Chapter 54
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: The One Who Has Nightmares
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The One Who Has Nightmares
Aron… Aron… Aron…
Hearing the voice from beside her, Knight Adela furrowed her brow.
‘I heard he was just one of the Outer Wall Guard Captains.’
Knight Adela lightly swung her sword, cleaving two skeletons in half, and stood upon the wall.
Beyond the downpour, a distinct presence revealed itself.
As if to say, *come and get me if you dare*.
‘A taunt? How dare a mere demon.’
Knight Adela scoffed and drew upon her aura.
The surrounding darkness receded, and she shone aloofly, like a star on the earth.
Adela swung her sword in a long arc, and a blue light extending from it drew a long line.
In that instant, the rain parted, and the skeletons climbing the wall crumbled in a flash.
‘This should be enough to hold them.’
After a quick calculation, Adela leaped down from the wall.
She couldn't let a demon who dared to provoke the sword of humanity go unpunished.
***
‘Where is she going?’
Hah… Dylan let out a hollow laugh as he watched the knight leap down.
To willingly jump down and forfeit the advantage of defending from above, her brain must have melted.
“Knights, I swear…”
He grumbled, but thanks to her show of force before she left, there was some breathing room on the wall.
“You okay, boss? You’re a total elf! An elf! A sharp-eyed elf!”
Dylan raised his voice and made a fuss, trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere even a little.
At that, Pul, who had been rubbing his thumb and forefinger together, gave a small laugh.
Dylan glanced around the top of the wall.
Blood and bone dust were mixed together.
Quite a few men were lying on the ground, gasping for breath, while monks moved among them, healing their wounds.
Among them, the new Abbot was exceptional. He moved about constantly, healing the injured with light.
If not for him, the number of fallen or dead would have easily doubled.
“Don't thank me, thank Him. And if you have truly realized something, in the first part of the Holy Scripture…”
Those whose lives he saved would thank him at first, only to quickly grow weary and move away.
The only saving grace was that while every member of Squad 4 was exhausted, not a single one was injured.
“Still, looks like we can hold them off on our own, doesn't it? We can brag to the Captain about it later.”
The round-faced Brick joked with a weak smile.
The others chuckled in response.
Dylan raised his head, letting the heavy rain cool his heated face.
He’d almost been in big trouble for spotting an approaching skeleton too late because of the thick rain, but the rain had also caused more than a few skeletons to slip on the wall and impale themselves on the ground.
‘Stupid bastards. If it were me, I would have broken down the gate.’
Dylan chuckled, mocking the skeletons.
The others were saying similar things.
What a foolish attack this was; the one leading them must have never experienced a siege before—such were the words being exchanged.
*Craaaash—!*
A deafening roar erupted from the direction the knight had gone.
A blue light flashed through the thick curtain of rain. It looked like lightning striking from the ground.
Seeing as no more skeletons were climbing up, it seemed the knight had handled things to some extent.
“I want to get inside quickly and have a bowl of hot stew.”
“Let’s go together. It’s on me today.”
“Oh—really, Pul?”
“Kel, you should go comfort Rosa first…”
It was then. Dylan instinctively felt a sense of dread.
A premonition that went beyond mere dread made Dylan quickly feign unconsciousness and fall backward.
*Splash.*
Lying in a puddle, Dylan kept his eyes narrowed to a slit. Half his face was submerged, water entering his nose and exiting his mouth.
Amidst the people who were still chattering loudly, oblivious, a single skeleton draped in black cloth sat on the wall.
It dangled its feet, muttering something.
“Well, well… You don't seem to realize that the most dangerous moment is when you think it's all over! Truly foolish, you breathers!”
*Clack, clack!*
The skeleton’s jawbone moved, making a clacking sound.
Only then did people notice its presence and fix their gazes on it.
Despite sitting alone before hundreds of people, it cocked its head playfully. The sight made Dylan gulp. He realized it wasn’t saliva he swallowed, but rainwater.
“A talking skeleton this time… You’ve got to be kidding me!”
Flip, the giant captain of the Outer Wall Guard’s 5th Squad, renowned for his short temper, was the first to approach. He swung a massive hammer, nearly the size of a man’s thigh, toward the talking skeleton.
Flip had smashed more than ten skeletons, but Dylan had a bad feeling. His heart felt heavy, as if he had swallowed a stone.
The men of Squad 5 behind Flip were chuckling, placing bets on how many pieces the skeleton would shatter into.
No one on the wall doubted it.
That the talking skeleton would be instantly pulverized before that massive hammer.
“My, my… you people.”
Just then, the skeleton raised its index finger bone.
The hammer stopped right above the skeleton.
Flip made a pained, “Gack—” sound.
The surroundings instantly fell silent.
Only the sound of the rain filled the air.
The skeleton swayed from side to side as it slowly stood up.
Standing fully on the wall, the skeleton looked down at the crowd, clacking its jaw as if playing a game.
“You’re all weaker than me, aren't you?”
*Clack, clack.*
Though it was just a skeleton, it somehow felt like it was smiling.
And the moment its words ended—
Everyone who had filled the wall collapsed.
The soldiers of the inner castle.
The immensely large Ska.
The one-eyed Bulant, captain of Squad 1, who was said to be exceptionally skilled with a sword.
As if by some agreement, they all fell at once.
Only Dylan, who had been secretly feigning unconsciousness and watching, remained unharmed.
‘What the?’
Dylan darted his eyes around to check his surroundings.
No, there was one other person who hadn't fallen.
“How dare you… use such unholy power on the faithful.”
It was the Abbot.
Blood trickled from the corner of the Abbot’s mouth, but he stood tenaciously, glaring at the skeleton.
His stubborn eyes trembled, and a bright light emanated from behind him.
It was a brilliant light that pushed back the darkness, but its constant flickering suggested he wasn't in good condition.
“Oho—a saint is here. What a truly joyous day. I’m delighted.”
The skeleton muttered in a playful voice as it approached the Abbot.
‘Is this my chance?’
As the skeleton passed right in front of him, Dylan flinched for a moment but forced himself to stay still. His instincts screamed that it wasn't time yet.
“To withstand the ‘Nightmare,’ you truly are a remarkable man. Clap, clap! Ah! Since I'm just a bag of bones, my clapping goes *clack, clack*! Clap, clack!”
The skeleton chattered playfully, but the Abbot didn't answer, continuing to mutter something under his breath.
“Hmm… Even so.”
The skeleton leaned its skull in front of the Abbot and whispered something.
The Abbot’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
Then, tears streamed from the Abbot’s eyes, red in color.
“A saint who killed his own son with his hands… The one you serve is quite cruel, isn't he?”
The skeleton whispered again, and the Abbot staggered violently before falling backward. A large splash erupted, and a red hue spread around him in the puddle.
“Of course, you all wouldn't know that.”
The skeleton giggled, grinding its foot into the Abbot's head. It wasn't trying to kill him; the kicks were like someone toying with a plaything.
Then, the feeling came.
Trusting his gut, Dylan quickly rose to his feet and ran.
His fingertips tingled, and his head spun with excitement. He knew instinctively.
This was the perfect moment to plunge his dagger into the back of that skeleton’s head!
Dylan rushed forward and drove his dagger into the joint between the skeleton’s neck and skull.
“Ha! You stupid clacking skeleton bastard!”
The joint shattered, and the skull fell to the ground, rolling away.
At the pathetic sight, Dylan couldn't help but laugh out loud.
The foolish skull sank into a puddle.
Just as Dylan raised his foot to finish it off.
“Were you, by any chance, hoping for something?”
*Clack, clack.*
His body froze at the sight of the skull’s empty sockets staring up at him.
“Oh my! You were genuinely hoping! Ahaha! Of course! You foolish breathers!”
*Clack, clack.*
With that sound, Dylan’s consciousness faded.
Soon, the ‘Nightmare Eater,’ standing alone on the wall, glanced around before cocking its head again.
The air was filled with sweet nightmares.
One was killing his own child.
Another was stabbing his comrade in the back.
And yet another was being beaten by a large man.
“Every nightmare has a different flavor, you see.”
*Clack, clack.*
The ‘Nightmare Eater’ gazed down at its newly created field of nightmares for a moment before starting to walk.
It stopped in front of one man.
It was the large man who had charged at it first.
“Still, a nightmare of men rolling around together just tastes bad. Tsk.”
Clacking its jaw, the ‘Nightmare Eater’ picked up a nearby sword and plunged it deep into the man’s neck.
However, it seemed to lack the strength, struggling for quite some time.
After finally managing to drive the sword into the man’s neck, the ‘Nightmare Eater’ mimed wiping its brow bone with the back of its hand bone.
After its playful act, the ‘Nightmare Eater’ turned its head.
And there was the inner castle.
***
‘Skeletons and a demon at the outer wall. And one skeleton draped in a black cloth?’
I slowly replayed the words I heard from the man named Gillian in my head.
‘The skeletons are numerous, but manageable. The skeleton that single-handedly devastated the wall is heading for the inner castle. The demon is fighting Knight Adela outside the outer wall…’
“They say that skeleton is likely the ‘Nightmare Eater’! He’s a black magician active in the eastern part of the Empire. He’s endlessly strong against those weaker than him, but hopelessly weak against those stronger…”
Gillian nodded as if listening to someone and continued speaking.
‘Strong against the weak, weak against the strong… so he’s a piece of trash?’
I looked at the Inquisitor beside me and organized my thoughts.
The situation at the wall, with unconscious people and remaining skeletons, seemed dangerous at a glance, but according to his information, the creature didn't bother harming those who had fallen into its trance…
‘It's best if I handle the strong-against-the-weak skeleton, and send the Inquisitor to the wall to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.’
I nodded at my swift conclusion.
“Inquisitor, please head to the wall. I will go to the inner castle and deal with the weakling-bully.”
The Inquisitor tilted her head at my words.
I simply nodded without further explanation, and after a moment's hesitation, the Inquisitor nodded back.
‘She’s better than me against multiple opponents anyway.’
The Inquisitor disappeared into the heavy downpour.
I headed in the opposite direction, toward the inner castle.
The fellow named Gillian subtly fell back and followed me. He seemed to think I hadn't noticed.
I habitually stroked the hilt of my sword and quickened my pace.
***
I came face to face with the creature at the gate of the inner castle.
‘A skeleton draped in a black cloth.’
I was impressed by the accurate description.
Around it lay the guards and soldiers of the inner castle, seemingly unconscious.
The creature stood in the center, stroking an apple in its hand while looking at the gate before it.
It seemed to be muttering something, but the sound of the rain drowned it out.
I drew my sword and slowly approached it from behind.
The downpour was loud enough to conceal my footsteps.
When I reached a certain distance, the creature’s head spun around with a whir.
“Oho—”
Making a playful sound effect, the two black sockets in its skull stared at me.
It brought the apple to its mouth and took a large bite. The cracked apple pieces flowed from under its jaw and fell to the ground.
Then, the creature let out a belch.
It seemed this skeleton had quite a talent for comedy.
I stared at it and came up with a great skeleton joke.
“On a diet, are we?”
“Hmm… you’re a bit ambiguous, aren't you?”
“Are your parents skeletons too? Did they plant a broken scapula in the ground and water it?”
“You seem strong… yet there’s a familiar scent about you… Hmm… I really hate ambiguity.”
“I see you don’t have cochleas.”
Clicking my tongue at our conversation where we were both just talking past each other, I readjusted my grip on my sword hilt. I squeezed it tightly to prevent any rainwater from getting between my palm and the hilt.
The distance between us was about eight paces.
If I ran…
‘About three steps.’
Considering my water-soaked, heavy body and the thick mud, it wasn't a distance I could close in an instant.
“I’m curious! I’m so curious! Are you strong? Or! Are you weaker than me! I’m really, really! Curious!”
*Clack, clack.*
‘What an annoyingly loud skeleton. I want to shatter its skull.’
I forced my eyes open against the rain and glared at the creature.
When fighting humans, it was easy to aim for the moment they blinked or their attention wavered, but with a skeleton, I couldn't tell.
‘Does it even blink?’
I clicked my tongue at the clear racial advantage.
“I am so-o-o curious.”
When I felt the hollow skull seem to grin, I took it as my signal and kicked off the ground.
One step. My leg, pulled back to its limit, pushed off the mud, spraying water everywhere.
Two steps. I raised my sword high.
I didn't know what its weakness was, but…
‘Splitting it in half should do the trick.’
Three steps. My feet were heavier than I expected, causing a slight delay.
Still, as I tenaciously swung my sword toward its skull…
My vision went dark.
“Oh dear, you’re weak!”
With the creature’s playful voice, as if it had found the right answer, my consciousness faded.
***
My eyes opened to find myself standing in a black space.
‘What is this?’
I frantically looked around, but it was an empty, black void.
‘Some kind of illusion magic.’
It seemed I had fallen for that strange skeleton's magic.
The casting speed was unbelievably fast.
It didn't even seem to be chanting a spell.
As always, magic was hard to predict.
‘Should I just kill myself?’
Recalling past experiences, I was contemplating whether I should just rip my own throat out when a change occurred in front of me.
From the darkness, a woman in rags crawled toward me. She approached with a palpable hostility, as if ready to tear out my throat, and her face was very familiar.
And behind her—
*You ungrateful wretch! You betray me!*
A man in ornate clothes, but missing his most important part—his head—approached, carrying his own severed head.
A crooked crown sat atop the severed head.
Whoever had cut it had done a very clean job.
Behind him was a zombified little boy.
And a black beast with a hole in its stomach.
There was also a woman with a staff embedded in her head.
They poured out haphazardly, as if they had no sense of order.
The familiar faces approached me, each expressing their joy at our reunion in their own unique way.
‘The Nightmare Eater, huh…’
They were all familiar faces.
They were the leash I could never remove.
‘So this is how it works.’
I muttered softly and loosened my hands.
‘Yeah, it’s good to see you all again, even like this.’
Muttering the words that came to my lips, I extended my hands to welcome them.
As always, the first was my lover, Udra.
She liked to die in my arms.
Probably.
‘This would be so much easier if I had a sword.’
Forcing a smile, I opened my arms wide.
***
“Regrettably, you are weaker than me—.”
The ‘Nightmare Eater,’ Darbun, playfully clacked its jaw as it looked at the man before it.
It had been briefly tense because the man gave off a strange feeling, but the vacant look in his eyes, clearly lost in a nightmare, confirmed its victory.
There were those who could resist falling into a nightmare, but there had never been anyone who escaped after falling in.
Darbun had planned to flee immediately if the man hadn't fallen into the nightmare. After all, Darbun lacked the ability to defeat someone who could resist it.
“Hmm, hmm… I wonder what your nightmare tastes like?”
Darbun approached the man, clacking and dancing.
A very sweet aroma emanated from the dazed man.
Darbun swayed its hip bones left and right and tapped the man with its fingers, making a clacking sound.
Finally, having arrived in front of the man, Darbun held its index fingers before his vacant eyes, playfully wiggling them as if to poke them out.
Then it grasped the man’s head with both hands.
Its vision flickered, and the man’s nightmare unfolded in its mind.
However, its form was different from what Darbun had expected.
The man stood serenely atop a mountain of dozens of brutally torn corpses, cradling the body of a woman.
The man was looking up, but his face was so covered in blood it was impossible to tell if he was crying or smiling.
However, the man’s eyes held none of the sadness, despair, or fear seen in others trapped in nightmares.
There was only a profound weariness.
‘How… how…’
—That's because it's what that poor bastard does every night.
Darbun’s head snapped toward the voice that came from its side.
There… something was in the abyss-like darkness.
It was a presence it had never felt before, but it could instinctively tell it was on a different level.
Faced with the overwhelming presence, Darbun froze stiff, like a mouse before a snake.
‘…Why is it here?’
—Not for a small fry like you to know.
The golden eyes curved as if in a smile, and Darbun was thrown backward as if shoved by an immense force.
Its vision flickered again, and Darbun found itself in the rain, looking up at the man.
‘What in the world just…’
Darbun couldn't comprehend what had just happened. The man had clearly fallen into its ‘Nightmare.’
Every being had a weakness in their psyche. Even a saint was bound to have regrets or make mistakes in their life.
Darbun’s ‘Nightmare’ amplified those and forced the victim to confront them. That was why one could resist falling into the ‘Nightmare,’ but once fallen, there should have been no escape…
And the countless corpses it had seen in the man’s ‘Nightmare’ had reeked of regret and sorrow.
Just then, the man slowly lowered his head.
Eyes filled with a heavy weariness stared down at Darbun.
The rainwater dripping from the man's disheveled hair felt like saliva drooling from the maw of a beast.
*CRACK!*
A thick bolt of lightning tore across the black sky, momentarily illuminating the surroundings. It cast a shadow over the man’s scar.
“How… how…”
Darbun stammered, stumbling backward.
Its jaw no longer clacked.
Then, the man’s large hand seized Darbun’s neck bone. Darbun dangled from the brutish grip.
Darbun was one of the ‘unbreathing,’ but the man’s gaze made it feel as if it were suffocating.
“The first time is always the hardest. It gets easier after that.”
A voice, as if laced with jest, or perhaps holding back a sob, or maybe filled with suppressed rage, a growling voice, filled Darbun’s mind.
‘…The first time is hard, and it gets easier? What does?’
Why did that voice bring to mind the image of the man cradling the woman’s corpse?
As the man’s other large hand drew near, the world went dark.
“Well now, looks like I'm the stronger one.”
*Cra-ack.*
The man’s playful voice was the last thing Darbun ever heard.
***
Having a nightmare twice in one day.
‘Fucking hell.’
I muttered a curse at the vivid memory and looked up at the sky.
The sky was still dark, like a hole to hell. The rain falling from it was so thick it felt like a beating, like some kind of punishment.
‘…This is hell, isn't it.’
I forced a smile and shook off the thoughts.
Feeling as though hot blood still stained my face, I took a handkerchief from my pocket and scrubbed my face raw.
I scrubbed for a long time, but regrettably, the handkerchief remained clean. I grew angry at the un-washable stain and threw the handkerchief to the ground.
The night wasn't over yet, so I had to keep moving.
‘Fucking medieval times.’
I gripped the hilt of my sword like a cross and walked through the heavy, dark rain.
***
“Who is that man?”
Baron Pulpuchu, who had been looking out the window, asked with a stammer.
“…He is Aron, Captain of the Outer Wall Guard’s 4th Squad.”
At his question, Nova bit her lip as she answered.
“My lord, the truth is, he…”
Nova and the Lord exchanged some words, but the young lady standing behind them couldn't hear.
The young lady was only looking at the handkerchief the man had thrown on the ground.
The handkerchief the man had left behind looked incredibly familiar.