488 Mutual Provocation
Fire Raven fused with an Affliction disease? Is that even possible? Will I pull off something similar when I switch to the Hunter pathway? Is this the merging of different abilities through pathway switching? It’s more unique and bizarre? As Franca coughed, surprise, solemnity, and a touch of anticipation painted her expression.

Even though she was compelled to break her invisibility, Franca found herself in close quarters with the female Anthony. Her left hand rose, directing the Ring of Punishment, snug around her thumb, at the Mirror Person.

Yet, Franca refrained from employing Psychic Piercing. It was a calculated move to confound the target and any hidden foes.

Having observed Lumian’s skirmish, Franca suspected that female Anthony also possessed Mirror Substitution. Psychic Piercing wouldn’t yield the desired effect.

In that case, why not afflict the opponent with a negative state that wouldn’t trigger Mirror Substitution?

Beatrice’s Necklace, dangling from Franca’s chest, reflected the engulfing flames, stirring female Anthony’s ambitions to life.

Franca had long discerned that these Mirror People harbored resentment and animosity toward their authentic selves. Their burning desire to prove themselves was their weakness.

The longing for success served as their greatest vulnerability.

As two coughs reached female Anthony’s ears, she, being a Psychiatrist, mirrored the choice made by her male counterpart.

Unable to evade the ensuing assaults, she swiveled halfway around, locking eyes with Franca and Jenna, who had already materialized.

Her pupils turned vertical and shifted to a pale-golden hue.

Awe!

Unlike her male counterpart, female Anthony opted for Awe, considering the presence of two assailants. This ability had the potential to influence both targets.

The aura of a dragon—the pinnacle of the food chain—swiftly descended. Franca and Jenna couldn’t help but tremble in fear.

One of them found themselves immobilized, while the other sought refuge behind the nearest grayish-white stone pillar.

Before female Anthony could unleash Awe, Jenna, still coughing, seized the moment. She flung a half-blood-stained cloak, causing the bone flute and wooden box to tumble toward the target’s feet.

With her other hand, Jenna pulled the trigger of her revolver, propelling a yellow bullet engulfed in black flames towards female Anthony.

However, in that critical moment, Awe took effect. Jenna’s right hand quivered, causing the bullet to veer off course.

Amidst the gunfire, the shadowed Mirror Gardner narrowly evaded the bullet’s trajectory.

Swiftly moving, he leaped to the ground, dodging the projectile, and rolled into another shadow, vanishing from sight.

Unharmed, female Anthony’s eyes seemed to blaze with flames. She abandoned the idea of casting Frenzy on Franca, who succumbed to the effects of Awe, redirecting her focus to the coughing and moving male version of herself.

Thud! Thud! Thud! She charged forward, determined to prove herself by defeating the male Anthony.

At that moment, figures materialized behind the frozen Franca and the fleeing Jenna. They were male Franca and male Jenna, who had previously concealed themselves with their abilities.

The former aimed his hidden blade at Franca’s back and struck with all his might. The latter fixed a glare at Jenna’s back and pulled the trigger.

With two cracking sounds, Franca and Jenna’s bodies shattered like mirrors, allowing them to escape the effects of Awe. However, their throats remained irritated. They had no choice but to endure the discomfort and occasionally cough as they faced off against male Franca and Jenna.

Lumian’s throat itched, and his head, accustomed to enduring high temperatures, still radiated warmth.

As an Ascetic, this level of illness couldn’t challenge his endurance. He glanced at female Lumian, not far away, and crimson flames enveloped him, transforming into a fireball that shot forward.

Female Lumian, her face still marked by blood vessels, sneered and vanished from her spot once more.

Spirit World Traversal again!

Her figure reappeared behind the rapidly moving Anthony, as if she wouldn’t stop until she had vanquished the Psychiatrist.

Just then, the fireball that had just shot out dissipated prematurely, morphing into a stream of light.

In the stream of light, Lumian’s figure flashed as he “teleported” to Anthony’s side.

He had been feigning an attack, anticipating female Lumian’s use of Spirit World Traversal. He seized the opportunity to closely follow and block her!

To achieve this, Lumian not only destabilized the fireball’s structure in advance but also utilized Lie’s ability to strengthen his control over flames.

Appearing beside Anthony as swiftly as female Lumian, he promptly raised his iron-black boxing gloves and unleashed a flurry of chain punches!

Simultaneously, Lumian conjured the desire he longed to witness in his mind.
The desire to replace a real person!

This desire proved easier to trigger, and its detonation even better!

Having already adorned the Flog boxing gloves, Lumian aspired to exploit this state, potentially immune to Mirror Substitution, to impact the target and temporarily incapacitate his “mirror self” in combat.

With a resounding bang, Lumian’s left and right punches met the resistance of female Lumian’s raised hand. However, she lacked boxing gloves, and her forearm bore several bleeding punctures from Flog’s short thorns.

Her eyes brimmed with escalating resentment and malice, as though she yearned for Lumian’s demise in the very next second.

She had entirely forsaken her pursuit of Anthony Reid.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Lumian unleashed a barrage of punches, incessantly thwarting his mirror self’s attempts to employ other abilities.

He persisted in taunting his counterpart.

“Hey, no Flog boxing gloves? Are you so feeble that you can’t even mirror a mystical item below the demigod level?”

On the one hand, Lumian sought an emotional release. On the other, he aimed to use Provocation to incense his female self, heightening the likelihood of the Flog boxing gloves triggering the other’s desires and emotions.

Female Lumian didn’t hide her anger. Blocking Lumian’s punches, she taunted with Provocation, “Imbecile! If you had detected Aurore’s anomaly earlier, the issue might have been resolved.

“Imbecile! If it were me, I would’ve undoubtedly handled it better than you!”

Lumian’s mind buzzed. Even as an Ascetic, he found himself affected by Provocation.

This frustration and guilt had long been buried deep in his heart, one of the root causes of all his pain.

His eyes turned bloodshot, a blend of embarrassment, anger, and a compelling urge to self-destruct surged from the depths of his being.

His attacks intensified as he sought to infuse the thought into his right hand. He wanted to witness the outcome if he unleashed the Blood Emperor’s aura here in the mirror’s Fourth Epoch Trier.

When the time came, everyone present—Voisin Sanson and the other gods bestowed from different regions—would meet their demise together!

Just then, Lumian’s thoughts abruptly cleared. His emotions and impulses felt as though caressed by a gentle breeze. The melodious melody his sister Aurore used to hum seemed to echo in his ears, swiftly calming him.

“Placate!”

Psychiatrist Anthony Reid’s Placate.

Seizing the opportunity while Lumian relentlessly pounded female Lumian with punches, Anthony distanced himself. As he eluded the pursuit of his female self, he circled back to Lumian’s vicinity. Sensing his companion’s volatile mood, he promptly cast Placate.

Affected by Beatrice’s Necklace, female Anthony only had eyes for her true self, indifferent to the fate of female Lumian.

Suppressing the urge to self-destruct, Lumian witnessed female Lumian teetering on the verge of collapse under his relentless onslaught, her expression contorted. Franca and Jenna’s coughing intensified, hindering the use of their abilities. Their male counterparts seized the moment, forcing them to employ Mirror Substitution once again.

Franca was still okay, but Jenna likely had only one Mirror Substitution remaining.

Observing this, Lumian, his forehead ablaze, felt a mix of concern, nervousness, and confusion.

Where was Mirror Gardner?

In such a chaotic scenario, any attack—whether directed at Franca, Jenna, himself, or Anthony—would prove highly effective. He might even succeed in eliminating them one by one. After all, he was a Reaper.

Yet, Mirror Gardner refrained from attacking. Only the echoing, mocking laughter signaled his continued presence. He persisted in persuading Lumian and the others to surrender the black figurine and cease resisting.

“Hmph!”

Seizing the opportunity when Lumian’s assault momentarily slowed, female Lumian, pushed to her limits, invoked the Spell of Harrumph.

Two beams of white light struck Lumian’s body. His vision darkened, and he experienced the same sensation as his previous adversaries.

Crack!

A mirror shattered on Franca’s body, and Lumian materialized beside her.

As Lumian’s thoughts returned, a flurry of ideas raced through his mind.

After spreading the disease with the sick ravens, Mirror Gardner refrained from employing any other offensive abilities. Instead, he chose to hide in the shadows or conceal himself…

Wait, it didn’t begin with the disease spread by the sick ravens. It began with the emergence of male Franca and the other Mirror People…

Why didn’t he attack?

Considering my mirror self’s lack of the Flog boxing gloves, she probably doesn’t possess the Blood Emperor’s aura, Mr. Fool’s seal, or Termiboros… The Flog boxing gloves were crafted from the branch of the Tree of Shadow…

The mirror world, despite its apparent danger and terror, shouldn’t be incapable of mirroring the Flog boxing gloves…

Suddenly, Lumian had an epiphany.

These four Mirror People weren’t naturally formed in the mirror’s Fourth Epoch Trier. Mirror Gardner Martin had utilized his unique connection to this place to create them!

It was akin to an ability!

Mirror Gardner’s decision not to attack stemmed from his concerted effort to sustain the four Mirror People. He couldn’t engage in direct assault; his only recourse was to conceal himself and use words to interfere with the enemy, disrupting their combat will!

As these realizations coursed through his mind, Lumian couldn’t help but smile.

Dodging male Franca’s attack and anticipating the teleportation of female Lumian, he retrieved the Eye of Truth obtained from Bouvard. Lumian then adorned the peculiar monocle, seemingly fashioned from flesh and blood.

It had the ability to pierce through illusions, perceive reality, and discern the light of spirituality!