Chapter 102: “The Dream Seer”
After the runes completed three rotations, Abyss felt the world around him collapsing. He plummeted through a void, and as the sensation of falling intensified, he opened his eyes.
“Whoa!” Leona’s startled cry echoed in his ears.
“Huh… Why is my pillow forked… Ah… Leona, why is my head between your thighs?” Abyss asked, realizing his head was resting on Leona’s soft abdomen.
“I-I-I… I didn’t! I wasn’t! You-You-You! Why did you wake up so suddenly?!” Leona stammered, her face crimson, pushing him away frantically.
Flora couldn’t help but giggle. “Abyss, don’t misunderstand. Leona wasn’t trying to trick you. She was just shifting positions, moving your head from one thigh to the other, and you woke up in the middle of it.”
“Oh, that’s what happened. I knew Leona wouldn’t play a prank on me,” Abyss said, chuckling, sitting up. “How long was I asleep?”
“About twenty minutes. What did you do? Did it work?” Flora asked, curious. She had expected him to sleep until morning.
Leona had finally calmed down, sitting with her knees drawn to her chest, peeking at Abyss with one eye.
“It seems to have worked,” Abyss said, a mischievous grin spreading across his face. “I used a rather nasty trick on the one observing us through nightmares. It seems to have been effective, which is why I could break free from the dream so easily.”
“What did you do? You can break free from a nightmare’s grasp?” Flora asked, intrigued. Abyss wouldn’t have mentioned it unless he was willing to explain.
“Hehe, I was initially trying to figure out how to escape the nightmare and find some clue to track down the observer, but I gave up. It’s an Outer God’s Divine Art, after all. I don’t understand its principles or its nature. Thinking about it wouldn’t get me anywhere,” Abyss said, cracking his knuckles, a hint of frustration in his voice. “Do you know what my nightmare was? I’m not afraid of anything, so it wasn’t as terrifying as the others. In my dream, both of you were rotting, begging me for help.”
“Pfft,” Flora chuckled. “Not to brag, but my body really can’t rot. Don’t worry about that, Abyss. I have permanent Divine Arts protection.”
“Of course I know your body can’t rot, and neither can Leona’s. Her Dou Qi is so powerful that her body has transcended ordinary limitations. Although her rank hasn’t increased, she’s immune to the usual decomposition processes,” Abyss said, nodding. “So I quickly realized it was a dream. And it made me a bit angry. I don’t like people making fun of you, especially not by making you look ugly.”
“Then what did you do?” Leona asked softly.
“Then? I used a nasty trick,” Abyss said. “I condensed a powerful mental shock spell into runes using magic and spun them around for the observer to see. As expected, she mentally recited the spell when she saw it. That’s when she fell for my trap. Anyone with insufficient mental resistance—dragon-level or higher, I’d estimate—would suffer severe mental trauma. Her mind will be consumed by the phrase ‘vampire intestines’ for months. She’ll become a fanatic obsessed with vampire intestines, and she’ll forget everything she saw tonight.”
“You used an illusion spell within your own nightmare to target the observer?” Leona asked, her head tilted in thought, finally understanding the logic. “Only you would come up with such a bizarre method. And it actually worked?”
“I was right. The one observing us through nightmares is still human,” Abyss said. “I just got lucky this time. But it’s been a while since I used such a nasty trick. It’s almost a violation of the necromancer’s creed.”
“So we’re safe now?” Flora didn’t seem to care about how Abyss had dealt with the observer. After all, she had just tended to the bodies of the young soldiers who had died in the ambush. She knew their deaths were a direct result of the observer’s actions. Even someone as compassionate as her couldn’t feel sympathy for him.
“Yes, we should be safe. We’ll ask Princess Givia to change our route tomorrow, and we should be fine. But I’m not sure if the enemy can replace the observer. If they can, I’ll have to come up with another plan,” Abyss said, nodding, his demeanor relaxed now that he had accomplished his task.
…
While Abyss and his companions were at ease, the atmosphere in a basement hundreds of kilometers away was far from comfortable.
King Kevin stood there, holding a blood-soaked axe. The body of an old woman lay at his feet, her throat half-severed, her eyes lifeless. Blood splattered the floor, slowly pooling around her.
“Your Majesty, shall I prepare a new Dream Seer?” the eunuch asked, bowing respectfully.
Kevin stared coldly at the corpse. “Prepare a new one immediately, but do not attempt to observe anyone in Givia’s caravan for the next few days. That cunning vixen must have found a way to influence the Dream Seer’s mind.”
“This is the first time I’ve encountered such a situation… I always thought the Lord of Nightmares’ power was flawless…”
“Silence! How dare you question the Lord of Nightmares’ power? If you don’t want to join that corpse on the floor, go and carry out my orders. Stop babbling.”
“My deepest apologies, Your Majesty!”
“Hmph. And dispatch the Shadow Demons I’ve stationed along Givia’s likely routes. Even though I can’t send my army into the Western Empire’s territory, I will seize every opportunity to eliminate her!”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
The eunuch scurried away, leaving Kevin alone in the basement.
Although it was the middle of the night, Kevin showed no signs of fatigue. He kicked the old woman’s corpse, the one who had just defied him, calling him “vampire intestines.”
“Hmph, pathetic humans,” he said coldly.
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