The Cycle of Fate

Chapter 124: Decisive Action

As dawn broke, Lumian awoke to the sound of the bells from St. Robis Church.

That night, he had stayed at the Golden Rooster Inn.

Raising his right hand to touch his head, he realized his thick hair had returned.

Lumian quickly got out of bed and looked at himself in the full-length mirror. He saw a version of himself that was both familiar and slightly unfamiliar.

It was the him from back in Cordu Village, before his hair had been dyed gold.

In the morning light, he smiled at himself, feeling much better than he had in recent times.

At least, at least not everything he did ended in failure—killing and getting revenge was still something he could handle.

After grabbing breakfast from a street vendor, Lumian planned to head to the Observatory District or Memorial Hall District to find a barbershop and dye his hair back to gold. Just then, he heard hurried footsteps approaching from downstairs.

Right when he thought the person would kick the door down, a series of urgent knocks echoed.

It was Franca. Rarely awake so early, she had just been about to say something when she noticed Lumian's jet-black hair.

"You dyed it back?" she asked in surprise.

"Sort of," Lumian replied, watching as Franca entered room 207 and closed the door behind her.

Franca didn't dwell on the topic and instead, with a harsh tone, asked, "Was it you who killed Hugue Artois's assistant secretary?

"Did you rush to advance to 'Pyromaniac' last night?"

Lumian stood up, smiled, and said, "Yes."

Franca hadn't expected him to admit it so easily and was momentarily at a loss for words.

After a few seconds, she hissed, "You reckless guy, you reckless guy! You promised me you'd be patient, and then you immediately went and did this. Can't you let your hatred wait until tomorrow?

"If you keep acting like this, I seriously doubt you'll survive the year—no, even this month!"

Lumian explained simply, "I didn't plan to kill that guy Tibert last night. I just wanted to stake him out, gather more information, and then prepare to deal with him together with you later. But the opportunity presented itself, and it was too good to pass up.

"Besides, I made preparations, including anti-divination and anti-tracking measures."

Franca sighed in relief and curiously asked, "Was the guy really that weak? It seems like you dealt with him easily."

"His main ability was spreading diseases through contact, which is conveniently countered by 'Pyromaniac.' If not for the need to avoid divination and spirit channeling, I could've taken him out in ten seconds," Lumian recalled.

Franca remarked, "You're lucky, aren't you? Did it never occur to you that your target might be incredibly strong?"

"I had an initial assessment that he wouldn't be too powerful. If he exceeded a certain level, I was ready to use my knife," Lumian replied before asking, "Why are you up so early?"

"I was woken up by Gardner!" Franca grumbled. "He's mobilizing all of you leaders to find the person who killed Hugue Artois's assistant secretary. As soon as I heard the details, I figured it was you! Just last night, we talked about adjusting your state before preparing the potion, and you went ahead and drank the 'Pyromaniac' potion right after!"

Lumian sincerely explained, "I felt like I was in a perfect state to advance to 'Pyromaniac,' so I hurriedly prepared the potion.

"Do you think the boss will suspect me?"