Ms. M

Sirius Arepi lay on the ground with his brains blown out, looking thoroughly dead.

"Phew, phew..."

Li Ran panted as he lowered the revolver.

Only after the thrill of the fight faded did he realize how exhausted he was. The places where he had been hit hurt more and more.

His mind was blank, and a powerful sense of unreality suddenly washed over him.

Am I dreaming? Transmigration, Illusion, killing someone... I'd never encountered any of this in over twenty years of life... Could all of this be some dream of mine?

Just as he was thinking that, Li Ran was shaken awake.

"Luther, are you all right?!"

Cecilia's lovely face appeared before him. She gripped Luther's arm tightly, her concern plain to see.

So it wasn't a dream.

Li Ran came back to himself and could not help sighing.

"I'm fine."

He answered casually, then rose to his feet and looked around.

Cecilia watched him worriedly but said nothing more.

A Mirror lay amid the clutter that had fallen from the drawer. Li Ran reached down, picked it up, and looked into it.

The Mirror reflected an exceptionally handsome young man with black hair, blue eyes, and sharp, heroic features. He wore a thick straitjacket covered in sturdy black straps. If all those straps were buckled, he probably would not be able to break free no matter how hard he struggled. His face was thin and pale, while deep within his azure eyes seemed to lurk an inextinguishable trace of Frenzy and suffering.

Handsome, yet somewhat sickly.

This was... Luther?

Li Ran quickly matched that face with the memories he had inherited.

No, he should say this was him now.

He thought with a bitter smile, and the young man in the Mirror smiled miserably along with him.

Li Ran, who had died in a car accident on some blue planet, had been revived inside the body of a young man in another world who had been confined in an asylum. He had also inherited all of the young man's memories. At that moment, Li Ran felt shock, confusion, fear, regret... but in the end, he still revealed a helpless smile.

Looking on the bright side, it was better than being truly dead. Since this was reality, he might as well accept it calmly.

Then from now on, I am Luther.

Li Ran—no, Luther—thought to himself.

Cecilia was still watching him with concern. Luther smiled and was about to say something reassuring when he heard a commotion outside.

He pulled open the curtains, and crimson moonlight immediately spilled across the floor, making his presence in another world feel all the more real.

Through the window, he could see the scenery outside.

It was nighttime. A Crimson Moon hung in the sky, gas streetlamps illuminated the road, and four-wheeled carriages clattered past. Several people, men and women alike, stood outside. They looked like nearby residents. They stared uncertainly at the house where Luther was, discussing something among themselves. The noise came from them.

Damn, the gunshots!

Luther's heart skipped a beat as he immediately realized what had happened. He had fired six shots in a row; the nearby residents must have heard them. What if they followed the sound upstairs and saw the corpse on the floor?

But on second thought, he calmed down.

So what if they saw the body? It was self-defense! That old bastard Sirius had attacked them first! Besides, he was covered in tumors now and looked like a Monster. Anyone normal could tell something was wrong with him. It was obvious who the good guy and the bad guy were.

With that thought, Luther felt somewhat reassured. After thinking for a moment, he turned to Cecilia and said, "Cecilia, go downstairs and call the police."

"Call the police?"

Cecilia's eyes widened.

"What else? Do you think we can run away or cover this up?"

Luther said, glancing at his cheap little sister.

Like Luther, Cecilia had black hair and blue eyes, and she was strikingly beautiful. But compared to Luther's frailty, she possessed a few more traces of youthful vitality.

"If we report it right away, we'll have the initiative. Hiding it would only make us look suspicious. As long as we make it clear that it was self-defense, they probably won't give us trouble."

"Oh, all right. Luther, aren't you coming with me?"

"I'll stay here and protect the scene."

Only then did Cecilia nod. She turned and hurried out.

Through the window, Luther watched his sister rush out of the house. The onlooking residents scattered in alarm, avoiding her as though she carried a plague. Yet once she left, they quickly gathered again, each wearing a curious expression, just like a flock of ignorant Lambs.

She should know to find a patrol officer on the street. She wouldn't run all the way to the police station, right?

Well, hopefully.

Luther thought as his breathing gradually steadied.

The room soon fell silent, so silent that he could hear blood dripping from the altar. Sirius's corpse lay on its back. The bullets had blown open the top of his skull, and combined with his already torn mouth, his face had become even more horrifying.

This was really kind of creepy...

Luther's mouth twitched. He rummaged through the pile of clutter on the desk, found some bullets, and reloaded the revolver. Only then did he feel at ease.

When he turned his gaze back to Sirius, he suddenly noticed a conspicuous patch of white on the black-robed corpse. Stepping closer and looking carefully, he saw that it was several folded sheets of letter paper.

The wind gently blew the pages open, revealing a single word—

Luther Rondal.

This letter was about me?

Staring at the sheets of paper, Luther hesitated for a moment before crouching down and extracting them with two fingers.

Logically, he should have preserved the scene, but his intuition told him that the letter might contain important information about him.

Luther unfolded the letter.

It was written in Loenese. Luther searched through his memories and quickly grew familiar with the words. He slowly read on:

[Dear Ms. M:

Following your instructions, I have successfully brought Luther Rondal under control. You were right—he bears a powerful aura of the Lord. But, Ms. M, while I feel joy, I also hate him beyond measure!

He bears the Lord's aura. He can meet the Lord within Illusion and listen to the Lord's teachings. This is a blessing every believer longs for beyond measure, yet he, that damned Luther Rondal, actually says he hates his Fate and despises those Illusions!

That blasphemer, that ignorant stubborn fool! How dare he!

He is unworthy of being so close to the Lord. He should become a sacrifice for the Lord's descent! I can feel it—the Lord is within his body. His filthy shell has imprisoned the Lord's will!

Lord! Lord!

I cannot wait another moment! I understand now! This must be the trial the Lord has bestowed upon me, it must be! I will use his death to call for the Lord's descent!

Today is his eighteenth birthday. From the perspective of mysticism, it is the most suitable time!...]

It was a Frenzied letter filled with malice. The handwriting at the beginning was fairly neat, but the farther it went, the more chaotic it became. Combined with Sirius's mad words, it fully demonstrated the writer's excellent mental state.

"It seems Sirius was already abnormal when he wrote this," Luther thought. "No wonder he did something like murder and a blood sacrifice."

Yet despite its Frenzy, the letter still revealed some terrifying information.

Sirius had indeed approached Luther Rondal with a plan. He likely came from some secret organization and had received orders to keep Luther under control. He had written the letter to report his situation to a superior named Ms. M—though he had started going mad halfway through writing it.

Moreover, there really seemed to be something wrong with Luther's body, something apparently connected to the "Lord" Sirius had mentioned. Combined with Sirius's sudden mutation, this world might contain things from the mysterious side.

"What the hell... Has some cult set its sights on my body?"

He could not help frowning.

That meant he might be captured by Lunatics like Sirius and used for blood sacrifices in the future?

This was fucking absurd...

Luther took a deep breath, feeling irritated and uneasy.

Just then—

Bang!

Without any warning, Luther felt a tremendous force strike his chest, and the world before his eyes suddenly rushed forward. The next instant, his back slammed hard against the cold, solid floor.

Only then did he realize he had been pushed onto his back!

The dark ceiling filled his vision as a shattered, horrifying head slowly rose from below.

It was Sirius, refusing to stay dead!

His skull had been blown open, yet he could still move!

His heavy body pinned Luther down, crawling toward him stiffly and slowly.

Bang! Bang!

Luther's hair stood on end, and he was both shocked and enraged. He raised the revolver and frantically pulled the trigger at Sirius's head. Bullet after bullet tore through it, turning Sirius's skull into a rotten watermelon. Yet even so, Sirius continued pressing Luther down tightly.

This was nothing less than a moving corpse!

Sirius extended his dry, aged hand before Luther. A twisted black mark was carved into the center of his palm. The mark writhed and contracted like a living thing until it burst through the skin, transforming into a small sphere mixed with blood and black patterns that floated silently in defiance of physical laws.

"Get away! Get away!"

Luther sensed something dangerous from the sphere. He shouted at the top of his lungs and smashed Sirius's body with the butt of the revolver. He tried to break free, but his body was tightly restrained by Sirius, leaving him no way to escape!

He saw Sirius's mangled, bloody face move slightly, as though he were smiling.

"Lord, please save us..."

Sirius spoke in a cold, hollow tone. His movements were stiff as he slowly stuffed the black-and-red sphere into Luther's mouth.