The hymn continued.
The fire continued.
The heartbeat continued.
THUMP.
...
THUMP.
...
THUMP.
Kai staggered forward.
Every breath felt like sharp knife.
Kai's arms trembled.
Kai's legs shook.
Blood dripped from countless wounds.
Yet Kai remained standing.
The Nightmare towered before him.
Burning.
Healing.
An endless cycle of agony.
Its stitched face twisted.
Then—
It spoke.
A voice like flesh tearing apart.
"̷̛̳̼̙̖̠͔̣͂̈́̑̇̍̚͘Y̸̨̨̡̞͕̽̀ö̸̧̭̤̰̯́́û̵͇ ̷̟̘͕͓͚̘̜̖̏̆̋̈́̿͐̍͗c̶̨̪͉̩̦̘̹̤̈̔̾̈͂̆̇͛͘à̴͇͍̞̖̳͓̎̈́̾̌͛̽͒̃̉ṅ̵͉͆̏͑̈͛̚͝'̸̫͙͉͊́͊̔͂́̇̆͗t̴͕̥͈̹͒͛̕͜͝ ̵̹̘̫̬͔͕̈̇͂͒ķ̷̫̳͉̽̋͂i̵̟͉̬̟͖̱͑̑͜͠l̸̗̾̂͗͌͂͗͆̄̄͜͜l̶̟̱̜͚͕͕̗̮̎̓͘͘ ̶̡̨͈̥̘̤̣̝̮̜̒m̷̛͔̻͖̽͛͛̓̾̾́e̷̳͇̭̠͙͉̮͋̉̃͐.̵̛͇̖͈̺̝̝̽̐͝͝"̶̧̭͐́ͅ
The field fell silent.
Even Kai froze.
The Nightmare laughed.
A disgusting sound.
"̸̧͙̔̓̽̈́͋͑̊W̸̱͂̃a̶̛̟͚̅̅̔̈́͋̊̌s̵̢̡͍͎̳͙̪̟̎̔͗͌͗̉́͘t̴̥̩̪͈̬̬̣̹̩͗̍̋̿̏̐͜͝i̶̡͍̠͙̝̗͇̟͛́̆n̶̤̗̬͉̹̓̑́͌̉͒͠g̶͍̺̋̓͛͒͐̕͝͝ ̵̧̝̩̳̩͉̥͝͝e̵̺̊̓͑̉̉̆͐̆͑̚n̵̩̝͉̜̝͎̬̜̰͉̽̉̈̒͌̈́ȩ̶͎̰̀̒̿̅͆̈́̈́ŕ̶̨̡̛͈̹̪͉̖̩̝̯̐̂͊̅g̸̲͚̦͌͊́͐͊́y̵͔̪͖̜͖̱͆̐̀̽ ̵̼͈̬͓͚̟̳̗̳̻̌̊̏̇̇͠f̵̛̗̭̯̩͓̱͕̦̮͐͐͆̈̏͘͝ơ̷̺͉̪̊̀͑͋̊r̵̢̨̡̛̗̝͚̬̩̯͖̍͂̃̅̈̀̑ ̵̡͔͕̮͎͕̹̹̮̇ͅn̸̡͓̫̰̺͇̠̫͑̎o̶͈͖̗̩͙̬͈̟̤̓̌͆̆̿͛̀̍͗̕t̵̤̓̀́͒̊͌̀͌̚ḩ̴͖͖͍̩͇͉̩͖̪̈́̒̉i̶͎̦̝̓͐̀͂̕̕n̶̛̲̗̠̄̇̓͝g̴̣̬̖̈́̃́.̵̤̮̥̳͇̣̬̈͠"̷̌͌̔̀͑̆̽̒́̚ͅ
The Nightmare's chest pulsed.
The damaged heart continued recovering.
Slowly.
Steadily.
"̷̛͙͚̲̞̤̱̫̐́̋Y̴̨͙̍́͑̈́̎͂́͝͝ͅơ̷̤̩̒͆͌̕ṳ̵̳̮̼̗̭̜̒͋͛͆͗̒ ̶̠͍̲̪̠̫̀̈́͆͘͝s̶̺̩̯̯̟͙̣̺̗̀͑̃͐̂̓̂͆́͝t̶̨̮͕͚̘͛̍͝͝r̴͚̱͎̣̻̮̻͑̂͂͋́̋̒͠ǘ̸̧̞͙̺̯͓̤͔̤͎̈́͆͂̋͗͌g̴͙͖͈̝͚͖͉̦͐̂̄g̵̮̲̳̔͜ļ̴̧̨̡̲̥̀̉̌̈͠ḙ̸͙͔̅̍̓̾̔͜͝.̷̧͇̪̰̲̮̦͂͊͒͛̋̀̆͊̕̕͜"̸̛̣͎̰̭͕͔̝͈̒͌͑̌̔̿͋̐͝
"̴͔̲̘̫̪̲̼̉͊̃̓͝ͅY̵̪̞̒̃̓̐͒̓̎͝ǫ̶̲̮͎̰̂ứ̶̢͚̻̮̯͗̀̑̉̽̔͘͝ ̶͕͈̙̯͎̪͌̈͑̈̓̀̀͘b̷̢̭͍͙̑̊̓̏͆͋͂͜ĺ̵̲̮̻̪̱͇̟͌̽̚e̵͕̹̱͖̥̱̩͚̎ͅȩ̵̼̻̳͙͕̥̉͛̋̍̂͋́̊̈́͘ḍ̴̛͔̉͌̅̆̀.̸̣̈̅̕"̷̣͔̞͇̖̞̜͇͍͛
"̸̘̜̥͚̭͊̈́̚͜Y̷̨̜̱̊͒̑̂͠o̵͎̘͔̤̱̳͕̼̿͗̑̓̅͘͠ư̶̩̜̬̻̰̓̚ ̴̧̼͍̤͓̗̭̗͇̄̌̽̉̊s̶̭͌̈́̆̇͋́̀̚̕͝û̶̖̑͐̾f̷͇̱̘̥͕͙̩͓̳̉̓͝ͅf̵͙̜͙̫̫͓̯͍̽́̀͘ͅe̶̢̘̖̻̫̠̞̍́̓̃̈͘r̷̢͔̥͇̲̟̀͋̈͐̂̒̀̽͐͠.̵̢͇̻͌̅̆̇̈̽̚"̷̯̀̍͋
"̵͙͇̻̜̱̹͇̼̺̇ͅA̴̛̞͕͗̊̀͊̃̂̊n̸̝̒̈̀͑̔͑̉͆̒͘ḑ̷̨̨̗̪̣͕̣̖̥̈̊̔͛͑͗ ̷͔̞̂͗͌͊͗́̅f̴̧͚̜͕̫̱̞̠̅̐̀͆͜õ̴̘͒͌̓̀̽͊̌̚r̶̺̰̼̗͕̞̈́̽ ̶͓̮͕̬̎̈́͒͘͜w̶̨̹͕̖͖͈̟̺̼̿͝ͅh̸̨̜̩̳͔̝͐́̇͂̔̾͝a̸̛̭̺͗̉̔̋̔̈͛͘͝t̵̜́͊͑̾̈́͋̐?̵̨̟̯̘͝"̶̨̧̪͓̹̭̈́
The Nightmare spread its burning arms like blooming bud.
"̷̛͖̣͓̗̜͆̉̂̈͋̌̃͠T̵̛̗̬̗̗͇͒͌h̷͕̝̹̣̦͆̂e̷̛̫̘̟̳͕͇̤͉̣̞͒̓̎́̈́̎̚͠ ̵̨̨͖͉͚̹̿͗̑͊̈́̀͝ͅḿ̶̧̡̬̩̪̗̣͙̖̏͑̈́̽͜͠ọ̵̬̘̔̓̓͛̇̈́̅́o̶̥͆̓͆͋͋͒͐̈́̕͝n̴̡͓͇̤̦͉̱̓ ̸̩̪̯͉͙͗̅͜͠l̴̛͓̗͉͕̯͚̣͇̈́̋̓̿̊͜͠͝o̵͓͒̍̾v̸̳̯͇́̀̒̕͘̕ȩ̴͕̤͇̬̹͚̼̣̗̈͛s̵͍͛̊̽̽̈͌͛̕ ̶̰̪͓̓̎͐̏̕̕͠m̴̧͓̯͖̉́̇̂̍̉̏̄̔e̵̪̘͚̫̭͕̗͗̋̔͋̽̑̏̚.̶̰̖͎̗̭̝̈́̀̏̀̑̉͋͐̌͠"̷̨͚̻͒̆͗̀̂̐̐̀͆͝
"̴̢̠̟̜̬͎̤̍͐̈͐͗̀T̴̜͕̜̄̀̐̄̔͊͒ͅh̷͙͖̝̗̆̔͛e̴̛̜͎̪͎̬͇̪͕̯̰̾̈́̽͆̑ ̶̥̰͎̩̼̫̑͒̐͒̊͂̕͜͝͠c̷̲̗̳͓̫̤̼͎͑͂͛̒̄́͠ô̸̡̢̖̺̿̒̏͝ṋ̸̛͑́̎̽̓̿͆͝g̶͉͎͊͋͌̽͒̾r̴̲̓͂́e̵̟̩̗͓̒̇̈́g̵͈͍̘̉͑͋̓̕a̷̝̬̟͚̣̙͂̇ͅț̴̥̜̗͇͎̝̆͋͗̽̽͗̿̕͜ȉ̴̢̝͎̖̩̠͎̠̺̞̀ò̶̳̞̤͍̩̭̪̗̐̃̈́̇́́́̚ͅn̸̙̩̺̗̻̟̙͑̅̎̓͆͂̓ ̸͖̝̤̈́͜ͅl̶͓̯͕̟͙̩̳̙̩̅̋̀ȯ̶̯̩̻̙̹̮͙̰̌̎̄v̷͎̥͈͙̞̪̫̒͐͗͐͜͜͝ȩ̴̝̫͚̬͚̟̔̈́̂s̴̯͐͂͛͝ ̸̢̧̜̹̬͍̟̖̞̘͑̀͑̀͐͘̕̚͝m̶̦̆̊̇͂̂̃̕͠e̶͈͍̻̯͉̹̱̠̔ͅ.̸̨̣͇̭̱͚̒̏̓̚"̶̧͇̱̠̖͓̘̞́͋͌̕͝
"̵̧̬̠͓͎̯͐́̑̓̎̆͂Ȳ̴̡̟̻͍̘̗̘̫̻͂̓͐͛̂̉̋͝ͅo̸͖̫͍͒̓͂̃̿̃͑u̶̡̧̖̭̘͕̒͊́̄͠ ̶̧̢͙̹̝͇̯̼̈́̃̾̐̈́̐̈́̕͘ć̵̗̣̄̂͂̿̈́̀̃̈͝ͅa̸̯̩̗͕̹͛̿̀̕͝ǹ̵̛͔̗͖n̷̝̗̓́͆͆̿̓́o̴͓̬͔̒̌̏t̴̰̻̖̿̿ ̸̱͗́̄̀̌̕w̶̧̨̛̪͔͗ȋ̵̼̞͖̺̃̽̌͊͂̽͜ͅṇ̸̃̀̍̈́.̷̣̪̬̀̿͜"̵̣̞̏͑̄̽͝
Kai spat blood.
Then smiled.
A tired smile.
A dangerous smile.
"Talks a lot for something that's literally on fire."
The Nightmare roared.
The ground exploded.
BOOM!
It charged.
Kai charged too.
The distance vanished.
A burning arm descended.
Kai ducked.
Heat scorched his hair.
Another arm swung sideways.
Kai jumped.
The attack shattered.
Kai landed.
STAB.
The blade buried itself into burning flesh.
The Nightmare screamed.
A petal-arm immediately retaliated.
CRACK!
Pain exploded through Kai's ribs.
Kai was thrown across the field.
Rolling.
Crashing.
Bleeding.
But before the Nightmare could follow—
Kai grabbed a burning corpse.
And hurled it.
The Nightmare swatted it aside.
Exactly as Kai expected.
Kai appeared from its blind spot.
Knife thrusting upward.
STAB.
Directly into its throat.
The Nightmare shrieked.
Black blood erupted.
Kai immediately retreated.
Too slow.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
A burning arm clipped Kai's shoulder.
CRACK.
Kai stumbled.
My vision blurred.
My body can't endure no longer.
The Nightmare noticed.
Then laughed.
"̶̛̲̍͐́̈̔̍̅̅̚Y̷̩͍̮̪̖̫̣̦̜̿͒͛o̷̥͔͚̔̔̈́̐̐̅͘ũ̷͈̟͕͚͉͊̾͗̏̊͜ ̶̩̖̎̆͑͂́̇͆̑͘͜a̵̞͈͊̈͆̂r̸̦̬̠̻̃̉͗̐̑̈̅e̷̺̠͔̬̳̪̅͂̀͗̀̚ ̵͎̺̔̔̚ͅd̶̥͈̹̼̩̱̰̀̿̈́̊ẏ̷̻̼̻̎̒̊̅i̴̺̬͓̒́̽̇͆n̶̢̙̼̞̲̂̈́͌̒̋́͜͜g̸̯͍͎͕̦̋̓̕ͅ.̴̻̫̬̤͔̠̼́͘̚"̷̗̝̠́̀̂͠
Kai ignored it.
Kai's mind raced.
Observe.
Analyze.
Survive.
The moon healed it.
The congregation healed it.
Yet not enough to recover the heart and the 5 other limbs.
The fire weakened it.
Destroy the congregation.
Keep the fire burning.
Prevent recovery.
That was the strategy.
Then Kai noticed.
Weak, pulsating within it's chest.
[Nightmare Encyclopedia]
Weakness: Heart Located at the chest
Kai smirked.
He dashed forward again.
The Nightmare met him head-on.
Knife against flesh.
Flame against blood.
Human against Nightmare.
The battle became chaos.
BOOM.
CRASH.
SCREEECH.
Kai dodged.
Countered.
Retreated.
Attacked.
Again.
And again.
Each strike waste no seconds.
Each second increases its maturation.
Each second mattered.
Then—
Kai's foot caught something.
A carcass.
A burnt body.
Kai lost balance.
And fell.
The Nightmare's stitched mouth stretched wider.
Wider.
Until it became impossible.
Then it laughed.
Overjoyed.
"̶̧̹̰͖̼̔͋̐͗̄͜D̵̞̱̙̤̽̇̑̒̈́̀͛̊͘͜͝ͅį̵̪̱̯̰̾͊ę̴̭͕̰͎̗̬͎͔͗,̵̢̥͕͉̪̹̍̆͝͝ ̵̖̻̺͉͝ḭ̵̫͖̦̲̥̮̈̍̀̈͝ň̸̡̰̜̩s̸̢̝̦̞͔̬̒͆́͝e̷̢̯̺̥͉̪̺̦͊c̸̢̧̗̗̗̰̻͕̻͔̆t̵̛̞̦̗̰̣̜͊͘!̶̡͕̜̯͍͇̬̯̲̱̐̏̅͒̓"̶̪́͘
A burning arm descended.
Fast.
Too fast.
I can't dodged this.
Kai couldn't dodge.
Couldn't block.
Couldn't move.
For the first time—
Death felt inevitable.
Then—
BOOOOM!
Steel collided with flesh.
Shockwaves erupted.
The Nightmare staggered.
Kai stared.
A hammer stood between them.
Behind it—
Raze.
Bleeding.
Pale.
Barely standing.
Yet smiling.
"Miss me?"
Kai blinked.
"...Why are you here!?"
The Nightmare roared and attacked.
Raze met it head-on.
BOOM!
Hammer against burning arm.
BOOM!
Another strike.
BOOM!
Another exchange.
Ground shattered beneath both combatants.
Raze was pushed backward.
Yet he refused to fall.
The Nightmare's attention shifted.
"Exactly as planned."
Raze reached into his pocket.
Then tossed something toward Kai.
"Here."
Kai caught it.
"Red potion!?"
"I Took it from your bag."
Raze grinned.
"I Figured, you'd need it more than me."
Kai stared.
Then laughed.
Even now.
Even here.
Raze still saving my butt.
Again.
Kai drank the potion.
Warmth exploded through his body.
The pain faded.
His breathing stabilized.
Strength returned.
Not fully.
But enough.
More than enough.
Kai stood.
Feeling alive once more.
"Thanks."
Raze snorted.
"You better die this time."
Kai laughed.
"I'll try."
"If you don't, I'll kill you myself."
The Nightmare finally snapped.
Its body convulsed.
Its stitched eyes widened.
Its voice became madness.
"̸̛͍͖͇̗͚̟͔̓̈́̿̄͠D̷͕̃̃̓̊̃̇̊̅͗̿I̸̬̜͈̤̍̆̉̀̈́̆̏̑͐͝Ę̷̗͕̣̪̩̆͘.̷̢͖̯͔̳̱͂͗"̴̡̢̻̗̪̙͍̬̗͎́͊̉̇̃̚͝͝
"̸̛͍͖͇̗͚̟͔̓̈́̿̄͠D̷͕̃̃̓̊̃̇̊̅͗̿I̸̬̜͈̤̍̆̉̀̈́̆̏̑͐͝Ę̷̗͕̣̪̩̆͘.̷̢͖̯͔̳̱͂͗"̴̡̢̻̗̪̙͍̬̗͎́͊̉̇̃̚͝͝
"̸̛͍͖͇̗͚̟͔̓̈́̿̄͠D̷͕̃̃̓̊̃̇̊̅͗̿I̸̬̜͈̤̍̆̉̀̈́̆̏̑͐͝Ę̷̗͕̣̪̩̆͘.̷̢͖̯͔̳̱͂͗"̴̡̢̻̗̪̙͍̬̗͎́͊̉̇̃̚͝͝
"̵̹̐͌D̵̘̠͔̙́̒͒̾̂͛͋̃̕͝ͅI̶̡͍̺̼̬̖̤͑̉͆̀̇̀͆Ė̴̡̢̲,̴̩̞̗͚̬͇̝̖̥̮̈́ ̴̧̼̘̙̮͓̓̽͌̔͛͠Ỉ̶̢̛̞͉̯̺̫̙͙͇̍̀͑̎̐̌N̵͇̰̬̔̀̑͗̎͌̊̐͜͜S̴̡̻̰͇̘̖̙̜̃̏Ȇ̴̡͕͖̪̭̖̙́͛̋̓͛͋͠ͅC̶̝͉̠͙̻͇̜̜̭͌̏̓̃̂̕͠Ţ̷͙̭͖̖̜̟̼̬̃S̷͈͎̦̣̙͎͋͗̉̈́͗͆́̓̕!̶̳̾̽̌̐̓̕͝"̴̛̪̓͊͠
The congregation sang louder.
The moonlight intensified.
The Nightmare unleashed everything.
And Kai smiled.
Because that was exactly what they wanted.
An enraged Nightmare.
A reckless monster.
A predictable animal.
"Raze another weakness is exposed, an extra heart is located in it's chest."
"Kai!" Raze shouted.
"I know!"
The strategy formed instantly.
Raze would anchor.
Kai would strike.
Raze charged first.
Hammer crashing directly into the Nightmare's chest.
BOOOOM.
The monster retaliated.
Raze blocked.
Holding its attention.
Holding its hatred.
Holding its focus.
Then Kai moved.
Like shadow.
Silently.
Kai circled behind.
Slashed at the neck.
Another.
And another.
Each aimed at previously damaged wounds.
Each deepening existing injuries.
Never wasting energy.
Never attacking randomly.
The Nightmare turned.
Kai retreated.
Raze take the opening.
BOOM!
Hammer broke the ribs.
The Nightmare screamed.
Turned toward Raze.
Kai attacked again.
A perfect cycle.
Distract.
Strike.
Retreat.
Repeat.
Again.
And again.
The Nightmare's movements slowed.
The fire continued burning.
The congregation continued dying.
Its regeneration weakened.
Within the chest.
The heart is exposed.
Kai saw it.
Raze saw it.
Both understood.
This was the chance.
The only chance.
"KAI!"
Raze swung.
The hammer smashed upward directly into the Nightmare's chest.
BOOM!
The flesh burst open.
The heart became visible.
Pulsing.
Weak.
Exposed.
Kai sprinted.
The Nightmare realized too late.
"̷̠͕̬̪͉̗̫͎̌̎̽͂͊͛N̷̝̥̮̦̣̭̹͍̣̝̅͝o̵̲̰̺͊̌̉̕̚—̴̙̭͕̫̱̤͆̾͜"̴̛̫̄̽̃̿̍
Kai leaped.
Everything slowed.
The moon.
The flames.
The hymn.
The screams.
The heartbeat.
THUMP.
Kai drove the knife forward.
With every remaining ounce of strength.
STAB!
The blade pierced the heart.
Deep.
Deeper.
DEEPER!
The Nightmare screech.
The heartbeat stopped.
THUMP—
Silence.
The Nightmare froze.
Its stitched eyes widened.
Disbelief.
Fear.
Confusion.
With its final breath.
"̶̫̜̺͕̰̺͇̯̏́̑̿͌L̴͔͇̉̃̆̅̿́̉ȅ̴̢̧̘̠͓̭̩̳͚̗̀̂̄̈̆͆̂̕t̵̡̹͇͚̹̑̌͛͒̈́̉͌̆͝ ̸̲̜̈̑̋̓̀͂͐̏̿t̸͍̍̆͂̈́̊̋̒͘͘h̶͖̹̉̆̈̃͝ͅe̵̡̖̹̪̟̹̥̗͙̓̂́̈́ ̸̢̡̹͍̩̱͚̤̎͒̋͐̍̾̂́̈́͝s̵̢͕̫͕̱̗̄͋̈́̐͐̀͆̄͘͜ͅa̶̜̯̬̳͗̂̀́̏̂́̓̑̐v̴̪̜̯̼͋̐̅̄ḯ̸̤͍õ̴̤̝͓̲͕̼̺̬̺̉͜r̴̨̛̬̼̭͂͛̎ ̸̦͗͋͊͊̃̕c̵̨̡̼͔̻̦̘̜̺͍̍͌̒͊͝l̷̛͉̺͈̥̰̱̹̈́̃̅a̷̯͛́͛ĭ̴̡͕̝̖̺̰̳̜̜̔̊̀̏̂̀̈́͛͘m̴̛̬͚̐͆̈ ̸̨͈̯̯̣͊̍ų̵̛̪͉̺͉̞̦͙̮́̐̔͌̕̚s̴͙̻͉͍̫͍̬̝̈́̊̏̚ ̶̳̲͒̔̋̔w̶̳̗͖̘̩͋̋̐̅͌̏͠ḧ̷̡͚͚͇̥͈̭̚̕̚ǒ̸̪̘̼̜͉͇̻̩̺́͊̀̆̅l̸̹͎̃̓́̆͐̔ę̷͕̣͐͌̉̓͐̚̚ ̸̥̳͚̅d̸̢͙̼̳̩̥̳̈́͆̈́͌͌͝ė̸̫̯͓̜̝̜̦͇̯͂͂̊͐̽̆͆̋͜͠ä̸̩́͒̈́̎͝d̵̛͕͉̪͈̈͛̾̿̓̿̕.̸̞̳̰̙͌̈́͆ͅ.̷̨̠̯̹̱̳̞̞̉̌͜.̴̢̨̰̟̌̇͂̈́̈́"̴̨̢̰̗̘̭̝̠̌͒
Then the Nightmare fell.
Thud!
As the flame consumed it whole.
The congregation stopped singing.
One by one.
The remaining carcasses collapsed.
The moonlight faded.
The smile vanished.
The Nightmare burnt slowly.
The field became silent.
For the first time.
No heartbeat.
No hymn.
No screams.
Only fire.
Kai collapsed.
Exhausted.
Broken.
Alive.
Raze dropped beside him.
Neither spoke.
Neither moved.
After a long moment—
A notification appeared.
[System Notice]
A Child of Corruption Evangeline has entered the area.
Countless Small Blooming Human Carcass within the area helps it maturation.
Time: 00:00:13
Objective:1/1 Eliminate Evangeline594/594 Eliminate Small Blooming Human Carcass
Reward:+1,000 Experience2x Beginner Wooden Box1x Advance Silver Box1x Moon Dust2x Beginner Skill Enhancement1x Advance Skill ???
Failure: Area Enrichment; Enlightened Moon
Nightmare Eliminated.
To Be Continued...