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Chapter 248: Alchemical Magic Crystal Glass Window
🕑 Added 2025-02-06 14:08:01 +0000 UTCAs evening descended, Charlot Mecklenburg bid farewell to each of the ladies. Although his affection for Annie Bretagne was evident, he refrained from any intimate gestures in front of others—there was no rush, as they had plenty of private time together.
Charlot did not return home immediately. Instead, he strolled along Elysée Avenue for several hundred steps until he reached a shop outfitted with alchemical magic crystal glass. The shop had long closed, but under the dim moonlight, Charlot’s shadow stood vividly reflected on the glass.
Suddenly, the shadow on the alchemical magic crystal glass window grinned and made an inviting gesture.
The Van Gogh Clan, practitioners of the Infinite Mirror World, were known for their peculiar cultivation method. Each time they killed a mirror spirit, their power would increase. However, if a mirror spirit killed them, the spirit would take their place, assuming their identity.
In Byron, there was a legend suggesting that the entire Van Gogh Clan had already been killed by mirror spirits during their cultivation, and that the current clan members were merely "spirits of the mirror."
Charlot was uncertain about the truth of this legend, but one fact was indisputable: mirror spirits were incredibly dangerous.
Still, mirror spirits had significant weaknesses.
Without hesitation, Charlot stepped into the alchemical magic crystal glass window. Immediately, his vision transformed, revealing a bustling, brightly lit version of Elysée Avenue. The streets teemed with ten times the usual number of people, each wearing an unsettling smile.
The pedestrians spoke among themselves, yet their actions and expressions suggested they were conversing with someone unseen. They opened the doors of shops but rarely exited through the same doors. Instead, others emerged in their place.
This mirrored version of Elysée Avenue exuded an eerie and surreal aura, a discordant atmosphere that defied explanation.
Charlot quickly grasped why this mirrored world felt so bizarre. The alchemical magic crystal glass window had stood on this street for many years, reflecting countless passersby. The mirror spirit manipulated this window, creating a world within that mirrored the bustling evening life of Elysée Avenue. The people here weren’t from the same moment in time, which explained their unnatural behaviors and excessive numbers.
A newspaper boy darted past Charlot.
Without hesitation, Charlot struck out, channeling Stardust Battle Energy into his palm and landing a blow on the boy's forehead.
The boy had concealed a short gun within the Withered Rose of Blood Glory. His twisted smile lingered even as his body crumbled into ash. Retrieving the Withered Rose, Charlot’s expression turned grim.
“This mirror spirit can take the form of others. Tracking it down and killing it will be no simple task.”
“Never mind. I won’t bother searching.”
With a flick of his wrist, Charlot aimed the Withered Rose at a random passerby and fired, killing them instantly. He didn’t even glance at the disintegrating figure before turning the gun on a nearby woman.
This was the mirrored world. The people here were reflections, not real beings.
Charlot had no qualms about killing them all.
Every time the Withered Rose claimed a life, a new bullet appeared in its magazine.
Although these mirror-spawned individuals lacked true vitality, they contained a faint trace of malevolent energy. The Withered Rose could not distinguish between their energy and genuine power, absorbing it indiscriminately.
This discovery intrigued Charlot.
He stood in place, firing repeatedly. As the streets emptied, a young girl suddenly approached him, her mouth agape as if to scold him for his wanton slaughter. Yet no words came out, only the expression of indignation on her face.
Charlot shot her without hesitation. Her death added over a hundred bullets to the Withered Rose’s magazine. Startled, Charlot chuckled to himself.
“Who would’ve thought mirror spirits could be so entertaining?”
The girl’s figure dissolved into ash.
Suddenly, the entire street froze. Then, individuals began embracing one another, merging into single forms. These fused beings continued embracing others until the mirrored Elysée Avenue was left with just six “Charlots,” each wielding an alchemical magic staff and advancing toward him from different directions.
Charlot, who often frequented this street, had unknowingly left his image reflected in the window many times—typically as a figure holding an alchemical magic staff.
Shaking his head, Charlot holstered the Withered Rose and unsheathed the Blood Rose. With a swift motion, he severed one of the mirror “Charlots,” staff and all.
The remaining five mirror spirits responded by employing Arsilo Swordsmanship, but Charlot danced effortlessly among them. Even under their coordinated assault, he maintained control. Spotting a flaw in one of their movements, he struck with the Blood Rose, cutting the mirror spirit down.
“You can’t replicate the true essence of Arsilo Swordsmanship.”
Charlot sighed, countering another spirit’s staff strike with a deft parry. Dark Corrosion infused the Blood Rose, causing the mirror spirit to explode into a cloud of black mist.
Mirror spirits couldn’t replicate transcendent artifacts or reproduce secret techniques from outside the Van Gogh Clan.
However, the strength of mirror spirits derived from their original hosts in the Van Gogh Clan. The stronger the original practitioner, the more powerful the mirror spirit became.
At lower or intermediate levels, practitioners could rely on transcendent artifacts or supplementary powers. But at higher levels, obtaining equivalent artifacts became increasingly difficult, and secondary powers could no longer keep pace with the clan’s secret techniques.
Fortunately for Charlot, such concerns were not yet relevant.
When he slew the final mirror spirit with the Blood Rose, the mirrored world fell under his control. He sensed another mirrored world connected to the mirror in his home.
Smiling faintly, Charlot reached out his right hand and gently clasped it, merging the two mirrored worlds into one.
Stepping forward, he did not exit through the alchemical magic crystal glass window on the street. Instead, he emerged from the mirror in his own home.
This was the Van Gogh Clan’s secret art: Infinite Mirror World.
With any reflective surface, they could traverse and linger freely.
Mastering the Infinite Mirror World also allowed them to trap any opponent, even those slightly stronger than themselves.
However, the technique had its vulnerabilities. Its full potential could only be realized within the mirrored world. Refusing to enter the mirrored world or simply covering reflective surfaces could nullify its effects, as seen with Protagoras.
After contemplating for a moment, Charlot smiled and remarked, “This truly is a fascinating technique. What a pity it can’t be used effectively on the battlefield.”
He was now certain that the Infinite Mirror World and Agmirlas’ Labyrinth Arts were entirely distinct. Yet why mastering three labyrinth transformations could unlock the Infinite Mirror World remained an enigma Charlot could not explain.
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