Chapter 883: Three Times (Thanks to 0abab5

Vazan Sansong felt the laughter in that voice held no warmth whatsoever, and he shuddered violently, snapping back to awareness.

His first instinct was to immediately "Teleport" away from this area, because Lu Mi had become a demi-god of the Potion Path, aided by three companions, while his own ally, the other demi-god Higton, had been utterly killed by Lu Mi in a very short time.

Even with his devout faith in the Great "Cycle of Fate" and his urgent desire to rescue the Angel of Fate, Themipolos, today, Vazan Sansong could not fail to see the current situation.

He knew he had only two choices: stay and fight to the death, or flee immediately and wait for the next opportunity.

At this moment, choosing what to do was not difficult at all.

As the black mark on his body activated, Vazan Sansong's figure vanished from where he stood.

The next instant, he appeared over ten meters away, facing a dark, transparent, glass-like barrier.

The barrier flickered in and out of existence, sealing off an area the size of a square.

Lu Mi, his body slightly slimmer, gripped a massive iron-black straight sword and made no effort to stop Vazan Sansong's attempt, instead speaking with a tone of faint mockery:

"This is a special mirror world, and a demi-god-level 'Witch' can, to some extent, harness the power of this world."

"You want to break through the mirror barrier and 'Teleport' out? There is only one way: defeat me, kill me."

Vazan Sansong struggled for a moment but failed, so he turned to face Lu Mi.

Then he saw the other man reveal a breathtakingly beautiful yet dangerous smile.

Lu Mi did not strike immediately, for he was listening to the beat of his own heart.

The "Fool" Master's seal on his body had lost its effect, but Amon had left a trace of power in its original position, preventing Aurora and the others' soul fragments from immediately spilling out and vanishing entirely.

Of course, this was only a temporary restriction—no more than two or three days before the seal would collapse completely.

And because the strength difference between the two seals was as vast as heaven and earth, Lu Mi felt he was much closer to his sister, as if he could hear her voice, receive her thoughts.

Thump, thump, thump.

That heartbeat was familiar and warm.

"See him? Vazan Sansong is right ahead—the cultist who made you have nightmares, who terrified you into fleeing Triel."

"See him? He's afraid."

Lu Mi whispered these two lines gently, then lifted his head and fixed his gaze on Vazan Sansong.

During this, he "Teleported" several times, shifting his position to avoid any attacks from Vazan Sansong.

Lu Mi slightly bent his back, gripping the "Sword of Courage" with both hands.

The next instant, his figure abruptly faded, "Flash-Stepping" before Vazan Sansong, as if intending to ignore the opponent's counterattack and forcibly cleave him in two.

Vazan Sansong did not hesitate, despite the beauty of the image or the allure of the figure; relying on his "Ascetic" endurance, he concentrated dark green light in his eyes.

As the ray shot forth, Lu Mi simultaneously turned transparent, becoming a mirror.

Crack!

The moment the mirror shattered, Lu Mi's figure materialized behind Vazan Sansong, still holding the downward swing of the iron-black straight sword.

Vazan Sansong swiftly summoned forth a semi-transparent duplicate of himself, fixing his gaze on Lu Mi.

But Lu Mi's figure instantly blurred, like a reflection in a mirror.

Meanwhile, above Vazan Sansong's head, Lu Mi materialized, raising the iron-black straight sword wreathed in blazing white-and-blue flames, completing the final motion of the attack with a leaping slash.

Clang!

The "Sword of Courage" struck at the junction of Vazan Sansong's neck and shoulder, cleaving open his metallic-gleaming skin and flesh, staining it with crimson blood.

Immediately after, a violent explosion erupted, Vazan Sansong's body on the verge of splitting apart.

At that moment, Lu Mi hesitated slightly, and Vazan Sansong instantly restored himself, "Teleporting" to the opposite side of the sealed area.

Lu Mi did not pursue, turning his body to face the silver-haired follower of Fate, smiling as he said:

"First time."

Vazan Sansong's scalp prickled; he understood the other meant he had already killed him once, and there would be many more times to come.

He immediately activated a contract ability called "Phantom."

He split into dozens of copies of himself, each Vazan Sansong seemingly capable of "Teleporting," appearing at different corners across the sealed area.

They all raised their right hands, their eyes reflecting the corresponding silver-mercury phantom river linked to Lu Mi.

This might amplify fate—or exchange fate!

And Lu Mi seemed unable to distinguish which Vazan Sansong was real, unable to effectively stop them.

Lu Mi's pale blue eyes smiled without amusement.

He glanced at the "Sword of Courage" and noticed the blood of Vazan Sansong that should have stained it had vanished, as if returned to the body of the "Man in the Cycle."

Lu Mi was not surprised; he suddenly hurled the "Sword of Courage" toward the center of the sealed area.

The massive iron-black straight sword fell to the ground like a cannonball.

Boom!

A colossal explosion erupted, shaking even the special mirror world, white-and-blue flames rapidly covering every inch of ground and every particle of air within the sealed area.

This was why Lu Mi had confined the battlefield to the size of a square.

The illusions Vazan Sansong created were quickly destroyed; his true body, after struggling to endure for two seconds, shattered, triggering the "Man in the Cycle" effect.

Lu Mi himself was engulfed by the explosion, the flames scorching his skin, the shockwaves tearing through his body.

Then he became a mirror.

The mirror shattered immediately.

The explosion subsided considerably; Lu Mi gazed at Vazan Sansong, far away, and smiled more distinctly:

"Second time."

His clear, pale-blue eyes, like highland lakes, still held no amusement.

As he spoke, invisible spiderwebs extended from Lu Mi's body, binding the hilt of the "Sword of Courage" and dragging it back.

Realizing that the iron-black straight sword's area-of-effect attack could completely cover this region, and that none of his contract abilities could withstand such an explosion, Vazan Sansong felt a wave of despair rise within him.

Although before chasing him down, he had already canceled his previous "Man in the Cycle" effect, waited for the restriction to end, and reset the same "Man in the Cycle," granting him nine more triggers—he now had seven left—but if Lu Mi kept hurling that iron-black straight sword, repeating the same area-of-effect explosion, he did not believe seven "Man in the Cycle" effects would mean much.

Unless that iron-black straight sword required a long cooldown before repeating such an attack.

Vazan Sansong dared not gamble; he chose to end the "Man in the Cycle" effect on his body.

His right hand reached through the air toward the spot where Lu Mi had just approached, and silver-white lines edged with black appeared in his eyes.

These lines writhed like snakes, enclosing Lu Mi's figure within them, then swiftly connecting head to tail.

Vazan Sansong intended to make Lu Mi a "Man in the Cycle!"

—Different types of "Man in the Cycle" effects did not require waiting for the restriction to end.

And within the same time period, only Vazan Sansong, a Sequence 4, could maintain one "Cycle."

His current preset condition was: if Lu Mi made any attack against him, the "Man in the Cycle" effect would trigger, resetting the state of this "Despair Witch"—such a strict condition could not be applied to an area-of-effect "Man in the Cycle," and would be suppressed by the target's rank, rendering it less effective than an area-of-effect "Man in the Cycle," which could affect even angel-tier adepts.

The fate power Vazan Sansong attached to this "Man in the Cycle" could sustain only three cycles; once the fourth began, the destined fate would arrive.

Of course, what exactly that destined fate would be required Vazan Sansong to choose himself.

Since he had to complete this "Cycle" swiftly—or Lu Mi would strike first—Vazan Sansong had no time to analyze; he glanced once and selected a tributary from Lu Mi's phantom silver-mercury river, placing it within the ring.

It was the tributary where the "Mirror People" opposed this "Despair Witch"—that would help Vazan Sansong destroy the surrounding mirror barriers, giving him a chance to "Teleport" and escape.

—The worse the destined fate, the worse the final outcome, the more fate power Vazan Sansong had to invest, and the longer it took to complete the "Man in the Cycle"—unsuitable for the current situation.

The moment this "Ring" was completed, Lu Mi immediately sensed it intuitively, lowered the "Sword of Courage" in his hand, and ceased advancing.

Seeing this, Vazan Sansong instinctively concentrated dark green light in his eyes.

The two rays, like beams of light, instantly struck Lu Mi, who once again became a mirror, his figure outlined not far from his original position.

Seeing this, Vazan Sansong suddenly froze:

Why didn't Harrison and I think of using this method to trap him when we faced Lu Mi's attacks?

That could have ended the battle faster, without needing to be killed multiple times…

And now, he had countless "mirror doubles" left.

Vazan Sansong quickly decided to provoke Lu Mi into attacking; his eyes flared with dark green again.

At that moment, even with his "Ascetic" endurance, Vazan Sansong couldn't suppress a cough, causing the dark green rays to veer off-target and strike the distant mirror barrier.

The barrier sustained minor damage, then instantly restored itself.

Vazan Sansong began to feel his body weaken; each breath felt like fire scorching his airways.

His spirituality was also draining rapidly.

Illness… I've been infected with the Witch's disease! Vazan Sansong snapped his head up just in time to see Lu Mi's mocking yet beautiful smile:

"Why did you think the previous explosion and burning could kill my mystical pathogens outright?"

"They'll persist for a while longer."

Vazan Sansong's heart tightened; he launched frantic attacks against Lu Mi, but only shattered three or four mirrors.

Each failed attack deepened his despair; he could already see the worst possible outcome approaching, yet could not reverse it—only wait helplessly for the bell of death to toll.

He had even tried metalizing his body, but the disease still infected and corroded him.

Cough! Cough! Cough!

After making multiple attempts, Vazan Sansong finally lost the strength to stand, collapsing to the ground while still coughing violently.

He could no longer maintain the "Man in the Cycle" effect on Lu Mi.

Lu Mi walked step by step toward this "Man in the Cycle," looking down upon him with a mocking smile:

"Only three times?"

Vazan Sansong struggled to lift his head, gazing at that radiant, icy face, feeling himself plummeting swiftly into an endless abyss.

The feeling was utterly despairing.

Lu Mi bound Vazan Sansong with spiderwebs, suspending him in the air, then conjured beneath him a sharp, thick column of ice.

"Goodbye, give my regards to your master," Lu Mi whispered, retracting all the silk threads.

Plop!

Valentine Sangsong fell heavily, pierced through the body by an ice pillar.

His eyes bulged out, blood gushed beneath him.

PS: Thank you to the Witch of 0abab5 for supporting Lu Mi's Silver Alliance.

(End of Chapter)