443 Trap Within A Trap
The man suspected to be Bouvard Pont-Péro took a step forward and finally regained some rationality.

He adjusted the dark bow tie beneath his neck, and three indistinct figures materialized above his head and shoulders.

These figures weren’t large; they looked like newborns with pale-white, bluish skin and sinister expressions on their round, distorted faces.

Tamed Imps!

The three translucent and indistinct imps burrowed toward Bouvard Pont-Péro’s chest, each finding its place and began suckling in a frenzied manner.

Suddenly, their figures became much clearer. They left his body, circling around and flying at an extremely fast speed to different parts of 20 Rue de la Terrasse.

With no corporeal form, they effortlessly traversed walls and doors. In a short span of time, they went through the master bedroom’s wardrobe, desk, changing room, and washroom, leaving no room for any assailant to hide.

One sinister-looking imp with a bluish-white face even circled the room’s shadows, ensuring that no Beyonder could rely on supernatural powers to lurk in this special environment.

Seeing Paulina’s puzzled and watery gaze as she opened her eyes, Bouvard Pont-Péro subconsciously explained, “My Danger Premonition tells me that something is amiss here. Lately, I need to be extremely cautious and avoid making any mistakes. After I eliminate the hidden danger and confirm my safety, I’ll enjoy my evening with you.”

For some inexplicable reason, Bouvard’s tone was gentler and more eager to explain than before when facing Paulina. It was as if her attire and demeanor tonight had touched his heart, making him irresistibly attracted and eager to please her.

As Bouvard Pont-Péro finished speaking, one of the imps left the master bedroom and entered the adjacent room.

With its bluish-white skin, it reached the end of the corridor, passed through the wardrobe, and entered.

In the next moment, it saw a figure bound and gagged.

The figure wore a pale-white nightgown, and her clothes were disheveled, revealing a large area of her skin. She was beautiful, elegant, and had a plump body like a ripe fruit. She was another Paulina!

The contorted-faced imp let out a shrill cry and rushed back into Bouvard Pont-Péro’s embrace. As it drew closer to his chest, sucking, it relayed the scene it had witnessed to its feeder.

Bouvard Pont-Péro’s expression changed, realizing he had fallen into a trap and been ambushed.

Luckily, he had been cautious enough to detect hidden dangers in advance!

The Sinners’ liaison darkened and merged with his shadow, sliding into the wall’s shadows like a snake.

His Shadow Burial’s ability was unlike that of many Beyonders. They relied on the dimness of shadows to hide, while he transformed himself into a shadow, truly becoming part of the darkness. Just like the special creatures that inhabited such environments, he could stray into alternate spaces connected to certain shadowy regions.

At that moment, Bouvard Pont-Péro felt as if he had plunged into a lightless sea. His body extended and merged with the inky droplets.

Quickly, he darted towards the room at the end of the corridor.

His mission: to save Paulina and escape Rue de la Terrasse with her.

He harbored an extraordinary possessiveness for this Condiment Beauty.

As Bouvard moved through the shadows, he suddenly heard a crisp crack.

The yellow gas wall lamp blazed to life, filling every inch of the glass cover with flames.

The gas lamps in the corridor transformed into miniature suns, banishing the shadows.

Only a serpentine humanoid shadow remained on the floor.

Jenna, who had transformed into the lady’s maid using Lie, emerged from a side room, casting a black flame onto Bouvard Pont-Péro’s shadow.

The Sinners’ liaison immediately felt pain and weakness originating from the depths of his soul.

Without hesitation, he used Shadow Substitution.

In 20 Rue de la Terrasse, Paulina’s butler and servants had already become believers in Inevitability. They submitted to the envoy, Bouvard Pont-Péro, and their shadows were offered for exchange!

In Paulina’s lady’s maid’s room, the human shadow suddenly squirmed and transformed.

The black shadow stood up, becoming plumper, resembling Bouvard Pont-Péro.

The shadows in the corridor quickly dissipated under the black flames. The lady’s maid in the room twitched a few times, and black flames oozed from her nostrils, ears, mouth, and eyes. Then, she fell silent and ceased breathing.

Bouvard Pont-Péro seized the moment when Shadow Substitution took effect to activate another contracted ability.

He sprinted forward, leaving behind dozens, even hundreds of phantoms.
His body flickered amidst the phantoms, shifting positions so that Jenna couldn’t lock onto him or distinguish him.

In the blink of an eye, Bouvard Pont-Péro, accompanied by a group of figures, entered the room where Paulina was bound and opened the corresponding wardrobe.

Paulina’s eyes were filled with surprise, desire, and hope as she watched Bouvard’s right hand, gleaming with a metallic luster, become incredibly sharp.

In an instant, the Sinners’ liaison severed the rope and attempted to escape the encirclement with Paulina.

He had a total of eight contracted abilities, one of which had never been used before.

At that moment, as the rope loosened, Paulina couldn’t help but remember her traumatic experiences of abuse at the hands of Bouvard, the pain etched into the depths of her mind.

Uncontrollable hatred surged in her heart. She longed for the one who had harmed her to face justice.

She suddenly raised her right hand.

Alarm bells rang in Bouvard’s mind as he sensed an intense Danger Premonition.

Yet, at this distance, no one could react faster than Electric Arc.

Silver-white lightning shot from Paulina’s palm and struck Bouvard’s body. His body went numb, and even his thoughts seemed to be engulfed by lightning, temporarily rendering him powerless.

Franca, disguised as Paulina, had already closed within five meters, aiming the Ring of Punishment she wore.

Lightning flickered in her eyes, and Bouvard’s body shuddered, as if his soul was being torn apart, in excruciating pain that left him unable to think straight.

Psychic Piercing!

Smack!

Jenna, who had dashed to her target’s side, clenched her fist and struck behind Bouvard’s ear before he could rely on his Ascetic endurance to recover.

The Sinners’ liaison slipped into unconsciousness.

Before Bouvard lost consciousness, he glimpsed a pair of black leather shoes and heard a taunting voice.

“I don’t even need to lift a finger when dealing with you.”

…

Bouvard abruptly broke free from the darkness and regained consciousness.

The first thing he saw was a right leg resting on his left knee and that pair of black leather shoes. Then, he saw a young man leaning back in an armchair, his hands pressing on the armrests.

Bouvard instinctively wanted to use his abilities, but all his thoughts seemed to sink into a quagmire, unresponsive.

In the next moment, he noticed that his feet had transformed into cow hooves, and he was wrapped in a layer of brown cowhide.

Animal Creation Spell… Bouvard instantly grasped his predicament. He watched as the young man with golden and black hair leisurely flipped through the grayish-blue cloth bag he had hidden in his pocket.

Wh— Bouvard instinctively held his breath, hoping that the other party would take out the item.

Soon, the young man retrieved a gold coin with a 5 verl d’or denomination with a Sunbird relief from a grayish-blue cloth bag.

Yes! That’s it! Bouvard anticipated what would happen next.

Simultaneously, he focused on observing the other party’s luck.

This was one of the few abilities not restricted by the Animal Creation Spell.

Bouvard’s bullish face now donning an honest look, suddenly froze.

He saw his enemy’s luck of all kinds, and he saw layers of colors constantly changing!

A sharp pain pierced Bouvard’s brain, and he instinctively closed his eyes. He felt a sticky, warm, and bloody liquid slowly trickle down from his eyeballs.

As Bouvard’s pain subsided, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have, he heard the young man say with a smile, “Were you hoping that I’ll take away this gold coin of misfortune and have my luck changed passively, allowing you to escape your predicament?”

He knows the Luck Transference Spell… He also knows the Animal Creation Spell… Does he belong to another organization that believes in Inevitability or… A name suddenly flashed through Bouvard Pont-Péro’s mind: Lumian Lee?

Lumian seemed to sense Bouvard’s thoughts and smiled without humor.

“I thought you were always on guard against me.”

Bouvard’s heart sank, and he abandoned any hope of luck. He immediately used his spirituality to stir the air within the cowhide and indistinctly recited the honorific name of the individual.

However, he quickly realized that his spirituality was on the verge of drying up, and his mind was extremely weak. He couldn’t even do such a thing.

“If you understand your situation, you can answer my questions,” Lumian said with a smile.

Bouvard subconsciously opened his mouth and mooed.

He had an urge to communicate with the other party, but he could only let out a cow’s moo.

Jenna, dressed as a female mercenary, brought over a brass mechanical typewriter and placed it in front of Bouvard.

This was Franca’s suggestion: There was no need to worry that Bouvard Pont-Péro wouldn’t be able to answer questions after being transformed into a bull by the Animal Creation Spell. As long as he wasn’t illiterate and had a certain level of intelligence, he could compose answers by typing on the keyboard. The only drawback was that his speed wouldn’t be too fast.

Seeing the calf sit down on its hind legs and place its front hooves on the mechanical typewriter’s button with difficulty, Franca, who was invisible and could stop the other party from doing any irrational act at any moment, muttered silently, Now, no one can tell if the person typing at the keyboard is human or bull…

Lumian glanced at Bouvard and asked bluntly, “Where are the Sansons?”