Chapter 876: Unsealing (Thanks to Mr. O of the Aurora Order for the Golden Alliance donation)

After another while, Vazin Sanson was no longer passively waiting for the fate fragment exchange to complete; he actively began using various strange abilities, instead suppressing Lu Mian's offensive.

On the other side, Harrison used "Paper Figurine Substitute" with increasing frequency to escape the occult plague permeating the ruins of this small town.

He no longer had much leisure to interfere with Lu Mian, constantly attempting every method he could think of to clear the occult pathogens dense in the air, but with little effect.

Lu Mian sensed that the exchange of fate was nearing completion; although he wasn't afraid, he still decided to make a desperate gamble.

Mimicking a "Warrior" pathway Beyonder releasing a "Light Storm," he held the "Sword of Courage" in reverse, and without sparing his spirituality, stabbed heavily downward.

With him and the "Sword of Courage" as the center, a scorching white and cyan fireball expanded layer by layer, covering the ruins of the small town within it.

Boom—!

Amidst flashes of fire, violent explosions destroyed the ancient buildings that had long since collapsed, igniting every corner of these ruins.

Harrison used "Paper Figurine Substitute" once again. Because he had always been on the edge of the town ruins, his figure directly escaped this place, outlined within the dark tunnel they had just chased from.

Vazin Sanson, who was closer to Lu Mian, was inevitably caught in the aftermath; his attempt to initiate "Teleportation" again was interrupted on the spot by the violent shockwaves.

His body was partially ignited again, but the injuries hadn't reached a fatal level. Relying on the endurance of a "Monk," he only instinctively twisted his face.

Seizing this opportunity, Lu Mian "Teleported" in front of Vazin Sanson.

Dark green radiance immediately condensed in Vazin Sanson's eyes.

Almost simultaneously, based on the opponent's habit and method of using this terrifying ray previously, Lu Mian half-turned the "Sword of Courage," blocking it horizontally in front of his chest.

The moment the dark green ray condensed, it rushed toward Lu Mian at an unavoidable speed, slamming directly into the "Sword of Courage," causing the scorching white and cyan flames covering the iron-black blade's surface to instantly extinguish, making the flickering metallic luster dim significantly.

Lu Mian, having successfully blocked Vazin Sanson's ray, released his left hand, intending to seize the chance to deliver a fatal blow to Vazin Sanson.

He felt that the opponent's round of "Ring-In-Man" was nearing its end; triggering the effect two or three more times might lead the enemy to their destined end, possibly being killed.

Just then, every hair on Lu Mian's body stood on end, and his mind nearly went blank.

The negative effect of the "Black Tears" forehead ornament appeared.

If not for the "Sword of Courage" sharing the burden, he would have truly reached the peak of "Pleasure," and it would not have been just a brief moment of distraction.

Seizing this brief lapse, Vazin Sanson "Teleported" away from the cleared town ruins, but didn't widen the distance to the limit of the fate exchange.

Lu Mian quickly regained his focus, intending to pursue Vazin Sanson.

Suddenly, his thoughts slowed and became sluggish, as if encountering rapid freezing.

His body also instantly became stiff; even moving a finger was exceptionally difficult.

The exchange of fate was complete.

Clatter—the "Sword of Courage" fell straight to the ground, as Lu Mian no longer had the strength to hold it.

Lu Mian slowly slumped to the ground, his gaze hollow, his expression dazed, his back against a pile of rubble.

No longer controlled by "Courage," he instinctively wanted to trigger the remaining "Blood Emperor" imprint on his right palm, to see if the ravaging of this mad aura within his body could help him escape his current state, but he couldn't complete it.

His ability to think, already stuttering, was also rapidly fading.

This was the result Vazin Sanson wanted from the fate fragment he gave him.

Vazin Sanson revealed a smile, "Teleported" back in front of Lu Mian, and said in a low voice:

"If not for your fake Angel status, the fate exchange would have been completed long ago."

"You probably don't know, the maximum limit for 'Ring-In-Man' to cycle is nine times; you are still several times away from causing me real damage."

"You are still not a true demigod; there is an essential gap between you and me, who possesses divinity."

As Vazin Sanson spoke, he took out an incomplete ritual sheepskin that could only wrap around a head, intending to turn Lu Mian into a sheep and completely control him.

The next second, Lu Mian felt the stiffness of his body and the sluggishness of his thoughts become less severe; their effects seemed to be distorted.

Opportunity! Lu Mian immediately wanted to trigger the black mark on his right shoulder to see if he could directly "Teleport" out of the special mirror world.

Vazin Sanson's expression changed first, then he also triggered a certain contract mark and shouted in a deep voice:

"Lu Mian Lee!"

Lu Mian, whose figure hadn't fully disappeared, felt his mind buzz; his head was extremely dizzy, making it difficult to maintain the "Teleportation" effect.

Immediately after, Vazin Sanson placed the sheepskin in his hand onto his head and chanted in a low voice in Hermes:

"Sheep!"

Dark radiance flashed, and Lu Mian turned into a sheep with gray-white fur.

Most of his abilities were sealed, and the previous state of sluggish thoughts and stiff body reappeared, making it impossible for him to use the "Black Tears" forehead ornament and the "Demon's Whisper" bone ring.

Seeing this, Vazin Sanson felt the weakness of his body and the loss of his spirituality, feeling he could still hold on for a while under that occult plague, waiting for the "Ring-In-Man" effect to be triggered passively.

A paper figurine with funny facial features and a sinister aura walked from the tunnel into these ruins where many flames were still quietly burning; the rust on its body surface increased at a speed visible to the naked eye.

It looked at Lu Mian and emitted Harrison's voice:

"Your companions don't seem to have escaped either."

As he spoke, the paper figurine's light right hand swiped in mid-air.

The edge of the dark world illuminated by the firelight gradually became transparent, reflecting the state of Franca and the others—this wasn't because Harrison's paper figurine possessed such spells, but because it had just made a gesture, the purpose being to let the "Mirror People" watching in secret help.

Within the transparent, mirror-like scene, Franca, taking the others besides Ludwig, seized the opportunity of the distorted order just now and shuttled toward the outside of the special mirror world.

Suddenly, a figure appeared above them—a female figure wearing a black dress and a golden crown.

White mist permeated around that figure, and there seemed to be a point of light in front of her.

She only glanced downward once, and Franca and the others fell back into the previous area, failing to escape the special mirror world.

Sigton, already split into two and covered in blue-green and yellow mucus, appeared in the corresponding scene, blocking the path for Franca and the others to escape.

Having used it three times just now, Franca's "Ice Amulet" only had one last "Mirror Shuttle" left.

She didn't try to escape again, took out a suit of silver-white full-body armor from the "Traveler's Bag," placed it in front of herself, facing her, and Anthony also took out the "Winter is Coming" revolver.

In another scene, the other Sigton was searching for Ludwig.

Seeing this, "Harrison's" increasingly tattered paper figurine said to Lu Mian with a hint of laughter:

"Your companions will likely all die before you; their 'Mirror Substitutes' won't be more numerous than my paper figurines. You still have a chance to mourn for them."

"Actually, you all performed quite well. If not for me, if not for Sigton, your team might have been able to escape or even win when facing Vazin Sanson alone."

Lu Mian, suffering from dual control, had almost no ability for deep thought, with only emotions left to echo.

His heart felt as if it had been ignited by a ball of flames named anger, unwillingness, and hatred; the eyes of the sheep he had turned into were instantly bloodshot.

Vazin Sanson turned his head to ask Harrison's paper figurine:

"Can I kill him now and let Mr. Termiboros return?"

Harrison's paper figurine shook its head slowly:

"The Celestial's oracle is to trap him."

Vazin Sanson thought for a moment and said:

"Indeed, this piece of trash has many high-level powers on him; killing him directly might trigger mutations, which has a certain probability of affecting the entire Vortex Plan."

"Can I try to unseal the seal on his chest and let Mr. Termiboros return?"

Harrison's paper figurine was silent for two seconds and said:

"You can."

This didn't violate the Celestial's oracle.

Vazin Sanson laughed:

"For the final part, I still need you to use that Celestial's gift to help; otherwise, I would only have a chance to unseal it if Lu Mian Lee were near death, and the risk is too great."

The method to unseal the "Fool" seal on Lu Mian Lee wasn't thought of by Vazin Sanson himself, but given by the great "Circle of Inevitability" through a ritual.

"Good." Harrison didn't refuse.

Vazin Sanson immediately took out a black box made of metal and opened it.

Inside the box were thumb-sized mercury beads, one after another; the surfaces of these beads were stained with a bit of black, engraved with complex patterns and symbols that made one fall into the deepest fear just by seeing them.

Vazin Sanson's voice began to turn deep, but the words he spat out were exceptionally illusory.

Those black-stained mercury beads floated up, pulled by invisible force, spinning rapidly in mid-air, as if turning into a river connected head to tail.

Lu Mian, who could only flash a few thoughts, heard the conversation between Vazin Sanson and Harrison and saw this scene, but didn't produce feelings of despair or annoyance.

At this point, despair and annoyance had no meaning!

Lu Mian now only had anger, only unwillingness, only hatred; those eyes belonging to a sheep were stared out raw.

Son of a bitch!

It was only ten or twenty seconds, Vazin Sanson finished the chanting, letting the silver-white and black river floating in front of him rush toward Lu Mian's chest.

Harrison, standing in the tunnel, didn't know when he had lit four more candles and took out four pieces of bread, placing them in front of different candles respectively.

He also chanted incantations, accompanied by special steps and movements.

Lu Mian's whole person rapidly fell into a dark and gloomy state, his thoughts gradually escaping sluggishness.

But before he could flash any other thoughts, he felt his chest become scorching hot, and that familiar heat gradually dissipated, rapidly turning cold.

In an instant, one after another, silver-white and black radiance burst out from within his body, intertwining in front, weaving into a figure.

PS: Thanks to Mr. O of the Aurora Order for the Golden Alliance donation. At his request, the extra chapter will be added at a special time, so it won't be in the near future.

(End of chapter)