Hyperdimensional Warlock

Chapter 4373 Reflection
The dreamscape constructed by the Whispering Curse currently has four known layers:
A dark, empty space, a bizarre city, a labyrinthine church corridor, and finally, a pure white room.

When Darkman was constructing the illusion, the first thing he abandoned was the first layer of dark space.

There is nothingness in all directions here. Even if it is restored, there are no clues to refer to. Even if Kemai and the others see it, they will have no way to "copy the homework".

If you really want to get in, you'll have to rely on your own luck.

He only began to meticulously recreate the city from the second layer of the dreamlike city.

In the illusion, countless abstract and dense buildings twisted and undulated, like eerie figures lying in wait, deathly silent and oppressive.

When the city's malice descends, the buildings begin to drift and approach wildly, instantly transforming the entire illusion from deathly silence into a suffocating sense of urgency.

Finally, Duckman was lucky enough to find the exit of this floor—the enormous cathedral shrouded in a colorful halo.

The church is also the entrance to the third level of the dream.

Stepping into the church, you are greeted by a maze of black and white corridors.

The corridor constantly inverted, undulated, twisted, and forked, while dolls dressed in divine robes lurked in the shadows, emitting sinister laughs.

Once the maze's malice is triggered, these dolls will wield torture instruments and launch a frenzied pursuit.

At the end of the maze was a pitch-black door.

Behind the door lies the final destination of the four-story dream—a pure white room.

At this point, Darkman had recreated all the illusions he had experienced.

Although limited by memory and mental strength, many details that were not noticed are still blurry and fade in and out, and some scenes are slightly distorted, but the overall context and key images are clearly presented.

……

After examining the illusion constructed by Dakman, a look of deep contemplation flashed in Angell's eyes.

He hadn't really made many connections based on what he'd just heard Darkman say.

It wasn't until he saw the scene in the hallucination with his own eyes that he suddenly realized he seemed to have overlooked many details.

For example, the exit from the urban illusion: the church.

Why a church in particular?

Angel had never thought about this question before; he just thought it was a kind of level arrangement.

But as he looked at the labyrinthine corridors inside the church, where black and white alternated and the walls undulated, and at the eerie dolls dressed in divine robes and wielding instruments of torture, Angel suddenly thought of a possibility.

Could all of this be a reflection of something else?
Those dolls were wielding instruments of torture: nooses, torches, iron spikes...

These all seem to correspond to some kind of punishment.

For example, a noose corresponds to hanging, a torch corresponds to burning at the stake, and an iron spike corresponds to piercing.

Coincidentally, Angell had just heard about these punishments not long ago.

— Rigota and the rest of the performers were captured by the Church of Radiance and convicted of "heretical performance." Everyone involved in the performance was guilty, and their punishment corresponded precisely to the torture instruments in the hands of the robed doll.

It was for this reason that Angell suddenly had a certain idea.

Could it be that the robed dolls in the corridor maze actually correspond to the executioners of the Church of Radiance?

Now let's go back to the question from before: why a church in particular?

Could the answer be that this church points to the Church of Radiant Light?
If we trace back further...

Could the distorted and ever-changing city dream in the second scene be a reflection of the Port of Evening Lights?

After all, the performance that was labeled as "heretical" took place in Port Elysees.

The more Angell pondered this line of thought, the more logically sound it seemed.

Even the inverted black and white, upside-down and twisted phenomena in the corridor maze seem to be a metaphor for the distorted right and wrong and the inverted justice of the trial back then.

However, Angell did not completely let his thoughts wander.

He knew very well that all of this was still just speculation, without any empirical evidence.

Once a person has already decided on a certain answer, they will subconsciously try to find all the clues that are in line with their own guess, while deliberately ignoring the contradictions and inconsistencies.

Therefore, whether the series of illusions arising from the Whispering Curse are a reflection of the ending of that "heretical performance" back then still needs more concrete evidence to prove.

Where can this crucial evidence be found?

A figure flashed through Angell's mind in an instant.

—Uriel.

He had personally investigated Rigota's past experiences and must have visited Evening Lights Harbour and come into contact with the local Radiant Church.

Whether the church in the illusion belongs to the Church of Radiance, and whether the distorted city is a reflection of Evening Light Port, Uriel will surely be able to discern.

With that thought in mind, Angor didn't linger any longer. After bidding farewell to Darkman, he turned around and prepared to return to the Misty Forest instance.

……

When Angor opened his eyes again, he was already outside the Misty Forest instance.

He approached the crystal artifact, preparing to enter the miniature garden's perspective, when a powerful suction force emanated from it.

If it were anyone else, they wouldn't be able to resist this suction force.

But Angel simply frowned, and a nightmarish aura enveloped him, instantly isolating him from the attraction.

At the same time, through his analysis from the perspective of power, Angell also gleaned some information from this suction force—

The special dreamscape "The Living Dead of the Misty Swamp" has been unlocked.

Current number of participants: 3 (maximum 5)

"Mission objective: Find the truth."

"Enter? Yes/No"

Because the Misty Forest instance is currently short of players, when someone approaches, a suction force will be generated, forcibly pulling the player into the instance.

Unfortunately, it encountered Angel, an authorized user, and failed to pull it successfully.

Angel shook his head, preparing to ignore the information about the power and directly enter the perspective of the sandbox.

But at that moment, his gaze fell upon the number of participants.

How come there are only 3 people left? The last member of the Kemai Squad, that guy named Juka, is he also dead?
Angell immediately looked at the caravan camp from a god-like perspective.

As expected, Juka had vanished, leaving only a few drops of blood in the tent...

Angor withdrew his gaze from the miniature garden and turned to look at Rabbit Town from a god's-eye view. After confirming that Juka had also exited the instance, he sighed helplessly.

This whispered curse was more difficult than he had imagined.

Without Angor's illusion node, the Kermai squad would probably have been wiped out...

Angel didn't ask about Juka's experience, because he and Dakman came out almost one after the other, and if nothing unexpected happened, his experience should also end in the pure white room.

Furthermore, given that Juka's current state is similar to Rebecca's before, still suffering from a sluggish reaction due to her soul being injured, it's impossible to get any information from her now.

I decided not to ask anymore.

But then again, the dungeon is currently missing two people. Should we find replacements?

Angell thought for a moment and decided not to rush.

This dungeon only has a maximum of 5 players, but it doesn't mean that you have to have 5 players. If the three of them can clear it, there's no need to find someone else to fill in.

With this in mind, Angell stopped thinking about it and re-entered the perspective of the sandbox garden.

In the current instance.

Kermaine, Blanche, and Uriel were still traversing the swamp forest, but judging from their route, they were moving away from the Dead Tree stronghold.

If nothing unexpected happens, they should have already communicated with the bandits at the Dead Tree stronghold.

Sure enough, when Angell asked the question...

They were initially surprised by Angor's return, and then they told Angor what had happened.

When they arrived at the outpost, they found that there were actually people there... and quite a few of them.

At first glance, there were two people on guard outside the dead tree.

As for how many people are still inside the tree hollow, that's unknown—because they wouldn't let Kemai and the others enter.

This made Kemai somewhat emotional. Previously, when the people in the caravan camp encountered evil spirits, they almost offered no resistance and were utterly overwhelmed. They either died or were cursed by the Whispering Curse.

The Forty Thieves faced a raging evil spirit head-on, yet so many of them still survived.

This also shows that they are very familiar with the abilities of evil spirits, and that each of them is agile and can quickly escape the range of the curse.

Such adaptability and ruthlessness are far beyond what caravans can match.

As soon as Ke Mai and his two companions appeared, they were immediately stared at by the Forty Thieves.

Kermaine told Uriel and Blanche to step back, and he went to negotiate himself.

Ke Mai thought that he might be able to handle the situation better because of his previous experience in dealing with such situations. However, what he did not expect was that the group of bandits were not looking at him with the same calm look as before. Instead, their eyes were filled with undisguised hostility and resentment.

Ke Mai quickly realized what they were thinking.

In their view, when Kemai came before, they encountered evil spirits together. The bandits suffered heavy losses and were almost wiped out, while Kemai escaped unscathed. It was normal for them to feel resentment and hatred.

As the bandits' malicious gazes began to materialize, Kemai even retreated to Uriel and Blanche's side, preparing for an encounter.

Just then, the scout he had met in the restricted area stepped forward and whispered to the bandits that he should come looking for him, which allowed him to return ahead of schedule.

Although this statement was merely stating an objective reality, to the bandits it sounded like a warning to "go and report the incident."

The hostility of the bandits had lessened slightly compared to before, but it had not disappeared entirely.

In particular, several gazes fell upon Blanche with undisguised lewdness and amusement.

After all, there were no women here, so the sudden appearance of a pretty young girl naturally aroused their evil thoughts.

Just as the atmosphere was about to become tense, a middle-aged man slowly emerged from the depths of the tree hollow.

He was missing an ear, so let's call him "One-Ear".

One-Ear had a cold and hard expression, and his whole body exuded a terrifying aura. Upon seeing this, the surrounding bandits all restrained their expressions and showed obvious respect.

When Ke Mai saw it, he was stunned. He remembered that when he first went into the tree hole, this person seemed to be standing behind the one-eyed dragon.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this person should be the new leader who will succeed One-Eyed Dragon.

The moment he stood in the middle, the atmosphere on both sides immediately became distinct.

One Ear glanced at Ke Mai and the other two, then fixed his gaze on Ke Mai and asked directly what their purpose was.

Kemai stated frankly that he had come to retrieve the military equipment and supplies left behind by the caravan.

Without hesitation, One-Ear immediately turned hostile, declaring it impossible.

The surrounding bandits also revealed a horrified aura, as if threatening him.

Ke Mai remained silent for a moment, feigning inner struggle.

Then, as planned, he said, "We initially exchanged military supplies for intelligence. If you want to keep these supplies, you should at least tell us the intelligence."

One-Ear had already decided to rob them by force, as weaponry was extremely important to them at the moment... even his men were sharpening their knives, but upon hearing Kemai's words, One-Ear was completely stunned.

If Kemai had made other demands, One Ear might have hesitated.

But it was just some unimportant intelligence.

He was different from the one-eyed dragon. The one-eyed dragon seemed generous, but he was actually more cautious and careful. He kept many things to himself, and did not want to leak even some unimportant information, for fear of causing some trouble later. He, on the other hand, valued practical interests more and did not like to engage in those empty pretenses.

In his view, being able to exchange a few innocuous pieces of information for a legitimate reason to accept the supplies, without having to break ties with the caravan, and still getting real benefits, was a deal that was profitable no matter how you looked at it.

After all, they are now a crippled dragon, and they need many supplies from caravans. The only caravans that dare to enter the Misty Swamp Forest and do business with them are those under the Piccolo Merchant Guild.

Therefore, offending the caravan is definitely not a good thing for them.

One-Ear stretched out his hand to stop the restless bandits behind him. He pretended to be deep in thought, and after a moment, nodded and said, "Deal."

……

"Finally, we obtained a new piece of information from the master thief." Kemai: "But this information..."

Kemai paused for a moment, glancing at Uriel behind him. The latter's eyes were glazed over, as if he were possessed by some kind of demon.

Kemai sighed softly and continued, "This information may be related to Rigota."

"Ligota?"

Angell was taken aback. The Forty Thieves actually had information about Rigota?
Is the Misty Forest instance really related to Rigota?

Kemai nodded, about to begin his story, when Uriel suddenly spoke up first: "I'll tell you the rest."

Ke Mai took a step back, neither confirming nor denying.

Uriel let out a deep breath before beginning his explanation.

At that moment, One-Ear said to Kemai after thinking for a moment, "We also know very little about evil spirits. If you want to ask how the priests of the Church of Radiance become evil spirits, I don't know the answer."

"I guess only the boss knows a thing or two about it, but the boss is currently..."

One-Ear paused, not continuing, but changing the subject: "So, the only information I can tell you is the deeds of some evil spirits in their previous lives. Are you sure you want to know?"

Ke Mai nodded without hesitation.

Without further hesitation, One-Ear revealed a secret about the life of Father Sean.

According to One Ear, they were "righteous and chivalrous" and wanted to save the informant who had fallen into the clutches of the Radiant Church, so they planned to rob the South Branch Road.

At the time, they didn't even know who the priest escorting the informant was.

They carried bows and arrows and lay in ambush in the woods.

When Priest Sean appeared in the prison van, they immediately jumped out and opened fire on him.