Chapter 235
Chapter 235: I'm Done. Just Done.
Marei Dim.
That was the name of this mirror.
It had another name as well—
The Mirror Demon.
In a long-forgotten horror story from the distant reaches of the Empire, there lived an ancient noble by the name of Marei Dim.
As a man renowned far and wide for his beauty, Marei Dim had spent his life searching for the perfect partner—one worthy of him.
But he searched and searched, for many, many years, and found nothing.
Until one day, someone sought him out in the corner of a brothel.
"I know you, Marei Dim. I know what you are looking for."
"You only need to look at it once, and you will understand what you truly desire."
The figure in black tore away the enormous black curtain behind them. A vast mirror, shimmering with silver light, appeared before Marei Dim.
In that single glance, he fell perfectly and utterly in love with it.
Or rather—
He fell in love with himself within the mirror.
In that moment, Marei Dim was moved to tears, trembling with elation.
He finally knew what he had always truly loved.
He turned to the figure in black, asking with a shaking voice:
"Name your price—I have whatever it costs—just sell me this mirror!"
"I don't want money. I don't want money....."
The figure in black left behind only those words, and dissolved into the darkness.
Leaving only the enormous mirror, alone with Marei Dim.
Beside himself with joy, he carried the mirror back to his home.
Each time he gazed at his reflection, Marei Dim found himself more and more enraptured.
At night, he would lie pressed against the mirror, fantasizing about embracing the self within it, and drift into a deep, contented sleep.
Until one day, when the brothel had not seen Marei Dim for several days, the proprietor personally led others to break down his door.
But in that humble room, all they could find was a strange, cold-gleaming mirror—and a familiar set of clothes scattered across the floor.
No one knew where Marei Dim had gone. No one knew how the mirror had come to be in his home.
***
In the game, Players could search for the Mirror Demon—the story of Marei Dim.
Viktor still had a vague recollection of it.
Thinking back on the lore, he began to remember:
The Mirror Demon had always been sealed within the Clavena Territory.
When Players freely explored the Clavena Territory, they discovered this mirror in the basement of the Manor.
The Mirror Demon was classified as a hostile entity—Players could attack it, but could not kill it.
The mirror would not die as long as it could still reflect anything.
And so, through countless attempts, Players eventually found the solution.
When all light was blocked and nothing could be reflected, the mirror could be destroyed.
In the end, the mirror dissolved into a pool of Experience Points for countless Players to share among themselves, but……
The Marei Dim of the legend was also freed from the mirror in the process.
But right now, the Mirror Demon looked thoroughly dumbfounded.
It could not fathom how Viktor could possibly know its name.
And even more inconceivable to it was the power that had erupted from Viktor's body.
The enormous mirror reflected in full those colossal beasts of nature that had materialized behind Viktor.
The 3-colored Magic Power merged and intertwined—like ten thousand threads of breath weaving through each other.
The colossal beasts' sky-piercing forms towered over the earth. A terrifying aura burst from their bodies.
A 3-colored ocean capsized and poured downward, drowning all things beneath it.
Any living being before them would be like an ant before a mountain—an overwhelming and paralyzing spectacle.
The Mirror Demon was no exception. It felt itself enveloped by a sense of crisis, its body trembling faintly.
This was one of the Mirror Demon's abilities.
Within the mirror's surface, it could project the soul of a person.
It could peer into what lay hidden in the deepest reaches of the soul, glimpsing what the person before it had experienced.
But when it looked at Viktor, it was confused.
The man before it seemed to have no soul at all.
Or perhaps it was that his soul was wrapped in some strange force—a force that made it impossible to see through.
Only a single pupil flickered ceaselessly beneath the black.
The black wings at his back suddenly spread wide, and countless scattered black feathers drifted and echoed through the void.
It could not see through Viktor's soul. Could not see what Viktor had experienced.
Then, 3 currents of natural energy transformed into 3 wisps of strangely-hued smoke, coiling around Viktor's body.
A terror like the coming of a Calamity swept instantly over the Mirror Demon's entire soul, sending it into uncontrollable trembling.
The Mirror Demon stared blankly at Viktor, a doubt rising within it:
Was he—truly human?
The next instant, from Viktor's fingertips, a red light flickered to life.
3 Magic Formations climbed simultaneously around his fingers.
A hexagram Formation blazed. The terrifying Magic Power transformed into threads of patterned light, linking between the 3 Formations.
Before long, wave after wave of scorching heat burst forth from within them. The fearsome heat wave seemed capable of incinerating everything in existence.
The 3 Formations suddenly expanded and began rotating at high speed above Viktor's head.
A red divine being extended its enormous bird-head, struggling to emerge from within the Formation, and tore a sharp, piercing cry toward the sky.
【4th-Tier Magic: Evil God's Roar】
Viktor swung the Staff: Ulruste in his hand and raised it toward the soaring divine being.
A terrifying heat swept across the entire space.
Amber-red flames began erupting from the 3 Formations. Cluster after cluster of flame fell slowly from the sky toward the ground below—as though each one carried a will of its own.
Scorching heat burst violently from the ground, transforming into fire birds that launched up around the mirror.
Their elongated tails, trailing crimson lava, fused completely with the clusters of flame.
Beneath the divine being's piercing roar, those fire birds channeled the fire clusters and drove them crashing hard into the ground of the space.
The surging, blazing heat—in the blink of an eye—swallowed the mirror whole.
The red flame energy, like a long lance, drove itself hard and deep into the trembling, fragile mirror surface.
Bang!
The mirror surface could not withstand this devastating attack. In an instant, it was shattered into pieces.
But this time, the surroundings did not plunge back into a void.
As the mirror-like shattering spread outward, the heat and scorching intensity surged once more.
Viktor raised his head and took in the temperature around him.
Below the sky, ember-red cinders drifted through the air. The mountain beneath his feet was blanketed in flowing lava.
Boulders continued to slip and fall into the gaping rift at the mountain's center.
Splash! Splash!
One after another, lava erupted upon impact, shooting dozens of meters into the air.
The scorching mountain seemed capable of melting any living thing. The heavy, oppressive air pressed down upon every heart.
"I told you."
"You—cannot kill me!!!"
Accompanied by that brazen voice, a scorching storm whipped up from nowhere in the air.
The lava beneath the flames began to tremble violently, as though being boiled.
The next instant, a colossal sun-blotting form rose up from the center of the volcano.
Across the red-hardened shell, terrifying droplets of lava fell without cease.
Scalding heat burst outward as Gulton emerged from within the volcano and released a tremendous, terrifying roar toward the sky.
Viktor surveyed his surroundings.
This was Mount Vesuvius—a place he knew well.
This was the Mirror Demon's second ability.
Through the mirror, the Mirror Demon could reflect Viktor's power and replicate it.
And now, the volcanic lava around him, the scorching heat waves—all of it had been created by the Mirror Demon's replication of the Calamity's might.
Marei Dim burst into wild laughter, its 2 purple eyes flying wide open:
"Can you feel it—this power that originates from you!"
"I—am the same as you!"
Viktor looked quietly at this imitation of Gulton, and a faint, light smile rose to his face.
The red energy around the beast's body covered it completely, transforming into cluster after cluster of pure crystallized energy.
And yet, in his eyes, this counterfeit bore none of the real thing's oppressive weight.
Viktor's voice followed, carrying unmistakable contempt:
"Have you ever stopped to think about where this power of mine came from?"
The Mirror Demon froze upon hearing that.
It could not see through Viktor's soul. It could not know his past. Naturally, it had no way of knowing where Viktor's terrifying power truly originated.
Even simply replicating Viktor's power as-is had made the Mirror Demon feel an incomparable aura of might and supremacy.
And yet……
The ease Viktor showed—that was what made it hesitate……and fear.
Viktor slowly raised the Staff: Ulruste in his hand.
Red natural energy gathered at the staff's tip, flowing like streams converging into the sea, surging endlessly toward Viktor.
The next instant, Viktor opened his mouth slowly:
"Watch carefully."
"Let me show you how this power is meant to be used."
The moment those words fell, a blinding red light exploded from the center of the Magic Formation.
The violent, blazing heat became a great beast and swallowed everything whole.
The entire earth began to tremble. A ferocious column of flame and lava mixed together, instantly breaking through the shell of the world—as though it would consume the entire overcast sky.
The earth was peeled back a layer of soil, and the flame scorched the air itself into ash and smoke.
Column after column of lava surged upward without end, every single one terrifying beyond measure.
【Blazing Severance—Wrath of Extinction】
Those flames swallowed the body of "Gulton" completely. Across heaven and earth, only one color remained—red.
"Gulton" stared, eyes wide.
Within those eyes, only that blazing, dazzling crimson remained—surrounding it on all sides.
Within the red, Viktor's voice drifted out, unhurried:
"I'm curious."
"Why does no one like opening with their strongest technique?"
The moment those words fell, white light shone from within the lava and flooded all things.
Sound too was torn apart. The world fell into a boundless silence......
***
The white light flashed—
Leah slowly opened her eyes, watching the indistinct white light disappear from before her.
Her vision was somewhat blurry. She tried to push herself up from the bed, but felt only a wave of dizziness from her head.
What had happened?
She remembered—she had gone to the mine.
Because the workers at home had dug up a mirror.
Leah raised her head and looked at the tall mirror standing nearby.
She seemed to have... fainted?
That mirror was surely some kind of extraordinary Magic tool.
Leah thought to herself, dragging her body upright as she struggled to sit up from the bed.
The next instant, a wave of weakness swept through her entire body.
Her head ached—badly.
A sharp, tearing pain reverberated ceaselessly inside her skull, as though someone were forcibly stirring it from within.
Then a maidservant walked in carrying a basin of water.
The moment she saw Leah was awake, she immediately set the basin down to the side.
"My Lady! You're finally awake!"
Leah froze on the spot, puzzled.
"My Lady?"
A strange thought began to form inside her head.
Oh, right—she was apparently the head of the Clavena Family.
Leah felt a vague, inexplicable sadness wash over her.
At some point, she had become the only person still bearing the Clavena name in the entire Family.
So she held the right of first succession to the Clavena name.
After her father's death, Leah had naturally become the Lady Lord of the Clavena Territory.
But...... it was strange.
An inexplicable, tearing feeling kept flooding through her mind.
Leah shook her head, then looked toward the maidservant:
"During the days I was unconscious, what happened?"
At that moment, a black Crow on the windowsill flapped its wings and flew away from the Manor window.
Leaving behind only a single jet-black feather, proof that it had once been there.
......
By now, Leah was fully dressed.
She wore a black Coat and appeared in the Back Garden of the Clavena Territory.
The reason Leah wore this strange Coat was because she felt, inexplicably, that as the head of the Family, one simply had to have a Coat like this.
Even though the thing was genuinely quite warm to wear.
At her side walked a petite white-furred Cat-girl.
Xiangyilan—Leah remembered her name.
She was a Demi-human carefully cultivated by the Clavena Family head, who had even given her her name.
Wait, strange?
Why was she referring to herself as the Clavena Family head?
Leah couldn't make sense of it.
Regardless, during the days she had been unconscious, it was Xiangyilan who had handled the Family's business affairs.
And she had done it all with impeccable order.
Xiangyilan stood at her side, reporting in an organized manner:
"My Lady, the preparations are nearly complete."
"The Elves have sent word. It won't be long before they arrive."
The Elves would emerge one by one from the Divine Tree in the back garden of the Manor.
Leah raised her head and looked at the enormous Divine Tree before her.
She had no idea where this great tree had come from.
In her memory, there had never been such a tree in the Back Garden.
It was as though it had appeared out of nowhere just in the past few days.
A green luminescence began to glow faintly in the air. The branches of the Divine Tree started to sway.
Before the Divine Tree, a rift in space gradually widened.
A massive transport passage appeared before Leah.
A wave after wave of powerful natural energy rushed toward her.
Leah knew—the Elves were about to emerge from within.
But at that moment, her body suddenly lurched.
Something behind her seemed to have bumped into her.
She lost her balance momentarily, nearly tumbling to the ground.
Leah steadied herself, then raised her head to look behind her.
It was a girl wearing a wide black robe.
Unlike Leah, she had actually been knocked to the ground.
Leah recognized her and was somewhat surprised:
"Heni? What's wrong?"
Upon hearing Leah's voice, Heni's body gave a sudden jolt.
As though snapping back to reality, she raised her head. The corners of her eyes glistened with tears, and her wide eyes had gone watery and soft.
It was the kind of sight that sent an ache straight through the heart—pitiable beyond words.
She made no further movement. She didn't even cry. She simply lifted her face and looked at Leah in a daze:
"I think I...lost something important."
"Something important."