Chapter 19 Puppet Master

A mist appeared in front of Deya's eyes.

In the misty fog, he seemed to see time flowing backwards, things reversing, and the universe hanging upside down.

Countless scenes flashed before his eyes. When colors entered his eyes again, he found himself in a strange place.

This is the antechamber of a grand yet dilapidated temple.

The entire temple is built with blue-grey stone bricks. In this empty and silent hall, numerous stone pillars as thick as several people can hug together support the dome, reaching straight to the sky.

Standing in this hall, people feel as small and helpless as ants.

The entire temple looked like it had been abandoned for a long time, with messy vegetation climbing up the walls and entwining the stone pillars.

Although the temple was in ruins, the magic lamps inside were still burning. The dim light formed mottled shadows, making the atmosphere even more peaceful.

Deya found that he couldn't move, even his eyes couldn't move. He could only stare at the steps in front of him, at a handsome man in his thirties, who was elegantly dressed but had an unshaven face.

"Is this [World Memory]? I can't move now, it should be a cutscene CG similar to the one in the game."

In the game, Deya has completed many [World Memories], but this is the first time in real life.

The [World Remembrance] in the game is the next copy. You can complete it quickly by following the established process to kill monsters and solve codes.

But in the real world, everything is completely different.

"Welcome to the Temple of Lady Sunset. I am Abel Duval. I think I don't need to introduce myself.

I don’t care what your purpose is in wanting to become my disciple.

But I want to tell you here that only those who are truly talented, wise, and sincere can become my disciples and learn my skills.

I have warned you that this is a trial involving danger and life, and since you have all agreed, the test will begin now.

Work hard for it and show me what you are capable of.

Remember, this is the temple of the Lady of Sunset, and her power affects this place.

In this temple, any attack on others is not allowed, and you have no ability to attack others, including me.

Let us pay our highest respects to the lady!"

The handsome man named Abel Duval turned around.

He bowed to the dozens of meters tall statue of the goddess behind him whose face could not be seen clearly, then ignored Deya and the others and walked into the towering stone gate under the statue of the goddess.

The stone gate was open, but there was a magical seal between the two doors, making it impossible to see what was inside from the outside.

A line of text introduction appeared in front of Deya:

[In order to learn Abel Duval's skills, you went through a lot of hardships and finally found this legendary puppeteer.

Abel Duval wants you to show him your sincerity and gives you a test, which you gladly accept.

In the temple of the God of Dark Moon and Afterglow, there lurks a terrible monster that will choose to kill one of you randomly at twelve o'clock every morning.

It will not stop killing until more than half of you die. Please remember that you must stay in your room at 12:00 a.m. every night.

[Mission: Crack the monster's secret before being killed by the monster, or find a way to escape from here]

When Abel Duval disappeared, Deya found that he could move again.

He quickly looked around to see who had become his pitiful sacrifices.

There were five people in total, apart from himself and Lamia.

A young man who looked about the same age as Deya, with a panicked look on his face, and wearing a "priest's suit" with a rising sun embroidered on it.

Behind the boy stood a steady young man, who was also wearing clergyman's attire, but his clothes were not as exquisite as the boy's.

"Both of them are clergymen who believe in Lady Dawn, but their robes are not the style of the Dawn Church in Susaitani. They should be from the church in England."

"That boy is a priest, and he is already able to manage a church. He is so young and can become a low-level manager of the church. His family must be very powerful, and that young man should be his servant and protector." Deya quickly constructed an intelligence model of the two people in his mind, and then looked at the others.

The third and fourth persons were a man and a woman respectively. Both of them had ordinary looks and wore leather armor. Their bodies were not clean and were covered in dust. They should be adventurers.

They were looking around vigilantly, back to back, and seemed to be on good terms.

But when Deya looked at the fifth person, he was stunned.

She was a petite loli girl with long silver-white hair and eyes as clear as jasper.

Her hair was very long, almost reaching her calves. She had a beautiful face that was like a dream, and her eyes were deep and moving, like a clear and pure lake, sparkling.

Just by seeing her, Deya's consciousness was unconsciously attracted. She was wearing a simple snow-white long dress with the hem reaching the ground. Staring at her was like looking at the most beautiful painting in the world, which made people unable to extricate themselves.

Seeing Deya staring at her rudely, the girl was neither angry nor shy. Instead, she smiled at Deya.

That smile is like a hundred flowers blooming, making people indulge in it and forget everything else. They would like to do anything for her.

Everyone around was staring at her, even Lamia, as if she were the succubus from the deepest part of the abyss.

After staring at the other person for a long time, Deya came back to his senses and quickly looked away.

'There's something wrong with this woman!'

His absent-mindedness just now was definitely not due to his appreciation of beauty. Deya thought that he was not the kind of person who would be unable to walk when seeing a beautiful woman.

The other party seems to have some ability that transcends "beauty"!

The others also came to their senses one by one, looking at the petite girl in surprise and suspicion.

Most people were wary of him, except for the young priest who looked like he came from a good family and had a burning look in his eyes.

The girl opened her mouth slightly and spoke first: "This is the [World Memory], but this is not an ordinary world memory, but a memory related to the 'forbidden wonder'.

Among us, someone must have obtained a certain "forbidden item" and activated it, and wanted us to be the wronged soul who activated the forbidden item. Then, who activated this item?"

The girl's voice was like a spring flowing in the sunshine, so light and soft.

No one spoke, no one acknowledged.

Of course Deya would not admit it, and Lamia just stood quietly by the side, with her hands folded on her stomach, not saying a word.

The young priest seemed to be a little late and exclaimed, "Yes, this is the world remembrance of the 'Forbidden Wonder'!

Damn it, who activated the 'Forbidden Item' and dragged me in here!

I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die, I want to go back!

I, I did think that I could get a forbidden item, but I was just thinking about it. How can I really enter the memory? I don’t want to be a sacrifice! "

His face was filled with panic and fear, and his whole body was trembling.

His words made the male and female adventurers look unhappy.

The mysterious girl's beautiful eyes like lapis lazuli suddenly looked at Deya and said with a smile: "Sir, you don't seem surprised to come to this world to reminisce. Could it be that you activated the 'Forbidden Wonder'?"

Deya didn't dare to look at her any more, but just sneered and said: "First of all, I am a mage, I know a lot about 'forbidden wonders', so I'm not surprised.

Secondly, now is not the time to find out who activated the "forbidden item". What we should be thinking about is how to survive.

Finally, this unknown young lady, you are the most special one here. I suspect that it was you who activated the "forbidden item."

Deya's words undoubtedly made people more trustworthy, because the specialness of this silver-haired girl was obvious.

The girl was a little distressed. She frowned and said, "Young lady? I don't mind being called that, but I'm a man."

"what?"

Everyone, including Deya, was stunned.

(End of this chapter)