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n733 Praise You

nFinishing the last stroke, Anthony sighed in relief, confirming he still lived.

nThough unsure if Amon’s incarnation–Monette’s drawn form–could help turn the tables and find a way out of the mirror world, he had obeyed his partner’s orders and done his part.

nAlmost at once, Anthony saw the corners of Monette’s sketched mouth turn up, eyes appearing to come to life.

nBut the curling paper and translucent flames stirred once more.

nIn an instant, the drawing of Monette condensed into a ball, devoured by clear flames and absorbed into the dim Bottle of Fiction.

nWh– Had it failed? Anthony’s heart squeezed tight again.

nEven a disciplined Hypnotist found it hard to stay calm in the face of this.

nRight then, Overseer Perle, still next to the jutting rock, pulled her right hand from the Under the Table bag of coins.

nThe transaction was made; Lumian’s group would teeter on the edge of sleep!

nPerle looked back at her target. Lumian stood firm, wearing a gold mask painted black and white. His aura was gone, body radiating an icy breath of death.

nBut Lumian’s now blue eyes stayed open.

nAs an Overseer, Perle knew something was wrong.

nAbout to act, a thick darkness swallowed her, snuffing out the carbide lamp.

nPerle’s eyes shut as she swayed unsteadily.

nShe fell asleep.

nSomehow, the sleep effect meant for Lumian’s team had hit her instead, leaving them untouched.

nSeeing this, Lumian felt shock, then immense joy.

nHe sensed a strange power pulsing from the Bottle of Fiction he had made with his body.

nDid it work?

nHad Anthony done it?

nAs expected, the entity’s prior actions sought to help His father.

nAnd His father is on our side against heretics!

nLumian quickly deactivated the Bottle of Fiction, ready to teleport to the sleeping Perle. He would get Moran Avigny’s mirror and try to escape through the mirror world’s set entrance.

nIf he could just get out, he could find help to make Perle leave.

nJust then, Perle’s coin bag and Moran Avigny’s mirror fell to the ground.

nSmack!

nMoran Avigny’s mirror broke, cracking the entire mirror world barrier. Perle, driven by flaming ambition, woke up with a start.

nAs Lumian’s hopes sank, a shadow raced out of the shattered mirror.

nIt combined with strewn bits of flesh and blood, instantly reforming into Mr. K in his black robe.

nWhen the mirror world took damage, the Aurora Order Oracle felt his finger and teleported on instinct, turning to shadow to slip through the cracks.

n…

nIn the dark cathedral in an unknown location, Magician Blinked over and over, unable to shake off the flood of random information.

nAs she Blinked, starlight filled her eyes, solidifying into a weird, ancient stone wall clock.

nClang!

nGrand, majestic chimes echoed in every nook of the cathedral.

nAn old, mottled phantom appeared in the air–a stone wall clock split into twelve sections, each crossing grayish-white or bluish-black symbols.

nClang!

nThe chimes carried an unspeakable, invisible torrent through long ages past, freezing all present.

nThe horrifying torrent of information froze. Hermit, changed into an incomplete Mythical Creature, stopped cold. Judgment, floating over the cathedral, turned to a statue.

nLoki’s hand, reaching into the void, also paused, failing to pull out a silhouette.

nIn this frozen state, the starlight in Magician’s eyes changed again.

nCountless complex mercury symbols appeared, quickly joining into a huge, unreal, scaleless serpent.

nThe silver-white giant snake, layered with dense patterns and symbols, made connected cylinders with different markings.

nThe next second, the mercury serpent bent to bite its tail before it began slowly turning.

nThe massive torrent of information started to reverse, going back the way it came until it turned back into the woman in the black dress with the gold crown.

nThe black-dressed woman faded, becoming a ghost and a floating, oddly captivating tarot card. In the end, both went back to the void and disappeared.

nFallen rocks flew back to Hermit’s body, turning back to eyes or pure white. Hermit quickly lost her terrifying look that would make anyone go mad.

nJudgment returned to the surface, going back past the “door” as the mystery-weakening limit faded.

nLoki drew back his hand, settling into the pitch-black wooden chair.

n…

nIn the fractured special mirror world, Overseer Perle saw the hooded, black-robed Mr. K and his many sins upon waking up.

nOddly, the criminal who had done worse things than Lumian only had a small gray spot.

nThis suggested that finishing an Under the Table transaction with Mr. K would be hard, as if it needed certain conditions.

nIt seems to come from extreme devotion. All Under the Table transactions can only keep going with the permission of the one he has faith in… As Perle’s mind raced, she glared at Mr. K and said with the Words of Order, “You stand guilty! You murdered someone!”

nThe space over Mr. K went dark at once as something awful took shape.

nHaving heard Lumian talk about Jebus’s powers, he knew a deadly punishment was coming. He quickly changed his Grazing target, using Devil Transformation and Rose Bishop’s flesh and blood magic to endure the unknown attack.

nBut in a flash, the growing penalties vanished, as if going to an unknown place.

nThe scary pressure, like thick smoke, blew away in fierce winds.

nMr. K was stunned for a moment before exploding in crazed laughter.

n“Haha! Hahaha!

n“I’m guilty, but the Lord carries my sins!”

n“I’m innocent. I’m innocent to this world!”

nAmid the laughter, Mr. K changed Grazing targets. Layers of unreal doors showed up in his eyes.

nMany doors to different places came together, turning into ghostly books.

nThe book materialized in front of Mr. K, pages flipping fast.

n“I came, I saw, I recorded.”

nAs the ethereal voice rang out, the illusory book stopped on a page.

nIn an instant, Mr. K turned into a two- to three-meter-tall half-giant in cold black armor, holding a pitch-black sword.

nHe sprinted towards the Overseer.

n“Praise you!” Mr. K roared, slicing down with the Sword of Darkness.

nPerle’s face went grim, seeing the prosecution had no effect on Mr. K.

nOf course, as a demigod, though caught off guard, she knew what to do.

nAmid Mr. K’s wild laughter, she stressed with the Words of Order, “An Overseer is protected!”

nThe black-armored half-giant used all his might, slashing at Perle’s head with the dark broadsword, but an unseen barrier blocked it.

nThe barrier cracked. Mr. K’s body quietly fell apart. A clean cut took off his right arm and shoulder, dropping them to the ground.

nThough Mr. K used recorded demigod powers and had a bit of godhood, he still faced punishment for attacking a “clearly” protected Overseer.

nThis was a freshly done crime, not yet borne!

nThe flesh on Mr. K’s shoulder writhed, as if a new arm would grow. But he ignored it. His left hand grabbed the falling dark sword, yelling again, “Praise you for creating everything!”

nAs the rough voice echoed, the dark broadsword slashed at Overseer Perle.

nWith Perle’s former protection, the dropped coin bag floated back to her hand.

nShe quickly made an Under the Table deal aimed at everyone there.

nCrack!

nAs the dark broadsword swung, the unseen barrier guarding the Overseer fully shattered.

nMr. K’s left arm came off his body, showing a huge cut.

nIn the cut, blood-colored flesh tendrils grew fast, as if alive, as if a new Mr. K would emerge.

nOverseer Perle wasn’t happy. Based on the Under the Table deal, Mr. K, Lumian, and the rest should have gotten much weaker.

nBut in truth, nothing changed!

nCould it be that I’m unlucky? The person who made the deal was a fraud who never meant to keep their end? Perle’s heart sank as she couldn’t move for some reason.

nThen she saw the armless Mr. K bow in an exaggerated way.

nThe Aurora Order Oracle’s mouth opened as wide as it could, corners going to his ears. Blood churned where it tore, flesh tendrils thickly covering the spot.

nUsing his stretched mouth, the black-armored Mr. K bit the dark sword’s handle.

nHe jumped high, voice ringing from his chest.

n“Praise you for bearing the world’s sins!”

nAmid hoarse yells, Mr. K fell, a straight dark sword using himself as the grip, slashing at Overseer Perle.

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