Chapter 120: I Am the Galaxy, the Universe, the Sea of Stars
This was exactly why Enmu was reluctant to personally approach his targets.
His Blood Demon Art was formidable, but it wasn't a perfect exploit. While it
could unceremoniously force almost any swordsman into a deep slumber, it had a
glaring "hardware" bug: the Art only trapped the spirit in a dreamscape. The
physical body remained in a state of light sleep.
Any sufficiently strong killing intent, or even a heavy concentration of demonic
aura, could trigger the body's primal defensive reflexes, causing them to move
autonomously.
It was essentially lethal sleepwalking.
To bypass this "Auto-Counter" mechanic, Enmu typically used two methods.
The first was using children as his "Client-side" infiltrators. Their low Power
Levels and immature worldview meant they radiated almost zero malice or
threat-density. They could usually walk right up to a sleeping Hashira without
triggering the body's "Aggro."
However, currently in Nagoya, he lacked such refined tools. Most of the local
"brats" had already been consumed by him while they were busy enjoying the sweet
dreams he'd woven.
Thus, he was forced to use the second method.
The demon triggered his Blood Demon Art again. An invisible ripple of psychic
energy washed over the clearing.
"Drown... in a sweet, blissful dream..."
Inside the Dreams.
The misty, shifting light within their minds changed. The nightmares used to
torture the trio began to dissolve and reshape themselves.
In Sabito's Dream: Giyu's "corpse" vanished. In its place came the warm, golden
sunlight of Mt. Sagiri. Sabito stood next to Giyu, surrounded by Master Sakonji
and several fellow students who had passed the Final Selection. Everyone was
smiling. They were all chatting and training peacefully in the dojo clearing.
How did I get back here?
Before Sabito could process the "Logic Error," Giyu nudged him. "Sabito, it's
your turn."
Sabito looked up. The familiar faces were all looking at him with expectation.
Even Master Urokodaki spoke in a serene, fatherly voice: "Your progress is the
most stable, Sabito. Everyone is waiting for you to demonstrate the essence of
Water Breathing."
The pink-haired boy blinked. The lingering sense of wrongness in his chest was
being smothered by a blanket of warmth. Dazed, he stepped forward to begin his
forms. He was happy, yet a tiny, nagging voice in the back of his head kept
whispering that something was... off.
In Uzui's Dream: The bloody forest and the fratricide fell away like peeling
paint. There was no defection. No brothers killing brothers.
Under a brilliant canopy of cherry blossoms, Uzui Tengen was engaged in a
"flashy" but friendly shinobi duel with his brother, Gennosuke. On the grass
nearby, his other seven siblings—the ones who should have died in the
culling—were alive and well. They sat in a circle, sharing bento boxes and
laughing while watching the match.
His three wives stood on the sidelines, cheering him on.
"Lord Tengen! You are the most flashy god ever!" "Gennosuke is good, but my
heart will always belong to Lord Tengen!" "Just one more move! Use that flashy
finisher on him!"
Seriously... Uzui thought, a smirk on his face. It's just a practice match. No
need to get so worked up about who wins.
Even his stern father, standing in the distance, offered a rare, slight smile:
"You two... you truly are my sons."
Uzui's movements hitched for a split second. He should be happy. He was happy.
But why did his heart feel like it was being squeezed?
"Tengen-aniki," Gennosuke laughed as he pushed Uzui back. "If you space out in a
fight... you're going to lose!"
Gennosuke turned to the other siblings: "Hey! Stop eating for a second and watch
us! Lord Tengen is about to do something flashy!"
In Natsuya's Dream: The inferno was gone. His young sister, Fuyuka, hadn't been
eaten by a demon. Instead, she had followed him to Master Kazami's dojo.
They trained together, grew up together, and after Natsuya's strength was
recognized by the "Old Man," he was set to inherit the dojo. The tragedy of his
backstory had never happened.
Natsuya: "..."
I already tried this. I killed everyone in the nightmare version, and now the
Boss is trying to lure me with this 'Happy Family' template?
Looking at his "smiling sister" and the "proud master," Natsuya didn't draw his
sword.
How the hell do I exit this instance? Natsuya wondered. I tried the
weightlessness reflex and the biological 'wake-up' trigger, but these
'old-school' methods aren't working on the game engine.
In Reality.
As the dreams shifted from "Nightmare" to "Bliss," the trio's physical reactions
settled. Sabito's grip on his sword loosened. Uzui's tensed muscles relaxed. The
civilian who had been pinned by them scurried away on all fours, terrified.
Natsuya remained standing, but his "Abyssal Aura" dimmed, maintaining only a
low-power "Standby" mode.
"Now," Enmu commanded.
His human pawns, clutching the hypnotic ropes, approached the three Slayers with
trembling knees. This time, the infiltration went smoothly. They tied one end of
the rope to their own wrists and the other to the wrists of the sleeping
swordsmen.
The Blood Demon Art synchronized. The humans' eyes went blank as their
consciousness was pulled into the dream-links. Their spiritual bodies dove into
the three different worlds.
Inside the Subconscious Spaces.
Is this the brat's dream?
Deep in the woods of Mt. Sagiri, a man watched Sabito laughing with Giyu. He let
out a cold snort. Sorry, kid. To keep my own dream alive, I have to sacrifice
you to Lord Enmu.
He sprinted away from the hut, heading for the edge of the dream. He eventually
slammed into an invisible wall.
Oof! He rubbed his nose, staring at the empty space ahead. Even though the path
continued, he couldn't take another step.
This is the 'Boundary' the Lord talked about.
Dreams weren't infinite. Once you moved far enough from the "Dreamer" core, you
found the wall. Beyond that lay the raw subconscious.
The man pulled out a specialized tool given by Enmu—a jagged awl. He thrust it
into the air, literally puncturing the infinite barrier. He dragged the blade
downward, tearing a hole in the "scenery."
Through the crack, he saw a new world.
It was a serene forest surrounding a crystal-clear lake, with the thunderous
roar of a waterfall echoing in the distance. He dived through the hole and swam
toward the falls.
There, floating on a rock beneath the crashing water, was a glowing, crystalline
blue sphere.
The Spirit Core.
"Ho? Lucky me. That was fast."
On Uzui's side, the infiltrator entered a deep, dark subconscious space.
It was a massive, pitch-black opera stage. Flashy music clashed with the
distant, muffled screams of agony. The stage was empty.
Terrified but driven by the desire to see his "Yuu-chan" again, the man began
dragging heavy crates and broken chairs toward the center. He needed to build a
makeshift ladder.
High above the stage, a core was spinning—a multi-colored, iridescent sphere
that cast shifting, hypnotic patterns across the dark theater.
"Hehe... wait for me, Yuu-chan... I'll be back soon..."
And then, there was Natsuya.
A man with a gloomy, sunken face tore through the boundary of Natsuya's dream.
He was instantly paralyzed by what he saw.
There was no garden. No forest. No familiar scenery.
He was floating in a vast, incomprehensible Void.
There was no "up" or "down." No ground beneath his feet. Only an absolute,
ink-black background studded with billions of shimmering, dense stars that made
his very soul feel insignificant.
In the distance, a magnificent, white-hot sphere of pure light and heat hung in
the center of the void.
The Spirit Core.
But surrounding the core were eight or nine other spheres of varying sizes and
colors—some like agate, some like jade, others like gas-giants. They were
orbiting the core in a slow, majestic, rhythmic dance. It looked like a cosmic
machine.
"What... what is this place?" the man whispered. He knew nothing of astronomy.
He simply felt a primal, crushing sense of his own smallness.
After the initial shock, greed took over. Whatever. Who cares how weird his
brain is? If I break that light in the middle, it's over!
Just then, a calm, leisurely voice echoed behind him.
"Are you illiterate? How can you not recognize a basic model of the Solar
System?"
"The Sun and the nine planets... well, eight now. Pluto got kicked out of the
planet list for not meeting the stat requirements."
The man's body went rigid. He slowly turned around.
Standing in the void behind him was the owner of the dream.
Kokonoe Natsuya.
He was standing on nothing, looking at the infiltrator with a pleasant, curious
smile.
"Oi~" Natsuya said, his tone as casual as if they were bumping into each other
at a convenience store.
"I assume... you're an invited guest from the outside server?"
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