Chapter 721: Advance

"We've been the victims of a 'backroom deal'?" Franca replayed the entire incident in her mind, finding nothing overly unusual—except that the "Black Witch" should have been able to swiftly "remove" Moran Avigny under the protection of the official Non-Ordinary team, given her clear mastery of the Mirror World; yet she had completely dumped this task onto herself.

Of course, this was entirely understandable. Though the official Non-Ordinary team guarding Moran Avigny consisted only of Mid-Rankers, this was Triel, the capital of the Intis Republic, the most important diocese of the Church of the Eternal Sun and the Church of the Steam and Machine God, teeming with half-gods who could cast their gaze at any moment; if the "Black Witch" failed to conclude the operation swiftly and eliminate everyone present, she would inevitably suffer serious consequences, even be tracked down by the authorities using special sealed artifacts.

If she were compromised, the Triel branch of the Witch Cult would suffer catastrophic damage; under these circumstances, assigning a mid-level, capable member to handle the operation while she managed the aftermath was the more mature choice—if things went wrong, she could decisively abandon Franca and her lovers.

Of course, this all assumed Moran Avigny's importance didn't reach a level where the Witch Cult was willing to pay a heavy price to deal with him; otherwise, the Cult would have evacuated unrelated members in advance, and the high-ranking Witches identified by color would have gathered in Triel.

"I think there's a problem—not that we shouldn't abandon him, but that we abandoned him too quickly, too early," Anthony offered his opinion from a human perspective.

Franca nodded lightly.

"True. The 'Black Witch' merely confirmed no Non-Ordinary were hiding behind the relevant mirrors, then assumed Moran Avigny had been abandoned and withdrew all support."

"That's far too hasty and careless," Jiana remarked.

She hesitated for a few seconds, then said:

"Has the 'Judge' Lady been affected too?"

"Possibly," Lu Mi lowered his gaze to his left chest.

He pressed his voice lower:

"Theremipolos, why weren't you affected? Is it because you possess an Angelic Rank?"

Theremipolos's grand, layered voice echoed within Lu Mi:

"Perhaps. I cannot be certain."

"It could also be due to the 'Fool's' seal—the seal is a restriction, but at times, it can also be protection."

Like the corpse of Naporidheli's "Divine Aberration"? The "Supervisor's" "backroom deal" couldn't bypass the "Fool's" seal, and thus couldn't affect Theremipolos? Lu Mi nodded, then said to Jiana:

"We should inform the 'Judge' Lady of our suspicion. If there truly is a 'backroom deal,' she'll immediately break free once warned and offer new advice; if not, it's just a minor inconvenience for the messenger."

"Agreed," Jiana understood Lu Mi meant: "Though we suspect a 'backroom deal,' we won't act rashly now—we still need guidance from the Major Arcana."

While waiting for the "Judge" Lady's reply, Franca sighed.

"What's wrong?" Jiana asked Guanqie ly.

Franca replied with a look of "indignant outrage":

"This 'backroom deal' is a massive operation—it's affected at least two half-gods. That 'Supervisor' from the School of Truth must have paid an enormous price, sacrificed countless valuable items."

Right, that's true—but what does that have to do with you? Why are you indignant? Jiana blinked, struggling to follow Franca's train of thought.

Franca continued:

"Once the 'Judge' Lady, with our help, captures or kills him, there won't be much left for us to divide as spoils."

"It'll probably be another poor bastard like Ye Busi!"

For a moment, neither Lu Mi, nor Jiana, nor Anthony knew how to respond to Franca.

She was already upset about potential future spoils?

Lu Mi changed the subject, turning to Franca and Jiana:

"When I asked Ye Busi those last two questions, why did you both move closer to me? Did you sense something was about to go wrong?"

"Of course—it's a Witch's spiritual intuition," Franca said proudly. "I didn't know what would happen, but getting closer to you gave me more options to handle danger."

Jiana nodded lightly, confirming she felt the same.

Lu Mi turned to Anthony:

"What about you?"

Anthony answered frankly:

"I thought Ye Busi might be jolted by those two questions, breaking free of the hypnosis. Your reactions indirectly confirmed my concern."

"In that situation, hiding behind you was the safer choice."

"So you're using us as shields?" Franca laughed and scolded.

Anthony nodded earnestly:

"You have 'Mirror Doppelgängers.'"

"True enough," Franca accepted the reasoning.

A few minutes later, the "Judge" Lady's messenger delivered a reply.

The reply was simple—just one sentence:

"You may proceed with your actions."

Does this mean the Major Arcana will be watching? Has the "Hermit" Lady been consulted? Lu Mi nodded thoughtfully, then smiled at Franca and the others:

"We proceed with the original plan."

"Original plan?" Franca was startled.

"Yes," Lu Mi replied with a smile. "In the next few hours, perhaps even the next day, the 'Supervisor' and other 'Mirror People' won't be behind Moran Avigny's full-length mirror to protect him—that must be a prerequisite for the 'backroom deal' to succeed. The 'Black Witch' checked those locations herself, and the 'Supervisor' couldn't know when she'd come—he had to leave ample time."

"Which means, if we hide inside that mirror, we won't face any interference or danger."

Jiana frowned slightly:

"But isn't the core issue that Moran Avigny won't enter that full-length mirror for a while? How can we lie in wait…?"

Here, Jiana suddenly paused—as if a possibility had just occurred to her.

Lu Mi's smile grew brighter:

"The 'Supervisor' can pull off a 'backroom deal'—so can we!"

"Yes! The 'Dark Box of the Powerful!'" Franca instantly grasped Lu Mi's meaning.

Use the "Dark Box of the Powerful" to give Moran Avigny a "reason" to reconsider entering the full-length mirror!

How the "backroom operation" would make this transaction succeed—none of them needed to worry about it; even the "Supervisors" likely didn't know the details of a "backroom deal."

An " Anxiang " is also a black box!

After confirming the risk level via "Mirror Divination," Lu Mi, Franca, Jiana, and Anthony successively passed through the mirror-world entrance fixed on the protruding rock, entering the mysterious, dark space.

Gazing at the countless, spiderweb-like, endless void corridors, Lu Mi activated the "Mirror Mark" contract on his body.

He then said to Franca and the others:

"I can sense the full-length mirror—I can pinpoint its location precisely."

"Then let's go now," Franca pulled her assassin hood back over her head and grabbed Lu Mi's arm.

Though she already wore the "Mirror Clasp," why waste a use when other options existed?

Once Jiana and Anthony had gripped him again, Lu Mi activated the "Spiritual Realm Transit" mark and, through one of the dark, void corridors, "teleported" to a deep, dark pool of waterlight.

The waterlight represented a mirror, with a corresponding blurred zone connected to countless phantom tunnels like a spiderweb.

Lu Mi leaned toward the deep, dark waterlight and, through the glass surface, saw the scene outside.

It was indeed Moran Avigny's study.

Franca recognized the location and exhaled in relief:

"I'll handle the 'backroom deal.'"

"I will," Lu Mi smiled. "After everything that's happened, even without the 'Dark Box of the Powerful,' I'm likely to encounter some devils—so why not use it enjoyably?"

He referred to the events involving Naporidheli.

"Fine," Franca conceded Lu Mi had a point. "Then I'll pay!"

She pulled out five thousand Faeljin worth of gold from "The Traveler's Satchel."

Lu Mi didn't refuse. He said to Jiana and the others:

"The transaction I need to complete is to make Moran Avigny form the thought of entering this full-length mirror, then use 'Pushing Fate' to turn that thought into reality."

"This is far simpler than directly making Moran Avigny enter the mirror—it will require far less payment."

"Understood," Jiana took the "Dark Box of the Powerful" from her backpack.

The dark, small wooden box still had eight uses left.

Lu Mi held Franca's bag of coins in his right hand and extended it through the membrane-like "curtain."

Then he felt a wet, wrinkled set of five fingers that swiftly closed, gripping the coin bag.

Lu Mi's expression didn't change. He spoke his request in Hermesian.

After a brief pause, the wrinkled, damp hand pushed the coin bag back.

This… Lu Mi raised his head and told Franca and the others.

"It wants more money!" Franca instantly realized.

She reluctantly pulled out more banknotes and gold, but the slightly cold, wrinkled hand repeatedly pushed the payment back.

Lu Mi added tens of thousands of Faeljin, yet the transaction still wasn't completed.

"Maybe the 'Dark Box' doesn't want money or gold?" Jiana recalled the information Ye Busi had shared about the "Broker" Path.

"A magical item?" Lu Mi frowned, thinking of possible items to trade.

Franca considered and said:

"What about the 'Blood Gold' ring? Its negative effects are severe—we've barely used it."

The "Blood Gold" ring was obtained from the "Mad Woman," corresponding to part of the abilities of the "Rose Bishop," Sequence 6 of the "Mystic Worshipper" Path.

After brief discussion, the four agreed to try the "Blood Gold" ring.

As the wet hand inside the "Dark Box" touched the "Blood Gold" ring, its five fingers clenched tightly and pulled the ring back.

The transaction was complete.

Phew… Lu Mi exhaled and said:

"I wonder how this 'backroom deal' will manifest…"

"I hope we don't get scammed. Praise the 'Fool'!" Franca pressed her hand to her chest and prayed to the "Fool."

(End of Chapter)