Luther Kinweiss’s right eye, wrapped in black pus, glowed even more intensely.
With a startling roar as he threw his head back, Kinweiss waved his right hand and once again assumed a posture of lunging forward.
However, this time, he did not come with flames and heatwaves.
His body actually vanished in the air and then reappeared directly in front of Xia De.
“What?”
With no time to dodge, Xia De could only hold up his Moonlight Greatsword with his right hand, using his left hand to support the blade from behind to block.
Clang!
The giant right hand, like swatting a fly, instantly sent Xia De flying.
Above the sea of fire, the Moonlight Greatsword disintegrated into sparkling silver light in the air due to the immense collision.
Meanwhile, Xia De, suspended in the air, fell backward with his hands and feet pointing forward.
After rolling onto the ground, he had no time to get up and immediately rolled sideways in the sea of fire, dodging the giant black hand that slammed into the ground.
Taking advantage of the opponent slowly raising his arm again, Xia De scrambled to his feet, summoned the Moonlight Greatsword once more, held the sword with both hands, and swung it twice at the black pus in front of him, then immediately tiptoed backward:
“Psychologist! How can he teleport?!”
He shouted at the top of his lungs.
“He is the master of dreams; any action he takes is normal!
But don't worry, after we broke in here, I used a Miracle to make the dream rules closer to the real world.
After all, the opponent is not a Ring術士, so there won't be any more exaggerated abilities, and so-called spatial movement cannot be used frequently!”
Psychologist Schneider’s voice came from the left side of the first floor, almost directly above Xia De’s head:
“Detective, do you need my help?”
“Not for now, I can still handle it.”
The giant hand swept across the burning ground again.
This time, Xia De did not dodge backward but stepped forward and vanished, then reappeared behind Kinweiss.
The giant hand was too massive, and its sweeping attack could not reach its side, so Xia De seized the opportunity to thrust at the opponent's head.
Seeing that the wound still healed instantly, he circled to Kinweiss’s direct rear before the black right hand struck, attempting to continue his attack from this “safe position.”
“You! Won't forgive me!”
Unexpectedly, his body was more agile than imagined; after turning around, his normal left hand reached out to grab Xia De’s face.
“Great Sin Chains!”
Dark runes and chains flew out from Xia De’s sleeve, clinging to Kinweiss’s left hand, trying to bind him.
But Kinweiss’s mouth, half normal and half covered in black pus, opened at that moment, and black pus was about to spray directly at Xia De’s face.
Xia De’s body vanished again, reappearing behind the opponent.
The chains from his sleeve flew out again, binding the opponent’s legs.
But even in this situation, Kinweiss could keep his legs still and smash Xia De with his right hand.
Xia De dodged, pulling the chains in his hand, intending to bind the opponent's terrifying right hand to restrict its power.
But at this moment, strange rainbow-colored light particles floated down from the broken hole above.
“What is this now?”
The burning basement floor, with the appearance of those light particles, emitted a dark black light.
These lights, amidst the flames, constructed a standard circular ritual array.
Clang!
The sound of a bell came from an unknown place, and then with a rattling sound, dozens of black metal chains flew out from the glowing ground, almost in the moment, binding the dream master, who had lost his sanity, from all directions.
He struggled violently, but as the light from the circular array on the ground grew stronger, Kinweiss’s left eye slowly closed, and the red light from his right eye gradually extinguished.
He seemed to have fallen back into Sleep in his own dream, fixed by dozens of black chains within the circular area in the center of the sea of fire, finally becoming motionless.
“Alright, Detective.”
The Psychologist’s voice reappeared from above his head.
He held a black bell and jumped down from the edge of the broken hole in the first floor.
Because he was strengthened in the dream, his posture was very graceful.
Xia De nodded hesitantly, retracting the Great Sin Chains.
The Psychologist glanced at the runes on the chains, raised an eyebrow, but did not comment, instead praising:
“Detective, you have made great progress recently and can now easily handle this kind of monster.”
“He’s actually not that strong.”
Xia De emphasized again, then gestured for the Psychologist to quickly deal with the thing.
“No problem, next, I’ll show you Mind Alchemy.”
The Psychologist had Xia De continuously shake the bell while he smeared paint and wrote runes on Kinweiss’s body, and in a way Xia De couldn’t understand, he left shimmering light trails in the air with his fingers, making those light trails overlap with the ritual array.
Psychologist Schneider called the process of extracting “Mind Crystals” “Mind Alchemy,” which is a very advanced and cutting-edge field of study.
The entire alchemy process lasted a full hour in the dream.
After the Psychologist’s ritual array and incantations were almost smeared in every corner of the basement, he finally told Xia De he didn’t need to shake the bell anymore.
The two temporarily left the basement by jumping, standing on the broken edge of the first-floor, and in the light of the fire, saw the black light below gradually being replaced by pure white, growing stronger and stronger.
“Detective, the opponent’s negative emotions seem quite strong.
You purify him with your Moonlight.”
The Psychologist suddenly suggested, then closed his eyes, and Xia De reached out his hand to point downwards:
“Silver Moon!”
The strong silver light instantly suppressed the surrounding sea of fire, and when the light extinguished, even specks of Moonlight appeared within the white halo in the basement.
“Very good, I think the finished product of this alchemy will be of better quality than before.”
The Psychologist looked very satisfied.
The two waited another ten minutes, and after the halo gradually dimmed, they jumped back into the sea of fire in the basement.
The light of the ritual array converged into the crimson flames, and Luther Kinweiss, whose body had returned to normal, lay on the ground.
In front of his head, three grain-sized white crystals, seemingly shimmering, lay quietly:
“You see, it’s even better than I thought.”
The Psychologist said with a smile, bending down to pick up the crystals:
“Xia De, we need to go back.
Although the dream adventure is interesting, it must end eventually.
Look, it went very smoothly; I told you I’m a professional.”
He wanted to grab Xia De’s hand, but Xia De bent down to touch Kinweiss’s head, making sure he felt no trace of Human Pus, then stood up and grabbed the Psychologist’s hand.
“So what will happen to him?”
“Nothing will happen; for him, it’s just a nightmare of malice.
Oh, your Moonlight cleared his negative emotions, so this person’s mood will temporarily improve for a period of time.
Get ready, Detective.”
He gestured for Xia De to close his eyes:
“Three, two, one!”
“Oh!”
The light of the flames disappeared before his eyes, and his thoughts once again entered chaos.
Perhaps only a second passed, but the moment his consciousness regained clarity, Xia De suddenly raised his head.
He gasped, sitting up from the edge of the bed in the Darkness.
The rapid switch between dream and reality caused him a brief period of mental confusion, but he quickly sorted out all the situations.
Instead of talking to the Psychologist immediately, he reached out again to touch Kinweiss’s head, who was in Sleep.
A brief moment later:
【There is no trace of any demonic power present.】
“Was it purified by me in the dream?”
He withdrew his arm with some disappointment, and the awakened Psychologist, like Xia De, reached out again to touch Kinweiss’s head.
In the Darkness, Xia De found it difficult to clearly see Psychologist Schneider’s expression.
“Very good, he is still in Sleep, and he won’t remember that we appeared in his dream when he wakes up.
This dream adventure went very smoothly, Xia De; indeed, when I act with you, the possibility of accidents decreases.”
The Psychologist said with a smile, placing the three gradually dimming white crystals, which looked like diamonds, into his palm and handing them to Xia De:
“What you wanted.”
Xia De nodded; it seemed the matter was concluded, and he needed to inform Luvia as soon as possible that Darkness had arrived in the city:
“Psychologist, I only need two crystals; you can keep the remaining one for yourself.”
“No, no, although casting 【Mind Blast】 only requires two drachmas of crystals, if you encounter an opponent with extremely powerful psychic abilities, the Miracle backlash might cause the Mind Crystals to crack, so it’s better to prepare an extra one.”
The two got up from their chairs, restored the bedroom furnishings to their original state, and after confirming once again that Kinweiss was still in Sleep, they carefully left the house.
“This casting material requires contact with the fingers, so I suggest you find a coppersmith or blacksmith to inlay these three crystals into a ring.
Dream crystals are very sturdy and extremely heat-resistant, so you don’t have to worry about damaging them.”
The Psychologist offered sound advice.
After the two removed their gloves and shoe covers in the hallway, they opened the door crack to look outside, confirmed that there was no one in the gloomy Black Corner Alley, and then walked out together.
Standing on the steps, he closed the door, twisted the handle to ensure it was locked, and then returned to Lewis Street from Black Corner Alley.
Although a long time had passed in the dream, only forty minutes had elapsed since they entered Luther Kinweiss’s house.
It was already midnight, and although the gas lamps on the street were lit, there was no one on the street, making it seem very deserted.
Breathing the slightly cool air of the late summer night, Xia De was in a good mood at this moment:
“Psychologist, thank you so much for this matter.
And this operation truly opened my eyes.”
“It’s nothing, just small matters.”
Walking along the street, the upright lampposts made them alternate between light and shadow.
Although the Psychologist was a bit proud, he didn't show it; this blue-eyed middle-aged Psychologist was very steady.
“However, I noticed that you were actually able to bring things from the dream into reality.”
Xia De said again, holding the three crystals.
The two planned to find a carriage after leaving this area.
“Mind Crystals themselves are substances between reality and illusion; through certain means, it’s easy to transfer them to reality.”
The Psychologist whispered.
At this moment, two terrifying green light points appeared on the street ahead.
But looking closely, it turned out to be a cat crouching in the shadows, staring at Xia De.
After Xia De and the Psychologist approached, the stray cat ran away along the wall.
“The world of dreams is very magical; things can be hidden in dreams.
Not only special substances like Mind Crystals, but some Mind-type Miracles can even hide any truly existing substance within one’s own dream.”
Since it was casual conversation, the Psychologist didn’t mind telling Xia De more.
Xia De nodded:
“So, Psychologist, can this Miracle of hiding things in dreams, um?”
He suddenly stopped, his mouth slightly agape, eyes wide, and he froze in place.
The summer night wind brushed his skin, and around the lampshade of the gas streetlamp above, insects danced in the last moments of their lives.
It was as if a thunderbolt had struck Xia De’s head, and goosebumps even appeared on his arms.
“Hiding things in dreams?”
Before he realized what he had thought of, he first realized that he had realized something important.
