"Endless Dream."

Suddenly, the colors of the world changed. Everything felt oddly unreachable, yet authentic and vivid within our arms' reach.

It felt all too real and ethereal in some twisted sense.

"Domain artifact..." Expressed Renata softly.

'Ah, a similar artifact as Clara used to have...But this one's a bit different, I think.'

"Can you worthless scums feel it? The way fear crawls on your very skin? But don't wet your pants just yet. It gets better!" Snapping his finger, the whole world spun beneath our feet, and we found ourselves falling toward the ceiling. With gravity at his whims, Pepe toyed with us inside the realm where he reigned supreme.

Flying didn't even work because it was almost stupid to tell right from left as they kept changing now and then randomly.

However, that was not the case with everyone.

Both Renata and Trodin were such examples.

Apparently, they were holding on just fine by constantly moving either their mana or geast to purge the invading mana in the air.

But that left them at a major disadvantage if they tried to butt head-to-head with Pepe. Fighting the man himself without a handicap was hard enough already, but now, it was like they had to deal with him with weights all over their bodies while using only one arm.

"Don't you think it is about time to move, Black Nightmare? Or maybe you fancy me gutting one of your toys first, perhaps?" Taunted Pepe.

"Yes, I think it is about time too. Though, I am not sure about the gutting thing." I replied calmly, peering at Renata and Trodin.

"Hoho, what a brave front! I can't wait to rip that mask off your face and see it plagued with despair." He began raving with rough breaths.

'Yeah, sure, whatever, old man...'

"Don't ignore me!!" Shriek Pepe loudly when he found me not responding back.

Out of nowhere, a huge tentacle appeared and slammed at me.

'Swords. Cut it.' Two huge zweihanders manifested above me and chopped the incoming tentacle to pieces.

A warning blared through my soul, and I flew to the side just in time to dodge a strike that came from behind me.

Another set of tentacles grew from the chopped pieces and smashed the empty air. I could sense the wind wheezing due to the force that they made.

'Flame serpents. Devour them.'

Huge basilisks covered in a coat of flames materialized and swallowed the tentacles whole.

"...You're holding yourself back...? You...?" Slightly quivering, Pepe couldn't believe his eyes.

'What is he...Oh, is he talking about that?' I was shocked just how in the hell he knew that, but then again, it was simple. "My magical aura? Well, it's a force of habit."

"Force of habit? Hoho, I know, I know. They really can drive you crazy at times." Smirked Pepe, jumping from rage to joy in seconds like a legit madman.

It was as if his anger minutes prior was nothing but a facade. I really couldn't read him and all his erratic mood swings. Then again, why should I bother to understand a lunatic in the first place...

"Assassin. Paladin. I'll take care of this. Go find Merchant and Spy. Carry out the rest of the plan. I'll be there shortly with you." I ordered the two.

"Hahaha! Look at this. I can't believe this!" Laughed Pepe freely, holding his belly.

"By your will, Milord!"

"Hm..."

Answered the two before cautiously making their exit, taking all the remaining Shadows in the venue with them.

Seeing Pepe just leave them alone without lifting a finger piqued my interest.

"You're letting them leave?" I couldn't help but ask.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"Them? They are toys at best. But you...You are something else, Black Nightmare. The Majesty will be pleased to know that we still have such capable blood roaming in this land." Answered him. "And the mere thought of forcing you into submission fills me with endless pleasure! I just can't have enough of this. Why would I want to bore myself with secondhand and useless toys when I can have you!?"

'Haa...Calm down, Alex...You can get angry, but don't get dull because of it.'

"The Majesty?" I asked, trying to get as much as I could before getting the job done.

"Consider it an honor that you will get to serve under the reign of the absolute one." Remarked the old illusionist as though my subordination was already set in stone. I guess he was as confident as I was...

"Absolute one, huh? Quite a big word there." I took a step forward, delving further into his world of illusions.

"Be patient for a while. This gentleman will take you to meet him later." Said him, further spreading his mana around leisurely.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to meet him one day. But now...Let's do this. I got a curfew to catch, you see?" I stopped and flew up in a gentle manner.

"Shall we?" Giggled Pepe eerily.

The second his words landed, the world turned void of air, and Pepe launched a full-scale assault on my floating figure. His endless troops of monsters came from every direction.

Coping with the occasional warning that kept ringing, I fought back the onslaught using my own summons.

It felt doable at first, but everything changed the moment I saw the familiar bloodied figures fighting for their life against Pepe's monsters in the distance.

'Huh...? You're not supposed to be here! No...' Blood rushed to my brain, and I couldn't see anything but them anymore. "No!! Barriers!! Protect them!!!"

A translucent dome rose from the ground and covered my family, keeping them safe from the ravaging creatures.

Or so what I liked to think...

Ever so slowly, I could feel the movements of the world, as if I was seeing everything moving in slow motion. It had happened before when I was fully focusing my mind.

I could see a monster biting Alyson's throat off, breaking her neck. Mother swallowed whole while young Adam cried in horror in her arms. I saw Father crawling helplessly, with his torn limbs all over the place. And lastly, the twins that were impaled into the walls.

My breath left me. I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe.

BUZZ!!

'Huh...?' Snapping back into reality by the harsh buzzing from the blessing of danger, I saw a giant with the head of a snail suddenly come in front of me, clasping its arms together and swinging it downward, carrying a terrifying momentum with it.

The daunting blow met my barrier, crushing it splendidly after losing most of the power.

Thanks to the shock, I was able to gather my thoughts. And the first thing I did after flying back to safety was to make sure of something.

'Enhance my eyes to see through illusions.'

I could still see my family's lifeless corpse.

'More!'

And they were still there, lying cold and dismembered.

"More!! Damn it!!"

Ignoring the prickling pain that stabbed my brain and eyes, I could finally see my family disappear like a cloud of smoke.

'Ha...Fuck...' Sighs of relief escaped me.

"Hohoho! Yes, that's it! That's how it should be. You can't die from this much. Struggle more!"

I was trying hard at the moment not to lose control of my emotions, but the fucker was making it really hard for me.

Don't get me wrong. This asshole would die, but he would die without me losing control of myself.

I must be better, but then again, it was okay to be angry as long as I could have a clear grasp of what I was doing. That way, I could use that anger itself to my own advantage...

"You know, you really messed with the wrong person, you motherfucker. You shouldn't have done that...I want to take my time to see what the Phantom Squad is all about and train myself. But now, you are ruining everything..." I said low.

"Train yourself?" Pepe's eyebrow arched up in delight.

"Fuck. I'm getting too angry again..." I let my mana run freely, guiding the image I have from my mind into the tips of my tongue. "God's Realm."

And a miniature world of light burst out from within my soul, pushing Pepe's grim and dark world aside.

"Domain...? You can use a domain!? It can't be! You're nothing but a Master Magician! No. This can't be!!" Hissed the man hysterically.

My head cooled off in an instant. No, more precisely, I could tell that wisps of my emotions were leaving me.

Nothing else mattered.

'This feels different...than the last time...' Somehow, a part of me wanted to undo this domain before something happened to me. I didn't exactly know why and how, but it just felt dangerous to stay like this for a long time.

Not that I wanted to keep messing around in the first place...

Like a sun that illuminated the dark, I pierced through Pepe's world of dreams with ease, drawing closer and closer to him.

"No! Stay away!!"

He threw everything at me: monsters, tentacles, weapons, even crude imitations of people that I knew, yet every last one of them melted and vaporized into the air the minute they so much touched my domain.

Desperate in his act, Pepe poured more mana into the artifact to amplify the strength of his domain.

And it was able to push me back a little, thanks to that.

Then again, it was futile in the end.

"Pierce through." I decreed.

Soon before long, I arrived in front of Pepe, who was coughing blood and looked like he was on his last breath.

I looked him in the eye and found my blood began boiling once again.

As we were locked in that brief stalemate, Pepe had attempted to open his mouth, but I didn't let him.

"Die." I passed the judgment.

Thus, he closed his eyes...Never to open them again.