Fantasy Writers 1860

As soon as Blackwood finished speaking, Lily and Polina instantly felt a sluggish sensation sweeping through their bodies, and they were rapidly losing control of their bodies.

"This, this is..." Polina found herself frozen like a statue, her body unresponsive even as her brain sent signals to move.

What's even more terrifying than wanting to move but being unable to is having your body move uncontrollably.

Lily felt like a puppet, as if an unseen person was manipulating her body with strings. Her consciousness struggled against these invisible strings, but she failed.

She watched helplessly as her body began to move on its own, walking behind Blackwood and slowly releasing the magical restraints.

Blackwood slowly stood up, rubbed his wrists, and looked at Lily with a mocking expression: "My fate is not for you to judge."

"Indeed, the Commentary on the Wheel of Fortune has considerable weaknesses, but this [Heterodox Manuscript] in my possession makes up for that perfectly."

"【Unique Manuscript】..." Lily's spirits lifted upon hearing this word.

The phantom book [copy] created through the [Inscription and Transmission Ritual] is affected by the ritual materials and the skill of the officiant. This effect not only varies the strength of the [copy], but also, in a very small probability, produces new characteristics that are completely different from the [original] text.

This new feature may be a supplement to the original text, an extension of the original text, or, less likely, it may be purely random and have nothing to do with anything.

This kind of phantom book copy, which has some new characteristics that are completely different from the original, is called a "heterogeneous copy".

"...It differs from the [Original Text] in that it has an additional effect: from the moment you step into its sphere of influence, it will continuously and secretly exert influence on you, using your faith in God as a medium to invade your consciousness and ultimately control you."

"Oh, right, I'll tell you the last thing. All of that just now... was just a show I put on with you, to give you guys who think you're in control time to take control of yourselves."

A look of disbelief and seriousness flashed in Polina's eyes. She quickly scanned her surroundings, her mind racing as she considered ways to break the spell.

Unfortunately, even Polina, with her extensive combat experience, had no way to deal with it.

If it truly is mediated by faith in God, then this is impossible to crack.

How could anyone in this world not believe in gods?

Regardless of which god it is, everyone will eventually have a belief; the only difference is whether they are devout or not.

The only chance now is that he might be talking nonsense or exaggerating, and that he achieved this effect through other means.

Dorian stood motionless, solemnly watching the reversal unfold before him, pretending that he too had been so hard-controlled.

He was faking it because he felt completely unaffected.

Does faith in deities serve as a medium to invade consciousness?

However, I am a materialist and do not believe in any gods.

That might be why I feel like I haven't been affected at all.

"Haha, as expected, you're still the best, boss!" Granger, who was lying on the ground with his hands tied behind his back, laughed loudly, trying to get Blackwood's attention in this way.

He was still tied to the ground.

Blackwood glanced at him but didn't react. He simply circled Lily's immobile body once before returning to her. "Perhaps I should loosen my grip on you a little. Your calm face is so boring. You should be more desperate, more in pain."

As he spoke, he reached out and grabbed a strand of hair, his rough fingers running through Lily's soft hair as if admiring a work of art that was about to be completely under his control.

"Boss! Help me get this off!" Granger shouted as he began to writhe on the ground, seeing that the other party seemed not to have noticed his hint.

"Shut up, don't think I don't know what you've been up to. If it weren't for those unexpected events, you would have already dramatically committed suicide by now!" Blackwood turned and said to Granger, who was lying on the ground.

"W-what kind of sneaky move is this? Boss, what are you saying? I don't understand!"

"I already divined your fate using the Commentary on the Wheel of Fortune, and I know all your little schemes."

Granger's eyes flickered, and he suddenly panicked: "Boss, have you misunderstood something? I'm absolutely loyal to you!" As he spoke, he tried to struggle with his hands tied behind his back, as if trying to prove his innocence.

"The Commentary on the Wheel of Fortune has already clearly laid out your future. You secretly contacted the authorities, planning to betray me to them after my mission was accomplished, and then flee far away, didn't you?"

He crouched down, reached out, and gently tapped Granger's forehead with his knuckles. "Do you really think your sneaky communications and little tricks can hide from me, from the precognitive power of the 'Commentary on the Wheel of Fortune'?"

Just then, Dorian, who had been standing "stiffly" in place, gripped the silver-white pistol in his hand.

The opportunity may be just around the corner.

Blackwood, with his back to him, was in a subordinate position, engrossed in infighting with his men, and his attention was not on him.

More importantly, he certainly didn't expect that he, a materialist, wouldn't be controlled by him.

Although I had never had any actual shooting experience before, at such close range, even a blind person should be able to hit me.

It's now!

Dorian took a deep breath, and his previously "stiff" arm moved!

Without the slightest hesitation, he flipped his wrist, and the muzzle of the gun trembled slightly as he pointed it at Blackwood's back, at the location of his heart.

"Bang!"

A muffled gunshot suddenly rang out in the room.

Blackwood's smile froze instantly. He looked down in disbelief and discovered...

They discovered that Granger had a large hole in his chest, and blood was gushing out.

"Ahhhhh—"

Granger's screams echoed throughout the room, followed by a heart-wrenching roar: "How did I get shot while lying down?!"

Dorian: ?

That's impossible! I shot Blackwood in the back. How did the bullet bypass him and hit Granger in the front?

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

"Hahaha, this is fate, Granger! That pistol only had two bullets, and I set a spell on the second bullet that would inevitably hit you... The original plan was to deal with these demi-human liberation organization members first, and then let you shoot yourself through the hole... A dramatic destruction!"

"Although some unexpected things have happened, your dramatic destruction has still unfolded as expected!"

After his maniacal laughter subsided, Blackwood noticed something:

No way. Who fired that bullet?

It definitely wasn't Granger, who was lying on the ground shot, nor were it the two women in his line of sight; it could only be…

He turned around abruptly and saw Dorian, looking completely bewildered, holding the silver-white pistol.

The next second, he decisively threw the gun in his hand, sending it flying towards Blackwood.