Chapter 791 Lanqi is Hooked

"Welcome back."

Tamisha released Lanqi and looked at him, her tone as flat and declarative as ever.

She was always worried about the Illusion Demon’s state after emerging from the six-sided cube magical mirror. Last time, he almost died; this time, he seemed worlds away.

"Tamisha, I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting. I really didn't expect using the mirror this time would take so long."

Lanqi leaned against the Mirror of Tiberius, looking down at the small Tamisha.

"Would you like something to eat? There's still one box left."

Tamisha pointed to the four-tiered lunch box nearby, asking the Illusion Demon.

Following the Illusion Demon’s instructions from noon, she had eaten one box as her lunch, and now there was one box left for the Illusion Demon as a snack.

"No need. I'll take you directly to the Demon King's private restaurant at the school for a proper meal later. If you're hungry, you can finish off that box of pre-dinner desserts first."

Lanqi smiled at Tamisha.

"..."

Tamisha was slightly stunned.

She hadn't eaten such a lavish meal in Nicalis recently. Caliella was mostly busy, and court officials usually delivered her meals. Since Caliella disappeared and Melogas took over the Demon King's palace, she had been eating irregularly.

She actually didn't mind.

As long as she didn't expect to eat good food tomorrow, she wouldn't feel bad about being hungry.

This was also her self-protection.

But following this Illusion Demon, she unknowingly began to look forward to what she might eat at the restaurant he mentioned tonight.

"If I eat well, you have to eat well too."

Tamisha thought for a moment, stared at Lanqi, and said.

"Of course. I'm not holding back on you. We can afford a meal, right?"

Lanqi laughed as he said this.

"Okay."

Tamisha nodded reassuringly.

"Tamisha, let me tell you, Purgatory Corridor Academy is the most amazing school. I guarantee it's more fun than any amusement park you've been to in the Demon King's City, Nicalis..."

Lanqi needed to rest briefly in the energy room and chatted with Tamisha.

Talia didn't show herself this time.

Being exposed by Tamisha as a fake Caliella made Talia particularly embarrassed, unsure how to appear before Tamisha.

Being despised by a child was too humiliating for a demon.

The pain of death was no longer felt. After spending too long in the void space, regaining a physical body only brought a sense of rebirth.

Even if it was just simulated in the mental world, Lanqi and she felt like they had experienced Rankerlos's later life again.

"The Mirror of Tiberius seems to really allow you to develop your spiritual power to the limit."

Talia examined Lanqi's body with her mind and found that Lanqi's spirit had become stronger again, reminding him.

After all, the Mirror of Tiberius was an ominous magical artifact that risked one's life, so it wasn't strange for it to have a slight cultivation effect.

However, the future illusions that normal users saw were not as harsh and painful as Rankerlos's end.

"I believe the effect of your usual weighted training is better."

...

Lanqi chatted with Tamisha while mentally responding to Talia.

Thinking back to when he first obtained the Madly Loving Demon King, and then thinking about now, his spiritual power was far stronger.

Although everyone's innate basic attribute growth differed greatly, and they would obtain corresponding fixed significant improvements after advancing, post-natal effort could also increase the basic attribute one desired to a certain extent.

All of this was thanks to Talia being his "behind-the-scenes spirit" twenty-four hours a day.

"I, I am your teacher. What's wrong with training you?"

Talia was also a little embarrassed and replied as if it were only natural.

Lanqi's magic was too useful, allowing her to feel no fatigue or any pain. It was simply a panacea, but she had indeed used it a bit too much.

At this moment, they returned to the shadow world.

After Talia confirmed that Lanqi's body was fine, she glanced at the shadow world information.

[Mission Objective 1: Read the letter from old friend Caliella; Go to the Demon Realm's Purgatory City, Pasquale & protect the little spark left behind by Caliella; Comprehend the Mirror of Tiberius. (Completed)]

[Mission Objective 2: Understand the state of mind of Black Sun Rankerlos: 39.02%. (Completed)]

[Mission Objective 3: All challengers survive until the 21-day time limit ends, with 5 days, 04 hours, and 35 minutes remaining.]

The mission objectives remained unchanged, still stuck at comprehending the Mirror of Tiberius.

Talia wasn't surprised by the improvement in Lanqi's understanding of Black Sun Rankerlos's state of mind.

Lanqi was, after all, not Rankerlos. Even if they were two similar flowers separated by tens of thousands of years, or even if Lanqi was simply Rankerlos's reincarnation, they were very different. It was normal for Lanqi not to be able to fully understand Rankerlos's life experiences. The current level of understanding was already very high.

What made Talia rejoice was that Rankerlos's state of mind had never lost himself from beginning to end. He had always been firm, kind, and committed to his beliefs.

And this trip to the future illusion, she and Lanqi were trapped in the Mirror of Tiberius for nearly seven hours.

The underground energy center room didn't show the time of day. Based on estimations, it should be six or seven in the evening in Pasquale.

With a physical body, Talia could even feel hungry.

"Lanqi, let's go eat after resting for a while."

Talia said to Lanqi.

After spending so long in the void conscious space, just thinking about the Demon King's private restaurant's Demon Realm recipes made her stomach rumble.

Tamisha was right. It was time to eat.

Lanqi seemed to hear Talia's words and looked at Tamisha.

"Tamisha, I have to use the Mirror of Tiberius one more time. Can you wait for me?"

He instructed.

"Lanqi, you're doing it again?"

Talia's mind snapped to attention.

She originally thought that Lanqi, having been rescued with such difficulty, should have trigger issues regarding the dangerous magical artifact, the Mirror of Tiberius.

But instead of rushing to eat, he was thinking of using it again.

This kid was even more terrifying than she imagined.

She couldn't even stand being in that void space!

"Caliella used her mark, risking her life to win three opportunities for me. How can I waste them?"

Lanqi asked as if it were only natural.

...

"That's true..."

Talia mumbled.

Although the results of the Mirror of Tiberius's second-round simulation were better than the first.

It was still a bad ending.

Lanqi couldn't even use the path of the second simulation as a reference to recreate it in the shadow world, putting a period at the end of the Crimson Moon Calamity shadow world.

"There's one more thing I need to trouble you with. This time, if you find that I've been in the Mirror of Tiberius for more than two hours, please cut off the power."

Lanqi continued talking to the small figure Tamisha in the energy room.

"No problem."

Tamisha was a little surprised.

She didn't expect that she had done so well just now.

Perhaps she was still useful, but her parents didn't discover her usefulness and abandoned her.

After Lanqi settled things with Tamisha, Talia appeared.

Magic condensed into a silver-white figure, standing on the steps in front of Lanqi.

"Wait, hear me out."

Talia opened her arms, as if to block Lanqi from going to the Mirror of Tiberius.

Or to have him reconsider.

In any case, she would be with Lanqi.

"In the previous simulation, it seemed like we successfully sealed the four Primogenitors, but in reality, the Seville Continent fell into the flames of doomsday survival. The southern continent was full of inexhaustible demons. If the north loses in the long defense war that follows, the end of this era may still be annihilation."

Talia pressed Lanqi's shoulders worriedly. The second simulation looked like hope, but it was actually true despair.

The demons on half a continent were a number that Holy Spirit Lant couldn't possibly kill all by himself. Even if he tried his best to clear out the demons before transforming into an undead, stopping until he was exhausted, he could only say that he had barely cleared out a fraction of them.

And the demons who had gone berserk and lost their reason would be far stronger than the original humans. The seventh- and eighth-level from the original Huning Empire, after becoming distorted, were all demon disasters for the northern Holy Spirit Lant Theocracy.

The Third Primogenitor, Rashal's, strategy was like this – if she lost to Rashal, the blood clan would control the entire world; if she defeated Rashal, Rashal would drag the entire world down with her.

This dead end, not to mention simulating it a third time, even if it was done a hundred more times, might not help.

The Pope's last five days were too few.

For the Pope, some things about the demons could no longer be explained clearly.

In the eyes of the world, survivors, and witnesses, he was the strongest demon once he took action, and the Huning Empire's disaster couldn't possibly be unrelated to him.

The faith of the entire Holy Spirit Lant Church would begin to collapse with him, and even many believers who were originally firm in their faith would become more extreme after believing that their faith had betrayed them.

Rankerlos simply didn't have the time to clear his name from the mud that the blood clan had thrown at him, as his life was already coming to an end.

Rashal was sure that Rankerlos would rather kill more demons that only he could kill before he died, and would never waste time doing useless work to restore his reputation.

"Lanqi, this is destined to be a dead end. Simulating it again will be the same. This is the end of the Crimson Moon Calamity."

Talia stated her conclusion. She didn't want to see Lanqi suffer in vain.

Just going to the southernmost Huning capital, Saint Tetrick, to seal the four Primogenitors would take three days.

...

This matter could only be done by Rankerlos, and he would definitely complete this final mission of his.

"Let's play another round. I want to chop up the blood clan again."

Lanqi seemed to have not listened to Talia's words at all. He looked at the Mirror of Tiberius with fiery eyes, rubbing his hands together, eager to try.

"Dude, are you really playing for fun?"

Talia felt that she had underestimated Lanqi's mental state. She placed the back of her hand on Lanqi's forehead to confirm if his brain had been fried.

Could the Mirror of Tiberius be addictive?

She admitted that Rankerlos's ninth-level big account could be killed with abandon.

But what about after the爽杀 (shuǎng shā, lit. satisfying kill)? The Mirror of Tiberius's overly realistic simulation made her even more repulsed!

"Trust me, I'm not wrong."

Lanqi grabbed Talia's hand, moved it away from his forehead, and looked at her firmly,
"If I lose everything and fail miserably, I will never run away."

To live is to have the courage to face death.

He refused to lose completely without doing anything.

In the shadow world, the Crimson Moon Calamity, in his opinion, was not over yet.

"..."

Talia stared blankly at that unchanging gaze, her eyes particularly dazed, and could only stare at this guy in front of her.

She had witnessed Lanqi's changes all along.

Yet, she could repeatedly confirm that there were things on him that would never change.

And that was precisely what attracted her the most – his unwavering heart.

Talia seemed to return to reality, reacted, and nervously withdrew her hand.

No matter what path she chose, she couldn't help but look for this face.

"Then let's go. I'll accompany you."

Talia turned her head and mumbled.

She had accompanied Lanqi for so long, and didn't mind accompanying him to use the dangerous legendary magical artifact, the Mirror of Tiberius, one last time.

Besides, Lanqi was her one and only disciple.

Just for that, she would always convey her approval to him.

"I'll definitely treat you, Master, to a big meal at the Demon King's private restaurant later. Thank you for accompanying me for so long today."

Lanqi sincerely thanked Talia.

"You're quite filial, Lanqi."

The corners of Talia's mouth curled up slightly. She dissolved into silver-white light spots and returned to Lanqi's body.

In a short moment, Lanqi walked back to the Mirror of Tiberius on the steps.

In the central energy room at night, the cold air at the edge of the Mirror of Tiberius rippled with the slightest undulations of the void power, and magic began to dance on the mirror's surface.

Lanqi raised his hand and placed it on the mirror surface. He leaned forward slightly, merging into the mirror surface surrounded by deep purple light.

Immediately, he once again felt himself falling rapidly from the starry sky.

The light and colors around him intertwined.

Until the speed of the fall began to slow down, gravity pressed heavily on him, and a dazzling white light rushed towards him.

Everything transformed into understandable character information that surged into his mind.

[Upside Down Future Illusion]

[Activation Successful]

[Remaining Uses: None]

[Name: Rankerlos Saint Anastasius]

[Current State: Ninth Level]

[Attribute: Seal/Light]

[...]

[Character Attributes Recorded]

...

[Divination Result: Death is Approaching]

[Starting Location: Demon Realm, Purgatory City Pasquale, Suburbs, Purgatory Corridor Academy]

[Remaining Lifespan: 5 days, 04 hours, 31 minutes]

After this text surged into his mind.

Lanqi hardly felt any dizziness or discomfort and immediately got into the state.

The moment he opened his eyes, he was sitting in the principal's office of Purgatory Corridor Academy.

On the window glass not far away, reflected the face wearing a silver-white mask, the vibrant emerald green eyes clearly visible through the mask.

"I'm back again."

He pressed on the desk and stood up, stretching the Pope's body.

Outside the window, the biting cold wind was still carrying sporadic snowflakes, but it had turned dark and gloomy, soaring wantonly in the Demon Realm Pasquale's night, similar to the Land of Eternal Night.

Looking at the clock, it was nearly seven in the evening.

As with the previous two times, after entering [The Mirror of Tiberius], his starting point must be the principal's office.

Semi-transparent demon characters appeared in his field of vision as scheduled --

[Holy Spirit Lant Theocracy, December 25, 614, Night.]

[...]

[You felt the approaching of your doom in Purgatory Corridor Academy and woke up.]

[These are probably your last few days. Your life is about to end.]

[You discovered through a prophetic dream that the current peace is just an illusion. The blood clan still hasn't repented in the slightest. They are plotting a bigger conspiracy in the Huning Empire. Everything is just to wait for your death to come, so they can start their counterattack.]

[And they seem to have divined all of this as well, knowing about when you will die and when you will start to weaken.]

[In addition, they have also been conducting secret experiments on the people of Huning over the years, combining the blood left by the Second Primogenitor to create a terrible toxin that has contaminated most of the northern residents and all of the southern residents of the Huning Empire.]

[Once you seal the Third Primogenitor, Rashal, or force her into a desperate situation, the doomsday disaster of this era will begin. Huning will turn into a land of demons, destroying the hope of future generations...]

[You know that this is a dead end, but you came to this dream with determination.]

[To heaven, or to hell?]

[The answer is in your hands.]

[Immediately cut off all doubts.]

[Who will have the last laugh is up to you to tell fate.]

(End of this chapter)