Chapter 365 Beam of Light, Birdcage

The center of Sheep Horn Town.

The Church.

Cold moonlight pierced through the vine-patterned window lattices, casting mottled, twisted shadows across the floor.

The soft warmth of the daytime, where floating dust made the sanctuary feel as cozy as a barn, had vanished without a trace under the veil of night. Only a terrifying, deathly silence remained.

The wall lamps were extinguished, and the candles that should have been lit rested quietly in the depths of the darkness.

In the massive Church, the only source of light was the pale silver moon beyond the dome's skylight.

Right beneath that silvery-white beam, which shone from the dome like a spotlight, a hunched, gaunt old man knelt at the feet of the Goddess. Just as he had done for over twenty thousand nights, he offered up his devout and humble faith.

But tonight, Cleric Moin had discarded his usual plain attire for something exceptionally solemn. He wore a brownish-green ceremonial robe usually reserved for major festivals or grand celebrations.

Gold thread embroidered the hem and collar, and the smooth, silk-like fabric caught the cascading moonlight, draping the cleric in what looked like a thin veil of luminous mist.

He kept his head bowed deep, his pale hair resembling withered, frost-covered grass.

His lips moved in silent prayer, and his thick, rough, farmer-like hands clasped together over his chest. Yet, nestled between his pressed palms was not the Rose Holy Symbol of the Goddess, but a magnificent gleam of pink.

Cleric Moin slowly opened his hands. The radiant pink light flared briefly before fading, revealing a crystal-clear Pastel Gemstone. Inside it swirled a thick, flowing pink mist.

His rough fingers gently stroked the gemstone's surface with an almost obsessive devotion. The pink light flickering in the air seemed to respond, as if tempting him.

Outside the moonlight, in the depths of the shadows.

The towering stone statue of the Goddess of Agriculture was little more than a faint silhouette. Only the occasional flash of pink light momentarily illuminated Her face.

She remained as kindly and serene as ever.

But beneath the veil of shadows, the eyes that stared silently from the darkness seemed to carry an indescribable trace of pity.

Suddenly, as if he had sensed something.

Moin abruptly raised his head.

His old, cloudy eyes looked up, meeting the dull, frozen gaze of the Goddess's stone statue.

His devotion remained, but beyond it lay a complex swirl of emotions: exhaustion, struggle, disappointment, resolve, and agony.

After praying for countless days and nights, Moin said nothing at all. He simply stared at the great existence to whom he had once sworn to offer everything.

And "Chantier," naturally, was not about to bestow divine grace for the sake of such an insignificant, lowly clergyman.

Time seemed to freeze.

It was impossible to tell how long this lasted.

Until, somewhere in the town outside the Church, a loud crash echoed through the night.

Immediately after, the Pastel Gemstone in Cleric Moin's palm flashed twice, as if transmitting a message.

Only then did he slowly lower his head, his expression ashen yet resolute.

A barely audible murmur drifted through the air.

"Great and merciful Mother of All Things... why have You turned Your back once again..."

Crack—

A sharp, abrupt shattering sound rang out through the Church.

He clenched his five fingers tight. Under the crushing pressure of that wrinkled yet powerful hand, fine cracks webbed across the gemstone.

"Boom!!!"

Dazzling pink light erupted into the sky. It transformed into a massive, blinding beam that devoured the moonlight, piercing straight up from the Church's dome and stabbing deep into the clouds.

Then it slowed, its brilliant glow condensing as it spread outward and cascaded down.

Moving at a speed that seemed slow but was utterly beyond a normal person's ability to react, it took only a few seconds to form a hemispherical shield of light that completely enveloped the entirety of Sheep Horn Town.

It looked exactly like a pink glass bowl flipped upside down over a table.

...

...

During dinner, Xia Nan and Margaret had shared their suspicions about the innkeeper. Although they lacked concrete evidence, combining their theories with the bizarre atmosphere currently blanketing Sheep Horn Town was enough to put Horac and the others on high alert, prompting them to adopt a more aggressive defensive strategy.

They quietly reshuffled the room assignments. While taking turns keeping watch, they made sure to keep Horac from being left alone as much as possible. Even when resting at night, they left a Class Holder behind to guard him, planning to maintain this routine until the caravan finished resupplying and departed the town.

To their surprise, the plan bore fruit on the very first night it was put into action.

For Xia Nan, who required very little sleep, taking the first watch was a breeze. There was absolutely no chance of him dozing off or even shutting his eyes.

Restricted by the environment, he couldn't practice combat techniques like [Spinning Slash] or [Fang Hunt]. However, just sitting in a chair and using coins to practice [Gravity Control] was still a highly effective way to pass the time.

Because of this, his mind was sharp, even hyperactive. Almost immediately, he detected the footsteps—disguised incredibly well on the surface, but unmistakably clear to his Perception.

Using the stealth techniques he had learned from the [Dream Weaving Corridor] dreamscape—which weren't overly profound but were more than enough to handle ordinary people—he hid himself in an inconspicuous blind spot within the room.

Then, a split second before the innkeeper could make his move, Xia Nan suddenly revealed himself and knocked the man back.

Considering they might need to interrogate him later, Xia Nan deliberately spared his life. Leaving the innkeeper's head intact, he merely lashed out with his leg and kicked the man out of the room.

He thought he had controlled his strength perfectly.

Under the premise of not kicking the man to death, the blow should have still been enough to render the vast majority of normal people completely unable to stand back up, bringing them to the brink of unconsciousness.

To be safe, he had even employed a special method, secretly placing a gravity control effect on the innkeeper.

Unexpectedly, this fat, ordinary townsman erupted with power far beyond that of a normal human in an instant. He raised his right hand, tightly gripping a Short Dagger, and plunged it down heavily.

The tip of the blade struck the Pastel Gemstone embedded in his chest, and a surge of energy burst outward in response.

The good news was that this energy posed absolutely no harm to the human body, especially to adventurers who had already attained a Class Level. At most, it caused a brief mental daze for a fraction of a second, which couldn't even be considered crowd control.

Xia Nan didn't even have to endure that minor mental disruption. The moment the energy washed over his body, the [Dream Weaving Corridor] absorbed it to recharge itself.

The bad news was that the innkeeper's motive for doing this likely wasn't mutual destruction. Instead, he was merely trying to use the last moments of his life to confirm something.

Thinking back to how the man had probed Horac during the day, Xia Nan guessed that the innkeeper wanted to test which member of their party possessed the ability to free Horac from his charmed state.

And judging by how everyone reacted to the energy shockwave...

Compared to the other adventurers whose minds instantly blurred, Xia Nan showed absolutely no reaction to the shockwave of pastel energy. Without a doubt, this cemented his identity in the innkeeper's mind.

Crack—

The seemingly sturdy Pastel Gemstone appeared incredibly fragile under the dagger's thrust.

Pink energy surged outward in a flash along with the cracks. His linen clothing ripped apart, exposing the innkeeper's bare upper body.

The Pastel Gemstone was deeply embedded in his flesh, much like some sort of bizarre heart, leaving only a thin layer visible on the surface of his skin.

And the stab that shattered the gemstone was functionally a dagger straight into his heart.

His entire life force drained away at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But bizarrely, this normally warm and hospitable middle-aged man—who only ever turned hostile when discussing the gemstone—showed not a trace of agony or despair on his face as he faced death.

Looking as if he had just accomplished some great mission, his eyes locked onto Xia Nan at the door. He wore an expression of gratification, as if marching honorably toward his end.

In just two or three seconds, he became a lifeless corpse.

"Check yourselves! Is everyone okay?"

Near the top of the stairs, Margaret rapidly patted herself down to check if the energy shockwave had affected her, calling out warily to the rest of the group.

Xia Nan shook his head. Staring at the innkeeper's corpse on the floor, he was just about to say something when a burst of pink light suddenly erupted behind him.

He spun around and quickly strode over to the room's window.

A massive beam of light, the exact same color as the energy wave just now, was rocketing into the sky from the direction of the Church. At an exaggerated speed impossible to outrun, it transformed into a gigantic shield of light that trapped the entirety of Sheep Horn Town beneath it.

"What... what the hell is that?" Horac blurted out.

Beside Xia Nan, he had only just managed to break free from the mental daze caused by the energy shockwave. He stared in utter shock at the astounding scene outside the window.

Even his round, plump face was bathed in a layer of pink.

Clap—

A hand suddenly landed firmly on his shoulder.

Turning his head, he saw the black-haired young adventurer looking at him with a dead-serious expression.

"It's an emergency," Xia Nan said.

"I need you to gather your men and do a headcount right now."

"We'll meet in the lobby on the first floor."

"Hurry!"

...

Horac—or rather, his assistant Afu—was highly efficient.

By the time Xia Nan and the two from the Blackwood Squad finished examining the innkeeper's corpse and returned to the first-floor lobby, all the caravan's personnel—including the drivers, guards, and handymen—had already been assembled.

Although they looked thoroughly on edge and completely insecure, they at least maintained basic order under Afu's control, showing no signs of total chaos.

Xia Nan gave a slight nod to the caravan steward, who looked disheveled and hadn't even had time to change out of his pajamas, wearing only a coat draped haphazardly over his shoulders.

Looking over the gathered crowd, Xia Nan frowned.

"Is this everyone?" he asked.

Afu hurried forward, wiping away sweat.

"Mr. Xia Nan, everyone from our caravan is here. Not a single person is missing," he said.

"No." Xia Nan turned around and cast a glance up the empty staircase ahead of him. "I mean..."

"Are we the only ones in the entire inn?"

Hearing this, Afu instantly stiffened in horror, his voice turning choppy and broken.

"That... that... I'll take some men and go look right away!"

Sheep Horn Town was a dilapidated little settlement in a remote location to begin with. While the Woolen Rusty Nail was one of the best inns in town, its day-to-day business was usually just average.

But no matter what, there should have still been a few guests around.

At the very least, there should have been waitstaff or other employees working the night shift.

With the massive commotion upstairs and outside just now, even the heaviest sleepers should have been woken up. It was impossible for there to be zero reaction.

Feeling things were getting stranger by the second, Xia Nan marched swiftly to the inn's entrance and shoved the doors open.

What met his eyes was the colossal shield of light that had already swallowed the entire town, along with the eerie, radiating glow that banished the night and plunged the world into a wash of pink.

And in stark contrast...

The inn was located on what was supposed to be the busiest street in the whole town, yet at this moment, it was completely deserted.

Not a single resident had been roused by the loud crash or the strange light, nor had anyone stepped outside to investigate.

Without a doubt, this was a scene that logic could no longer explain.

Rapid footsteps hurried over from behind him.

Taking advantage of the time Xia Nan spent observing outside, Afu had already led his men on a sweep of the entire inn.

"Mr... Mr. Xia Nan..." Afu panted heavily, his clothes drenched in sweat. "No... no one."

"Besides us, there isn't a single soul in the entire inn!"

The more dire the situation became, the calmer Xia Nan appeared.

He nodded, casually pulled the inn's doors shut, and gathered the caravan members to discuss their next steps.

"First, one thing is certain," Xia Nan said.

"Everything that happened tonight—from the innkeeper's attack to the shield of light covering our heads right now—is tied to the "Pastel Gemstone"."

Although the innkeeper's body had a massive hole blown through it from the energy shockwave, the group consisted of veteran adventurers who had seen more than their fair share of corpses.

After just a brief inspection, they easily spotted how his anatomy differed from an ordinary person's.

The Pastel Gemstone embedded in his chest had seemingly become a bodily organ, replacing his heart as the source of his life.

That was exactly why he had been able to erupt with such strength at death's door.

Although they didn't know how this gemstone could fuse with human flesh, considering the almost maddened zeal of a fanatic that the innkeeper had displayed at the very end, it clearly wasn't anything good.

It made Horac feel a lingering trace of dread.

If Xia Nan hadn't helped him break free from the gemstone's charming effect earlier, would he have ended up looking like the innkeeper in the future?

"Second, you all saw that beam of light, right?" Xia Nan asked.

The group nodded.

"It came from the direction of the Church, and it spread out to engulf the entire town."

"I think we should head toward the town exit first to see if the shield can be broken through brute force."

"If it's possible, then we'll forget about resupplying. Even if we have to hunt every day just to survive, we need to leave this place, find another human settlement, and report the situation in Sheep Horn Town to the Church and the local constables."

"If it's not possible... we'll figure out a new plan."

"Of course, anyone who feels that moving outside is too dangerous is free to stay at the inn."

"There are plenty of supplies here. Assuming no other dangers arise, you can likely hold out until rescue arrives."

After listening to Xia Nan, Margaret nodded in agreement. She pondered for a moment before adding a point of her own.

"Sheep Horn Town is only so big. I refuse to believe the townsfolk could just vanish into thin air in half a night," she said.

"Maybe... we should pick a house and go inside to check things out?"

"And the Church!" the dwarf Thordin grumbled, his grip on his Faceted Hammer creaking loudly.

"I knew there was something wrong with that old bastard. If we can't get out... we'll pay him a visit. We might just find a solution there."