He Pulled the Trigger

Iver did not interrupt Isabel, but listened quietly to the information she brought.

Isabel mustered her strength and recounted everything she had seen in detail before letting out a sigh of relief, collapsing, and falling into a coma. Iver, like a true father, picked her up.

He let her sit on his lap, patted her back, and whispered, "You've worked hard, Lu Lu."

"Leave the rest to me."

He felt the scorching heat of Daya's forehead against his chin and throat. It was almost burning hot, yet he didn't let go. Because Iver knew that Isabel was enduring far more pain than he was currently experiencing.

Just by feeling Daya's body trembling and shaking, and looking at her somewhat dazed eyes, he knew that Lu Lu's body and will had reached their limits.

Her body was enveloped in a wave of heat, as if she were outdoors on a summer's day. Iver felt the hem of his clothes being scorched by the heat.

And that feeling was all too familiar to Iver.

—It's exactly the same as when Yulia had an episode as a child.

It wasn't a fever in the usual sense, but rather the body gradually breaking apart under the scorching heat. Just like glass shattering and cracking like a spider web under high temperatures, a young body is easily unable to withstand the power of the phantom demon.

Children are easily overwhelmed by this pain and cry loudly. And if they do this, once they try to "vent," the power of the phantom will seep out from the crack. This will not only cause enormous destruction to the surroundings, but will also damage their own bodies.

At this time, Yulia usually curled up in a corner, quietly burning with fire within herself.

She could silently endure the pain so as not to worry Iver and the adults at the Orphanage. But she couldn't bring herself to go out and move around while suffering from it.

Iver looked at the purple light shimmering in Isabel's cracked, pale skin and took a deep breath.

... purple light. This represents the power to Path of Transcendence.

—It's Dream Demon.

In that instant, all the information connected in Iver's mind.

The legend of Merlin in Room 201, the little girl who died long ago outside the window, the weapon she carries to hunt demons, Jacob, who is still the leader of the Scaleless Hand but goes to such a small place, the brand-new banknotes she carries, the people who inexplicably gather together and forget why they came, and this layered dream...

Why was Merlin the participant who Path of Transcendence? Or rather, why did Wei Zhe appoint him to preside over this ceremony?

At this moment, Iver finally understood everything—

"... The nursery rhyme that Lu Lu heard, ' Lock Her Up With a Key,' describes a classic, erroneous ritual that has been passed down among the people."

Iver slowly began to explain to the others, "It's not just Avalon —in all countries where Ritual Studies are not widespread, people tend to believe that burying children in hotels or bridges before they are built can prevent earthquakes or collapses for unknown reasons."

"But in fact, it's a flawed ritual, or rather, it's only half right..."

"Because this ritual is actually used to create Earthbound Spirit."

Earthbound Spirit create illusions or dreams to kill passersby and absorb their souls to strengthen themselves. If this continues, the building will become a "Haunted Inn" or a "Haunted Bridge," and the building itself will become Ritual Site.

Iver saw through this directly through the Ritual Studies knowledge that his teacher, Ibn, had just taught him.

Even without knowing this, one can infer all of this from the story hinted at in "The Sage in the Oak," the brick walls on each floor, and the occasional hallucinations of the little girl. This is clearly a modified part by Wei Zhe, intended as a hint to those seeking advancement.

"... So cruel."

Jacaranda sighed with a hint of pity, "Ignorant and backward people..."

Huo Yin, who had been quiet for a long time, finally spoke up and calmly said, "This is a tragedy caused by a lack of knowledge."

Pure White simply shook her head without saying a word.

The Old Inspector was silent for a moment before speaking, "In that case, the 'child who was pushed down the stairs of the sealed space and died' that Miss Lu Lu played should be the Earthbound Spirit of this Haunted Inn."

That's why this dream specifically emphasized "the Layer Zero" and "the Negative First Layer," because the Negative First Layer symbolizes death.

After Isabel brought the intelligence, and after Iver analyzed it, they did not continue to target Iver, but instead began to cooperate.

Chunbai began by saying, "My introductory storyline and mission tell me that I was ordered by my superiors to come here to investigate the situation."

"But in those days, Avalon didn't have telephones."

Iver continued, "So the information you received should have been delayed. But your room is right next to ours."

The telephone only became common when Iver was about seven or eight years old, around the time when Iver had just been raised by James.

Sixty years ago, Avalon had no instant messaging devices at all. Communication was entirely by letter.

"—So, my memories and the imported plot are all fake."

The Old Inspector, played by Pure White, said in a deep voice, "I wasn't ordered to come here to investigate at all—otherwise I wouldn't be without my griffin. I know that inspectors in Avalon always ride griffins when they go on combat missions."

"But I didn't bring a griffin, yet I was 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 memory might be wrong too..."

Jacaranda and Silver exchanged a glance and finally spoke up, "As far as I remember, we came here on vacation. But if that's the case, we can't possibly be carrying so much medicine... It's inconvenient to move around, especially with this storm outside."

"Tourists don't specifically come to haunted hotels. Because you already have something to hide in your hearts."

Iver calmly replied, "Your smuggled drugs are either expensive or in fragile glass bottles. The fact that your packages are dry in this stormy weather means you were living here before."

"And I noticed that there was more than one such package in your room. So this is very likely where you sell medicine, or rather... this is one of your warehouses."

As he spoke, he took out the Drunken Dream Tincture from his hand and handed it to them.

Jacaranda and Living Silver had no recollection of having just sold the medicine to Iver.

Huo Yin picked up the medicine, opened it, and sniffed it.

He stated definitively, "This medicine is genuine and not expired—it should be a new drug from within the last two years."

"Yes, I just smelled it too. This doesn't seem like the concentration that expired medicine should have."

Iver held Daya in his arms, shifting her position so she could lie more comfortably in his embrace, and continued, "It has an expiration date written on it so it can be sold at a reasonable low price without arousing suspicion. So it's either fake medicine or smuggled medicine."

"You two might not even be husband and wife at all, but rather accomplices—you believe you are a couple because Daya saw your close relationship and subconsciously assumed that way. Because in her mind, only married couples can live in the same room..."

As Iver spoke, Jacaranda and Living Silver also showed expressions of headache.

He was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "And I am definitely not a teacher or a kidnapper... Both of those identities are fake."

There are nine seats at the round table.

Even if you include Merlin, there's still one person missing from the seven, but if you add that Earthbound Spirit little girl, it will be just right.

—It was originally supposed to have nine layers, which is a great pity.

Merlin said this as he entered. Looking back now, that might have been his hint.

From this perspective, each of them is in a dream world. But the Reality Layer isn't entirely devoid of people either...

The further down Isabel went, the worse her condition became.

So it's likely that the Layer Zero, or the Reality Layer, is where the out-of-control Dream Demon resides within her. And the person in the Negative First Layer is that little girl's Earthbound Spirit — Earthbound Spirit are also adept at creating dreams and illusions.

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 there to prevent them from leaving, and also to make Daya's fever seem plausible.

So, even though everyone theoretically came in braving the storm, she's the only one with a fever! Everyone in their memories believes Agni is a kidnapper—but how could a kidnapper have weapons specifically designed to hunt demons? And those fresh banknotes seem more like payment than ransom...

Moreover, if they were truly kidnappers, they would have killed the hostage after receiving the money in such stormy weather.

Moreover, his father had been shot in the back without any struggle; yet Agni removed the man's clothes and put them in his bag, carelessly tossing them together with the expensive White Crown Coin, completely unconcerned about the bloodstains on the money. It was as if he had no idea of the money's value...

In conclusion, there is only one possibility—

Upon realizing the truth, Iver suddenly felt a throbbing headache.

And the old man's solemn voice also resonated in his heart:

"You've become aware of your identity, and your sealed memories are awakening within you..."

"Daya Camelot's father realized that his daughter had become the Phantom Demon Egg, but he was concerned about his image and status and dared not hand Daya over to the Inspectorate directly, nor did he dare to continue raising her."

"So he contacted you... a Demon Hunter."

"He took Daya and, under the guise of tourism, arrived in Mubay County surveillance was weak. He gave you a large deposit, instructing you to secretly take Daya away as a kidnapper and make her disappear from society."

"After this incident was reported in the newspapers, he secretly contacted you again, offering you an astonishingly large sum of money to raise Dia. He hoped you could take Daya to the countryside to raise her—if she goes out of control, kill her before she transforms into a phantom. If she grows up normally, he will come to see him secretly."

"But when you were trading in the grove, Daya discovered you. She couldn't understand what she was seeing and suffered a severe mental shock. The Dream Demon within her awakened and went out of control—both of you were easily manipulated by the Dream Demon, and you killed her biological father."

"She wanted you to play her father. So you dressed up in his clothes. She wanted you to be a good father who wouldn't abandon her, so you carried her through the storm."

"But her continued use of the Dream Demon's power caused her to spiral out of control more and more violently. After you arrived at the hotel, Daya finally lost control completely—"

The next moment, several tasks appeared before Iver's eyes.

[Fatherly Love: Finding a Reasonable Way to Cure Daya (Points: 500)]

[Father's Protection: Preventing Daya 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 form—

[Free Will: Escape Daya's Mind Control (Points: 500)]

[Morality and Duty: Execute the out-of-control Daya before the Phantom Demon fully hatches (Points: 500)]

[The extra person: Kill the person possessed by the Earthbound Spirit "Alice" (Points: 1000)]

"This is..."

Iver instinctively hugged Daya tightly in his arms, his feelings becoming complicated.

Isabel had already lost consciousness. She hadn't told Iver what her mission required.

Although Merlin said they wanted to stay on the Layer Zero... their real, Necessary Task was to return to reality. Staying on the Layer Zero was merely a means for them to return to reality.

The question is, does returning to reality include dying in reality? But dying in reality would lead to falling into the Negative First Layer...

... If he kills Phantom Demon Daya, will Isabel's mission fail? She went through so much trouble to bring down the intelligence, but the intelligence's message was to kill her...

No one understood the dangers of the Seed of Illusion better than Iver —at this moment, Daya's transformation into a demon was as if the pause button had been pressed. As soon as she returned to reality, she would irreversibly begin to lose control, collapse... and then kill everyone present.

If Iver and Isabel truly return to the Layer Zero but do nothing... then everyone will fail together.

But if Iver doesn't go back, they will still fail.

Unless Isabel is left on this floor. But then she'll be the only one who fails.

Is this fair to her hard work?

Iver suddenly raised his head, looking at Merlin with sharp eyes. "Is this the show you've been waiting for?"

"Yes."

Merlin dropped his detective act and resumed his previous tone, smiling as he asked, "So, what will you choose?"

Iver was silent for a moment, then took a deep breath.

Never mind, whether we can win or not...

"... If only we both died once."

As Iver spoke calmly, he flipped the gun over and pointed it at Daya's temple.

Bang! A shot.

Then Iver pressed the gun to his chin, tilted his head slightly, and looked at the people around the round table.

Even though his gun was pointed at himself, he acted arrogantly as if he were aiming at everyone present.

"If you can't lose at all, then it's not 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'll just go with her to the Negative First Layer."

Iver laughed nonchalantly, "No matter which level we're on now... see you later, everyone. Or see you in hell."

He pulled the trigger.

Although there were only two chapters today, it still totaled over 7,000 words! The dungeon will be finished tomorrow! No need to level up anymore!