Chapter 737: I Am Guilty

The healing potion and the lingering burn of the original flame had largely stopped Lu Mi's bleeding, and in some areas, new flesh and scabs were already forming.

As Lu Mi slipped on the "Lies" ear clip and tried to shift the grotesque gash across his chest and abdomen to a less critical location, he stared at the oil painting hanging on the rock wall, his mind racing with thoughts.

"As a 'Supervisor,' one rarely engages in direct combat?"

"Pérlè's true body was hiding in the shadows all along, avoiding any possible surprises?"

"But if she had acted herself, we'd already be dead—there'd have been no chance to create an opening…"

"Moreover, Pérlè doesn't seem particularly bothered by failing to capture me—doesn't the failure of her painted figure mean her 'black box deal' was breached, and that she must now suffer severe backlash?"

"She's not a con artist…"

At this thought, Lu Mi suddenly had a suspicion:

"Capturing me was only something Pérlè claimed—there's no corroboration…"

"This may have been a demand from the other party in the 'black box deal,' but not the only one—likely one of several, and the least important. So after creating the special mirror world, she immediately left this painting behind, letting the painted figure deal with us while she went elsewhere."

"Is what she went to accomplish the most critical and vital demand?"

"We can't fully trust the 'Broker' either…"

"From her tone just now, she seemed to have succeeded—she's utterly certain the vortex is about to form and will soon swallow everyone…"

"That means she wasn't nearby at all—she only spoke from afar, using the final connection before the painted figure vanished, leaving no trace to follow."

Lu Mi felt his speculation explained Pérlè's behavior and several details from the earlier battle—and it left him feeling heavy.

If his guess was right, the 'Truth School' vortex truly hadn't been stopped—it was about to form!

What would happen after that?

At that moment, Mr. K walked over to Lu Mi's side and stared at the tattered oil painting as well.

He spoke in a hoarse voice:

"I am guilty."

"I failed to uncover the 'Truth School's' plan in advance, allowing the problem to accumulate until it was on the verge of explosion."

As he spoke, muscle and flesh on Mr. K's shoulder writhed, slowly growing two pale, thin, dripping wet arms, while his black robe—whose sleeves had been severed—remained irreparable.

Before Lu Mi could respond, Mr. K turned his head and said:

"The commotion here will be noticed soon—we can't stay long."

"Come see me tomorrow morning."

"Understood." Lu Mi glanced at his companions, who had either vanished into shadows or activated "Psychological Invisibility," and gave a slight nod.

He also planned to move quickly to a safehouse, to avoid being struck by official Exalted ones.

After Mr. K "teleported" away, Flanka, Jenna, and Anthony emerged from their hiding spots.

"We're going back to the safehouse now," Lu Mi said without hesitation.

Flanka nodded slightly, her face filled with regret and sorrow:

"The 'Armor of Pride' is gone—who knows where it was banished. If we've truly lost it, it would be such a pity."

Had the 'Armor of Pride' not directly attacked Pérlè's painted figure, forcing her to alter her life form and indirectly causing the summoned Punishers to vanish, Lu Mi might still have suspected Monite the Mirror Island swindler's trick—but he wouldn't have survived the later stages. Then he wouldn't have faced just Pérlè's punishment—he'd have had to contend with Anthony's Punisher as well.

To Lu Mi and the others, the 'Armor of Pride' was a hero, a valuable sealed item—none of them wanted to lose it.

"If it were human, intelligent, and could find its way back… but now…" Lu Mi sighed, gripping Anthony's shoulder with his left hand.

At that moment, tiny brilliant starlight emerged from the void, rapidly forming a dreamlike double door.

The door opened, and the 'Magician,' the 'Judgment,' and the 'Hermit' stepped out.

The 'Magician' glanced around, saw Lu Mi—missing an arm, looking horrific—and asked with a strange expression:

"You were attacked?"

As she spoke, the quarry, now lit only by the carbide lamp, grew even darker, as if invisible curtains had been drawn around them.

"Yes," Flanka answered for Lu Mi, whose wounds were stabilized but still too grave for him to speak.

"The attacker was Pérlè's painted figure—and her true body went elsewhere?" the 'Magician' confirmed.

"That's likely," Lu Mi replied.

The 'Magician' looked at the 'Judgment' and the 'Hermit.' Their eyes met, and none concealed their confusion.

After a brief silence, the 'Magician' offered no explanation—her eyes gathered starlight, as if sketching a pattern.

A light drizzle began to fall, drenching Lu Mi and sealing his wounds completely.

Flanka and the others, likewise bathed in the rain, felt their fatigue washed away.

This was very similar to the ability 'Night Lady' used in dreams… Lu Mi made the connection.

The 'Magician' nodded and said:

"Write me a detailed report tomorrow."

With that, she vanished with the 'Judgment' and the 'Hermit.'

As the surrounding darkness faded, Lu Mi realized they had returned to the safehouse in the administrative district—where Jenna had previously summoned the 'Judgment's' messenger.

"The 'Magician' and the others were confused that we were attacked by Pérlè's painted figure," Anthony said, closing his blank sketchbook.

Lu Mi nodded:

"They're not confused that Pérlè attacked us—given the 'black box deal,' anything a 'Supervisor' does is unsurprising."

"Then what are they confused about?" Jenna and Flanka couldn't figure it out.

Anthony tried to analyze:

"They're not confused that Pérlè attacked us—they're confused that we were attacked by Pérlè."

"They seem to believe we shouldn't have been attacked by Pérlè. Whether she intended to or acted on it doesn't matter."

Lu Mi and the others fell into thought.

Suddenly, Flanka gasped.

She looked at Lu Mi and the others, then slowly pulled her hand from the 'Traveler's Satchel,' her face bright with delight:

"The 'Armor of Pride' is in here—it came back!"

Did the 'Magician' help retrieve it? Lu Mi had just formed that thought when he noticed Flanka's motion.

He shouted immediately:

"Stop!"

He couldn't let Flanka pull out the 'Armor of Pride'!

This was a cramped room—and he was here!

Flanka froze, halting her arm mid-motion.

………

Within the mirror world, composed of endless dark, void tunnels.

The 'Supervisor' Pérlè moved constantly from one mirror to another, searching for her final destination.

Her expression was relaxed, even pleased—this disaster had accelerated the vortex's formation.

At the other end of the dark, void tunnels, a bright ball of yarn silently followed her, rolling forward without sound, leaving behind a thread hidden in shadow.

………

The next morning, after mailing his letter to the 'Magician,' Lu Mi arrived at the headquarters of the 'Spiritualism' magazine, meeting Mr. K in the basement.

Both of them had fully restored limbs.

Mr. K, wrapped in a huge hood and black robe, paid no attention to this, and spoke to Lu Mi in his hoarse voice:

"Come with me to a place."

"Where to?" Lu Mi, now more at ease after last night's cooperation, asked.

Mr. K nodded as if in agreement:

"First, I must confess—for this incident. Second, I must use the statue to inform the Lord that you have grown, and are ready to serve as His emissary. He will make arrangements in due time. Believe in the Lord. Believe in Him completely."

Just going to a place with the 'True Creator's' statue? That's fine… If I had to meet the actual god, that'd be trouble… Lu Mi bowed humbly:

"It is my honor."

Mr. K stepped beside him, gripped his arm, and transported them into the Spirit Realm.

Passing through layers of dense, colorful blobs and countless indescribable transparent creatures, they arrived at a church.

The church seemed nestled in a deep valley, its surface black as water, carved with countless human bones. Its dome resembled those of the 'Eternal Sun' Church.

Mr. K said nothing, bent slightly at the waist, and passed through the open door.

Lu Mi followed closely behind.

He immediately saw the spacious but dim prayer hall, and at the church's depths, a massive, black cross.

Hanging upside-down on the cross was a naked male statue, its body studded with visibly rusted iron nails, each surrounded by a halo of fresh blood.

Was this the 'True Creator's' statue? Lu Mi's heart leapt—he quickly averted his gaze.

He had only ever seen holy symbols in the 'Fool's Church,' the 'Eternal Sun' Church, and the 'God of Steam and Machinery' Church—never statues. He'd assumed Mr. K was using 'statue' to mean 'symbol.'

Mr. K walked straight to a spot four or five meters before the statue and stopped.

Lu Mi lagged slightly behind and halted as well.

Along the path from the entrance, he had clearly seen the face of the upside-down statue:

Its nose, mouth, and ears were blurred, mere outlines—but its eyes were sharply clear, tightly shut, as if bearing all suffering and guilt.

Mr. K made the sign of the cross over his chest and shouted in his hoarse voice:

"Praise You!"

"Praise You for creating all things!"

"Praise You for bearing the sins of the world!"

Lu Mi followed suit, performing the same gesture and reciting the same words.

Suddenly, his head spun slightly, his eyeballs grew warm, and he felt a strange familiarity with the scene before him.

This… Lu Mi's spiritual intuition told him that the negative effect of the Bayinfeier Pact had been triggered.

The effect was:

In scenes closely tied to Bayinfeier's past, one would see truths one ought not to see.

Is this place closely tied to Bayinfeier's past? Had he once been a clergyman of the "True Creator"? As Lu Mi speculated, he suppressed his curiosity and kept his gaze fixed on the ground.

Suddenly, his gaze froze.

He saw a blurred, lizard-like creature.

It was the lizard-like sprite that had appeared in his dreams of Kerdou Village—the same lizard-like sprite that had crawled out of Aurora's mouth!

It likely influenced Aurora, preventing her from seeking help from "Hela" in time!

And at the end of the "Shadow Tree" incident, that lizard-like sprite had appeared as well.

Now, why was it here, inside the church of the "True Creator"?

As Mr. K half-crouched to the ground, pressing his face tightly against the water-black tiles, Lu Mi instinctively lifted his head and gazed forward.

He saw the massive black cross grow ethereal, as if standing atop a mountain range, and noticed blurred, inverted figures with countless lizard-like sprites crawling in and out, swirling and darting around them…

Lu Mi stared blankly at this sight, while Mr. K's muffled voice, muffled by his mouth pressed against the ground, reached his ears:

"Merciful Father, forgive me for the sins I have committed."

(End of this volume)

(End of this chapter)