A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"I couldn't stop my best friend's madness; he brought God down once again."

—“He said he took advantage of God.”

"But was it he who used God, or God who used him?"

— "December, rain."

"In the end, I chose to embark on my own path of pursuing the truth."

The diary records far more than this; these are merely snippets.

Bray flipped through the pages, his eyes surprisingly calm.

Then Bray abruptly flipped to the first page of the diary.

The diary does not record the exact year.

Finally, Bray discovered that the earliest entry in the diary was fifty years ago.

This diary recorded events for four or five consecutive years.

Then Bray opened the second book.

After reading it, Bray was speechless.

“Hey, this town…” Bray shook the old man’s shoulder.

But the old man only had the sense of touch and couldn't hear Bray's shouts at all.

The old man, being shaken by Bray, helplessly raised his cane and pointed it at the sun in the sky.

The midday sun was particularly dazzling.

But the old man quietly drew the curtains again, preventing the sunlight from entering the study.

"..." Bray didn't understand what the old man was trying to say.

In the real world, the old man seemed unable to communicate with Bray.

Bray released his grip on the old man's hand and sighed.

"Does it have to wait until tonight again?" Bray said with a hint of helplessness.

The people pulled into the nightmare have no distinguishing features; they are simply pulled in randomly.

Or rather, it depends entirely on the preferences of the person experiencing the nightmare.

The owner of this nightmare could be the old man's close friend, or it could be the so-called "god".

The old man called that god "Lord of Nightmares," whose real name was Migorawen.

The nightmare that shrouds the entire town of Knight was created by Migolavin.

Most people in nightmares are unaware that they are in a nightmare.

Those who sense the eeriness of Knight Town at night are all people who have been dragged into nightmares during the night.

However, in nightmares, people still believe they are in reality, completely unaware that they are in a nightmare, and not knowing what form their existence takes in a nightmare.

Only a select few with exceptionally high "heart" can perceive that they are in a nightmare.

In other words, only when one's "heart" is strong enough can one act in a nightmare and perceive everything in a nightmare according to one's own will.

For others, at most they would think they heard strange noises or saw monsters at night.

Because all the horrors those people see in their dreams will be forgotten upon waking.

However, the old man's book records that the person in this nightmare will die, and the person who dies in the nightmare will also be affected in reality.

However, the first time a person "dies," it only happens in a nightmare.

Of course, when you return to the nightmare, you will still exist in the form of "death".

For example, that man was either killed in the nightmare or used for experiments.

He died in a nightmare, but he is still able to live a normal life now.

But if someone who "dies" in a nightmare dies again, they will also die in reality.

After the doll was shattered, it was considered to have died again.

Then the man also died in the same way as the doll, shattering into pieces.

This nightmare was the experimental field of the old man's best friend.

Even if you experiment on people in your nightmares, reality won't give you away because everyone used for experiments is still alive and well.

No matter how outrageous the experiment, it can be carried out.

This is a terrifying experimental field.

A place supposedly dedicated to seeking the truth.

Bray's "heart" must be high enough to allow him to jump around in his nightmares.

However, being randomly thrown into nightmares didn't make Bray happy.

Bad luck always seems to follow me. I really hope that one day I'll have good luck like Naruko.

"Trouble." Despair was written in Bray's dead fish eyes.

After understanding the true nature of the nightmare, Bray felt even more heavy-hearted.

Those synthetic beasts were undoubtedly the product of human experimentation.

The nightmares experienced by those used in experiments likely represent their first "death."

After the chimera was killed by Bray, it was its second "death".

The monster in the market, too, should be considered to have "died" a second time.

In other words, Bray personally killed some people who were trapped in nightmares.

"Tsk." Bray clenched his fist and punched the wall.

However, Bray, who still wanted to vent, could only sigh after seeing Levy and Naruko sleeping soundly.

"Fireball, light this fire." Bray sat on the balcony and pulled out a cigarette candy.

"Meow~" The fireball seemed to sense that Bray was in a low mood, so it obediently ran over and lit a fire.

"What a gloomy sun," Bray muttered, taking a drag of his cigarette.

Bray wasn't a saint, but he didn't like killing either.

Killing is not a fun thing for Bray.

"Meow?" Fireball didn't understand why this person was so depressed after returning.

Those already fierce, dead fish eyes now looked even more terrifying.

"That old man even made me kill that monster." Bray couldn't help but grimace as he recalled the old man's words from last night.

Strangely, although Bray killed the monster last night, no strange events have been reported today.

The people of Knight town spent the day as usual.

"In darkness, abandon mercy."

"The cursed are like walking corpses."

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

Bray still remembered what the old man had said to him.

Perhaps the old man felt that for someone who had died in a nightmare for the first time, reality was no different from being dead.

Bray couldn't understand the old man's thoughts, but he had to admit that the old man's wisdom was extraordinary.

I understood the essence of the entire nightmare entirely on my own.

It might seem a bit crazy to strip himself of his senses, but perhaps through this method, he did glimpse a small corner of the truth.

Bray leaned against the balcony railing and waited there until the sun went down.

"All gone?" Bray turned the box in his hand over and found that there were no more candies inside.

The town seemed to have returned to normal, and nothing strange disturbed the townspeople's sleep at night.

Bray, however, knew that this was just an illusion.

If you think about it carefully, you'll realize that if the nightmares are left unchecked, everyone in the town will be used for experiments in those nightmares.

No one can imagine how it will end up.

The reason Knight Town is still normal is entirely because the old man keeps bringing the nightmare nights to an end.

The brief nightmare left the old man's close friend with little time to do anything.

Everything progressed incredibly slowly, allowing the town to exist peacefully for decades.

The dark dwelling was illuminated by a lamp lit by a fireball.

Night will soon fall.

The nightmare will soon arrive, silently, without anyone noticing.

"Whoa, it's almost night!" Naruko suddenly jumped out of bed.

“Hmm…” Naruko’s reaction woke Levy up.

Levy rolled over and made a muffled whimper.

"Levy is so sleepy," Levy said weakly.

"You two can catch up on your sleep here," Bray said to Naruko and Levy.

"Huh?"

“Nothing special should happen tonight, and Mr. William doesn’t seem to need us to keep watch,” Bray said.

"It seems so." Naruko stroked her chin.

Last night passed peacefully, and this morning William showed no intention of asking Bray to continue the night watch.

"Then why aren't you asleep?" Naruko noticed something strange.

“A night watch,” Bray said matter-of-factly.

"Didn't you say we didn't need to guard it?"

“This is something I wanted to do myself. Nobody knows if something strange will happen tonight.” Bray looked up at the darkening sky.

“Then I’ll go with you too,” Naruko said.

“You’ve done me a huge favor by keeping an eye on Levy,” Bray shrugged.

"Also, I've run out of cigarette candy, remember to buy me new ones." Bray tossed the empty box to Naruko.

“…” Naruko hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

"I understand." Naruko simply nodded and said that last sentence.

"Even though it's just candy, don't smoke so much, it'll cause cavities."

“My teeth are perfectly fine.” Without needing many words, Naruko knew what she had to do.

She didn't need to understand Bray's motives or his purpose.

Naruko just needs to know to help when Bray needs her help.

"Don't worry about Levy," Naruko gently patted Bray's face.

Naruko was recklessly flirting with death.

Fortunately, Bray didn't lose his temper this time.

“I can take care of a small child,” Naruko said, spreading her hands.

Naruko understood, of course, that Levi was very important to Bray.

When did the bond between these two become so unbreakable? Naruko didn't know either.

"So worried about Levy? You've really become a Levy fetishist." Naruko looked at Bray with regret.

"..." Bray raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit of an urge to punch Naruko.

"You and Levy are really close," Naruko remarked.