788 Realizations

Seeing the Magic Mirror Divination come to an end, Lumian turned his gaze to Anthony.

"The Newins has definitely fled. Go out and gather information from the pirates. Find out if Great Shark Jrg and the key crew members managed to board the ship. If they didn't, find out where they are now."

"Understood." Anthony knew Lumian wanted to quickly determine the whereabouts of Great Shark Jrg and his men to see if they could use them to "visit" the Newins again and learn about the elves and the true nature of the Lost Newins.

Lumian couldn't go himself; the pirates would avoid him, and even if he forced the information out of them, it would alert Great Shark Jrg and his men if they were still in Banamo Port, making them hide deeper.

Disguising himself wouldn't work either; the pirates wouldn't be friendly or forthcoming.

The same applied to Franca.

Only Anthony, who had befriended many pirates, could naturally obtain the needed intel.

After watching Anthony leave the room, Franca sat down at the desk with a sigh and said, "This whole transmigration thing keeps getting more complicated."

"You used to treat it too simply," Lumian scoffed.

Franca didn't argue, staying silent for a moment before changing the subject.

"I've fully digested the Pleasure potion. After a few days of rest, I'll be ready to attempt the Demoness of Affliction ritual."

"Honestly, it feels like a dream. Have I really digested it?"

She still seemed somewhat incredulous.

Lumian chuckled in response.

"What else were you expecting? If Admiral Deep Sea knew our main goal was to help you digest the Pleasure potion, he'd think the world was absurd. He'd wonder if it was necessary and suggest that with a Demoness of Pleasure's conditions, we could have just asked for his help with a notarized agreement to prevent harm, and he'd happily assist."

"It's just hard for me to accept..." Franca muttered. "And I know what you mean. In our world, plenty would say, 'Helping a Demoness of Pleasure digest a potion is too wicked-please let me help,' but that's superficial pleasure and low-quality digestion. Real pleasure comes from experiencing it in pain and sinking into it. Targeting people like Moran Avigny and Howl Constantine aligns more with the essence of the Demoness path."

Lumian was just joking and didn't continue the topic.

Franca was silent for a while, then looked at Lumian and carefully said, "About your plan to spread a plague among the pirates in Banamo Port -I don't think it's viable."

"Why?" Lumian raised an eyebrow, amused.

Franca straightened, her gaze unwavering.

"I don't think we can completely separate the guilty pirates from innocent bystanders. The plague would inevitably affect the latter, causing them to die in despair."

Lumian chuckled. "It was just a concept, a direction. We can refine the plan to address those concerns, and if it's not feasible, we can abandon it. We can't limit our thinking right from the start.

"For example, by then, I might be a demigod and find a high-level replacement for the Bottle of Fiction, capable of containing all of Banamo Port with conditions allowing only pirates to enter or exit."

"No," Franca shook her head. "There are adventurers who moonlight as pirates, and many of them haven't committed crimes deserving death."

Lumian smiled and sighed.

"Then we'll collaborate with the Aurora Order or find a Sequence 5 artifact from the Broker path to identify guilty targets."

Franca seriously thought for a moment.

"That won't work either. We have our own crimes. Many adventurers have killed pirates. Does that count as guilty?"

Lumian was momentarily speechless, then laughed.

"You really are suited for switching to Provoker.

"I was just raising examples; my point being that a plan shouldn't be dismissed outright. We need to analyze its feasibility and consider future changes."

"Okay." Franca expressed her opinion and sighed quietly.

After some thought, she decided to speak frankly to Lumian, "Since discovering the vortex plan, you've become more aggressive, like when you first came to Trier. Or is it the Devil's Whispers from Hisoka that's constantly stirring your malice? The Traveler's Bag only mitigates its influence; it doesn't completely eliminate the negative effects."

Lumian chuckled, somewhat self-deprecatingly. "It's a bit of both."

He then grew serious.

"But more importantly, I've come to some realizations."

"What realizations?" Franca asked, puzzled.

Lumian nodded. "I was going to remind you anyway. You've been a Demoness for a long time. Haven't you noticed the inherent nature of this pathway?"

Franca fell silent.

Lumian continued in a low voice. "Like the Hunter pathway, it inevitably brings catastrophe and calamity. We are destined to belong to darkness and represent destruction.

"Think about it. What's the general perception of Hunters and Demonesses among Beyonders? Danger. Hunters are seen as bloody dangers, and Demonesses as evil dangers. We can't escape this impression, nor can we deny it.

"The subsequent potion digestion and advancement rituals will push us deeper into darkness unless you choose to stop advancing and remain where you are. Otherwise, we'll face challenges that test our very souls.

"You could consider switching paths, but your only option would be the Hunter pathway."

Seeing Franca's expression change but still remaining silent, Lumian suddenly laughed.

"What I'm trying to say is, give up on purity; don't shy away from darkness and evil. We need to confront these things. Only then can we find ways to avoid evil and discover the light within the darkness. We will all be tainted by darkness.

"We are stained black; we must strive not to fall, not to betray our inner principles."

Franca was silent for a while before sighing deeply.

"Affliction and Despair give me bad premonitions. But walking in darkness, seeking light within it-won't we be corrupted bit by bit and eventually fall completely?"

Lumian chuckled. "Do we have any other choice? We can only keep fighting our own darkness and evil until we die."

Franca tersely acknowledged his words and expressed her thoughts, "Actually, all Beyonders are like this. The paths of gods are inherently dangerous and inevitably lead to madness. Hunters and Demonesses just make it more obvious and direct."

She couldn't imagine the struggles and pain if she had chosen the Devil pathway.

When the negative effects of Jenna's Decency brooch wore off, Anthony returned and briefed Lumian and the others on the current situation in Banamo Port.

The Newins had indeed fled, and Great Shark Jrg and his men hadn't boarded and were now missing.

In the following two days, Lumian and his team disguised themselves and searched Banamo Port for the first mate, second mate, and boatswain of the Newins. However, they found no significant leads, whether through social investigation or mystical tracking. Instead, they discovered some suspected associates of Admiral Deep Sea had also disappeared.

Lumian suspected Great Shark Jrg and his men had left Banamo Port through some secret means. Whether they returned to the Newins remained unknown.

...

In Trier, in an apartment in Quartier de la Cathdrale Commmorative.

Angoulme de Francois set up a ritual and summoned the messenger of the Seven of Cups.

He saw a rabbit-shaped Spirit Body emerge from the flames, dressed in an odd manner: a miniature silk top hat between its ears, tiny gold-rimmed glasses on its nose, a black trench coat clearly not meant for a rabbit, and holding an iron-black revolver sized for a large rabbit.

The messenger of Hidden Blade is quite cute, with a unique style... Who knew she would dress her messenger like this... Angoulme picked up the prewritten letter and handed it to the adorably dressed rabbit messenger.

The rabbit gave him a cold, sharp glance.

Um... Angoulme retracted his previous thoughts.

...

In one of the motel rooms rented by Lumian and company in Banamo Harbor, Franca read Angoulme's letter and said with some difficulty, "007 has a lead on the Mirror People and wants us to follow up, but we still haven't found Great Shark Jrg."

She was more interested in the secrets of the elves than the Mirror People.

Lumian leaned back, relaxed, and said, "The worst-case scenario is that Great Shark Jrg and his men have already returned to the Newins through secret means. We won't get any results staying here.

"So, let's leave. Once the alert is lifted, those people might come out.

Meanwhile, we can make long-term plans to keep an eye on Banamo Port. Maybe the Newins will return for supplies."

"Agreed," Franca accepted reality.

At that moment, Jenna noticed a problem: Rabbit Chasel was still in the room.

She hadn't paid it for delivering the message.