A quarter of an hour earlier, inside the nightmare of Afternoon Town.
When Ebner arrived at the church where Derrick and the others were in reality, what he saw was a completely different scene.
A magnificent and radiant church, its tower whole and classical, with three priests kneeling in penance… the sight before him was utterly unlike reality.
Relying on the protection of the "Concealment Barrier" on his body, Ebner openly searched the place with the "Pure White Eye," right before the three priests.
Soon, he discovered that the church was overflowing with the aura of "Corruption" and "Filth." Its level was extremely high, and the source came from the tower beside the church.
But even after circling the tower a few times, Ebner found no way to enter. Its surroundings were enveloped in dense powers of "Corruption" and "Shadow," impossible to approach. Even his "Concealment Barrier" rippled the moment it came into contact with that force.
I can't force my way in! Ebner immediately judged. Then he strengthened his ability of "Analysis" through the illusory "Omniscient Eye" in the "Unknown Land," observing the tower comprehensively and meticulously.
Moments later, he gained some clarity and mused to himself:
So that's how it is… Though this tower shares the same nightmare layer as the bizarre Afternoon Town, it left no passage in or out here… or rather, the Dark Angel sealed it entirely Himself!
Hmm, He probably doesn't know about the God of Luck building the teleportation channel… He sealed it likely to prevent the lingering aura from corrupting his followers.
And the real entrance to this tower is probably in reality… I must first exit the nightmare, enter the real tower, then return into the nightmare through the hidden passage—that's the only way to truly reach the abandoned entrance to the Sea of Chaos!
Yes… that entrance must also have been arranged in such a way that when I was transported here before, I was immediately dropped into some other spot of Afternoon Town's nightmare, concealing the means of arrival.
It's easy to imagine—when the Rose of Redemption plotted, the Goddess most likely appeared in Afternoon Town's nightmare suddenly each time… and when leaving, She would exit the nightmare first, making others believe the passage wasn't in the nightmare.
And once She returned to reality, She would slip back into concealment and teleport away…
Heh, and the entrance in the nightmare was sealed by the Dark Angel Himself!
This is a classic blind spot right under the lamp!
Was this the God of Luck's handiwork? No… since this hidden channel connects the Giant King's Court and the Elven Domain, the Goddess absolutely participated in its construction from the start!
Only Her Concealment authority could fool the Giant King and the Dark Angel! Of course, I suspect the Giant Queen also played her part… whoever she might have been back then.
As his thoughts raced, Ebner prepared to use Mr. Fool's power to pull Derrick the Sun out of the nightmare, exploiting the "balance" between nightmare and reality being disrupted, in order to enter the real Afternoon Town.
—Had the "balance" not been broken earlier, leaving would not have been so easy.
Just then, Ebner suddenly saw a man in tight black clothes being dragged from reality into the nightmare church by three others dressed the same. Among the draggers, one looked almost identical to the victim—the only difference was the gloomy expression and shadowed skin.
Seeing this, Ebner immediately judged: the one being dragged was a member of the Silver City exploration team, while the other three were his and his teammates' shadows!
As the man was about to be placed upon the altar for some kind of transformation ritual, Ebner had no choice but to temporarily dispel the "Concealment Barrier" and reveal himself.
—Since he encountered this, and it wasn't too dangerous, he couldn't just stand by.
Of course, considering that Silver City had a believer of the True Creator, he didn't reveal his true form. Instead, he donned the vest of the "Professor," transforming his appearance into that of a Loen-style formal suit layered over marble-like armor.
The moment he appeared, the surrounding space turned golden, expanding outward layer by layer.
The shadow identical to the captive's face opened its mouth in a soundless scream as golden light enveloped it. Soon it ignited on its own, becoming a twisted shadow that dissolved inch by inch in light and flame.
As for the other two, their expressions twisted the same, their bodies dimming rapidly. Within just two seconds, the two vanished like shadows under sunlight.
Crack, crack, crack!
Bones and lumps of flesh fell from their bodies, striking the floor.
Points of light slowly emerged from these remains… their Beyonder characteristics!
—Unlike the one dragged away, his teammates had already been fully devoured by their shadows.
Meanwhile, the three priests prostrate before the idol showed no reaction. They kept repeating the same words of confession over and over, like mere phantoms lingering from the environment.
Ebner ignored them. He went to the rescued man, who was still stunned, and asked with a smile in Jotun tongue, "You alright… how should I address you?"
Hearing this, the man came to his senses. He glanced at Ebner warily but, given that the stranger had just saved him and this place was clearly bizarre, he cautiously answered:
"I'm not hurt… Thank you for saving me."
His gratitude was sincere, but he still didn't give his name.
Ebner didn't mind. After picking up the Beyonder characteristics of the other two, he put away his smile and sighed. "These are your companions' remains… bring them back to their families.
"Oh, and you may call me Mr. Tower, or Professor."
With Ebner's current wealth, he had no need to covet two Mid Sequence characteristics. Returning them was his way of showing goodwill.
The man's face darkened, but he accepted them nonetheless, bowed to Ebner, and repeated, this time more sincerely, "Thank you, Professor."
"You're welcome. Actually, I'm a friend of Derrick Berg's…" Ebner chuckled, then shifted the subject, clapping his hands. "Alright, I'll take you out of this nightmare layer now."
Without waiting for him to ask further, Ebner pinpointed the "crack" between nightmare and reality left from the broken balance, grasped the man with the "Hand of Lyon," and pulled him through.
—Finding weak points and loopholes was the specialty of the Reader pathway. The Hand of Lyon was the secret art Ebner had once taught to Susie and Audrey… though only Susie had managed to master it.
The moment Ebner brought the man into reality, he ran into the Chief and the others. Then he heard Derrick's surprised voice from across the way:
"Mr. Tower? How are you here?!"
Ebner didn't rush to answer. He only signaled Derrick with his eyes to remain calm. After the man named Laroa finished his inspection and reported to Chief Colin what had happened, Ebner smiled, removed the illusory hat, placed a hand on his chest, and greeted the Silver City party with a bow.
"First meeting—pleased to see you all here."
As he spoke, he turned toward the Chief, his eyes carrying a strange admiration. "Especially you, Sir Colin Iliad. Derrick mentions your name often—it resounds in my ears like thunder."
"I'm pleased to meet you too… Mr. Tower." Colin hadn't lowered his guard, but he acknowledged Ebner's goodwill and added, "Also, thank you very much for saving my teammate."
"It was nothing… a pity I couldn't save the other two." Ebner feigned regret.
After both sides exchanged tentative pleasantries and mutual thanks for recovering the "Gear Book" and "Projector," Colin finally asked the question he most wanted answered:
"Mr. Tower, your arrival in Afternoon Town—was it by the will of Mr. Fool?"
"Under the guidance of the great existence, I came to the Forsaken Land on a mission…" Ebner didn't answer directly. He gave a vague reply, then quickly changed the subject. "Meeting you was a coincidence. Please don't tell others you've seen me."
It wasn't that he didn't want to bring Silver City's people into the real world, but at least for now, he couldn't expose the channel connecting Bayam and Afternoon Town.
Had the Concealment Barrier not been unusable in the Forsaken Land's reality—or rather, had its use not dragged him straight back into the nightmare—Ebner wouldn't have wanted to encounter Silver City's people at all.
Since meeting was unavoidable, he decided to help Derrick gain some support, so that he'd be valued more.
After all, in Colin and the others' eyes, Ebner's presence meant Mr. Fool had the ability to send outsiders in.
And if they could come in, then they could go out!
On the other side, Colin readily agreed to Ebner's request for secrecy and solemnly warned the other three.
Ebner appeared satisfied, nodding lightly. Then he left a parting remark: "Derrick is well regarded in our gathering. Whether by the World, the Hanged Man, or myself, he is valued highly." With that, he excused himself and departed, appearing to head for the edge of town.
In truth, he doubled back halfway, using "Psychological Invisibility" to observe Colin and Derrick's group from afar.
He dared not get too close—after all, Demon Hunters were adept at dealing with stealthy beings of weak presence.
If the Chief spotted him, the image he had just crafted would be ruined… and it might even damage Mr. Fool's reputation.
Thus, he witnessed Colin interrogating the priests in the church about the names of the other "Kings," only for the man to self-immolate just before uttering the Eternal Blazing Sun's true name.
He witnessed Colin and Derrick battling countless monsters, emerging victorious.
He witnessed Colin realizing the dangers hidden in the Giant King's Court, understanding that impatience wouldn't do—that preparation of half a year, a year, even two years, with repeated explorations, was necessary.
He witnessed Colin ultimately deciding to establish a camp at the ruins of the crashed floating city.
Only after everything had settled did Ebner carefully return to the collapsed church, stepping into the nearly destroyed tower beside it.
(End of Chapter)