The Nightmare born from the crimson cocoon.
descended slowly.
Eight pale arms unfolded around its face.
Its stitched eyes trembled.
Then eyes open.
The world seemed to grow quieter.
Heavier.
As air itself become frozen cold.
The teacher fell to her knees.
Crying.
Laughing.
Praying.
"It answered..."
"It answered..."
"Praise upon the Enlightened Moon..."
The Nightmare looked down at her.
Its voice emerged from every direction at once.
Not loud.
Not soft.
Simply unavoidable.
It echoes within one's mind.
"̸̘͉̤͉̠̰̮̳̆̅͌̅̓̽̏̇́̍D̵̟̭̲͔̦͚̈́͑͒̅͒ő̶͈̲̓͂̚͘ͅ ̶̨̪̤̎̀̈͜y̴̤̠̯̩͕͎͖̼̔o̸̡̒̏̐̀̊͒̏̂͝ͅṷ̴͙͒̽̄̌͌ͅ ̶̨̧͉̤̠̻͇͔͑́͒̅̾́̈́̍̂͜s̴̼͇̾̾͌ĕ̸̠̦̙͜é̵͔̩̏̀͆̐k̴̤͖̈̓̈́ ̷̙͖̭͕̭͗̔s̸̠̭̻̜͖͎̅̂a̸͙̥̠͝ͅļ̵͖́̅͑̍̈̓͌̿ͅv̶̮͋̏̀̊͘͘ạ̴̧̩̹͉̼̪̀t̴̢̧̲̱͚͒̋̚ï̴̧̪̰̻͙͒o̸̭̱͍͖͙̪͑̂́͑̏̂̉̚ͅn̴̙̼̘̂?̵̨̯͂̈́̓̍̋̐̃͠"̷̛̯̋
The teacher's body trembled violently.
"Yes."
"Yes."
"YES!"
The smile on her face stretched wider.
Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks.
The Nightmare slowly lowered one of its hands.
A pale finger touched her forehead.
The teacher shuddered.
For a moment—
She looked peaceful.
As if every fear had vanished.
As if every burden had disappeared.
Then something began to change.
Her prayers became louder.
Faster.
More desperate.
Words spilling from her mouth.
Faster than human speech could allow.
"Praise the Enlightened Moon."
"Praise the Savior."
"Praise for the salvation."
"Enlightened Moon-"
"Moon-"
Her body convulsed.
Her body twisted beneath the moonlight.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
The Nightmare simply watched.
Patiently.
Lovingly.
Like a parent observing a newborn child.
The teacher laughed harder.
Stronger!
Until the laughter no longer sounded human.
Until it became broken into endless hymn.
Then silence fell.
The Nightmare observed.
Motionless.
Devoted.
Empty.
The Nightmare tilted its head.
Disappointed.
"̵̭̞͎̫̯̟͓̮̒͋̌A̶̻͇͓̜͚̮̬͗̓̌͗͜͝ͅn̶͕͈̎̈́̔̐͂́̃̓́͘ ̵̫̝͍̯̟̘̝̟͚͖̑̎̀i̶̛͈̣̠͜n̵̛̠̒̈́̌c̶̢̢͉̪̤̜̉ͅo̷̲̝̓̔͂m̷̧͚̰̯͇̹͙̙͗̒̎̽̓͝p̵̫̾̿͗̆̓͐̂̚̕l̸̛͔̖̖̣̎́̈͂͌̃̽e̵̢͖̱̰͉͖̭̣͒t̸̖̳̖͕̒̈́̍̕̚ë̸̪̪̫̭̺́̿̆̎̕͜͠ͅ ̷̨̣̠̰͖̠̈́̀s̴͙̥͔̏̈́͛̔͘ã̴̖̩̗͔̲̫͗̇̄͑̀̀͗͛ļ̵̥̻́͂̉̑v̶̧͙̜̜̲̺̯͉͒̽̓a̶̧̛̠̤̜̘͓t̸̨̰̹̲͍͑̈́ḭ̷͉͗̊̕o̷̧̨̘̬̺̼͓̪͐͗̋̔̎͘n̷̡̤͉͍̪͉̮͖̪̆͝.̸̢̻͎͍͈͓̗̬̥͑̇̋̕̚"̴̛̠̳̫͙͈̦̖͙̓͊̕͝
The eight arms slowly folded inward.
The stitched face turned.
Toward the school.
______
Far away.
Kai's blood ran cold.
The moment those eyes shifted—
Kai felt it.
The same instinct.
Where predator watching its prey.
The Nightmare had chosen a target.
The school.
"Are you kidding me!?"
Kai sprinted down the road.
Every muscle screamed.
Every wound protested.
Yet Kai forced himself forward.
"A freaking B-Rank!?"
Kai's voice echoed through the empty streets.
"The Smiling Walker had nearly killed me."
"That Nightmare stood several meter above the Smiling Walker."
"The gap wasn't large."
"It was absurd!"
"Like comparing a knife to a gun."
Behind Kai the bridge vanished into darkness.
Ahead of him the school gates loomed.
Wide open.
And above it all—
The moon appeared.
Watching.
Smiling.
Kai burst through the entrance.
Then immediately stopped in shock.
Kai vomited.
The field.
The entire field.
Was covered in circles.
And stars shape ritual.
Fifty of them.
No.
Hundreds.
Large circles.
Small circles.
Fresh circles.
Old circles.
Symbols drawn with paint.
Symbols scratched into concrete.
Symbols made from torn notebooks.
Broken desks.
Discarded uniforms.
Blood, limbs, organ, etc.
Everywhere Kai looked—
Another ritual.
Another attempt.
Another failure.
The grass had vanished beneath layers of blood.
The entire school grounds resembled a giant slaughter house.
"What the hell!..."
Then Kai noticed a movements.
At first he thought they were alive.
Collapsed survivors.
Students.
Teachers.
But they weren't.
Not anymore.
Within the moonlight.
One.
Two.
Three.
Dozens.
Hundreds.
Countless figures scattered throughout the field.
Each possessed the same face features.
The same stitched eyes.
The same forced smile.
A human head resting directly upon the ground.
And growing from its neck—
Arms.
Three pale arms.
Curled around the head like flower petals.
Some were folded.
Some reached upward.
Some twitched.
Others slowly dragged themselves across the dirt.
It breathed.
It smiled.
It praise.
All of them.
Every single one.
Identical.
A generic nightmare.
Kai felt nausea.
The field looked less like a cemetery.
And more like a garden.
A garden cultivated by madness.
One of the heads slowly turned.
Its stitched eyes opened.
Then another.
Then another.
Soon dozens were staring directly at me.
Smiling.
Watching.
Waiting.
Yet none possessed the long slithering body to move unliketm the creature on the bridge.
These Nightmare.
Only fragments.
Failed births.
Incomplete ritual.
The realization somehow made everything worse.
"If these were merely failures—"
"While the Nightmare on the bridge is a half baked creature, a juvenile."
"Yet, its already B rank."
What would happen when a successful one emerged?
A faint giggle echoed across the field.
Then another.
And another.
The countless smiling heads began whispering.
"Praise..."
"The Moon..."
"Salvation..."
Kai slowly stepped backward.
For the first time since entering the school—
Kai wondered if surviving had ever truly been an option.
______
Somewhere above the school grounds...
A shadow moved across the room.
While the Child of Corruption continued its approach.
To Be Continued...