Accompanying that slightly surprised, charming voice, Klein felt a chill and coldness in his chest.
A delicate, antique brass whistle, pulled by invisible threads, was drawn from his shirt pocket, adorned with many strange patterns full of mysterious charm.
Katarina Pelle looked at Klein, whose expression grew increasingly stiff, took the brass whistle into her hand, and said with a faint smile:
"I didn't expect that after more than a thousand years, I could still sense the aura of that Balam Empire's Death Consul."
"To be a young man valued by him, tsk tsk, if I didn't have other things to do right now, I might have, without revealing the vicissitudes of my heart, had an encounter with you and pursued a pure love."
This Demoness of Unaging subtly restrained her charm, her expression holy and solemn, and her features and temperament miraculously enhanced this contrast.
Is this the allure of a high-ranking Demoness? Not daring to meet her gaze, Klein slightly lowered his eyes, already trying to use meditation techniques to resist that indescribable charm.
Examining the Azik brass whistle in her hand, Katarina Pelle paid no attention to Klein's reaction, and added with a playful expression:
"If it were according to my old habits, everyone who knew the secret would die!"
"However, for his sake, I can give you a chance."
Without further explanation, Katarina Pelle gently raised her hand, and the mirror in the bedroom, which Klein often used to summon Arrodes, suddenly rippled with black flames, its surface instantly becoming dim and dark, as if countless objects and layers of space were hidden within.
That mirror seemed to become a passage to another world!
Klein and Trissy, solidified in "amber" and unable to move or even speak with great difficulty, were thus dragged by Katarina Pelle to the mirror and entered it as if they had no physical form.
The illusory world of layers within the "mirror" then converged, as if constantly moving away.
"Is this the 'Mirror World'?
Klein's eyes flickered uneasily; in his sight, the original mirror surface had become blurry, more akin to a dim, illusory, and unreal passage.
It connected with similar things in the surrounding area, forming a complex and abstract "spiderweb," weaving together a deep and strange "world."
Almost immediately upon entering the Mirror World, the Demoness of Unaging Katarina Pelle's charming smiling face suddenly froze, enveloped by layers of spider silk, transforming into an illusory mirror.
Inside, water light rippled and faint glows emerged; at this moment, it did not reflect the scene in front of it, but instead outlined a massive, bandaged, headless body, with black thorns emerging from the neck's opening, exceptionally horrifying.
"An Angel-level Spirit World creature! How is this possible...."
Upon seeing this situation, Katarina Pelle, clad in a simple, holy white robe, shrieked without hesitation.
Invisible sound waves rapidly spread through the deep, chaotic Mirror World, and her hair also floated up, each strand distinct, thick, and dyed a dull gray.
The mirror that reflected the headless body, its illusory and deep surface suddenly shook violently, seeming as if it could collapse and disintegrate at any moment.
And the figure it reflected had already disappeared from the mirror, appearing in Katarina's pupils the next moment.
In mid-air, her invisible spider silks emerged, all turning dim and evolving towards a grayish-white.
At the same time, the dim and deep mirror developed cracks, and with an illusory cracking sound, it disintegrated and vanished directly.
The Demoness of Unaging, whose body was gradually stiffening, also disintegrated, but the escaping gray-white airflow strangely condensed, reforming into Katarina Pelle's figure further away.
Unlike before, the terrifying headless Angel was no longer in her eyes; after a brief exchange, she had discerned that it was merely a historical projection of an Ancient Bane.
Otherwise, even she, a member of a secret organization who understood some abilities of the Rose School of Thought's high-ranking members, would not have been able to break free so quickly.
"Scholar of Yore? A member of the Secret Order? That Zaratul who disappeared a long time ago?"
Thoughts flashed through her mind, Katarina Pelle took a deep breath, and a strange crown full of rust and bloodstains appeared in her hand; resisting the desire in her heart, she forcibly activated this Conqueror Beyonder characteristic.
An illusory figure, three to four meters tall but without the unique vertical single eye of a giant, emerged, its originally playful and mocking smile replaced by indifference, clad in black full body armor as if splashed with blood, completely different from the appearance seen in the underground ruins previously.
Aaron, wearing the Star Crown, was hidden within the vast Mirror World, looking at the illusory Red Priest triggered by that Beyonder characteristic, with a playful expression on his face.
The Mirror World is not a true world; more accurately, it is closer to a collection of 'Doors', connecting different mirrors and different mysterious kingdoms.
If one gets lost inside, they might directly appear in the Abyss, or even the Cosmos, similar to a Secrets Sorcerer or a demigod with such abilities who could use it to create a reflection world to hide in, just like Aaron now.
The giant-like illusory Red Priest swung the broadsword in its hand upwards, and countless bluish-white, purplish flames condensed into long spears, densely shooting towards the Ancient Bane.
Countless more illusory figures vaguely emerged; even within the special space of the Mirror World, this projection, summoned solely by a war imprint, seemed capable of having an entire legion of illusory Beyonders cooperating in battle!
The headless body was pierced by spears, but the sinister black thorns extending from the neck's opening also penetrated the Red Priest's figure, until they spread to Katarina Pelle and turned into grayish-white powder.
Although Katarina was a Sequence 3 Demoness of Unaging, without any preparation and relying solely on Beyonder characteristics, even with the Red Priest Pathway's particularity, the war imprint she summoned barely reached the Angel level.
With her body pierced by thorns, the originally indifferent "Red Priest" suddenly raised his head, and terrifying, rotting, bone-revealing marks appeared on his young, handsome face, while his eyes held a hint of playfulness.
He first looked at Katarina, whose expression slightly changed, and then turned his gaze to a certain spot in the illusory and undulating mirror world, meeting Aaron's eyes.
Adjusting the Star Crown on his head, Aaron's face also broke into a smile; although he hadn't expected Medici to be attracted despite the obstruction of the Mirror World and the Angel-level Concealment spell cast by the Star Crown, his preparations were complete.
Although Astolfo was still in slumber, it did not prevent the summoning of his historical projection; as a high-level Spirit World creature, he could maximally delay Katarina Pelle in the Mirror World.
This bought Aaron enough time to quietly peel this area from the Mirror World with the Star Staff, and banish the entire space into the already activated Law Formation.
The anomaly of Medici's war imprint caught Katarina Pelle's attention, and she also saw Aaron, who no longer concealed his figure; looking at the terrifying figures emerging behind the Duke, this Demoness of Unaging instantly abandoned her plan to fight.
Being cautious and fleeing immediately when things went wrong was also the reason Katarina Pelle survived the tragic Pale Disaster of the Fifth Epoch.
But this was no longer the past, and she was no longer the dispensable Demoness of Despair; to escape this trap set for her, she had to abandon something.
Seeing the sudden change, Trissy, whose numb mind showed a glimmer of life, suddenly let out a hysterical roar; the Primordial Demoness's will, which had been appeased by Katarina, lost all its restraints and began to assimilate the host without question.
A ruthless look flashed across Katarina Pelle's beautiful face; as long as she escaped successfully, after the Backlund affair was over, offering this Conqueror Beyonder characteristic to the Primordial One would forgive even the greatest mistake.
Before the ruthless expression faded, Katarina Pelle looked at the layers of the Mirror World around her with some disbelief; the passage that was once at her beck and call, even though it was right in front of her, seemed to be separated by an untouchable barrier.
Not to mention escaping deeper into the Mirror World, she couldn't even return to the real world.
The Star Crown on Aaron's head erupted with an extremely brilliant light, illuminating this dim and layered Mirror World, and a dark blue light curtain rapidly converged, with black fissures appearing.
This area of the Mirror World was violently torn apart, looking somewhat like a crystal ball formed by countless insects, and a gray-blue, illusory Door with seven brass keyholes appeared in the gradually expanding black fissure.
A Planeswalker can transform himself into a symbolic representation, thereby effectively utilizing the Astral World to travel to different planets and different worlds, and when the object of banishment is a closed space, it can also be symbolized to enhance the accuracy of banishment.
Looking at Klein, who seemed somewhat joyful and about to say something, and Trissy, who was on the verge of collapse, Aaron manipulated the Star Crown to directly kick them both out of the Mirror World.
Aaron finally looked at Katarina Pelle, who was frantically crashing against the barrier, and the blood-colored crown whose iron-blooded aura grew increasingly Rich, his pupils instantly turning reddish-gold.
At the same time, the sub-consciousness within the Nation of Disorder exploited the Black Emperor card and the Justiciar card to maximally activate the Sefirah's power; the surging dark-gold mist transformed into a tide, frantically pouring into the brilliant chaotic crown where order and chaos coexisted.
From the top of this Night Emperor relic, the reddish-gold eyeball embedded within it emitted a reddish-gold light, which transformed into a stream of light and merged into the prayer image.
Katarina Pelle, who was still desperately trying to activate the Conqueror Beyonder characteristic, was immediately enveloped by that light, and the blood-colored crown, which had been constantly emitting an iron-blooded aura and growing stronger, strangely returned to calm.
The contract contained within the crown, personally made by George III, which prevented Katarina from taking the Beyonder characteristic out of Backlund, also slowly melted away in the light.
Having lost the last obstruction, the crystal ball, as if formed by countless insects, vanished behind the banishment Door in an instant.
-----------------
Empress Borough, Sodela Palace.
George III, wearing a crown, with a resolute face and a small mustache, suddenly stood up from his throne, closed his eyes and sensed for a moment before saying coldly:
"Those fools from the Demoness Sect!"
There was not a single servant in the silent palace, yet a slightly aged voice sounded out of thin air; Hvin Rambis, his hair completely white, with a gentle and refined demeanor, emerged from the Sea of Collective Subconscious and slowly spoke:
"Your Majesty, it is time, otherwise once those people from the Church react, all our painstaking preparations will be for naught!"
Nodding with a somewhat gloomy expression, George III, who appeared to be only at Sequence 5, suddenly exuded terrifying pressure, and a huge black mausoleum was reflected in his eyes as he spoke in a low voice:
"Tell Adam, I need an explanation!"
-----------------
Night had fallen deep, the pale yellow mist was not particularly dense, floating everywhere in Backlund, carrying a slightly choking smell, cold and damp.
Panatiya, the Despair Nightingale, looked around, stepped out of the alley, and entered the street, her pace slow, as if she was wandering in an ocean of mist.
Where she passed, the mist imperceptibly thickened slightly, tinged with a hint of iron-black, and the visible distance quietly shrank.
She was currently unaware of Katarina's situation, having only received Hvin Rambis's order to act early, to unleash a wave of death with the great smog, and to offer the grievances generated from the sacrifice of all living beings as compensation to the Aurora Order for their divine descent ritual.
The iron-black and pale yellow intertwined smog descended upon the East Borough, upon the Docklands, upon the factory district spewing smoke, and continuously spread throughout Backlund.
Reaching a clock tower, Panatiya stood on the top observation deck, her expression serene and gentle, admiring her artwork, her lips slightly curved as she chuckled softly:
"The history of the Loen Kingdom will remember this day!"
-----------------
15 Minsk Street, Klein's smile froze on his face, and the words he hadn't yet spoken caught in his throat; he looked with a twitching face at Trissy, who had already begun to distort not far away.
"At a time like this, even if he wants to deal with that Demoness, and is powerless to help me escape Backlund, he should at least find a way to throw this guy far away, preferably directly in front of those irritable old men...."
Complaining helplessly in his heart, but without Katarina, he at least had a chance to call for help; looking at Trissy's completely dark eyes, and the gray-white spreading outwards from her center, Klein decisively retreated and took out the paper crane whose specific use he didn't know.
Just as he was about to try lighting the paper crane to see what would happen, Klein suddenly noticed that Trissy, who should have lost her sanity, suddenly showed a human-like fear and dread on her face, and the spreading gray-white abruptly stopped.
His heart skipped a beat, Klein stiffly turned his head to look behind him, where a female figure wearing a hood and a dark robe had appeared at some point.