In a chaotic darkness, they seemed to be submerged in the sedimentation of a long period of time, but in reality, it was only a little over ten minutes.

Finally, like the first ray of sunlight piercing through layers of darkness, their vision gradually returned to light, indicating that they had successfully matched and set foot in the Shadow World.

Lanchi looked around. On his left and right sides stood Hyperion and Frey, respectively. Their faces were as familiar as ever, without any changes.

His gaze swept across his companions' faces and turned to the floor-to-ceiling glass window not far away.

The clear reflection proved that his own face still retained its original outline.

The scenery outside the window was difficult to identify, as the heavy fog made everything look hazy.

If it weren't for the few faint fireflies flickering in the garden outside the floor-to-ceiling glass, they would have found it difficult to tell whether it was early morning or late at night.

Beneath the thick fog, the outdoor dawn seemed to be placed in a dreamy world full of mysterious beauty.

Inside, Lanchi and Frey were both dressed in formal attire.

Although the styles were different, they complemented their respective temperaments.

Lanchi's beige classic suit was paired with a brown vest. His hair was neatly combed, and after a slightly more formal makeover, he looked even more gentle and refined than usual.

Frey wore a slightly lazy and casual black suit with a dark blue double-breasted trench coat. He had a pair of black hard-leather gloves in his hand, and the sunglasses that were still half-covering his face concealed half of his eyes.

Hyperion, on the other hand, was wearing a red gown similar to that of a great poet. Her exquisite makeup had completely changed her temperament, making her appear elegant, gorgeous, and endearing. A thin coat was draped over her shoulders, seemingly to ward off the encroaching cold.

This attire convinced them that this was not the Demon Realm, and this time it didn't seem like the examination hall of the Demon Academy either. There were no rooms with mandatory mechanisms that they were forced to join from the start. It seemed that everyone was free to move around.

A subtle coolness permeated the air.

It wasn't the biting cold of winter, but the fresh and crisp chill one feels when breathing on a mountaintop.

The three did not immediately speak, but instead immersed themselves in the surrounding environment, quietly surveying their surroundings.

Before them was a huge banquet hall with a dome that was more than ten meters high, which also resembled an ancient sanctuary.

Looking up, a magnificent pipe organ nearly five stories high occupied the entire back wall. Some of the pipes stood upright, some were curved, some were gleaming gold, and some were plain wood. They were arranged in different shapes and layers, exuding an unspeakable sense of sacred solemnity.

On the stained-glass dome, intricate golden carvings adorned the crystal chandeliers, reflecting a soft light that resembled a galaxy hanging from the ceiling, illuminating the magnificent dark stone-carved walls and the smooth marble floor.

In the most conspicuous position in the center of the hall was a grand and spacious baroque-style long table. Silver candlesticks shone brightly in the light of the flames. On both sides of the long table, twelve chairs carefully carved from brown oak were arranged in an orderly fashion, showcasing the luxurious fragrance of gilded extravagance and exchanged toasts.

In this majestic banquet hall, a number of figures stood scattered.

They gathered in groups of two or three, quietly staying in place, like stone statues.

Neither the magnificent sanctuary, nor the arrival of dawn, nor the biting cold wind could shake their indifference.

Because this hall was not so harmonious.

In such a scene, the bloody scent of death and raw iron permeated the entire hall, the intense smell was so pungent that it completely covered the hall's fragrance.

At the end of the hall, at the head of the long table, a corpse dressed in luxurious clothes was leaning against the high-backed chair with its head tilted, its face filled with despair and unwillingness, the extreme emotion frozen in its hollow eyes.

The area below his chest down to his abdomen had been cruelly torn open, resembling a terrifying anatomical drawing. A gurgling crimson spring poured out of his body, splashing a tragic work of art on the ground.

The seeping blood mingled with the patterns of the marble floor, flowing through the banquet hall, leaving scarlet marks along the lines of the table legs.

This blood-red color was like an invisible blade, cutting apart the banquet hall that had originally sparkled with gold and silver, turning it into a bizarre and terrifying cage of murderous intent.

Soon, a prompt appeared before them.

[Shadow World: The Saint's Hall Villainous Banquet]

[Level: Fifth Order]

[In this late autumn season, you twelve guests have been invited by Duke Caligula to gather at this cliffside castle.]

[You all seem to have different social identities, but in reality, you are all members of a secret church, aiming to overthrow the Blood Clan's bloody rule over humanity.]

[However, High Priest Caligula died tragically that night.]

[Among you twelve, there is a traitor who has turned to the Blood Clan's side.]

[Total number of challengers: 12]

[Challengers with special identities: 3]

[Special Identity - Detective (Non-traitor): Automatically selected as the non-traitor with the highest chance of solving the puzzle among all challengers, characterized by wearing a cross-shaped holy radiance brooch bestowed by Duke Caligula.]

[Special Identity - Blood Clan Faction (Traitor): Can borrow the authority of Blood Lord Paloxas or Blood Lord Cybelna once a day respectively when they are awake.]

[Note: If the Blood Clan Faction dies, a Count-level Blood Lord will arrive at the castle within a day.]

[Mission Objective 1: Find the traitors 0/2.]

[Mission Objective 2: Explore the secrets and dangers hidden in the castle.]

[Mission Objective 3: At least 1 person must survive until the end of the 120-hour time limit.]

[The traitorous side has completely different mission objectives, visible only to the traitors; non-traitors will be assigned a professional identity, visible only to non-traitors.]

[If the challengers fail their mission objectives, a real-world disaster will be triggered.]

[Time remaining: 119 hours and 59 minutes.]

[The starting point for all challengers is the main hall on the ground floor.]

Inside the hall, on the high wall, a large clock hung silently.

At this time, the hands had just passed half-past five, at dawn.

As the Shadow World's prompt information flashed by, the atmosphere in the banquet hall suddenly became tense.

In this castle, everyone was in danger!

People's gazes began to sharpen, like a group of caged beasts, wary of each other, because everyone knew that next, they would face a five-day challenge full of trust crises, gambling with their lives.

It was no ordinary Shadow World.

The enemies were not historical figures projected from the Shadow World either.

But a death game of deception and uncovering deception, killing and preventing killing, between historical figures played by challengers!

The challengers in the Saint's Hall.

Regardless of what they were thinking.

Finally, they gradually all turned their attention to the man chosen by the Shadow World, wearing the cross-shaped holy radiance brooch -

His gray hair was slightly messy, his tall and strong figure was full of the explosive power of a wolf, his face had sharp edges and corners and he wore a pair of small sunglasses, his invasive eyes were deep and cold.

His whole body exuded an indomitable arrogance and conceit, looking like an assassin at first glance.

"..."

Wait.

This is.

The detective...?

...

At Ikaryte Academy in the dead of night, Gera Memorial Square shone with a glistening white light.

The time on the clock tower also pointed to half-past five in the morning.

However, at this time, the square had already become lively.

Many students who had deduced the timing of Lanchi and Hyperion's second Shadow World had already brought camping blankets and catering boxes, occupying a position with an excellent view on the steps of the square.

As the Shadow World screen belonging to Lanchi's trio appeared on the open-air giant screen.

Ikaryte Academy, Gera Memorial Square, finally became noisy again.

"Frey is the detective?"

"Isn't he a strength-type player?!"

Many students in the Knight Institute knew that Frey had monstrous strength and stamina growth. Even if he was only at the Fourth Order, the Fifth Order veterans of the Knight Institute would not dare to say that they could win against him in a head-on collision.

In the third round of the Knight Institute entrance exam, he didn't play any fancy tricks. He rushed up and threw the Knight Institute's shocking first punch at the examiner.

Apart from the fact that this guy's train of thought was very bizarre, he was indeed the most powerful chief freshman in the history of the Knight Institute.

But he didn't look like a detective at all!

In itself, this Fifth Order Shadow World was extremely dangerous for the challengers on the bright side, who could face unknown and overly powerful Blood Clan authority at any time. Even Sixth Order challengers could die suddenly if they were not careful.

For ordinary Third and Fourth Order challengers, it was an even more difficult challenge that was severely out of their depth.

The detective's level directly determined the challengers' hopes of winning.

A detective with an absolutely trustworthy identity would be the key to finding the traitors!

If the detective was a hindrance and failed to find the traitors in time, as the traitors' hidden mission progressed in secret and accelerated, everyone would be in dire straits.

Moreover, the challengers could not push the two Blood Clan Factions, who were traitors, too hard. They had to grasp a huge information difference to stabilize the traitors and find a way to catch them.

Otherwise, once the traitors became desperate and chose to die together, and the Seventh Order Blood Lord was lured, it would directly trigger a berserk mode that would wipe out all the challengers.

Even Seventh Order powerhouses could not withstand the Blood Lord's immortality, and had almost no hope of winning in a one-on-one fight.

Even if all the challengers in this Fifth Order Shadow World were added together, they could not defeat the Lord at night. Even if they could escape during the day, they would be brutally slaughtered by the Blood Lord when the sun went down!

"This is bad. It would be good if Lanchi was the detective... Why is it Frey of all people..."

"Detectives can only be selected from non-traitors, so could it be that Lanchi is a Blood Clan Faction?"

Although the students began to suspect the identities of these two inhuman beings, Lanchi and Hyperion, at the first moment, they could clearly see the information in their perspectives because they had all activated the [Shadow World Recording Program].

Lanchi and Hyperion's identities were [Lawyer] and [Actress] respectively.

[Lawyers] are familiar with the current country's laws and regulations and can view them in their Shadow World panel.

[Actresses] are more likely to attract attacks.

The mission objectives were also the regular version.

Obviously, Frey, Lanchi, and Hyperion were not traitors.

The traitors must be hidden among the other nine challengers whose strength was unknown.

Gera Memorial Square, the dim light of the open-air giant screen shone on the students' faces, sometimes bright and sometimes dark, causing them to swallow their saliva involuntarily.

Just thinking about how if they were in this Shadow World where they might die at any time, many students felt a chill down their spines, and their hairs stood on end.

Whenever night fell.

What awaited them.

Could be the same tragic ending as Duke Caligula, who was sitting in the main seat with his chest and abdomen ripped open.

"This kind of game of wits, a Shadow World that requires challengers and villains to play with deception and kill each other, often tests psychological quality. Sometimes, before the final moment comes, the psychological defense line may collapse, and they may even commit suicide to seek relief."

A senior student couldn't help but sigh with a solemn expression.

However.

He looked at the screen, at the detective, lawyer, and actress, and remembered the recent "Speak Civilly, Promote New Customs" campaign on campus, and choked up halfway through his words.

"But these three student council bullies are in there, why does it feel like the style is a little wrong!"

I want to make it clear in advance that the three people in the main team are not traitors, there is no such thing as the heaven-defying operation of Da Tong-sensei.

(End of chapter)