Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

Upon hearing Lumian’s inquiry, Madam Magician’s tone carried a subtle emotion.

“Mr. Door is the ancestor of the Abraham family, the top duke among the five great nobles of the Tudor Empire. It was He who sealed this spaceship. Amon, on the other hand, designed the ritual that regularly siphoned power from the black hole to alleviate the pressure caused by the natural decay of the seal and hasten the black hole’s demise.”

Higher in rank than Amon… In the Tudor Empire, Mr. Door was second only to the Blood Emperor? He listened intently.

Madam Magician sighed softly at that moment.

“In a way, Mr. Door can be considered my mentor.”

A mentor? Your mentor is a Fourth Epoch King of Angels and the top noble in the Tudor Empire? A figure from almost two thousand years ago… Lumian hadn’t anticipated Madam Magician having such a profound background.

No wonder she earned the position of the Angel of Stars beside Mr. Fool’s throne. No wonder she held a Major Arcana card in the Tarot Club!

Madam Magician glanced at Lumian, teasingly adding, “It’s true that Mr. Door guided and ‘supervised’ me in advancing along the divine path, but the method wasn’t as virtuous as you might imagine. It was far from good.”

Far from good… Lumian was surprised before connecting the dots.

Combining his experiences, he made a guess.

Madam Magician had once fallen under the corruptive influence of Mr. Door but received assistance from Mr. Fool. Did she join the Tarot Club because of this?

However, from Madam Magician’s words, it seems she reconciled with Mr. Door? Otherwise, she wouldn’t refer to Him as her mentor. How intriguing and surreal. Just like how I might say in the future that the Angel of Inevitability, Termiboros, was my mentor, Lumian mused inwardly and probed, “Is Mr. Door still active?”

Is He as lively as His peer, Amon?

Madam Magician shook her head.

“He has perished.”

I see… Lumian cast his gaze toward the deep, bottomless sea.

“April Fool’s objective is to acquire that spaceship? But it seems they are unaware of the nascent black hole sealed inside…”

It was a formidable entity that not even a true god could completely neutralize. Once released from its seal and allowed to develop, it would compress and absorb everything in its vicinity. Why did the key members of April Fool’s, who weren’t even at the demigod level, believe they could confront it without fear?

Relying on the spaceship to contain it? That seemed improbable. Only the evil god who created the black hole or an entity at Mr. Fool’s level could control it…

Mad Lady even believed that within the seal was an incubating deity or monster of a comparable magnitude…

With these thoughts in mind, Lumian’s heart stirred as he inquired in a deep voice, “Were the key members of April Fool’s misled? Is the Celestial Worthy’s objective to unleash the black hole and trigger an apocalyptic catastrophe ahead of schedule?

“As long as Beyonders corrupted by Him enter the spaceship, He stands a chance of achieving His goal?”

He really doesn’t seem to value the lives of Ultraman, Mad Lady, Bard, and Loki…

However, that is also typical of April Fool’s modus operandi. They don’t take lives other than their own seriously!

Lumian suddenly felt like laughing. His satisfaction from finishing off Ultraman and Mad Lady intensified.

Madam Magician nodded thoughtfully and remarked, “If you hadn’t used all your resources and handled this matter with absolute strength, or if I had arrived ten to twenty seconds later and the grayish-white fog from Mad Lady’s body had fully permeated the spaceship, the outcome might have been entirely different. We wouldn’t be able to be here and discuss this matter so calmly.”

Lumian reflected on the events that had transpired and muttered thoughtfully to himself, “If I hadn’t gained temporary authority as the Governor of the Sea and restricted Mad Lady’s teleportation, she might have approached the flesh-and-blood ‘bird’s nest’ incubating the black hole before your arrival. She wouldn’t have manifested a humanoid form made of grayish-white fog to infiltrate the spacecraft. If that had occurred, the situation might have been even more challenging to handle…”

The reason he obtained temporary authority as the Governor of the Sea was because he utilized Lie to pilfer a portion of the sea’s power. This allowed him to resonate with the sea and possess a counterfeit yet highly elevated status.

The ability to use Lie to steal a portion of the sea’s power was granted by the Seer pathway’s mystical item, which had been imbued with a high-level power of Steal when placed on the ancestor-honoring altar in Milo Village.

The altar could bestow high-level Steal powers on items because it was constructed by Amon… Constructed by Amon…

Lumian’s thoughts suddenly cleared up. He grasped that it wasn’t just him and the others sabotaging April Fool’s; there were also influential figures in the shadows who didn’t want the Celestial Worthy to succeed!

Madam Magician chuckled.

“Have you figured it out? I recognized what was happening when I saw Lie, now endowed with the power of Steal.

“Some time ago, I spied on the altar beneath Milo Village and confirmed its purpose—to gather the spirituality of worshippers and accumulate enough power to trigger the bestowment of the Steal ability. Given Milo Village’s population and the number of individuals with the sea bloodline, it can only be bestowed once a year. It can’t last more than half a month each time, and it can only be used once or twice.

“Lie’s enhanced power far surpasses that.”

Lumian furrowed his brow and asked, “Are you suggesting that the ‘Steal’ on Lie was directly granted by Amon?”

This hypothesis struck him as absurd, comical, and surreal.

In the past few months, Amon had been a source of terror, causing him mental distress. He nearly perished in the Samaritan Women’s Spring. Subsequently, he informed the Tarot Club and aided the Angel of Time in eliminating most of the Amons in Trier. He also wrested a substantial debt from Amon’s parasitic form.

Their relationship? It was one of deep-seated enmity! The sentiment was likely mutual.

Yet now, he was being told that Amon had covertly assisted him?

While Lumian understood that Amon’s aid wasn’t driven by benevolence but rather to thwart the Celestial Worthy’s objectives, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the world had taken a bizarre turn.

Madam Magician chuckled and explained, “Perhaps, back then, there was an Amon residing within the altar.

“Truth be told, I didn’t anticipate that those who once instilled awe, fear, and vigilance in our discussions would occasionally collaborate with us. Of course, don’t become complacent. While we may be teammates when facing the evil gods beyond the barrier, that doesn’t extend to all matters. Even when dealing with the evil god’s followers, it depends on the specific circumstances. They might believe they can handle it alone and use the opportunity to set a trap that could harm you.”

“Alright…” Lumian resisted belief, but he had no choice but to acknowledge the reality before him. The truth was laid bare.

Having been briefed, Lumian mentally reconstructed the sea prayer ritual, refining the spiderweb-like thought pattern without any critical deficiencies.

The corresponding experiences and lessons surfaced in Lumian’s mind:

April Fool’s biggest failure was not knowing that Franca and I are also members of the Tarot Club, apart from being part of the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society. Moreover, the Tarot Club places great importance on matters related to the Celestial Worthy…

There’s also an information gap between them and the Celestial Worthy, leading to their downfall…

Have they not considered that their goals might not align with the Celestial Worthy’s?

Despite me lacking information as well, I wasn’t careless. I didn’t underestimate any visible or hidden enemies. Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit…

Of course, the crucial aspect is that those holding key information and concealing it are on my side in this operation. What if they become my enemies next time? How should I deal with them…

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Lumian sensed that his digestion of the Conspirer potion had significantly advanced, thanks to the successful hunt and the questions he had formulated. Seizing this opportunity, he summarized his third acting principle: “One of the keys to a conspiracy is information. A good Conspirer must be adept at exploiting information gaps and even take the initiative to create information gaps.”

Closing his eyes to assess his body’s condition, Lumian felt that another major, successful conspiracy and a period of daily accumulation should allow him to completely digest the Conspirer potion.

And that major conspiracy could be combined with the ritual to advance to Sequence 5 Reaper. No further planning was needed.

The Reaper ritual required a conspiracy to capture a target whose Sequence was higher than his—alive.

When Lumian opened his eyes, Madam Magician transmitted the darkness in her palm to him.

“You’ll be in charge of distributing these items. This is something a Hunter needs to learn and do well to advance to a demigod.”

“Alright.” Lumian was accustomed to distributing spoils of war.

He then added, “But before that, I’d like to meet Bard.”

That, too, was a spoil of war.

…

In the ancient and dilapidated palace in the Nation of the Evernight, Lumian, Franca, Hela, and Gandalf materialized one after another.

They were adorned in their usual attire for Gatherings, with Lumian now assuming the guise of Muggle Aurore.

Gandalf unceremoniously tossed Bard to the ground, not bothering to restrain him.

Bard surveyed the familiar surroundings, devoid of any notions of escape or resistance.

This was the concealed Nation of the Evernight, isolated from the outside world. How could he possibly flee?

And against two demigods, how could he even attempt resistance?

Bard swallowed hard and spoke preemptively, “I was also bewitched by Loki!”

All he could hope for now was that, leveraging his Sequence experience as a Swindler, he could successfully “convince” the two demigods.

Noticing the silence from Hela and Gandalf, Bard added, “I can lead you to Loki’s ancient castle. I know a clue, really!”

At that moment, Lumian Lee, masquerading as Muggle, spoke in a deep voice, “Just kill him and channel his spirit.”