Chapter 654: Joy Begets Sorrow (Thank you, Zhuri Yiran, for the Silver Alliance donation again)

Hearing Lu Mi's question, "Siso" curled his lips and smiled again:

"Those are several fallen ones—fallen ones under my control."

"Fallen ones?" Lu Mi understood the literal meaning but had no idea what it meant.

At the same time, he silently criticized "Siso":

This is truly a dream—how fast can emotions change?

"Siso" spoke in a tone of recollection:

"The Apostle of Desire can plant a seed in someone's heart when their emotions or desires fluctuate sharply, making the corresponding problem grow worse until they gradually lose self-control and descend into corruption."

"Combined with my own unique ability, this allows me, over a prolonged period, to break them through repeated falls, ensuring they can never escape my control and must obey me."

Like injecting an addictive psychoactive drug, but more esoteric? Lu Mi searched for analogies he could easily grasp.

Suddenly, he recalled a description from Naporedisli about "demons":

"The demon of the body, the demon of the heart…"

Is this one manifestation of the heart's demon? Is this the special trait of "Siso," the demon? Then perhaps the "Temperance" faction's contact had already been corrupted, fallen—hence why they never reported his anomalies? Lu Mi regarded "Siso" thoughtfully and said:

"No wonder you're the Apostle of Desire, the heart's demon who lures others to fall—is this a ritual to ascend to 'Demon' status?"

"Just practicing." "Siso" didn't deny it, but felt the current situation was still far from real, more like a drill.

"So confident? After the prank in Tizamo Town last year, you only just ascended to 'Apostle of Desire'—and now you're already thinking about becoming a demi-god?" Lu Mi mused, "Did you finally please the demon of the Nos family and receive that thing?"

Even within the dream, "Siso" seemed reluctant to reveal this, answering with slight resistance:

"Yes."

Lu Mi didn't press further, fearing the dream might end prematurely; he changed the subject:

"Where is that thing?"

When "Siso" transformed into a demon, his clothes tore apart—nothing strange fell out.

"Siso" twisted his expression and said:

"It's… in Tizamo Town."

Hidden in his hometown, Tizamo Town… If it's so important, why not carry it with him? Lu Mi grew increasingly curious about Tizamo Town—the gold-mining city of Devise, and the two pranks orchestrated by "Siso."

He thought for a moment and asked:

"Was your prank in Devise just to steal a large amount of gold?"

"Yes." "Siso" gave a definite answer.

Had he read too many novels about gold heists? Was he urgently in need of such a large sum? Hmm—for a "criminal," when gold is needed, planning a direct heist is perfectly normal behavior—unlike me, who relies on hunting and gifts from villains… Lu Mi initially thought nothing of it, then suddenly connected some dots:

Furanka has recently been hoarding gold—to sacrifice it later to the Armor Specter, Chen Tu…

Could "Siso" have planned these pranks for a similar sacrifice, gathering a large quantity of gold? Lu Mi studied "Siso" and asked cautiously:

"Did you sacrifice that gold to the Nos family's demon?"

"Siso" replied indifferently:

"In Tizamo Town."

"What's so special about Tizamo Town?" Lu Mi asked casually.

"Siso" suddenly seemed to awaken, screaming with a twisted expression:

"April Fools'! April Fools'!"

His shadow came alive, lunging onto him and engulfing him completely.

"Siso" turned pitch-black, becoming thick, filthy, and sinister liquid that rapidly spread in all directions, as if seeking to corrupt the interrogation room, Lu Mi, and the entire dream.

Lu Mi instantly broke free of the dream, seeing "Siso" lying on the ground—again showing signs of demonic transformation, now with a faint transparency.

This core member of the "April Fools'" was about to lose control!

Without hesitation, Lu Mi swiftly condensed a long sword woven from blazing white flames in his hand.

The image of "Siso" in his vision revealed multiple colors, the least noticeable being a pale white beside the bridge of his nose.

"Weakness Detection!"

Pale white indicated the weakness.

Lu Mi raised the flame sword, gripped it with both hands, and drove it downward—*thwip*—it pierced deep into the pale white.

The demonic armor-like shell, elastic flesh, and iron-hard bones from the "undead" resisted for only a second before being pierced through.

Lu Mi pulled out the blazing white flame sword and struck down again with full force.

*Thwip!

This time, it sank deeper.

Lu Mi withdrew the flame sword once more, leapt upward, and added his own body weight to the downward thrust.

*Thwip!

Lu Mi crouched low, driving the flame sword completely into "Siso"'s brain, where it dissolved into scattered firelight, destroying all weakness within.

Lu Mi withdrew his hands and stood up.

"Siso"'s partially demonic body twitched several times, then fell still.

Beside his nose bridge, a two-finger-wide wound looked grotesque—charred and shriveled on the surface, with hidden flames surging within.

The demon was dead.

So tough—even this could withstand three strikes… Lu Mi stared at "Siso"'s corpse and silently sighed.

At that moment, "Siso"'s corpse rapidly turned transparent, his light-brown skin fading to pale.

A vengeful spirit… turning into a true vengeful spirit after death? Lu Mi had just flashed these two thoughts when darkness suddenly engulfed him.

From the depths of darkness, a serene chant arose, soothing body and mind, making one feel utterly relaxed, wanting only to lie still.

The final resting place is peace.

"Siso"'s rapidly transforming vengeful spirit body ceased changing, gradually regaining a sense of solidity.

Finally, he died completely.

He was really hard to kill… If I hadn't stopped his vengeful spirit transformation, would he have persisted as a true vengeful spirit, then become a demon spirit? Lu Mi looked toward "Hela" beside him and said again:

"Thank you."

He didn't recount his conversation with "Siso," for they had communicated within "Hela"'s dream—she would know everything.

"Only 'Loki' remains." "Hela" gazed at "Siso"'s corpse, speaking coldly.

Lu Mi fell silent for several seconds, then said:

"He can't resurrect more than a few times."

"At most one more time." "Hela" said with firm certainty.

One more time… Lu Mi murmured "Mm."

Soon, "Siso"'s Exceptional Trait separated from his body and fused with the remaining goat horn above his head, forming a wild cluster of black crystals.

Each crystal of the cluster extended in different directions, clawing outward, and within every black crystal, multiple translucent, phantom faces protruded—expressions ranging from grotesque, to agonized, to insane, to bewildered.

The Exceptional Trait of the "Apostle of Desire," corrupted by the vengeful spirit's blessing? Lu Mi felt this corruption was heavier and more dangerous than the previous "serial killer"'s.

He pointed at the Exceptional Trait and "Siso"'s corpse and said to "Hela":

"I'll take them both?"

"Fine." "Hela" had no objection.

…………

In a derelict warehouse at a disused dock in Pailos Port.

Furanka, Anthony, and Jianna had already gathered, waiting for Lu Mi's return.

Amid idle chatter, they saw a figure outlined against sunlight streaming through a high window—it was Lu Mi, wearing a golden straw hat and dressed as Louis Berry.

*Thud.

Lu Mi tossed "Siso"'s corpse onto the floor.

Then he withdrew the Exceptional Trait from "The Traveler's Satchel" and placed it near the corpse, without touching it.

Only after completing these actions did he smile at Furanka, Jianna, and Anthony:

"Taken care of."

"That's really 'Siso'?" Furanka found it hard to believe it was this easy.

"It is." Lu Mi briefly explained: "He was overconfident—he believed he had a good chance of killing me, so he stayed behind waiting for an opportunity."

"Where did he get that confidence?" Furanka widened her eyes.

Since everyone present was a Minor Arcana cardholder, Lu Mi didn't conceal the details, recounting the events broadly while omitting the most dangerous knowledge.

"You can do that… Thank goodness you didn't ask the Tarot Society for a guide." Jianna shuddered in relief.

Furanka sighed:

"Who knew our little team was enough?"

Lu Mi gestured toward the Exceptional Trait:

"This is heavily corrupted—too dangerous. I plan to ask the 'Magician' to help find a suitable 'Artisan' to turn it into a sealed object—everyone gets equal access."

Lu Mi felt this thing was too sinister, too corrupted—it could never become a minor-impact artifact; it would have to be permanently sealed.

"Sounds good." Furanka imagined the possible abilities of the sealed object, feeling eager.

Suddenly, she remembered something and hurriedly said:

"Your 'Pride Armor' is still with me—jeez, you really pushed it to extremes."

Lu Mi smiled:

"How can you fight a demon without a 'Warrior'? I always intended to use the 'Pride Armor'—I just didn't expect 'Siso' to choose the bathroom as the perfect setting."

A closed, cramped environment with some room to maneuver.

Francar took the "Armor of Pride" out of "The Traveler's Satchel" and placed it on the ground.

Suddenly, the air inside the old warehouse solidified.

The silvery-white full-body armor faced Lu Mi, coalescing a massive blade of light, then knelt on one knee and drove it forcefully into the ground.

This… Lu Mi's pupils dilated, his figure instantly fading as he vanished from where he stood.

The blade of light shattered, transforming into a storm of destruction that swept through the surroundings, smashing countless wooden crates.

This… Francar, Jianna, and Anthony had no time to retreat far—they were all torn into fragments within the "Storm of Light," glowing as they broke apart.

"Fuck! Are you really this vengeful? How long has it been since then!" Francar's voice rang out from a corner of the warehouse.

PS: Thank you to Zhuri Yiran for once again pledging the Silver Alliance—today's update is normal, and there will be more tonight.

PS2: Happy birthday, Xiao Ke~

(End of Chapter)