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

Finally, like the first ray of sunlight in the morning 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. To his left and right 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.

A clear reflection proved that his own face still retained its original contours.

The scenery outside the window was difficult to discern, as a thick fog made everything appear hazy.

If it weren't for the faint glow of a few fireflies flickering in the garden outside the floor-to-ceiling glass, they would have even had difficulty distinguishing whether it was early morning or late at night.

Beneath the dense fog, the outdoor dawn seemed to be set in a world of hazy and mysterious beauty.

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

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

Lanchi's beige classic suit paired with a brown vest, his hair neatly combed, made him look even more gentle and refined than usual after a bit of formal grooming.

Frey's slightly lazy and casual black suit was worn over a dark blue double-breasted trench coat, and he had a pair of black hard leather gloves in his hand. His sunglasses, still half-covering his eyes, concealed half of his gaze.

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

This attire made them certain that this was not the Demon World, and this time it didn't seem like the examination hall of the Demon Academy either. There was no forced entry into a room with mandatory mechanics right 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 rather the fresh and crisp coolness of breathing on a mountaintop.

The three of them 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, resembling an ancient cathedral.

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

On the dome made of stained glass, intricate golden carvings adorned the crystal chandelier, resembling a galaxy hanging from the ceiling in the soft light, 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 gleamed in the light of the fire. On both sides of the long table, twelve dining chairs meticulously carved from brown oak were arranged in an orderly fashion, revealing the luxurious fragrance of extravagance, drunkenness, and exchanged toasts.

In this majestic banquet hall, several figures stood scattered about.

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

Neither the luxurious cathedral, nor the arrival of dawn, nor the biting cold wind could shake their indifference.

Because this hall was not so harmonious.

Amidst such a scene, a bloody aura mixed with the stench of death and iron permeated the entire hall, the strong smell so pungent that it completely covered the fragrance of the hall.

At the end of the hall, at the head of the long table, a corpse dressed in gorgeous attire was leaning back in a high-backed chair, his head tilted to the side, his face filled with despair and unwillingness, the extremely painful emotions frozen in his hollow eyes.

His chest down to his abdomen had been brutally torn open, resembling a horrifying anatomical drawing. A gurgling spring of crimson poured out of his body, splashing a tragic art on the ground.

The oozing blood mingled with the patterns on the marble floor, flowing through the banquet hall, leaving blood-red marks along the lines of the table legs.

This blood color was like an invisible knife, severing the originally glittering gold and silver banquet hall, transforming it into a strange and terrifying cage of murderous intent.

Soon, a prompt appeared before them.

【Shadow World: The Saint's Wicked Evening Banquet】

【Level: Fifth Order】

【In this late autumn, you twelve guests have been invited by Duke Caligula to gather at this ancient castle on the cliff.】

【You all seem to have different social identities, but in reality, you are all members of a secret church, aiming to overthrow the vampires' bloody rule over humanity.】

【However, High Priest Caligula died tragically that night.】

【Among the twelve of you, there are traitors who have turned to the vampire side.】

【Total number of challengers: 12】

【Challengers with special identities: 3】

【Special Identity - Detective (Non-Traitor): Automatically selected as the non-traitor with the best chance of unraveling the mystery among all challengers, characterized by wearing the Cross of Holy Radiance brooch gifted by Duke Caligula.】

【Special Identity - Vampire Familiar (Traitor): Can borrow the authority of Blood Lord Paloxas, Earl of Blood, and Blood Lord Cybelna, Earl of Blood, once each day when they are awake.】

【Note: If the Vampire Familiar dies, the Earl-level Blood Lord will arrive at the castle within one 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 survives until the end of the 120-hour time limit.】

【The traitor side has completely different mission objectives, only visible to the traitors; non-traitors will receive a professional identity, only visible to non-traitors.】

【If the challenger's mission objective fails, a real-world catastrophe will be triggered.】

【Time remaining: 119 hours 59 minutes.】

【All challengers start in the main floor hall.】

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

At this time, the hands had just passed half-past five, in the early morning at the break of dawn.

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

In this castle, everyone was on their guard!

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 mistrust and risking their lives.

It was not an ordinary Shadow World.

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

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

The challengers in the cathedral.

No matter what they were thinking.

They finally gradually focused their attention on the man chosen by the Shadow World, wearing the Cross of Holy Radiance brooch—

His gray hair was slightly disheveled, his tall and sturdy figure full of the explosive power of a wolf, his face had sharp edges and corners with a pair of small sunglasses half-covering his eyes, and his aggressive eyes were deep and cold.

His whole body exuded an arrogant and conceited air of defiance, looking like an assassin at first glance.

"..."

Wait.

This is.

A detective...?

...

At Yikelit Academy in the middle of the night, Gera Memorial Square shimmered with a soft 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 excellent viewing positions on the steps of the square.

As the Shadow World scene of Lanchi and his companions appeared on the open-air giant screen.

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

"Frey is the detective?"

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

Many students in the Knight Academy knew that Frey had monstrous strength and physical growth potential. Even the fifth-order veterans of the Knight Academy wouldn't dare say they could win against him in a head-on fight, even if he was only at the fourth order.

In the third round of the Knight Academy entrance examination, the practical test, he didn't play any fancy tricks at all, and rushed up and threw a punch at the examiner that shocked the Knight Academy.

Apart from the fact that this guy's brain circuits were very strange, he was indeed the strongest chief freshman in the history of the Knight Academy.

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

This fifth-order Shadow World itself was extremely dangerous for the challengers on the bright side. They could face unknown and overly powerful vampire powers at any time. Even a sixth-order challenger could die suddenly if they were not careful.

For ordinary third-order and fourth-order challengers, it was an even more difficult challenge beyond their capabilities.

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

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

If the detective held them back and couldn't find the traitors for a long time, as the traitors' secret mission progressed in the dark and accelerated, everyone would be in desperate situation.

Moreover, the challengers couldn't push the two traitors who were vampire familiars too hard. They had to master a huge information gap to stabilize the traitors and try to catch them.

Otherwise, once the traitors became desperate and chose to perish together, the seventh-order vampire earl would be attracted, which would directly start a berserk mode that would wipe out all the challengers.

Even a seventh-order powerhouse couldn't withstand the vampire earl'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 couldn't defeat the earl at night. Even if they could survive during the day, they would be cruelly massacred by the vampire earl when the sun went down!

"That's not good. It would be better if Lanchi was the detective... why is it Frey..."

"The detective can only be selected from non-traitors, so could it be that Lanchi is a vampire familiar?"

Although the students began to suspect the identities of these two otherworldly beings, Lanchi and Hyperion, at the first moment, they had both turned on the 【Shadow World Recording Program】 and could clearly see the information from their perspectives.

Lanchi and Hyperion's identities were 【Lawyer】 and 【Actress】 respectively.

【Lawyer】 is familiar with the current country's laws and regulations, and can view them in their Shadow World panel.

【Actress】 is more likely to attract attacks.

The mission objective was also the regular version.

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

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

Gera Memorial Square, the dim light of the open-air giant screen reflected on the students' faces, sometimes bright and sometimes dark, making them gulp.

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

Whenever night fell.

What awaited them.

Might be the same miserable end as Duke Caligula, who was sitting in the main seat with his chest and abdomen ripped open.

"This kind of game of wits, where challengers and villains play with deception and massacre each other, often tests psychological qualities. Sometimes before the final moment, the psychological defenses 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, looking at the detective, the lawyer, and the actress, and remembered the "Speak Civilly, Cultivate New Customs" campaign on campus recently, and choked halfway through his words.

"But when these three student council bullies go in, why does it feel like the style is a bit off!"

I would like to state in advance that the three people in the main character group are not traitors, and there is no such thing as a heaven-defying operation like that of Da Tong-sensei.

(End of this chapter)