Mystery: The Stranger

Chapter 27 The Apostle of the Mirror

ha?

Snow looked at Saratas with a puzzled expression.

He understood what Saratas meant. It was that ambushes were most effective the first time, but once you succeeded, it wasn't so easy to succeed the second time. Rather than ambushing the two great demon families at Sequence 5, it would be better to wait until you advanced to Sequence 4 before poking at the Belial or Andrerad families.

"But it's not that extreme."

Snow spoke calmly, the summoning circle at his fingertips already glowing with a dark purple light. "Besides, Sequence 5 is relatively easy to deal with, but trying to ambush a Sequence 4 demigod in the Abyss is on a completely different level."

As soon as he finished speaking, the void energy around him suddenly contracted and poured into the magic array.

Now that he had transformed into the form of a Void Demon, Snow simply initiated a summoning ritual, projecting himself into the abyss through the summoned Abyss Gate.

It's just a projection... not the actual object.

Mysticism is not rigid; its application is quite flexible.

The demons in the abyss can use the power of the abyss to do what only high-ranking beings can do: respond to the prayers of the real world and send down projections.

Similarly, this Abyss Projection Technique can also be reversed, using the power of the Abyss to create one's own projection in the Abyss. Essentially, it all relies on the power of the Abyss, and even projecting inside the Abyss is easier than projecting in the real world using the power of the Abyss.

Since the mission was to raid the Demon Duke's territory and ambush his descendants, Snow was extremely cautious and would never use his true form.

In the abyss, chaos and filth intertwine. The sky is an eternal dark red, the earth is riddled with cracked lava fissures, and the air is thick with the stench of sulfur and decay. Even the light seems to carry a distorted malice. This is the source of all evil, the land of depravity, the abode of all demons.

Even angels who step into this place cannot escape the fate of being corrupted, fallen, and ultimately out of control—all those who guard the abyss will eventually be assimilated by it.

There was no need to deliberately determine the direction. Every demon knew where the Belial and Andrerad families were located. Based on the idea of ​​visiting whichever side was closer, Snow's projection merged into the shadows, gliding along the cracked ground, and headed towards the Belial family's residence.

The Belial family is a top-tier demon family that controls the pathways to the Abyss. Their family symbol is a combination of a pentagram and an abstract symbol of ram's horns. Their influence in the Abyss is deeply entrenched, with a Grand Duke of the Abyss in charge. The family also boasts many veteran powerhouses at the Saint level.

Snow's projection blended into the shadows of the lava fissures, cautiously approaching the Belial family's stronghold. It was a fortress complex constructed of obsidian and solidified lava, with towering walls covered in grotesque bone spikes. The demons patrolling the walls were all menacing, at least Sequence 7 serial killers, and surrounded by a faint aura of blood and corruption.

He entered the complex disguised as a low-ranking demon serving as a servant, and instead of acting rashly, he remained inside the miner's body to observe the outside world.

Because the Abyss was originally Australia that was sunk, it is rich in minerals. Many high-level demons like to use high-quality ores to sharpen their teeth and can even resell them in the real world to contract some arms deals.

This gave rise to a massive group of mining slaves. Because the Abyss adheres to the absolute law of the jungle, these demons who are mining slaves naturally live in extremely harsh conditions.

Snow only briefly focused on these things, after all, his purpose for this trip was not to liberate the slaves, but mainly to observe where the person in charge of this large mining area was staying and what kind of demon he was.

After lying in wait for about half an hour, Snow finally locked onto his target—a demon living alone in the western tower of the fortress. The demon was tall and slender, with dark gray skin, crescent-shaped ram horns on its head, and bat wings folded over its shoulders. It was surrounded by faint emotional fluctuations, typical characteristics of an apostle of desire.

More importantly, Snow sensed a unique mirror-like fluctuation emanating from the other party. Combined with the other party's habit of occasionally observing its own reflection through the window, Snow instantly determined the other party's race—the Mirror Demon.

"Found it."

Snow's projection silently slipped into the shadows at the base of the tower, his consciousness simultaneously returning to the basement in the real world. In the basement, Snow's true form sat cross-legged, the Blade of the Dark Kingdom diagonally inserted into the center of the magic circle before him, radiating chilling shadow energy. Xalatas floated beside him, the void energy around him slightly receding.

"That Mirror Apostle has a malicious sense and can predict deadly danger," Snow said, opening his eyes. "You have to help me suppress all malice and prevent it from sensing it in advance."

"Don't worry, I'll control my appetite." Xalatas licked his fangs, a hint of excitement in his voice. "This demon bloodline must taste amazing."

Snow said no more, his consciousness sinking back into the projection. His figure, like a ghost, climbed along the shadow of the tower, finally stopping outside the window of the target's room, his fingertips quietly grasping the dark golden Ninth Law talisman.

Inside the room, the Apostle of the Mirror sat at a stone table, toying with a smooth obsidian mirror, its indifferent face reflected in the mirror.

Snow took a deep breath, no longer hesitated, and flashed in. The Ninth Law talisman on his fingertip suddenly lit up with a dazzling golden light!

"Order: Confinement!"

With a brief whisper, the power of the talisman erupted instantly, forming a semi-transparent, invisible barrier centered on the room. Like a closed, transparent prison, it completely isolated the entire room from the outside world—this barrier was so strong that even spirits could hardly penetrate it, let alone transmit information.

At the same time, the Baron's Gloves worn by Snow emitted a faint black aura, and the power of distortion quietly surged, deflecting part of the Ninth Law's sealing power and turning it into invisible shackles that wrapped around the Mirror Apostle, attempting to imprison it directly.

"Um?"

The Apostle of the Mirror reacted extremely quickly. The moment it sensed the danger, the obsidian mirror in front of it shattered into countless tiny shards, and its image vanished like ripples on water, leaving only a broken mirror image behind.

Snow's binding power missed its target; the invisible shackles slammed against the wall with a dull thud.

"Who are you?"

The Mirror Demon's voice came from the other side of the room. Its figure solidified, its gaze coldly fixed on Snow's projection. "Do you know the consequences of causing trouble on Belial's territory?"

It immediately recognized Snow's race—the Void Demons.

This ancient relic, which had already fallen into decline by the end of the Second Era and was now almost extinct in the Abyss, was unexpected to be seen again. What made it even more wary was that the other party had managed to bypass its malicious perception and dared to attack directly, clearly having something to rely on.

The Mirror Apostle's mind raced, and it subconsciously prayed to its family's demigod, seeking support. But no matter how it tried to convey its thoughts, it was like a stone sinking into the sea, receiving no response—the Ninth Law's barrier completely isolated space, and even prayers could not penetrate it.

Its face instantly darkened, but it showed no panic. Instead, it stared intently at Snow's projection, its eyes growing colder: "Void Demon, an old relic that should have been retired long ago."