A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

However, when daytime came, there was neither the thick fog nor the eerie scenery that Bray had described.

Therefore, the mayor said he would follow up, and that was all.

Bray was in a very bad mood, having to fight a bunch of inexplicable monsters every night in such a terrifying environment.

To be honest, he doesn't like haunted house tours or similar activities.

With each night being slightly different, Bray was certain he wasn't dreaming.

One evening, he met an elderly man in a wheelchair. The man couldn't speak, but he could "type" in his head.

The old man told me the whole truth—

Bray wasn't dreaming, but he entered a dream world—a nightmare shared by everyone.

It sounds incredible, but it's true.

All of this was caused by the old man's old friend, a madman who was immersed in his own research.

The old man is called Irving, and the madman is called Logan.

So why are there always these kinds of characters? Even Bray is getting tired of them.

Bray originally didn't intend to get involved in something that looked crazy, but old man Irving made a deal with him.

He taught Bray what he called "mind's eye" as an advance payment.

So Bray was forced to continue operating, forced to grit his teeth and keep exploring this nightmare every night.

The important thing is that he cannot harm some of the monsters in this nightmare, which are projections of someone in reality.

If Bray were to accidentally injure the person in real life, that person would become like a walking corpse, devoid of self.

Of course, with the help of his inner eye, Bray could distinguish which shots were safe and which were not, so no one was killed.

Having endured countless nightmares, Bray now only feels a dull ache in his liver.

A cold wind blows through the town in the darkness of night.

He opened his right eye again, surrounded by the familiar thick fog.

Bray has once again entered the nightmare of the Union.

"Why is it a nightmare? Can't it be a better dream?" Bray sighed, walking skillfully through the thick fog.

He basically figured out which part of the town in reality corresponded to this bizarre nightmare.

The path wasn't as difficult to walk as it was at first, and it would be even better if there weren't any monsters blocking the way.

The monster, pieced together from countless water sacs, silently crawled toward Bray, leaving a trail of slime on the ground.

Bray didn't want to explain in detail what was in the water sac; it would be disgusting to say it too clearly.

But he felt nothing, because to him it was all the same.

However, to be fair, this monster is several times larger than the previous one.

Bray raised an eyebrow and drew his greatsword.

The sword rises, the sword falls.

A sword, slashing down from above, carrying a trail of blood, cleaved the menacing monster in two.

After the water sac was unfolded, it deflated, making its already disgusting appearance even more grotesque.

The power of this sword strike did not end after it slayed the monster.

After finishing off the monster, the blade continued to sweep a short distance to the side.

All the twisted walls that were swept away were destroyed, turning into bricks and stones scattered all over the ground.

Such acts of violence have earned someone's resentment.

"why?"

Why?

"Why is that?"

Why are you interfering with my research?

Countless echoes resounded around the dam, as if coming from afar, yet also as if they were right next to us.

That's the voice of that madman.

Unable to locate Logan with his naked eye, Bray closed his right eye, rendering himself completely "visually impaired."

In a split second, Bray located Logan's position.

That's the power of cunning; it's incredibly convenient.

He opened his tightly closed right eye and looked at the clock tower in the distance.

He once saw a monster with a head the size of a walnut near that clock tower.

Does that clock tower symbolize something?

Unfortunately, the old man Irving wasn't there, so he couldn't tell me more.

Because he had already died in a nightmare during one of his battles.

Within this nightmare, one can always find clues that reflect reality.

Therefore, many things that Logan did were not going smoothly because of Bray's interference.

Because of Irving's sacrifice, Bray took over the old man's remaining work.

Everything was just to restore the town to its original state.

“Yeah, why?” Bray replied casually.

"As expected, you were mocking me." The distant clock tower suddenly appeared in front of Bray.

It was as if the clock tower had come to life on its own; it was quite eerie.

“You’re fooling me, you fool,” Logan said, looking down at Bray from the top of the clock tower.

"Now that Irving is dead, you have no one to help you."

“…” Bray fell silent.

"He's finally gone, and I'm finally no longer held back by you!!!"

"Tonight is the moment you witness me, the human being, creating a 'god'."

Logan's appearance had long since changed beyond recognition, and he could no longer be considered human.

But he still keeps saying that he is human and that he wants to create gods.

What an irony.

In his philosophy, the "eyes" and the "brain" are the most important things for accessing the divine realm.

"Eyes" are for observation, and "brain" is for understanding.

One who can observe things that mortals cannot observe, and understand things that mortals cannot understand, can become a god.

"Dong—" The clock tower was struck in the dead of night.

After the bell rang, many people were awakened and began to curse.

However, Bray's right pupil suddenly contracted. While others were cursing, he sensed the difference in his surroundings.

The fact that he can hear other people cursing is already the biggest irrationality.

The nightmare coincided with reality the moment the clock tower bell rang.

The thick fog lingered, and the crimson moon, shattered by thunder, hung high in the sky.

But some people in the town are no longer human.

Some people were transformed into sacs, which then devoured unsuspecting people around them.

The sac-like structures aggregated together, gradually becoming bloated and large, and continued to proliferate.

Each time it devours a person, the sac swells to the size of everything.

This sac-like structure is a masterpiece that perfectly embodies Logan's aesthetic sense of "eye" and "brain".

Bray stared at the enormous sac-like object with a serious expression.

Although he couldn't sense how powerful it was, his intuition told him that this monster was dangerous.

If it continues to grow, it will become an extremely dangerous entity.

"Who are we?" This was the first sentence of the sac.

The sound was like a group of people shouting from the bottom of the sea, with a peculiar ambiguity.

However, every single character can be recognized.

“We understand.”

The voices of the old man, the child, the woman, and the man echoed throughout the town.

"We are gods, born of humans, and above humans." The monster called itself a god and did not stop devouring humans.

“This is what I want to see!” Logan shouted, his countless eyes darting around.

After waiting for who knows how many years, he finally saw Irving die and his plan come to fruition.

Although the plan was completed somewhat hastily due to Bray's actions, the result was perfect.

"I am your creator! I am your master!" Logan said to the god, his tentacles writhing incessantly.

"Indeed, you created us, but we do not need a master." The god's voice was calm, as if stating a fact.

It—no, He understood Logan’s entire intention in an instant.

They have a clear understanding of everything, including their own purpose in creating themselves and their own situation.

He is one, He is all.

The integration of countless people's thoughts gives Him an extraordinary processing speed.

"Okay, I've seen what I wanted to see."

“You can die now.” Logan witnessed the birth of a god and felt a little fear.

Logan thought it was too dangerous that the god had said he didn't need the master's reaction.

This is a monster I can't control...

He was still thinking of having a god kill the excessively powerful Bray, but that idea was impossible.

“You are afraid, you want to kill us,” the god said calmly.

"But we need to evolve; we must become right for all humanity."

"Therefore we cannot be erased." Tentacles identical to Logan's extended from the sac-like flesh of the god.

The tentacles easily wrapped around Logan and then swallowed him whole, before Logan could even react.

This happened so suddenly that Bray was stunned.

"Lord of Nightmares, please, save me!" Logan struggled on the surface of the sac, not wanting to be swallowed up.

He didn't want to be part of the divine; that wasn't what he wanted.

Things shouldn't have turned out this way.

Logan, who was so full of vigor when Irving died, now looked like a stray dog.

"Migraine! Lord of Nightmares!!!! Give me a chance!"

"I haven't seen enough, I haven't understood enough!" He struggled incessantly, but could not stop himself from sinking into the capsule.

"Thump." After the strange sound, Logan was completely swallowed up.

The god he spoke of did not appear to save him at the last second.

Bray watched everything unfold silently, his hand holding a greatsword specifically designed to slay giant beasts.

“We are humanity’s hope; you need to join us.”

“We lack strong individuals like you.” The god-man approached Bray and said softly.

“No need,” Bray replied.