Chapter 174
After that, numerous traps popped out to try and catch his steps. There were some he sensed beforehand and some he didn’t, but he nullified them all with a single gesture. A skilled trap disarmer would be dumbfounded and gape in astonishment at the sight.
Some people spend their entire lives training and developing the ability to set up or dismantle each one of those traps. He turned them all to nothing so easily. But the one executing it was utterly indifferent. He even seemed somewhat bored.
Splash.
It really didn’t take long for him to arrive at the location of the mirror. He stared at the mirror in front of him with a blank expression.
The magic mirror standing loftily in the middle of the underground lake. There were rumors that it devoured the people reflected in the mirror, and there were rumors that it bewitched and captured them. But the truth was,
‘One of the fragments of primordial magic.’
It was a device that the old Roina had set up to prevent the Imperial Palace’s contract from expanding further. Lutan strode forward without hesitation. Splash, splash, the sound of water splashing up followed his steps. The water, which had no ripples and reflected the ceiling like a mirror, rippled and surged in response to his steps.
He walked, ignoring such a lake, and soon reached the mirror. The enormous mirror, larger than a person, had an oval frame with various antique gold decorations.
“Shadow. Why did you abandon the given mission?”
Without delay, he reached out to the mirror and made a motion as if pressing his palm against it. He didn’t actually touch the mirror. That was enough, even without direct contact. He gathered mana and applied pressure to the mirror. Crack, a sound was heard, and the mirror cracked too easily. His reflection in the mirror split in half.
“If you don’t answer properly, I will destroy you immediately. Even if you don’t submit, I will destroy you right away. Abandon that body and return to your original duty.”
Creak— creak creak— The mirror trembled and clashed, making strange noises. It seemed to be resisting. He had neglected it for quite a long time. This mirror had too strong a sense of self. Once the consciousness that had taken over Veronica returned, he would completely revert this mirror to its original state. That’s what he thought.
At that moment, the lake he was standing on surged. Lutan, with sharp eyes, looked around and then levitated into the air. But as soon as he rose into the air, black vines suddenly shot out from the darkness and wrapped around him.
“Kuh, this is.”
“Hehe, to walk into the trap with your own feet.”
Veronica’s lively voice echoed. She was looking at him from across the lake with her chin propped up, with light steps.
“Thank you? But it’s too rough. I think I’m a little hurt.”
She smiled slyly, rubbed her arms slightly, and shrugged her shoulders. Lutan gathered his strength, intending to fiercely burn her with magic. At that moment, there was a voice that disturbed him.
“Did you think I wouldn’t have prepared for you? Since when have you become this foolish?”
It was the Crown Prince. He still had the angelic, benevolent appearance but paradoxically spat out vile words. Lutan gnashed his teeth and glared at the Crown Prince. He had come here to find Roina’s energy, but the Crown Prince was here. Uncharacteristically, he felt his head getting hot and his vision turning white.
“What did you do to Roina?”
“Huh? Why are you looking for Roina from me?”
Is this why? The Crown Prince, with a clear sneer, lifted up a piece of clothing. A tattered piece of cloth, drooping and torn in various places. It was the remnant of the clothes Roina had been wearing.
Lutan, overwhelmed with rage, tried to shake off the pieces of darkness enveloping him. Some of them were shattered by his magic, but there were more that clung to his ankles and pulled him down. He soon became a figure completely buried in the energy of darkness.
Lutan, with his golden eyes blazing, glared at the Crown Prince, then shook off that energy all at once and lunged at him. The Crown Prince, taken aback by his momentum, stumbled back a couple of steps. But just before reaching the Crown Prince, Lutan was completely covered in darkness.
Not anticipating that the Crown Prince would target him was his clear mistake, as he couldn’t see anything when it came to Roina’s affairs.
“Heh, haha, nothing special.”
The Crown Prince, who had been frightened by Lutan’s momentum until just a moment ago, let out a hollow laugh, soon followed by a smile full of delight. It was a smile of victory.
“You’re nothing but a pawn in my hand, Lutan.”
It was time to end this long-standing, tiresome bad blood.
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