[Vol. 8] Chapter 144: A Confusing Mix of Truth and Lies
Seeing the black-haired girl smile and nod slightly without giving a clear answer, the scholar girl frowned and glanced toward Sybil and her two teammates in the distance, who were busy setting something up among the blood-red flowers and hadn’t noticed what was happening here. Ayla looked thoughtful.
“Based on what we saw on the detector and what you just said, one of the five of us must be an impostor, one of those mysterious attackers disguised as someone else. Since it’s not me, and you’ve just proven your identity, the hidden enemy must be one of those three. But, Miss Violet… there are still too many unexplained details about all this.”
“Mhm, let’s keep it short. Time’s running out, someone outside is already getting close to finding us~”
Realizing what the priestess meant by “time’s running out,” Ayla’s eyes changed slightly. She quickly turned back and nodded, trying to keep her words simple and to the point.
“First off, if the enemy’s ability to mimic someone depends on having touched or ‘latched onto’ the target before. But I never felt anything strange from the start, no signs of that kind of thing. No matter how sneaky they are, if they could physically harm Miss Dark Spirit, then they had to exist somewhere, right…?”
“Also, this flower field is wide open. If that attacker lured Mr. Ferryman’s group here, how did they vanish into thin air afterward? And why do these things absorb people’s souls? All of us have been together since we met, unless one of them was already fake from the very beginning, how could a swap happen without us noticing?”
“Sybil’s team had more than ten members, all top-tier priests of the Church with four wings. Even if they faced a couple of legendary-level enemies, they wouldn’t have gone down easily. So whoever wiped them out had to be beyond even that. But if the attacker is so powerful, why go to all this trouble. Hiding, tricking us, getting us to fight each other?”
“This hidden enemy keeps shifting between real and fake. Sometimes they seem solid, other times like a ghost. Everything that’s happened so far just doesn’t add up, it all feels… fake, somehow.”
Instead of being annoyed by Ayla’s rapid-fire questions, Violet nodded with clear approval.
“To figure out all that just from the limited clues you have, Miss Ayla Light, who once uncovered the truth behind faith-based magic all by herself… I’m impressed. And your instincts are correct. But actually, all these problems lead to the same core question. There’s only one thing we really need to understand. What exactly are they? That’s it.”
As if sensing something, Violet suddenly looked up toward the sky in the distance, a small smile forming on her lips.
“Looks like it’s over… ‘Humble Humbold’, you put on quite the act, but I’d say the bait worked. No need for us to keep playing dumb on this end either~”
Ayla’s heart skipped a beat when she heard that. Just as she was about to say something more, she saw that the three others had finished their setup and were walking back toward them, so she wisely fell silent, deciding to wait and see what would happen next.
Even though she didn’t know Violet or Dawn all that well, Ayla had noticed enough from the earlier signs, especially from the powerful Light Elemental Spirit that Miss Dawn had summoned to protect her, and other small details from their brief interactions, that she’d begun to spot certain shocking clues.
Maybe the rumors were exaggerated, but as a scholar, Ayla trusted what she saw and deduced for herself.
This girl standing before her definitely had a close connection with the goddess. And she probably never saw those infiltrators as a real threat. She was just pretending not to know, trying not to scare them off, and using this opportunity to resolve conflict while testing everyone’s reactions.
In other words, Miss Violet… might not be a trial participant at all. She was probably… an examiner.
Just as the quiet conversation ended and Ayla discreetly packed away the device that had been monitoring the surroundings, Sybil’s team returned from their setup and walked over.
“Miss Ayla, do you have the results? We’ve already finished placing everything just like you asked!”
The golden-haired priest girl was the first to ask eagerly. Mr. Ferryman and Miss Dark Spirit also looked over with a hint of expectation, not seeming to notice that Ayla and Violet had just been having a private exchange.
The “setup” that Sybil mentioned referred to placing special magic crystals in specific spots around the area. These helped enhance the detection range and accuracy of the radar-like device in Ayla’s hands.
But in truth, that wasn’t strictly necessary. Based on what Ayla had just done, it was likely she only asked them to set things up so she could send them away for a bit, giving her time to test the priestess in secret and exchange important information.
She exchanged a quick glance with the black-haired girl, who gave her a subtle look that seemed to say, “Go ahead. I’ve got your back.” That gave Ayla enough confidence to clear her throat softly and nod.
"The device is working well. We've already found the location of the one who attacked your team. But… things might be a bit different from what you expected, so be prepared."
As she spoke, Ayla casually swept her gaze across the man and two women in front of her, secretly observing their expressions.
In this space created by the [Gate of Underworld], there were no other living beings besides them. Only strange illusions that would occasionally appear out of nowhere to disturb the minds of the trial participants. The flower-filled plain had no cover or obstacles. Whether someone was there or not, it could be clearly seen at a glance.
That’s exactly why Mr. Ferryman’s group had been so sure that Ayla was the strange creature who attacked them before. And now, Ayla herself was thinking the same way, just in reverse.
But to her disappointment, even after deliberately saying something so suggestive, Ayla didn’t catch any unnatural reactions from Sybil, Mr. Ferryman, or the Miss Dark Lotus. The priestess girl just looked a bit more focused, and the other two, clearly concerned about their teammates, understandably looked a little anxious and immediately asked.
"What do you mean different? It's not the time to hide things, just say it already!"
“Mm…”
Now that it was almost time to reveal everything, Ayla hesitated a bit.
Normally, based on her usual cautious personality, since she still didn’t know who the infiltrator really was, or how they had replaced someone in the team, she would have preferred to stall and observe a bit longer. After all, no one could guess what that person might do once exposed. But… Miss Violet’s earlier words had been very clear.
And just then, a certain priestess’s voice cut in at just the right time and made the decision for Ayla.
"Let me explain. We don’t have much time, so I’ll just get to the point. Actually, the truth isn’t that hard to understand. The reason Mr. Ferryman, Miss Sybil, and Ayla ended up gathered together here… is no coincidence. And about the so-called ‘culprit’. Well, it never existed in the first place."
As the others blinked in surprise, the black-haired girl casually walked over to the blonde priestess and gently patted her on the shoulder.
"Miss Sybil, did you know? The shadow that attacked your team and made you ‘die’... ahem, I mean fall into a coma with serious injuries, that was actually Miss Dark Spirit. And by the way… the ‘you’ standing here right now isn’t the real you, either."
“Eh… EHH!?”
After a moment of stunned silence, the priestess girl stumbled backward in shock, her face turning ghostly pale.
“M-M-Miss Violet!! What are you talking about?! By the goddess, I am the real Sybil Roland!!!”
As if just as shocked by the priestess’s statement, the other three including Ayla suddenly tensed up, instantly drawing their weapons and surrounding the now-terrified Sybil in a defensive circle.
To their credit, they didn’t attack immediately. While remaining alert, Mr. Ferryman asked cautiously.
"Miss Violet… are you saying that this Sybil is the same as that earlier fake Ayla, both of them were just copies made by some other creature?"
"It’s not that I don’t believe you, but Miss Sybil was with you the whole time. If she’s a fake created by an illusion or monster, why are you only pointing it out now? And also, you said the one who attacked their team was Miss Dark Spirit, how does that make sense…?"
“Hehe, don’t rush. I wasn’t finished yet.”
Compared to the others’ wariness and confusion, or Sybil’s full-blown panic, Violet just smiled and shook her head.
"I only said she’s not the ‘real’ one. I never said she was a fake. It seems none of you quite understood what I meant earlier… The Sybil you see here isn’t the original because, her essence has been split into two parts. And the one standing here is just one half of her."
"The same as Miss Dark Spirit’s current situation."
"?"
Even Ayla couldn’t help but look at Violet with a confused expression. Before anyone could ask more, Violet continued calmly, dropping another bombshell.
"What you see with your eyes isn’t always the truth. The attack or the death, how can you be so sure those things really happened? Ayla told me earlier that everything going on here feels weird and fake, like it doesn’t follow any logic. And she was right."
As soon as she said that, the four who had been tense and ready for a fight all froze at the same time. They looked at each other in confusion. But the priestess didn’t seem surprised by their reaction. Instead, she simply pointed to the ground at her feet.
“...?”
“Do you remember, where we are right now?”
“Of course. This is the Goddess’s Trial, the Gate of Underworld...”
Mr. Ferryman instinctively answered halfway, but then his face froze. He suddenly turned to look at the vast sea of blood-red flowers all around them.
“Red Spider Lilies... the Underworld... souls? Wait—no... this is an illusion?!”
So that’s it!
He had been wondering why the trial space, created by the Holy Empire’s Goddess, looked so much like the mythical Underworld. But if it was a hint, if it was showing the true nature of the [Gate of Underworld], then all the strange things that had happened so far could finally make sense.
What you see might not be real. In the three paths of the Underworld, living beings don’t truly die. This idea also matched what the Redemption Saintess had said earlier, the [Gate of Underworld] was less dangerous. Why? Because what appears here are souls, and the things they face are illusions. Everything is born from the heart, so it constantly changes, and you can’t judge anything with normal logic.
Realizing this, Mr. Ferryman’s expression shifted. He suddenly felt like everything was becoming clear, and many things he couldn’t understand before now made sense. He quickly looked at the others, who still seemed totally lost.
“Then… Miss Violet, are you saying they were also created by the illusion? Miss Sybil’s teammates aren’t actually dead? And Miss Dark Spirit too, she…”
“Hmm… it seems you’re overthinking it a little,” the priestess replied casually, making Mr. Ferryman pause again.
“Yes, this trial does involve illusions, that part is true. But they are real. Most of what has happened up to now has been real. And your teammate, Miss Dark Spirit, is in danger. That’s because... something unnatural has been added into all of this.”
Her calm reply left Mr. Ferryman momentarily stunned. Even Ayla couldn’t hold back her curiosity anymore and finally asked.
“Miss Violet, I have considered the possibility of this being an illusion. But I’m sure that I’m the real me. And if we’re just souls trapped in some fake world, how could I still be using my own personal equipment?”
“And even the chase with Mr. Ferryman and the others, if this were just an illusion, how could any of that make sense? Please, help us understand.”
The other three nodded quickly, clearly confused by Violet’s strange, roundabout way of speaking. If she weren’t such a famous and powerful person, someone they had all met before, they might have already called her out for talking nonsense.
But the priestess just smiled gently.
“Like I said, this may all seem complicated, but only because you’re too deep inside to see the truth. The [Gate of Underworld] trial is a test of the heart through illusions. It mixes truth and falsehood, illusion and reality. Some hidden force took advantage of these special rules and conditions to secretly change the trial, from a harmless test into a deadly trap.”
“Their goal was to combine fake and real elements together. That’s why things have become so dangerous and confusing.”
“Originally, all trial participants should have appeared together in this flower field to face various heart-testing illusions. But those hidden forces, things that had attached themselves to certain people beforehand, used their power to create smaller illusions within the larger illusion. They worked together to break the rules and merge different illusions from different people. That’s how they secretly caused confusion, misled you, and pushed you into fighting each other.”
“You are all real individuals standing here. But much of what you’ve seen until now has been fake, replaced or influenced by the illusion. Hmm… I guess I’m not very good at explaining. Let me show you instead.”
Shaking her head with a hint of helplessness, the priestess snapped her fingers lightly.
“Snap~”
The sea of red spider lilies swayed gently, and then, as if waves were spreading through the air, ripples flowed out in all directions. The world around them suddenly shattered like a broken mirror, revealing what was hidden beneath. The false surface collapsed under a great power, and a brand-new, strange landscape appeared before them!
Three completely different scenes emerged, one from Sybil Roland, one from Miss Dark Spirit that lying not far away inside a boat, and one from behind Ayla. These scenes appeared as if they were shadows cast behind them by a strong light, forming a mosaic that showed the truth of what had really happened!
Sybil turned around in shock and saw what looked like the inside of a temple. There, more than ten high-ranking holy priests, people she thought had died, were fighting fiercely against a mysterious assassin with a dagger, completely shrouded in blur and shadow.
Even more shocking, another version of herself was lying in the corner of that temple, blood gushing from her neck and soaking her robes red. Her face was pale, she looked completely lifeless.
The priests had formed a battle formation, using powerful holy magic and skills, attacking in rage as if Sybil’s death had pushed them over the edge. They were clearly determined to defeat that strong enemy.
“Eh? Wait, isn’t this the place we saw when we first entered the trial? And this enemy… there’s no mistake, it’s the same one from before!”