When that ugly monster barreled straight toward Blazing Flame and swung its knife at her with its left hand—
Blazing Flame let out a sneer, her left hand moving forward slightly as she directly caught the bloodstained butcher knife between her index and middle fingers.
“Roar!”
The monster bellowed furiously, swinging the hook in its right hand and aiming for her heart.
But just as the hook in its hand was about to reach Blazing Flame’s chest, the hideous monster was horrified to find that its right hand could not move forward another inch.
At some point, the spear that should have been in Blazing Flame’s hand had flown behind the monster, piercing through both its right hand and its body.
“As expected, in my own dream, I don’t have to worry about running out of magic at all.”
Seeing that she had easily blocked the monster’s attacks twice, Blazing Flame burst out laughing and snapped her fingers with her right hand.
In the next instant, the world changed.
The two of them were instantly transported to a deserted street, with several identical black sedans parked around them.
“I’m done playing with you. It’s time to end this.”
“You… How is this possible…”
Seeing the dazzling radiance erupting from Blazing Flame—something it had never seen before—the ugly monster, which until now could only snarl menacingly, suddenly spoke human language, its face full of shock.
“There’s nothing impossible about it. This is my dream, after all.”
Hearing the monster finally speak, Blazing Flame raised her hand and snapped her fingers once more.
With a crisp sound, countless vines burst through the hard cement ground, appearing between the steel and rubble to bind the hideous butcher monster in place.
Within just half a day, the monster that had chased Blazing Flame through the dream until it was terrified now had completely lost its ability to fight.
Blazing Flame raised an eyebrow as she watched the monster struggle against its restraints, her heart utterly calm and untroubled.
In the end, the moment this monster chose to become her enemy in her own dream, it had already lost its chance at victory.
Unless it really could do as the Professor said—invoke such fear in her that she would die in her sleep from fright.
Otherwise, once she realized something was off, it was destined for defeat.
“…You’re one of the Numbered Monsters under Night Demon, aren’t you?”
Before delivering the final blow in the dream, Blazing Flame looked at the now powerless monster and asked.
“…I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just the Nightmare Demon of this dream, that’s all.”
The bound Butcher Monster stared coldly at Blazing Flame, flatly denying her suspicion.
However, after hearing that answer, Blazing Flame smiled faintly, already certain in her heart.
“Ultimate Regalia Drive!”
As the mechanical voice echoed in her ear once more, Blazing Flame unhesitatingly raised her leg and delivered the final finishing blow to the monster’s head.
After a clean, decisive spinning kick, Blazing Flame turned away and began walking down the empty street.
Behind her, the ugly Butcher Monster’s body was blasted apart by the ferocious kick, releasing a torrent of pitch-black energy from within.
With a final, heartrending, unwilling roar, the monster’s body exploded on the spot.
Flames surged skyward behind Blazing Flame, and the rumble echoed across the deserted street.
After the brief explosion, Blazing Flame reached the end of the street. Smiling as she looked at the pitch-black, empty, and eerie place ahead, she walked inside.
Once she entered that lightless, strange space, the scene before her eyes changed once more.
……
When Lu Ren opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw was the familiar ceiling, and under his hands was the soft, comfortable blanket.
Everything that had just happened had vanished as if it were a dream bubble, gone in an instant.
He closed his eyes, confirming he could feel nothing, and reached out his hand, realizing he could no longer summon the magical attire of his dreams at will. Lu Ren sighed.
Well, it seemed he had finally left the dream and returned to reality.
That monster he’d met this time was truly strange. It could actually enter other people’s dreams and even transform into a monster to bring terror to others.
He had no idea how it managed that.
Still, with an ability like that, killing people would be all too easy.
All it needed to do was pick a target and subject them to long-term terror, and then, naturally, the person would die of fright in their dreams.
Even if an investigation followed, the authorities would find no useful evidence, and in the end, they could only helplessly declare that the deceased had been literally scared to death.
That was truly a way to kill without leaving a trace.
With a heart full of emotion, Lu Ren sat up from the bed, rubbed his eyes, then quickly rolled off the bed, intending to grab his phone and see if there was any news today.
“Ren-ge, you’re awake. How are you feeling this time?”
Xu Wenxing, who had just finished a game and was browsing the web, turned his head toward Lu Ren with a curious look.
“Not bad,” Lu Ren said casually as he got out of bed and picked up his phone.
“What do you mean ‘not bad’?” Xu Wenxing asked in confusion. “Does that mean you won’t have any more nightmares from now on?”
“Probably. Your method worked pretty well, so I don’t have to worry about nightmares anymore,” Lu Ren replied.
“As long as I could help.” Xu Wenxing grinned. “So, Ren-ge, about me joining the Monster Response Department as a logistics officer—think you could pull some strings for me?”
“You better just take the exam honestly. Forget about pulling strings,” Lu Ren said, twitching his lips as he retorted to the familiar tone.
“Ah, how heartless. I even taught you my Inherited Secret Manual, and you can’t even help with this small favor…”
Xu Wenxing trailed off mid-sentence.
He looked at Lu Ren with a guilty expression, then glanced around nervously.
Like a thief, he darted his eyes everywhere and quickly closed the web page he was browsing by clicking the mouse.
Lu Ren noticed Xu Wenxing’s odd behavior and frowned, unable to figure out what he was up to.
At that moment, a small fox-like beast suddenly leapt onto Lu Ren’s desk and waved at him.
“Pandora?”
“762888891, the address is this…”
Pandora offered no explanation, simply speaking a string of baffling things to Lu Ren.
Lu Ren blinked in confusion, but quickly opened his computer and entered the address and numbers Pandora had given him.
In no time, as the computer screen flashed white, a picture appeared before him—familiar, yet strange.
Strange, because it was the first time Lu Ren had seen all three Magic Girls of City A appear together in one picture.
Familiar, because he’d already seen a similar image in his dream.
After a brief silence, Lu Ren hesitated, then asked Pandora,
“…Are you saying the image Xu Wenxing just saw was this one?”
“Yes, that’s right.” Pandora nodded, eyes unwavering.
Lu Ren was left speechless.
He stared at the three Magic Girls of City A in the picture, all dressed in terribly tacky bunny girl costumes, pursing his lips, at a loss for what to say.
Could the Nightmare Demon really have the power to affect reality?