It seemed as though some faint premonition had been detected, with the Entity’s entire body immersed in the Nightmare River. It was slowly squeezing its way into reality, and its hollow eyes gradually opened.
After rising from the pitch-black river that reflected countless nightmares, the Nightmare King’s emaciated hand slightly opened, revealing sharp, hooked fingers that tore through the fog covering its chest, cutting away a piece of pale nightmare like flesh, firmly gripping it in its palm.
Was it the Snow Maiden? Had she already been dealt with so quickly?
The vertical cracks on its palm split open, sprouting hollow gray eyes that closely examined the pale nightmare. After observing the situation inside, the Nightmare King’s thin face couldn’t help but furrow slightly.
In the pale nightmare, there was still the usual wind and snowstorm, but the elegant woman dressed in thin robes, who resembled a winter spirit within the storm, wasn’t moving forward gracefully as she had in the past.
This fierce snowy spirit, which had appeared in the dreams of countless northern humans and devoured lost souls, was now bound by a strange demon with two horns on its head, being dragged down the mountain tied to a heap of branches.
And while the horned demon was dragging her, it hummed a strangely cheerful tune, completely ruining the originally cold and solemn atmosphere of the pale nightmare. The catchy rhythm was oddly memorable and easy to remember.
Even the crown of thorns dog, made up of countless pieces of damaged flesh beside the horned demon, had learned most of the tune after hearing it a few times, barking along somewhat in rhythm.
Just after hearing the demon and the dog sing two or three times, this cheerful little tune bizarrely wormed its way into the Nightmare King’s memory, spreading uncontrollably to other related nightmares.
“Woof woof woof~ I love you~ woof woof woof sweetly~”
Whether it was villages destroyed by avalanches or travelers frozen in the snow, regardless of losing loved ones in the snowstorm or families broken in snowy nights…
Through the Nightmare King’s memory as a link, a large number of nightmares related to snow, regardless of their specific situations, all began to play that cheerful yet strange little tune. Some even showed blurred images of the horned demon happily humming the song.
What the hell is this thing?
Seeing a large portion of its nightmares suddenly contaminated and turned strangely cheerful, the Nightmare King’s emaciated cheeks twitched twice before hastily lying back into the Nightmare River.
Under the repeated washing of the dark river water and countless nightmares, the weird tune finally settled down a bit, no longer wildly spreading throughout the Nightmare King’s body.
But what made the Nightmare King extremely uncomfortable was that the half-human, half-dog called tune seemed deeply etched into its memory, impossible to wash away thoroughly no matter how much it tried, still lurking deep within the memory, feeling like it might pop up and hum a couple of times at any moment.
I think I understand what that damn Aquarius Director meant…
Looking at the Snow Maiden in the pale nightmare, who was continuously screaming and struggling but was still forcibly dragged down the mountain, the vertical eye on the Nightmare King’s palm slightly narrowed, recalling the previous instructions from the Aquarius Director.
“Directly use your fastest speed to act, pour pure strength directly into him until he dies, and absolutely don’t give him a chance to speak or scheme!”
Indeed… it should have done exactly that!
Recalling the unforgettable melody once more, the Nightmare King’s eyes revealed a trace of fierceness.
This cleaner’s brain was filled with too many strange things, many of which were simply meaningless garbage, but they were inexplicably unforgettable.
And memories are the foundation and flesh of dreams; his brain full of strange memories was undoubtedly a kind of pollution to itself as a dream realm creature, a pure poison.
For dream realm creatures, memories are as important to humans as souls, something that cannot be abandoned. This level of pollution was extremely dangerous and potentially fatal.
Composed of nightmares, it was indestructible. Even if it were killed by the Clearing Bureau and completely erased, as long as the Soulfall Black Abyss continued to spew nightmares, it would eventually resurrect.
But if it came into contact with this strange cleaner too much, causing its own nightmares to be heavily polluted, not only would its power decline due to the loss of nightmares, but there was also the possibility of complete collapse.
He must be eliminated! Deeply recognizing Leon’s “danger,” the Nightmare King’s claw-like hand tightened slightly, directly crushing the Snow Maiden’s nightmare before closing all its eyes, sinking deeper into the dark Nightmare River.
Regardless of the cost, even if it were completely killed by the Clearing Bureau, it must eliminate him!
…
“Oh…”
Unaware that he had already been targeted as the highest priority for elimination by the enemy boss, Leon, groggy from sleep and holding his head as he got up, gradually recovered his memory covered by the snow.
The windstorm-covered mountain, the idiot female climber without proper gear, the Scorpion Bureau Director pulling the sled… What a nightmare! Recalling what he experienced in the nightmare, Leon couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
Although the Snow Maiden had no other killing methods besides summoning wind and snow, she had the ability to obscure memories. He just glanced at the Scorpion Bureau Director lifting her leg to urinate and immediately forgot who he was. It was truly impossible to guard against.
According to the Scorpion Bureau Director, she seemed to possess strength comparable to a Level 1 Cleaner. That meant anyone with a taint value below thirty, once dragged into her nightmare, would likely end up like him, having their memories quietly stripped away.
At that point, people trapped in the dream would lose all means of resistance, and even their cognition would be confused. Seeing a woman in a skirt walking in the snow, one wouldn’t find it strange and would even subconsciously come up with a bunch of possibilities, thinking about helping her find a climbing guide.
If it weren’t for his special memory—having memories from his past life in addition to Leon Lane’s—if one set of memories were erased, he’d still have another. Otherwise, under the influence of cognitive confusion, he might have kindly been tricked into venturing deeper into the snow and frozen to death in the endless blizzard.
Hmm… Right, there was also that dog!
Recalling the scene from the “third-person perspective” in the dream, Leon’s eyes flashed with understanding.
While in the dream, it didn’t seem unusual, but upon reflection, it definitely wasn’t an ordinary thing.
Even fighting in the Snow Maiden’s domain, it could roar and disperse the snowstorm, pinning the Snow Maiden down. It must be around the level of a Level 1 Cleaner abnormal item. If it hadn’t been for it, he might not have been able to drag the Snow Maiden down the mountain and escape from the nightmare… Hmm… Wait! Looking down at his thermal suit, Leon shivered, fully regaining consciousness, then quickly turned around.
“Wow! She really pulled it out!”
(End of Chapter)
