The Deceitful One

Nicholas was on his knees, trembling in fear as he watched Bryan break layer after layer of mirror walls. He had never expected Bryan to be so tenacious. The earlier attack should have rightfully incapacitated Bryan, but here he was swinging his arms like a crazed beast.

He was beginning to think that his plan had failed. After all, the two Rank 2 Transcendents beside him were still recovering from their wounds. Although they were Transcendents, it didn't mean that they were impervious to bullets. If anything, they only had more resistance than regular humans.

Thus, Nicholas could not only depend on the mirror artifact. He himself was a Rank 2 Transcendent but he didn't have much fighting capabilities. After all, he'd embarked on the Artisan Path.

But the mirror artifact would also soon stop working. Any artifact needed a contact supply of spiritual force to operate. And it had been almost ten minutes since Nicholas had activated the artifact. His spiritual force would run out in another few minutes, and then he'd be at the mercy of Bryan.

Just when he was calculating what steps to take next, the mirror artifact in his hand suddenly stopped working! Nichola looked at it in horror and muttered in absolute shock, "What the—" However before he could even finish his sentence, something even more shocking happened.

KACHA!!

Both Nicholas and Bryan looked around to see that the mirror world was slowly crumbling down. The boundary of this region of the mirror world carved by Nicholas's artifact was breaking apart. Spider-web-shaped cracks began to form everywhere around them.

And within a few moments, the mirror world completely shattered and the four people inside returned to the real world!

"Impossible!" Nicholas shot up to his feet as he looked around in disbelief. There was no way that the effects of his artifact could be broken—from the inside or the outside. The only way to deactivate it would be through the artifact itself.

But he knew for sure that he hadn't deactivated it and neither had he run entirely out of spiritual force. That is why he was so shocked at this sudden turn of events. And while he was lost in his thoughts, looking around with wide eyes, Bryan approached him with unbridled killing intent.

Just as he raised his hand and was about punch Nicholas to kingdom come, he heard a gentle, feminine voice come from behind him. "Please hold your hand, Mr. Wayne."

Bryan's eyes narrowed as he turned around in the direction of the voice. When his gaze landed on the beautiful lady in the long purple dress, he was momentarily stunned. However, the next moment, he turned back around and ruthlessly punched Nicholas in the face.

He raised his hand yet again and continued to deliver punch after punch until Nicholas's face was bloodied and bruised.

Seeing this, the beautiful lady couldn't help but shake her head and sigh, "Men will be men…." The next moment, she raised her hand and pointed at Bryan and Nicholas, following that, her necklace glowed once again as she declared, "Fighting is outlawed here!"

The moment those words escaped her lips, an invisible power washed over Bryan and stopped him in his actions. Realizing this, Bryan's eyes widened in utter shock. He raised his hand to punch Nicholas, but was unable to!

Other than that, he could move around the place but whenever he proceeded to hit Nicholas, he'd be obstructed by some strange power. He hurriedly turned his head and looked at the lady in disbelief, "W-What did you do!?" He had never experienced any power of this sort, hence, he was completely dumbstruck.

The lady, on the other hand, smiled politely and didn't reply. She then walked toward Bryan and when her eyes fell on Nicholas and the two men from the Belize Intelligence Agency, she couldn't help but click her tongue. "Attacking the kingdom officials can really get you into trouble, Mr. Wayne."

Bryan didn't reply; he continued to stare at this stranger. He carefully observed her facial structure and hair color and suddenly thought of something, 'Could she be….'

Seeing Bryan intently stare at her like this, the lady couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle. "It's really bad manners to stare at a lady like that, you know?"

Bryan wasn't apologetic in the least. He continued to stare at her and asked, "Who are you?"

Before the woman could reply, Nicholas got up to his feet in unprecedented fury and pointed his trembling finger at Bryan. "Y-Y-You…. How dare you! I will have you killed for attacking me. I'm a goddamn member of the Dicentra Research Institute and an advisor to the Belize—"

But before he could complete his sentence, the beautiful woman took out an identification medallion that had the sigil of the Dicentra Empire carved on it and showed it to Nicholas. "Mr. Tenant, Mr. Wayne is an official of the Dicentra Empire. If anything, you can be given the death penalty for attacking him on his private property."

When Nicholas saw the symbol of the Dicentra royal family on the medallion, his body began to tremble in fright. He looked at the woman and incredulously muttered, "W-Who are you!?"

"It doesn't matter who I am," The woman said with a smile. The next moment her eyes narrowed. "What matters is you're still standing on Mr. Wayne's private property even after I've shown you his identification token. Or do you think this medallion is forged?"

"O-Of course, not!" Nicholas hurriedly replied. He then bowed respectfully toward the woman. "Forgive my transgressions, miss. I was not aware that Mr. Wayne actually had the backing of the Dicentra royal family."

For not even a moment did Nicholas think the token was fake. Firstly, this token was an artifact and it was next to impossible to forge it. Secondly, and most importantly, if the token was indeed fake, the Dicentra royal family would be able to know at a moment's notice.

He couldn't help but curse his misfortune for kicking the ant's hill. The last time when he visited Bryan he had thought that the latter was bluffing about having a bigger backing than him.

And now that he realized that Bryan indeed had a bigger backing, he couldn't help vehemently curse, 'Bastard, if you had the bloody empire supporting you, why didn't you fucking say so!?'

He then looked at the woman and displayed a fawning smile, however, with his face bloodied and battered, he looked extremely ugly. "I shall now take my leave, miss."

Nicholas then hurriedly helped the two men from the Belize Intelligence Agency up their feet and rushed out of Bryan's compound. However, before he could cross the main gates, the woman's cold voice entered his ears. "Please remember this, Mr. Tenant. Actions have consequences."

Listening to her warning, Nicholas's body shivered in fear. He had never felt so regretful in his life. He turned around and once again bowed toward the lady. "I-I understand, miss." With that, he turned back around and walked out.

Meanwhile, Mathew who was sitting on the table inside the gazebo, shook his head in disappointment. "How boring."

He then looked in the direction of the woman and sniffed ever so slightly. "Oh? She has that brat's scent on her…." He looked at Bryan and then back at the woman, and smirked. "Could another drama be unfolding?"

His eyes shone with a hint of expectation as he thought about how he'd be entertained when everything unfolds. After all, living in seclusion in the dark void for centuries had really bored him out of his wits.

The woman noticed Mathew looking at him with a smirk, and was taken aback. She felt a very mysterious and powerful aura from the white cat. Thus, she took out the white gem from her purse once again and put it in front of her eye, and looked at Mathew.

However, the next moment, the white gem shattered into countless pieces. The woman's eyes widened in shock as well as a hint of fear. She hurriedly lifted the hems of her dress slightly and respectfully bowed toward Mathew. "Apologies, my lord."

Mathew jumped down from the table and strutted toward the mansion. As he passed by the woman he nodded his chubby head. "Looks like that Solomon brat has indeed taught his descendants some manners." With that, he elegantly walked inside the mansion.

When the woman saw the fat cat walking so majestically, her lips couldn't help but twitch. Meanwhile, Bryan who had just heard Mathew's words, was pleasantly surprised. He looked at the woman with bright eyes. "As I thought, the emperor really did send you!"

The woman looked at Bryan and smiled. "Now before I introduce myself, I must confirm your identity, Mr… Lombardi."

Bryan wasn't shocked that the woman knew her true identity. After all, he had personally allowed the emperor to disclose it to her. This would also further cement his relationship with the emperor.

He looked around the place and hesitated for a bit. Seeing this, the woman declared once again, "Scrying is outlawed here." The next moment, the pair was enveloped in a smoke barrier. She then added, "No one will be able to see us now unless they're high-string Transcendents of course."

Bryan nodded and tactfully didn't ask her about this astonishing necklace artifact. The next moment, Bryan wiped his face with his hands and changed his face back to his original face.

The woman was slightly taken aback at this neat trick. After confirming, Bryan was indeed the person her grandfather had told her about she nodded and then introduced herself with a polite smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Lombardi. My name is Charlotte Dicentra."