Chapter 142: Shadow of the Temple |
The group ran hurriedly toward the depths of the temple, encountering no obstacles along the way. In fact, the entire layout of the temple was quite strange. Aside from the stone statue erected directly facing the main entrance, bypassing it led to a long, seemingly endless corridor.
A deathly silence hung inside the corridor. Massive guard statues built against the walls lined both sides, and other than the echoing sounds of their own footsteps, there was nothing else.
Levi could see those glowing souls accelerating away as if screaming and running, but he could not hear their cries or discern their exact situation. Aside from the rapidly moving spots of soul light, Levi could not confirm what was happening ahead.
"Stop!"
When the group finally reached the end of the corridor, Levi gestured for the others to halt. He then stepped forward cautiously, peering ahead.
At the end of the corridor lay a colossal underground cavern that appeared to be part of the temple. However, compared to the exterior, the scene here was far more dilapidated. The ground was cracked, surrounding structures had collapsed, and a stone head as large as a bus lay smashed on the ground, its lifeless eyes staring blankly at them.
It looked just like a corpse.
Near the entrance of this main hall, a campfire crackled, with several tents and backpacks pitched beside it.
"It looks like this is where the Teacher and the others set up camp."
"Yes, that is right. The method Teacher taught us for camping is exactly like this—choosing a high spot against a wall that is well-ventilated and sheltered from the light. After all, we often have to deal with tomb robbers, so we must secure our campsite properly. We ran into tomb robbers several times, and those were not pleasant memories."
Joe shook his head as he spoke, while Levi merely glanced at him without saying a word.
From the perspective of the tomb's owner, Levi considered archeologists and tomb robbers to be birds of a feather, with no real difference between them.
"There is blood here."
Just then, Annie suddenly pointed to the side of the camp. Levi turned his gaze and saw a distinct pool of blood on the ground.
"They must have been attacked while setting up camp."
Levi examined the blood closely, quickly using his Trace Inspection skill as a detective to reconstruct the scene.
"The archaeology team arrived here and planned to set up camp. Judging by the footprints, the Professor might have gone over there to inspect the stone statue..."
Levi pointed to the fallen stone head on the ground.
"The others were here preparing the tents and gear when someone was attacked. Hmm, he was struck from behind. There seem to be no signs of a struggle. The others realized what was happening, became panicked, and fled."
"..."
Levi looked up to find everyone staring at him in astonishment.
"Mr. Levi, you are amazing."
Miss Godine clasped her hands together, her face full of admiration.
"You can deduce so much from just a single glance!"
"I am a detective, after all. It is how I make a living."
Levi smiled faintly and stood back up, while Annie quietly stared at the scene before speaking after a moment.
"But why did they run deeper inside instead of toward the main entrance? The entrance is clearly closer from here."
"Perhaps something cut off their retreat, or perhaps they simply fled blindly in panic."
Levi shrugged.
"In any case, we will only find the answer by moving forward."
No one objected to this.
Recognizing the danger inherent in this place, everyone drew their weapons. Levi had a gun, and the others actually carried them as well. Joe and Godney were both members of the archaeology team, and Joe had mentioned they frequently had a meeting on a narrow path with tomb robbers. Tomb robbers were usually desperate criminals, so they certainly would not fight with bare fists.
In fact, both Joe and Miss Godine carried firearms for self-defense, and even Annie pulled a small pepperbox pistol from her pocket. This was a peculiarly styled multi-barreled handgun; simply put, its appearance resembled a revolver, but it lacked a traditional barrel, with the entire cylinder elongated to serve as the barrels instead.
In other words, it had six barrels.
This meant the entire gun consisted only of the grip and the cylinder. When the trigger was pulled, the cylinder automatically rotated to fire six rounds in one go, making it one of the earliest handguns with rapid-fire capability.
Revolvers had evolved from it, though the pepperbox pistol had not been entirely phased out.
Even Levi had to admit that being stared down by six barrels carried a completely different level of intimidation than being pointed at by a single one.
As for power, the lethality of a pepperbox pistol was naturally lower than that of a standard revolver, but its compact, dainty size and convenience made it highly favored.
Tsk, this era where everyone carries a gun is truly interesting.
Watching even Annie draw a firearm, Levi could only lament that maintaining public order in this day and age must be a nightmare.
Miss Godine held an ordinary handgun, while Joe wielded a double-barreled shotgun with a sawed-off barrel. Paired with his imposing physique, it looked exceptionally intimidating.
Looking at them, one could easily guess what a chaotic, bullet-flying scene it would be if this group of elegant archeological scholars encountered tomb robbers in the wilderness.
But that raised the question: what could possibly cause the members of this archaeology team to flee in utter panic before they even had a chance to fight back?
Levi scanned the surroundings but saw only human footprints, nothing else.
Yet this was not reality, but a dream. Who knew what the Professor had actually witnessed in his nightmare?
Or rather, what he desired to see.
"Let us go."
Levi pulled his thoughts back and continued following the footprints forward.
The tracks along the way were incredibly chaotic, showing that these people had been pursued to the point of fleeing blindly. They had even split up at a fork in the path. If not for Levi's Trace Inspection working effectively to help him capture the old Professor's tracks, figuring out where to find him would have been a significant problem.
The path ahead grew increasingly rugged and narrow, causing the group to stumble along. However, just as they reached another fork in the road, a hand suddenly shot out from the dark shadows nearby and grabbed Levi.
"Whoa!"
This sudden development startled the others, and Joe almost thrust his gun forward in reflex. Levi, on the other hand, remained perfectly calm, as he had already known someone was hiding there.
"Do not yell, you fools!"
Just then, the old Professor poked his head out from the shadows, glaring at them angrily.
"Do you want to get killed by those monsters? Hide quickly and put out the light!"
Although the others did not understand what was happening, they followed the old Professor's instructions, extinguishing the gas lamp and hiding in the corner.
"Teacher, what on earth happened?"
Miss Godine asked in confusion, but the old Professor merely glared at her.
"Did you not see them? Those monsters! Damned monsters! I cannot believe you still dare to stroll around outside so openly! Once those monsters catch you, you will be torn to pieces just like the others!"
"...?"
Faced with the old Professor's response, Joe and Miss Godine were somewhat dazed. Logically speaking, they had not appeared here at all and had not been traveling with the old Professor. But looking at his demeanor, he seemed to have already integrated them as part of the archaeology team?
Remember, this is a dream, Levi reminded them quietly from the side. In a dream, your appearance is taken for granted by the dreamer. If he believes you are his companions, then you are.
"Ah, right..."
The two quickly accepted this explanation.
After all, it was a dream, and dreams worked that way.
After offering a brief whisper of explanation to the pair, Levi looked toward the old Professor.
"Professor, what kind of monster attacked us?"
"I do not know, I do not know."
Hearing Levi's question, the old Professor suddenly looked utterly broken. He slumped against the corner of the wall, his face filled with despair.
"They should not exist, at least not here. No, that is just a legend, it is not real..."
"..."
Listening to the old Professor mutter to himself, the group exchanged bewildered glances. Levi kept his eyes fixed on the old Professor while his mind raced to analyze the situation.
He had not forgotten that this was the old Professor's nightmare, meaning it represented the deepest fear in his heart. If the information Joe provided was correct, this should be an archeological expedition the old Professor had undertaken several years ago. This expedition had been buried deep in his heart and was now manifesting as a nightmare.
However, Levi was not worried about that, but rather about the temple itself—it appeared to be a temple of the Goddess of Night, and as luck would have it, Levi had met this goddess more than once. This gave him an instinctive sense of unease. After all, there was a saying:
There are no coincidences in this world, only inevitabilities.
Of course, to Levi, that was just a piece of philosophical nonsense used to sound profound, but he still thoroughly disliked this particular unfavorable coincidence.
Flap, flap.
Just then, a sudden sound of flapping wings echoed through the passage. Hearing this sound, the old Professor tensed up once more.
"Quick, be careful! Do not look!"
But Levi clearly had no intention of obeying.
"If we do not look, we will never know what it is."
With those words, Levi stepped out from the hiding spot and turned the knob to light the gas lamp once more.
The light flared up, illuminating the darkness that had been completely pitch-black and reflecting a bizarre figure not far down the passage. Levi even caught a glimpse of a sinister red glow, immediately followed by a piercing shriek.
"Screeech!"
Simultaneously, under the illumination of the lamp, Levi finally saw clearly what the creature was.
It looked like a massive bat, completely hairless, with the membranes between its arms pitch-black and devoid of light. Its limbs ended in razor-sharp talons, presenting a grotesque and terrifying appearance.
What drew the most attention, however, was the monster's head—it possessed only a single eye located dead center on its forehead, which was currently staring fixedly at Levi.
Looking at that eye, Levi froze for a moment. For some reason, this eye reminded him of the All-Seeing Eye!
At the very least, they were strikingly similar!
"Screeech!"
The monster shrieked again, suddenly flapping its wings and lunging toward Levi. Its speed was almost comparable to a hunting falcon, and in the blink of an eye, Levi saw it arrive right in front of him.
At this moment, the flow of time seemed to slow down.
Levi could see the monster arching its body, its two bottom talons thrusting directly toward his eyes. If it managed to score a solid hit, one could well imagine Levi's head being completely pierced through by the creature.
However, Levi would naturally not let it have its way.
He raised Persuader, aiming the muzzle precisely at the single eye in the center of the monster's forehead.
Then, he squeezed the trigger.