As the words rooted in Ancient Hermesian echoed, the space occupied by Audrey and Hewn Lambis simultaneously dimmed.
It was as though someone had walked past, blocking the nearest window, before quickly moving away.
Once the light returned, in the illusory world, the consciousness island shrouded by the terrifying Mental Storm had shifted from Audrey to Hewn Lambis, while the presence invading the other's mental body had switched from Hewn Lambis to Audrey.
The Pilferer talisman!
This was a talisman forged from
This was the fee Audrey had received from Gehrman Sparrow for treating Hazel's mental collapse. By means of this talisman, she had grafted onto Hewn Lambis the impending future where her consciousness barrier would shatter and her mind would be brought under control, while seizing from him the fate of wielding the "Mental Storm," opening the gates to a target's mental body, and directly modifying or implanting consciousness.
In an instant, the tables turned—Audrey vaulted from the brink of collapse to occupying an absolutely dominant position.
Of course, this advantage could only be maintained for a very short time.
Frankly speaking, if Audrey hadn't spent the previous two days mentally rehearsing how to struggle and save herself if she found herself in a desperate situation, she would never have thought to use the "Pilferer" talisman just now—or rather, by the time she thought of it, it would already have been too late. Likewise, at this very moment, as though she had rehearsed it countless times in her mind, she suppressed her surprise at the "Pilferer's" effect, quickly ascertained her current state, and riding her advantage, sent the Mental Storm laced with "hypnotic" effects crashing outward, blasting open the gates to Hewn Lambis's mental body.
Hewn Lambis instantly froze in place, like an ordinary person who had focused all their attention on Audrey's golden eyes and been thoroughly hypnotized.
Yes, in this moment, as a demigod of the Spectator Pathway, his mind had been manipulated by Audrey, who was only at Sequence 6.
This way, even after the "Pilferer's" effect expired, the deed was already done!
However, Audrey knew that she had merely used the miraculous talisman to leverage Hewn Lambis's own abilities to open the gates to his mental body and complete the initial manipulation. Any further action would inevitably meet with corresponding resistance, and at her Sequence level, she had no way to counter or control a particularly strong backlash.
Moreover, she could clearly feel that deep in his subconscious, Hewn Lambis was resisting his current state, and a small number of ashen-grey scales had begun appearing on his face in the real world.
It wouldn't be long before he forcibly broke free of her initial control over his mind... This realization flashed through Audrey's mind in an instant.
She immediately shifted her gaze to Hewn Lambis's head, rather regretting that she didn't have a powerful handgun on her—if she did, she could seize this opportunity to fire several shots and attempt to kill him.
Almost at once, she remembered the "Dragon Scales" she possessed, and realized that Hewn Lambis surely had them too—and his would be far more powerful and durable, impervious to ordinary attacks. Even most magical artifacts corresponding to mid- and low-Sequences wouldn't be able to break through!
And if she failed to kill him in a single blow, Hewn Lambis would certainly use that chance to regain consciousness and break free of her control.
Without hesitation, Audrey, who lacked sufficient offensive means, quickly came to a decision: "Hypnotize him!"
He's most skilled at hypnosis and has an extremely strong resistance to it, so he wouldn't have bothered preparing extra items to defend against this kind of influence... I can't make him do anything too contrary to his own wishes—given the gap in our levels, I definitely won't be able to resist the corresponding subconscious backlash... One thought after another flashed rapidly through Audrey's mind as she carefully weighed her words, her lips slightly dry.
She tried her best to show nothing abnormal, gazing into Hewn Lambis's eyes, and said in a remarkably gentle voice: "Find a place to wait at
This implantation of a subconscious suggestion did not provoke any significant resistance, and Audrey completed the manipulation with relative ease—for Hewn Lambis, he had indeed come today to find Audrey, and the predetermined meeting place was Viscount Glaint's estate. Audrey's hypnosis had merely modified the specific time and location, and the deviation was within a very narrow margin. As a result, it aligned perfectly with Hewn Lambis's will, requiring very little effort and encountering no strong resistance.
"Yes..." Hewn Lambis responded to what Audrey had just said.
Audrey didn't have time to relax. She steadied her mind, continued gazing into his eyes, and said softly: "You won't come looking for me for another quarter of an hour, so you haven't seen me today.
"Since you haven't seen me, everything that just happened certainly didn't occur. It will be forgotten."
Because Hewn Lambis had already accepted the earlier hypnosis, the subsequent suggestions followed a natural logical progression. His instinctive resistance, while present, wasn't particularly strong, and it soon dissolved into nothingness within those golden, luminous, deep and captivating eyes.
"Yes, I haven't seen you yet. Nothing just happened..." Hewn Lambis repeated with a slightly vacant expression, the greyish-white scales on his skin having increased further.
Having secured this critical step, Audrey resisted the urge to pat her chest in relief. She thought for a second and said: "When you hear my singing, you will become quiet."
She had originally wanted to combine charm with hypnosis, but found herself unable to strike any particularly alluring pose or produce a matching expression. Instead, she simply raised her hand to tuck back a few strands of golden hair that had fallen loose, tilted her head slightly, let her gaze flow with the motion, and brightened her smile.
Then, she hummed a melody from "Manor Under the Moon" through her nose.
Hewn Lambis gazed at the beautiful young woman before him—radiant as sunlight, vibrant as flowers, dazzling as gemstones—and listened to that ethereal, otherworldly voice. His mind gradually grew serene, and all resistance faded away.
Seeing that her initial manipulation was about to break free from the subject's grasp, Audrey didn't delay. She pointed toward the other end of the corridor: "Go over there. When you see that stained glass, you will return to full awareness and dispel the dragon scales."