Chapter 430: BURNING

Saint Heart Convent? The largest convent of the Eternal Sun Church in Trier? What was Albus Medich doing there? Could he be a spy planted by the Purifiers into the Iron Blood Cross Society? Or had Gardener Martin tasked him with monitoring something specific at Saint Heart Convent? Lu Mi's mind instantly flashed with countless thoughts—doubts, suspicions.

Seeing him fall silent and merely walk forward with the calcium lamp, Elait hurried to add:

"I have a friend at Saint Heart Convent. I often go there to drink with him."

"Monks at the convent drink wine?" Lu Mi didn't immediately press about Albus Medich; he smiled as if chatting casually.

The two of them walked through a deep, dark corridor, comforted only by the dim yellow glow of the calcium lamp.

Elait chattered on:

"Of course they drink—just not strong liquor, and never to intoxication. The convent's own brewed wine is the best I've ever tasted."

"Your friend is a monk?" Lu Mi walked at a steady pace, his footsteps echoing through the seemingly endless corridor.

Elait seemed eager to chat with Xia Er and offered no concealment:

"Yes, he's a member of the Little Brotherhood. He was my nephew's baptismal priest, but later grew disgusted with the clergy's indulgence, became a monk, entered Saint Heart Convent, and now oversees their winery."

A member of the Little Brotherhood, who preaches asceticism and restraint of desire… Lu Mi finally steered the conversation back on track:

"How many times have you and he seen Albus Medich? What was he doing at Saint Heart Convent?"

"Just once," Elait muttered. "I don't care about such things. There are no nuns there. I saw him walking with a monk through the corridor, heading toward the back of the convent."

He didn't look like he was sneaking in, nor did he seem afraid of being seen… Lu Mi made a tentative inference from Elait's description.

Thus, amid Elait the poet's constant attempts to find topics, the two finally passed through the Wax Figure Hall, left the chamber with its three great doors labeled "Hope," "Madness," and "Death," and returned to the staircase leading down into the crypt.

Elait let out a long, unhidden sigh, his entire body relaxing.

He complained:

"The crypt is so dangerous—there are monsters that can use supernatural powers! Puyfer actually made us come down here on an adventure!"

"Does he want us dead?"

You're all people repeatedly contaminated by the King's Cake Game—hardly sure if you're even truly alive… Lu Mi didn't directly respond to Elait's complaint; he smiled and teased:

"Looks like the more afraid you are, the more nervous you get—and the more you feel the need to talk."

"It makes me feel like I'm still alive," Elait extinguished the calcium lamp and climbed the spiral staircase out of the crypt.

Lu Mi turned around and retraced his steps back to the "Door of Madness."

He hadn't closed the door when he came out; even now, before he drew near, the dim yellow glow of the calcium lamp made the wax figures flicker faintly—like watchers hidden in the dark.

Lu Mi stopped at the threshold, slowly bent down, and placed the calcium lamp on the ground before him.

Then he straightened up, his gaze sweeping over the faces of the wax figures—frozen in agony, shrouded in dim shadows.

Around him, one by one, crimson fire crows coalesced.

Since Count Puyfer had clearly shown malice by sending us into the crypt's depths, filled with dangerous creatures—any ordinary person would already be dead—there was no need to be polite to this member of the Soren family, lord of the Red Tianebao!

Lu Mi now intended to burn these wax figures outright: first, it might help him digest his potion; second, it would eliminate some threats early, preventing the figures from awakening and attacking him at a critical moment; third, setting an unexpected fire would disrupt Puyfer's hidden plans, sow suspicion, and create chaos for future exploration.

Chaos creates opportunity!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the crimson fire crows flew out, each heading toward the heads of different wax figures.

After releasing two waves of crows, Lu Mi suddenly dropped to one knee and pressed both hands to the ground.

Two fire serpents surged from his palms, writhing forward, rapidly expanding, and racing into the wax figure piles on either side.

A chorus of explosions erupted—many wax heads shattered, feet ignited, trapped within cages of crimson flame.

Their surfaces, milky-white wax, melted swiftly—dripping like water, softening and peeling away, rendered brittle by the dual assault of explosion and fire.

Pop!

The "muscle" on one wax figure's face completely fell off, revealing a new face.

It was a human face!

A dead male human, eyeless, face twisted in agony.

Without sound or warning, more wax surfaces softened and cracked open.

Inside each, without exception, lay a human corpse.

The corpses were male and female—some with exposed flesh, skin missing; others with heads and bodies stitched together postmortem; some with abdomens torn open, intestines tangled into a ball, packed with white wax…

Their common trait: every face bore unbearable agony, as if they'd endured unspeakable horrors or witnessed the deepest, darkest nightmares.

Lu Mi saw the melting white wax drip like thick liquid from the rigid faces of the dead—like tears of release as they burned in the flames.

The models inside were real people… Lu Mi had seen many terrifying scenes, yet still his body tensed, instinctively recoiling in aversion and fear.

He finally understood where those ordinary people who went mad and mutilated themselves in the nightmares of Red Tianebao had gone.

Lu Mi stood up with the calcium lamp, crimson flames surging from his body, transforming into countless "meteors" that streaked toward every corner of the wax figure chamber, turning the entire space into an ocean of fire.

The milky-white wax began to burn too, mutually fueling each other—nowhere remained untouched.

Lu Mi's eyes reflected only crimson firelight and the dripping, viscous wax-tears on pale faces.

He did not close his eyes; he watched intently.

In that moment, he gained new insight into his fire—the previously vague third tenet of his role suddenly sharpened into clarity:

The "Arsonist" sets fire to destruction, bringing disaster!

And the "Arsonist" may choose who suffers disaster, who is consumed.

Lu Mi wished the followers of the evil god and those already "mad," who only harmed others, would be utterly burned away!

After aligning all his prior role-play acts with this tenet, Lu Mi clearly sensed his "Arsonist" potion fully digested—he even heard a phantom cracking sound.

Thud, thud—the corpses, now freed from their wax shells, collapsed one after another, piled atop each other, burning more fiercely.

Suddenly, the exit opposite the wax figure chamber creaked open.

The "Wax Master," his beard and hair thick as a lion's mane, appeared before Lu Mi.

His iron-black eyes glowed crimson under the flames leaping to the ceiling; his voice sounded ethereal, drifting:

"You… why… burn my wax figures?"

Lu Mi gave no answer; he immediately activated the black sigil on his right shoulder.

"Astral Transit!"

A faint glow flashed within his clothes; his figure vanished, reappearing instantly beside the "Wax Master."

Almost simultaneously, Lu Mi opened his mouth:

"Ha!"

A pale yellow, nearly gaseous light shot from his mouth and struck the "Wax Master's" head.

The figure in his gray-black robe visibly staggered, as if briefly losing balance—but he did not fully collapse; rather, he seemed pierced by a mental thrust, paralyzed by pain-induced shock.

Lu Mi did not rely on the "Ha!" technique; he raised his left palm, already prepared, and slammed a crimson fireball—densely coiled, compressed—into the "Wax Master's" mouth and nose using "Infuse Flame."

The fireball, its color shifting toward white, shot into the target's mouth and nostrils, invading his brain.

BOOM!

The blazing white fireball exploded from within outward—Lu Mi saw the "Wax Master's" head swell rapidly, then burst apart.

Flesh and bone fragments sprayed out, flecked with flame. Lu Mi, prepared, raised the calcium lamp in his right hand to shield his face—his forearm smeared with blood.

Thud—the "Wax Master," now with only half a skull remaining, swayed, then toppled backward.

Lu Mi, still ready with a sequence of attacks, froze for two seconds—unprepared for it to end so easily.

He'd expected the mysterious "Wax Master" to be formidable, and had already prepared to "Transit" away if things turned dire.

After all, the last wax figure that came to life had been stronger than the "Wax Master"—just being seen by that monster had crushed Lu Mi's spirit, nearly paralyzing him with fear.

Was it that he possessed the special ability to craft wax figures, but was weak himself? Or did he need to draw upon some power from the Soren family's crypt to create those terrifying wax figures—and my attack was too swift, leaving him no time to react, so he died before he could access that power? Lu Mi looked down at the "Wax Master," examining his condition.

………

Deep within the crypt, in a hall where many white candles burned silently.

Sitting in the corner, Puyfer Soren suddenly opened his eyes, gazing at the bronze coffin at the center.

Around the coffin, several candles extinguished strangely, without warning.

This… Puyfer rose, his expression twisted.

………

At the exit of the wax figure chamber, Lu Mi saw faint crimson light seeping from the "Wax Master's" body.

It first surged toward his head—but since the "Wax Master" had only a shattered remnant of a skull, the light shifted toward his heart… yet could not settle.

Lu Mi, slightly puzzled, tore open the gray-black robe covering the "Wax Master's" body, exposing his chest.

There, a dark, grotesque wound gaped—the place where the heart should have been, utterly empty!

The heart was gone… Miss Miss Ailuo Si had just said Soren family members' hearts were sent deep into the crypt… Lu Mi vaguely grasped why the "Wax Master" was both terrifying and fragile.

Finally, the crimson light coalesced into a pulsing, hollowed, phantom object—like a miniature blood-red brain.

Lu Mi wasn't certain what this thing equated to; he collected it along with some of the "Wax Master's" blood and left.

The flames within the room still crackled—but for some reason, they never spread beyond.

………

In the stone pillar hall where the black giant spider fought.

Albus and Miss Miss Ailuo Si saw Lu Mi return, carrying the calcium lamp casting its dim yellow glow.

Almost simultaneously, they noticed the specks of blood on his person.

"Did you kill that poet?" Albus asked, amused.

Lu Mi shook his head, replying calmly:

"I killed the Wax Master."

(End of Chapter)