Before reaching the Mirror Hall, Iver already knew he was sure to encounter wild phantasmal demons.
After all, this place covered almost the entire domain of the Path of Beauty. It was under the direct influence of an entire Pillar God and two Heavenly Ministers, while also connecting to the thoughts and subconscious minds of every artistic creator in the Material Realm... It was impossible for there not to be something sinister here.
People who made art were all a little crazy.
Being too sane and too stable was actually detrimental to continuous creation—as the saying went, "Fate favors the talented who suffer."
"—But that said, these things are way too sinister!"
Iver blurted it out as he hurried forward. Arsene nodded repeatedly, clearly agreeing.
The first few rooms were all routes Iver knew. He was so familiar with them that he even knew exactly where the hidden areas were when speedrunning the map. If necessary, even though he was certainly slower than the Phantom Thief Arsene, Iver was still confident he could easily shake him off.
But after following the related recommendations of "the viewers looking at this painting are also looking" through four rooms, they finally entered a room Iver had never visited in his Previous Life. His "map-running speed" also slowed noticeably.
That was because the relevance of a painting couldn't be judged by its imagery alone. Its underlying meaning had to be analyzed as well.
For example, the burning Great Chapel of the Holy Candle certainly didn't simply mean "a fire had broken out here." Likewise, if they saw people sitting in small boats, they might not be out on an excursion—they could have just escaped from a sinking ship.
A scene of two armies fighting might be depicting the brutality of war. But if one