I have sinned

The effects of the Healing Potion and the original burning from the Flames brought Lumian's wounds to a near stop, and in some places, flesh and blood even began to grow and scab over.

As Lumian put on the "Lie" ear clips, trying to move the gruesome gash in his chest and abdomen to a less noticeable position, he stared at the Oil Painting hanging on the rock wall, a multitude of thoughts flashing through his mind:

"As an ' Supervisor,' you wouldn't easily step into the fray directly?"

"Perle's true form was hiding in the shadows, avoiding any potential accidents?"

"But if she had taken action herself, we might have been eliminated long ago, without any chance of creating an accident..."

"Moreover, Perle doesn't seem to care much about not capturing me alive. Doesn't the failure of the Person in the Painting mean that her ' Dark Box Transaction ' has failed and will inevitably suffer a severe backlash?"

"She's not Swindler..."

Thinking about this, Lumian suddenly had a guess:

"Perle himself has only said that I captured him alive; there is no other corroborating evidence..."

"This may indeed be a request made by the other party in the ' Dark Box Transaction,' but it's not the only request. It's most likely one of several requests, and the least important one. So after Perle created the Special Mirror World, he immediately left this Oil Painting behind, letting the Person in the Painting deal with us, while he went somewhere else."

"Is she going to fulfill the most crucial and important request?"

You can't completely trust what a "Broker" says...

"Judging from her tone just now, she seems to have succeeded, and is therefore very certain that the Whirlpool is about to form and will soon engulf everyone..."

"So it seems she wasn't nearby at all. She just exchanged a few words with the Person in the Painting before she completely disappeared. We couldn't even track her down."

Lumian felt that his guess could well explain Perle's performance and some details of the previous battle, which made him feel a little heavy-hearted.

If what he thinks is true, then the Whirlpool of the "School of Truth" has indeed failed to be effectively stopped and is about to take shape!

What will happen in a while?

At this moment, Mr. K walked to Lumian's side and also gazed at the tattered Oil Painting.

He said in a hoarse voice, "I am guilty."

"I failed to uncover the ' School of Truth's' plans in advance, allowing the problems to accumulate until they were about to erupt."

As he spoke, the flesh on Mr. K's shoulder writhed, and two Paleness, thin, and wet arms slowly grew out, while the black Robe, whose sleeves had also been Cutting off, could not be restored.

Before Lumian could respond, Mr. K turned his head and said, "The commotion here will be noticed soon, so it's not a good place to stay."

Come see me tomorrow morning.

"Okay." Lumian glanced at his companions, who were either hiding in the shadows or "Psychological Invisibility," and nodded slightly.

He also planned to move to Safe House as soon as possible to avoid being mistakenly attacked by Official Beyonder.

After Mr. K "Teleportation" away, Franca, Jenna, and Anthony emerged from their respective hiding places.

"Let's go back to the Safe House now," Lumian said without hesitation.

Franca nodded slightly, her face filled with regret and heartache, and said, "' Pride Armor ' has been Banishment somewhere. It would be such a pity if it were lost."

If the "Pride Armor" hadn't directly attacked the figure in "Supervisor" Perle's Person in the Painting, forcing her to change her life form and indirectly causing the disappearance of the several Punisher she conjured, Lumian, even if he could still come up with the method of painting the Archipelago swindler Monet, would have had difficulty surviving the later stages—in that case, he would not only have faced Perle's punishment, but would also have had to deal with Anthony, the Punisher.

For Lumian and the others, the "Pride Armor" was a great asset, a very valuable Sealed Artifact, and no one wanted it to be lost.

"If it were human and intelligent, it could find its way back on its own, but now..." Lumian sighed and grabbed Anthony's shoulder with his left hand.

Just then, twinkling starlight emerged from the void, quickly forming a dreamlike double door.

The door opened, and the "Magician," the "Judgement," and the "Hermit" emerged.

The "Magician" looked around, then at Lumian, who was missing an arm and looked miserable, and asked with a slightly strange expression, "Were you attacked?"

As she spoke, the Quarry Cavern, now illuminated only by the light of the Carbide Lamp, grew even Gloom, as if an invisible curtain had been drawn around them.

"Yes." Franca, on behalf of Lumian whose injuries had only been relieved and were not serious enough to cause sudden death, briefly recounted the whole incident.

"The one who attacked you was the figure in Perle's Person in the Painting; her real self went to do something else?" the "Magician" Lady asked, as if confirming.

"That should be the case," Lumian replied.

The Magician looked at the Judgement and the Hermit, their eyes meeting, neither of them concealing their doubts.

After a brief silence, the "Magician" offered no explanation, his eyes gathering starlight that seemed to outline some kind of pattern.

A light drizzle then began to fall, sprinkling onto Lumian's body and allowing his wounds to heal completely.

Franca and the others, also nourished by the rain, had their fatigue washed away.

This is very similar to the ability that "Night Lady" used in her dream... Lumian made a certain connection.

The "Magician" Lady nodded and said, "Write me down the details tomorrow."

Having said that, she vanished without a trace, along with "Judgement" and "Hermit".

As the surrounding Gloom faded, Lumian found himself and his companions back in the Safe House in the administrative district—the place where Jenna had summoned the Messenger of the "Judgement" Lady.

"The ' Magician ' Lady are very confused as to why we were attacked by the figures in Perle's Person in the Painting," Anthony said, putting away his blank sketchbook and expressing his feelings.

Lumian nodded and said, "The question shouldn't be whether Perle attacked us; it's not surprising that the ' Supervisor,' whose core business is ' Dark Box Transaction,' would do anything."

"What is it that's puzzling?" Jenna and Franca couldn't figure it out.

Anthony attempted to analyze:

"The real question isn't whether Perle attacked us, but rather that we were attacked by Perle."

"They seem to believe we won't be attacked by Perle, and whether Perle had the intention or the actions to carry it out are irrelevant."

Lumian and the others fell into deep thought.

Suddenly, Franca exclaimed "Ah!"

As she glanced at Lumian and the others, she slowly withdrew her hand from the "Traveler’s Bag" with delight:

"The ' Pride Armor ' is here; it's back!"

Did the "Magician" Lady help find it? Lumian had just had this thought when he noticed Franca's actions.

He immediately shouted, "Stop!"

We can't let Franca take out the "Pride Armor"!

This is a cramped interior, and this is where I am!

Franca's expression froze, and she stopped abruptly with her elbow.

Within a Mirror World composed of Gloom, Void Tunnel.

The "Supervisor" Perle constantly moves from one Mirror to Mirror, searching for his final destination.

She appeared quite relaxed, pleased that the Calamity had ironically facilitated the formation of the Whirlpool.

At the other end of the Gloom and empty Tunnel, a brightly Ball of Yarn quietly followed behind her, rolling forward silently, leaving a line hidden in the shadows.

The following morning, after sending the letter to the "Magician" Lady, Lumian went to the headquarters of the "Spiritism" Magazine Agency and met Mr. K in the Basement.

Both of them have recovered physically.

Mr. K, wearing a huge Hood and a long black Robe, paid no attention to the matter and said to Lumian in a hoarse voice, "Come with me to a place."

"What are you going to do?" Having worked together last night, Lumian's attitude towards Mr. K became increasingly relaxed.

Mr. K nodded as if to say, "First, I want to repent for what happened. Second, I want to tell the Lord through the Statue that you have grown up and are ready to be His Messenger. He will make arrangements at the appropriate time. Believe in the Lord, believe in the Lord wholeheartedly."

Just going to a place with Statue of the "True Creator"? That's fine... but actually seeing a god would be troublesome... Lumian humbly bowed his head and said, "It would be my honor."

Mr. K walked to his side, grabbed his arm, and led him into the Spirit World to begin the "Teleportation."

Passing through layers of rich, varied colors and countless indescribable, transparent creatures, the two arrived at a Church.

The Church appeared to be located in Deep Valley, its surface was a dark black, and it was carved with a large number of human bones. Its top was similar to that of Church Church of the "Eternal Blazing Sun," and it was hemispherical.

Mr. K didn't say anything, but hunched over slightly as he passed through the open door.

Lumian followed closely behind.

He then saw a spacious but dimly lit prayer hall, and Depths the Church stood a huge, Pitch-Black Cross.

A naked Men Statues hangs upside down on the Cross, with rusty iron nails protruding from various parts of its body, each nail surrounded by bright red blood.

Is this the Statue of "the true creator and the book god"? Lumian was startled and hurriedly looked away.

What he saw in the "The Fool" Church, the "Eternal Blazing Sun" Church, and the "God of Steam and Machinery" Church were only Holy Emblem, not Statue —he had just thought that Mr. K was using Statue to refer to the Holy Emblem.

Mr. K walked to within four or five meters of the Statue and then stopped.

Lumian lagged slightly behind and stopped.

On his way here from the entrance, he had already clearly seen the face of the upside-down Statue:

The nose, mouth, and ears are quite blurry, only outlines, but the eyes are very clear, tightly closed, as if bearing all the Pain and guilt.

Mr. K made the Cross on his chest and shouted in a hoarse voice, "Praise be to you!"

Praise be to you for creating everything!

"Praise be to you who bear the sins of the world!"

Lumi and *Tu*Shu'an followed suit, performing the same actions and reciting the same words.

Suddenly, he felt dizzy, his eyes became slightly hot, and he felt a sense of familiarity with the scene before him.

This... Lumian's spiritual intuition told him that this was the negative effect of the Bayinfeld contract being activated.

The effect is:

In scenes closely related to Bainfel's Past, one will see truths that should not be seen.

Is this place closely related to Bainfel's Past? Was he once Clergy of the "True Creator"? Lumian suppressed his curiosity while having some guesses, and continued to stare at the ground.

Suddenly, his gaze froze.

He saw a blurry Lizard -like creature.

That was the Lizard-like Sprite that appeared in his dream about Cordou Village, the Lizard-like Sprite that crawled out of Aurora's mouth!

It most likely affected Aurora, preventing her from seeking help from Hella in time!

This Lizard-like Sprite also appeared at the end of the "Shadow Tree" event.

Now, why is it here, inside the Church of the "True Creator"?

When Mr. K half-lay on the ground, pressing his face tightly against the black Stone Bricks, Lumian subconsciously raised his head and looked ahead.

He saw the enormous, Pitch-Black Cross become ethereal, seemingly rising atop some mountain range. He saw Elf Lizard in and out of the indistinct, upside-down figure, swirling and dancing...

Lumian stared blankly at the scene, the slightly muffled sound of Mr. K's voice, pressed tightly to the ground, ringing in his ears:

"Merciful Father, please forgive the sins I have committed."

(End of Volume 4)