Yodel awoke slowly.

He found himself floating as a strange consciousness in the void, seeing his own body hanging on a rope, growing still, feeling nine companions of the same form floating around him, and hearing Langeler's lament beside him.

"What a pity... You didn't resist the ritual either."

"Have we all become ghosts because of the Waltz of the Dress...?" Yodel asked, stunned.

"Guess again."

Langeler's tone was relaxed, as if he hadn't died.

But if they had become ghosts, in a way they were still "alive"...

At that moment, a strange change suddenly occurred around them, the scene melted like an oil painting into another image: they were walking in the Ruins of Old Belfast.

Then fog surrounded them, a cold lullaby quietly flowed.

"Ten apprentice exorcists, went running for food; one choked and could not be saved, nine now stood."

Langeler clutched his swelling throat and collapsed, gasping.

"Nine apprentice exorcists, weary in the night; fell asleep and died of plight, eight now in sight."

Porter, close to Langeler, fell asleep and died.

"Eight apprentice exorcists, hunting in the mist; left one behind in thick of red, seven now exist."

In their hurry to the street-side buildings, no one noticed Lana disappear into the blood-red fog.

"Seven apprentice exorcists, mischief broke the wall; one's head exploded in a deadly fall, six now stand tall."

No one noticed the Waltz of the Dress leisurely following them, creating a one-sided massacre ritual.

Riel leapt over the wall, his foot caught in a crack, his head hit the shattered slate.

"Six apprentice exorcists, angered spirits they teased; death swooped down in a fatal breeze, five now at ease."

Triss's warning alerted the oddity, death descended from the sky.

"Five apprentice exorcists, feared the mist and lit a flame; fire consumed one in a deathly game, four now remain."

They escaped into a building, the Waltz of the Dress stopped outside the walls, swaying with the wind.

Elson guessed the real culprit, but it was too late, Naveen was already engulfed by the flames.

And the spreading fire ignited rotting wood, causing the house to burn.

"Four apprentice exorcists, joined in perilous demand; a monster swallowed one leaving blood on hand, three now with a plan."

The surviving four rushed out from the collapsing house, the waiting anomaly wrapped around Elson. Yodel saved him, but just let him die in another way.

When Yodel helped Elson find release, they had broken the ritual, but the Waltz of the Dress remained, not leaving.

"Three apprentice exorcists, ruined in the house they knew; corpses fell from above crushing true, two now in view."

Falling, Triss crushed Allen, abandoning a relieved Yodel who, with Wenger, hid in despair inside the house.

"Two apprentice exorcists, sighed beneath the beam's weight; a hanging rope with sorrow's fate, one now in a state."

They lamented their companions' passing and their own helplessness, avoiding the beams and ropes, but Wenger misstepped, caught by a crack in the wood, had his neck snapped.

"One apprentice exorcist, alone to return to the living; hanging crossbeam took the missing, now none are giving!"

Yodel, in despair, removed the rope from the beam, made a noose, and kicked away a wooden chair.

...

The ten apprentice exorcists, having observed everyone's Death Retrace, looked at each other, and then awoke from the dream.

They stood in the classroom, with their stomachs and exorcist tools intact, no burns, no strangulation marks, no holes in their heads, no intestines spilled.

"This is the first lesson."

Lu Li calmly gazed at the still-dazed apprentice exorcists and spoke about the theory of firearms: "'Any anomaly on the surface can easily take our fragile lives. We must discover them before they discover us, to survive in this unequal confrontation.' This was what Claire told me."

Of course, they knew who Claire was.

"If I hadn't died first, I definitely would have guessed it was the Waltz of the Dress!" Langeler said angrily.

"That's why you were first." Lu Li looked at Porter: "So were you."

Langeler's scientist-like thinking and Porter's knowledge of all anomalies would help them identify the shadow of the Waltz first, so they were the first to die.

"The Waltz of the Dress is an anomaly whose ritual we haven't broken..." Porter frowned.

Using an evil spirit they knew nothing about to test them... Would that really be effective?

In fact, this trial originated from the Mother of the Marsh's suggestion.

These young people were from the Vena Ice-Free Port, always protected, aware of external dangers but never truly confronted with the world's bizarre evils. As residents of the Land of Light and being apprentice exorcists, it made them arrogant.

After all, as the only exorcist, Lu Li's actions were too easy to deceive people—the achievements he attained were things humans could hardly accomplish.

Thus, a bucket of water to extinguish flames was necessary.

"But won't the flames burn down the whole street..." Yodel worriedly said, suddenly realizing and tapping his head: "Oh right, that was a dream..."

Lu Li looked at Naveen and continued: "Your judgment wasn't wrong, you just need to be more cautious."

Compared to retreating, their withdrawal was more like a rout. Naveen was the only one to reflect on this point.

"You're smart, Ellison." Lu Li said to the silent Ellison: "You discovered the evil spirit before others and realized it was a dream."

"But I hesitated..."

Ellison was disappointed. He realized it was an evil spirit and a dream, but he struggled to firmly act on his thoughts until he was near death.

"Not everyone has the courage to face death, even in a dream." Lu Li calmly explained.

"So… did we pass?"

Porter's question made the ten apprentice exorcists tense up with nervousness.

"You're still apprentices."

Lu Li's answer left them relaxed yet regretful.

"In essence, we all failed this trial." Langeler suddenly said: "I think you're too lenient with us."

"Exorcists have no specific standard."

Lu Li said: "There's no requirement for exorcists to become anything in particular. Before becoming a detective, I didn't even have a Spirit-Calling Gun, yet I still had a Detective Agency and called myself an exorcist."

An exorcist can be a legend solving the mystery of an Alien God, or a folk exorcist dealing with ghosts, just like Hades.

"Can you tell us more about your past stories?"

They had never heard this matter before, and hearing it from a legend's own mouth felt entirely different from reading about it in a book.

"I cannot."

...

The disappointed ten apprentice exorcists left the school, returned to their huts to rest their weariness.

The dream Lu Li constructed felt to them as if it had really happened, providing no restful effect.

"You resemble a father teaching his child." The Mother of the Marsh whispered after they departed.

Lu Li left the wooden chair, and together with the Mother of the Marsh, walked toward the exit: "Just because there's no one else to teach—"

His words paused, Lu Li thought of something.

A dozen minutes later, hell received a letter from the Upper Realm.

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