Chapter 733: Achieving New Merit

In the depths of the dark church, as "Loki" dragged a figure out of the air, the scene beside him became clearly visible to the eyes of the three Major Arcana: "The Magician," "The Judgement," and "The Hermit."

On walls built of water-black bricks, a woman was painted: she wore a long crimson gown layered with embroidery and lace, her black hair coiled into a high bun, her face elegant and beautiful, frozen in a mysterious smile, her brown eyes seeming alive as they gazed at the vivid, illusory ball of yarn before "The Hermit," and at the golden, monstrous lamp connected to the other side of the yarn.

The woman did not step out of the fresco—she simply watched silently.

Meanwhile, the mature woman dragged from the air by "Loki," wearing a golden crown and radiating unmistakable "Witch" allure, turned her blue eyes toward "The Hermit," who had just arrived through the Starlight Gate into the church's depths.

Her cascading chestnut hair lifted with the motion, each strand thickening as if also fixating on "The Hermit."

"The Hermit" foresaw an unfavorable future and immediately raised the "Wish Lantern" before himself.

Then, his back arched slightly as countless pure white, illusory feathers—seemingly from a swan—sprouted across his body.

Fairy magic: "Ugly Duckling!"

Even an ugly duckling can become a swan!

It allows a Saint not yet an Angel to manifest their incomplete Mythical Being form.

The pure white swan feathers suddenly darkened to gray and hardened, solidifying into stone-like shards that fell away, while "The Hermit"'s exposed skin rapidly cracked open, revealing one grotesque, repulsive fissure after another.

From within those fissures, flesh writhed, forming countless pairs of sharply black-and-white eyes.

The eyes continuously petrified and fell, only to be replaced by new ones—yet "The Hermit"'s "Wish Lantern" remained utterly unchanged.

The Empress in the black dress abruptly became insubstantial, splitting into a torrent of complex knowledge that surged like an information flood toward "The Magician," clad in a white gown embroidered with gold thread.

"The Magician"'s figure instantly flickered to the side of "Loki," but the information flood immediately erupted from the void behind her.

"The Magician" vanished from that spot, her silhouette appearing simultaneously in nine locations across the church, flickering without pause.

Having realized their target was the woman painted on the wall, she had attempted to forcibly escape the dark church—but every attempt ended with her returning to this very place.

The Empress's information flood continued to burst forth simultaneously from behind all nine of "The Magician"'s silhouettes, seeking to overwhelm the target's mind, denying her any chance to tear open the void.

"Loki," smiling, rose from the wooden black-backed chair and reached his right hand once more into the void, as if grasping the arm of another figure.

Seizing this opportunity, "The Judgement" reversed the positions of sky and ground, stepping instantly to the church's dome and pressing her right palm downward.

She spoke solemnly in Ancient Hermes:

"Here, mystery weakens; reality strengthens!"

…………

As the silvery "Armor of Pride" charged toward "Overseer" Perle, Franca activated the "Seven-Stone Bracelet" on her left wrist.

On the bracelet—composed of three diamonds and four differently colored gems—the blood-red gem ignited with flame-like radiance.

Franca's figure instantly "flickered" behind the "Black Witch."

She did not coordinate with "Armor of Pride" to attack "Overseer" Perle, for through Lumian's ordeal, she had learned that attacks by her fellow "Sinners" upon "Overseer" produced no effect—and incurred equal punishment.

Thus, she intended to unleash full force against the illusionary "Black Witch," a punisher lacking divinity and quite rigid, no more than a powerful Rank 5 Adept—she might yet eliminate her.

As for "Overseer" Perle's side, she would wait to see what change or effect the "Armor of Pride," an artifact without sentience and not belonging to any "Sinner," might produce.

The moment Franca's figure took shape, she raised her left hand, already wearing the "Punishment Ring."

In her lake-blue eyes, two bolts of lightning flared and shot forth.

CRACK!

The "Black Witch"'s figure shattered into countless fragments.

"Damn it! 'Mirror Double' is annoying!" Franca cursed inwardly.

At that moment, Lumian had just endured the punishment for attempting escape; the blood-meat cloak formed from Mr. K's finger had torn apart and scattered across the ground.

He saw the silvery "Armor of Pride" reach Perle's side and raise the great sword forged of condensed light.

Perle still wore her approachable smile, utterly unconcerned that the tall, heavy armor had drawn near.

The "Overseer" cannot be harmed by non-divine beings!

This is the sacred meaning of oversight.

Any lifeform that attacks the "Overseer" must suffer corresponding punishment!

Perle seemed already to foresee the armor-shaped artifact turning in the next second, descending with absolute precision directly before the witch who had drawn it forth.

In that instant, the silvery "Armor of Pride" swung its "Dawn Sword."

It was unaffected!

Perle's pupils dilated sharply; her crimson-gowned body instantly dissolved into a black shadow.

The blade of condensed light descended, cleaving the shadow cleanly in two.

Each half of the shadow reshaped itself, replicating multiple similar shadows that fled in all directions.

"Armor of Pride" knelt on one knee and plunged the "Dawn Sword" into the ground.

The great blade shattered into countless sharp shards of light, violently sweeping across the area.

The entire quarry hollow was illuminated; Franca, stunned, saw the "Black Witch," who had just materialized nearby, rapidly fade and vanish entirely.

Likewise, Jian Na and Anthony, who had been relentlessly pursued by the incarnations of the Eternal Sun Church clergy and the Trill police, were no longer attacked or chased.

They watched in confusion as the punishers who had oppressed them melted away like frost beneath sunlight.

Lumian was startled by "Armor of Pride"'s performance.

He had never believed this artifact could harm "Overseer" Perle—yet it had delivered him such a tremendous surprise!

Moreover, from Perle's appearance to now, he had noticed subtle irregularities:

The "Overseer" had never moved her feet!

She had remained standing beside the protruding rock housing the fixed entrance to the mirror world, never pursuing, never approaching, only exerting influence from afar.

"Is this a trait of the 'Overseer'? Could 'Armor of Pride' strike her because it carries the lingering hatred and loathing of a fallen deity? Must an attack possess divinity, or equivalent rank or corruption, to reach the 'Overseer'?" Lumian frowned slightly, forming a hypothesis.

Franca quickly regained her composure and shouted to him:

"Moran Avini's vanity mirror!"

She knew "Overseer" Perle could not be so easily killed by "Armor of Pride"—they must seize this brief, undisturbed window to find a way out of this special mirror world.

Before "Overseer" Perle appeared, the dark radiance spilling from Moran Avini's vanity mirror had made Franca suspect that mirror was the exit.

Franca trusted Lumian would grasp the full meaning of her brief words; she offered no further explanation, instead activating the blue gem in her "Seven-Stone Bracelet," which burst forth with oceanic light.

She "flickered" beside Jian Na and seized her arm.

One of the diamonds in the "Seven-Stone Bracelet" glowed.

"Teleport!"

Franca and Jian Na were instantly "teleported" toward Moran Avini's corpse, toward the vanity mirror beside it.

On the other side, Lumian instantly understood what Franca meant.

He activated the black mark on his right shoulder, "teleporting" to Anthony's side, seizing his teammate's arm, then immediately "teleporting" again.

Destination: Moran Avini's already-open vanity mirror!

But whether Franca or Lumian, upon appearing near Moran Avini's corpse, both were stunned to find the vanity mirror insubstantial, unreal—as if merely a projection of the original object.

At that moment, they heard "Overseer" Perle's voice again:

"You are guilty!

"You harmed the Overseer!"

As the voice echoed, the silvery full-body armor rose into the air; behind it, the void split open, revealing a dark abyss.

"Armor of Pride," pushed by invisible force, plunged into the worm-like rift resembling a wound in the void, falling into bottomless darkness, vanishing entirely from Lumian's sight.

Judgment: Exile!

Fragmented shadows rapidly converged beside the protruding rock housing the fixed entrance to the mirror world; the "Overseer" Perle, clad in the crimson gown, reappeared once more.

In her hand, she held a vanity mirror, smiling as she said:

"Did you think I'd leave the exit where it was?

"I replaced it with a fake long ago!"

Lumian, Franca, Jian Na, and Anthony all changed expression slightly.

In a flash of thought, Lumian—who had already been gripping Anthony's arm—immediately activated the black mark on his right shoulder.

He and Anthony vanished from beside Moran Avini's corpse.

Franca made a similar effort, causing the emerald gem in her "Seven-Stone Bracelet" to emit a clear, transparent emerald glow.

But the moment she "flickered" with Jian Na to a corner of the quarry hollow, Perle's "Words of Order" echoed in her ears:

"You are guilty!

"You attacked the Overseer!"

"Armor of Pride" had been released by Franca!

As Franca prepared to use the "Seven-Stone Bracelet" to escape her position, she suddenly saw the surrounding void solidify into layers of amber, imprisoning her and Jian Na.

This was a "cage" from which even "teleport" could not escape.

And it covered the entire area; even if Franca and Jian Na activated "Mirror Double," they remained within its bounds.

Judgment: Imprisonment!

"Overseer" Perle withdrew her gaze and searched for Lumian and Anthony.

A single glance—and she saw neither of them.

(End of Chapter)