Mystery: The Witch of Desire

She swiftly manipulated the spiritual threads to bind the large bird's lower limbs, then with a sudden tug, taking advantage of its unsteady balance, she aimed the 'last whisper' at the bird's head:

With a deafening bang, a tremendous burst of kinetic energy, mixed with spiritual energy, shot out and instantly tore apart the strange bird's head.

Well, it makes sense that the bound god would fire a gun, right?

Liviel put away her musket, jumped onto the corpse of the large bird, and then, somewhat awkwardly, opened her arms, using the power of mirror illusion to gather holy light and feathers on her arms, forming a pair of holy white wings.

“I declare in the name of the bound god.”

"The divine will surely favor His believers and punish all the unbelievers."

Livre suppressed her shyness and recited the words in a serious manner.

"God, God's chosen ones..."

In an instant, all the villagers were shocked. Then, they all knelt down and kowtowed to Livre, praying repeatedly.

Liviel then spoke a few more divine pronouncements to the people before looking down at the giant bird's corpse.

This giant bird was clearly intelligent; its neck was entwined with decorative shells and teeth, and a dark mass was pulsating inside its skull—a remarkable characteristic of the Corpse Collector pathway sequence 5.

After Liviel withdrew her extraordinary abilities, the white-haired old man approached her and bowed deeply.

“My lord, I am the chief of this tribe. Thank you for saving us and preventing us from being deceived by evil and filthy monsters.”

Livre nodded and looked to the side. Several men untied the young woman who had been bound and brought her to the old man with white hair and beard.

The woman lost control of her emotions, tears welling up in her eyes, and rushed towards the white-haired chief.

It turns out this woman was the chief's daughter. Being forced to sacrifice his own daughter, the chief must have felt terrible...

As Liviel was reflecting on this, the old chieftain stroked the young woman's hair and smiled with satisfaction, saying:

"This is my lover. Thanks to you, she was able to save her life."

lover……

Liviel was speechless for a moment, then cleared her throat and said:

“You shall not turn away from God, as he never turned away from you.”

“Even if your prayers are not answered, you should remain devout.”

As she spoke, she handed the old chief the address and messenger spell Michel had left behind, and asked, just to try her luck:

Will it summon a messenger?

The old chief said in astonishment:

“No, no…but there is a shaman in a nearby tribe who once communicated with the messenger of the gods.”

Well, let's assume there's an extraordinary being in a nearby tribe who can summon messengers...

Livre nodded and instructed the old chief to relay the message that the bound god still favored his followers to the other tribes. Out of personal motives, she also gave the old chief portraits of Rowling, Ms. B, and Redbeard.

"If you see them, notify me by letter or messenger."

After receiving a positive response, Livr left the tribe, which could be considered a small step in completing Michel's plan.

However, she was also clearly aware of the problem:

The efficiency is too low.

The Bound Ones have at least several hundred tribes and villages under their command. She has gone to great lengths to re-establish contact with only one tribe. Even considering that this tribe will notify other tribes in the surrounding area, Livre would have to repeat the same actions at least dozens of times to basically cover all of the Bound Ones' followers.

She doesn't have that much time or energy.

Hmm... If only there were a way to respond to the prayers of believers like those false gods. But my current rank isn't high enough; I need to at least ascend to demigod status, or through some special method...

As Liviel pondered, she activated her mirror-travel ability and returned to the highland city area.

Upon entering the mirror world, she examined the extraordinary materials that had been stored there and found that they were still intact and undamaged. Even those materials that were susceptible to moisture, decay, and spiritual dissipation in the outside world maintained their original form and spirituality in the mirror world without any signs of decay.

It's practically like a mystical refrigerator...

Liviel smiled with satisfaction and casually tossed the Sequence 5 Extraordinary Ability of the Corpse Collector into the Mirror World.

After stepping out of the mirror, she entered the city center of East Highland, circled around the streets, and returned to Michelle's Foreign Trade Company at 136 Whitewood Street.

On the way, Livre bought a newspaper to catch up on recent major events.

Unsurprisingly, the front page was filled with the kingdom's condemnation of the 'savage Intis,' while the second page featured numerous reports of unnatural deaths. One report about a resistance group, however, caught Liviel's attention:

Under the attack of unknown forces, several illegal organizations, including the "Bound Ones," the "Brotherhood of Death," and the "Red Heart Society," were destroyed...

What do you mean by "unknown forces"? Isn't it the Kingdom's military that's cracking down on these anti-colonial organizations?

Liviel felt a little strange, and at the same time couldn't help but find it a bit funny: luckily this was the Southern Continent, and the Aurora Society probably hadn't received the relevant news yet, otherwise they would have published a message in the newspaper and announced that they were responsible for this matter.

While reading the newspaper, Livre returned to 136 Whitewood Street, went up to the third floor, and entered Michel's Foreign Trade Company.

Susan was no longer at the front desk, and Livre couldn't help but guess that she had gone out for a big meal after receiving her salary.

Just as she was about to push open the door to enter the company, a strange feeling welled up in her heart.

Liviel's heart tightened, and she quickly concealed herself, suppressed her aura, and quietly passed through the corridor.

After several turns, she arrived at Michelle's room.

The door was wide open, and Michelle's painful groans could be heard from inside.

Chapter 225 Kidnapping

Livr immediately anchored herself to a mirror inside the room to get a clear view of the situation:

Michelle's body was arched backwards, her neck was being gripped by a pair of large hands, she was foaming at the mouth, her eyes were rolling back, and she seemed to have lost all ability to resist.

But the owner of those large hands made Liviel's pupils shrink:

Duval? How could it be him?

Has this Intis 'businessman' come to the Pass Valley? Where is his sister, Janice? Why are they targeting Michelle?

Before Livia could figure these things out, Duval suddenly turned around and looked at Livia, who was hiding in the doorway, with a meaningful smile.

He spotted me?!

Liviel's heart tightened instantly, and she gripped the 'Last Whisper' tightly. In terms of rank, a Sequence 6 hunter should have a hard time detecting her after she became invisible. Could it be that Duval has some magical item that can detect her?

"Since you're here, come out, Miss Marilyn."

Duval said with a smile, and if it weren't for the fact that he was still holding Ms. Michelle by the neck, Livre would have thought he was a gentleman who was extending a friendly invitation to her.

Liviel stopped trying to hide in vain, revealed herself, entered the room, and said in a deep voice:

"Let her go."

"Let her go? Why?" Duval asked, feigning surprise, a defiant look on his face. "This is the prey I finally managed to catch."

“You actually called a living person prey?” Livre frowned. “I advise you to let her go. Considering our past cooperation, I can let bygones be bygones for what you did to her.”

Although Livre spoke harshly, she was actually on edge, vigilantly watching her surroundings to prevent Janice from ambushing her from the shadows. She was very wary of the strange abilities Janice had displayed last time.

“Coincidentally, that’s exactly what I wanted to say.” Duval smiled coldly. “If you don’t interfere, I can maintain our friendship out of consideration for our past cooperation.”

Further discussion is pointless.

The instant Duval refused, Livre concealed herself once more, as if she were about to stealthily charge forward.

After Duval assumed a defensive stance, her body suddenly appeared in the mirror on Michelle's desk, and several colorless spiritual threads wrapped around Duval's side.

Duval couldn't dodge in time and was instantly controlled by the spiritual threads. He released Michelle, whose body had already gone limp, and tried to fight back, but Livre had already switched her writhing hunger to that of an interrogator. Two golden beams of light shot from her eyes and pierced Duval's forehead.

Duval leaned back, barely managing to keep his balance and avoid falling, but the spiritual threads had already invaded his body, causing his movements to become uncoordinated, and his body gradually stiffened and remained frozen in place.

However, as she manipulated his body, Livre had a strange feeling. Unlike when she manipulated other people, Duval's body was very stiff, as if she were manipulating a lifeless piece of wood.

Suppressing her doubts, Liviel increased the intensity of her manipulation; she was just one step away from turning Dival into a puppet.

Livre didn't kill him, maintaining the level of severity, and said coldly:

Why did you take her away?

Duval didn't answer the question; there wasn't even a hint of panic or confusion on his face. He simply smiled and exclaimed in admiration:

"Your skill in manipulating marionettes is truly remarkable. Even a Sequence 5 marionette master might not be your match."

Whoosh! Another golden glint flashed in Livre's eyes, carrying the submissive authority of an interrogator, as it pierced straight toward Duval's temple.

However, Duval only trembled slightly, showing no sign of pain, and smiled somewhat blankly:

"Control me, I'm about to become your secret puppet..."

"The process of becoming a puppet is irreversible. Once you have completely become a puppet, you will die and become a puppet without any consciousness."

Livre found Duval's attitude strange and instinctively assumed that he was unaware of the consequences of the Mysticization, so she intimidated him by half explaining and half threatening him.

“I know.” Duval’s expression remained relaxed. “It is my honor to be the puppet of a beautiful lady like you. Come, let me become your puppet.”

A fanaticism flickered in Duval's eyes, like that of a paranoid psychopath.

Schemer...

Liviel repeatedly pondered the name of Hunter's Path Sequence 6, seemingly sensing a hint of conspiracy.

She did not take further control of Duval, but left him where he was, holding Michelle, who had fallen to the ground, in her arms. The sapphire ring on her finger flashed, preparing to activate her mirror-travel ability to leave.

Just then, a soft, bell-like laugh rang in her ears. Livre turned her head and saw Janice's slender figure suddenly appear from the corner, a playful smile on her beautiful face:

"My brother has already said so, why don't you grant his wish?"

Before she could finish speaking, Janice flicked her long, slender fingers, and several colorless threads wrapped around Michelle's body, forcibly pulling her out of Livre's arms.

Michelle's body fell to the ground, then immediately bounced up, standing in an extremely bizarre posture, her head drooping, her eyes lifeless, her arms hanging limply at her sides, like a puppet being lifted up with strings.

This is... a secret doll?!

Livre's pupils contracted sharply; she could hardly believe her eyes.

Why is Jenny from Hunter Path able to turn others into puppets using spirit threads? Does she also possess a magical item similar to a puppet?

Livre didn't have time to think much. She immediately used her spiritual threads to pull Duval in front of her, then pressed her 'Last Whisper' against his head:

"If you don't want your brother's head to explode, you'd better let go of that lady."

Although Livre still hoped to use Duval as a hostage to intimidate Janice, she had a bad feeling that Janice might not care about her 'brother's' safety anymore.

As expected, Janice just smiled sarcastically:

"You like my brother that much? Then you can have him. Whether you want to blow his head off or do something else, it's up to you. He's really great in that area..."

Livre's heart sank. She stopped focusing on manipulating Duval and instead tossed a mirror toward Janis's side.

The next second, the mirror shattered into countless fragments. Amidst these fragments, Livia's figure darted about like a fish. This was a technique she developed, inspired by Señor, that maximized the mirror's extended area, increasing her room to maneuver.

Then, her figure vanished from the spot, flickering and reappearing amidst the countless shards of mirror, as if she might emerge from any of the shards at any moment to launch a fatal attack.

However, Janice simply stood there, showing no intention of moving away from this storm of mirrors.

She raised her arms, and a powerful spiritual aura emanated from her body. Countless threads were pumped from her fingertips, entangling the tiny fragments one by one.

How is this possible? How could so many targets be manipulated at once...?

Liviel was immediately shocked. These manipulations were not just simple entanglements, but included spiritual control and sealing. They were definitely not something that ordinary threads could do, but rather the spiritual threads of a puppet master.

Her puppets could only control a maximum of three targets, while Janice was now controlling dozens.

Is this terrifying effect really something that magical items can achieve?

Liviel glanced again at Duval's almost maniacal laugh, seemingly unconcerned about his own life or death, and a startling guess suddenly surfaced in her mind:

Janice is not a Sequence 5 Reaper, but a demigod of the Seer pathway! She has never shown the extraordinary abilities of a hunter, but her personality is like that of a hunter, liking to provoke others and making people angry, but these are all disguises.

Duval is not his brother at all, or rather, he used to be his brother, but now he is just a puppet of the Hunter Path.

Now, his plan to use Duval as a hostage had failed, and a direct confrontation was simply out of the question against Janis, who was very likely a demigod. His attempt to escape via mirror teleportation would also most likely be interrupted.

Livre quickly assessed her situation: since she couldn't fight back or run away, there was only one option left.

She poured a large amount of spiritual energy into the mirror shards, further detonating them into dust. In an instant, explosions rang out around Janice. This demigod, who seemed to be a diviner, simply waved her hand to disperse the dust before her, and then precisely locked onto the positions of all creatures within a few dozen meters.

However, to her slight surprise, Livre didn't take advantage of the explosion to escape. Instead, she stood there with her hands clasped together, quickly chanting:

"I summon in my own name!"

"A spirit wandering in illusion, a benevolent being at your disposal, a messenger serving the Lord of the Little White!"

After hearing the incantation clearly, Janice revealed a disdainful smile: