Chapter 3416: The Extermination of the Mimics

【So, is it big or small?】

"Neither. The degree to which it's affected by gravity is just a bit off."

Xia De replied, walking out of the room with "Difa" under the guidance of the High Priest:

"Besides, the frontal armor isn't the only flaw. The hair color is fine, but the volume is greater than Difa's. There are two differences in the clothing, but those are minor issues. The biggest problem is... the temperament."

【Can you elaborate?】

"She" smiled gently. Xia De didn't actually need to elaborate much:

"When I see Difa, I have some indescribable, instinctive thoughts, but when I see it, I have absolutely none."

【The instinct for reproduction has influenced your intuition.】

"She" summarized. Xia De offered no comment, as he still had to focus on sensing the situation of the real Difa in the next room. At such close range, the effect of the Fire Mark was prominent; Xia De could even sense that she was still kneeling on the cushion.

"The layout of the room next door is likely the same as this one. After isolating Difa, they'll have the mimic spend time with me, gradually familiarizing it with the real Difa's speech habits and behavioral details, and then step-by-step replace her. Perhaps the replacement won't happen here, but in the days to come, letting this fourth-stage mimic gradually appear where Difa should be, until one day, the real Difa is gone forever..."

The events that followed were indeed as Xia De had anticipated. After the two were arranged to enter a lounge not far from that "ritual room," "Difa" first took off her mask and smiled playfully at Xia De—her appearance was indistinguishable from the real Difa Servet.

"I was truly a bit scared just now."

Only then did she put her mask back on and begin discussing the terrifying and horrific nature of the ritual room with Xia De. It intentionally sought intimacy with Xia De; the tone of its voice and the smile in its eyes were nearly identical to the black-haired head maid Xia De knew so well.

The room just now hadn't scared Xia De, but this "Difa" before him truly sent a chill through his heart. A beautiful young woman with whom he had an intimate relationship was actually a monster. Having encountered so many relics and demons to date, the sense of horror brought by the 【Mimic's House】 could be ranked in the top tier.

If it hadn't been Xia De who came here today, even an ordinary Ringed Shushi might have fallen for it. Xia De was even certain that once the real Difa returned, he would feel apprehensive and frequently check the top of her head, even when facing the real maid.

"Mimic's House..."

He pondered the probability of this relic "destroying the world" and once again sensed the positions of the other Fire Marks. Luweiya and the others had already arrived near the manor, but Dorothy was leading the others in setting up a ritual to prevent any mimics from escaping, while Luweiya had gone alone in the direction of the spire-topped building Xia De had seen earlier.

This was also within Xia De's expectations; once the ritual was set up, they could close the net here.

He patiently conversed with "Difa," wanting to maintain a normal expression in front of a monster wearing a familiar face; the requirement for acting was higher than in any other situation.

But the benefit of doing so was that Xia De had also roughly figured out the condition of this fourth-stage mimic. Its mental power was extremely strong, very strong; if not for its appearance, Xia De would have even suspected it was an alien creature like a Brain Demon, a purely mental species.

Beyond that, its physical fitness in its normal state was at the level of a high-ranked Ringed Shushi. Although the Whispering Elements within its body were well-disguised, since it had been holding Xia De's hand for so long, Xia De could estimate that this thing itself possessed the power of a Sage-level relic.

As for the fourth-stage mimic's ability to "create companions," it couldn't be detected through mere contact. But fortunately, this wasn't a combat ability, at least not one that required extra attention at the moment.

About five minutes later, before Xia De could see the real Difa again, Dorothy and the others had already finished setting up the ritual.

At that moment, Xia De was still talking to the imposter, when suddenly a loud "Boom—" explosion rang out in the quiet night outside the window, and the entire building shook twice.

"What happened?"

Xia De, with a look of shock, took "Difa's" hand, stood up, and looked toward the thick curtains. But before he could reach the window, the door was pushed open violently, and the noble lady from earlier said in an anxious tone:

"Honored guests, I'm afraid the police have found us; they've blown open the manor's gate. Please follow me, you and this young lady; we'll leave through the secret passage in the basement."

Xia De still held "Difa's" hand:

"Then what about my uncle? As for the money, I have already paid it to you."

"The resurrection ritual has already begun. We will move that stone coffin together. You go first; your safety is the most important."

Xia De nodded and followed the noble lady into the hallway with "Difa." The manor, which had been almost silent just moments ago, now seemed to come alive; a large number of footsteps sounded from downstairs, and the previously dormant Whispering Elements were spreading throughout the manor, as if providing some kind of field effect.

At the staircase in the hallway, Xia De and "Difa" encountered a group of black-robed figures. After the two sides squeezed past each other, "Difa" was forced to let go of Xia De's hand. And when the black-robed figures had left, the person wearing the white mask who appeared by Xia De's side again was the real Difa.

Xia De guessed that she had likely been subjected to some kind of mental effect, making her believe she had been in the lounge with Xia De the whole time. But after seeing her wink at him, Xia De understood that the mimic's methods were ineffective against her.

Xia De also nodded imperceptibly. The noble lady, who had been separated in the crowd, reappeared at this time, leading the two through a secluded staircase in the corner of the mansion back to the first floor, then into the kitchen, where she moved a large box at the end of the storage room, revealing the secret passage.

This secret passage should have been dug when the manor was built; such large manors all had these things. The noble lady arranged for a tall, thin man in a black robe—the eunuch who had brought the two here earlier—to lead them out through the secret passage.

"Honored guests, you can just return to the city directly. I guarantee that by tomorrow morning, your relative will appear at your doorstep. Please remember to prepare breakfast."

The noble lady said with a smile. Compared to when they first met, a new small opening had split open on her forehead, inside which was a pale yellow eyeball.

Xia De said very seriously:

"Why did the police appear tonight? Also, if the police really found something, would they discover the information about me and my other friends?"

The noble lady immediately guaranteed:

"Then let us swear in the name of the god we revere: they will find nothing. After all, the 【House of Resurrection】 is also very worried about losing the information of important guests. We value that information no less than you do."

Only then was Xia De satisfied. He turned his head to glance at the secret passage, then pulled Difa into his arms—although the possibility was very small, he still personally confirmed that this was indeed the maid he was most familiar with, beyond the mark on her head.

"Very well, I hope this accident won't delay things. However, before I leave, please allow me to take other things with me."

As the eunuch and the noble lady looked at Xia De, two streaks of silver moonlight flashed by, and two heads flew off. And before the two heads hit the ground, the fireball controlled by Difa had already landed.

The exploding flames also affected the two of them, but Xia De stood still; he was not afraid of fire. The maid held him until they saw with their own eyes the eunuch's corpse and the noble lady mimic's corpse being burned to ashes, only then were they relieved.

Xia De signaled for Difa to follow him into the secret passage. Afterward, in the passage, he took off the two masks and crushed them with force, annihilating them with the 【Black Moon Mark】. Then he struck a palm toward the end of the passage:

"Thunderclap!"

The spreading thunder ripples collapsed the entire secret passage. After confirming that the illusion effects on both their faces were well-maintained, Xia De wrapped his arm around the maid's waist, used spatial perception to locate their position, and took a step forward, returning to the third floor from earlier.

According to the agreed-upon plan, when facing building-type targets, the group and the witch followers would focus on ground attacks, so most of the mimics on the third floor had already gone to the courtyard downstairs to reinforce. Xia De even wanted to find the vampire-type creature he had seen earlier, but it had also disappeared.

When Xia De and Difa appeared, there were only two people in black robes in the hallway. Difa, held by Xia De, used the Fireball spell again. As the two corpses burned fiercely in the explosion, Xia De said:

"They are all mimics."

It had been agreed upon when the plan was formulated: once they started, regardless of whether they were human or mimic, all strangers in the building were to be killed without exception.

The purpose of attracting all the enemies away was for Xia De and Difa to search for any potential data and information. Once the action started, that fourth-stage mimic wouldn't be able to escape.

So Xia De didn't care if the door in front of him was locked; he struck a palm forward, and with a "Boom—" sound, the door was shattered. After the moonlight illuminated the "ritual hall" from earlier, he took Difa and stepped forward again, appearing directly on the altar in the center of the room.

The golden chains floating behind Difa lifted the lid of the stone coffin, revealing the human-shaped indentation and the blood, photos, and hair inside. Of course, nothing had happened here; after all, the 【House of Resurrection】 couldn't really resurrect the dead.

The photos and hair were destroyed by Xia De on the spot to prevent leaving any trouble. At this moment, footsteps came from the hallway. Seven or eight people in black robes heard the sound from the hallway earlier and arrived at the door, only to be met head-on by the sea of fire summoned by Difa.

The flames engulfed them and continued to surge through the third-floor hallway, but they only burned the humans and mimics, without damaging the hallway itself. Difa was not a Ringed Shushi specialized in using fire; she was proficient in summoning magic and the balance secret arts of the Galina lineage. The flames she summoned tonight were actually, in reality, byproducts of summoning elemental life. ===== CHAPTER 3417 =====