Chapter 237 He pulled the trigger
Aiwass did not interrupt Isabel, but listened quietly to the information she brought.
Isabel forced herself to tell him everything she had seen, then she sighed in relief, collapsed, and fell into a coma. And Aiwass, like a true father, picked her up.
He let her sit on his lap, patted her back and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work, Lulu.
"Leave it to me from now on."
He felt the scorching heat of Daya's forehead with his chin and throat. It was almost scalding, but he didn't let go. He knew Isabel's pain was far greater than his own.
Just from feeling Dai Ya's body trembling and shaking, and looking at her somewhat dazed pupils, he knew that Lulu's body and will had reached their limits.
Her body was engulfed in a sweltering heat, like being outdoors on a summer's day. Aiwass could feel the edges of his clothes burning.
And that feeling, Aiwass is very familiar.
——It was exactly the same as when Yulia had an attack as a child.
It wasn't a fever in the usual sense, but rather the body gradually shattering under the scorching heat. Just like glass shattering like a spider web under the heat, the young body could easily not withstand the power of the phantom demon.
Children are easily unable to bear this pain and cry loudly. If they do so, if they want to "vent", the power of the phantom will seep out from the cracks, causing great damage not only to the surrounding area but also to their own bodies.
At this time, Yulia usually curled up in a corner, burning quietly in herself.
She could endure the pain silently, not letting Aiwass and the adults in the orphanage worry about her, but she couldn't go out in such pain.
Aiwass took a deep breath as he watched the purple light gleam in Isabel's cracked pale skin.
...purple light. This represents the power of the transcendent path.
——It’s a nightmare.
At that moment, all the information was connected in Aiwas's mind.
The legend of Merlin in Room 201, the long-dead little girl outside the window, the demon-hunting weapon he carried, Jacob, who was still the leader of the Scaleless Hand but had traveled to such a small place, the brand new banknotes he carried, the people who had inexplicably gathered together and had forgotten why they were there, and these overlapping dreams...
Why is Merlin the participant in the Transcendent Path? Or, in other words, why did Wei Zhe let him preside over this ceremony?
At this moment, Aiwass finally understood everything——
"...The nursery rhyme Lulu heard, 'Lock Her Up with the Key,' describes a classic folk ritual gone wrong."
Aiwass slowly explained to the others, "It's not just Avalon—in all countries where ritual studies are not widespread, people tend to believe that if a child is buried in an inn or a bridge before it is built, it can prevent earthquakes or collapses caused by unknown reasons.
“But in reality, this is a wrong ritual, or it’s only half right…
"Because this ritual is actually used to create earthbound spirits."
The earthbound spirits will create hallucinations or dreams to kill those who pass by, absorbing their souls to strengthen themselves. If this continues, it will become a "haunted hotel" or "haunted bridge", and the building itself will become a ritual site.
Aiwas saw through this directly through the ritual knowledge that Teacher Iben had just taught him.
But even without knowing this, one can still guess all this from the story hinted at in "The Sage in the Oak," the brick walls on each floor, and the occasional hallucination of a little girl. This is obviously a part that Wei Zhe modified to provide a hint to those who have been promoted.
“…So cruel.”
Jacaranda sighed with some reluctance: "Foolish and backward people..."
Huoyin, who had been silent for a long time, spoke for the first time and said calmly, "This is a tragedy caused by lack of knowledge."
Chunbai just shook his head without saying a word.
The old supervisor was silent for a moment, then spoke, "In that case, the 'child who was pushed down the stairs of the sealed space and fell to his death' played by Miss Lulu must be the earthbound spirit of this haunted inn."
——That’s why this dream specifically emphasized the “zeroth floor” and the “minus one floor”, because the minus one floor symbolizes death.
After Isabel brought the information and Aiwass analyzed it, they did not continue to target Aiwass, but started to cooperate.
Pure White spoke first: "My introduction plot and mission told me that I was ordered by my superiors to come here to investigate the situation."
"But in this day and age, there were no telephones in Avalon."
Aiwass continued, "So the news you received should have been delayed. But your room is right next to ours."
Telephones didn't become common until Aiwas was about seven or eight years old, which was around the time when Aiwas was first raised by James.
Sixty years ago, there was no instant messaging system in Avalon. All communication was done by letter.
"——So, my memories and the introduction are all fake."
The old Overseer, played by Pure White, said in a deep voice, "I didn't receive any orders from my superiors to come here to investigate—otherwise I wouldn't be without my griffin. I know that Overseers from Avalon always ride griffins when they go on combat missions."
"And I don't have a griffin, but I'm wearing armor and carrying weapons... So I'm actually here to collect taxes."
When he said this, he suddenly covered his forehead and stared blankly ahead.
"Then my memory may not be correct..."
Jacaranda and Huoyin exchanged a glance and finally spoke up, "I remember thinking we were here for vacation. But if that were the case, we couldn't possibly be carrying so much medicine... It would be inconvenient, especially with a storm outside."
"You wouldn't go to a haunted hotel on your own when traveling. Because you already have ghosts in your heart."
Aiwass calmly replied, "Your smuggled drugs are either expensive or in easily broken glass bottles. Despite this stormy weather, your packages are dry. This suggests you lived here before."
"And I noticed that there's more than one package like this in your room. So this is most likely where you sell drugs, or... this is one of your warehouses."
As he spoke, he took out the Drunken Dream Tincture in his hand and handed it to them.
Jacaranda and Huoyin no longer remembered that they had just sold the medicine to Aiwass.
Huoyin picked up the medicine, opened it and sniffed it.
He said with certainty, "This medicine is real and hasn't expired—it should be a new medicine from within the past two years."
"Yes, I just smelled it too. It doesn't seem like the concentration of expired medicine."
Aiwass held Daiya, letting her change her position so that she could lie in his arms better, 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 or smuggled medicine.
"It's even possible that you're not a couple at all, but accomplices—you think you're a couple because Dai Ya saw how close you are and subconsciously assumed that. Because in her mind, only a couple can live in the same room..."
Following Aiwas's voice, Jacaranda and Huoyin also showed headache expressions.
He was silent for a moment, then whispered, "And I'm definitely not a teacher or a kidnapper... Both of these identities are fake."
There are nine seats at the round table.
Even if Merlin is included, there is still one person missing among the seven people, but if the little earthbound spirit girl is added, it will be just right.
——Originally it should have been nine-fold, what a pity.
Merlin said this when he entered. Looking back now, that might have been the hint he gave.
It seems that each of them is in a different dream. But the real world is not completely deserted...
The further Isabel went down, the worse her condition became.
Then, perhaps the one residing on the zeroth layer, the reality layer, was the out-of-control nightmare within her. And the one residing on the negative first layer was the little girl, the Earthbound Spirit—Earthbound Spirits were also adept at creating dreams and hallucinations.
One of the two little girls lured them in and controlled them; the other created false memories and identities for them. The storm outside was meant to prevent them from leaving. It was also meant to justify Dai Ya's fever.
——So theoretically everyone came in during the storm, but she was the only one with a fever!
These people all thought that Agni was a kidnapper in their memories - but how could a kidnapper have weapons specifically used to hunt demons?
And that fresh banknote is more like a reward than a ransom...
Besides, if they were really kidnappers, in such stormy weather, they would definitely kill the hostages after getting the money.
Furthermore, his father had been shot in the back, and hadn't struggled at all. Agnes, however, had taken off his father's clothes and put them in his bag, haphazardly placing them among the expensive white crown coins, completely unafraid of the money being stained by blood. It was as if he had no idea of the money's value...
To sum up, there is only one possibility -
When he realized the truth, Aiwass suddenly felt a headache.
And the old man's solemn voice also sounded in his heart:
"You realize your own identity, and the locked-away memories awaken within you...
"Daiya Camelot's father realized that his daughter had become a phantom demon egg, but he was concerned about his own image and identity. He didn't dare to hand Daiya over directly to the Inspectorate, nor did he dare to continue raising her.
“So he contacted you… a demon hunter.
"He brought Dai Ya to Muwan County, where surveillance was weak, under the guise of tourism. He gave you a generous deposit and asked you to kidnap Dai Ya and secretly take her away, making her disappear from society.
"After this incident was reported in the newspaper, he secretly contacted you again and offered you an astonishingly generous upbringing in exchange for bringing Daiya to the countryside to raise her. If she loses control, kill her before she transforms into a phantom demon. If she grows up normally, he will come to see her secretly.
"But while you were trading in the grove, Daya discovered you. Unable to comprehend what she saw, she suffered a severe mental shock, and the nightmare within her awakened and lost control. The nightmare easily controlled your minds, and you killed her biological father.
"She wanted you to play her father. So you changed into his clothes. She wanted you to be a good father who would not abandon her, so you carried her through the storm.
"But she kept using the power of the nightmare, causing her to lose control more and more. After you arrived at the hotel, Daiya finally lost control completely--"
The next moment, several tasks appeared before Aiwas's eyes.
[Fatherly Love: Find a reasonable way to cure Dai Ya (Points: 500)]
[Father's Protection: Prevent Dai Ya from being killed by others (Points: 500)]
[The Real Me: Recalling My True Identity (Points: 1000)]
After these three tasks became blurred, they took on a new look:
[Free Will: Escape Daiya's Mental Control (Points: 500)]
[Morality and Duty: Execute the out-of-control Dai Ya before the phantom demon is fully hatched (Points: 500)]
[Extra Person: Kill the person possessed by the Earthbound Spirit "Alice" (Points: 1000)]
"This is……"
Aiwas subconsciously hugged Dai Ya tightly in his arms, and his mood became complicated.
Isabel had already passed out. She hadn't told Aiwass what her mission required.
Although Merlin said that they should stay on the zero floor... in reality, their real necessary task is to return to reality. Staying on the zero floor is just a way for them to return to reality.
The question is, does this return to reality include dying in reality?
But dying in reality would lead to falling to the negative level...
...If he kills the phantom demon Daya, will Isabel's mission fail?
She had gone through so much trouble to bring the information down, but the information contained in it was to kill her...
No one understood the dangers of the Phantom Seed better than Aiwass—Daya's transformation into a demon was like hitting the pause button. As soon as she returned to reality, she would irreversibly lose control, collapse... and kill everyone present.
If Aiwass and Isabel really returned to the zero level and did nothing... then everyone would fail together.
But if Aiwass doesn't go back, then they will still fail.
Unless Isabel is left on this floor, but then she will be the only one to fail.
——Is this worthy of her hard work?
Aiwass suddenly raised his head and looked at Merlin with a sharp gaze: "Is this the show you've been waiting for?"
"Yes."
Merlin stopped pretending to be a detective and returned to his previous tone, saying with a smile: "So, what will you choose?"
Aiwass was silent for a moment and took a deep breath.
Forget it, no matter whether I can win or not...
"...It would be fine if both she and I died once."
Aiwass spoke calmly, turning the muzzle of the gun and pointing it at Dai Ya's temple.
Bang!
One shot.
Then Aiwass put the muzzle of the gun to his chin, tilted his head slightly, and looked at everyone around the round table.
His gun was clearly pointed at him, but he acted as if he was aiming at everyone present.
"If you can't lose, it's not called gambling... If you want to gamble, you can't be afraid of losing. If you want to win, then don't think about winning first.
"——At worst, I can just go with her to the basement floor to take a look."
Aiwass smiled carefreely: "No matter which level we are now...see you later, everyone. Or see you in hell."
He pulled the trigger.
Although there are two chapters today, it is still an update of more than 7,000 words~
The dungeon will end tomorrow! No need to raise it anymore!
(End of this chapter)
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