starlight gradually opened, and Termiboros gave no warning.

No response is also a response! It means the danger inside is bearable, or likely manageable...

Lumian calmly pushed the door wide open and walked into the room dominated by shadows.

Suddenly, a bluish-white blaze lit up, and an iron-black sword engulfed in terrifying flames struck down towards his head.

Prepared for such surprises, Lumian quickly activated the black mark on his shoulder and teleported to the side of the room.

Bang!

The black sword, covered in bluish-white flames, struck the translucent starlight floor, leaving a deep crack.

Inside the crack, sof the starlight melted, appearing like flowing magma.

Using the sparks, Lumian saw who his assailant was.

It was a nearly 2.5-meter tall suit of iron-black armor, the interior of its visor a swath of darkness, as if uninhabited, with no fiery glow of an undead's eyes.

With a swift motion, the iron-black armor turned and faced Lumian, raising the large sword covered in bluish-white flames once more.

Before it could strike, Lumian’s blue eyes had turned iron-black.

He spotted the weak points in the half-giant armor, the pale-white spots at its joints.

As the black sword struck with its fiery blade, Lumian teleported away again.

With a bang, the bluish-white flames scattered, and Lumian’s figure outlined behind the iron-black armor.

He leaped up, his right fist igniting with white flames.

A resounding clang echoed as Lumian punched the joint between the helmet and body armor of the iron-black armor.

Cull!

After landing the punch, Lumian immediately teleported away, dodging a waist-high slash from the half-turned iron-black armor.

In this manner, using the high mobility of teleport, he continuously appeared behind his target, striking the sspot with Cull, never overreaching, completing a single hit with each teleport.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

After five consecutive Culls, the iron-black armor stood frozen in place.

Crack!

The iron-black armor completely shattered, its metal fragments falling like rain onto the starlight-condensed floor, making a pattering sound.

Clang. The large sword covered in bluish-white flames followed, hitting the ground.

It has no intelligence, moves stiffly, and is stronger than a Sequence 6 but weaker than a Sequence 5. However, that sword hits incredibly hard. If it struck me, unless I substituted with an animated shadow, I would've been killed instantly or lost limbs. That's only because it didn't hit my torso. And yes, it's very durable, even more so than the Guardians I encountered at the Dream Festival, Lumian mused, glancing at the shattered armor while using the remaining light from the black sword to scan the room for other dangers.

The room was quite empty, featuring only an altar-like stone platform with a small, transparent glass bottle on it, containing a semi-solid yellowish-red substance, topped with a thick black wick.

A mystical candle? Lumian speculated roughly. I wonder what it's used for...

By now, he was fairly certain there were no other surprises, and he turned his attention back to the pile of fragments from the shattered iron-black armor.

Among the debris, he found a peculiar piece of leather.

The leather was about the size of half a towel, creamy white, and finely textured, appearing so enticing that even from a distance, Lumian felt it must have belonged to a beautiful woman.

Human skin? he muttered, frowning as he approached.

He didn't immediately pick up the black sword, whose flames had mostly died down, or the alluring piece of leather. Instead, he drew a dagger from his Traveler's Bag.

Using the dagger, Lumian picked out the leather, holding it up before him.

The first thing he saw was a few words in ancient Hermes script:

“Despair…

"Sequence 4..."

Suddenly, Lumian's breathing grew belabored, his head spun, and his physical condition visibly worsened.

He quickly looked away and used the dagger to lift the delicate white leather, stuffing it into his Traveler's Bag.

His discomfort gradually subsided.

A potion formula for the Demoness of Despair? Lumian mused over what he had just seen.

And the leather it's written on was peeled right off a Demoness of Despair, hence its special and dangerous nature? Truly a relic from the Tudor dynasty, harboring such items...

Lost in thought, Lumian’s gaze shifted to the black sword, whose bluish-white flwas dimming, no longer as brilliant as before.

He pondered for a moment, deciding not to risk determining the item's abilities, effects, and negative impacts just yet. Instead, he placed it into the Traveler's Bag, setting it aside in a corner clear of other items.

Using the smethod, Lumian also packed the strange candle in the glass bottle into the Traveler's Bag.

He planned to consult Madam Magician about these items once outside, rather than experimenting on his own!

After ensuring the room had nothing else of interest, Lumian returned through the door of starlight to the deep, spacious corridor.

Just as he was about to continue using the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Convergence and a Fate Appropriator's sensitivity to fate to choose the next room to explore, a faint, distant voice suddenly echoed in his ears: “For you, the other rooms are too dangerous..."

This was the voice of Madam Magician.

Mr. Hanged Man and her are indeed watching... Did her words mean that the exploration is to pause here? This confirmation steadied Lumian considerably.

He thought for a few seconds, deciding to do one more thing before leaving this extradimensional space.

Slowly, bit by bit, he circled towards the silver full-length mirror at the end of the corridor, his focus intense, ready to turn and leave at the first word of discouragement from Madam Magician.

Until he reached the side of the silver full-length mirror, Madam Magician had not spoken out to stop him.

Lumian took a deep breath and carefully moved his right palm towards the front of the silver full-length mirror.

He didn't know whether the mirror would react again when reflecting only a palm.

As his palm moved slowly, Lumian’s nerves were taut.

Finally, he touched the surface of the mirror, feeling its brittle yet firm coldness.

Immediately after, Lumian activated a power from his contract with Bloody Jack—Mirror Markl He wanted to test whether he could still sense the mark left in this hidden space once he returned to the outside world.

Blood seeped from his palm into the mirror, forming an inverted image.

While waiting, Lumian suddenly had a thought: Did my recent encounters stack on negative effects from the Mirror Mark contract? This does indeed pertain to mirror-related anomalies and bizarre dangers...

In the blink of an eye, Lumian had set the Mirror Mark.

Having done this, he began to retrace his steps, avoiding areas where the silver full-length mirror could reflect him, and walked up the wooden stairs.

Before long, Lumian's path brightened as he saw the wall lamps on either side of the ship's cabin and the dim firelight.

He had returned to the Blue Avenger.

Upon reaching the front deck, before Lumian could ask Madam Magician to retrieve the three items from his Traveler's Bag and perform their appraisal, he heard the Major Arcana card holder chuckle and say, "As expected of a Hunter with the status of a fake Angel and Tudor's remnant aura. You obtained three items closely related to Hunters and Demonesses in an instant.

“That sword is what you were hoping for—it's made from the Iron-blooded Knight Beyonder characteristic.”