The Great Demon Sherlock Holmes

Chapter 22: My Happiness

Although the old priest himself brought up the word 'dream' first, he was surprised when he saw Sherlock's reaction.

His surprise was mixed with an unmistakable excitement!

"You...you really had that kind of dream?" The old man's eyes gleamed, as if he were gazing at some treasure. "Haha, I knew I wasn't wrong, you are that kind of person!!"

"What kind of person?"

"The kind...the kind who might evolve to the third stage!" The old priest said, probably because he was excited, he started rambling on and on:

"After the Gates of Hell opened, our world was actually affected by the world on the other side of the gates. Some creatures and objects underwent strange changes and became items that had to be contained.

Actually, people are too...

In fact, contractors are just people affected by the Abyss.

The deeper the influence, or rather, the stronger the perception of the Abyss, the more powerful the contractor.

And almost all powerful contractors have had a dream...the one the Church calls the Awakening Dream;

In the dream, they encounter a strange creature, and this creature is actually their contracted demon.

As for the reason...I'm not entirely sure, but some researchers have proposed that Hell is actually a world that can materialize souls, and what we humans..." "All emotions, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, are materialized there." The old priest shook his head helplessly, probably thinking the so-called researchers were just spouting nonsense, but it didn't matter. He continued:

"In short, the earlier, clearer, and more frequent the awakened dreams appear, the stronger these people's perception of the Abyss will be. This means they will become more powerful than other contractors in the future!

A prime example is General Patton, who currently guards the Gates of Hell. Rumor has it that he awakened his dream at the age of 11." His awakening dreams were frequent, occurring almost twice, even three times a week…

And by the age of 30, he had already become a third-tier contractor… If he hadn't needed to command battles and instead personally donned armor and led the charge, he might have slain more demons than his bloodthirsty butcher, who only knew how to kill.

As for Lord Dante… haha, I really wonder what his awakening dreams are like. Maybe they occur every night.” Hearing this, Sherlock's brows furrowed, and he fell into deep thought.

Several minutes passed…

“Alright, I have indeed had those kinds of dreams, quite frequently,” he said softly. The old priest's eyes grew brighter, and he nodded with great confidence.

"Indeed! Judging from your previous performance, you must be an exceptionally talented contractor.

Hahaha, this operation truly was blessed by the Holy Light, to encounter such an outstanding young man as you.

So tell me quickly, your frequency, your clarity, and... what did you dream about?" The old priest grew increasingly expectant, even leaning closer to Sherlock, making Sherlock a little embarrassed: "Um... if everything is truly as you say, the more frequent the dream, the higher the talent... then I might really be a genius. Because I have that dream almost every night."

Upon hearing this, the old priest's heart seemed to suddenly stop, and he sat bolt upright!

“Every…every night?”

“Yes, every night. I even managed to take a short nap when I got back to my apartment, just for a short while, and I had that dream all over again.

As for the clarity…it was so clear that I didn’t even realize it was a dream. I remember every detail, every touch. I can even clearly feel my own breathing and heartbeat in the dream. There’s none of that fading of memory after waking up.” Sherlock spoke truthfully, while the old priest grew increasingly astonished and excited, even standing up. He completely ignored the IV needle being pulled from his hand, staring intently at Sherlock with eyes wide with disbelief.

“Then…what exactly did you dream about?” he asked, his voice trembling.

“A room.”

“Huh???????”

“A room…a white room.” Sherlock said, then looked blankly at the old priest, whose expression was as if he had just suffered some enormous, cruel blow, comparable to the death of his own son: “You…dreamed of a room?!”

“Yes.” The old priest plopped back down on the bed, staring blankly at the empty space in the tent for a dozen seconds…

“Hahaha.” He suddenly laughed, rubbing his dry eyes: “Yes, I’m really getting senile. Who can enter a waking dream every time they sleep? Even Dante himself probably couldn’t achieve that.”

“What’s wrong?” Sherlock asked, puzzled.

The old priest composed himself, recovering from his recent emotional rollercoaster, and said seriously, "As one gets older, one tends to have some unrealistic daydreams. But clearly, your dream... wasn't an awakening dream."

"Not?"

"Well... because... you dreamt of a room." The old priest said with a wry smile, "An awakening dream allows one's spirit to touch the contracted demons on the other side of hell, so at the very least, you have to dream of a demon, right? An animal, or like Sister Catherine, a plant... but no matter what, it couldn't be a room.

[Biographies] and [Space], these are two completely different concepts." Sherlock, upon hearing this, fell into deep thought again.

He reached for a cigarette to light, but because of the rain, the flame couldn't penetrate the damp tobacco. Frustrated, he put the cigarette back in his pocket.

"What you said seems to make sense," he replied casually.

“You don’t seem so disappointed.”

“Of course,” Sherlock said. “I’m just a detective… and I’m quite narcissistic. The Vatican probably has over a hundred thousand, maybe even a million, contractors now. One more wouldn’t make a difference.

So I don’t pursue that.”

“Then what do you pursue?” the old priest couldn’t help but ask.

Sherlock looked up, gazing at the slightly swaying lamplight, which reflected a halo in his vision:

“Mysteries… those things people desperately try to hide.” His smile held a longing that most couldn’t comprehend:

“I may not be able to become one of those powerful contractors… power and wealth aren’t actually that attractive… but if one day, someone in the world were to confidently say: 'This mystery, in the entire empire, only the great detective Sherlock Holmes can solve it!'

Then I would certainly feel genuinely… happy.”