After passing through the portal, sentences resounded throughout the place.
'It looks old…'
'No enemies in sight…'
'Huh? I didn't speak?'
'This wasn't in Ways of Survival…'
'Ways of Survival? What is that?'
Klein instantly realized the situation.
'Hall of Truth?'
Similar to the Hall of Truth, their thoughts were being broadcast throughout the room, heard by everyone.
It was a mess.
While everyone tried to shut down their thoughts to not intentionally reveal their secrets to others, they noticed another person.
'Van?'
Why was he here?
No, how was he alive?
It took them some time to get over the shock. (Except Klein, who had learnt about Van's 'death' only a few minutes ago.)
Lenoch avoided their gazes, his arms crossed.
"…How did you come here? And how…" Yoo Sangah inquired.
Did he have a resurrection skill like Kim Dokja?
Brushing off her question, he replied vaguely, "It's a long story."
Klein looked at the scenario conditions.
Everything was still filled with question marks.
Jung Heewon cleared her throat.
"So, what do we do now?"
Lee Jihye nodded.
"Are we supposed to make people confess their secrets or something?"
Considering the current circumstances, it wouldn't be surprising if it were the case.
The portal had also closed behind them, making them unable to leave.
"Let's explore first," Lenoch intervened.
Since he had arrived just now, he hadn't had time to look around yet.
Kim Dokja uncomfortably nodded.
'Why did I have to be stuck here with Gehrman… Isn't he going to kill me?'
'He sounds like Fors,' Klein lampooned. 'Although Fors didn't try to assassinate me…'
Jung Heewon frowned.
"Wait, what? When?"
"…"
'With the Fire Dragon… Oops.' Klein involuntarily replied.
'It didn't even succeed,' Kim Dokja retorted.
'It did actually. …Is this space making us more talkative than usual?'
The others were shocked.
'Kim Dokja tried to kill Gehrman? No, he managed to kill Gehrman? How did Gehrman survive?'
'Surely, it must have been a misunderstanding…'
To Yoo Sangah's words, Klein reacted, 'There was also the Abolute Throne and the incident at the Green Zones…'
He caught himself and stopped.
'Well, you were too unpredictable to keep alive.'
Klein was bewildered. 'You sound crazier than me.'
'I didn't only kill you, there were the prophets too.'
'That's even worse.'
'Yoo Joonghyuk is oddly silent since earlier.'
At Van's thoughts, Kim Dokja turned his attention toward the regressor, startled.
'How will Yoo Joonghyuk see me now?'
'I even died single,' Gehrman lampooned.
Kim Dokja choked.
'Get out of this body, impostor.'
"…"
Listening to their nonsense, Lenoch turned his attention toward analyzing this place's structure.
Lee Jihye's thoughts resounded.
'Gehrman is more lively than I expected…'
He was always to cold, yet his thoughts were this active?
Klein restrained his mind again, trying to keep focus.
He heard Van thinking of incomprehensible magic theories while looking at the symbols on the walls and started to analyze the surroundings as well.
Thinking of studying magic, an image of Aris's face was conjured on the wall.
'…Oops, I messed up.'
Lenoch immediately redirected his thoughts elsewhere.
Seeing the image of a beautiful blonde briefly appear, Klein thought, 'Miss Justice?'
No, that was a different person.
Klein was glad that Fors wasn't here and didn't hear this. His image as a crazy adventurer would have been shattered.
At least, it was a good thing that Leonard wasn't here now to accidentally reveal his real name…
It seemed that, like in the Hall of Truth, the images they thought of also manifested on the walls.
'Is this person someone Van knows?' Jung Heewon wondered.
Van ignored her question.
'What did Gehrman-ssi mean by 'his real name'?' Yoo Sangah remarked.
Lee Jihye covered her mouth.
'…Did I hear that right? 'My dear poet'?'
Klein suddenly realized that his thought about Leonard was heard too.
'Yoo Sangah uses honorifics even in her thoughts…' Kim Dokja noticed.
Yoo Sangah felt embarrassed.
"No, shouldn't you explain why you tried to kill Gehrman first?" Jung Heewon reminded.
Kim Dokja cleared his throat.
"Let's investigate first."
They were already looking around while thinking.
"Van, did you find anything?"
"Not yet."
"Don't change the subject," Yoo Sangah interjected.
'Yoo Sangah too?'
The reader felt betrayed.
'Kim Dokja tried to kill his companions…'
Yoo Joonghyuk's thoughts mentally stabbed him.
'It's because he's a psycho.'
Hearing that coming from Gehrman Sparrow, the madman himself, felt ironic.
'Who's the psycho? You're the psycho.'
'Being seen as a madman is still better than assassinating my colleagues.'
'At least I didn't kill a lot of people.'
'Didn't Van kill more?'
Suddenly, the attention was turned to Lenoch.
'Van is a real psychopath,' Lee Jihye concluded for them.
'I've been called worse…'
'Like what?'
'Demon King, human-loving dog, bloodthirsty, crazy about fighting, someone who likes planned murder…'
Indeed. This space was making them more talkative.
Dumbfounded, Jung Heewon's thoughts slipped out.
'…We're talking about after the scenarios, right?'
"…"
(Actually, it happened before.)
Seeing his lack of answer, the others started to have doubts.
'Did Van's thoughts just mention a 'Lie Detection' skill?'
Not answering because Yoo Joonghyuk could use Lie Detection felt even more worrying.
Lenoch ignored them and continued his analysis of the place.
'…Since we both died, isn't it a 'double suicide' and not an assassination attempt?' Kim Dokja added.
'You know what, I'm starting to think that Van is still better than you.'
'At least I'm not suicidal.'
'But I'm not suicidal,' Van retorted. 'Where does this come from?'
Kim Dokja changed the subject again.
'So Gehrman has a resurrection skill?'
'Wow, how subtle of you, Kim Dokja,' Klein lampooned.
Speaking of which, he felt like his Gehrman persona had now completely collapsed.
…Anyway, with one glare to shut them up later, it'll be solved.
Jung Heewon burst into laughter at Gehrman's thoughts.
'Persona? Now I'm definitely not seeing him the same way again.'
Klein completely stopped thinking, focusing on Cogitation and visualizing spheres of light to calm his mind.
"I like this place. Do you guys have anything else to reveal? Any other secrets we should be aware of?"
The three ignored her.
'Master, how did you meet ahjussi? What's your relationship with him? You didn't answer how you could have a child.'
Kim Dokja sighed. It was obvious what this girl was doing.
Lee Jihye was trying to check if Yoo Joonghyuk's personality was different from the outside. However, his thoughts were the same as the outside, so it was useless.
"Huh? How do you know that?" Lee Jihye questioned.
'Kim Dokja.'
At the regressor's call, the reader flinched. Yoo Joonghyuk was glaring at him.
'You admit that you can read thoughts?'
Uh-oh.
Lee Jihye started laughing along with Jung Heewon.
'You didn't tell him?' the latter remarked, amused.
Klein suppressed a frown. 'Kim Dokja can read thoughts?'
[The constellation, 'Demon-like Judge of Fire', watches with interest.]
Didn't he turn off the constellation messages he received? Why did Kim Dokja still get Uriel's message? He had to tell Bihyung to do his job better later.
'Master is so popular. There was that salvation guy too… Does that mean he has a harem?'
Kim Dokja choked.
They had now explored most of the place.
"Wait."
His magic eyes activated, Van stopped them, thoughtful.
His analysis was nearly over.
"This place is most likely… a trap."
Kim Dokja's expression hardened.
All the people having grudges toward him flashed through his mind.
The situation was clearer now.
Why did a situation that wasn't in Ways of Survival appear?
The dokkaebis had created a new scenario.
However, it would require them to pay a huge amount of probability to do such a trap. There must be someone else behind this.
Hearing Kim Dokja's reasoning, Lenoch nodded. He could feel traces of Olympus among various others.
The dokkaebis had borrowed probability from the giant nebulae.
"However, if they want our deaths…" Kim Dokja looked around.
That meant there was something that dangerous in this place.
Everyone reached the same conclusion.
Van continued.
"Initially, this place should be harmless as long as one doesn't wander too deep. However, if we find out too much…"
Since the portal was closed, they were unable to leave. However, without the clear conditions hidden, they would inevitably start to explore the place.
An earthquake occurred.
Too late.
"There's something sealed here…" Kim Dokja realized.
Something very dangerous.
And it was coming toward them.