Chapter 42: The Seventh Level
'I wonder what the scene in the seventh level of the maze will be like… Mr. Fool—no, I should rely on the God of Knowledge and Wisdom for this sort of luck! Hopefully, it's something I'm familiar with…' Ebner prayed silently as he waited for Mr. Gaston to finish reading the reward.
Even if he seemed to have grasped the key to clearing the previous two levels, he knew it was more like cheating. In truth, those levels were extremely difficult.
The ninth level was manageable—if one searched carefully, the password could eventually be found. But the heating device hidden inside was a real danger. If one wasn't careful, dehydration and exhaustion could sap all strength.
The eighth floor had been worse. Not only was the case itself complicated, but competing with Conan to find the murderer first was nearly impossible. Without foreknowledge of the plot, Ebner would never claim he was superior to Conan in logic and observation.
No wonder Mr. Gaston rarely managed to clear the eighth level.
"Well, let's get on with it." Even as Ebner's thoughts drifted, Mr. Gaston rose to his feet. The three of them wasted no time and resolutely stepped into the passage leading to the seventh level.
The scene shifted.
Ebner found himself in a dim wooden room. The floor beneath his feet rocked unsteadily. The feeling was all too familiar—he had felt it only days ago on the deck of the Brilliant City.
"A ship?" Ebner guessed.
But before he could think further, a sudden gust of foul wind rushed at his back. Having honed reflexes of a Knowledge Keeper, Ebner wasn't alarmed. He shifted aside, swept his leg, and tripped his attacker, sending the man crashing to the floor.
In the same motion, Ebner pressed his knee against the man's neck and wrenched the sword from his grip. Looking around, he saw Xio already restraining another sailor-like attacker, while Mr. Gaston had calmly drawn his revolver and put down the third man rushing toward him.
Though the sounds of fighting still echoed faintly outside, the cabin itself had fallen quiet.
Ebner cautiously opened his Pure White Eye and scanned the surroundings. Confirming there was no immediate danger, he pressed his blade against his captive's throat and demanded:
"What is this place? Why did you attack me?"
The man on the ground gave no answer. Instead, a guttural, inhuman "ha" slipped from his throat, and his eyes flushed blood-red.
Ebner frowned and glanced toward Xio. Her prisoner was in the same state.
"Are they mad? Or did something drive them insane?" Xio muttered, frustrated that her questions were useless.
"Could it be that everyone on this ship has gone crazy? Then what are the conditions for passing this level?" Ebner wondered aloud.
At that moment, Mr. Gaston pointed at a note on the cabin's table. "The conditions should be written there."
Ebner followed Xio's lead and knocked his captive unconscious before stepping over to the table. He unfolded the paper.
"Find out the true cause of the internal strife."
"Most of the time, the pass conditions are written directly in front of us," Gaston explained, coming closer. "But sometimes they appear in other forms—like this note. Once, in a Conan scene, the condition was shown on a banner hung from an airship."
As he spoke, Gaston casually raised his revolver and shot the two captives Xio and Ebner had left alive. He glanced at their stunned faces.
"I can tell you're not used to killing," he said evenly. "But whether in the Dream Labyrinth or in the real world of mysticism, you need to shed that naivety quickly. Here, at least, there's no real death. Consider it practice. And these kinds of attackers—don't think of them as real people. Most of them are nothing but scum."
Ebner and Xio exchanged a look. His words were harsh, but his intent was clear. They both nodded and accepted the advice, resolving not to hesitate the next time they faced such enemies. Of course, neither of them would ever kill innocents or those undeserving of death—that was a principle neither intended to break.
With that understanding, the three left the cabin together, covering one another until they reached a remote side deck.
Night had fallen. Thick clouds blotted out the crimson sky, plunging the ship into near-total darkness with a really low Visibility.
Seeing no immediate foes, Ebner instinctively tried to find a loophole in the test's conditions. "Is there a time limit? What if we simply wait until the ship docks and let the Nighthawks or Mandated Punishers investigate the truth? Would that count?"
"That's Impossible." Gaston shook his head. "Even if it's not written, most scenarios have hidden time limits. For example, in the Conan case—you had to identify the murderer before Conan did. Otherwise, you failed. This will be the same." His voice carried the weight of bitter experience.
As they spoke, angry shouts and a woman's sobbing suddenly cut through the night from the shadows ahead. A man's panting joined the noise, followed by the sound of cloth tearing.
Xio, who had spent years in East Borough taverns, instantly made heads of the situation. She and Ebner locked eyes, drew their revolvers, and sprinted toward the noise, with Gaston covering their backs.
What met them made Xio's blood boil.
A man had been nailed to the cabin wall by a sword, his body slumped. On the ground, two well-dressed men were tearing at a woman's clothes with feral madness in their eyes.
Xio didn't hesitate. She wouldn't even waste bullets on such filth. Sliding in close, she drove the triangular blade hidden in her sleeve into their throats before they could react.
The half-stripped woman froze in shock. Then, with a sob, she threw herself toward the pinned man, clutching his body.
"Darling! Please… wake up! Don't leave me!"
Xio's throat tightened at the sight, her eyes misting. She forced herself to step back to Ebner's side and changed the subject. "The suppression here isn't as heavy as before. I can use most of my Arbiter powers… but Mr. Stanton's Ring of Judgment is still sealed."
Ebner only nodded faintly. To him, it made little difference—he'd never relied on combat power as a Reader anyway. Besides, with the Pure White Eye, he could still channel abilities when needed.
The woman wept until her voice broke. Then, trembling, she reached for the dagger the attackers had dropped. She pressed it against her abdomen, fear and despair warring on her face.
But before she could act, Xio struck the blade from her hands and caught her shoulders firmly. "You must live. He gave his life to protect you—you can't just throw that away. You have to live on!"
The woman stared blankly, then looked back at her fallen lover. Silence stretched before she finally clenched her teeth and nodded. "You're right… I'll live. I'll live and avenge him. I'll see every monster on this ship executed!"
As her resolve hardened, Ebner stepped forward, and asked. "Then tell me—what exactly happened here? Why has everyone gone mad?"
"You don't know?" she asked in shock.
Her suspicion was sharp—too sharp. The people in this dreamscape were far more convincing than those in Conan's scenario.
Feigning vagueness, Ebner replied, "We were asleep in the upper cabins. When we woke, everyone had gone insane…"
She hesitated, uncertain, but eventually answered: "It started five days after we sailed from Caesar Port on the Clover. We ran into the pirate Nast."
"King of the Five Seas, Nast?!" Xio and Ebner exclaimed at once. The latter furrowed his brow—why did that name feel so familiar?
"Yes. King of the Five Seas, Nast. He claims descent from the Solomon Empire and prides himself on never killing captives. That's why we only lost our wealth, not our lives. His men even left us food.
"But afterwards, things changed. Passengers and crew began arguing, then brawling, then shooting. Soon, madness spread like wildfire—men killing at random, women assaulted, the weak tortured… even monsters roaming the corridors drenched in blood."
She trembled as she spoke, but Ebner had already stopped listening to the details. He had pieced it together.
Instead, he asked one final question:
"Do you know what day it is today?"
"…Huh?" She blinked, confused. After some thought, she answered, "It should be July 1st."
Ebner lifted his gaze to the cloud-darkened night sky. A long breath escaped his lips.
"Then perhaps… this is happening right now."
(End of Chapter)