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nChapter 671: Beginning

nTranslator: CKtalon

nUpon hearing Bunia’s words, Rhea was so surprised that she forgot her anger.

nIt wasn’t the first time she had encountered such a situation. She was shocked that a man who had left a good impression on her would show such an expression and say such words.

nAnd this was when they weren’t even friends!

nAt that moment, Rhea wondered if she was still half-asleep. She also questioned whether Bunia had suffered a mental illness or succumbed to hysteria as the Dream Festival drew near.

nAmidst Rhea’s bewilderment, Bunia’s smile intensified.

nHe extended his hands across the kitchen counter and attempted to grab Rhea’s chest.

nInstinctively, Rhea leaned back, attempting to dodge.

nAfter failing to touch her, Bunia retracted his hands, propped himself up on the kitchen counter, and leaped up. Amidst the clinking of coffee cups and glass jars, he lunged at Rhea, who was leaning back.

nThis reaction, this choice, and this display of power caught Rhea off guard. She didn’t have time to remove the bow and arrow from her back. Her waist bent backward, and her right foot kicked up like the other end of a seesaw, sending the transformed Bunia cafe owner flying.

nSimultaneously, a thought flashed through Rhea’s mind.

nHas he truly lost his mind?

nCrash. Bunia crashed to the side of the kitchen counter.

nRhea exerted strength in her back and stood up straight again. Then, she took off her hunting bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed at Bunia, who had just stood up.

nA look of fear crossed Bunia’s face. He froze for a moment before pleading, “Don’t—don’t kill me!

n“I suddenly lost control just now!”

nLooking at Bunia’s pleading and fearful face, Rhea found him both familiar and unfamiliar. The arrow on the bowstring was drawn back, but she didn’t release it.

nEntering the streets of Tizamo Town from the primitive forest, Lumian observed the illuminated houses on both sides and scoffed.

n“Is this supposed to be terrifying and bizarre?”

nThis wasn’t the first time he had encountered such a scene. In Fourth Epoch Trier, he had witnessed a similar occurrence. Not only had the dark town regained its lights, but the entire Fourth Epoch Trier had transitioned from silence to noisiness, returning to life.

nFaced with this abnormality, Lumian was undoubtedly surprised and highly vigilant. However, he wasn’t overwhelmed by intense emotions. On the surface, he observed his surroundings leisurely.

nHe realized that Reaza and Maslow had vanished. The two patrol team members who should have been following him were gone.

nSince it can silently make two Beyonders disappear right under my nose, it can definitely make me vanish just like that… In other words, 1 must have been affected. There’s a high chance that the trance was an external manifestation…

nFrom a mysticism perspective, the town, which had already fallen into a deep slumber, relighting without any significant turn of events, signifies that I’m in another scene, one that is originally related but different…

nCould it be that I’ve been forced into a dream?

nHas the Dream Festival officially begun?

n1 didn’t sleep in Hisoka’s house. Why am 1 still awake?

nCombined with the ongoing investigation, Lumian quickly deduced the current situation.

nAt that moment, he spotted a figure emerging from a glass window diagonally ahead, surrounded by wooden planks and weeds.

nIt was a local man in his early forties, with dark brown skin, brown eyes, black hair, and thick lips.

nLumian had seen him before. He was a hunting guide, responsible for leading gentlemen and ladies from Port Pylos and other places into the forest for hunting.

nLumian’s impression of him was that he always wore a fawning smile. No matter what others said, he would respond with a string of affirmatives. He never showed anger, even when punished by the gentlemen and ladies he guided.

nUpon seeing Lumian, the hunting guide’s lips curled into a cruel smile.

nHe pushed open the window and raised his other hand, revealing a double-barreled shotgun.

n“Die, you Northern Continent dog!”

nAs the hunting guide cursed, he aimed his double-barreled shotgun at Lumian and pulled the trigger without hesitation.

nHang!

nA massive amount of lead spread out in a cone, enveloping the corresponding area.

nAs the hunting guide took aim, Lumian sidestepped and rolled to the other side of the street.

nWhat greeted his eyes were the previously quiet cows, sheep, and horses.

nAt that moment, the eyes of these animals seemed to turn bloodshot.

nSupporting himself with one hand, Lumian leaped up. Amidst the high-pitched mooing and the hunting guide’s aim, he leaped to the middle of the stairs leading to the second floor.

n“Ah!” A scream suddenly pierced the air, then stopped abruptly.

nThe door on the second floor swung open, and Lumian was confronted by a young man drenched in bright red blood. He held a massive axe dripping with the crimson liquid, and behind him lay the mangled corpse of an old man in his fifties, the wound carved deep into his chest.

nLumian, who had been wandering Tizamo Town for days, was no stranger to these two individuals.

nLying on the ground, his eyes wide open, was the leathersmith of Tizamo Town. He would purchase the hides of wild beasts brought back by gentlemen, ladies, and town hunters who didn’t want to handle them themselves, processing them and selling the finished products.

nThe axe-wielding figure was his eldest son, who had studied nitrification, tanning, and other leather production techniques from him. He was known as an obedient young man, and his father wasn’t an old-fashioned leathersmith who resorted to physical or verbal violence.

nThis was a characteristic of the people of Tizamo. They were docile, calm, and devoid of intense emotions.

nAnd now, it appeared that the leathersmith’s eldest son had just cleaved his father to death.

nUpon seeing Lumian, the lad’s eyes overflowed with a bloodthirsty smile.

nWith a shout, he swung his axe at Lumian. On the other side, the hunting guide began reloading his double-barreled shotgun with new lead rounds.

nLumian’s body suddenly turned ethereal, merging with his shadow and vanishing into the darkness beside the steps.

nShadow Transformation!

nAfter using this ability to sneak towards the police headquarters for a few seconds, Lumian suddenly heard someone pleading for mercy in fear.

nHe left the shadows and transformed back into a human. He saw Rhea aiming an arrow at the cafe owner, Bunia, but she didn’t release it.

nAt that moment, a colossal anaconda, as thick as a barrel, emerged from the multi-layered hay at the top of the opposite house, hanging upside down.

nIt widened its cold eyes and foul-smelling mouth, the patterns on its scales seeming to expand and writhe.

nThis time, Lumian didn’t dodge.

nFacing the colossal boa attempting to devour him, his eyes darkened as he swung his fist upward.

nIn an instant, blazing white flames ignited from his fist, enveloping his entire forearm.

nBang!

nLumian’s fist smashed into the colossal boa’s gaping maw, tearing through the blood-colored flesh and delivering a devastating uppercut to its upper jaw.

nBefore it could devour its human prey, the colossal boa’s cold eyes lost their luster. Its massive body plummeted due to inertia, but Lumian easily sidestepped the falling serpent and retracted his fist.

nClang!

nThe colossal boa crashed to the ground, its slippery scaled body engulfed in blazing white flames.

nWeakness Investigation!

nLumian approached Rhea, noticing that the patrol team member was also regarding him with a vigilant and puzzled expression. He didn’t attack immediately.

nShe… Lumian’s heart stirred as a smile played across his lips.

n“Looks like you’re still lucid.”

nWary of Bunia, Rhea observed Louis Berry for a moment, hesitating before speaking.

n“Lucid, you say?”

n“Yes.” Lumian pointed at Bunia, who was glaring at him with undisguised hatred. “Did he attempt to attack you or even rape you?”

n“Yes.” Rhea didn’t ask how he knew. Instead, she inquired, “What’s going on?”

nLumian chuckled in response, stating, “Perhaps we’ve entered the dream once more, but this time, we’re not alone.”

nHe made a preliminary judgment based on Rhea’s apparent lucidity.

nPerhaps the reason for maintaining his own clarity of mind was falling asleep in Hisoka’s house and entering the special dream recently!

nHe needed to find Camus for further confirmation.

nUpon hearing Louis Berry’s response, a term suddenly flashed through Rhea’s mind.

nBefore she could voice her thoughts, the sound of three chimes suddenly rang out.

nThe bell’s resonant tones reverberated through the streets of Tizamo, as if summoning the town’s inhabitants.

nRhea listened intently, her expression shifting slightly.

n“It’s the cathedral’s bell!”

nCathedral, the Saint-Sien Cathedral? Lumian’s thoughts immediately turned to the unsettling Padre Cali. He glanced at Rhea.

n“Let’s go and investigate.”

n“Alright,” Rhea replied without hesitation.

nShe lowered her bow, no longer aiming the arrow at the cafe owner, Bunia, and followed Lumian towards the Saint-Sien Cathedral, which was separated from their current location only by the police headquarters.

nBunia’s expression fluctuated between longing and hatred, but he didn’t dare to pursue them, held back by fear.

nLumian and Rhea sprinted at a breakneck pace. In mere seconds, they traversed the distance past the police headquarters and arrived at the small square in front of the cathedral.

nPadre Cali was already standing at the cathedral’s entrance.

nHowever, he was no longer clad in the Eternal Blazing Sun Church clergyman’s robe with its white and golden threads. Instead, he had donned a dark and intricately designed robe.

nThe padre, with his dark-brown skin, sunken eyes, and stiff facial features, gazed out at the empty square before his eyes settled on the newly arrived Lumian and Rhea. He held the Bible aloft and shouted with a frenzied expression, “1 hereby declare the official commencement of the Dream Festival!

n“During the Dream Festival, there are no taboos or restrictions. You are free to do as you wish, including harming and killing.

n“Revel in it and unleash all your emotions and desires, everyone!”

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