The corrupted "Cannon-Firing Gun"

The Twilight Sunlight streamed through the window, casting a soft, golden-red hue into the room.

Apart from Lugano, who took Ludwig to the New Silver City to find local delicacies, Franca, Jenna, and Anthony stayed in the living room, listening to Lumian recount what had happened to him since their separation.

Lumian, in a detached, almost detached, observer's manner, recounted the events of Termiboros' transformation into Amon, the psychological treatment report read by Amon, and the subsequent "story" script, highlighting all the key points without any Concealment.

The deep, indifferent voice reached Franca and Jenna's ears, gradually making them feel the suffocating Pain and Despair, as if they were experiencing it themselves.

This is not physical Pain, nor the Despair one feels when facing death; it stems from one's own insignificance, one's own powerlessness, and the fact that one's beliefs, emotions, and decisions are all products of someone else's arrangement.

Franca couldn't help but think of the lab mice she used to work with.

She finally understood why Lumian, even without rejecting the Pathway to becoming a "Witch," was still Pain and had been so emotionally suppressed in her pursuit of Half-God.

Looking at that familiar yet unfamiliar face, at that beautiful face without expression, Franca felt a pang of heartache and pity.

After Lumian finished explaining his final choice, the room fell silent.

After a moment, Franca initiated a conversation, remarking, "I never imagined that ' Black Tear ' was also arranged by that That One. Isn't that something from the Witch Sect?"

"If there are no ' Black Tear,' there will be 'White Tears,' 'Gray Tears.' If you can't arrange the vessel for the ' Primordial Witch's' Descent Vessel, can't you arrange other ' Witch '?" Lumian replied calmly.

Seeing him like this, Jenna felt a pang of sadness and heartache. Having been through similar experiences, she would rather Lumian be in a state of rage or directly show the Pain hidden deep inside, than be like a dry well, suppressing all his emotions at the bottom.

Franca felt something similar, and she almost instinctively made a self-deprecating remark:

"I never expected that Jenna and I would have a place in the script, even though our role is only to stabilize your mental state and provide a solid anchor point when you advance to the ' Witch of Despair '."

She had encountered the word "anchor" a few times with the "Judgement" Lady and suspected it was related to the methods used by those in High-Ranking Being to stabilize their own state—the higher the Sequence, the more prone one is to madness, and the anchor seems to be an external aid that strengthens self-awareness and combats the tendency to Loss of Control.

"It's not just that." Lumian, still cloaked in Black Cloak, stated matter-of-factly, "This is also a way to prevent me from becoming obsessed with the feeling of Aurora's Soul Fragments slowly reviving, and from being unwilling to switch back to the ' Hunter ' Pathway and gradually abandon my Men identity."

Jenna and Franca fell silent, both feeling an unspeakable Pain in their hearts.

The latter stood up from the large, backless chair that she could easily shrink into, looked at Lumian, and said bluntly, "I don't like your way of putting it, as if Jenna and I were really just tools."

"' Black Tear ' only brought the problem to the foreseeable future; it doesn't mean the problem didn't exist, nor does it mean that our emotions and thoughts arose out of thin air, but rather that they appeared because of That One arrangement!"

"I, I only speak for myself. My stance is that I will not persuade you to switch back to the ' Hunter ' Pathway, nor will I care whether you are a ' Witch ' or a ' Hunter.' I am also glad that Aurora still has hope of Resurrection and look forward to seeing her Resurrection. But what I value more is you, Lumian Lee, who has gone through so much with us and shared so many wonderful memories..."

At this point, Franca was momentarily speechless, unsure how to express the thoughts she hadn't yet voiced.

Jenna stood up as well, pursed her lips and said, "I would love to see Aurora Resurrection in you, but I don't want to see you give up on yourself because of it."

"In this world, Lumian Lee is someone who is cared about, liked, and valued!"

"Yes!" Franca echoed Jenna's statement.

Lumian's lighter blue Eyes gazed at the two "Witch," a faint light flickering in their Depths.

He did not respond to Franca and Jenna's words, nor did he object to or mock their statements.

Franca and Jenna were about to say something more when they suddenly saw Anthony wink at them, meaning that this was just the right time. Now they should let Lumian calm down and think things through for a while. Too much comfort, encouragement, and confession would only have the opposite effect.

Uh... Franca shut her mouth.

She immediately realized a fact:

Anthony's here... So he heard everything I said before?

Awkward!

Embarrassment in bold and capital letters!

Jenna sat back down in her original spot, trusting the "Psychiatrist's " judgment in this regard.

As for her emotional outburst just now, she didn't feel ashamed; she knew Anthony had noticed it long ago.

Anthony sighed inwardly. As a normal, middle-aged man, he was glad that he was a "Psychiatrist" and a "Hypnotist." Otherwise, facing two "Witch" with different Charm every day, plus the breathtakingly beautiful Team Leader, he would definitely be naturally Fascination and fall into their trap without realizing it.

He felt that if he continued training like this, even if he hadn't become Half-God yet, he could at least endure the "Fascination" of the opposing "Witch of Despair" for a longer period of time.

Embarrassed, Franca instinctively tried to change the subject, sighing, "That One's arrangements are truly terrifying. It's not something we can simply avoid or refuse."

Jenna nodded in agreement, deeply moved.

The two "Witch" had seen their share of grand events. They had personally experienced the celestial Change created by the "Red Angel" Medici in Fourth Epoch Trier. However, the arrangements made by the "True Creator" without any warning or trace were completely beyond their imagination. Just thinking about it for a moment would give them Nightmare or keep them awake all night.

Lumian responded in a low voice, "That One is the True God. I even suspect that He is more than just the True God. At least the ' Magician ' Lady's attitude towards Him is more respectful and fearful than that towards True God such as the ' Eternal Blazing Sun '."

"Tarot Club, the Church of the Fool, and other related forces combined probably couldn't stop His plan; at most, they could detect the anomaly beforehand and give a warning."

"Yes, although Mr. ' The Fool ' has many Angel around his throne, he is still no match for a True God. Damn it, why would a True God be targeting someone who wasn't even Half-God before?" Franca sighed and cursed.

She had originally wanted to add, "With such a huge difference in status, resistance is mostly futile. We can only make do for now, not keep this to ourselves, and try to use the other party's arrangements to strengthen ourselves as much as possible." However, after considering Lumian's current state, she swallowed these thoughts that arose from her own Personality.

"Perhaps we won't have to worry about That One controlled by Mr. ' The Fool ' until he wakes up," Jenna said cautiously.

"Yes, when will Mr. ' The Fool ' wake up?" Franca echoed with a sigh.

Suddenly, she, with her extensive gaming experience, had an idea.

She sat up abruptly and looked at Lumian, saying, "The Lucky Gold Coin that Jenna, Ludwig I have all seem to have been given to us by Mr. ' The Fool ' and carry his scent. Could it be that, could it be that if we collect all the Lucky Gold Coin, we might be able to awaken Mr. ' The Fool '?"

"If it were that simple, the Major Arcana would have already collected the Lucky Gold Coin and awakened Mr. The Fool," Lumian said after a few seconds of thought. "Perhaps collecting the Lucky Gold Coin is just a prerequisite; there are still some things to do afterward."

At this moment, Anthony interjected, "I'm about to get a Lucky Gold Coin too; the ' Knight of Swords ' has promised to use it as a reward."

"Four now..." Franca couldn't help but glance at Lumian.

Normally, she would definitely tease the other person, but now, facing Lumian in this state, how could she bear to?

Lumian wasn't disappointed. He glanced out the window and said, "' The Magician ' Lady should be coming to see me soon. I'll ask her what the Lucky Gold Coin really means."

"Hmm." Franca touched her "Traveler's Bag." "Perfect timing. I'd like to ask the ' Magician ' Lady to create a Independent Space for that Pistol in my ' Traveler's Bag.' I can feel that, like ' Black Tear,' it's continuously creating disease and spreading it outwards."

Her "Cannon-Firing Gun" has been combined with a portion of the Gift Power from Higdon that was intercepted from the Special Mirror World, and it has not yet been renamed.

After saying this, Franca asked Lumian to put the entire room into the "Fictional Bottle," while she took out the Corruption "Cannon-Firing Gun" and used the "Magic Mirror Divination" method to ascertain the corresponding effects and negative consequences.

Before long, Franca received a more detailed answer:

"The Corruption ' Cannon-Firing Gun ' will continuously spread disease and Decay within a three-kilometer radius, with the types of disease being random."

"The Corruption ' Cannon-Firing Gun ' can add one of two effects to the fired bullets: ' Certain Death ' and ' Certain Hit,' for a total of thirteen times, and can stack with the original ' Heavy Blow ' effect;

"If either the ' Certain Death ' or ' Certain Hit ' effect is triggered, the user will be seriously ill for a period of time. If a suitable healer is not found, the user may even die. If a suitable healer is found, the serious illness will last for a few hours to a day."

"Even after the number of ' Certain Death ' and ' Certain Hit ' chances is used up, the negative effects of continuously spreading disease and Decay will still exist and can last for about a year."

Upon receiving the answer, Franca immediately stuffed the Corruption "Cannon-Firing Gun" back into the "Traveler’s Bag." Then, deliberately trying to lighten the mood, she said with a smile, "If I use Pregnancy Bullet with the ' Certain Hit ' effect, how will the enemy respond?"