Siltana took Ebner's identification, examined it carefully, and then handed it back. After saying, "Thank you for your cooperation," she exited the carriage.
The other "Demon Hunters" who were on standby relaxed their guard and approached her to ask, "Any issues?"
Siltana watched the carriage pass through the checkpoint and shook her head lightly. "It's probably just a spoiled brat from the Church of the Earth Mother. His eyes were a bit too curious... but he followed the rules."
"The Church of the Earth Mother? Heading to the port district at this time... Isn't that a bit coincidental?" one of the "Demon Hunters" team members asked suspiciously.
"Even if he has ulterior motives, we shouldn't divert our limited attention to someone from a legitimate church right now..." Siltana shook her head again, glanced at the line of carriages waiting behind, and then asked, "Whose turn is it to board and inspect next?"
"It's mine..." A female team member with a golden ponytail, wearing a standard uniform and looking to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, responded.
"Uh... You're... Ksenia... Right? Be careful," Siltana said, giving the responding member a strange look. Although she was familiar with her, she felt a strange sense of detachment when calling her name.
And Ksenia is even more beautiful than I am... How did she manage to avoid catching that lecher Panin's attention before?
...
A similar doubt also arose in Jane's mind. The moment she saw Ms. Closfia at the villa in the port district, she felt a sense of familiarity, as if she had seen her somewhere before.
But if she had met such a beautiful and elegant lady before, she was sure she wouldn't have forgotten...
While Jane was struggling to recall, Ms. Closfia was making the final confirmation of her arrangements:
"So, do you both understand how to 'perform'?"
Hearing this, Ebner and Dunn both nodded and replied, "Understood... We'll make a cool entrance in the nightmares of those Beyonders... save them from their nightmares... and follow the script you've prepared."
Closfia smiled in satisfaction and then added, "By the way, before entering their nightmares, you'll need to screen them. If their dreams are too dangerous or if they have the ability to manipulate dreams themselves, don't go in...
"I still have some other matters to deal with on that 'isolated island' of nightmares, so I might not have the capacity to rescue you."
Hearing this, Dunn and Ebner exchanged a glance and then solemnly agreed.
At this point, Jane, who had snapped out of her thoughts, blinked and asked, "Then... what should I do?"
"I'll enter your nightmare first to wake you up, and then we'll join 'Iron Man' to perform in others' nightmares... You can act as backup in case of emergencies," Ebner explained.
The reason he wanted to bring Jane into that nightmare island infused with dark divine power was to use its unique environment to treat her mental state... So entering her nightmare was inevitable.
"That works... But since you're 'Doctor Strange' and he's 'Iron Man'... Shouldn't I also have a heroic alias?" Jane said, then answered her own question, "Since I'm someone who manipulates spirits, maybe I should be called 'Ghost Rider'?"
The name "Ghost Rider" had only been mentioned in Roselle's Heroes series of novels but never actually appeared or was described in detail. So, Jane intuitively thought it must refer to a knight who controlled spirits in battle.
"...If you like it, then sure," Ebner said, seeing her display a bit of the liveliness she had before her family's tragedy. Although he found the name full of potential for mockery, he still went along with it. "Since you're a knight, you'll need a mount too."
"I know, don't worry... I have a few spirits that don't look too monstrous... They won't ruin your cool entrances!" Jane patted the iron plate in her hand and replied with a smile.
Meanwhile, Closfia quietly waited for Ebner and the others to finish discussing. She then clapped her hands and said, "It's getting late. Let's set off now."
As she spoke, she pulled out a "paper boat" about two meters long and half a meter wide from somewhere and placed it on the floor. She then stepped onto the bow of the boat and said with a smile, "This boat will take us to the nightmare-shrouded island of the mind."
That nightmare is connected to the underworld, so using a paper boat to get us there makes sense... Ebner thought to himself, then jumped onto the small boat.
"But didn't you say we needed a full moon, along with herbs like sleepflowers, to enter that dream in the waters off Indor?" Jane, who had clearly heard the rumors spread by Closfia on her way to Indor, asked in confusion.
"Others do need those aids... But I've been there before, so I can roughly locate it, which saves a lot of trouble."
Closfia didn't elaborate further. After seeing Jane and Dunn board the boat one after the other, she waved her hand and used her spirituality to light the twelve candles around the paper boat. In the next moment, their figures, along with the boat, gradually became illusory and then disappeared from the villa's living room.
...
On a fishing boat off the coast of Indor, Lady Nasali, the Duke's daughter, who had disguised her hair color, had used her striking appearance and a bit of psychological suggestion to blend into an exploration team consisting of three low-level Beyonders.
Ignoring the trio's final preparations, she looked up at the gradually darkening sky and couldn't help but worry:
My teacher isn't joining me on this mission... Her condition seems unstable, as if she's being affected by the negative effects of the Magic Mirror... I hope nothing happens to her...
...
On the other side of the offshore waters, aboard a steam-powered warship, Siltana and the other members of the Demon Hunters team were also preparing to set out under the leadership of their half-giant captain.
Siltana irritably took a swig of Lelange. She couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about the beautiful female team member, Ksenia, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what...
What was even more bizarre was that, despite her suspicions, she never once thought to report it.
At this moment, the half-giant captain glanced at the full moon now fully visible in the sky and said in a deep voice, "It's time. Remember to meet up on the dream island. Our passphrase is..."
After saying this, he was the first to lie down, sprinkling a bottle of Amanda essence on his face. Almost instantly, his body turned into a misty dream and vanished before everyone's eyes.
Seeing this, the Demon Hunters, including Siltana, opened the bottles of essence in their hands and used the sleep-inducing effects to enter the dream.
Just before falling asleep, Siltana's peripheral vision seemed to catch a glimpse of a giant dragon roaring past her...
But she didn't have time to think about it before she completely fell asleep.
...
In the dream courtyard shrouded in dark divine power, Ebner, revisiting the place, glanced at the paper boat that had crashed into the barrier and quickly located Jane's nightmare after orienting himself.
He transformed into a dream spirit and used the new secret technique he had learned the previous night, the Shield of Glory. After confirming that the nightmare could no longer invade him, he entered Jane's nightmare.
Soon, a clothing store that felt extremely familiar to Ebner came into view.
Aside from the slightly different, more girly decor, it was identical to the one in Ebner's memory.
It was Jane's home before the tragedy...
At this moment, in the backyard of the clothing store, a four-meter-tall werewolf howled at the moon, clutching Jane's mother in its hand... It seemed that with just a little more force, she would be crushed into a pulp!
Meanwhile, Jane herself seemed like an ordinary, powerless little girl, crouching in a corner, crying in despair...
"Jane's heart knot is indeed the tragic death of her family... Even after avenging them, she still can't let it go...
"But a four-meter-tall werewolf is just too much, isn't it?"
"Even if Jane's fear, amplified by the nightmare, has become the source of the werewolf's power...
"There's still something off about this werewolf..."
(End of Chapter)