The Final Seduction

The Hermit rode in Pumpkin Carriage, following the bright yarn on the ground, descending continuously along the dark Tunnel.

After an unknown amount of time, she arrived at a naturally formed Cavern.

That unrealistically bright Ball of Yarn stopped there.

The swarm of Rat and the Pumpkin Carriage vanished, and the "Hermit" floated down, his feet touching the ground.

Without even removing her glasses, she could see the pools of pus and blood splattered on the ground and seeping into the soil, even in the absolute darkness.

In a daze, a scene from the Past seemed to appear before the "Hermit's " eyes:

A blurry figure staggered toward the Cavern, each step accompanied by a splatter of pus and blood that fell onto the rocks and soil with a hissing, corrosive sound.

The Hermit walked around the pools of pus and blood and entered the natural Cavern ahead, but it was deserted, and even the trail of pus and blood came to an abrupt end.

It's like that figure dripping pus and blood eventually exhausted its flesh and blood, leaving no trace, or simply evaporating.

He disappeared.

"Kemolo just vanished like that..." The Hermit immediately used magic to create nine blazing Sun.

This resulted in extremely high temperatures, and the pools of pus and blood on the ground showed signs of evaporation.

Then, the holder of the Major Arcana took off the glasses perched on his nose.

The pus and blood she saw suddenly Change.

This isn't pus and blood; it's clearly a complex jumble of intertwined, densely packed characters or symbols.

These characters or symbols, arranged in clusters, have eroded different rocks and soil, and are strikingly bright red.

Even with the Hermit's Mysticism knowledge, it's difficult to discern what they actually represent.

"Derived from the flesh and blood of Kemolo?" The Hermit pondered for a moment and decided to peel off all the Blood-Colored characters or symbols and take them with him to a High Sequence "Cryptologist" to take a look.

Morola, "Carnivore" Bar, second floor.

Lumian had another Nightmare, but this time, he was more aware that he was dreaming.

He dreamt that he was walking in a dark Tunnel with Stone Slab under his feet and bricks on both sides. Every so often there was a rusty iron wall lamp, but none of them were lit.

Lumian wandered aimlessly, sometimes turning right, sometimes going down the stairs, and sometimes sitting down against the wall to rest for a while.

Suddenly, he saw clusters of yellowish light appearing ahead.

Bathed in light, figures shrouded in Black Robe robes appeared.

They all carried quietly Burning Hurricane Lantern, their eyes covered with thick layers of black cloth.

The law enforcement team... the Experimental Subjects team... Lumian suddenly understood.

Did I dream about what was happening inside Underground Mausoleum?

This does indeed resemble the sealed materials for "0-01" and the descriptions in those books...

Using my acquired knowledge and the Corruption I experienced, I recreated a Tunnel in the Underground Mausoleum in my Dream?

At this moment, although the law enforcement officers and Experimental Subjects were blindfolded and unable to see anything, they all walked very steadily, maintaining a straight line forward.

I... I don't think I'm blindfolded right now... Will something strange happen? No, I'm just dreaming... Although Lumian is having Lucid Dream, her thoughts are still somewhat sluggish and dull, as if she is affected by the Dream.

As he was about to pass by the group of Experimental Subjects carrying Hurricane Lantern, his gaze naturally fell on one of the Hurricane Lantern.

A black shadow was reflected on the glass casing of the Hurricane Lantern, which was fixed in place by a copper-colored metal frame.

The shadow, resembling a human, flashed by and leaped onto another Hurricane Lantern.

This is not my shadow... nor the Lantern Bearer's... Is it... is it a "Person in the Mirror" created by the corruption of the Mausoleum's power? Or is it the "Person in the Mirror" that infiltrated Morola? Lumian was startled, feeling his whole being become more clear-headed.

He stared intently and saw the slightly Distortion, seemingly human-shaped black shadow pause, looking back at him through the Hurricane Lantern's glass surface, which reflected the firelight.

The moment their eyes met, the shadow vanished instantly.

Lumian's vision suddenly blurred, and the entire Tunnel, illuminated by the Hurricane Lantern light, shook violently.

Within seconds, Lumian involuntarily woke up and opened his eyes.

He was still shaking, his bed was creaking, and the house was rattling.

Earthquake? Lumian's assessment was not surprising at all.

In Morola, he has experienced four Earthquake, one Volcano eruption, five torrential Torrential Rain, four Hurricane, three Tornado, two Hail, and two Blizzard. Often, there are more than two extreme weather events in a single day. Of course, sometimes the weather is just ordinary and changes throughout the day.

Based on Lumian's physical measurements and experience, he judged that the current Earthquake was not enough to collapse the "Carnivore" Bar, a thick and sturdy building. Therefore, he lay there feeling very secure and had no intention of getting out of bed and running to the street.

If all else fails, you can always "Teleportation" to the Knowledge Church.

Lumian stared at the still-swaying ceiling, replaying the Nightmare in his mind:

"Did the Earthquake just happen to wake me up, or did my experience in Nightmare trigger the Earthquake?"

After thinking it over carefully for a while, Lumian decided it was the latter.

But this means that his Nightmare tonight really is connected to that Underground Mausoleum!

"Just now, I was wandering through the Underground Mausoleum in some peculiar form, without needing to be blindfolded or Hurricane Lantern?"

"The scenes I just saw and experienced were all real, happening right now?"

Is the "Person in the Mirror" reflected on the Hurricane Lantern real?

"Hmm, he doesn't seem to be the ' Person in the Mirror ' of the Lantern Bearer; there are noticeable differences in his physical condition."

"That ' Person in the Mirror ' from Trier? He used the power of the Special Mirror World to start exploring the Underground Mausoleum before me, Albus, and Julie?"

"If that's the case, then he's probably been at it for many days, and success may not be far off..."

"At the same time I saw him, he also saw me... What would I look like, what state would I be in, what form would I take when he saw me?"

"Hmm, if they enter the Underground Mausoleum without being blindfolded, the Experimental Subjects will see a corresponding ' Person in the Mirror ' in their own eyes and thus be replaced?"

A series of questions flashed through Lumian's mind, and he gradually felt a sense of urgency that time was running out and that things would not wait for him.

He sat up and looked out the window.

By this time, the Earthquake had subsided, and through the not-too-thick curtains, the sky seemed to have brightened slightly.

Lumian sighed, suppressing his negative emotions, and decided to sleep a little longer, until six in the morning.

He must maintain peak condition to complete the remaining three days of study; otherwise, he could easily Loss of Control or even die from the stress.

When Lumian woke up naturally, he ate the breakfast prepared by Lies and went straight to the Knowledge Church. He sat down in his usual spot, reading a book while monitoring the situation at the entrance to the Underground Mausoleum.

In this way, if Mutation, he can "Teleportation" Past immediately and go Underground!

After a brief alternation of thunder and lightning and clear skies, Lumian finished his morning studies and prepared to return to the "Carnivore" Bar for lunch.

When he had about a third of the way left, he heard a scream from the direction of the Bar, a scream that was both Pain and Pleasure.

"Julie's at it again? She's not in a bad mood today, though..."

"Besides, lunchtime is when Bar are busiest... so who's harassing her?" Lumian shook her head, thinking Julie was a very unprofessional employee.

Not long after, he returned to the "Carnivore" Bar and found the bar counter and the lobby completely deserted. Almost all the tables and chairs were overturned, glasses were smashed in various places, and liquor was spilled all over the floor, some of which had frozen into ice.

"It was like Julie suddenly went crazy, attacking all the Patron and driving them all away..."

"What happened this time?" Lumian immediately became highly alert.

As the Boss of the "Carnivore" Bar, he felt bad about the waste of alcohol and noticed something was clearly wrong.

He remembered that when he left home in the morning, Julie was fine and even helped Lies prepare the Ingredient he would need for the day.

Lumian sniffed, catching a faint smell of blood and a hint of chestnut blossom.

For most men, that latter scent is familiar enough.

"That's not right. Based on my observation, Julie always finishes Harvest before the target fully erupts, not giving him a chance to reach the peak of Pleasure. This time, however, she left a rather obvious scent... She actually let the original owner of the collection enjoy it?" Lumian frowned, followed the scent of blood all the way to the second floor, and pushed open Julie's door.

On Julie's bed, Lies lay naked, his eyes wide open, his mouth slightly bulging, and a bloody mess between his legs.

He is dead.

"Julie attacked Lies?" Lumian looked into Lies's Eyes and saw a mixture of extreme Pleasure, relaxation, and obvious Pain. There were no signs of a supernatural battle in the room, only splattered blood and the scent of chestnut blossoms telling the story of what had happened.

This led Lumian to suspect that Lies had slept with Julie willingly.

And this Human Flesh Chef already knew what Julie was going to do.

Similarly, Julie's performance was different from usual, seemingly allowing Lies to unleash his full potential.

"Is Lies trying to get rid of this? Or did he fail to strike first?" Lumian wasn't unable to accept this, but he found it too sudden.

Lumian's gaze fell on the lifeless bloodstains remaining at the corner of Lies's mouth.

After observing for a few seconds, he suddenly remembered something Julie had once said to Lies:

I've decided to seduce you one last time.

Finally... Lumian's gaze suddenly narrowed:

In Julie's view, is it now the final moment?

Is she about to launch her final operation?

Where has she gone now?