Chapter 237
He Pulled the Trigger
Eivass did not interrupt Isabel, but quietly listened to the information she brought.
Isabel, mustering her strength, recounted everything she had seen in detail. After finishing, she let out a sigh of relief, collapsed, and fell into a coma. Eivass, like a true father, picked her up.
He sat her on his lap, patted her back, and gently said, “You’ve worked hard, Lulu.
“Leave the rest to me.”
He felt the almost scorching heat on Daiya’s forehead with his chin and throat. He felt that it had reached an unbearable level, but he did not let go of her. Because Eivass knew that Isabel must have endured far more pain than he was currently experiencing.
Before, just by feeling Daiya’s body tremble and shiver, and seeing her somewhat dazed pupils, he knew that Lulu’s body and will had reached their limit.
Her body radiated waves of heat, as if stepping outdoors in the summer. Eivass felt his clothes scorching from the heat.
And that feeling, Eivass was all too familiar with.
—It was exactly the same as when Yulia had an episode as a child.
It wasn’t a normal fever, but a gradual disintegration of the body under intense heat. It was like glass shattering and cracking like a spiderweb under high temperatures, and a young body could easily withstand the Phantom Demon’s power.
Children could not bear this pain and would cry loudly. And if they did, wanting to “vent,” the Phantom Demon’s power would seep out through these cracks. It would not only cause great destruction to the surroundings but also damage their own bodies.
At such times, Yulia would usually curl up in a corner, Burning quietly within herself.
She could silently endure the pain and not worry Eivass and the adults at the orphanage, but she could not act outdoors while enduring such pain.
Eivass looked at the purple light shining through Isabel’s cracked, pale skin, and took a deep breath.
…Purple light. This represented the power of the Transcendent Path.
—It was a Succubus.
In that instant, all the information connected in Eivass’s mind.
The legend of Merlin in Room 201, the little girl who had died long ago outside the window, the weapon he carried for hunting demons, Jacob, who was the leader of the Serpent Hand but had gone to such a small place, the brand-new banknotes he carried, the people who had inexplicably gathered and forgotten why they came, and these layered dreams…
Why was Merlin the one involved in the Transcendent Path? Or rather, why did the Great Philosopher have him preside over this ritual?
At this moment, Eivass finally understood everything—
“…The nursery rhyme Lulu heard, ‘Lock her up with a key,’ described a classic erroneous ritual that circulated among the people.”
Eivass spoke slowly, explaining to the others, “Not just Avalon—in all countries where Ritual Studies is not widespread, people tend to believe that if a child is buried in a hotel or before a bridge is completed, it can prevent earthquakes or collapses caused by unknown reasons.
“But in reality, this is an erroneous ritual, or rather, it’s only half correct…
“Because this ritual is actually used to create Earthbound Spirits.”
Earthbound Spirits create illusions or dreams to kill passersby, absorbing their souls to strengthen themselves. If this continues, they will become “haunted hotels” or “haunted bridges,” and the building itself becomes the ritual site.
Eivass saw through this directly using the knowledge of Ritual Studies that his teacher, Ibn, had just taught him.
But even without knowing this, one could guess all this from the story implied in “The Seer in the Oak,” the brick walls on every floor, and the occasional phantom of a little girl. This was clearly a part modified by the Great Philosopher to provide hints to the Ascenders.
“…How cruel.”
Wisteria sighed with unbearable pity, “Ignorant and backward people…”
Quicks, who had been quiet for a long time, spoke for the first time, calmly saying, “This is a tragedy caused by a lack of knowledge.”
Pure White just shook his head and did not speak.
The Old Supervisor was silent for a moment, then said, “In that case, Miss Lulu, playing the role of ‘the child pushed down the stairs from a sealed room and falling to her death,’ should be the Earthbound Spirit of this haunted hotel.”
—This was why this dream specifically emphasized “Level Zero” and “Level Negative One,” because Level Negative One symbolized death.
After Isabel brought the information and Eivass analyzed it, they no longer targeted Eivass but began to cooperate.
Pure White spoke first, “My introductory plot and mission tell me that I was ordered by my superior to investigate the situation here.”
“But in this era, Avalon doesn’t have telephones.”
Eivass continued, “So the message you received should be delayed. But your room is right next to ours.”
Telephones became popular around the time Eivass was seven or eight years old. That was around the time Eivass was first raised by James.
It was now sixty years ago, and Avalon had no real-time communication devices. It could be said that all communication relied on letters.
“—So, my memory and introductory plot are both fake.”
Pure White, playing the role of the Old Supervisor, said in a deep voice, “I was not ordered by my superior to come here to investigate—otherwise, I would have brought a Gryphon. I know that Avalon’s Supervisors always ride Gryphons on combat missions.
“And I didn’t bring a Gryphon, but I’m wearing armor and carrying weapons… so I’m actually here to collect taxes.”
As he said this, he suddenly covered his forehead and stared blankly ahead.
“Then my memories might be wrong too…”
Wisteria and Quicks exchanged glances, and finally spoke with a sigh, “In my impression, we seemed to be here on vacation. But if that were the case, we wouldn’t have brought so much medicine… this would hinder our actions, especially with the storm outside.”
“You wouldn’t specifically come to a haunted hotel for tourism. Because you already have something to hide.”
Eivass replied calmly, “Your smuggled medicine is either expensive or in fragile glass bottles. In this stormy weather, your packages are dry. This indicates you have been living here for some time.
“And I noticed that you have more than one such package in your room. So this is very likely where you sell your medicine, or rather… this is one of your warehouses.”
Saying this, he took out the Drunken Dream T he was holding and handed it to them.
Wisteria and Quicks no longer remembered selling the medicine to Eivass just now.
Quicks picked up the medicine, opened it, and sniffed it.
He said with certainty, “This medicine is real, and it’s not expired—it should be relatively new, within two years.”
“Yes, I smelled it too. This isn’t the concentration an expired medicine should have.”
Eivass held Daiya, adjusted her position so she could lie more comfortably in his arms, and then continued, “It has an expiration date written on it so that it can be sold at a reasonable low price without arousing suspicion. So it’s either fake medicine or smuggled medicine.
“You might not even be husband and wife, but accomplices—you believe you are husband and wife in your cognition because Daiya saw you were close and subconsciously assumed so. Because in her cognition, only a couple could share a room…”
As Eivass spoke, Wisteria and Quicks showed pained expressions.
He was silent for a moment, then whispered, “And I am definitely not a teacher or a kidnapper… both of these identities are fake.”
There were nine seats at the Round Table.
Even including Merlin among the seven, there was still one missing, but if the Earthbound Spirit little girl was included, it would be just right.
—It was supposed to be nine layers, which is a great pity.
Merlin said this when he entered. Looking back now, perhaps that was the hint he gave.
In that case, each of them was in one layer of the dream. But there were still people in the real layer…
The further Isabel went, the worse her condition became.
So it was likely that the uncontrolled Succubus in her body was in Layer Zero, the real layer. And the person in the Negative Layer was the little girl Earthbound Spirit—Earthbound Spirits were also skilled at fabricating dreams and illusions.
One of the two little girls lured them in and controlled them; the other created false memories and identities for them. This storm outside was to prevent them from leaving. It was also to make Daiya’s fever seem reasonable.
—So, although everyone theoretically came in through the storm, only she caught a fever!
These people all remembered Agni as the kidnapper—but how could a kidnapper have a weapon specifically for hunting demons?
And the fresh banknotes seemed more like payment than ransom…
Moreover, if they were really kidnappers, in this stormy weather, they would have killed the victim immediately after receiving the money.
And his father was shot in the back without any struggle; Agni even took off the victim’s clothes and put them in his bag. He mixed them with the expensive White Cap coins, completely unafraid of them being stained by blood. It was as if he didn’t know the value of this money at all…
In summary, there was only one possibility—
As he realized the truth, Eivass suddenly felt a throbbing headache.
And the old man’s solemn voice echoed in his mind:
“You realized your identity, and the suppressed memories awakened within you…
“Daiya Camelot’s father realized that his daughter had become a Phantom Demon Egg, but he was concerned about his image and status, and dared not hand Daiya over to the Supervisor’s Office directly, nor dare he continue to raise her.
“So he contacted you… a demon hunter.
“He brought Daiya, arriving in Shepherd’s Bay Country, where supervisory power was weak, under the guise of tourism. He gave you a generous down payment, asking you to secretly take Daiya away as a kidnapper, making her disappear socially.
“After this incident was reported, he secretly contacted you again, and gave you an unbelievably generous foster care fee, hoping you would take Daiya to the countryside to raise her—if she lost control, kill her before she turned into a Phantom Demon. And if she grew up normally, he would secretly visit her.
“But as they were transacting in the small woods, Daiya discovered them. She couldn’t understand what she saw, suffered a strong mental shock, and the Succubus within her awakened and lost control—the two of you were easily manipulated by the Succubus, and you killed her biological father.
“She wanted you to play her father. Therefore, you changed into his clothes. She wanted you to be a good father who wouldn’t abandon her, so you took her forward in the storm.
“But she continuously used the Succubus’s power, causing her loss of control to intensify. After you arrived at the hotel, Daiya finally lost control completely—”
The next moment, several missions appeared before Eivass’s eyes.
[Father’s Love: Find a reasonable way to heal Daiya (Points: 500)]
[Father’s Protection: Do not let Daiya be killed by others (Points: 500)]
[The True Me: Recall your true identity (Points: 1000)]
These three missions blurred and changed into a new form—
[Free Will: Escape Daiya’s mental control (Points: 500)]
[Morality and Duty: Execute the out-of-control Daiya before the Phantom Demon fully hatches (Points: 500)]
[The Extra Person: Kill the person possessed by the Earthbound Spirit “Alice” (Points: 1000)]
“This is…”
Eivass subconsciously hugged Daiya tighter, his heart filled with complex emotions.
Isabel had already fainted. She had not told Eivass what her mission requirements were.
Although Merlin said they should stay on Layer Zero… their actual necessary mission was [Return to Reality]. And staying on Layer Zero was just their way of returning to reality.
The problem arises, does this return to reality—include dying in reality?
But dying in reality would lead to falling into Layer Negative One…
…If he killed Phantom Demon Daiya, would Isabel’s mission fail?
After all her painstaking efforts to bring the information down, the content of the information was to kill her…
No one understood the danger of a Phantom Demon Seed better than Eivass—Daiya’s transformation into a Phantom Demon was like a paused button. Once she returned to reality, she would irreversibly begin to lose control, collapse… and then kill everyone present.
If Eivass and Isabel truly returned to Layer Zero and did nothing… then everyone would fail together.
But if Eivass did not go back, they would still fail.
Unless Isabel was left on this layer. But then only she would fail.
—Was this worth her hard work?
Eivass suddenly looked up, his sharp gaze fixed on Merlin, “Is this the good show you’ve been waiting for?”
“Yes.”
Merlin stopped pretending to be a detective and resumed his original tone, smiling, “So, what will you choose?”
Eivass was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath.
“Forget it, whether this way works or not…”
“…She and I will just die once.”
Eivass said calmly, flipped his gun, and aimed it at Daiya’s temple.
*Bang!*
One shot.
Then Eivass pressed the gun to his own chin, tilted his head slightly, and looked at the people around the Round Table.
Although his gun was aimed at himself, it was as arrogant as if he were aiming at everyone present.
“If you can’t lose at all, it’s not called gambling… If you want to gamble, don’t be afraid of losing. If you want to win, don’t think about winning first.
“—At worst, I’ll go to Level Negative One with her.”
Eivass laughed heartily, “No matter which layer this is now… I’ll see you all later, everyone. Or see you in hell.”
He pulled the trigger.
Although today’s update is two chapters, it’s still over seven thousand words~
The dungeon will end tomorrow! You don’t need to save up anymore!
