Chapter 241 (2): Corridor of Nightmares x Unfilial Son

Bam!

Wayne took down the bad man before him with a straight punch, stomping on his face and looking down at him smugly. “Remember, Auston. From now on, I am the head of the Lando family.”

The evil Auston attempted to struggle, but ended up being kicked in the rear and flying in an arced trajectory into the grove.

Carrying a first-aid kit, Megan rushed after him.

With the first-generation thug of the family taken down, the successor, Wayne, went up to Silvia and Veronica. The two of them applauded him, believing that the Lando family would prosper under Wayne’s leadership.

“The ugly side of my heart is so ugly. It’s cathartic, though.”

Wayne snorted. He and the Lambiel siblings had chosen to share information. Based on the century-old friendship between Windsor and Franc, they both learned what they wanted to know.

Wayne received the walkthrough for the Corridor of Nightmares. Although the nightmare was inevitable, it could be weakened. Following the formula to turn a great nightmare into a minor nightmare, he walked into the dream.

He didn’t want to summon his real nightmare, namely the ancient god. It was too risky. Who knew if the ancient god would descend for real?

The ancient god could turn the dream into reality and hand out candies without discrimination, giving the Church of Nature a wonderful ‘blessing’. Then the next day, the Church of Death would receive the wonderful news that the Death Knight had single-handedly wiped out all members of the Church of Nature, no matter their rank.

It would be no laughing matter to him.

His greatest nightmare should be avoided. On the other hand, his minor nightmare was Auston, the big shot who had driven him out of Londan and made him worry for himself for months. He was free to have fun with that nightmare.

Having gotten his revenge in his dream, Wayne broke the illusion with a wave. Although he would like to enjoy it more, he was worried that something would go wrong on Veronica’s end if he took too long.

Again, he found himself in the Lando Estate, on the lawn between the grove and the main house. Wayne immediately saw Monica taking care of her business.

Hiss

.

Wrong passphrase. He couldn’t communicate with Monica, and the cat ended up running away while meowing.

“Wake up, Veronica. The sun’s out.”

Wayne nudged Veronica and realized how tense she was. Her clenched fists were pressed to her legs, and her face was twisted, with tears running down from her tightly shut eyes nonstop.

He frowned. She had fallen deep into her dream so soon. He had told her to question everything since it would all be illusions. Did something bad happen?

Seeing her in such anguish, Wayne jumped into action, pressing his forehead against hers to barge into her nightmare with his thoughts.

Growl—!

x3

The opening scene caught him off guard. The Lando Estate was in shambles. All buildings were rendered into rubble, with not a single wall standing upright.

High in the sky, three white great dragons were grappling, impossible to differentiate. Wayne guessed that they were Megan, Silvia, and Veronica.

“Master and Veronica can transform into great dragons, too...”

“Is it Veronica’s fantasy, or are Dragonbloods supposed to evolve into full great dragons?”

“Stop fighting!” he shouted. After taking two steps, he discovered a pile of crimson blood and a single arm. His brows furrowed.

“What a handsome right arm, very similar to mine. So that’s why Veronica lost control... What about Master and Megan?”

He sniffed, finding his way to Auston’s body among a pile of rubble by a wall. The body’s eyes were wide open.

“Don’t be scared. You just got your head blown. It’s a minor injury that’s not gonna kill you.” Wayne shook Auston’s shoulder. “Stop playing dead. A disaster like you isn’t going to get killed by a bullet. It’s too easy for you.”

“Say something, Auston!”

“Old man—”

Making sure that Auston was dead, the unfilial Wayne broke into a beam. He looked like someone delighting in his father’s death, which, in a way, he was. He commended brightly, “Who did this? Great shot. Tell me who it was, and I’ll avenge you.”

“Why aren’t you talking? You don’t want me to avenge you?”

“Oh, I understand. You don’t want to start the cycle of revenge. Let bygones be bygones, you mean.”

“I didn’t expect you to so magnanimously let go of all grudges. Rest in peace. I’ll take care of the family from now on.”

Wayne couldn’t admire Auston more than he did now. He appeared so great at this moment that Wayne felt like he could never catch up.

And since he couldn’t catch up, he didn’t try.

***

Council room, headquarters of the Church of Nature.

The blue dome looked like clear sky above the lake-like amber circle that rippled whenever there was wind. White pillars extended along the circle to connect heaven and earth and prop up the world.

In the center of the circle lay a ten-meter-long white table, with several white high-back chairs placed around it.

All higher-ups of the Church of Nature were in attendance—not in person, but through the projection of their thoughts. The Pope had taken the main seat, with the High Prophet across from him and the Oracle High Reverends sitting on the sides.

There was no seat for the Holy Maiden.

The High Prophet wore a white robe, his face obscured. A mandrill crouched by his side and scratched its face every now and then.

The crystal ball before him was playing the images of the candidates after they entered the Corridor of Nightmares. They struggled and fought, showing their abilities while exposing the skeletons in their closets. Outside of the select few kind-hearted ones, every candidate had flaws of different levels of seriousness.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The High Prophet wasn’t here to select the Holy maiden but to humiliate the higher-ups, putting them on the spot in the very first round.

As the High Prophet made a pushing motion with his hands, the focus shifted to Wayne—or Veronica’s dream, to be precise. The grand scene with three great dragons left the higher-ups flabbergasted.

“White dragons?”

“There are three of them. The dreamer must be a Dragonblood.”

“Where could so many Dragonbloods have come from?”

“The dossier said that she is Veronica Lando from the Windsor district. Her mother is Silvia Valentine, a previous Holy Maiden candidate...”

“Ah, a student of Oracle High Reverend Senna. No wonder. I was questioning where all the Dragonbloods have come from. It came from the church, it turns out!”

“Haha, how wonderful!”

The comments infuriated Senna. The figure her thoughts projected had a face obscured by shifting white mist.

Then, Wayne entered Veronica’s dream.

“How did he get out of his dream so quickly?”

“His dream was too simple. It took only one punch... Let me see. The one he knocked out was his biological father. How amusing. It seems that there is bad blood between the father and son.”

“In his sister’s dream, he even killed his father with a precise, unhesitant shot. They clearly have a terrible relationship. Even his sister thinks so.”

“No, I mean that his dream was too rudimentary. Has the High Prophet leaked the test?”

They made jabs at the High Prophet. Then, amused by Wayne’s one-man act, they laughed out loud, not sparing Senna any dignity. They all knew that Wayne and Veronica were backed by Senna, so even those who didn’t want to laugh were laughing.

Besides, how could a skit between an unfilial son and his dead father not be funny?

As they laughed, however, they realized something was wrong. Senna, who should be feeling humiliated, was laughing louder than anyone.

What? Is she finally losing it?

She’s not going to lose control, is she?

They were all worried. A Dragonblood’s loss of control isn’t to be taken lightly. If it happened, someone would die. Worried that they would get swept in, they stopped laughing out of fear.

“Laugh. Why aren’t you laughing anymore?” Senna said acidly, scanning the room before shifting her gaze back to Wayne. She couldn’t be more pleased with his action.

Originally, she had found it difficult to feel any goodwill for him because he was Auston’s son, but the father and son turned out to have a terrible relationship, which immediately improved her impression of him.

Ten out of ten for his performance this time!

Senna’s dislike for her student’s student was instantly replaced by fondness. Although undesirable blood flowed in Wayne’s body, and it was so pure that he almost looked identical to the eyesore from twenty years ago, at least Wayne had come around. He wasn’t beyond salvation.

What wonderful news!

Remembering that Wayne was the only successor of her lineage, Senna immediately saw him as her protege. She wondered what rewards she should deliver to him after he advanced to the next round.

Wayne would never become the Anointed One—it was too absurd for the goddess to descend into a man. However, his intelligence and mental fortitude were top-tier, making him worthy of further cultivation.

Senna planned to send Wayne to the Order of Nature. If he could pass the test, she would put in the effort to give him dragon blood so that he could evolve. First, though, she had to confirm if this young man was worthy of succeeding her legacy; she didn’t want him to become another rebellious traitor.

Her musing was interrupted when Wayne transformed. Everyone in the council room held their breath.

Anointed One... wasn’t such a bad idea.

The High Prophet even slammed the table and shot to his feet, his obscured face radiating bright light as he spoke in an excited tone, like he had found a great treasure, “That-that’s it. I want him... None of you is stealing him from me!”