novelraw Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Chapter 33: An Unexpected Trap and a Sinister Ritual
“‘It really is... a red moon...’” Lina stared at the eerie moon outside the window.
A crimson gauze draped over the windowsill, forming a faint, almost imperceptible dusk. In the dim room, only the flickering candlelight swayed alongside the ticking of the pendulum clock.
Her ‘body’ was still sitting cross-legged within the ritual array, looking as though it had fallen asleep while seated.
“‘Let me see what kind of sinister thing is hidden in this room.’” Lina focused her mind and activated divination once more.
A faint thread began to take shape in the air, gradually becoming clear.
The thread extended straight ahead from Lina, eventually disappearing behind the antique display cabinet on the south side of the room.
Lina willed herself to ‘float’ to the cabinet door and carefully examined this aged piece of furniture.
The ebony cabinet doors faintly reflected a dark red glow under the moonlight. The glass panels were coated in dust, and the items inside had long since been removed.
At the center of the cabinet was an embedded antique bronze mirror, its frame covered in intricate Gothic patterns.
Lina did not approach the cabinet directly; instead, she activated divination again—
‘There is danger behind the cabinet.’
A faint shiver crawled up her spine!
There was danger, but not much.
From the corner of her eye, she noticed a strange protruding structure on the side of the cabinet.
“‘I see...’”
---
“‘So... the problem is behind this cabinet?’” Euphemia stood with her hands on her hips, looking up at the old display cabinet that occupied nearly half the wall. “‘You’re saying there’s a mechanism next to it?’”
Lina, whose soul had just returned, was still somewhat unaccustomed to her body. The effects of the evening primrose had yet to fade, and with Annie’s support, she sat on a chair brought over by Seriel, nodding tiredly.
“‘Mm... I need to go down and take a look.’” Euphemia stepped forward. Before Lina could stop her, she had already pressed the button. “‘Seriel, you and the others first—ah, damn it!’”
The vampire princess’s voice cut off abruptly. The bronze mirror at the center of the cabinet suddenly turned toward her. The instant she looked into the mirror, her body vanished without a trace!
“‘Milady!’” Seriel immediately prepared to rush forward, but Lina grabbed the hem of her skirt. “‘Why are both of you so reckless! Do you even know where she went before charging in like that!’”
Startled by Lina’s rebuke, Seriel calmed down slightly, though her tone remained filled with worry. “‘Th-this... what exactly is this? Is it a trap? Will Master be in danger...?’”
“‘Calm down first. There is indeed danger in there... hey, I said calm down!’” Lina grabbed her skirt again, nearly being dragged to the floor. She couldn’t help thinking how strong this maid was. “‘But the danger isn’t great. It shouldn’t threaten her life.’”
“‘You... are very familiar with this kind of mechanism?’” Seriel turned to Lina, who had just recovered from her dizziness. Her crimson eyes were filled with concern. “‘You said Master isn’t in life-threatening danger—what basis do you have for that?’”
“‘Anomaly: Mirror World,’ danger level D,” Lina tapped her forehead, clearing the noise and afterimages from her mind. “‘A very common spatial anomaly. Anyone who comes into contact with it will fall into a segment of ‘history recorded within the mirror.’’”
“‘This anomaly is triggered by a ‘mechanism,’ which means it’s artificially created,’” Lina explained. “‘Perhaps this ‘Mirror World’ has functions we don’t yet understand, but it definitely isn’t meant for killing.’”
“‘Why?’” Seriel asked instinctively.
“‘Who would install a suicide button in their own home for no reason?’” Lina stuck out her tongue. “‘Besides, this thing usually can’t kill anyone. The Mirror World won’t generate dangerous anomalies. The only anomalous entity inside is a neutral being—so long as you don’t attack it, it’ll send you back out.’”
“‘If there’s no danger, then why did you stop me?’” Seriel asked, confused.
“‘Because the Mirror World has a capacity limit,’” Lina explained patiently. “‘Once you enter as well, that segment of ‘history’ will collapse, and both you and Euphemia will be teleported out.’”
“‘Teleported out... isn’t that a good thing?’”
“‘You might immediately turn into an idiot on the spot. Your vampire soul states are already unstable—sudden death is also possible.’”
Seriel’s expression immediately turned grim, and she promptly abandoned the idea of forcing her way in.
“‘Then... do you have another way to bring her out?’” Seriel swallowed. “‘We can offer compensation...’”
“‘We’ll discuss compensation later,’” Lina waved her hand dismissively. She didn’t think a vampire who was willing to spend that much money on a counterfeit divine statue would haggle with her over payment. As she walked toward the bookshelf, she spoke to Annie and Seriel, “‘I do have a way to pull her out ‘painlessly,’ but I’ll need a bit of your cooperation...’”
---
“‘Lina... are you sure this will work?’” Annie looked at Lina, who was tied to a chair, and at Seriel, who was currently fastening the rope. Her gray eyes were filled with worry. “‘Is there really no other way?’”
“‘If there were, I wouldn’t be using this method... hey, Seriel, tie me a bow!’”
“‘Is that... required for the ritual?’”
“‘No, I just think it looks nicer.’” Lina nodded, then glanced toward the ‘offering’ placed at the center of the newly drawn ritual array not far away. Her eyelid twitched involuntarily. “‘Are you sure your lady doesn’t have any other personal clothing?’”
“‘She does, but the styles are all the same. If you need, I can—’”
“‘Forget it, forget it, this is fine!’” Lina shut her eyes in resignation, unable to bear looking any longer at the offering in the center of the ritual.
Inside the dim cursed castle, a vampire maid was binding a frail little girl to prepare for a mysterious ritual, offering her up to her loyal master—the sacrifice being a pair of teddy bear-patterned underwear.
Any normal person would need to pass a sanity check upon seeing this.
“‘Alright, Annie, I’ll need your cooperation next,’” Lina said to Annie. “‘I’ll ‘swap’ Euphemia out shortly. When that happens, you’ll maintain the ritual array.’”
Lina’s method this time was quite simple: through a consciousness exchange, she would swap Euphemia out, and then use a normal method to escape the Mirror World herself.
As for why she had herself tied up, it was to prevent Euphemia—upon being swapped in and not yet adapted to the body—from accidentally causing harm to Lina’s body.
However, only Lina knew the fundamental principle behind the ritual.
This was actually a relatively obscure little bug in the game. Normally, a consciousness exchange ritual required mutual consent from both parties and the establishment of a complete contract.
But now, Euphemia had already entered ‘history.’ What could represent her at present was the object most closely connected to her—namely, her personal clothing.
Lina only needed to establish a link with these ‘garments’ and form a one-way contract, which could then be treated as a contract with Euphemia’s true self.
Incidentally, this was the exact method Lina had used back then to defeat the Queen of the Underworld. Otherwise, with her strength at the time—before she had obtained divinity—it would have been impossible for her to contend with a god-tier entity possessing dual divinities.
With everything prepared, Lina infused the new ritual array with magic. A thread slowly connected Lina to some invisible existence.
“‘The contractor, Lina, is willing to exchange bodies with Euphemia Elizabeth Lilith...’”
The illusory connection gradually became solid, and the ritual array emitted a faint glow in the darkness.
“Crack—”
The sound of shattering glass exploded beside Lina’s ear, and the connection that was about to be established instantly collapsed.
What happened? Was this bug fixed?
No... that didn’t seem to be an issue with the contract itself just now... it seemed more like something was wrong with the contract’s target.
Lina had encountered this situation before. It usually happened when one party failed to use their ‘true name’ during the contract.
Euphemia wasn’t her true name?
Unlikely. Vampires only had their ‘consciousness’ drifting in reality—they required anything that could anchor their existence. As the most important ‘anchor,’ a name could not possibly be falsified.
Could it be... that my name is fake?
Wait...
A somewhat absurd thought suddenly surfaced in Lina’s mind.
She focused her thoughts and murmured once more:
“‘The contractor, Lavinia Astra, is willing to exchange bodies with Euphemia Elizabeth Lilith.’”
A flash of light passed before Lina’s eyes.
The contract was complete.