"A noble princess from Feysac died unexpectedly during her visit to Loen."
"The Loen people cannot provide a reasonable explanation for this matter, and their evasive answers will only enrage the already turbulent public opinion in Feysac."
"Thus, using this incident as a catalyst, the delicate balance between the two nations will be shattered, and war will be imminent..."
In the resplendent powder room, a voice of indeterminate gender echoed, premising Sophia's death and envisioning the subsequent developments.
That voice was light and composed, as if everything were within its grasp.
"Ugh..."
Cold pool water soaked through her expensive gown.
Sophia knelt on the ground, her hands gripping her own throat, once again experiencing the agony of suffocation.
Only this time, she no longer had a doll to bear the fatal damage for her.
Through the reflection in the water on the floor, she saw her own eyes radiating a soul-stirring golden glow as her reflection spoke.
"Princess Sophia, your death will push the wheels of history rolling forward.
The entire world will change because of this..."
Her reflection in the water spoke with false sentiment.
Bullshit!
I don't want to die like this!
Sophia wanted to refute, but her tightly constricted throat couldn't produce any sound at all.
"Boom!"
Crimson flames ignited one after another, appearing around her body and blasting crookedly toward her reflection in the water.
But there was far too much water accumulated on the floor at this point. The fireballs extinguished the moment they hit the ground.
"There's no need to struggle. Your sacrifice is great and valuable."
Her golden-eyed reflection spoke bewitching words, the voice layered upon itself, suggesting she give up resistance.
I won't listen to you...
The combat instincts of a "Hunter" allowed Sophia to resist the suggestion as she struggled hard against her own will.
Even though breathing had become extremely difficult, she still cast a contemptuous look at her reflection in the water.
Trash that only knows how to hide in the shadows and ambush others.
Her eyes seemed to convey such content.
"Very good. Quite talented at provocation. Worthy of being from the Einhorn family."
The reflection in the water praised with a smile, the gold in its eyes growing ever brighter.
However, Sophia could no longer hear the other's voice.
Suffocation made her consciousness hazy as she uncontrollably collapsed on the ground.
The water level continued to rise, about to submerge her face.
I never thought I'd die in a place like this...
In the last moment before losing consciousness, Sophia thought hazily.
Then...
Suddenly, someone gently tapped her arm.
The hands that had been uncontrollable, gripping her throat like iron pincers, suddenly released, as if the relevant muscles had abruptly lost all strength and fell naturally away.
"Gasp... cough, cough, cough, cough!"
Sophia suddenly inhaled fresh air and immediately coughed loudly.
Her consciousness gradually returned to clarity. She raised her head and saw a somewhat familiar figure.
The black-haired man stood before her, his azure eyes glancing slightly downward, his expression cold and wild.
The powder room's overhead lights cast bright illumination. The water on the floor clearly reflected everything.
Standing there among it all, he looked handsome in an almost unreal way.
"Anderson, is that you?"
Sophia looked in disbelief at the person she'd had that manuscript dispute with.
It seemed he'd just saved her.
"Watch out!"
After being stunned for a second, she immediately shouted a warning. "That guy is hiding in the reflected mirror surfaces and can control your body!"
Don't get controlled like I did!
"Heh heh, it's already too late..."
As if responding to her warning, the reflection in the water at Silas's feet rapidly solidified. I
t revealed a composed smile, and the words it spoke made Sophia's heart plummet into a deep valley.
However, Silas didn't pay any attention to his own reflection. Instead, he directed his gaze toward a certain corner of the powder room.
"Come out."
He said.
The floor in the previously empty corner suddenly turned pitch black, as if a heavy shadow had suddenly climbed up and entangled something.
Someone is there!
Sophia looked on in surprise as a man dressed as a waiter was being attacked by the shadow beneath him.
His eyes radiated a golden glow.
Right, there was such a person!
She suddenly recalled that this person had actually been standing in the powder room all along, but she'd consistently overlooked him!
He never infiltrated the mirror at all. Everything was meant to deceive and control me...
Sophia felt both alarmed and angry, realizing she'd been completely fooled by the other party.
It seemed he was a Beyonder of the "Spectator" pathway.
"You've made the wrong choice..."
The waiter broke free from the entanglement of shadows and said to Silas with a sigh.
His voice carried an invisible bewitchment.
"Bang!"
A bullet precisely struck between his brows. It was Silas who had fired, gripping the "Revolver of Luck."
He had no intention of wasting words with this kind of guy, because the more you communicated with such Beyonders, the easier it was to be deceived by their words.
"Sizzle..."
The bullet head rotated, emitting white smoke, slowly stopping at the surface of the waiter's forehead.
Illusory scales appeared on his face, blocking what would have been a fatal attack for an ordinary person.
"Hmm?"
Silas frowned.
"Bullets of this level are ineffective against me."
The waiter revealed a composed smile.
He stared into Silas's eyes, invisibly accumulating the power of suggestion.
"Give up..."
"Boom!"
Before he could finish speaking, he saw that Silas had already put away his revolver.
Blazing magma and flames erupted from his palm, rapidly forming into a lava longsword.
The air quickly filled with the smell of sulfur. The sword's surface burned with an eerie blue fire.
"Hiss, hiss..."
The scorching heat of the lava sword caused the water accumulated in the powder room to evaporate, steam rising.
In the hazy mist, Silas gripped the blazing blue sword and strode toward the waiter.
"Devil!"
The suspected "Spectator" pathway Beyonder's expression changed dramatically, his smile freezing as he revealed a look of terror for the first time.
A moment later, he made a new move.
The waiter swiftly pulled out a golden pocket watch from his chest and opened its cover with a "click."
The dial inside had only one hand, which began moving automatically after he opened it.
"Whoosh!"
The waiter's golden eyes became even more brilliant, his pupils even transforming into lizard-like vertical slits.
His figure rapidly became illusory, not hiding again but using the mystical item to display a higher-level ability.
Dream Walker's unique ability: Dream Traversal!
Seeing the situation turning unfavorable and his objective unattainable, this "Spectator" who operated in the shadows prepared to leave the scene without hesitation.
"Stop."
A profane and twisted voice emerged from Silas's mouth.
His body instantly became large and swollen, strange patterned goat horns protruding from the top of his head, and a pair of bat wings suddenly spreading from his back.
Demonization!
"Ahh!"
Under the enhancement of demonic corruption, Silas's Profane Words became even more powerful.
The Spectator's illusory figure quickly became solid again, falling to the ground, clutching his head with an expression of extreme pain.
The process of "Dream Traversal" was interrupted!
An oppressive shadow loomed over him.
"Boom!"
Silas's body had become enormously tall. It took only two steps for him to reach the man. The burning sword in his hand swung straight down.
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~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones