A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

This madman can't be allowed to continue; he must be stopped.

After being called out by William, Bray, who was in shock, finally came to his senses.

"Naruko, tie him up," Bray said in a deep voice.

Naruko didn't complain. She simply lashed out with her whip, whipped the man up, and threw him to the ground.

"Hahahahaha!!" The man, who was tightly bound, was still laughing maniacally.

Bray was utterly shocked when he saw the man clearly.

The crazy guy was the one who hit Bray yesterday morning, the same doll from my nightmare.

"It's going to crack, hahaha!" the man said, making no sense.

“This guy looks terrible,” Naruko said, tugging at the handle of her whip and grimacing.

"It's cracking, I can feel it, my whole body is about to crack apart." The lifeless eyes were trembling incessantly.

A "crack" sounded as bone broke.

"Snap, snap—" Then came several more of the same sounds.

That's the sound of that madman's bones breaking.

Not only bones, but even flesh was being torn apart.

There was no external force, but it felt like someone was forcibly tearing my muscles apart.

"Sizzle—" Blood gushed from the crazed man's body.

"What the hell?" Naruko was so frightened that she pulled back her whip.

“This guy is dead.” Bray looked calmly at the crazed man.

Their clothes were just like those of the doll.

Most importantly, this person died in the same way as the doll shattered.

The scene of the madman's death overlapped with the scene from last night.

“…” William’s face was very pale, and he even felt a little nauseous.

"Aaaaaah!!!" People on the roadside screamed; the man's death was truly horrific.

"Bray?" Naruko noticed that something was off about Bray's expression.

"Looks like we'll have to keep watch tonight," Bray said.

"Huh?" Naruko was taken aback, not understanding why Bray would say that.

William, who was standing nearby, also heard what Bray said.

He fought off the urge to vomit and asked Bray a question.

"Do you think this man's madness has anything to do with the monsters in the town?" William asked.

“Maybe, probably, likely.” Bray approached the gruesome-looking madman.

"But didn't you deal with that monster?"

“Perhaps more than one,” Bray replied casually.

Of course, this wasn't what Bray truly wanted to do.

Bray's suspicion wasn't that there was another chimera in the town.

Rather, the nightmares at night are directly linked to the real town of Knight.

It's even possible to believe that what happened in Knight Town in the nightmare will be reflected in reality in other ways.

For example, this crazy man.

"More than one?" William hesitated, then stopped himself from speaking.

"Then I'll trouble you all," William said solemnly to Bray.

If this man's madness is truly due to a monster, then the town is in danger.

After all, no one can guarantee that they won't be the next victim.

“But this man went mad when he was surrounded by monsters.” William realized something at that moment.

"Are you saying that if he didn't kill monsters, this person wouldn't be like this?" Bray glanced at William.

“No, no, no, I didn’t mean to blame you,” William quickly said.

"What I meant was, please investigate the characteristics of the monsters as much as possible." William still thought the man had gone mad because of the death of the "monster."

"The lives and safety of everyone in the town are in your hands."

It seems too late to ask for a high-level adventurer at this point.

So all hope rested on Bray and his few companions, but these were just low-level adventurers.

I really don't know if I can handle it smoothly. There's still a long time until nightfall; after all, it's still midday.

Bray and his companions returned to their lodgings to rest.

But no one could sleep, because someone had just died a terrible death.

"Brave, tell me what exactly happened?" Naruko felt that something was amiss.

"Your intuition is always right." Even though Naruko should have been an outsider, she also sensed something was wrong.

"?" Levy had no idea what was going on.

“There’s something wrong with this town.” Bray casually found a stool and sat down.

"You'd better explain yourself clearly." Naruko could tell from Bray's expression that the town's problems weren't just about that one chimera.

"Well..." Bray didn't know where to begin.

“Wake me up a few minutes after I start spacing out tonight,” Bray said, looking up at Naruko.

"Huh?"

“I often space out at night, right? Just wake me up when I’m spacing out,” Bray explained to Naruko.

“Okay.” Naruko didn’t ask anything further.

Bray had no way of explaining the nightmare to Naruko.

The main reason is that Bray himself hasn't figured out exactly what this nightmare is all about.

---

Night fell as expected.

The alternation of day and night is inevitable.

As expected, Bray once again stepped into the misty town of Knight.

"Here I am again," Bray muttered to himself.

The mist twisted and turned, like countless vengeful spirits clinging to Bray.

But Bray remained calm in the face of everything strange around him.

Nothing is more terrifying than the Aragami or something similar.

"Dong—" The clock tower in the town was struck again.

This time, the bells rang even louder.

But the echoes gave the town an eerie atmosphere.

Tonight, it seems that no more chimeras have appeared in this town.

The absence of those chimeras doesn't mean that nothing else is roaming the town.

Without the hindering chimeras, Bray was able to explore even further today.

Before we knew it, we had arrived at the market.

It should be said that this place was originally a market.

The stalls on both sides of the market were rotten and empty of any goods.

Above the market hung chains.

A human corpse hangs upside down from a suspended chain.

The corpse was desiccated and its face was contorted; it was impossible to tell how long it had been dead.

Walking through the dark market, Bray kept looking around.

Then, at the end of the market, a lit lamp approached.

The person carrying the lantern was hunched over.

"A person?" Bray squinted.

This was the first time Bray had seen what was called a person, the kind of person who moves, in this place.

Maybe I'll be able to talk to this person and learn something.

However, Bray soon realized he was overthinking things.

When the hunchbacked man got closer, Bray realized that it wasn't even a person.

Beneath the tattered old clothes lay rotting flesh and blood.

And that head covered in eyes.

The countless eyes were constantly moving.

Unfortunately, it wasn't human, but simply a monster.

But just as Bray was about to draw his sword, he stopped.

What if this guy corresponds to someone in the town?

Bray hesitated.

Just as Bray hesitated for a moment, the strange creature with eyes all over its head walked over.

"Boom!!!" The monster swung its lantern and smashed it towards the mine; the monster didn't hesitate.

Bray gripped his sword in reverse, blocking the monster's sneak attack.

Sparks flew, bringing a glimmer of light to the gloomy market.

But Bray didn't like the light at all.

In the instant the light shone on the surroundings, Bray saw countless dolls crammed into the gaps between the stalls.

It was too dark before, so it was hard to see Bray.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!!!!!"

Bray didn't make a move, but the other side attacked with great enthusiasm.

The flame on the lantern flickered as it was tossed about.

The monster let out a low, beast-like growl.

"In the darkness, abandon mercy." An aged voice echoed in Bray's mind.

"The cursed are like walking corpses."

"Whether it's real or illusory, in the end all one can do is groan."

"Who?" Bray asked instinctively.

But no one answered; apart from the monster still attacking them, there was no one around Bray.

"Phew." Bray exhaled a breath of stale air.

"Thump!" The sword was raised, instantly deflecting the monster's attack.

"Eighteen Styles" "Two-Stage Division"

The greatsword was also drawn by Bray at some point.

The two swords crossed, cleaving the monster's body in two.

There was no blood, only screams.