Chapter 469
What she didn’t know was that the reason Avina showed no expression was that she was feeling a bit tense inside. Whenever she got nervous, she tended to tighten her emotions and her face.
Isabella walked ahead, introducing the paintings and classical sculptures inside, while Charles walked alongside Avina, with Tara and Nia trailing behind them.
Charles seemed to notice Avina’s tension—after all, they were facing the third-tier “Source of Cholera,” not just a commercial confrontation, but a real battle among extraordinary beings. It was only natural for Avina to feel nervous.
As they walked, Charles leaned slightly toward Avina and nudged her with his shoulder.
The gentle contact brought Avina back to herself. She turned her head slightly to look at Charles, and when she saw his soft gaze and smile, her tension gradually eased.
She took a gentle breath, withdrew her gaze from Charles, and looked at Isabella’s back ahead, saying, “It seems like this painting wasn’t here the last time I came.”
Isabella turned back, glancing at the direction Avina was pointing, and replied with a smile, “Yes, before this, it was…”
The awkward atmosphere dissipated, and now anyone looking this way would immediately sense that these three young ladies shared a very close bond.
A few who recognized Avina politely refrained from interrupting, merely nodding in acknowledgment when their eyes met.
Isabella didn’t waste much time; she knew they had come to find the renowned painter Pikeman. After a brief tour on the first floor, she led Charles and Avina up to the third floor.
As they passed by Edward Stuart’s office on the third floor, Isabella paused, opening the door to peek inside.
She intended for Avina to meet her father, but unfortunately, he wasn’t in the office.
Disappointed, Isabella closed the door and brought the two of them to Pikeman’s private studio.
Knock, knock, knock—
Isabella gently tapped on the door, and a moment later, Pikeman’s voice came from inside.
“Who is it?”
His tone sounded a bit abrupt and flustered. Isabella replied from the doorway, “Mr. Pikeman, there’s a young lady who admires your work and wishes to visit you.”
“Please wait a moment.”
The sound of rustling clothes came from within. Although Isabella couldn’t hear it, the sensitive ears of Charles and Avina picked up on it.
They exchanged a glance, instinctively shifting their eyes away to feign interest in the surroundings.
This carpet is really something.
Soon, footsteps approached from inside, and the door swung open, revealing Pikeman standing in the doorway.
He looked at Avina and Charles, momentarily taken aback, especially when his gaze landed on Charles’s face, a wave of indescribable heartache washing over him.
At that moment, however, Charles wasn’t looking at Pikeman; his attention was drawn to the woman standing behind the easel, her back to them as she adjusted her clothing.
Mond...
A faint smile crept onto Charles’s lips, and then he focused back on Pikeman.
Under Charles’s direct gaze, the sweat that had just been wiped from Pikeman’s forehead began to bead again. His lips trembled, and he instinctively took two steps back.
As he met Charles’s eyes, the imagined scenes of flesh and blood intertwined seemed to resurface in his mind. Different illusions flickered before his irises, and all the painstakingly mixed crimson paint screamed in his retina, begging to be released.
He could almost see his spine piercing through the back of his neck, transforming into a blood-soaked birch tree, each twisted branch sketching a horrific death scene. His potions boiled, and his spirit screamed, urging him to flee.
Since everyone was here... let’s begin.
Charles blinked gently, the silver second hand of his right eye’s dial ticking away as he silently spoke in his mind.
“No.1.”
“The ‘Subverter.’”
「411→406」
「Countdown -00:29:59」
The silver dial shattered in Charles’s vision, morphing into a pink hue, with pink tendrils writhing violently deep within his pupils, as if trying to burst forth from his eyeballs.
All the illusions in Pikeman’s eyes dissipated in an instant. It was as if the girl who had once loomed over him with immense pressure had transformed into an utterly ordinary person.
“Hello, Mr. Pikeman,” Avina’s voice chimed in beside him.
As Pikeman turned his dazed gaze, he found himself staring into a pair of eerie, violet-tinged pupils.
In that moment, Pikeman’s mind seemed to settle completely. He didn’t even think about what had just happened—if it weren’t for the beads of sweat on his face, there would have been no evidence of what he had just seen.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Avina Russell.” Avina nodded slightly, unaware of the changes happening to Charles beside her, as she focused on helping him manage the seemingly startled Pikeman.
“I’m... Pikeman,” he slowly replied, dazed, turning slightly to say, “Please, come in…”
At that moment, Mond, who had finally finished adjusting her clothes, took a deep breath, a faint smile gracing her face as she turned to look at the group at the door...
And then her pupils constricted.
In her line of sight, three young ladies stood at the entrance, conversing with Pikeman, who seemed to have completely relaxed, leading them to admire his paintings hanging on the walls.
But one girl, almost identical to the red-haired girl among them, yet with eyes filled with terrifying black voids, stood silently at the door, watching her—while the others seemed completely oblivious to the presence of this horrifying girl.
Toxic flies glimmered with a red glow, darting in and out of those voids, and the girl tilted her head slightly, fixated on Mond.
It’s from the “Poisoner” pathway...
Before Mond’s brain could fully process this, in the blink of an eye, the girl who had been standing at the door suddenly appeared right in front of her, gripping her head tightly. The crimson insects within those voids seemed to form a blood-red compound eye, staring directly into Mond’s eyes.
The alarm bells of terror and screams exploded in Mond’s mind. Just moments ago, she had been immersed in joy, the effects of the potion still lingering, but this sudden turn of events left her utterly stunned.
She screamed, panic causing her to stumble backward and fall to the ground, but the insects in the girl’s eyes continued to swarm out, burrowing into her body through her pupils, nostrils, mouth, and ears. For a moment, her mental strength faltered, nearly losing control of her potion.
Thud—
The noise drew the attention of the others present.
Isabella gasped as she saw the noblewoman suddenly collapse behind the easel, wanting to rush over to check on her.
This was her family’s property; she couldn’t let anything happen to a noble here, especially not to a high-ranking noble from the Devor Federation.
But a hand grabbed her.
Charles looked at Isabella, who had turned back, and smiled, saying, “It’s fine... Avina, go see what’s wrong with her.”
So this is Mond? Third-tier? Why did she suddenly collapse?
Hearing Charles’s words, Avina, who had been feeling a bit tense, now set her nerves aside and walked directly toward the fallen Mond.
She didn’t even consider whether it would be dangerous to approach; she instinctively followed Charles’s command.
This is an opportunity...
Avina knelt beside Mond, quickly raising her hand to cover her eyes while closing her own.
“Hmm?” Avina voiced her confusion.
In that brief moment, Mond had been dragged into a dream?
The “Subverter”!
The helper Charles mentioned had acted while they were unaware!
The memories that needed to be implanted and modified had already been communicated to Avina before they arrived. Now, Mond’s mind was in an extremely vulnerable and unguarded state, allowing Avina to invade and modify it at will.
Without hesitation, Avina’s body went limp, collapsing to the ground as her spirit dove into Mond’s subconscious.
Meanwhile, as Avina worked, Charles turned his attention back to Isabella and Pikeman.
“Pikeman, Isabella.” Charles offered them a faint smile, softly saying, “Look at me.”
Snap—
A sound echoed.
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