Chapter 338: I Didn't Do Anything (5K First Update)

It moved!

The me in the mirror just moved, didn't it!!?

Although that corner of the lips only curled up for an instant before returning to normal.

But that subtle change did not escape Valentina's eyes, which keenly caught the moment the reflection in the mirror shifted.

I saw it!

She just moved!

Right!!?

She definitely moved, right!

Right... right?

Valentina, however, was not startled by this change, only finding the scene before her rather bizarre.

But when she squinted and carefully observed the mirror, the her inside the mirror was just like an ordinary reflection, with nothing special about it.

"Hmm..."

If Valentina were just an ordinary person, the scene before her would be no different from the beginning of a horror story, about to step into a paranormal script the next second.

The kind of bizarre development where "my cabinet moved!" as an opening, eventually leading to some high-energy twist.

But unfortunately...

Valentina is not some delicate, weak mortal from a story.

As a powerful dragon straddling the threshold of Legendary and Epic, with most of her body already squeezed in, probably leaving at most her backside sticking out—

She has plenty of strength and tricks up her sleeve!

Tricks can be absent, but strength is definitely there, and it's massive!

The kid isn't smart, but the kid's strength is wickedly strong!

Ghost?

Come, tell me loudly, what level of spirit-body creature would dare come up to Valentina to cause trouble?

The little strange development before her would not make her feel fear at all.

Rather, the result it triggered was exactly the complete opposite!

The Young Lady hungry dragon, already bored stiff in her cell, got completely excited.

Eh?

There seems to be something fun inside that mirror, eh!

"Mhm, mhm, mhm..."

But Valentina, unusually, did not act rashly. After thinking for a moment, she suppressed the excitement inside, made faces at the mirror, and stuck out her tongue.

Bleeeh—

And the her in the mirror did the same, synchronizing the movements down to the finest detail.

A very normal reaction.

But precisely because of this "normalcy," Valentina's smile faded.

She squinted, standing behind the door, not taking one more step inside.

Just now, Valentina's instinct sent her a faint warning.

Don't go forward anymore.

Ahead, there might be danger.

"..."

She pondered for a moment, staring at the "Valentina" in the mirror, took a deep breath, and suddenly widened her eyes, as if having made some kind of decision.

The next moment...

Click!

Valentina directly raised her hand and shut the great door.

She left.

Whatever ghost thing you are.

Hmph, I'm not playing with you anymore!

If it were before, Valentina would probably have gone against her own instinct, tried to peek forward again to court death, and looked around a bit more.

She would wildly test the edge of courting death, to see what fun thing was inside—let me have a look, what's the deal here?

Anyway, her hide was thick and her flesh tough, ordinary danger couldn't do anything to her, couldn't even make her bruise.

Relying on her sturdy constitution, her style of doing things had always been very bold.

But now, she was different.

After spending a long time with Herbert, Valentina felt she had already matured!!! (self-proclaimed)

She still loved courting death, enjoying the thrill of testing the edge of danger.

But before courting death, Valentina had learned caution—she proactively asked the "Sage" in her mind.

And after asking the "Sage" what she should do, upon receiving a negative answer, she decisively chose to follow the advice.

Retreat!

She didn't want to be scolded by Herbert over this matter later.

Absolutely not letting him catch a handle on her!

So—I'm leaving!

Byebye to you~

That thing, whatever it is, I'm leaving, I'll come back to play with you later.

And after Valentina decisively withdrew and left, her reflection in the mirror indeed did not dissipate.

The "Valentina" in the mirror blinked, tilting her head in considerable confusion.

Huh?

It is worth mentioning that, although both bore Valentina's exquisite face, the two had very different temperaments.

The genuine Valentina, in every gesture and movement, exuded a certain "wisdom"—the kind of unspoiled... silly sort of wisdom.

Yet the one in the mirror appeared exceptionally clever—or perhaps it was the comparison that made her stand out so much, making her look like a sage brimming with intelligence no matter how one looked at her.

It was truly moving that the same face could embody such utterly different temperaments.

One could only say: it all comes down to the contrast provided by one's peers.

Looking alike isn't scary—whoever's the fool is the one embarrassed.

The corner of the mirror-person's mouth twitched, and she muttered somewhat speechlessly: "Huh? How did you get scared off by that? It was just a joke, I wasn't planning to do anything to you..."

She shook her head with considerable regret, looked down at her own hands, stretched them out, and sighed: "You're still a Legend! And you have such powerful strength—aren't you way too cowardly?"

And while the "Valentina" was baffled, the fallen angel that had previously vanished reappeared in mid-air above the Aurora Sanctuary after another flicker.

The wings behind her wrapped around Luciel's body, and with eyes closed, she seemed to be silently contemplating something.

"Oh my? You really managed to escape."

The mirror-person blinked and smiled: "If you put it that way, then you really did let yourself be locked up by me on purpose just now."

"How does it feel? Any thoughts?"

Luciel was silent for a while, then slowly opened her eyes and looked at the reflection in the mirror.

"..." She stared at the mirror-person, her brow furrowing slightly.

Within the fallen angel's countless layered eyes, the mirror-person was not in Valentina's form, but an ever-shifting, unfathomable figure.

In each of Luciel's pupils, a completely different figure was reflected.

Some male, some female, some old, some young, some mortal, some powerful.

Gradually, those figures stopped shifting and settled on a single form.

Luciel looked at that figure, her brow furrowing even more tightly.

It was a warrior angel in crimson flame armor, tall and dashing, with pure white wings behind her!

That was... her past self, before she had fallen.

She now faced the mirror, but the reflection was of her former self.

Luciel was unsure whether this was the other's ability, or a true reflection of her own heart.

"That feeling isn't a pleasant one." After a long silence, Luciel spoke coldly.

She closed her eyes again, no longer looking at the reflection, and covered her own eyes with a black veil.

Black wings beat, and the fallen angel descended before the mirror.

She did not attempt to destroy this seemingly fragile mirror—even if destroyed, it would have no effect, as this was not the other's true body.

Not only would it be useless, it would also worsen the already mediocre relationship between the two.

This fellow, though always restless and attempting to sneak over from the sixth layer, had not displayed the malice Luciel had anticipated.

... At least, not yet.

"Ahaha, my apologies then." The "Luciel" in the mirror laughed quite smugly, flapping the pure white wings on her back.

The mirror-person's smile was radiant, and paired with that crimson flame armor, anyone who gazed upon her could sense her intense confidence.

This scene, if Luciel were to see it, would likely inevitably remind her of those once-high-spirited days of the past.

But the problem was, she couldn't see it.

The mirror-person's entire performance was done for a blind audience—Luciel, who had closed her eyes of her own accord, completely ignored the other's display.

What thing?

Can't see it.

Nothing to do with me.

However, although she hadn't truly seen it, Luciel could guess the other's little tricks, and said indifferently: "You're peering into my heart, trying to shake me—what's your purpose?"

As a former Archangel who once stood at the side of the gods, Luciel, who had fought her way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, had long seen all manner of strange and bizarre enemies.

What underhanded trick had she not seen?

What kind of enemy had she not slain?

Merely a type that could transform into her own likeness—compared to those bizarre demons that had perished at her hands, this ability was not weak, but it was nothing special either.

And faced with Luciel's cold treatment, the mirror-person did not feel uneasy because of it, and with Luciel's face, said with a smile: "It seems you've misunderstood something."

"Peering? No, you're wrong, I haven't done anything like that."

"I haven't done anything at all~"

"You must understand, I'm just a mirror—whatever you see is nothing more than what you yourself wanted to see, it has nothing to do with me."

The mirror-person denied Luciel's accusation, insisting that she was nothing more than a harmless little mirror.

Right, just an ordinary little mirror!

Luciel listened to the mirror-person's explanation, nodded expressionlessly, and offered no comment.

Though she did not doubt it, she would not change her own view because of it either.

No matter what the other said, her heart would not be easily shaken.

Luciel was silent for a while, then asked about another matter that puzzled her—and was also the reason she had not taken the initiative to act: "Why didn't you run away?"

"Hmm?"

The mirror-person tilted her head in considerable confusion upon hearing this, and asked in puzzlement: "What kind of question is that? Would you really prefer that I run away?"

The mirror-person's expression was playful, but Luciel was unmoved, and continued to press: "You took advantage of when my aura was in disarray earlier to enter here, but why not continue to flee?"

About a week ago, Lucille, who was suppressing the prisoners of the sixth layer, suddenly felt her power become disordered.

The feeling in that instant was as if someone had forcibly drawn it away.

Lucille had thought it was the Sun God who had found her place, finally drawing away her power and seizing everything that did not belong to her.

In that moment, Lucille had already resolved to blow up completely with the Sun God—even if it meant self-destruction, she did not want Him to get what He wanted.

But before she could even enter the self-destruction phase, her power returned to normal.

Judging from the final result, although her aura had been disordered for over ten seconds, after it ended, the power within her body had not changed at all.

Nothing happened.

Someone drew it away, and then gave it back… she had absolutely no idea what had actually happened.

Of course, it wasn't as if nothing unexpected happened at all.

Lucille's suppression had failed.

The prisoner who had been trying to burrow into the fifth layer succeeded, not missing this opportunity.

Taking advantage of the gap when Lucille was too occupied to attend to anything else, a portion of power was sent in, transforming into this mirror.

And it even swallowed Lucille directly into the mirror!

Lucille stayed in the mirror space for a week, only successfully leaving just now.

But the question is—why doesn't the other party run?

Doesn't the person in the mirror want to break out of prison?

Why not keep running?

"Hm?"

And facing Lucille's unceremonious questioning, the person in the mirror asked back in considerable puzzlement: "Who told you I wanted to escape?"

The Young Lady fallen angel fell silent at this.

Yes, she simply couldn't figure this matter out.

"And if you don't want to escape, then why have you been trying to break out of prison? Could it be that… hm?" As she spoke, the fallen angel suddenly felt something and paused.

Her eyelids twitched, and she couldn't help wanting to open her eyes and take a proper look at the other party.

Lucille was silent for a while, then said slowly: "Could it be that you were feeling bored?"

"Yes!"

The person in the mirror nodded without hesitation, snorted unhappily, and said: "Being locked inside by one person, don't you feel bored at all?"

"Locked up for so long, not a single person comes by, I'm going to suffocate!"

"It's already been several hundred years, hasn't it? Why hasn't a new warden come to chat with me yet?"

……Bored.

The corner of Lucille's mouth twitched, not knowing how to comment on the person in the mirror's behavior.

Because she felt "bored," she wanted to run to the next cell to chat with someone.

Just because of such a boring reason, you had to make such a huge commotion!!?

Do you know what kind of mentality I've been using to suppress you all this time?

The person in the mirror didn't mind Lucille's silence, because she had always been very silent, like a sealed jar.

The person in the mirror continued to complain unhappily: "That old man said it so nicely back then—once I healed, someone would come chat with me."

"Now, I'm healed, where's the person to chat?"

"Every now and then he'd bring some guy to wave in front of me, and then never come back again."

She complained a whole bunch at extreme speed, tearfully denouncing some black-hearted old man's lack of righteousness.

And just when Lucille thought the person in the mirror was emotionally unstable, the other party suddenly changed the subject, laughing cheerfully: "Speaking of which, what about that young man I saw last time? The white-haired youth that the old man brought recently."

"Too bad, he looked so dazed back then, probably didn't remember anything, I'll have to introduce myself to him again."

"When is he coming to chat with me? You can't just not have a single person come see me, right? I don't think I'm that scary!"

The person in the mirror was chattering away with complaints when she suddenly paused, staring at Lucille.

Just now when she mentioned that youth, this fallen angel had made a very subtle reaction.

Had she met that youth afterwards?

Was there contact between them?

This is the fifth layer, and she herself is in the sixth layer.

"……"

The person in the mirror, who had been smiling all along, stopped smiling.

"Wait, that means… it was you?"

The person in the mirror narrowed her eyes, staring at the wooden-faced fallen angel with a very dangerous expression, gritting her teeth: "Don't tell me it was you who stopped him?"

It was you!!?

And facing the questioning, the fallen angel continued to remain silent.

She tilted her head slightly, silently "looked" to one side—although she said nothing, it seemed as if she had said everything.

But after turning her head, Lucille thought about it and felt she should still explain things a little.

She weighed her words, then said softly:

"Herbert's condition was still too weak before, not suitable for contact with you, so I stopped him."

"But as for those guys before, I never stopped them from continuing forward."

"They all chose to run away on their own after seeing what I look like."

"Just like you said before…"

Lucille turned her head back, using the words the person in the mirror had used to shirk responsibility earlier, and said slowly: "I didn't do anything."

She paused, feeling the tone was off by a bit, then added another word.

"Oh~"

It's just that, it would have been better not to add that word.

Once added, the feel of the whole sentence changed.

The sarcasm — maxed out!

And the reflection in the mirror now had completely lost its expression.

The thing in the mirror stared indifferently at the fallen angel and nodded.

"Very good."

"Really very good."

……

……

Inside the luxurious carriage, Elisha pulled Herbert aside and asked in a whisper: "Hey, did you do something with Swinney?"

And Herbert, suddenly questioned, kept his composure as usual and said naturally: "Hm? What are you referring to? I didn't do anything."

"Besides, why are you suddenly asking this question?"

Not only did he not waver, he turned the tables back on her, nodding in realization: "Oh, I get it. You're feeling lonely, so you got anxious?"

Herbert quietly placed his hand on the vampire Young Lady's waist and teased: "Weren't you the one who didn't want to expose our relationship to Swinney? It's only been a few days and you can't hold back already?"

"No, that's not… wait, wait!"

Elisha whispered, instinctively dodging a little, but she didn't dare make too big a movement, afraid of drawing Swinney's attention over there.

Not daring to struggle violently… well, the vampire Young Lady, who didn't actually want to dodge either, could only wear a face that said "you forced me into this," letting Herbert's mischievous finger trace symbols on her waist.

She tensed her body, forcibly controlling herself not to tremble, and said with feigned calm: "I just feel like the atmosphere between you two seems different from when we came…~"

Elisha tried hard to hold it in, but couldn't.

The disguise she'd barely managed was easily broken through by a single finger; the last word she spoke came out obviously distorted, almost turning into a soft moan.

And Herbert, having finished his mischief, withdrew his hand and brought it to her lips with a smile.

"Here."

He pursed his lips, gesturing for her to handle it herself.

Here, you got it wet.

Then you'd better clean it up yourself.

"Hmph."

And Elisha shot Herbert a look, then turned her head to check Swinney's reaction.

After confirming Swinney had been reading the whole time and hadn't noticed, she breathed a sigh of relief, obediently did as told, and gently licked the liquid staining the slender finger.

However, the vampire didn't notice — right when she was cleaning up, Swinney, who had been focused on reading with her head down, looked up at Herbert.

Swinney flashed him a charming smile, then silently lifted the hem of her long robe, revealing a hidden view to him.

And faced with this sight, Herbert remained quite calm, only giving Swinney a slight nod.

The reason he could be so calm was that scenes like this had already happened many times recently.

Although there's a bit of a gap from the scene he'd been hoping to see… but it doesn't matter.

Herbert felt even better.

(End of this chapter)