“You… cheated?” The glowing crimson eyes inside the shadow of the hood widened with intrigue.

  John Doe waited, his stirred curiosity could only be satiated by the secrets of his latest victim.

  However, Somnu didn’t entertain him with an answer.

  In truth, the scarecrow’s plan hadn’t gone perfectly. Since his rank up and level up of his Hollow Core didn’t regenerate his arm, he had used the empty sleeve to divert attention, planning to create an arm of straws at just the right time to beat his enemy. And yet, that hadn’t worked the way he had hoped. Using [Hollow Gaze] to keep his enemy’s attention on him had been for that very purpose.

  On top of that, not only had John Doe clearly gotten into his head and made him act rashly, but Somnu’s second class and skills stopped working completely, almost causing his doom in the process.

  Thankfully, his last ditch effort hadn’t been interrupted. He had managed to construct the fight to reach this stage. There had been clear bumps along the way, times where he let his emotions steer him away from the plan, but in the end, he had reached the conclusion he wanted.

  And that was-

  “Wait…! Where is your weapon?!” John Doe finally noticed the missing sickles from Somnu’s grip.

  “Heh. Now, Fala.”

  “Caaw!”

  THUD!

  “?!”

  In a split second, hearing the awaited command of her master after having waited this entire time, Fala’s main body flew in at blinding speed, dropping a plum-colored shadow right in front of Almon’s hidden face.

  Before John Doe realized it, a figure was forming between him and the prey, the missing sickles glowing violet in its hands.

  It was Grudgekeeper, completely standing on its own, the hood closed on itself, resembling Somnu’s form against the scarecrow monster. A form close to the Night Terror State.

  “Is this what you-?!”

  “This isn’t a one-on-one…Blergh!”

  Somnu immediately stopped John Doe’s attempt at removing the scythe, activating [Rooted Vigil] and plummeting to the ground with the weapon still stabbed through his stomach.

  The action put him in excruciating pain again, but It gave Grudgekeeper just enough time to swing Eclipsed Requiem at the murderer.

  KLANG!

  And yet, John Doe quickly let go of the scythe, remodeled the bloody spider legs attached to his shoulders and immediately blocked the flying, violet slashes coming his way.

  “Weak! This is still far too easy!” John Doe jeered at the top of his lungs, simply standing in place and blocking the onslaught of attacks from Grudgekeeper. “Is this what you had planned? Was this really what you were laughing about?!”

  “Easy, huh?”

  “W-what!?”

  John Doe heard him again. Except this time, Somnu’s voice was coming from behind him.

  The scarecrow was barely standing. Blood was pouring out from his entire body, from the cuts all over his skin, and the gaping hole in his stomach.

  His last level up only served to heal a small amount, focusing most of that into reversing the heavy blood, or Bloodbind, he had been under.

  Then, while using [Silent Stalk], the upgrade to the skill [Silent Step], he managed to sneak behind his enemy, counting on the Dream Catcher to act as a distraction.

  Now, surrounded from both directions, John Doe was caged in.

  “Finally! Some real blood pumping!!” The killer shouted, turning sideways and blowing up each arm and immediately using the bursting blood to attack his jailers. “You can’t just die so easily and let someone else do the job for you! Show me your last moments!”

  “I’m not dying…” The scarecrow fixed his posture and braced himself. The metallic taste filled his mouth, all the wounds on his body throbbed with both cold and hot spots. And yet, he urged forward. Nothing could scare a scarecrow. “I’m killing you with my own hands.”

  Having messed up his open window due to his injuries, Somnu adapted quickly, activating all the skills he could.

  [Rooted Vigil] to ground himself, [Straw Storm] to defend his body and Grudgekeeper against the coming attacks, and [Hollow Gaze] along with [Feral Instinct], both getting boosted by his [Naked Prince] and [Fated Terror] personal titles, to bring out every ounce of strength he might still have deep within him.

  Canceling and reequipping Eclipsed Requiem into his own hands, Somnu gripped them tightly and jumped forward.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  In front of him stood a maniac who enjoyed killing and torturing others, and didn’t even mind blowing up his own body to do it. Blood was swirling all around him, hardening into spears and arrows, even bullets, all to be countered and blocked by a rush of straws from both sides.

  KLANG! SWISSHHH! FWOOSH!

  And just underneath all the chaotic noise and the two fighters’ ear-shattering war cries as they tried to get to the other person, two violet sickles glowed so bright, they challenged the dominance of the green moonlight shining down at the clearing.

  Then, shaping the air in final circular motion, those two violet lights grounded everything to a sudden halt.

  [Ceaseless Spiral Passage!]

  “!”

  With the return of time and chaos to the world, something new emerged.

  A barely visible amalgamation of violet activity, ceaselessly cutting and slashing within a contained sphere of mayhem. All around a lone prisoner trapped within.

  It was ripping him to tiny shreds.

  The more he tried to regenerate, the more it cut him, both stuck in an endless loop.

  The scarecrow’s body collapsed to the ground. Quickly equipping Grudgekeeper, he strained his neck to look up and watch the fruit of his labor, the harvest he had planted.

  His newest skill, and the result of ranking up his bladed Memento.

  His wounds were many, but he didn’t have enough Terror Cores to level up. Best he could do now was rely on [Hay Stitching] to at least force those open wounds to close.

  “Caaw!” Even Fala flew down and landed beside his head, nudging him slightly before turning to watch a murderer’s execution, his primal screams of agony echoing through the swamp.

  Somnu’s current pain couldn’t compare to what he had previously experienced, but watching someone being continuously tortured like that made him shudder slightly, even if it was his mortal enemy.

  “Aha! Hahahaha!

  “?!”

  However, the screams from within the makeshift torture chamber quickly turned to laughter.

  “You said this wouldn’t be a one-on-one, didn’t you?” The voice spoke with clarity from within the fading prison of violet. “You were right, I’m being resisted…”

  “What are you…?!” Somnu’s question was cut short by his own realization. He didn’t shapeshift or change forms once this entire time… It’s not that he took the form of Almon, but…!

  “Stop fighting back, Almon. You know what will happen if you take back control now… I’m the one regenerating your body and keeping you alive.” John Doe explained as the skill from the Memento began to slow down. His powers were persevering.

  It’s not a personality disorder either… Somnu thought with constricted pupils. He’s possessing Almon completely!

  “Fine, you want to take back control? You want to die like this?” John Doe raised his voice again. “So, these will be your last moments then…”

  Suddenly, Almon’s body became whole, only for the last of the slashes to cut his limbs and head clean off.

  “Fine, let me witness your end! I’ll let you go here, Almon. You’ve all but served your purpose.” John Doe said as Almon’s head flew up from the impact and blocked the distant moon. Then, the glowing eyes suddenly glared down at Somnu. “Someone wants to talk to you.”

  What? Is it Almon?

  “!”

  In an instant, time stood still.

  The wind stopped, and so had Almon’s head from descending back down.

  Instead of the green moon behind the talking head, the distant glow had turned to a deep crimson.

  Somnu’s entire being screamed at him to run away, even if it meant his own death.

  For dying from his current wounds would have been a much better outcome than to face whatever was coming next.

  His very soul shook in the menacing presence of the crimson moon. A shaking which stirred a deep, unadulterated wrath he didn’t know the source of.

  “You.”

  It wasn’t Almon’s, nor John Doe’s, it was a much deeper, more distorted voice that spoke this time.

  The one word alone made reality around it tremble.

  It can’t be…! Somnu thought, swallowing his own breath.

  “Sleepless.”

  “...?!”

  “You are not ready.”

  Then, immediately, everything returned to normal. The head continued its descent downwards, the moon turned back to its green hue.

  Only Somnu was left in complete shock and bewilderment.

  “Caaw!”

  Not waiting for her master’s command, Fala rushed to action. She summoned all of her clones, immediately grabbing the different limbs from Almon’s body and eliminating any possibility of the murderer connecting them back together.

  She knew her master wouldn’t be able to get back up and fight anymore.

  “Are you surprised?” John Doe’s voice rang out again just before Almon’s head hit the rest of his body and began rolling towards Somnu. “I’ve got some more surprises for you.”

  This doesn’t make any sense… Who was that? Just the presence alone felt like all my active fears were being enhanced at once… Somnu thought as he tried to move his body away from the approaching head.

  “I did what he told me, I prepared traps for you everywhere on this Layer and planted pawns everywhere to catch you.” John Doe continued as Almon’s head finally reached its destination and looked up at the scarecrow trying his best to sit up. “I left signs for you, from the very moment he led me to your mother.”

  “?!”

  “He wanted her dead, he wanted me to make her suffer for what they all did to him! Hahaha! She screamed so beautifully, I can still hear it now so very clearly!”

  The laughter rang within Somnu’s ears, his entire bloodied body boiling with newfound rage.

  “And I enjoyed it! It connected us! You and me, we are connected! But for now, we have to end this here!” John Doe said using Almon’s hidden mouth. “You walked into this trap from the beginning, it was your choice, but if you survive this, I’ll be looking forward to that one-on-one next time!”

  “!”

  Then, suddenly, the entire dead soil of the clearing collapsed on itself and the two fell together.

  With his crows away from him and with no chance at healing, Somnu could only think of one thing as he fell helplessly into another deep, dark hole.

  Was that the Faceless Forager…? Was he behind it all?!

  My mother’s death… It was him?!

  Is he the one behind the grinning skull symbol?

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