Chapter 746: Close (Second-to-Last Day, Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)

At the moment he saw the iron-black eyes, Lu Mi's mind went utterly blank.

When he gradually regained his composure, he was stunned to find his body stepping steadily toward the massive iron throne, though he had no such intention himself.

He felt his body trembling violently, yet he could not make his legs stop.

His body no longer seemed his own—it obeyed unknown commands, subjected to another's control!

This scene, combined with the figure on the iron throne resembling "Blood Emperor" Aristar Tudo, instantly brought two past memories to Lu Mi's mind:

One was in the region of the "Samaritan Woman's Spring," where he and "Hela" had both lost consciousness due to the Blood Emperor's residual shadow's violent reaction, walking back to the spring's edge like puppets or soldiers bound by absolute obedience;

The other was deep within the underground labyrinth of the Red Swan Castle, where he, Aibei, and Ailuo had heard the phantom roar of Fumenda Soren emanating from the Fourth Era's Trier, lost consciousness, and left the core area on their own, heading toward different "Waxwork Masters."

Was this situation similar? Was this a power of the Hunter Path's Angelic level? Lu Mi forced himself to calm down and search for a way out of this predicament.

Compared to the previous two times, at least his consciousness had returned quickly this time!

"Right—why did my consciousness awaken first, yet my body still obeyed control?"

"Is the Aristar Tudo figure here weaker, less potent, or is there another reason?"

"Perhaps this anomaly hides the key to breaking free…"

Lu Mi strained to extend his will toward his limbs, trying to reclaim control over them.

It had some effect—his steps toward the iron throne slowed gradually.

He also took the chance to clearly see the figure atop the iron throne:

The "Blood Emperor" had a hard, chiseled face with sharp, blade-like contours, firm lips, a high nose bridge, long hair shimmering with faint bloodlight, and iron-black eyes that were cold yet brimming with ultimate madness.

Suddenly, Lu Mi felt an overwhelming urge to submit, to abandon resistance.

This impulse did not vanish instantly—it rapidly swelled, filling his entire soul.

"No… I must not resist…"

"I cannot resist…"

"Submit… submission grants everything…"

"If He grows angry, I will be destroyed, and Fuyanka and Jianna will be destroyed too…"

"Give up… give up… kneel and beg for forgiveness… accept the command…"

These thoughts surged through Lu Mi's mind like a furious tidal wave, crashing against his clarity, reason, and will.

He clenched his teeth, sensing that if he relaxed even slightly, the final dam would collapse, and the flood would drown his will and soul completely.

His previously slowed steps accelerated again.

…………

On the deck of the "Blue Avenger."

The "Magician" and the "Hanged Man" both gazed at the dreamlike curtain in midair.

On the semi-transparent curtain with starlight as its base, Lu Mi's figure had grown hazy, surrounded by utter darkness, nothing visible.

Compared to the earlier clarity, this indicated something abnormal had occurred.

In the eyes of the "Magician" and the "Hanged Man," Lu Mi's body grew increasingly rigid, yet moved faster and faster.

They also saw Lu Mi's black hair slowly lengthening, tinged with a faint blood-red glow.

"Something's wrong." Alger, the "Hanged Man," turned his gaze to the "Magician" beside him.

The "Magician" nodded slightly and reached for a sealed artifact.

It would allow her to truly locate Lu Mi and directly enter the hidden dimensional space.

…………

In the dim environment, Lu Mi walked forward with a blank, expressionless face.

His soul, however, struggled, screaming in agony:

"Don't give up…"

"Don't give up…"

"If I lose the will to hold on, I will no longer be myself…"

"Shit…"

"Bitch-born…"

"… "

Lu Mi exerted every ounce of strength, yet felt himself growing ever more eager to submit.

Suddenly, the dam of his will shattered—abandonment and surrender fully seized his body and mind.

Lu Mi's mind went blank once more.

In this state, he had no sense of how much time had passed until a deathly coldness and rotting pain surged through his right palm.

"Death… cold…"

"Rotting… pain…"

"Pain…"

Lu Mi jolted in shock, suddenly regaining his thoughts, reclaiming his will, and instantly recovering partial control over his body.

At that moment, before his eyes was not a nine-tiered staircase, nor a massive iron throne stained red—but a mirror.

A classical, ornately patterned silver full-length mirror!

The mirror reflected Lu Mi's figure.

Lu Mi saw himself in the mirror, face twisted in agony, on the verge of surrender, his facial contours slowly hardening, his nose bridge rising unnaturally high, no longer his own.

Simultaneously, his black hair lengthened inch by inch, stained with bloodlight; his blue eyes grew colder, inching toward iron-black.

"I'm turning into Aristar Tudo…"

Lu Mi suddenly understood this truth.

He had no time to think of anything else—while his body still responded somewhat to his commands, he lunged sideways, trying to escape the mirror's reflection.

With a rolling tumble, Lu Mi quickly moved his figure out of the silver mirror's reflection range.

The next instant, he heard a phantom scream—a mad, shrieking cry.

His mind went blank again.

When his thoughts gradually returned, he found himself still curled on the ground—the end point of his roll.

His body had not moved toward the full-length mirror on its own; it only trembled uncontrollably, as if his blood had frozen.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

From within the mirror came frantic pounding, shaking the mirror violently, as if a monster were about to break free.

Each blow echoed inside Lu Mi's mind, over and over.

It seized his soul with terror, freezing his thoughts.

After a while, the pounding inside the mirror faded, and the surroundings fell eerily silent.

Lu Mi's body stopped trembling; he now had some understanding and reflection on his situation and what had just happened:

"If I had truly reached the full-length mirror, and my reflection had completed its transformation, would that mean 'Blood Emperor' Aristar Tudo would awaken within my body?"

"But as long as I'm not reflected in that mirror, the influence remains minimal—I won't lose control of my will or body…"

"Is the trigger for this transformation entering the mirror's reflection range?"

"It seems calm now…"

Lu Mi slowly pushed himself up and carefully observed his surroundings.

He realized he was not in the deep hall—he was inside a strange space formed of starlight.

The floor here was semi-transparent, revealing endless darkness below; above, no ceiling—only countless brilliant yet illusory stars twinkled.

On both sides stood rows of starlit gates rising from the darkness, forming a wide, deep corridor, at the end of which rested the silver full-length mirror.

At this moment, Lu Mi had reached the corridor's depths, only meters away from the mirror.

"Were the hall, stone chairs, iron throne, and 'Blood Emperor' figure I saw earlier all illusions?"

"Was their purpose to make me submit?"

"No—that's not right. Once I was reflected in the mirror, the scream would've achieved the goal already…"

In a flash of thought, Lu Mi formed a hypothesis:

Perhaps the illusions—the iron throne, Tudo's figure, the broken stone chair—were caused by the resonance between the residual Blood Emperor aura within me and the silver full-length mirror, triggering the "Mystic Man" imprint to react and briefly free me from control, allowing me to escape the mirror's reflection…

Thinking this, Lu Mi raised his right hand and stared at his palm.

The faint red scar there glowed vividly, as if returned to its state when first entering his body; around it, his pale skin showed clear signs of rot, oozing pale-yellow fluid, revealing glimpses of white bone beneath the flesh.

This preliminarily confirmed Lu Mi's hypothesis.

He turned his gaze once more toward the silver full-length mirror facing him.

Having dealt with "Mirror People" many times before, he frowned slightly:

"Does the Blood Emperor intend to use this mirror and his residual aura to resurrect within me?"

"Then something must be hidden inside that mirror…"

"The Blood Emperor's resurrection setup relies on the Mirror World…"

"Hmm, that makes sense—whether it's the special Mirror World or the 'Mirror People' from it, both are tied to this Blood Emperor's Fourth Era Trier…"

"I previously thought the special Mirror World was a remnant of the 'War of the Four Emperors,' but Moran Avini of the Tamarra family said their family's connection to it predates the 'War of the Four Emperors'…"

"Damn—could the special Mirror World have been created by the Blood Emperor himself?"

"How many problems has he left behind in this world?"

"No wonder he's known as the Mad Blood Emperor…"

"But the special Mirror World clearly can't be separated from the 'Primordial Witch'…"

Could the Witch Cult have secretly lured the Tamara family, aiming to subtly influence the Blood Emperor through a special mirror world?

But in the end, the Blood Emperor turned it to his own advantage?

The Third Era of Triel was truly shrouded in mystery...

As Lu Mi pondered, he suddenly understood why Thelmipolos had once stopped him from exploring the Azure Avenger.

To explore this place, one must either possess the residual aura of the Mingdaoren 's seal on the Blood Emperor, or possess a corresponding artifact or rank to resist or counter that awe or conquest; otherwise, upon entering, one would become a puppet of Aristar Tudo, allowing Him to revive within the body.

For Thelmipolos, this was certainly not a good thing.

As Lu Mi shifted his gaze, he turned his attention to those gates of starlight.

Did they represent different treasures?

PS: The second-to-last day—please vote for double moon tickets~

(End of Chapter)