Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

Chapter 1082: Open Stratagem

In St. Millom of the Feysac Empire, on the coast of Midseashire, Snarner Einhorn, with His flamboyant golden earrings and deep red hair, was originally toying with some jewelry when He suddenly raised His head and looked towards the southern sky.

He was first surprised, then a look of confusion crossed His face, and He remained in the room, doing nothing.

Far in the distance, in the coastal regions of the Feynapotter Kingdom, the deep purple light was flying faster and faster, already having escaped the encompassing hurricane, leaving behind horrifying rumbles.

…

In a certain location in the Intis Republic, the grizzled, blue-uniformed leader of the Iron and Blood Cross Order, Diest, with His neatly combed deep red hair, black iron eyes, and prominent wrinkles, withdrew His gaze from a brass chess set and looked up towards the sky.

He almost instinctively transformed into a deep purple Iridescent rainbow and shot up, but ultimately controlled Himself.

He murmured softly, "The disturbance is so great, the deities must all be watching...

"Will the Angels of the orthodox Churches try to seize it?"

Under the observation of numerous gazes, the deep purple light crossed over the Feynapotter Kingdom.

Curiously, no one came to stop it, nor did anyone attempt to obtain it.

…

In Bansy Harbor, when Lumian turned his gaze westward, Franca and Jenna followed his line of sight, but saw nothing.

"What are you looking at?" Franca asked puzzledly.

Lumian mused aloud, "I feel that the full-length mirror in the Blue Avenger's treasury has shattered, and the Weather Warlock Beyonder characteristic hidden behind it is now rapidly crossing the Northern Continent, flying from the Fog Sea towards me."

Wh-Jenna was a bit stunned to hear this.

Franca also exclaimed in amazement, "Such a thing can happen?

"A classic trope where a treasured item comes to seek you out on its own..."

They had come to Bansy to seek clues about the remaining Weather Warlock Beyonder characterístic, and now one such Beyonder characteristic was crossing thousands of miles to come to them?

Lumian estimated the time and said calmly, "We'll need to start with my recent secret deed ritual experience."

Franca's eyes lit up, full of interest in the story Lumian was about to tell.

Jenna was the same, but considered things more carefully. She reminded Lumian, "Aren't you going to prepare? What if that Weather Warlock Beyonder characteristic isn't coming to join you, but to kill you?

"You can recount your previous experiences and the reasons behind things after everything is over. There's no need to waste time now."

We should hurry up and make the necessary preparations, like appealing to Mr. Fool to watch over us, or summoning a messenger from Madam Magician and promising to exchange the Post-Apocalyptic Scripture for one round of assistance...

In any case, they needed to prepare for a potential battle with the item manifested by the Weather Warlock Beyonder characteristic.

Smiling. Lumian replied. "No need to rush, it may be flying fast, but it will still take just over an hour to reach here."

Shaking his head, Lumian continued, "Can't Teleport. can't use Mirror Traversal either, just so troublesome and slow-moving."

Jenna was momentarily at a loss for words.

Franca then raised another question, "Won't it get intercepted halfway?"

"If the orthodox Churches take it, we can negotiate later, and can use the Post-Apocalyptic Scripture to make a trade. After all, this thing speaks in riddles and is not very useful, just a hassle. But if it's the evil god worshipers trying to ambush it midway, with such a commotion, wouldn't they just be exposing themselves?" Lumian laughed.

Although the Post-Apocalyptic Scripture was quite useful for responding to believers, there were few wishes it couldn't fulfill through bestowing good fortune, but as a Fate Appropriator, Lumian could also handle such matters himself, it would just be more troublesome and less effective.

"That's true..." Franca thought seriously for a moment, then jokingly suggested, "Why don't you go out to welcome that Beyonder characteristic? It's come all this way, you should show it how much you value it, be enthusiastic!"

"We'll see." Lumian wasn't actually sure what that Beyonder characteristic or the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact wanted to do, so it was better to just wait in Bansy Harbor.

This place had been devastated by the Church of Storms with no human habitation left, only the occasional adventurer or pirate coming to explore and uncover treasures others had missed.

And earlier today, Lumian had confirmed that aside from the three of them, only wild animals remained on this island.

This was very suitable for demigods to battle, without worrying about accidentally killing anyone.

Franca glanced around, gaining a general understanding of Lumian's intentions.

Jenna then said, "Still, do the preparations first, then tell us about your secret deed experience, in case some unexpected thing happens midway, "Who knows, maybe some high-ranking being will kindly help shorten the distance for that Beyonder characteristic, letting it arrive early."

Lumian accepted Jenna's suggestion, praying or summoning messengers, going through a round of preparations.

Then he began recounting from when his consciousness manifested in that "Eastern" city's telegraph office, up to the point where the mirrored Alista Tudor, despite having a clear advantage and filled with fighting spirit, voluntarily withdrew into the darkness and disappeared.

Before Franca and Jenna could respond, Lumian asked curiously and puzzledly, "What did that person who also infiltrated the wooden tower mean when they muttered those words after seeing me?"

He then mimicked the other party's pronunciation.

Franca pondered for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"He was cursing 'bad luck'.

"Meaning, it's bad luck to run into you."

"Did I interfere with his actions?" Lumian mused aloud, "Or had he been previously deceived by a Beyonder from the Demoness pathway? In the West Continent, Demonesses don't have a very good reputation?"

"You think Demonesses have a good reputation in the Northern and Southern Continents too?" Franca said, amused. "I think he's really been scammed by a Demoness before, otherwise a normal person wouldn't immediately curse 'bad luck' just from seeing your face; he's got PTSD."

Jenna chuckled as well, looking at Lumian. "Judging from this, that Weather Warlock Beyonder characteristic coming may not necessarily be a good thing, I can already smell the scent of conspiracy."

"Kill you? It's neither an ambush nor a hidden environment, so it's almost impossible to kill Mr. Fool's Saint unless someone holds back Mr. Fool. However, that's unless the evil gods have completed Their invasion and the apocalypse has come early. Otherwise, anyone able to stop Mr. Fool wouldn't have any underlying motivation..." Pondering for a few seconds, Franca looked at Lumian and continued. "Actively becoming your potion ingredient, letting you consume it to advance, then linking with the residual Blood Emperor aura in you to resurrect and occupy your body? Even for a plot that straightforward, normal people should be able to think of it, right?"

"Yes." Lumian nodded. "I can also ask Mr. Fool to help shatter the characteristic, remove the remnant Blood Emperor psyche. Even if I can't completely purge it, at least Alista Tudor won't be able to resurrect inside me."

"Then this is..." Franca and Jenna exchanged a puzzled glance.

Lumian suddenly smiled. "This should be an open stratagem.

"Alista Tudor wants me to become an Angel.

"Then the resurrection preparations He left behind will truly manifest.

"Red Angel Medici previously said He would give me a chance, but it's likely not because I was too weak for Him to bother with at the time, nor out of deep empathy for my experiences-that may be a factor, but not the main reason.

"He too is waiting for me to ascend to Sequence 2."

Jenna's brow furrowed slightly. "So you mean Alista Tudor's current goal is to help you advance to angelhood, and it doesn't matter whether you choose to become a Weather Warlock or a Demoness of Catastrophe, using that Beyonder characteristic or something else, the end result will be the same?"

"Probably." Lumian nodded, with a wry smile. "That's why the mirrored Alista Tudor was able to restrain His madness and killing intent."

Franca and Jenna fell silent, not knowing what to say.

After all, they couldn't really advise Lumian not to ascend to angelhood, right?

Lifting his chin slightly, Lumian chuckled nonchalantly. "What's meant to come will come. I also want to see what awaits me, hopefully it won't disappoint."

Hearing this, Franca sighed. "Chaos, chaos, with the apocalypse looming, a bit of chaos is good, there's a chance to win amidst the chaos."

An hour passed quickly, and the weakened and fatigued Lumian from the secret deed ritual had fully recovered.

Suddenly, a deep purple light shot across the western sky. As it drew nearer, it grew larger and larger, eventually becoming clearly visible to Lumian, Franca. and Jenna.

It was a violently burning mass of deep purple flames, with flashes of pure blue at its core.

Interwoven within the flames were jet-black metal rods, forming a massive skeletal frame.

The deep purple-blue flames flowed along the metal bones, trailing long feathers, giving the whole the appearance of a colossal bird with a wingspan spanning dozens of meters. The intensely burning deep purple-blue giant bird had not even fully approached Bansy Harbor, but the weeds, trees at the edges of the ruins, and remaining walls all spontaneously ignited.

Cracking sounds rang out as Bansy was enveloped in flames.

At the same time, a disdainful yet condescending booming voice reverberated in Lumian's ear: "Dare you face me?"

It was spoken in ancient Hermes.

Lumian suddenly gained an epiphany-there were several layers of meaning to this "facing":

Dare you withstand my attack alone and endure?

Dare you ascend to Weather Warlock using the Beyonder characteristic I extracted?

Do you have the courage and bravery for this?

His mind made up. Lumian turned to Franca and Jenna. "You two should leave this area."

Franca and Jenna exchanged a glance, not saying much.

In a critical moment, they unhesitatingly believed in Lumian's judgment and choice.

Franca's eyes immediately reflected layers of darkness, then she grabbed Jenna's hand and departed Bansy Harbor through the mirror world.

Lumian shifted his gaze back, looking up at the purple-flamed giant bird blotting out the sky, and reached into the Traveler's Bag, withdrawing the parchment- bound Post-Apocalyptic Scripture.