[Congratulations are in order!]

  [You have killed another Sleeper!]

  [Sleeper Skrixis Blattoth has killed a total of 6 Sleepers and was therefore, on the verge of becoming a Nightmare Creature himself.]

  [Sleeper Somnu ERROR has served the mission by ridding the Nightmare Realm of such an individual.]

  [Your grudge has grown much stronger!]

  [Calculating rewards…]

  Somnu sank into the single couch, letting out a long breath to relax his nerves.

  He had put his plan in motion, and removed one of the pawns in the process. Planting Carmella as a spy had already bore fruit.

  The moment Skrixis hinted at being a follower of John Doe, the serpent clone had alerted the main body. Naga then woke up in a frenzy and reported to her master, who wasted no time in resonating with that clone.

  Despite it being tightly squeezed in a narrow and hot environment, using the thermal vision of a serpent, the scarecrow was able to more or less understand the layout of the room. A moment later, just as the space he was in got even smaller, squeezing him closer to the heat source, he took action.

  [Decoy Doppelganger] created a hidden clone within the summoned Grudgekeeper. [Straw Storm] pulled the prey in before crushing its carparace-covered skull. The [Night Terror State], along with [Hollow Gaze] and serpents on the inside releasing the black smoke, a figure had been created.

  One to inspire fear, and feed upon it. One that basked in the glory of dread, reveled in the screams of terror.

  At least, that was the intended purpose, and this had been but the first step towards that goal.

  He had summoned Eclipsed Requiem and used some minor [False Echoes] to ensure some eerie growling was being emitted.

  I had to use [Distorted Fallacy] for the crimson eyes and the last symbol, but even when I’m slightly recovered, I can feel how much it takes out of me. At best, I can maybe use it five or so times during one battle before it completely drains me.

  Deep in thought, Somnu held his chin with his left hand, and continued stroking the serpent in his lap with his right hand.

  His idea had worked smoothly thanks to Carmella’s location being not too far away from him, on a lower level to the side of the fort. He was around the middle, whereas the Fortmaster was towards the top.

  Either way, Somnu needed to scatter more serpents around the fort, as many as he could summon. Thankfully, Carmella and the clone she had with her would be perfect for the task to keep suspicion away from himself.

  The scarecrow had already instructed Naga to convey that part of the plan. With that, whenever the serpents picked on any potential pawns, he could hunt them down in front of others and further his grand plan.

  Somnu had naturally considered questioning the cockroach, but at best, he might have been able to get some names of other pawns. John Doe wasn’t stupid enough to let some foot soldiers know his whereabouts or plans.

  But this confirms one thing to me, he can’t resonate and take control of anyone he wants. If he could take over Skrixis, he wouldn’t waste the opportunity to fight me now that I’m here. Somnu figured, wetting his dry lips.

  This time, oddly enough, the scarecrow felt a cold indifference about being full on a horned cockroach. He was calm as a nice breeze, thirsty as he usually got after a long gaming session.

  The way he controls the decoy, and uses his abilities through it, it did almost feel like a game. He couldn’t resonate with the decoy itself, but he could do so with Grudgekeeper. He hadn’t tried it before, but if the familiars were an extension of the Dream Catcher, it would only make sense that he would be able to do the same. The only problem was the fact the outfit had no eyes, so he had to switch constantly between it and the serpents releasing smoke from within.

  Nevertheless, it worked, and I learned something new about John Doe’s powers. He might only be able to pick a handful of Sleepers to possess at one time, while the others are potential hosts? This Skrixis said one would need to accept ‘him’.

  While considering the options, Somnu figured that thus far, John Doe might have focused his possessed hosts on the outside of the fort, as they looked for Somnu. That meant either one remained inside to do the killing or John Doe himself was actively coming out of his hiding spot.

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  At least, this is assuming he’s a Savant, and actually human… The scarecrow stopped his hand, making Naga raise her head in puzzlement. Growing impatient, she nudged her head against his palm, demanding more praise.

  Her master, however, was too stunned to notice her.

  The thought alone made his stomach tighten. John Doe was on earth, but what if just like Mr. Emberlyn, he wasn’t originally from there, but another world entirely?

  What if Somnu was being misdirected to base his assumptions on the fact that the one he was after was just a human?

  ‘Master, what’s wrong?’

  ‘... Nothing, Naga. Just overthinking, probably.’ He responded telepathically, then resonated his vision with the serpent again. ‘Fetch me that stick I dropped earlier, will you?’

  ‘Yes, master!’

  Naga jumped into action and completed her task as fast as possible, immediately taking her spot again on Somnu’s lap. Her enthusiasm made him curl the corners of his lips up a bit.

  The stick was now leaning on the armchair next to him. He needed to make sure that, beside the ones who had already seen him, and Mo, everyone else would mistake him as a helpless bystander with the farmer class.

  Meanwhile…

  [Calculations Complete!]

  [You have accumulated more Grudge.]

  [Your Dream Catcher has leveled up!]

  [Dream Catcher {Grudgekeeper} Level: Lvl 2.] {With 7482 more Ego Particles or Core equivalent to the next level up.}

  Consuming the cockroach, and whatever Dream Catcher and Mementos he had on him, gave much more rewards than Henry and his headless goons. The scarecrow hadn’t known which rank Skrixis was, but he had given him no time to fight back, only one skill repeatedly brought him back to life.

  Perhaps it had been a Personal Title that made him unkillable, or a repeated use of a taxing skill that brought him back from the brink, but neither could help him when faced with the endlessly growing appetite of a grudge.

  At the same time, Somnu was still receiving more Terror Cores from his other familiar and her clones. It almost felt like Fala wasn’t resting at all, doing her best to support the master from far away. Unable to resonate with him or know what was going on, she must be pushing herself to provide all the help she could.

  That too, warmed Somnu’s chest. It hadn’t been but a little longer than half a day or so since they got separated, but he did miss the companion that had never left his side since the beginning of this journey.

  Well, thanks to Fala I can move onto the next step too… The scarecrow swallowed unintentionally, feeling his breaths growing shorter. I have to do this, as painful as it may be…

  ‘Naga.’

  ‘Yes, Master?’

  ‘I need you to go and guard the door.’

  ‘I can just have a clone-’

  ‘No, it has to be you.’ Somnu paused for a moment. ‘If you and Fala really want to just do as I say rather than choose for yourselves, I won’t push you to choose otherwise, that was the point. But Naga, this time, I ask you to not look back or resonate with me unless there is danger, someone is coming in, or you find another pawn.’

  ‘Master… What are you going to do? I can help!’

  ‘No, this is my burden alone. I have to grit my teeth and shoulder the pain. So they don’t get hurt again, so that they don’t become the next victim. They may resent me for this, I may eventually lose them again, but as long as they are safe, I don’t care what happens to me, I never did.’

  ‘Master…’

  ‘Don’t feel bad for me, Naga. That’s not why I’m telling you all this. I want you to understand. I’m happy, I really am. Despite having lost someone I dearly cherished, and loved, I won’t mop about and feel sorry for myself. He would laugh at me if I did. I’m here now, I can protect my siblings and the friends I care deeply about. That… That is really all I truly care about. All I ever truly cared about.’

  The scarecrow paused, gently lowering his serpent to the ground. She looked up at him with big, worried eyes.

  ‘Revenge, I would be lying if I said I didn’t want it too, but it pales in comparison to my true purpose. Now go, and make sure to do as I say… please, Naga.’

  ‘...’ The serpent turned her head away, lowered it, then for a brief moment, hesitated and almost looked back. Ultimately, she made her way to the door. Her mournful voice rescinded in his head before she sank beneath the door and turned into black smoke. ‘... please don’t do anything too reckless, master.’

  Somnu pursed his lips as his world turned into nothingness once more, devoid of any color.

  His sister was still sleeping nearby so he grabbed onto his stick and made his way to the furthest corner before sitting down on the ground.

  He couldn’t allow the same things to hold him back anymore, he had to be ready for everything he could control.

  And one of those things was the constant interruption of his translucent crown always hovering above his head, like an intangible and invisible halo.

  It had almost resulted in his friends’ death last time, and eventually cost him both of his eyes.

  No longer.

  I’m not letting you get in the way again. This time, I’m taking control.

  He grabbed Veilbinder’s Diadem with both hands, clenching it as tightly as he gritted his teeth, then, in a fluid, unhesitant motion, he stabbed it right into his skull.