Chapter 121: I Am a Lower Moon!
The man had no idea when Natsuya had appeared behind him.
The owner of this dream looked at him with eyes as clear as glass; there wasn't
a trace of the "Happy Dream" intoxication that usually paralyzed Enmu's victims.
Did Lord Enmu... lie to me?
The infiltrator, gripped by sudden terror, instinctively tried to bolt to the
side. However, the moment he lifted his foot, Natsuya's hand clamped onto the
back of his neck with the strength of a vice.
CRACK.
A faint snapping sound echoed in the void. The man suddenly felt nothing from
his waist down. His limbs hung limp like overcooked noodles.
"Just a little trick," Natsuya whispered. "I just blocked the nerve transmission
in your spine."
Natsuya had been trying to figure out an exit strategy for a while. He'd finally
noticed a flickering, glitchy HUD panel deep in the woods outside the dojo. In a
dream where no one had a status bar, a floating UI was as obvious as a gray wolf
hiding in a flock of sheep.
He had followed the intruder to the boundary, watched him use a specialized
"Arbitrary Door" tool to slice open a passage, and dived in right after him. The
sight of the cosmic void had surprised him for a second, but it wasn't the main
event.
Natsuya hoisted the man up like a scruffy kitten, scrutinizing the flickering
stats above his head.
Definitely a human civilian NPC.
"I ask. You talk."
The infiltrator's eyes were wild with fear, but he gritted his teeth and tried
to shake his head.
"How did you get in here?"
The man opened his mouth to act tough, but Natsuya cut him off.
"It's fine if you don't want to talk. I have the utmost respect for 'tough guys'
who can keep a secret. In fact, I've been looking for a volunteer to test some
of my more 'creative' interrogation mechanics."
"Do you know what a Fatality is?"
The man blinked. "?" What? Some kind of new beating?
"It's a mechanic from a game famous for its gore," Natsuya said in a
conversational tone. "For example, I could reach into your abdomen and pull your
intestines out through your throat. Or I could use brute force to peel the skin
off your back to expose your spine, then pour boiling lead into the—"
"STOP! STOP! I'LL TELL YOU! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!" the man shrieked.
Natsuya paused, feeling a bit let down. Bro, you're that weak? I hadn't even
gotten to the psychological stuff yet.
He pressed his palm against the top of the man's head anyway.
"Should I pluck your hair out one by one, or should I just perform an
un-anesthetized craniotomy right here in the void?"
The [Intimidation LV.1] skill was glowing bright gold in Natsuya's mental menu.
The man crumbled completely. Like a dam bursting, he spilled everything: where
he came from, his deal with Enmu, and the mechanics of the dream-links.
Hypnotic rope connections? Using civilians to destroy the Spirit Core? This Boss
has a really gimmicky playstyle.
As for exiting? The man claimed the only way out was to commit suicide within
the dream.
Natsuya thought about it. I should probably verify the data first.
A few minutes later, the infiltrator's spiritual body was barely recognizable as
human. He was floating in the void, eyes rolled back, his limbs twitching in an
idle loop.
Seems he wasn't lying.
"Then do me a favor," Natsuya said. "Be my 'Alpha Tester'."
With a sudden twist of force, Natsuya literally tore the spiritual body into two
halves. The fragments became translucent, dissolving like smoke.
There was no "Kill Notification" from the System. Confirmed. Spiritual death in
a dream doesn't grant XP.
In Reality.
The civilian connected to Natsuya via the rope suddenly went into a violent
convulsion. His eyes bulged, and blood began to leak from his eyes and nose as
his nervous system overloaded.
He snapped awake, coughing up gore as he tore the rope from his wrist. He began
to crawl toward Enmu on all fours, making a wet, rasping sound.
"Save—save me... Master..."
His spiritual core had been shredded. Even if he didn't die, he would spend the
rest of his life as a mindless vegetable.
In the shadows, Enmu's beautiful but hollow face maintained its icy, scripted
smile. He watched the man crawl toward him like a dying worm, his eyes devoid of
anything resembling mercy.
Then, he elegantly lifted his foot.
CRUNCH.
He crushed the man's skull into the floor without a second thought.
"You leaked my intel to the enemy," Enmu whispered, his voice as soft as a
breeze. "Did you really expect me to waste energy on a defective tool? Stupid
monkey."
He wiped his shoe on the floor and turned his gaze toward Natsuya, who was
slowly opening his eyes.
"I intended for you to die peacefully in a beautiful dream," the demon noted
with a sick, melodic sigh. "But since you've chosen to wake up... I suppose I
must apologize for what comes next."
Enmu's smile widened, radiating a hollow concern. "I am a Lower Moon, after all.
A little swordsman like you might find this part... a bit painful."
Natsuya stood up, casually stretching his limbs as his vision returned to
normal.
"Oh, I know you're a femboy Moon."
He picked up his Nichirin Sword. Luminary Breathing began to rotate through his
veins like a slow-spinning galaxy.
"And you really gave me 'VIP treatment' in there. I owe you one."
Before the sentence finished, Natsuya's silhouette blurred.
Enmu braced for an attack, but he realized instantly that Natsuya wasn't
charging him. He was heading for his own teammates.
The two civilians connected to Sabito and Uzui.
CRACK. SNAP.
Natsuya systematically broke their limbs.
Enmu's brow furrowed. This boy...
He had just "killed" his Master and sister in his own dream, and now he was
ruthlessly crippling civilians without a heartbeat of hesitation. His playstyle
is incredibly 'Evil-aligned' for a Demon Slayer, Enmu thought. Is this person
actually a human?
"If I'm right," Natsuya called out, "physical trauma to the 'Client' reflects as
environmental instability in the 'Dream-Server'."
He didn't know Blood Demon Art theory, but he knew how to disrupt a connection.
He didn't want to just cut the ropes—that might "Soft-Lock" Sabito and Uzui's
minds in the subconscious void. By breaking the pawns' limbs, he introduced a
"Critical System Error" into their dream instances.
Enmu let out a frustrated "Tsk."
Indeed, as Natsuya's "High IQ Insight" predicted, the moment the pawns were
attacked, their spiritual forms inside the dreams froze.
In Sabito's dream, the infiltrator crawling toward the lake suddenly shrieked as
his legs and arms went limp. In Uzui's dream, the man building a ladder of
crates collapsed as his bones snapped.
The "Deep Dream" instances began to flicker and lag.
In Sabito's Dream: A figure made of lake-water rose before the fallen
infiltrator, taking the form of Sabito himself. "You want to pass the waterfall
trial? You'll have to get through my blade first." He tossed a wooden sword to
the crippled man. The infiltrator: "?" (Sir, I literally cannot move my hands.
Is this a scripted loss?)
In Uzui's Dream: A masked giant materialized on the stage. "You want the
blessing of the God of Festivals? Then play me a flashy tune!" Instruments rose
from the floor. "You have three minutes to learn the score. Or GET OUT!" The
infiltrator: "..." (Is there an instrument I can play with my chin?)
This was the subconscious "Immunological Response." Now that the external threat
was identified, the dreamers' instincts were busy bullying the intruders.
Enmu's smile finally vanished. His eyes grew cold and sharp.
"So what if you can delay the destruction of their cores?"
"Once I kill you, I can take my time with them."
"Or does the little swordsman truly believe he can solo... the Lower Moon Two?"
The walls and floor of the tunnel suddenly began to pulsate like living heart
tissue. The solid rock transformed into dark-red, wet meat, surging from all
directions to crush Natsuya.
Enmu was trying to 'absorb' him into his fleshy mass.
"Oh? Toad Mouth Trap?" Natsuya smirked. "Classic."
The rhythm of Luminary Breathing shifted.
[Luminary Breathing]
The Nichirin Sword became a hazy screen of light. It wasn't a single strike; it
was a thousand points of cold starlight exploding simultaneously in a
micro-second.
But within that cold depth lay a hidden, searing heat. Every spark of starlight
was, in reality, the core of a sun—a burning, radiant star.
The tip of his blade ignited. The starlight connected into a path of white-hot
destruction that swept through the tunnel like a forest fire. The surging
flesh-walls were shredded and incinerated before they could even touch his
uniform.
"Third Form: Flame Tuesday — WILDFIRE RADIANCE!"
☆☆☆
-> 20 Advanced chapters Now Available on Patreon!!
-> https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to access patreon normally)
If you like this novel please consider leaving a review that's help the story a lot Thank you