[Ceaseless Spiral Passage!]

  Eclipsed Requiem’s skill hit point blank, immediately shredding the Dreadbeast’s grotesque and oil-like body. At the very least, the head and torso were, while the rest of the body parts were quickly being devoured by the familiars and their clones.

  This was the same skill that had marked the end of the last fight between the scarecrow and the murderer, at the cost of Almon’s life. And just like last time, the wounds and body parts were consistently being regenerated as an amalgamation of violet slashes continued its relentless assault.

  “How did you know?!”

  Despite being stuck in that silent battle, John Doe still managed to scream out his frustration.

  After considering all the possible options again, Somnu had not only come to the conclusion that John Doe wasn’t a human, but that he likely doesn’t have a physical body himself.

  The fact that no one could find him anywhere on the fort, while he was almost active everyday, meant that he had been using his pawns to do his biddings. While he could have been one of the silent Sleepers, hiding in plain sight, that did not match with the personality he always exuded.

  He could somehow communicate with people via telepathy, and trick them into allowing him to possess them. Not that he needed approval for weaker Sleepers, such as Almon or Leyna.

  For Somnu’s sister, it was the fact that the Blood Fiend had tried to possess Leyna that made the scarecrow connect the last piece. John Doe had simply jumped from the pawn that tried to kill her, to Leyna herself. He was the one that restarted her heart after Aurora had believed she was dead, which meant the murderer couldn’t save the pawn that the superhero aspirer had killed in that moment.

  In the end, Somnu guessed that, if he had no physical form, John Doe was likely operating from some kind of pocket dimension or something more nuanced, like his own little word that allowed him to glance into this world.

  Naturally, he had no confirmation for the theory, and there were more possible options, albeit unlikely. Nevertheless, the reaction he had just received was all the confirmation he needed, which ensured his ultimate plan could still work.

  “...”

  Giving him no answer, Somnu continued to send more violet slashes into the mix, trying to reduce whatever energy he could from the opponent before he himself ran out of the vitality being consumed by the still active restriction.

  However, while he continuously applied pressure, there was one remaining detail worrying Somnu. The fact that his opponent hadn’t tried to do anything of significance yet.

  Not unless…

  “Why?! Why is it not working?! What did you do?! It worked last time!” Like a child throwing a temper tantrum, John Doe cried out, still regenerating his pet Dreadbeast. A moment later, his tone suddenly shifted. “Hahaha! You really did something, didn’t you?! You’re somehow able to resist my Bloodbind now!”

  So, that’s it… He has been trying to increase the weight of my blood again like last time. Somnu deduced, relieved he had seen it coming and prepared for it. Thanks to Arman’s bitter pill, my blood should be constantly regenerating.

  At least, that’s how Somnu had understood it when the doctor and researcher aspirer explained it. Arman had mentioned something about the very properties of his blood being temporarily changed, but that wasn’t something Somnu could begin to try to comprehend.

  Since Arman couldn’t fix Somnu’s eyes, nor his left arm, he had worked hard to help ensure his victory, even going as far as making some uncomfortable promises he would have rather not done.

  Needless to say, it was those kinds of preparations that helped the scarecrow fight his current opponent. And yet, the Blood Fiend had used the opportunity to possess a Dreadbeast and further his own power.

  In that regard, the two of them were indeed very similar.

  “But it won’t matter! That’s just one skill of mine! I’ve got many more, so let’s play!”

  “?!”

  Suddenly, the regenerating body of the owlbear exploded, sending toothy eyeballs and black blobs of oil-like flesh everywhere.

  ‘Fala, Naga, get them!’ Somnu commanded his summons, seeing it as the opportunity he needed.

  “Hahaha!”

  Dammit!

  Just as the clones rushed to consume all the parts that scattered around, they split once more, becoming too many to keep up with. Then, the many pieces quickly gathered back together after escaping doom.

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  It took but another mere second before the original form of the Dreadbeast had been assumed once more, away from the relentless slashes still going on.

  Faced with the fruit of his labor being rendered completely pointless, Somnu couldn’t help but grind his teeth. The fact that his attempt had failed hadn’t been the primary reason for his frustration, but the fact that he could simply not think of another way to get rid of this particular Dreadbeast himself.

  It was huge, not made of typical flesh and blood, and had rapid regeneration. On top of that, it stole Somnu’s very stamina, weakening and tiring him with every second that passed.

  Then, as Somnu tried to take action again, the entire scene in front of his borrowed gaze transformed.

  “?!”

  He saw himself, sitting in that first crypt that he had entered at the beginning of this whole ordeal. He was in the room with the summoning circle, being watched from the ground. By now, he could recognize that type of sight, a non-human sight, and it was…

  Fala’s memories?

  Then, the images changed again, too quickly for him to fully comprehend.

  Him hugging Fala, his body slumped on the ground after almost dying to the Contagious Corpses, his fight with the scarecrow monster in the Nirvia graveyard from a bird’s eye view…

  His past with his dear crow companion.

  After that, he saw visions he didn’t recognize, blurry images that seemed more like weird paintings.

  Are those… Fala’s dreams? Somnu questioned, not having much experience in that category.

  He was drawn into these foggy images of them together, every image showing Fala evolving into a bigger bird, then a more refined form, and lastly, into a humanoid silhouette. He felt the hopes and dreams the bird held for him, even the dark and weirdly specific outfits she had imagined her master wearing, or humorous situations he could find himself in.

  Why am I seeing this now? What was I doing before? Somnu questioned, his mind feeling cloudy again. Wait…!

  [Distorted Fallacy!]

  “?!”

  Somnu suddenly came back to his senses, but it had already been too late.

  “How was it? Did you enjoy that?” The Blood Fiend sneered, grabbing onto the bare scarecrow’s body with the owlbear cold, gooey surface, and squeezing it between the oversized oily palms.

  ‘‘Master!’’

  Crow-Shit!

  Having switched to a nearby crow clone, Somnu could still see what was happening, but most of his familiars were quickly rushing in to help him.

  [Straw Storm!]

  He put holes in the malformed palms as spikes of straws protruded out of his body. And yet, the squeezing didn’t stop.

  Grudgekeeper!

  Just as he was about to summon a doppelganger and use his Dream Catcher, Somnu once again saw himself being looked at from the ground in a cavern. A moment later, he was patting a serpent head, before it changed to another dream sequence, showing Naga consistently evolving until she reached a humanoid form, forcing him to dot on her and praise her.

  “?!”

  [Distorted Fallacy!]

  Jolting himself to reality once more, his right arm had already been severed.

  Pulled away and devoured by the countless toothy eyeballs within the palms he was trapped in.

  The clones were trying to eat from the outside, making their way in as fast as possible to rescue their master, but for every bite they swallowed, the surface of the Dreadbeast would simply regenerate once more.

  Dammit… He can use some kind of illusion power… At this rate…

  Somnu quickly canceled the summoning of his familiars, then summoned them around him on the inside of the palm. They quickly resumed their work on this side, attempting to create just a simple gap for him to get out of.

  Soon, he would be running out of skills to use, and that would be the end of him.

  Ignoring the sharp, burning sensation on his right, he regenerated his newly missing arm with straw, matching it with his left one. Then, he summoned both Grudgekeeper and the doppelganger separately on the outside, each with a Memento to try and help cut down the arms holding him.

  However, just then, his vision changed once more.

  He saw himself again, this time, the blurry images were at the start. They showed Somnu with his familiars, with his siblings, with the Emeberlyns, even Aurora and Arman… Mathros, Lulu, Carmella… The silhouettes of those he had hurt, he had lost. They were all together now, smiling happily with no danger in sight.

  “Hnghh!!”

  [Distorted Fallacy!]

  The pain in his chest overwhelmed whatever else was happening to his body. Forced to pull away from the one thing he had ever hoped for felt like killing a part of himself.

  It was almost ironic when he noticed both of his legs had been taken away from him too.

  ‘Hahahahaha! You’ll understand soon, Somnu! You’ll understand the agony of not having a physical body yourself, what that does to someone! Hahahahaa! I’ll show it to you!’

  He heard the Blood Fiend’s bellowing voice in his head, understanding fully what that meant.

  He was going to be possessed soon.

  His plans had failed. He had failed.

  At least…. They made it out. That was all I really wanted in the end…

  For them to be safe.

  That’s all the scarecrow could ever want, even if his grudge-

  No! Screw that! That’s not enough! I want it all! I’m not dying here, I want to win!