That is... my mother's mirror?
Completely expecting to hear this answer, upon learning that the mirror in Snow Jackal's hand was actually her mother's relic, the female Cleaner found her thoughts frozen, overwhelmed by a torrent of emotions.
Beside her, Leon, who vaguely guessed some things, closed his eyes slightly and sighed inwardly.
If he was not mistaken, the member of the Slaughter King Association in the mirror, wearing the white wolf-head mask, probably had no interest in the so-called flaw and didn't care how its disguise got exposed.
The real purpose behind proposing to exchange information might have been simply to reveal this fact and then revel in Melly's sorrowful expression after learning the truth, shattered by emotional shock.
How vile...
Glancing at Snow Jackal who was satisfied and smiling in the small mirror, Leon reached out and patted the back of the bewildered female Cleaner, guiding her back to her seat. He then stared intently at the masked figure in the mirror, memorizing its form and appearance.
"Mr. Leon, your gaze is a bit too earnest."
After a moment of eye contact across the small mirror, Snow Jackal spoke with a smile:
"If you are angered by my attitude and plan to find and kill me, just remembering my appearance won't suffice. I am the god who governs [Illusions] and [Heart Lake]; the face you see isn't my true appearance.
Moreover, anger is not a beneficial emotion. The more the Heart Lake of those who face me surges with emotions, the easier it becomes for me to exploit, dragging them into illusions... not even those with [Calm] bloodline can escape."
?!
Upon hearing this, Leon's pupils narrowed slightly, and he swiftly reached out, grabbing the female Cleaner's arm. However, before that, the dazed Cleaner had already opened her lips slightly, gently exhaling towards Leon and the others.
"Ha."
With the Cleaner's action, a colorless aroma resembling that of bluebells immediately spread from her mouth, filling the enclosed cabin of the Sky Clipper in less than a blink of an eye.
Immediately after, the tree-root-like accessory on her wrist abruptly swelled up, forcibly prying open Leon's grasp and transforming into a massive tree sphere, encapsulating her completely.
The brown tree sphere's exterior suddenly burst open with a multitude of tiny white flowers, scattering pollen all around. When Leon raised his hand to shield himself, a familiar noise rang in his ears.
"Zzzz"
[Name: Mysterious Princess's Pollen (Silence, Flesh, Vision)]
[Appearance: Extremely tiny colorless particles, small enough to permeate the skin, appearing semi-transparent under sunlight, and almost invisible to the naked eye at night]
[Abilities: Silence, Physical Stagnation, Vision Obscuration]
[Cost: Consumes significant physical energy but can be quickly replenished through substantial food intake]
[File: The unique plant "Mysterious Princess" found in Dream Realm Lone Walker Mountain, disperses a large amount of colorless pollen upon blooming, which can inhibit sound transmission and forcibly slow down the actions of all fleshly beings.
Additionally, the pollen of the Mysterious Princess carries mild toxicity, and excessive short-term exposure can affect the visual nervous system, causing temporary blindness]
[Evaluation: A rather insidious control-type abnormal object, which, upon contact, immediately seals one's mouth, deafens the ears, paralyzes movement, and blinds the vision. When used in conjunction with the equally concealed "Calming Saliva," it's nearly unbeatable for ambushes or deceitful attacks]
[Contamination Value: 0.1]
...
Heh, the so-called Food God of the Clean-up Bureau isn't that hard to deal with.
Seeing Leon covered with the Mysterious Princess's Pollen, having been hit perfectly by the Calming Saliva and unable to dodge the follow-up attack, Snow Jackal in the mirror couldn't help but curl the corners of its mouth, then softly called to the tree sphere encapsulating the female Cleaner.
"Creak."
Along with the sound of thick tree roots scraping against each other, the tree sphere enclosing the female Cleaner slowly unfolded, revealing her with eyes that had lost focus.
Next, the Cleaner twisted her wrist, pulling out a small harp from somewhere, and under Snow Jackal's manipulation, started winding the harp strings towards Leon's neck...
"Open your mouth!"
In Snow Jackal's suddenly constricted pupils, Leon, who should have been immobilized, suddenly turned his head, dodging the approaching harp strings. He promptly reached out, grabbed the female Cleaner's cheek, and stuffed a piece of old clothing into her mouth, blocking it securely.
Immediately afterwards, a silver knife appeared in Leon's hand, slicing off the nearby porthole, allowing a rush of cold air mixed with fine snow to flood into the cabin, sweeping away the Calming Saliva from inside the Sky Clipper.
"The god of Illusions and Heart Lake, is it?"
Surviving this attempted ambush thanks to the resistance provided by [Materialism], Leon, feeling the souls of the three directors restore their vitality, took a sigh of relief and stared coldly at Snow Jackal in the mirror, squinting slightly:
"Wait for it, I'm coming soon..."
However, just as he was half-way through his harsh words, due to the Calming Saliva in the surroundings being dispersed by the cold air, the three directors, previously unable to speak, hear, move, or see, reacted all at once, deploying their life-saving means.
Fragmented transport, vaporized dissociation, phased exit.
Before Leon could even react, the three directors that the Director of Taurus carefully selected for him each displayed their powers, disappearing from the Sky Clipper in an instant.
One transformed from a middle-aged woman into eight children, all of whom vanished with a pop; another instantly lost its human form, turning into a large mass of white steam and gushing out through the broken porthole;
The last one simply phased out, covered all over with light purple, odd balloon-like structures, slipping through the fine mesh of the Sky Clipper's body just like sand through a sieve, gradually descending into the blanket of white snow...
"..."
What... why are you all running at a time like this?
Facing this unforeseen situation, originally intending to hurl a few harsh words at Snow Jackal, Leon found himself at a loss, the corners of his mouth twitching. He quickly clamped the still struggling female Cleaner between his arms, squinted through the wind and snow, and peered out the porthole.
The eight children transformed by the middle-aged woman disappeared completely, their whereabouts unknown; the mass of white steam, though miraculously non-crystallized when chilled, vanished amidst the swirling snow;
As for the last one that "sprinkled" down, even in the face of an airship that could speed six or seventy meters a second, it had been left far behind, its soul's position indicating it was probably already racing toward the Hexagonal Snow Mountain.
Well, we haven't even reached the Northern Border yet, and the rations we brought are already scattered in the mountains...
