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1 AM, dead of night.
Illumi left his room and arrived outside Demetrius's room.
He suspected that the feeling he experienced today came from Demetrius, as he was the only one who could possibly possess such an ability.
"Click."
When he arrived at Demetrius's room, he saw Sylvia pushing the door open and immediately shrank back into the corner.
"Grandpa, what exactly does he want to do…?"
Sylvia stood outside the door, frowning as she glanced at Demetrius inside the room, muttering softly.
Illumi waited until Sylvia left before emerging from the corner and approaching Demetrius's door. The moment he gripped the doorknob.
"Fletcher, come in."
Illumi paused, his expression subtly changed, and he pushed the door open.
The room was spacious and brightly lit. Demetrius sat on the sofa, his left leg crossed over his right, holding a cigar in one hand and a cedar box in the other.
"The legendary treasure that can grant the user's wishes."
Illumi didn't speak, he just stood at the doorway, observing Demetrius from a distance, feeling vigilant.
Because he didn't know why the other party was able to sense him.
Demetrius suddenly put down the cigar in his hand, picked up the cedar box, and slowly opened it.
"Whoosh!"
The moment the box opened, Illumi's eyes widened, his expression changed dramatically. An endless greed surged from Demetrius.
This greed was so intense, the emotion so pure, it was unlike anything he had ever seen.
Blue smoke instantly filled the entire room, turning into skeletons that floated around, wailing.
At this moment, Illumi felt as if he had arrived in hell.
Illumi's body suddenly erupted with a large amount of aura, enveloping his body. His left eye glowed red, and the Oroboros mark appeared.
"I realized long ago that you are not Fletcher."
Demetrius rose from the sofa and turned to look at Illumi. The left half of his face looked as if it had been burned, black-red and wrinkled, covered in scars.
Only his left eye remained relatively intact.
"Fletcher doesn't like walking behind others. No matter where he goes, he prefers to walk in front."
Illumi's heart tightened. He immediately recalled that when he and the two men in black left together, he had been walking behind them.
"Then why did you keep me until now? Shouldn't you have just eliminated me directly?"
"After all, I'm the killer who murdered your two subordinates."
Demetrius's eyes narrowed slightly, and a large amount of translucent aura suddenly emanated from his body.
"Whoosh whoosh..."
A fierce gust of wind suddenly rose in the room. All the skeletons floating in mid-air were swept up by this gale, howling as they were pulled into Demetrius's body.
"I wouldn't dare lay a hand on you, the genius assassin of the Zoldyck family."
"Please, have a seat."
Demetrius retracted the aura around him and gestured for Illumi to sit on the sofa.
Seeing that Demetrius even knew his identity clearly, Illumi reverted to his original appearance, stepped forward, bent his legs, and sat on the sofa.
"Clink clatter..."
Demetrius picked up the teapot and personally poured a cup of black tea for Illumi, pushing it to the edge of the coffee table in front of him.
"This is Mibam Red Tea, a specialty of the Ozma Federation. In summer, it can quench thirst and clear heat."
Illumi leaned back on the sofa with his arms spread, crossing one leg over the other, and said.
"How did you do that?"
"You instantly retracted that enormous emotion just now."
Demetrius took a light sip of black tea, looking at the cedar box on the coffee table, or to be precise, at the mask inside.
"That's a Nen ability I specifically developed for this mask."
"To control my growing, increasingly uncontrollable emotions."
Illumi's heart jolted. His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at Demetrius.
"You once wore this mask?"
Demetrius noticed his expression, but didn't pay it any mind. He picked up his cigar and flicked off the ash.
"I did, for three years."
"Seven years ago, I obtained this mask from the Isaac family."
"But when I obtained it and placed it on my face, that's when I realized."
"The legends are lies, specifically designed to deceive greedy humans."
Demetrius held the cigar in his mouth, silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.
"But it was too late. The longer one wore the mask, the less control the user had over their emotions."
"The mask not only won't grant the user's wishes, but it will also hollow out the human heart."
"A void was dug out of the human heart, giving birth to endless emptiness."
"To fill this emptiness, humans will generate endless desires, trying every possible way to satisfy them."
"Although I tried my best to suppress it, ultimately, the void in my heart grew larger and larger."
"Four years ago, I finally realized that if I didn't take off the mask."
"I would become a bloodthirsty beast, constantly killing just to satisfy the emptiness in my heart."
"So, I activated all my connections and found someone to help me solve the problem of the golden mask."
Illumi watched his movements. Demetrius picked up the golden mask, rubbed its surface, and his finger stopped at a damaged spot on the mask.
"This spot was made four years ago when that person helped me take it off."
Illumi's face straightened. The person Demetrius mentioned actually had the ability to damage a secret treasure.
"He also suggested I develop this Nen ability to control emotions."
"Thanks to this ability, I became even more at ease in officialdom and was able to hold onto the mayor's position."
"But even so, the mask's influence on me still remains."
Demetrius put the golden mask back into the cedar box, closed it again, and looked at Illumi.
"But you, unexpectedly, weren't tempted by the golden mask, and even used it for experiments."
"As expected of an elite of an assassin family, your talent and psychological fortitude are both top-notch."
Hearing him speak this way, Illumi grew even more curious about his abilities. He cautiously tested him.
"Could it be that you can influence others' emotions?"
Demetrius, holding a cigar, pointed his finger at Illumi. A surge of aura drifted from his fingertip towards Illumi.
The moment the aura touched Illumi's skin, his body trembled. His eyelids drooped, and he let go of all caution in his heart, exuding an aura of utter lethargy.
"Hmm!?"
In just an instant, Illumi recovered. He looked at the white-haired old man before him, his expression solemn.
"An ordinary person influenced by my ability would take at least a month to recover."
Demetrius, with a terrifying face, wore a "benevolent" smile.
"As for this golden mask, to be honest, I am currently trying every possible way to destroy it."
Demetrius took off his cigar, took a deep breath, his eyes heavy with emotion.
"Only those who have been tormented by the mask can understand what kind of thing it is."
"Such a secret treasure cannot remain in this world. It must be destroyed."