Chapter 1343: Weaved Nightmare
I really returned to Utopia... Upon seeing the scene outside,
Wendel felt a baffling sense of relief and ease. He no longer had any
doubts about his choice to go to testify in court.
It had to be known that he was in the washroom of MI9's headquarters. It
was a place that was impossible to invade even with a fully armed army.
Wendel slowly exhaled as he walked out of the washroom and towards the
entrance of the lobby.
Behind him, in a corner of the washroom where no one was paying
attention to, the pitch-black raven had draped over a shadow-like veil,
losing its physical presence. Even if one were to directly look at it,
it would be difficult to discover it.
Then, its body became more and more transparent as it rapidly dissipated
until it vanished.
At this moment, Wendel had already walked a few meters out of the lobby
when he saw a police officer in a black-and-white checkered uniform.
This was the young officer who had requested him to testify, Biles.
"I knew you'd come, because you're a kind person." Biles smiled at
Wendel.
When he heard the compliment, Wendel's strung up heart finally returned
to normal. Then, he instinctively turned his head back and saw that the
bathroom that he had come out of had changed completely in style. It was
no longer familiar to him.
In the dream maze formed by many minds, the huge white rabbit that
walked upright squeezed through the open door and entered the vast
wilderness with the grayish-white pillars and magnificent palaces.
Mr. Wrath... Although it wasn't wearing the persona mask, its
unforgettable characteristics were enough for Audrey to recognize him at
a glance.
This was out of her expectations, but it wasn't too surprising.
From her point of view, just Mr. Wrath alone likely wasn't enough to
deal with an ancient mind dragon like Ariehogg. Even if Mr. Fool had
warned her to be wary of Mr. Wrath.
After all, the leader behind the Psychology Alchemists, the former King
of Angels, had already become a Sequence 0 true god. According to the
knowledge shared by the Tarot Club, there shouldn't be any other Author
Beyonders in the real world. This way, no matter how powerful Mr. Wrath
was, as long as it was still part of the Spectator pathway, it would at
most be on the same level as Ariehogg. The only things that would differ
were combat experience, psychological research, and self-cultivation.
At this moment, as the giant white rabbit entered, the large,
grayish-white, scaled Ariehogg spread open "His" wings which covered
"His" skin. The surrounding area was instantly covered in a shadow.
With a leap, the white rabbit's legs suddenly became extremely huge,
like a tiny hill.
At the same time, the gloomy sky above "Him" lit up. The ground beneath
"His" feet cracked open, spewing out crimson lava.
Immediately after, a blurry and distorted figure appeared behind it.
This figure was dressed in a simple white robe. It was difficult to see
his face clearly, and it was impossible to tell his age. One could only
vaguely tell that he was a man.
A bright halo hung at the back of his head like a miniature sun. Beneath
his feet was an illusory clock that was divided into twelve segments.
Each segment represented a different symbol of time. Behind him, there
was a shadow that looked like a curtain. Eyes seemed to be looking out
from the shadow.
Just after this figure appeared, the entire dream maze shook violently,
and gray fragments fell from the void.
The contrast of depravity and pure sunlight rapidly spread around the
huge white rabbit, eroding or assimilating the area.
However, that simple white-robed figure had trouble truly taking shape.
He was unable to enter reality from history and illusions.
Every time his silhouette became clear, his figure would distort like a
machine that had its signal disrupted.
At that moment, Audrey instinctively retracted her gaze, not daring to
look directly at the huge white rabbit.
Perhaps it was because she was in a dream and was closely connected to
the mind island and the sea of collective subconscious. She didn't need
anyone to explain to her because she knew what Mr. Wrath was doing.
The other party knew the latent psychological problems of Ariehogg and
knew what "He" feared the most. Then, according to this, it produced a
nightmare that contained the specific images.
In a battle between High-Sequence Beyonders of the Spectator pathway, if
both parties were at the same level, it would be difficult to produce
any true effects using the various means available to them. One could
sneak into the island of consciousness and attempt deep hypnosis. The
other could guard the door to the Body of Heart and Mind, preventing any
foreign consciousness from entering. The other could spread a Mental
Plague and use the sea of collective subconscious to intrude on the
enemy without them realizing it. The other would be able to "Placate"
themselves, treat the psychological ailments, and maintain their mental
health...
Therefore, the battle between same-Sequence Spectator saints often had
three fixed styles: First, set up a trap ahead of time as a
multi-pronged attack preparation. Then, by secretly leading on and
guiding the opponent, one could break down their mental defenses in one
strike and complete the hypnosis. Second, one focused on their physical
defense and as support, relying on powerful Sealed Artifacts to defeat
their enemy. Third, when the Beyonder powers such as Mental Plague, Mind
Deprivation, Dragon's Breath, Consciousness Control, and other Beyonder
powers were unable to deal with their opponent, engaging in
self-hypnotism and using Dragon Transformation would result in an
intense melee battle that exchanged claw swipes and tail lashes.
In the third battle, whoever had a deeper understanding of the mind
domain, and whose will was stronger and firmer, would be able to gain
the upper hand by relying on the extended usage of 'Dragon
Transformation.' Of course, the prerequisite was that the other party
had no chance of escaping.
And at the level of an angel, everyone was a true Mythical Creature. The
maintenance time of "Dragon Transformation" became meaningless. At this
moment, it mainly depended on "observation." Whoever could find a flaw
in the opponent's mind could weave a corresponding nightmare, directly
attacking the enemy's weaknesses, slowly destroying their mental
defenses and reaching the effect of going "mad" or "dying" out of fear.
As Audrey was in the same dream, even if the nightmare wasn't directed
at her, she was still affected by the corresponding emotions,
characteristics, status, and even corruption.
Now, she clearly knew that the nightmare that Mr. Wrath had weaved
represented the ancient sun god. This was the most terrifying existence
in Ariehogg's mind. At the same time, the ancient sun god's influence
would uncontrollably corrupt the surroundings until it reached the
entire dream.
When the time came, once Audrey woke up, she would either become an
untreatable mentally ill patient, or she would become an incomplete
Mythical Creature, completely losing all reason and ending up wildly
attacking the surrounding creatures.
Of course, there was another possibility that she unknowingly became
depraved. She would become cold, cruel, and bloodthirsty without
realizing it, as if someone had replaced her.
At this moment, Ariehogg, who was squatting at the top of the
grayish-white pillar, let out a painful howl.
As the dragon's roar echoed, the top of "His" head turned dark,
revealing a "sea" of secrets and colors that was difficult to describe
with words.
In the sea, an even bigger grayish-white dragon spanning a thousand
meters long rose up. One of "His" vertical pupils was pale gold and the
other was bright red color.
There was a third eye on the dragon's forehead. It seemed to be hiding a
thick shadow.
Similarly, there was no need for anyone to explain. With the uniqueness
of her present state, Audrey immediately knew what nightmare Ariehogg
had weaved.
This was something that left a deep trauma in the giant white rabbit's
heart. This was the Ankewelt that had been corrupted by the "underground
world." This was the Virtual Persona and mental corruption which was
sealed behind the bronze door---things that had been split off from that
ancient god.
At that moment, Audrey was in an indescribable nightmare. Although she
hadn't been corrupted, her mental state was in turmoil, as though she
had been awed.
She immediately used "Placate" on herself, and didn't hesitate to rely
on her own consciousness to forcefully escape the dream maze.
During this process, she didn't encounter any obstruction not just
because she wasn't Ariehogg's and Mr. Wrath's target, but also because
she had reached Sequence 4 and possessed a certain amount of godhood.
Therefore, she quickly woke up from her dream.
Audrey suddenly opened her eyes and saw a crystal chandelier dyed in
faint crimson. She saw the deep darkness of the room.
Without any delay, she got out of bed and ran to the window to look
outside.
The entire manor was completely silent, as if it was deep asleep.
Everything was normal.
Audrey frowned and immediately split out a Virtual Person, allowing it
to enter the mind island of a night patroller.
She remembered very clearly that the dream maze was formed by many
minds. Once the two nightmares spread, the result was unimaginable.
Therefore, before this, she had to wake up everyone in the manor.
In the next second, the patrolling guard suddenly raised his hand and
removed the grenade hanging from his belt. He pulled out the pin and
threw it towards an empty garden.
Boom!
The loud explosion jolted awake the sleeping people.
Immediately after, the guard shouted loudly, "Enemy assault!
"Enemy assault!"
Earl Hall and his wife were already over fifty years old, so as light
sleepers, they jolted awake immediately. Regardless of how good
Hibbert's sleep quality was, he woke up in a reverie thanks to such a
loud explosion. Alfred had opened his eyes the moment the grenade was
thrown.
The remaining butler, maids, footmen, and bodyguards woke up one after
another. They looked confused and dumbfounded, not knowing what had
happened.
And at the far end of the manor's main building, a few servants heard
the commotion and didn't wake up in time.
A few seconds later, they struggled on the bed in pain. Like a snake
shedding its skin, they broke free from their skin, turning into hideous
bodies of blood.
They didn't wake up until they died.
At that moment, Audrey saw a grayish-white dragon spread its wings in
the sea of collective subconscious as it rapidly departed. A huge white
rabbit followed closely behind.
In the blink of an eye, the dragon's voice resounded in the illusory
sea.
"Adam isn't necessarily Adam, just like how I might not necessarily be
Ariehogg."
The giant white rabbit suddenly slowed down and gradually stopped.
All the abnormalities came to an end as the entire area returned to
normal.
In the ancient palace above the fog.
Adam didn't attack? The Fool Klein frowned slightly as he
turned his attention back to Utopia and replaced the instinctual
monitoring of the Worms of Spirit.
He carefully inspected his marionette town and didn't find anything
abnormal.