Chương 265: Tomb World

This literally came out of nowhere, Mara. What even is the idea behind this manoeuvre? I mostly did it because I could, but also, getting specimens of any kind in my current situation is pretty much impossible without rousing suspicions I would rather do without. Because what you just did wouldn't raise some suspicions? Maybe from the old man, but the prime minister? It was pretty obvious she wanted this guy dead dearly.

Anytime I passed by her, I would be able to feel radiations of deep, profound negative emotions festering inside of her. Let me tell you, I don't think I've ever met someone who could keep their emotions in check so thoroughly. She's probably going to have some health complications with how much she was hiding her anger. This woman didn't just want him gone. She wanted him absolutely evaporated and erased from history. I can tell that she isn't directing any negative emotions toward me.

I lingered close to her to check precisely this. I think we are best friends now, actually–And don't go implying that there is romance budding between another woman and me, alright? As much as I would have liked to, I have not detected any signs of romantic affection. Unfortunately… Good. Anyway, what did you think of my plan overall? Wasn't it nifty? I knew my new spirit-making skills would come in handy. I even applied the things you told me about.

I put big drawbacks into them so that I could make them stronger in other areas, and it clearly worked splendidly. I might actually be able to power up my little sisters if I can further refine my methods. Heheheh… Being a genius at something technical like this feels quite good. Leton must really be having a blast by using MY talents in mechanistry… Ah… Speaking of Leton, I find it weird that I haven't seen anything from him yet.

I can remain hidden from most people, but I know that he would know that I was still around. It isn't like him to just ignore a problem, and it isn't like him at all to ignore a problem named 'Nebulo'. I bet he is building some real bullshit to deal with me. I can just feel it in my iron bones… Anyway, as far as I can see, my attempt at a possessive ghost went splendidly.

That guy with the axe played his role perfectly, and once the work was done, the ghost destroyed itself as it was supposed to–The normal way would have been to just recall it, but by intentionally making a drawback that made it fall apart, I was able to enhance its other performances. I did something similar with my scout ghosts that I had watched over the other people in the so-called House of Freedom.

They didn't destroy themselves, but I made it so that they could only stay out for a limited amount of time before being forcefully recalled and placed in a state of dormancy for several hours. This allowed me to boost their stealth, which is how I caught Mister Archmage discussing with the ghostly fucker. To the old man's credit, he had clearly not been too hot about working with the dark spectre. Though I had not been expecting this damned thing to follow me even inside this place.

The bastard was definitely following me constantly. The dark ghost simply chose to reveal its presence rarely. I myself wasn't scared of… Him. He was clearly afraid of my ability to overpower spirits and devour them, but I was more worried for my ghostly little sisters, as well as Xlown and Mari. They didn't have the same threat-factor as I. However, so far, it seemed like this vengeful spirit was unwilling to target anyone besides me for some reason.

I suppose he truly was hyper-focused on getting to me alone and to 'drag me to Hell' as he stated. In any case… I didn't have time to dedicate to a slippery bastard that wouldn't even get within twenty steps of me. I had bigger fish to fry, such as the haul I had gotten from this little stunt I just pulled–Nara would call it anything but a 'little' stunt, but I found it so easy to do that I couldn't really view it any other way…

"Hello, hello–lo. Can you hear me?"

"... H-Huh…? OH! By the gods, where am I?! Who are you?!"

"I almost thought I had hit you too ha–hard. Welcome to the Gravescape, Mister Head of the Nation!"

"Gravescape?! Am I dead? Am I the first Leader of the Republic to be assassinated? Will I be in the history books?" That's the first thing this guy thinks about? No wonder everyone hates him. I bet they don't hate him as much as he deserves it, in fact.

"You are not yet dead–ead. I abducted you… Everyone believes that you have va–vanished into thin air. No one will look for you longer than a few days, however. Aesther is going to see a change of not just lea–der, but of regime as a whole""What?"

"The idea of a republic was outdated the moment it came into effect. Who–Who even had this brilliant idea in the first place?"

"... Does this mean that Aesther will be returning to a monarchy? This is terrible!"

"Worse than what you were doing?"

"I mean… Democracy is always better, right?" If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Only the people in charge of a democracy–cy believe that, Buddy. I don't care about your opinions, though. I abducted you solely because you are–re the only human I can get my hands on at the moment" It was a bit ironic that the only person I could safely abduct was the most important person of an entire country, but I suppose this is what happens when you are a fool only fit to rule one room of a house.

Right now, Tanaya Uolip is taking over his functions and pretending to care about finding where he disappeared to. Ganiel Kalersky has no true loyalists, only leeches who care about him because he was in power. Now that he is out of the picture, the rats will jump ship and try to hug the prime minister's leg–And probably get stomped.

"W-What do you want from me?" He couldn't even stop himself from stuttering and trembling.

"Several things, as a matter of fact–act" The disgraced leader of Aesther looked around desperately. Surrounding him was nothing but darkness, however. He could hear my voice, but until now, I hadn't even looked in his direction. My glowing eyes were still unseen. Until I finally began moving, only then did he realise that I had been much closer than he had imagined. I pushed a table close to him as he stared into my beady purple eyes. I didn't bother altering their colouration.

This man would never see the light of day again, and the number of days he had to live fully depended on me alone. The table featured a nice little lamp Mari had built. By simply pulling on a string, it lit up, allowing Kalersky to see what I truly looked like.

"BY THE GODS!" He tried to move backwards, but he couldn't even make the chair he was stuck in tilt backwards. It was made entirely out of steel and bolted to the ground. In fact, since I had made it using 'Steel Shaping', the steel binds holding him in place were fused directly into the chair itself. For a regular, powerless man like him, this was an inescapable trap. A bind that had literally grown around him, perfectly made to stop any potential escape method.

I slammed my jaw shut several times at him, revelling in the panic and horror he experienced.

"So. I currently have three–ee plans for you: First, I wish to invade your dreams to test a few things. Second, I will test the prototype of one of my–y creations on you. Third, I will skin you, for craftsmanship purposes, obviously" He didn't even respond. He just stared at me with a horrified expression, a jaw open wider than seemed possible, and a face so pale that it looked like he had died several hours ago from having had all the blood in his body drained.

"Also, my prototype will proba–bably rip your face off, but that's a minor detail""I… I'll give you anything! I've been earning like crazy as the Leader of the Republic! There's my regular salary, and then there's all the funds I stole! I can get you anything you want! I swear! I truly do! If you want specimens, I'll get them for you! I know some guys who can get people! I am more valuable this way! Please!" A deep, metallic growl escaped me.

"Even the way you beg is annoying. Time to sleep""Wai-!" I roared directly in his face, using 'Embodiment Of Negativity' to a strong enough degree to knock out the feeble excuse of a man before me. Alright, I had been meaning to test the half-unlocked 'Nightmare Form' for a while now. Let's try not to kill with it, though… Well, technically speaking, I had been using it all this time.

'Our Little Horror Story' is where the Dreamscape came from and how pre-final trials came to be in the first place, but it feels more like a passive boost to my nightmares rather than an ability purely linked to this form. Upon transforming into this form, my physical being simply disappeared, and I became some sort of wisp of black smoke.

'Dream Walker' activated on its own, and I was pulled into the dream of Kalersky. Oddly enough, despite the situation he was in, his dream was rather mundane. He was just dreaming about being in the House of Freedom, and… Huh… That's just nasty. It probably isn't a fair metric to judge someone's character with, but that's not a good look for him. He already admitted to being a filthy thief on top of being grossly incompetent and a weakling. Now, his dream is making him look like an absolute pervert.

I guess he really had no idea at all that Tanaya Uolip despised him with every ounce of her being. Surely, he didn't appoint her as his prime minister because he liked her in the first place, right? Now that I think about it, it sounds extremely likely that it is the case. Good thing my darlings aren't here to see this scene. Well, Nara is here, but she is always here, no matter what. I can't really curate what she sees and knows like I can with the rest. That's… That's a bit sad when you think about it.

I mean, it would be sad if he were in any way likeable, I suppose I think it's funny, personally, but time to shatter this dream. I would rather not see how it further evolves. I focused on 'Dream Walker' to twist this dream into a nightmare of my own. Of course, I didn't have nearly as much control as I did when designing the pre-final trial in the Dreamscape, but considering that my victim had a rather weak will, I was able to take control with ease.

The walls of the distorted House of Freedom began to grow darker as a soot-like substance began flowing upon their surface, and the dream in general began to feel more complete. Before, it was just the construct of a partly slumbering mind, so details were incorrect, and certain things made no sense. Only the main…

'Scene' was truly well-detailed, but once I took over with my very awake mind, this all changed. The House of Freedom was built into something much more like reality, but with a new spooky paint job. As for me, I decided to alter my form into the same one I had been granted during Mari's final trial. Not only was the attire quite stylish and the blade that came with it very nice, but it also came with the ability to place traps.

Unlike in the original nightmare this form had come from, I wasn't restricted in my movement speed in the least. This was the ideal version of this sub-form. I was going to torment him a bit, but not go as far as to kill or seriously injure him. I do believe that all damage he would sustain here would reflect into reality as though this were a final trial, but I wasn't quite certain. I was here to test such things. Alright, let's get him running–And he hasn't stopped what he was doing. Seriously?

Alright, I'll alter the dream version of Uolip, it should get him to realise that this is no longer a normal dream… He should already be lucid anyway. Just how focused is this motherfucker?