Chapter 93: Fear
Maria stood before the widening gate, leaning against her scythe with a wide grin, a few drops of blood marred her striking face, painting it with faint crimson.
Ba-dump... Ba-dump... Ba-dump...
The gate’s heartbeat resounded like a bell of destruction and despair, its colours darkening with each passing moment, nearing black.
The abandoned building, which housed the gate, began to shake violently as stone and dust fell from it before the sound of a glass crack echoed like the fall of heaven’s judgment.
CRACK...
The crack was followed by heavy thuds produced from the bodies of the Initiate-ranked arcane knights that had gone unconscious from the presence of the being who was about to step into the realm of the living from the realm of dreams.
Thud... Thud... Thud...
A heavy, white tentacle slithered out of the dreamgate, followed by another and shot forward toward the strongest person present—Maria.
"At least it has manners," Maria commented as she lifted her scythe and channelled her mana into it. The scythe gleamed a faint silver, and just as the tentacles were about to reach her, she spun it like a shield of blades.
The scythe’s merciless blade dug into the nightmare’s tentacles and left them as if they had been chewed off by rabid wolves.
"KREEEE!!"
A shuddering scream came out of the gate as the tentacles slithered onto the ground, and the gate guardian finally stepped out. It was similar to the nightmares of previous waves.
The haunting difference, however, was his tentacles, which were thicker and jade white instead of black—the chitin had turned darker, resembling shadows themselves and appeared more like an armour. Its fangs were longer, and it had a dark horn on its head.
Its hollow eyes gleamed with hunger, fury, and uncontrolled malice. The gate cracked and disappeared after it stepped out of it.
Maria’s gem-like blue eyes nestled with deep coldness as she stared into the nightmare’s eyes. Her scythe reformed into a sword as she spat coldly.
"We call the dreadful beings like you nightmares. However, I will show you what a true nightmare is. Behold..." she pointed the tip of her sword at the gate guardian as she muttered, "The sword of war."
Her mana flared, and her hair and eyes began to glow resplendently. Before the gate guardian could even look at the being who had attacked it a moment ago, it felt pain.
Wind elementals danced together with Maria as her sword cut into the dark chitin of the B or Elite rank nightmare before her. The armour couldn’t even block a single attack as the sword cut through it like butter.
Everyone watched in silence as Maria’s merciless sword fell on the nightmare. A few of them staggered back as they felt fear deeper than the nightmare itself from Maria’s merciless attacks. Her intent of hate—absolute hate—had grown near tangible, affecting the will of those in her proximity.
"KRE—"
"UUK—"
"AHHHHH—"
The nightmare continued to scream or cry, but each scream, each cry was cut off by a pain deeper than before. The nightmare threw its tentacles around and flapped its hole-filled bat-like wings to throw away the being attacking it.
But all of this was meaningless. Maria moved around from one spot to another so quickly that she seemed to be teleporting. Her sword glowed with a light that held no colour; she had coated it with her will. Her will of hate, her intent to kill the being before her.
For the first time, the creature born of dreams—of malice and fear—felt fear itself.
Thud...
The ground shook as something heavy fell on it. Upon closer inspection, it was one of the nightmare’s tentacles. The nightmare tried to scream, but—
Thud... Thud... Thud...
—Its other tentacle and wings fell the next moment.
"AHHHHHHH!!!!"
The nightmare screamed. It was a scream full of pain, a scream full of hate and a scream full of fear.
All of the arcane knights felt their souls shudder under that scream, but they couldn’t move.
The War Princess, The Silver Maiden, stopped her attacks and looked at the gate guardian with an expressionless face.
Her sword transformed into a scythe as she muttered flatly, "Scared?"
The nightmare looked at her with fearful eyes and leapt on her, its maw wide open. Maria didn’t move and just lifted her scythe and swung it. The scythe fell like a guillotine.
The nightmare’s body slid on the ground for a few meters before it parted open into two. Blood spurted from it and fell like crimson rain.
Maria walked towards the dead nightmare and took out its spirit core before giving a faint smile to Lane as she stated.
"Let’s go."
Lane looked at everything, blood pooled everywhere, painting the bisected building in red. She turned around and nodded to Maria as they began walking towards the ASUV parked at the corner of the road.
The local arcane knights and civilians only watched in silence as Maria and Lane did until an arcane knight shouted.
"THE WAR PRINCESS!! THE THUNDER ICE PIXIE!!"
Like a decree, everyone began to shout the same, dwarfing every other sound.
"THE WAR PRINCESS!! THE THUNDER ICE PIXIE!!"
"THE WAR PRINCESS!! THE THUNDER ICE PIXIE!!"
"THE WAR PRINCESS!! THE THUNDER ICE PIXIE!!"
A faint smile appeared on Maria’s blood-laced face as she waved at them.
Jaden, who was watching everything, lay back in his seat with distant eyes as he mumbled, "Are nightmares supposed to be that weak?"
Jamie, who had lowered his head, spat in annoyance, "No, she is just that strong! Didn’t I tell you she is Master rank?"
Jaden shook his head and added.
"No... those nightmares didn’t use any skill, and they were weaker than the ones we fought in the city."
Jamie looked at him and spoke quietly.
"Well, that is because not all nightmares have skill... and the restriction."
"Restriction?" Jaden asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Mhm. Each being feels a restriction in the realm other than their own. Like, we are weaker in the dream realm. Similarly, nightmares are weaker in the mortal realm," Jamie answered.
’Are we weaker in the dream realm?’ Jaden thought with wide eyes but made the smart decision not to ask Jamie.