Staying here in this abandoned ancient castle for the rest of his life, protecting some kind of hidden secrets?

  Somnu was definitely not going to willingly accept such an ordeal.

  He didn’t know why Mister Emberlyn would even ask him such a thing in the first place, he seemed a little different than what Somnu remembered.

  The endless pop-up messages surrounding him didn’t help. Somnu had learned that he could make them disappear with a simple mental command when he wanted to, but seeing the sly old geezer in that armor and aesthetic just made him too curious not to learn a little bit more.

  He knew he wouldn’t be able to read the endless wall of text, but he figured he would at least get the gist of them.

  The old man’s personal profile status seemed to look something like this, a heavily abbreviated version.

  [Name: Eamon Emberlyn.]

  [Species: Prime Human.]

  [Personal Rank: Mythborn.]

  [Ego Core Rank: Golden.]

  [Ego Core Level: Max.]

  [Dream Catcher: Dreamkeeper’s Amulet.]

  [Mementos: {Holy Armor Heaven’s Guard}, {Holy Sword Dawnbringer}, {Ring of Twilight’s Vigil}, {Cloak of Veiled Horizons}, {Etc.}]

  [Personal Titles: {Oathbound}, {Unforsaken}, {Celestial’s Chosen}, {Lightblessed}, {Primordial Crusader}, {Sword Saint}, {Last Holy Knight of Nirvia}, {Seraphic Paladin}, {Etc.}]

  [General Abilities: {Complete Multilingual Comprehension}, {Maximum Natural Prowess}, {Environmental Adaptation}, {Etc.}]

  [Ascended Aspiration Class: {The Eternal Warden of the Forgotten Sanctuary.}]

  That’s way too much! Prime human? Really? And Mythoborn?! Is that the last rank for Sleepers?!

  Somnu simply stopped after getting through some of the old man’s endless information. Normally, he would have read everything given the time, but he was stretching the knight’s patience as he still waited for him to answer.

  And yet, getting through all of that, Somnu couldn’t help but wonder more about the witty old geezer who normally just stood on his porch, rode his horse occasionally and just joked around.

  Why was he here? How does he have abilities and powers, and so many of them? Why is he so strong, strong enough to make Nightmare Creatures flee in fear? How does he know so much about this place?

  And most of all… why is he not even surprised to see Somnu in such a place?

  “So, what’s it going to be, kid?” the old man finally asked again. “Did you come to a decision?”

  “I’ve got too many questions to ask you, old geezer. I’m not staying here.” Somnu fixed his posture and looked at the old knight in front of him. “Once you’ve answered my questions, I’m going to find a way back to that First Layer, and then complete this quest so I can wake up from my coma!”

  “Ah, yes.” Eamon Emberlyn nonchalantly said with a shrug. “There is no way back, sadly. You’re stuck here with me. You might as well just swear your oath now.”

  “What…?” Somnu froze in place, mouth left half-agape.

  If there was no way back, and he was stuck here forever, it meant he can’t finish his quest, he can’t wake up, and he can’t go back to his peaceful life. To the life he had planned to slowly improve for the better.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me…” Somnu finally mumbled.

  “Yep.”

  “I mean, being stuck here forever after everything-” Somnu paused, his wide shaking eyes quickly turning deadpan. “What did you just say?”

  “Yep, just kidding.” The proud-looking, golden-clad knight stuck out his tongue and said in a soft tone. “I was just messing with ya.”

  “That’s it, you’re dead! I’m actually going to kill you!”

  Without a second delay, Somnu lunged forward, summoning both violet sickles into his grip.

  Even the System seemed to be agreeing with him as it finally came back to life.

  [Your Grudge grows stronger.]

  “Oh?”

  However, the experienced knight simply stood in place, awaiting the coming attack without drawing a weapon.

  Somnu had charged on an impulse. Although he didn’t want to fight now, although he knew he wasn’t quite ready just yet, his body still acted.

  And now, despite it having started as a mere impulse, Somnu wanted to see it through.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  He wanted to fight the last knight of Nirvia and see how strong the old man really was. No, to see how far from him he really was.

  “...”

  Gripping both of his sickles tightly, Somnu charged forward with the full intent of battle.

  [Crow’s Call!]

  “Caaw!”

  “!”

  Canceling and resummoning Fala to fly close and block the old man’s vision, Somnu immediately switched to [Silent Step] to sneak away, while using [Straw Strike] to imitate the sounds of his footsteps in the front as a ruse.

  “I’m impressed, kid.”

  “?!”

  Just as Somnu had sneaked behind the knight and was about to swing his sickles in an attempt to at least graze the armor a little, Eamon emitted a bright light from his body that acted like an invisible force field, pushing everything away from him.

  Worse of all, it didn’t seem to be a skill either.

  Eamon had simply seen and defended against his tricks with just his passive abilities.

  “Dammit!”

  Even so, Somnu tried to push through the invisible force field.

  “Are you not angry, Somnu?”

  “What?!”

  “You know, I was simply watching back in the graveyard.”

  Hearing that, Somnu’s eyes suddenly widened. Mister Emberlyn had known about the scarecrow monster somehow, he mentioned him after landing.

  He could only have known if he had really been… just watching.

  He watched Somnu struggle, run for his life and get chased by that thing.

  And even after he somehow turned around and beat it, he was tortured with unforgettable pain, pain that still lingered in his mind even now.

  Did he watch all of that when he could’ve easily helped?! With his power, he…

  “That’s right. I heard your screams of agony, saw your tears of blood, smelled your rotting flesh…” Eamon paused, then raised an eyebrow at Somnu. “What are you going to do about it, punk scarecrow kid?”

  In a matter of seconds, Somnu felt the boiling rage within him ignite once more, his purple eyes burned with a new glow.

  “I don’t know what has gotten into you here, I don’t even know how you got here, but if you really did that…” the scarecrow gritted his teeth, glaring directly into the golden knight’s blue eyes. “If you really watched that whole thing happen, allowed it to happen… Then I’ll beat the crap out of you right here, old man!”

  “Go on and try. Use that secret power of yours, why don’t you?” Eamon provoked, taking a few steps away from the giant gate to give Somnu behind him some space.

  Betty’s summoning seemed to have been canceled, but Fala was still flying in the air above, awaiting her next command.

  As for Somnu, he didn’t need to think anymore. Whether he was able to use that Night Terror State that Grudgekeeper went into during the scarecrow fight or not, Somnu was determined to fight with whatever he had now.

  A second later, he lunged forward once more, charging at his old employer, now enemy.

  In response, Eamon took a knightly stance, twisting his body slightly to the side and raised his right arm forward, even moving his fingers to taunt the reckless kid.

  “Come and get it.”

  “Argh!”

  With a primal shout, Somnu swung his glowing sickles at the old man, taking control of the space. It’s at that moment Somnu realized the invisible force field had been canceled on purpose to lure him in.

  Dammit!

  CLANG!

  Just as the sickles were about to hit the golden chestplate, an ornamental blue-ish dagger seemed to appear out of nowhere and deflect all attempts with one masterful move.

  And then…

  “!”

  THUD!

  CRASH!

  For a moment, everything seemed the same, and yet the sounds had clearly hinted at some kind of crash.

  It was only a second later that his perception caught up with what had happened. A simple kick from the old man had knocked Somnu out of his position, and sent him crashing into the sturdy giant gate at an astonishing speed.

  As the dust settled, Somnu had broken bones, blood running out of his mouth and nose. He simply sat motionless, aimlessly staring at his new torturer.

  This is too frustrating… How many times will I find myself in these kinds of situations?! He thought to himself, watching the golden knight take slow steps towards him. Didn’t I promise not to let this happen again…? Was I wrong to trust the man I’ve known since I was a child…?

  “I’ve seen enough.” Eamon simply proclaimed. “You should be able to do it as you are now, but you need to get something through that thick head of yours, kid.”

  “?”

  Somnu raised his head slightly, feeling the same light that healed him in the graveyard shining at him again.

  “You try to rely too much on your little physical tricks, those aren’t enough. And even when you do, you end up charging head first or from the back, you’re too predictable, even for Nightmare Creatures.”

  Just as Somnu was healed enough again, the last knight of Nirvia simply held him up as if he were holding up a newborn puppy.

  “Let… me go…”

  “Sure thing.” Eamon replied bluntly, his other hand seemingly pushing at one side of the gate. “Just remember, you wanted this.”

  “?!”

  CREEEEK!!

  “What are you…?!” Somnu began to ask as he regained his healthy body, but felt himself flying away.

  “Do your best now!”

  For some reason, the sight of Mister Emberlyn’s smile was growing further and further away, replaced by the opposite side of the giant gate.

  Don’t tell me…?!

  Landing and taking a quick look around, Somnu realized what had happened.

  He was thrown inside, beyond the gate, but it seemed too dark and misty to see anything.

  “GRUHH-CRAACK!”

  “?!”

  From inside the dark mist, a weird growling sound, which seemed more like branch snapping, alerted Somnu. Looking in that direction, he could clearly see a towering silhouette forming, one that seemed too thin and lanky to be a person. Not to mention the countless extended vines coming from all over its outlined shape.

  A second later, the crimson eyes glowed from within the darkness, announcing themselves.

  Damn you, old fool!

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