Ark Undead

"Take me as my food, become a part of me, and when I open my eyes from the depths of the ocean, you will become me, and I will become you."

Theresa's voice was still very soft, as if she were whispering sweet nothings to Kal'tsit.

"How about it? Does this outcome feel very easy for you, without any pressure at all?"

Theresa raised her right hand, pinched Kal'tsit's chin, lifted her lowered head, and said with pity.

“Look, even though you have committed such atrocities against me, I am still so gentle with you.”

"Who is sick, Kal'tsit? Is it really me?"

So close, and within the power that Nightmare was born with, Kal'tsit's thoughts gradually became delirious.

This is the power of nightmares to overwrite dreams; it can affect not only the dream itself, but also the people who enter the dream.

This is why Greyhound was gradually bewitched by Theresa after coming into contact with Theresa's statue at the beginning.

Now, the same thing will happen to Kal'tsit in Theresa's plans.

But just as Kal'tsit was being held firmly by Theresa and unable to resist...

Kal'tsit said in a low voice.

"Then... what are you waiting for?"

Theresa laughed instead.

She hadn't expected that Kal'tsit would say something so childish and stubborn in this situation.

But Kal'tsit wasn't just bluffing.

She looked at Theresa and said earnestly.

What are you waiting for?

Theresa was startled. At that moment, she suddenly pulled Kal'tsit out of her sight and looked behind Kal'tsit.

Right behind Kal'tsit, a solid shadow was slowly seeping into the ground along a crack that had appeared out of nowhere.

Just as Kal'tsit had drawn Theresa's attention, Mon3tor had already left Kal'tsit's body and slowly burrowed into the floor behind her.

Just as Theresa looked over, Mon3tor also tucked his little tail inside.

"What are you doing?!"

Theresa finally couldn't hold back any longer and began to question Kal'tsit.

Kal'tsit continued to gaze at Theresa with the same look in her eyes.

"You can guess."

“I have already made it very clear that this dream has been restored very well by the power of the Lord of Dreams.”

"However, you are still locked up here, as if there is some special rule preventing you from going to the upper levels."

"You crave food, so why does the Lord of Dreams allow you to develop unchecked in his own territory?"

Kal'tsit's words were unknowingly filled with sarcasm.

"Haven't you realized that you're just food that's being craved?"

Before he could finish speaking, the entire tenth floor began to shake.

Dust settled on the ceiling, and the vibrations were coming from the ninth floor.

The constant knocking sounds and the immense force that nearly dismantled the ship were being demonstrated to Kal'tsit and Theresa through the destruction of the building materials.

“It’s at the door, Theresa. The Lord of Dreams has lost patience. Now your only choice is to devour me, accept my memories, everything about me, and become the force that will stop you in the dream world.”

Kal'tsit's tone was full of sarcasm.

But as Kal'tsit said, the Lord of Dreams sent his messengers to devour the power he had raised.

No one can defy his rules.

Where the aggregate of silt passes, the dream collapses.

Countless dreams overlap here, and the master of dreams uses the depth of these dreams and the wandering souls to witness this grand feast.

Only by maximizing their own strength can they survive in this ceremony.

"you!"

Theresa then realized that Kal'tsit might never have intended to kill her with her own hands.

Before the Lord of Dreams, all power is futile; he is the true master of this dream.

Theresa had no choice.

Then, slippery tentacles climbed up Kal'tsit's neck.

Kal'tsit's calm gaze was covered by one tentacle after another, until she was completely enveloped.

The suction cups on her tentacles are how Theresa draws power and energy.

As one of the creators of this dream's memories, Kal'tsit can undoubtedly provide her with immense power.

Even after completely enveloping Kal'tsit in her food pouch, Theresa still couldn't feel any peace.

That is, at the same time that Kal'tsit was wrapped in the food pouch.

Mon3tor, who had sunk to the bottom of the floor, finally reached the next level.

This is the eleventh floor, a location not open to the public, where the Alk engine is located.

In this dream world, Alkburn is completely imprisoned, with no possibility of being restarted.

But it's right next to the engine platform.

An unlit campfire stands quietly here.

Patch once said that after the campfire appeared, it linked many dreams together, like a nail, nailing the dreams together.

The presence of a campfire here signifies that this dream, related to Alk, has become completely intertwined with other dreams.

The more campfires appear, the more fragile the dream itself becomes.

Mon3tor, his body transformed into slime, slowly crawled toward the campfire.

Then, an arm materialized beside the campfire, facing the fire, and spread its five fingers.

There was only a soft sound.

Whoosh...

In an instant, the campfire exploded into sparks in the darkness.

Flames, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, rose from the ashes below and climbed up the sword's edge.

Then golden runes lit up beside the campfire.

A flash of golden light appeared, and a slender body rose from the runes.

She opened her eyes somewhat blankly, her white hair appearing pale gold in the light of the campfire.

A greatsword forged with wedge-shaped stones hung on her back, signifying her identity as a deep-sea hunter.

In her hand, she was tightly gripping a bottle.

That was an item that the Fire Maiden entrusted to her before she fell asleep.

The bottle is golden in color, and inside it flows a liquid that looks like magma.

Kroos seemed to sense something. She paused for a moment, then turned around and looked at the end of the corridor behind her, forgetting even about swinging the axe in her hand.

However, just as Kroos was distracted, a mass of mud rose up beside him, and a blade that suddenly hardened from the mud slashed toward Kroos.

"Little Ke!"

The professor standing nearby couldn't help but speak up and offer a reminder.

Meanwhile, the greyhound that had been waiting in the wings finally found its place to shine, rushing up to Ceobe and illuminating him with a bright blue light.

Ding!

The blade struck the large, crystal-blue shield formed by the greyhound, embedding itself several centimeters deep into the shield and sending the greyhound and the Ceobe behind him flying backward.

As it flew out, several drops of blood could be seen splattered in the air.

boom!

The two rolled twice on the ground before Kroos regained consciousness and quickly pulled up the greyhound beside him.

"Hold..."

Greyhound clutched his right arm; a deep wound was visible on his upper arm, with the bone even protruding.

The shield finally failed to block the mud's slash, and it was clear that the arm was now useless.

"Don't worry about me, go ahead."

Greyhound quickly got up from the ground. He was just a reserve fighter, unlike Ceobe who was meant to be at the forefront. Even if he were to sacrifice himself, it wouldn't be a big deal.

But Kroos, who thrives in the dream world, is a very important character.

The Kerbera, capable of suppressing the spread of silt over large areas, is one of their most important combat forces.

Without Kroos, the black mud will spread faster and faster.

Kroos knew what he had to do. After quietly saying thank you, he returned to the front lines and engaged in a fierce battle with the various warriors and attacks that had emerged from the mud.

They've been holding out on the ninth floor for over ten minutes.

The power of the sludge aggregate increases dramatically with each layer, like layers stacking together, and each attack consumes even more of the survivors' stamina.

Even now, the stairwell behind them is less than two hundred meters away. However, if the Undead were no longer there to stop them, those two hundred meters would be covered in mud in just a few breaths.

The crucial point is that they can't hold on any longer.

Laurentina's head was almost chopped off in half, but she was saved by Greta's timely rescue.

Even so, Goredia lost an arm as a price and can only struggle to survive now.

If the Deepsea Hunter duo is in such a state, then the situation of Greyhound and W is even more dire.

Greyhound's Originium Arts are almost as fragile as glass; the attack he just gave Kroos was already at its limit.

W fell into a coma two minutes after detonating the last set of Originium explosives.