Ashes Of Deep Sea Chapter 518

Chapter 518: Chapter 519: Professional Fields Chapter 518: Chapter 519: Professional Fields With a bang of a gunshot, the figure in the blue uniform collapsed to the ground, blood slowly spreading from beneath the body. The torso, with its ruptured heart, convulsed violently a few times before gradually falling still.

This scene was like a thorough and deliberate murder, even the twitching of the corpse after it fell seemed to continuously reinforce the element of “murder,” strengthening Heidi's impression that she had just “killed an ordinary person.”

However, Heidi simply watched expressionlessly, her ears attuned to every whisper of wind and rustle of grass even as the body twitched on the ground.

Under normal circumstances, the explosive sound of the gunshot would have reverberated throughout the entire building by now, stirring the security personnel and church guardians stationed in the facility into action. But after the gunshot, the corridor was silent, with no one appearing, as if… the facility was already deserted.

The amethyst pendant hanging from her chest was still emitting faint warmth, a blessing – not of the four gods – but an incredibly effective one that kept Heidi's thoughts clear.

This pendant was not the original one – the pendant her father first brought back from that “antique store” had exhausted and shattered during the Black Sun incident. Now, the pendant she was wearing was the “gift” given to her father by the antique store owner for a second time.

As it turned out, it still possessed the same incredible power as the first pendant.

After a moment of silence, Heidi exhaled softly. In one hand, she held the revolver she had just taken out from the secret compartment of her briefcase; in the other, she placed the briefcase on the ground and removed a long golden spike (one of her medical tools), while her eyes remained fixed on the body on the floor: “Nice acting, but could you stop now?”

The “corpse,” which had long stopped twitching, finally stirred upon the fall of Heidi's voice. It got up as if nothing happened, despite the frightening gunshot wound to the chest, and turned to look at the psychiatric doctor who had just “killed” him: “I'm very curious, when did you realize?”

Heidi, with a gun in one hand and the spike in the other, watched the “Dreamscape Invader” cautiously and calmly: “There is only one bed in this ward – so, the confrontation began when I was lying next to the 'empty bed.'”
“How interesting… It's rare for anyone to notice such a deviation after they've already entered the Dreamscape, at least not so quickly,” said the invader leisurely, while beside him a shadowy, dim haze slowly emerged in the air, coalescing into a tangible presence, “including those professionally trained so-called 'psychiatric doctors.'”
Heidi frowned at the emerging smoke and shadow beside her adversary, recognizing its shape in an instant. Her expression changed: “Smoke Dust Jellyfish… Eradication Cult Heretics?”

The moment she recognized that shadowy mass, its once vague contours became startlingly clear. A “jellyfish” seemingly composed of smoke dust floated midair, linked to the invader's skull by a dark chain, the dangerous demon-beast pulsating as its surface spread with tentacle-like structures – and unbeknownst to her, it had already extended very close to, all around Heidi!

A huge sense of crisis exploded in her heart. Heidi sensed the ongoing Corrosion and destruction taking place in her own mental world – the enemy's attack was covert, sinister, and had already begun. If not for her inspiration warning her in the nick of time, allowing her to recognize the outline of the Smoke Dust Jellyfish within the Dreamscape, she might have already succumbed to its psychic parasitism by the time she realized it!

The next instant, without any hesitation, she lifted the sharp golden spike in her hand, plunging it mercilessly into her own temple!

In the next second, a rumble like a muffled thunderclap exploded in her mind. Everything in her vision violently shook and trembled, the ward that appeared perfectly normal a moment ago now grotesquely twisted and distorted. The walls melted down like wax, revealing a nauseating truth reminiscent of withered flesh within; the floor turned into parched, scorched earth, strewn with terrifying fissures and unclean writhing entities. The Smoke Dust Jellyfish, which had extended countless tendrils, seemed to have been gravely injured. It emitted a piercing shriek, its tendrils retracting fiercely.

Right after, the Eradication Cult Heretic disguised as a government official, along with the symbiotic Smoke Dust Jellyfish, disappeared like mist from Heidi's sight.

However, Heidi did not relax; she still gripped her gun and spike tightly, wary of any irregularities in her surroundings while swiftly checking her mental state, knowing that the Dreamscape Invader had not been defeated, not even close to leaving.

There was no indication that the Dreamscape was shattering or dissipating.

Knowledge acquired at the Academy of Truth surfaced in her mind bit by bit.

Smoke Dust Jellyfish… a branch of the Profound Demons, possessing a smoke-like formless body and various dangerous and elusive Transcendent powers, especially adept at assaulting the victim's psyche and perception. Summoners who had entered into Demon Symbiosis with these creatures could employ psychic-damage spells, or directly extract the energy of Profound Demons to launch as corrosive missiles…

Compared to most Profound Demons, the Smoke Dust Jellyfish was not physically tough, but its peculiar Transcendent powers made it one of the most dangerous Demons. Often, before you could even attack their frail bodies, you would be too late, already incapacitated by the mental trauma. And those cunning Eradication Cult Heretics that symbioted with the Smoke Dust Jellyfish would consciously amplify the Demon's “Trait,” making them even more formidable.

The heat emitting from the amethyst pendant on her chest became more pronounced. Heidi could feel that some malicious “ingredients” in the Dreamscape were still continuously trying to erode and destroy her psyche, but the power from the pendant was protecting her, continuously undermining the invasion, keeping her clarity intact.

Amidst the stalemate of corrosion and protection, a new sense of danger suddenly rose from the depths of her heart.

Heidi instantly followed this feeling and raised her handgun, but the moment she took aim, the figure emerging from the air caused her to hesitate.

Morris appeared there, staring in astonishment at her.

“Heidi?” the familiar figure asked, puzzled and concerned, “What's going on… Are you trapped in a nightmare?!”

“Yes,” Heidi nodded, without any hesitation, she pulled the trigger, firing as she spoke, “I don't know what happened exactly, an Annihilator Heretic interfered with my hypnotherapy session, but I remember that even the Smoke Dust Jellyfish don't have the capability to control the dreamscape.”

The flash of the gun lit up, followed by a resounding boom, and the figure of her father was struck by the shot. Bearing an expression of disbelief, he staggered, then fell backward to the ground.

But in the next instant, another figure emerged from where her father had fallen – a gentle, elderly woman with a look of concern on her face, her mother.

“Heidi, what are you doing? Why are you…”

“I'm treating a patient,” said Heidi as she pulled the trigger, speaking offhandedly.

Her mother's figure fell, but immediately afterward, an unusually tall figure appeared in her line of sight–this time, it only managed to condense a slight outline of Fenna before Heidi preemptively fired her shot.

Another illusion fell.

“You're not really trying, Mr. Invader,” Heidi shook her head, “How could such simple tricks ever work–and besides, there's Fenna, if it really were her, she'd just catch the bullet with ease, then roll it into a ball and throw it back…”

The constant emergence of figures finally ceased.

An annoyed, low voice suddenly came from an unknown direction, “Why aren't you affected?”

“I'm already aware that this is a distorted dreamscape, of course I wouldn't believe these illusions you've created,” Heidi stated calmly, “Of course, I'm guessing what surprises you isn't that–I reckon you're surprised that my mind hasn't wavered. After all, even if someone knows in advance that it's all an illusion, a normal person would still accumulate a tremendous amount of mental pressure from seeing familiar faces die before their eyes, especially by their own hand, and eventually, this process would impact their rational defenses, regardless of being 'aware'… But unfortunately, I have undergone some training.”

As she spoke, Miss Psychiatrist slowly raised the muzzle of her gun and pressed it to her own temple.

“Do you know the prestige of a joint master's and doctoral program with a full scholarship at the Academy of Truth, Mr. Invader–”
“Bang!”

The trigger was pulled, the gunshot roared, and Heidi unhesitatingly shot through her own head–with her figure wavering, another Heidi instantly stepped out from her side!

Bang bang bang, the sound of the gun firing continuously rang out. The revolver, which was originally only supposed to hold six bullets, kept booming as if the ammo was limitless. Heidi kept pulling the trigger to her temple as one “Personality Clone” after another started to emerge from her side, each holding a golden spike and walking toward every corner of the now nightmarish medical ward, toward the door, toward the corridors outside.

“You shouldn't have meddled in my field of expertise, Mr. Invader,” Heidi slowly lifted her head, pulling the trigger one last time to her own brain, “and you certainly shouldn't have caused trouble while I was treating patients–I really, really, really don't like working overtime!”

Dozens of Personality Clones quickly dispersed throughout this mutated “medical facility,” starting to search for any suspicious leads in the invaded dreamscape, looking for those “cognitive voids” at the edges of the dreamscape that could be potential “invasion paths” and “hiding places.”

However, as the Personality Clones went about their activities, Heidi suddenly furrowed her brows.

“…Gone?”

Chapter end

Report