Chapter 232: The Reverse Hymn

Annan kept a steady pace.

He stayed on alert and looked around as he trod, trying his best to be prepared for whatever monster that might suddenly lunge at him from around the corner.

He didn’t forget that the keyword for this dungeon instance was “the dead”.

Moreover, the dungeon instance he entered belonged to a necromantic deity.

Despite all that, Annan was still a little grateful—and also a little disappointed. He reached the end, but he didn’t see any dead bodies popping out and shouting “surprise”, making him look a little timid.

Annan didn’t have much care for the matter anyways.

He just walked up the steps located at the end of the path… one step at a time.

After he reached the eighth step, he finally saw a light.

When Annan raised his head, looking at the light-emitting outlet amidst the dark surroundings, something dark crept out and blocked it off!

It was as if someone stood at the door, silently watching Annan, who was moving upwards and towards them!

Finally, it’s time for jumpscare, right?

Annan reacted somewhat delayed, raising the chain and looking back.

He was once again surprised when he turned his head back but he didn’t see anything in particular.

At this moment, footsteps suddenly came from outside.

Several people were talking and passing by from a short distance away. However, they were not by the door. Even when they were at their closest point, it was more than ten meters away from the door… Maybe there’s a corridor right outside.

If Annan had screamed out of fear or tried to negotiate with that person, those people could have heard him.

This thought flashed through Annan’s mind.

However, the man still stood at the door. He didn’t go down, didn’t say anything to him, and didn’t even take any particular action.

Is it a dummy?

Annan squinted his eyes and continued to climb up the steps. He deliberately suppressed his footsteps. Fortunately, Evelyn was born as a dancer, and her steps were light enough.

He finally had a better sight with the help of adequate lighting when he got closer.

It really wasn’t a living person, but a soldier sculpture,

A marble soldier sculpture that was facing against him had blocked the door!

Above the exit, there was a huge painting. A pulley was fixed on the back of it, which made it appear like a vertical sliding door that could raise about one meter upward. Annan wasn’t sure if the culprit didn’t put the portrait back out of carelessness or simply needed more lighting when he was here.

So, this is the door to the underground secret room?

Annan attempted to push the marble statue twice, but he realized he couldn’t move it without making a sound. Unfortunately, he couldn’t squeeze through the door as well.

There should be someone not far away, though.

“…Ha.” Annan smiled slightly. This can’t stop me.

He committed to a pose — a somewhat strange posture facing forward sideways.

Immediately after, Evelyn Miller’s somewhat weak body instantly changed its appearance.

Annan’s body inflated like a balloon. In the blink of an eye, she turned into a kind middle-aged man with black hair, dark eyes, and well-defined features that were shorter than her!

It was “Ghirlandaio·David·Buonaro”!

Just like Annan’s other curse, the curse [The Last Work “David”] could also be brought into the nightmare!

If there was anything that demanded physical strength, David was the answer.

The “David,” who was also a marble statue, wasn’t in any way unique except for its robust strength.

Annan, who had transformed into David, quickly hugged the soldier statue at the door off the ground and moved it aside.

Annan immediately changed his appearance back and went to pick up the chain.

This was to avoid [The Last Work “David”] entering a cool-down period and to ensure that it could be used again when the situation calls for it.

Another benefit of shifting back was that Evelyn’s footsteps were much lighter than David’s. Her footsteps were quiet like a cat and hard to detect when being extra careful.

Annan quietly left the basement door.

But when he looked back, he was slightly taken aback.

He knew this painting.

Indeed, this was the last painting Amos painted in the “Feast of the Hungry” on the Gallery Dungeon’s second level!

The painting illustrated a homeless man with messy hair and shabby clothes; he had a thin and shrivelled body. He reached out one hand to support himself on the window and peeked inside, while the other hand curled slightly under his ribs. His eyebrows gave a hint of confusion and cruelty, and his eyes flashed with dark green eyes that portrayed hunger and greed.

He was standing there crouched, but it gave off the image of a hungry wolf standing up.

The hungry wolf was watching Evelyn.

If anyone who entered this dungeon instance hadn’t experienced the “Feast of the Hungry”, they might have been shocked here. It was even possible that this scene would increase their erosion rate.

However, it didn’t affect Annan at all.

I think I can probably guess the timeline of this dungeon instance.

Annan slowly slid the painting down until it returned to its original position, blocking the light inside. No matter who was below, it could at least trap the culprit and prevent it from coming out easily.

Although it couldn’t kill him, the delay was enough.

After Annan finished dealing with the mechanism here, he looked around.

He realized that he seemed to be in a building resembling a church. Many people were chatting in this place.

Which deity’s church is this?

Up until now, Annan still didn’t know where the water stains came from.

He heard a faint hymn but couldn’t tell where it came from.

He thought for a while, threw the chain up, and hung it on the ceiling.

Then, he capitalized on Evelyn’s extraordinarily light body to climb up the ceiling through the chains. He moved along the beams, bypassed the door, and entered an empty room.

He searched quickly and found two silver coins.

With silver coins in hand, Annan was more at ease.

He opened the window and took a look. Then, he whizzed out of the window like a thief. At the same time, he did not forget to close the windows as he exited.

What baffled him was that the hymn became louder after he left the church.

Annan followed the direction of the sound and hurriedly left the church.

After walking for three minutes, he gradually stopped.

As Annan approached the source of the hymn, he gradually heard it clearly.

At first, he thought it was another language or simply a dialect.

After hearing the hymn clearly and recalling the conversation he had previously, Annan suddenly recalled the sound he heard on the dungeon level with the symmetrical corridor in the gallery.

The reason the language was baffling was that it was in reverse.

The hymn did not come from the windows of the strange church beside Annan.

It floated out of the lake in front of Annan… the reflection of this white church.

Annan looked down and assessed Evelyn’s body.

The face was full of scars and hairless. The right side of the body had burns scars all over the place.

At this moment, Annan noticed that the corners of “Evelyn’s” mouth reflected in the lake raised slightly as if smiling with satisfaction.

He was taken aback.

As Annan wanted to raise my hand and touch the corner of his mouth to confirm, he found that the “Evelyn” in the lake did not raise her hand.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Credits to MindMatrix for editing this chapter and improving the readability.