After Jenna changed into her dress, she recounted in full her current state and the information she had just obtained from Krismona.

She said with regret, "The time was still not enough. I could only see Lady Krismona for that very short period between fully enduring the potion and regaining complete consciousness.

"However, next time I'll be able to clearly ask what that terrifying matter is."

Lumian looked around and said, "Just now I could only sense Krismona's residual consciousness appear, but I couldn't directly see or make contact with her. This may be because she is one with the seal of the catacombs itself, or because she possesses some special quality that allows her to exert more precise influence on Demonesses."

"I think it's all of the above," Franca said to Jenna with considerable concern. "I always thought the greatest danger for female Demonesses was the Primordial One's hatred, that we would be interfered with during advancement, and even if we could struggle through, we would be hunted down by the Demoness Sect afterwards. I didn't expect there was also this hidden problem. The terrifying matter Krismona spoke of even makes the Primordial Demoness wary. It's very likely related to the deepest secrets of the special mirror world. Do you want to consider switching to the Hunter pathway, then jumping back to the Demoness pathway later?"

Jenna fell silent for a moment before saying, "I want to wait until I understand what that terrifying matter is before deciding whether or not to abandon my identity as a pure female Demoness."

After Lumian's experience, she actually wasn't as averse to changing gender for just a period of time rather than permanently.

Jenna paused, then said with a self-deprecating smile that was half sighing and half intended to comfort Lumian, "I've lived in Quartier du Jardin Botanique and the market district for so many years, and I've seen many tragic things. One thing I've learned is that if you don't even have value to be used by others, it's very difficult to break free from the mire.

"As a pure female Demoness, possibly linked to the deepest secrets of the special mirror world, this is the key reason I was able to receive a warning from Lady Krismona. And later, unable to join the Demoness Sect, if I want to digest potions faster, advance better, resist the tendency towards madness and loss of control, and truly possess the ability to protect family and friends, this should also be a very important factor. There will always be high-level figures who want to use female Demonesses to do certain things, to touch the deepest secrets of the special mirror world, so they'll need to give me certain 'benefits'.

"Relying on the Major Arcana card holders is one way, but it can't be the only way."

Lumian fell silent for a few seconds before stating, "Before encountering that terrifying matter, you should still have opportunities to question Krismona's shadow.

"We'll decide whether or not to take the risk after we understand the nature of the problem."

"Right," Franca agreed with Lumian. "When advancing to Demoness of Despair, you should be able to contact Krismona once more. Anyway, that terrifying matter won't appear until at least the Demoness of Unaging stage."

Lumian, wearing a black cloak and holding a white candle, shook his head.

"This is the last option. We can't assume Krismona is necessarily good and telling the whole truth. Perhaps pure female Demonesses encounter that matter at the Demoness of Despair stage, and Krismona is waiting for this accident.

"The opportunity I'm talking about is that in a few days, we should be able to enter Mr. Fool's dream, with a good chance of being imbued with Mr. Fool's aura. That way, we can pass through the seal and directly face Krismona's shadow near the Samaritan Women's Spring.

"Moreover, the most acceptable method for the Demoness of Despair ritual currently is to go to Morora, which definitely won't allow time to return to Trier and advance here."

Lumian continued with very clear reasoning, "There's another method using those Mirror People in the special mirror world as ritual objects, but this is only suitable for Franca. If Jenna, as a female Demoness, were to use this method to complete the ritual, it might cause that terrifying matter to arrive prematurely."

After all, it was very closely related to the deepest secrets of the special mirror world.

"Mm." Both Jenna and Franca agreed with Lumian's explanation.

Lumian called out to Anthony standing in the corner, dispelled the Mirror Maze, retrieved the mirrors, and holding a burning white candle, headed towards the upper levels of the catacombs.

Franca walked alongside him and said after some thought, "By the way, the Despair potion you drank should include portions from Sequence 9 to Sequence 5, right? When I was considering switching to the Hunter pathway before, I consulted Madam Judgment about related matters. She said one issue with switching to adjacent pathways is that all the preceding potions have to be fully digested, otherwise it will affect one's state and significantly increase risks for future advancements."

This is unlike advancing within the same pathway, where the mental and spiritual state has already been adjusted to suit digestion of preceding potions, so it doesn't take long to stabilize one's condition.

Lumian chuckled softly, seeming to bring a touch of color to the dark and gloomy catacombs.

"I've already digested most of the Despair potion.

"Given my mental and spiritual state then and afterwards, Affliction isn't a concern. It's very compatible and took just a few days to digest.

"The same goes for Pleasure. My experiences during that period changed my mental and spiritual state, and we even had that experience that very morning. So it's not like my state gradually reverted back due to being away from that condition for too long. This doesn't need to be specially digested again.

"Instigator is similar. Don't you often say I'm an excellent Instigator?

"Comparatively, I've been more engaged in direct combat and killing enemies recently. Using Fate Exchange to harm targets was just one of my methods before, not the main approach. So I'll need to seriously act and digest the Assassin and Witch potions once. But as they're in the minority now, they can't really affect my state much and are more of a hidden danger for future advancements."

"I see" Franca nodded, not saying anything more.

Afterwards, since Jenna needed to go back to rest, stabilize her condition, and contain the spillover effects of the potion, only Lumian and Franca took a four-wheeled, four-seater carriage to Rue Orosai in Quartier de la Cathdrale Commmorative.

Before going to Trocadro to find the Demoness of Black, they planned to return to their originally rented apartment to see if the Demoness of Black had sought out Franca and left any messages.

As for choosing a rental carriage instead of public transport or the metro, it was because the two Demonesses, even wearing hats and loose clothing, would inevitably encounter some harassment incidents.

Although Franca and Lumian weren't afraid, they felt there was no need to make themselves uncomfortable. They weren't the type of Demonesses who played extremely extreme roles.

Quartier de l'Observatoire and Quartier de la Cathdrale Commmorative were adjacent, so it didn't take long for the two Demonesses to return to Apartment 702 at 9 Rue Orosai and open the door.

Although they had only been gone for a few days, and Franca hadn't even had time to tell the landlord about ending the lease early and not needing the deposit back, when they saw the interior layout and the armchair, they felt as if an era had passed.

Various memories flashed through Franca's mind. At times she felt sweet, at times she couldn't help but silently sigh.

After Lumian concealed himself and hid, Franca entered the room alone, closed the wooden door, and carefully examined every detail of the place, focusing on all items with glass mirror surfaces.

"No messages, no traces, but I feel like someone's been here" Franca muttered to herself as she withdrew her palm from the full-length mirror in the living room.

She turned around and walked towards the master bedroom.

At that moment, the full-length mirror suddenly became dim, as if it had been placed in a lightless environment.

In this dimness, a figure was quickly outlined.

She wore a black court dress, her black hair neatly coiled up, lightly covered by a hat with a dark veil hanging down. Her indescribably beautiful face was slightly pale, her deep gray eyes misty like smoky rain, emitting a noticeable brightness, naturally exuding a pitiable quality.

This was the Demoness of Black, Clarice!

At this moment, the Demoness of Black's face was expressionless, her deep gray eyes reflecting the tall, soft silhouette of Franca's back.

The corner of her mouth curved up slightly, and a few naturally falling strands of her hair drilled out from the mirror into the outside world, extending silently towards Franca's back as if they had a life of their own.

Franca suddenly received a warning, a warning from her companion.

Without thinking, she actively triggered Mirror Substitution.

The next second, her body was touched by those few strands of black hair. First, it turned into a mirror, then became grayish-white, and fell to the ground with a thud.

The mirror had become stone.

Almost simultaneously, the Demoness of Black Clarice in the full-length mirror saw a figure leap down from above.

That figure wore a black cloak, with light blue eyes, pale lips, a clean and elegant face, stunningly beautiful features, a cold and calm expression, standing over 1.8 meters tall, body slightly bent, both hands holding a huge iron-black straight sword.

That huge straight sword burned with intense white-blue flames, slamming onto the ground with a bang.

This didn't shatter or pierce the floor, but hit an invisible barrier. As the entire space gently shook, it triggered a fierce fire snake of intense white-blue, rapidly pouncing towards that full-length mirror, igniting the tea table and wooden boards along the way, quickly reducing them to ashes.

Bottle of Fiction!

When the Demoness of Black's hair strands stabbed out from the mirror, Lumian was already prepared to act to save Franca!

He hadn't expected the Demoness of Black to be so direct and decisive in trying to petrify Franca without saying a word, but this didn't hinder him from following his combat instincts and quickly responding.

The Demoness of Black in the full-length mirror still had that pitiable appearance, but her eyes reflecting Lumian's figure suddenly became covered with a layer of grayish-white, cold color.