NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1518: A Fragment Vanquished
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Artorias sighed in relief, sitting on the floor, feeling relieved his foe was vanquished.
He had once more surpassed his limits.
"What was that? Who was he…? The Original Nightmare Curse? Could that be… the speculated origin of all Nightmares? Is such a being attacking us right now? But why was he talking like he knew me? This is… beyond bizarre. Especially because… it feels like I've fought that thing more than once, and it is as if today, it's the first time I actually won."
Artorias was shocked by what he was beginning to discover: the truth of the world, the origin of the Nightmares, and even of the lost timelines reset by humanity's last savior.
Those who survived until now, such as him and other students, those who possessed the strongest Fate, were finally here, in the very last loop.
And it was time for them to seize their own Fate and no longer let this monster decide for them if they got to live or not.
It was time for them to fight back or die trying, one last time.
And yet, the battle wasn't nearly over.
He could still hear the screams of many people, so he got moving.
"I need to help them… Or nobody will."
His resolve and kindness made his heart stronger and "bigger." The reason his Dream Heart had remained stagnant for hundreds of loops until this moment was because there wasn't someone to teach him a valuable lesson.
About what it meant to do the right thing, what it meant to be a knight and a hero. The expectations that always weighed on his shoulders because of his powers, the Legacy of a King that might have never existed.
He finally began to learn what it truly meant, and with this newfound resolve, his dream expanded, and his true powers evolved to the point he was able to seize his own fate.
And do the impossible.
.
.
.
"UUUGGHH?! W-WHAT… WHAT WAS THAT?!"
The Original Nightmare Curse recoiled in agony outside the barrier, and even his other half beneath the planet's crust felt the pain. A Soul Fragment, approximately 7% of his power, suddenly disappeared.
It was a fragment he confidently thought would be enough to defeat Artorias, one of the strongest Dream Warriors of this world, aside from those who replaced a few students and Maria in this loop.
In all other timelines, Artorias had died pitifully, managing to put up a good fight against the Nightmare Demon King but ultimately dying and almost getting eaten by the Original Nightmare Curse before the timeline reset, as if the woman behind it always stopped him at the last moment.
Naturally, the entity was confident he could defeat him, as he was several times stronger than the Nightmare Demon King and without any of his weaknesses. But that proved to be untrue. Something in this timeline had changed within Artorias compared to the other timelines, all because of these new visitors.
He had suddenly and inexplicably become much, much stronger.
And the Original Nightmare Curse started to think that the reason was these visitors themselves. They were not just too strong but capable of teaching these weaklings and helping them grow even stronger.
"I lost a large fragment of my soul through that battle…! I was reckless! But if I'm not reckless, then how will I feed myself?! This island is the only place where I can get what I need the most! Going elsewhere will only waste my time. Normal humans won't do!"
His gigantic crimson eye glowed brightly as the tentacle he was using to dig through the barrier grew larger, expanding the hole little by little and reaching the ground below, crystallizing it into a large black tree that began to break the barrier from the inside out.
While doing so, black tendrils made of nightmare miasma expanded everywhere, aiming at the rest of the people or anything they could find. The Nightmare Car Monsters were only the beginning, as smaller buildings started turning into Nightmares, and the people who couldn't make it were also infected.
Meanwhile, Director Hall, Hendrick, Frederica, and the other teachers faced these hordes of Nightmare Monsters, standing in front of the area they had to protect, where people were evacuating toward the airport.
In this place, large airships fueled with Dream Stones would descend and take the people back to the continent. However, there were still ten minutes before the first airship arrived.
"Help…! HELP MEEEEEE!"
A giant mass of rubble screamed as the body of an innocent old man cried in agony, his body attached to the stone and the miasma like fleshy tendrils, covered with eyes bleeding blood.
"SAVE US! Why won't you save us…?!"
"It hurts…! It hurts so much…!"
"Mommy… where's mommy…"
It wasn't just the old man. Most Nightmare Monsters created by the Original Nightmare Curse were utterly bizarre, fusions of inert objects and humans used as the core. Their agony also gave him power, but it was much better to devour Dream Warriors through them.
"Don't falter! These people cannot be saved anymore. They've been turned into monsters!" Hall said, stepping forward with his katana and the armor derived from its power. "We must give them a swift end, so they won't suffer anymore…!"
"But there are children!" cried one of the teachers.
"I know… that's why we have to do this quickly!" Hall screamed as the monsters rushed toward him. "I'm sorry, I'm truly… sorry!"
He swung his katana with extreme precision, slashing the air upwards and downwards in a cross-shaped section. A black cross of flames engulfed the incoming beasts, slicing them apart and then detonating them into several explosions.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Move! We must protect the airport at all costs!"
As the director's words echoed through the city, the Academy's teachers and the other soldiers nodded, charging together against the hordes of Nightmare Monsters coming after them.
Hendrick swung his fists as his giant claw-like gauntlets tore through his foes. Volcanic explosions of lava and flames erupted with each of his attacks.
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