After hearing his child’s words, the Middle-aged Man fell silent for a moment, then crouched down just like Blazing Flame, speaking gently.
“…Zizhen, Dad shouldn’t have done anything strange, right? Since you had trouble at your interest class, why didn’t you tell me?”
“B-but…” The boy hesitated, not knowing whether he should say what he had seen.
“But what?” the Middle-aged Man pressed.
“But just now, when I asked if I could play on the computer, I saw Dad looking really angry, like he was about to raise his hand to hit me.” The boy bit his lip. “Luckily, in the end, you didn’t hit me and just kept looking at your phone on the sofa. Otherwise, I would have thought you’d become really scary.”
“How is that possible?! I remember when you said you wanted to play on the computer, I only told you to keep an eye on the time, not play for too long, and keep a healthy routine. How could I ever want to hit you? You must have seen it wrong, right? And shouldn’t it be that you were just standing at my room door, then went in without saying a word to play on the computer?”
The Middle-aged Man was dumbfounded when he heard his child’s words, and quickly tried to explain himself with an agitated tone, just like someone wrongly accused.
Blazing Flame listened to their exchange, thoughtful, vaguely understanding something.
“I-I asked you before playing on the computer, Dad. I didn’t just go in and play, did I?” Now it was the boy’s turn to be puzzled, trying to defend himself.
“Really? But I remember very clearly—you didn’t say a single word when you went to play on the computer today.”
“I did ask you, Dad! Really! I’m not lying! Lying makes me a little puppy!”
The boy seemed so anxious he was about to cry. He clarified his actions once more, hoping for his father’s understanding.
And the Middle-aged Man, hearing his son’s tearful voice, lowered his head without a word.
He knew very well what kind of person his child was, and he understood that his son wouldn’t lie to him just for the sake of playing on the computer.
His approach to raising his son was open—if he wanted to play, he was allowed to. After all, playing games was a child’s nature.
But he could never allow his son to become addicted; real life had to come first.
Even if his grades fluctuated because of too much gaming, it didn’t matter, as long as homework was done and his attitude toward learning was correct.
With both his and his wife’s way of teaching, their child had grown up to be outstanding—a son he was proud of.
But what exactly was happening today?
Why did their memories differ so much, to the point of misunderstanding each other…
“…You two, stop arguing. I know what’s happening to you.”
Blazing Flame stood up, breaking the stillness in the room, making both the Middle-aged Man and the boy turn to her, gazes full of hope for her answer.
The girl cleared her throat and gave her opinion.
“You’ve both been affected by the residual aura of the monster, causing a discrepancy in your perception of your surroundings… No, to be precise, you’re in a Half-Dream, Half-Awake State.”
“Half-Dream, Half-Awake?” the Middle-aged Man asked in confusion.
“When you’re dreaming, don’t you often feel that the things you see in your dream are a bit strange, but can’t quite put your finger on it?” Blazing Flame shrugged, explaining. “It’s just like what’s happening to you now. You hear A, but what reaches your ears becomes B.”
“You mean…” The Middle-aged Man seemed to grasp what Blazing Flame was trying to say.
“Go say something, anything, in the living room and let me listen from the side,” Blazing Flame suggested. “I won’t be affected by the monster’s Magic Power, so I’ll clearly know what you’re saying and your expressions. How about it, want to give it a try?”
“…Let’s go, son. Let’s try it.”
The Middle-aged Man looked at the boy sitting in his seat and proposed to his child.
But the boy glanced at Blazing Flame, then at his father, pondered for several seconds, and finally shook his head slowly but firmly, saying,
“No, I don’t want to do that kind of test. I don’t want to see that kind of Dad again. I trust you, Dad, and I trust this Hero who’s always been protecting us.”
“Zizhen…”
The Middle-aged Man sniffled, never expecting his child would give such a moving answer.
Just then, Pandora, who had devoured all the black coils in the room, jumped onto Blazing Flame’s shoulder and whispered to her.
“Thanks to you, I’ve eaten up all the Shadow Beast Magic Power left in this room. The people in this house won’t be affected by the monster anymore. By the way, I can sense where this Shadow Beast left its Magic Power elsewhere. Should we check out the other places?”
“…Alright, let’s head to the next location.”
“Okay, then hurry up.” Pandora replied, looking at the two humans by Blazing Flame’s side, and urged her on.
Blazing Flame took a deep breath, looked at the victims who had been affected by the Shadow Beast, and spoke.
“You two, I’ve already purified the monster’s residual Magic Power here. You shouldn’t be affected by it anymore.”
“…Thank you, Blazing Flame. You’ve really helped us a lot. Without you, my child and I might have been in big trouble.” The Middle-aged Man confessed. “Whenever you’re free, let me treat you to a meal, just as a small token of our thanks.”
“No, that’s not necessary. I’ve got a lot to do recently, so I won’t bother you any longer. I’ll take my leave now.” Blazing Flame waved her hand, declining politely.
“Alright. I wish you victory, Blazing Flame.”
“Thank you.”
After a soft word of thanks, Blazing Flame quickly left the place and came to a spot by the nearby Park, waiting for Pandora to point her in a new direction.
Pandora lay on Blazing Flame’s shoulder and reported what she’d found in the house.
“So far, we can confirm this Shadow Beast has the Happiness Conversion Ability, as well as the Dream Infiltration Ability.”
“The more happiness it converts, the stronger it becomes.”
“At this rate, maybe all humans will become nothing but its playthings in dreams.”
After hearing Pandora’s information, Blazing Flame was silent for a while, then asked Pandora the question that concerned her most.
“After happiness is taken away, can it ever be regained?”
“…Unfortunately, no. And if too much happiness is lost, the affected humans might become completely shrouded in negative emotions. People like that…”
Pandora didn’t continue, but Blazing Flame understood what she meant.
Blazing Flame nodded, didn’t reply, and memories suddenly surfaced in her mind.
She remembered her carefree childhood, her loving parents who cherished her deeply, and those happy times.
Those beautiful memories were her most precious treasures.
But now, this monster had appeared, trying to steal others’ happiness, forcing them to live in pain and misunderstanding…
She could no longer allow it to exist in this world.
It was time to send it to hell.
“Let’s go, Pandora. Tell me the next target’s location.”
“Alright, no problem, leave it to me.”