Chapter 833
The Truth of One-Third
To be fair, Eivass was indeed the acting Pope right now.
Even as an acting Pope, he should have the qualification to judge heretical blasphemy, right!
Although this painting was filled with all sorts of theological errors… especially the pure white Candlemaster head, Eivass didn’t show any abnormality. He just followed Sasha’s gaze to the entrance.
Just then, a black-haired, red-eyed teenager, around sixteen or seventeen years old, entered amidst the crowd.
His appearance was more beautiful than many young ladies present. His scarlet eyes were as brilliant as rubies, and he had a pair of curved, slender gradient red and black dragon horns on his head. His black hair cascaded to his waist, and his stand-up collar formal attire didn’t reveal his Adam’s apple…
But despite such beauty, there was not a hint of feminine effeminacy.
Instead, he exuded a strong sense of confidence and masculinity, shining like the sun—
When “Cain” appeared, the melancholic dance music in the hall abruptly transformed into magnificent and sacred symphonic music.
Even the lights converged on him, following his every step.
Cain, too, wore a smile identical to everyone else’s, his arms spread wide, as if ready to embrace someone or as if a star was greeting its fans.
The people stopped dancing, turning to send him endless waves of thunderous cheers.
As he walked into the crowd, the people naturally parted to the sides. Amidst their increasingly fervent cheers, Cain easily moved through the center of the crowd without touching anyone.
As he passed Eivass, he smiled and nodded at Sasha, incidentally looking up with some surprise at Eivass, whose hand was still on Sasha’s shoulder.
Afterward, Cain passed through the crowd and walked to beneath the white Candlemaster statue.
“Everyone!”
He spoke loudly, his voice surprisingly young, clear, and full of vitality.
Cain’s face was full of smiles. “Let no one be sad! Let us carouse to our hearts’ content! Celebrate the death of the Mad Dragon and wish him ascension to the heavens!
“Endless dancing, unrestrained drinking!
“This is the day of the endless feast!”
As he spoke, he produced a cup of wine from somewhere.
This Dragon Son raised his cup of wine high, toasting the crowd. “To my father, Zagres!”
“To Zagres!”
Thunderous cheers and laughter came from the dance floor.
Eivass, at some point, found his empty wine glass refilled.
“To laughter!”
He cheered loudly, and the crowd below echoed, “To laughter!”
“To wild dancing!”
“To wild dancing!!”
“To all heroes! To the magnificent finale!!
“—To the death of the Mad Dragon!”
He called out loudly, draining the wine in his cup in one gulp.
The people echoed him, cheering as they drained their wine, “To the death of the Mad Dragon!”
“To the death of the Mad Dragon!”
Amidst screams and celebrations, people threw their wine glasses with all their might. One by one, the wine glasses bloomed and shattered in the sky, turning into sparkling fireworks. Cain, with a smile, raised his hands like an orchestra conductor.
With a gesture from him, the banquet became chaotic.
The band switched the music again. The basic tone was still the previous melancholic dance music, but with a slight change in rhythm and the addition of one or two new parts, the originally melancholic slow-tempo dance music became much more cheerful.
As the music grew more passionate, people passionately kissed each other, screaming and taking off a piece of clothing, which they then threw high into the sky. Coat after coat flew up, transforming into flames, from which pure white birds emerged.
Around the dance floor, a hollow round table appeared. On the ring-like table, plates surfaced one after another, and the flying birds landed on each plate—each bird turned into a different gourmet dish, emitting a rich aroma. Cup after cup of fine wine appeared by the table, inexhaustible.
Some people embraced again to dance, while others went to the table to feast.
At this moment, Eivass suddenly felt time around him begin to slow down… The most obvious was the music, which, stretched out, became extremely strange, and then the movements of the people gradually froze along with the music.
They remained in poses of revelry, smiles on their faces.
Cain, bathed in light, raised his hands and looked at the guests.
Both “Cain” and “Sasha” beside Eivass remained motionless.
Eivass reached out and caressed Sasha’s cheek but could no longer feel softness and warmth from her. Instead, it felt like touching a rough canvas, and it even felt somewhat damp.
He slowly withdrew his hand from Sasha’s shoulder and walked alone in the center of the silent dance floor.
The people around were frozen in poses of revelry and dance, their bodies fixed in various strange and peculiar postures and expressions.
Only Eivass’s boots echoed on the ground in the silent space.
It wasn’t that he wanted to move randomly… but he noticed something abnormal happening near Cain.
Right beside Cain, three wooden doors appeared out of nowhere, one in front of him and one on each side.
White text appeared under his feet.
[Why is this banquet held?]
Immediately after, corresponding phrases appeared under the three doors.
The door in front read [Funeral and Sacrifice].
On the left and right sides were [Celebration and Revelry] and [Madness and Slaughter].
Between the three doors, there was a ticking second hand. It looked like a one-minute timed choice.
“Ten minutes…”
Eivass mumbled softly.
From the time he opened his eyes until now, it had been about ten minutes.
A choice every ten minutes?
One minute was… a bit tight for detailed analysis and thought, so intuition would have to play a part.
Although judging by the atmosphere, one would choose “Celebration and Revelry,” Eivass felt it wouldn’t be that simple.
He felt Cain’s words were pointed… and the option of [Madness and Slaughter] made him uneasy.
From the fragments of words, Zagres seemed to be dead. And this was a banquet held by the heroes who killed the “Mad Dragon” Zagres…
…Though it was somewhat strange.
Why would the heroes who killed the Mad Dragon instead “toast Zagres”; why would Cain preside over this ritual.
If this were a different dungeon, Eivass might have thought in the direction of “the truth hidden by history.”
—But the problem was, he didn’t know what the author of this painting was thinking!
Or perhaps…
“Does completing a painting mean that any choice is correct?”
Eivass pondered, seeing that the second hand had already turned three-quarters of the way.
Without hesitation, he pushed open the door labeled [Funeral and Sacrifice].
The door opened, revealing a fantastical and riotous array of colors. It was so overwhelming that it gave Eivass a headache.
He walked for about a minute before reaching the end of the fantastically colored corridor.
At this time, Eivass found three different doors—each of which had a three-petal flower decoration.
One door was the ancient wooden door Eivass had just chosen, and all three petals had been lit. The brightness of the three lit petals was the same.
But the other two doors were different.
The second door was an old stone door entwined with lush green vines. Only one of the three petals on it was lit, and its brightness was equal to the total brightness of Eivass’s door.
The last door was made of steel. A total of two petals were lit on the door, one of which was noticeably brighter than the other.
“…Does this mean different choices for different people?”
Eivass suddenly understood, knowing how to switch to other paintings.
After making a choice, could he switch to different worlds? Then how were the “missions” triggered?
Considering he was already quite familiar with the situation in the first painting and intrigued by what would happen next… Eivass chose to push open the first door and enter again.
When Eivass opened his eyes again, he found himself still in the center of the dance floor. Eivass’s right hand was still on Sasha’s shoulder, dancing with her.
But “this painting” began to show anomalies.
Eivass had a good memory, so he clearly felt that there were more people on the dance floor—
Originally, it wasn’t crowded, but now it was becoming noticeably congested. There must have been one or two pairs, or even more dance partners added to the dance floor!
—Someone has entered!
And not just one person!
Eivass’s heart tightened, and he paid close attention.
It turned out that it was from this point that the multiplayer mode began…
But Eivass quickly recognized the identity of one of them.
A blonde woman released her dance partner’s hand and walked resolutely beneath the pure white Candlemaster, standing before Cain.
“May I have this dance?”
She proactively extended her hand and, with a smile, invited Cain.
Cain looked at her with interest—or rather, at her crimson pupils.
“Why not?”
The tall, dark-haired boy smiled and agreed.
And on the other side.
In another world with a completely different art style than this one.
It was like a child’s drawing, with the entire world becoming abstract and more vibrant.
On a vast grassland, Alaine had turned into a dark red fire fox.
She stood on the back of a tall white horse, shouting imperiously:
“Attack him!”
And before her, a crow pounced unceremoniously towards a baboon wielding a staff!
(End of Chapter)
