The Cycle of Fate

Chapter 123: Red and Black

Knock, knock, knock.

The rapid knocking echoed through the office.

A weak and indifferent voice came from inside.

"Come in."

Lumière turned the handle, pushed open the crimson door, and saw a pale, slender young man.

He was wearing a blue shirt, a black vest, and a dark suit, standing next to a large desk, looking towards the door.

Seeing that the visitor was Bono Goodwill, the assistant secretary named Tibault Jacques chuckled and said, "Don't worry, decline is the inevitable fate of all things. Humans are like this, organizations too. Once decay sets in, all sorts of problems arise..."

Before he could finish, Lumière quickly approached him, causing Tibault to become cautious and blurt out, "What are you..."

*Bang!* Lumière's fist swung, engulfed in crimson flames.

This cut off Tibault's words, forcing him to instinctively raise his arm to block the punch.

At the same time, he heard a voice filled with mockery: "So weak?"

Lumière's initial plan was to strike silently with a flame-covered fist that wouldn't alert the surrounding staff, use the chaos to draw his *Fallen Mercury*, inflict a wound on Tibault, and then escape before his target could react by leaping from the balcony of the yellow building housing the senator's office.

During this escape, he could use fireballs or the *Fire Crow* spell to slow down the enemy, and even if he sustained some injuries, he planned to reach the nearby alley and descend into the underground of Trier before the senator's security and campaign team, including the red-haired woman, reacted. Lumière's fire-enchanted armor could burn away pathogens, and since his exposure would be brief, he was confident he wouldn't contract any serious illness. Even if he did, the symptoms would be mild, and he could hold out until 6 a.m.

If needed, he could always seek help from Franca for half a bottle of healing potion.

After all, even the elderly scavenger Roul took one or two hours to fall ill after exposure to infected mucus. Lumière believed he would fare much better.

Of course, that's assuming Tibault's phlegm was one of his more potent tricks and not something that could instantly cause symptoms. Even if it was, Lumière had his flames to protect him.

But now, after this brief clash, Lumière realized that Tibault Jacques was far weaker than he'd imagined!

This made Lumière change his plan instantly.

Without a sound, his body became engulfed in a layer of crimson flames.

The flames flowed like water, suspended just above his skin, hair, clothes, and hat by a barely visible vacuum, constantly burning and rippling.

Crimson continually surged from within Lumière, merging into the flames.

This made Lumière look as if he were wearing a cloak of crimson fire, with his concealed face and the two flames flickering in his blue eyes vaguely visible between the dancing tongues of flame.

*Smack*—he tossed aside the dark cane he held and swung his other flame-wreathed fist at Tibault.

The handle of the cane continued to burn, scorching any place where handprints, fingerprints, or sweat might have been left.

*Bang, bang, bang!* Tibault staggered back two steps, as if facing a storm of fire. The crimson blaze was all he could see reflected in his eyes.

He let out a guttural sound and suddenly spat a thick glob of mucus at Lumière.