Somnu wasn’t allowed a second to catch his breath.

  He had exerted too much energy, his knees were weak, his arms as heavy as lead.

  And yet, he stood up.

  “Caaw!”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  The shivering Fala seemed to be urging him to run, that he should run.

  However, even when faced with the hordes of Nightmare Creatures closing in on the graveyard where he stood, Somnu held his ground without relying on his skill to keep him steady.

  He didn’t want to run anymore, he had enough of that, but that wasn’t the only reason.

  Somnu wanted to fight now. He wanted to rid the world of all Nightmare Creatures.

  Only then would he be able to go back to his life.

  Only then would he be finally able to get better, to reach out to others, to change.

  Only then would he be able to protect others, and himself.

  Only then would he be able to stop scaring others away to keep them safe…

  Unconsciously reaching for the scar over his left eyebrow, Somnu clenched his fist and fixed his posture to the best his current state allowed him.

  “GRAAWWWRR!”

  “WROUGHHH!”

  He summoned Eclipsed Requiem and narrowed his purple eyes at the first thing that appeared in front of him.

  “Come and get it.”

  [Hollow Gaze!]

  Despite his aching muscles, and how much energy every use of his skills took now, Somnu activated the one skill that could possibly scare off the fodder at least.

  And that’s what happened.

  In the dim darkness under the veil of the violet moon, Somnu could both see and feel a number of smaller Nightmare Creatures scatter away. He guessed they were most likely Lurkers.

  However, that quickly didn’t seem as important anymore. The numbers of Nightmare Creatures heading his way didn’t seem to get smaller at all.

  On the contrary, more and more seemed to show themselves.

  Surrounded by the fog around, the figures seemed too distinct to be of the same rank.

  Some seemed to have big and distorted shapes, while others seemed more refined with body compositions that weren't too dissimilar from humans.

  But Somnu knew better than to get tricked by that now. He had just seen and fought a humanoid monster. It even talked like it was human.

  What he was most concerned about, however, were the Nightmare Creatures behind those, both the giant moving shapes and the other humanoid figures floating in the air with a presence far more imposing than anything Somnu had encountered thus far.

  He didn’t want to wait for those to make an entrance. Whatever their rank would be, a simple Contagious Zombie had barely killed Somnu with just its rotting ability, and it had been only a Specter.

  Anything above that would be far more deadly, Somnu guessed.

  SWISHHH!

  He forced his arms to swing Eclipsed Requiem and send violet slashes in different directions.

  “!”

  They barely grazed the fog and disappeared behind the distorted silhouettes of the Nightmare Creatures.

  He couldn’t help but grit his teeth.

  “Oh?”

  “What do we have here…?”

  “Look at him trying his best.”

  “How cute… It’s been so long since my last one.”

  “He’s mine.”

  “Dream on.”

  “Hah, that’s funny.”

  “?!”

  Somnu and Fala darted their heads around, looking for the owners of the voices they were hearing, but they seemed to be coming from all around.

  Yes… These are definitely higher, much higher in rank than a Specter… or even him… Somnu finally confirmed, his senses screaming at him to run away.

  “What…” Somnu started, holding on to a semblance of hope. “What do you want?!”

  “Your brain.”

  “Your heart.”

  “Your blood.”

  “Your eyes.”

  “Your tongue.”

  “Your ears.”

  “Your balls.”

  The voices all answered without missing a beat, in fact they seemed to be in perfect harmony.

  Then they all said together.

  If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  “Your fear.”

  Dammit! I shouldn’t have asked!

  Somnu swallowed hard, his question turning back to bite him.

  Even though the charge of the monsters had stopped simply at the edge of the graveyard where the fog was heaviest, Somnu’s body suddenly began to shake.

  That instant, unnatural change coursed through his entire being, as though lightning struck him in place.

  The shaking was quickly turning into convulsion, the sound of his teeth clattering escaped his mouth.

  “Caaw-”

  Next, Fala’s summoning was canceled, but not just that. Even Grudgekeeper and his Memento disappeared suddenly, leaving Somnu in the nude to face countless monsters.

  Leaving him all alone again.

  “Ha ha ha!”

  “Hi hi hi!

  “Hu hu hu!”

  “Ho ho ho!”

  “He he he!”

  “Haur haur haur!”

  “Hyagh hyagh hyagh!”

  The eerie, ghostly, chilling laughter echoed through the entire graveyard, repeating again and again.

  Somnu’s mind could barely focus on it, his body had fallen forward, shaking and convulsing.

  Even though the pain and agony he had felt after the zombie fight was the most physical suffering he had ever felt, what he was feeling now paled in comparison to it.

  His brain was throbbing, threatening to explode within his skull.

  His heart was pumping at an unnaturally rapid rate, quickly reaching a point of bursting.

  His blood boiled like hot magma running through his vein, making his skin protrude with blood and pus all over.

  His eyes burned with an itch he couldn’t scratch, slowly expanding out of his eye sockets.

  His tongue was relentlessly popping with hardened spikes, shattering the inside of his mouth and forcibly tearing out his teeth from the flesh.

  His eardrums shattered and bled out, the deafening sounds of monster laughter echoing endlessly in his mind.

  His crotch melted and liquified slowly from the inside out, only for it to come together again, hardened, then repeated the whole process.

  He was being tortured in the middle of the endless foggy graveyard, surrounded by hordes of Nightmare Creatures laughing at him, feeding on his agony and pain.

  “Ha… Ha… Haha…”

  Without realizing it, a sound escaped his bloodied mouth.

  “Haha… Hahaha…”

  Soon, it grew clearer, and louder.

  “HYAHAHAHAHA!”

  Louder than even the deafening laughter shattering his eardrums.

  “HYAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!”

  “HA HA HA!”

  “HI HI HI!

  “HU HU HU!”

  “HO HO HO!”

  “HE HE HE!”

  “HAUR HAUR HAUR!”

  “HYAGH HYAGH HYAGH!”

  Through his agony and suffering, he laughed.

  He laughed with the monsters causing him all this pain.

  He laughed like he had never laughed before.

  Tears of blood ran down his face, each drop threatening to help his burning eyes stretch more out of the socket.

  He couldn’t think straight anymore. His thoughts were quickly growing blank.

  He was losing his mind.

  What did he do to deserve all this suffering?

  Nothing!

  Who did he offend to merit all this pain?

  No one!

  How come he was chosen to be the target of all this agony?

  I don’t know!

  And yet, he did.

  He knew exactly what he had done, who he had hurt, and why he was chosen to be where he was now.

  He neglected people, hurt them, ran away from those who wanted to help him most, and blamed them for it.

  He gave up on seeking justice for his murdered mother, telling himself there was nothing he could do, throwing dirt over her grave. There was no way she would be able to rest with him simply running away, throwing himself in the role of a made-up profession.

  He deserved all this pain, all this agony, all this suffering.

  That’s why he was being haunted by his fears.

  That’s why he was being surrounded and laughed at by all his sins.

  His Sloth.

  His Envy.

  His Gluttony.

  His Lust.

  His Greed.

  His Pride.

  His Wrath.

  It was only natural that they would catch up with him, get back at him.

  That was karma.

  That was their grudge.

  He felt the last semblance of his identity slowly slipping away.

  Not the first time it had happened. Last time it did, he got his scar.

  What would happen this time when he did?

  He couldn’t know.

  He was only sure of one thing.

  Even if he deserved it all, he wasn’t simply about to accept any of it.

  “I…” His muffled voice began to seep out.

  “...” It even made the monsters stop and wonder what his last words were going to be.

  “However long it takes… I’M GOING TO FREAKING MURDURE YOU ALL!”

  “?!”

  A moment of silence followed the echoing proclamation, then laughter dominated once more.

  “HYAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!!!”

  “HA HA HA!”

  “HI HI HI!

  “HU HU HU!”

  “HO HO HO!”

  “HE HE HE!”

  “HAUR HAUR HAUR!”

  “HYAGH HYAGH HYAGH!”

  “Look at him, being all brave!”

  “I can’t believe this!”

  “This is too much fun!”

  “I never thought he would hold out this long!”

  “He’s so delicious! Finally!”

  “I can’t have my fill, don’t die!”

  “Sharing him was a pity!”

  The voices continued, as Somnu’s mind grew blank.

  However, blank never meant sleep for Somnu, he was never allowed that.

  He was on the verge of another blackout.

  And then…

  “STOP!! I COMMAND YOU!”

  “?!”

  An ear-shattering command resounded through the entire graveyard, making every single Nightmare Creature shudder in place. Their laughter stopped, their forms began to quickly dissipate along with the fog and the darkness of the night.

  A bright light shined from the skies, enveloping everything beneath it like a rising sun casting its warm blanket over the misty, cold night.

  “BE GONE OR SUFFER THE MIGHT OF MY SWORD!”

  Even Somnu, on the verge of blacking out, could hear that voice.

  A voice he clearly recognized.

  Mr… Emberlyn?

  Here's the Patreon link for those who can't wait and want to read 30+ chapters:

  Rating and Leaving a Review goes a long way to support the series!

  !