Chapter 407: Without Reservation

The towering flame serpent, blazing fiercely, appeared simultaneously in the eyes of the on-duty doctor, three night nurses, and the awakened patients; all of them showed expressions of terror, turning their bodies in different ways, fleeing away from the advancing fire while shouting loudly:

"Fire! Fire!"

"Help! Help!"

As their cries echoed, the flame serpent burned through invisible spider silk, carrying a scorching wind of alternating heat and cold, spreading sideways as it chased after them, blocking the exit and forcing them into the corner.

These five individuals behaved normally—dodging and weaving to find safe passages, wrapping themselves in blankets to force their way through the flames, or sprinting toward other windows, preparing to leap out.

This seemed to indicate Lu Mi had misjudged; movement did not equal "I have a friend." If he continued like this, he would burn five innocent people to death.

But the three crimson flame serpents showed no hesitation, continuing to pursue the on-duty doctor, the night nurses, and the psychiatric patient, radiating a cold, cruel, and utterly indifferent madness toward human life.

As the blazing flame serpents were about to engulf the five targets, causing several of them to display expressions of despair, the patient in the third-floor ward suddenly stopped and turned around.

Gray-white, stone-like scales grew across his ordinary face, and the same scales spread over every patch of skin not covered by his blue-and-white striped hospital gown.

In an instant, he became a terrifying human resembling a lizard, his gray-white scales resisting the searing flames and helping him break through the crimson serpents' blockade.

Lu Mi, sensing this change through the flames, smiled, his entire body radiating an indescribable joy.

According to the information provided in the "Magician" lady's letter, a "Audience" path adept who reaches Rank 6, "Hypnotist," gains an ability called "Dragon Scales," which generates gray-white scales on the skin to greatly resist and weaken damage.

This is deeply tied to the Mythical Form of the "Audience" path, as every high-ranking "Audience" eventually transforms into a dragon—a mental dragon!

The appearance of "Dragon Scales" confirmed that the patient in the west-side third-floor ward was at least a Rank 6 "Audience" adept; combined with the earlier trap and his own unusual behavior, the identity of this "patient" became unmistakable:

"I have a friend!"

Lu Mi immediately activated the black mark on his right shoulder and used the "Spirit World Transit" ability, flashing into the ward.

For this hunt, he did not wear the "Lies" ear clip nor carry the "Torture" gauntlets, because his enemy was a skilled "Psychiatrist," whose emotional and desire-based vulnerabilities could easily be exploited.

As Lu Mi's figure vanished from the lawn, the enormous crimson fire serpents, having devoured combustible materials and swollen to massive size, suddenly shattered in the doctor's room and the nurses' station, dissolving into specks of radiance before the faces of the terrified and desperate.

In these two locations, apart from scattered charred remains, there was no trace of any fire having occurred.

In the west-side annex room on the third floor of Delta Asylum, as Lu Mi's form materialized, his eyes locked onto the patient whose body was covered in gray-white scales and whose eyes glowed with a pale gold hue.

He offered no greeting, asked no question, and simply opened his mouth and spoke:

"Ha!"

A faint yellow light, nearly invisible, shot from Lu Mi's mouth and struck the suspected "I have a friend" adept.

Yet, despite being only two or three meters away, the pale yellow aura of the "Hengha Technique" slipped past the adept and pierced the glass window beside him, barred with iron.

"Combat Hypnosis!"

This was one of the "Hypnotist's" extraordinary abilities, forcing the enemy into a hypnotic state during combat, compelling them to act abnormally or make incorrect judgments—but it could not directly harm the hypnotized, nor last long; the target would soon awaken.

Just now, when Lu Mi and the adept faced each other eye to eye, he had unknowingly fallen under the adept's hypnosis, mistaking the reflection in the glass window for the man himself—thus, the "Snort-Ha Technique" naturally missed its true target.

Seizing the opportunity, the "I have a friend"'s pale gold eyes narrowed, reflecting Lu Mi's masculine Aurora-like silhouette.

Lu Mi's head snapped backward as if a massive vortex had been thrown into his skull.

His emotions of joy and hatred exploded completely; crimson flames burst from beneath his skin, and his eyes overflowed with vacant madness.

"Rage!"

This was the "Psychiatrist's" extraordinary ability: to detonate the target's emotions and unstable mental state, plunging them into a state of "Rage," inflicting severe psychological damage—if the target already suffered from serious psychological issues or extreme emotions, "Rage" could cause immediate loss of control.

Before completing the psychological treatments from Ms. Su Su Qian and the "Justice" lady, if Lu Mi had encountered "I have a friend," a single "Rage" would have driven him truly insane, turning him into a monster.

At this moment, blood like lava dripped from his nose; his mind was a chaotic mess, his instinct driving him to take deep breaths, briefly robbing him of the ability to chain his next action.

"I have a friend" did not exploit this opportunity to launch another attack—first, because if Lu Mi lost control or died, the high-ranking entity sealed within him would immediately break free, and even a glimpse of such a being could shatter the mind and body of any non-god-tier adept; second, since "Muggle"'s brother had arrived, "Dagger" could not be far away, and the invisible spider silk ignited earlier was surely her doing.

Under these circumstances, "I have a friend"'s first priority was to escape the battlefield and flee Delta Asylum, hiding again.

In a flash, he pulled a broken arrow from the pocket of his blue-and-white striped hospital gown.

The broken arrow was ancient in design, its tip forged from obsidian-like stone, its shaft engraved with layers of archaic and mysterious patterns.

With a soft *plop*, "I have a friend" plunged the obsidian arrow into his chest.

The artifact instantly came alive, drinking in his crimson blood.

"I have a friend" immediately left a trail of afterimages, sprinting toward the locked door.

Though his face was covered in gray-white "Dragon Scales," he now radiated an uncanny allure, like a handsome young man among dragons.

This was the "Bloodthirsty Arrow": inserting it into the chest and feeding it blood allowed "I have a friend" to briefly transform into a vampire, gaining extreme running speed, exaggerated regeneration, and several spell-like abilities.

*Bang! *

After bursting open the heavy, sturdy asylum ward door, "I have a friend" did not dash into the corridor—he collided with a transparent ice wall that had solidified without warning.

With cracking and shattering sounds, the ice wall collapsed, but it also threw "I have a friend" off balance, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Most of the shattered ice shards failed to pierce his "Dragon Scales"; only a few, propelled by high-speed impact, slipped through gaps and embedded themselves in his body, staining them with traces of blood.

Thanks to the vampire's exaggerated regeneration, those minor wounds began healing rapidly.

"I have a friend" did not bother to rise; as his pale gold eyes flashed, invisible waves radiated from his body, sweeping across the area.

Franca, hidden in invisibility, saw as if she had glimpsed the most terrifying creatures from the depths of her nightmares—the scenes she had once feared most—and trembled violently, breaking free from her ability's protection and appearing in the asylum corridor.

"Intimidation!"

This was the "Psychiatrist's" "Intimidation," also known as "Dragon Aura" or "Mass Confusion," capable of instantly inducing panic and chaos in a single target or all living beings within a range.

Having used "Dragon Aura" to control the scene, "I have a friend" leapt lightly to his feet, intending to sprint toward the far end of the corridor, away from Franca.

He did not attack her because he knew the "Witch" possessed "Mirror Double" and "Wand Double"—a single strike could not kill her or disable her combat ability; it would only waste his escape time.

As he rose from the broken ice, "I have a friend" caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye: the original ward was empty, devoid of any figure.

Lu Mi had apparently recovered from "Rage" and used "Teleport" to evade the "Intimidation" effect!

The moment "I have a friend" thought this, Lu Mi—masculine, Aurora-like—materialized before his side.

Without hesitation, his narrowed pale gold eyes reflected Lu Mi's image, preparing to unleash "Intimidation" again.

The next second, Lu Mi vanished again.

He had used "Spirit World Transit" twice in succession!

Almost simultaneously, "I have a friend"'s pupils dilated, his spine chilled, and every hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

This time, Lu Mi's "Teleport" destination was behind him.

It was equivalent to "Flash!"

Lu Mi's figure instantly appeared behind "I have a friend," seeing thick black mist spreading from his body as he attempted to dart sideways into the corridor.

Too slow! Lu Mi "huffed," and two white beams shot from his nostrils, engulfing the area ahead.

"I have a friend" had nowhere to dodge; as he flew through the air, the white light struck him, and he crashed to the ground, rolling twice.

Lu Mi gasped heavily, his body drained, his head throbbing in waves.

Three "Teleports," two "Snort-Ha Techniques," and the other abilities he had just used had completely emptied him.

Had he not digested more "Pyromancer" elixirs since hunting the parish priest, he could not have sustained such a drain.

Franca, recovering from "Intimidation," walked over and shook her head disapprovingly:

"There was no need for that. You weren't without help."

Why exhaust yourself completely?

Even if the Major Arcana weren't lurking in the shadows, even if "I have a friend" truly escaped the asylum, didn't he leave behind some blood that could be cursed?

Lu Mi did not respond; he staggered forward to the unconscious "I have a friend."

(End of Chapter)