The sounds of music and laughter wove through the air.

  Sleepers of all races were scattered around the makeshift tavern, the stench of cheap alcohol accompanying them. Roughly thirty or so customers were present, and a handful of workers to pour the drinks.

  On both entrances of the tavern, a duo of armored Luscairna stood straight with sharpened spears, surveying the area every now and again for abnormalities.

  And in the middle, just in front of a slight elevation that served as the stage to the musicians and bards, a dance floor welcomed half a dozen enthusiasts moving their bodies in whatever way they felt like it, surrendering themselves to the environment.

  And just at the bar not far from there…

  “Tell it to me again! Hahaha! Tell me, Carmella!”

  “What, again? I’m going to need another drink at this rate…”

  “Barkeep! Get the lady another drink, will you?! And join us! You should hear this too!”

  The same patrolling guard that had escorted Carmella inside the fort slammed the bar stand and demanded service. His cheeks were completely flushed pink, half a dozen glasses were laying empty in front of him.

  He was still wearing his armor, but had removed his helmet to reveal a dark brown face. The skin on it was stretched tight in different sections, leaving no room for hair growth. His eyes were bigger, far more than a human’s, and were completely black in nature.

  Two short mandibles protruded from each side of his mouth, while two long antennae hung from each side of his forehead, just below the horns accompanying them.

  “This is your last drink, Skrixis.” A slightly bulky, dark-skinned human, dressed in neat but casual attire, served the armored customer and his date one last time.

  “Yeah, yeah, now listen to this! Go ahead, Carmella!” Skrixis grabbed his drink and gulped it in one go, not even flinching.

  In contrast, Carmella drank a sip of her third drink, her face unintentionally twisting into a slight wince from the burn in her throat.

  She had changed into another dress, a red one that fit tightly on her attractive figure, accentuating her curves and revealing more of her chest area.

  Thankfully, that dress had served its purpose nicely, taking attention from the blond lady’s face that could not look at the horned cockroach person in front of her. She had met all kinds of races thus far since finding herself in the Nightmare Realm, but this one by far was the most disgusting.

  She had to excuse herself to the ladies’ room every time she finished a drink, holding back the barf stuck in her throat. Every time, she pleaded and asked the shrunken serpent clone hiding within her bosom for help, to resonate with the man she was doing all this for.

  However, no response would ever come back and she would be forced to swallow her feelings and push on.

  And every time…

  “So, hear this, Henry jumps in front of us, and fights the Dreadbeast to death! He protected me and the stupid blind weakling, even at the cost of his life!” She repeated her story once more, recalling it for the barkeep who stood at Skrixis’s request. “My love, my strong man, he sacrificed his life for us fighting that thing! He refused to die until he made sure the creature was dead, and then…” Carmella brought a hand to barely cover her mouth, hunching in her chair. “He turned and mumbled his last words… ‘I love you, babe.’”

  “Sorry for your loss, lady.” The barkeep crossed his arms, then turned to the laughing cockroach person. “But you want me to believe you met a Dreadbeast? Is that what’s supposed to be funny here?”

  “Hahaha! No, idiot! Wait till you hear the rest of it!” Skrixis slapped the bar stand a few times again.

  “Believe me! Dreadbeasts are roaming the First Layer now for some reason! We escaped one, while Henry defeated another!” Carmella pleaded, fluttering her big eyes at the man. “And just after all that, me and that weakling kid traveled back, guess what he did?”

  “He made a move on her!! Hahaha!” Skrixis fell out of his chair, holding his stomach area out of laughter.

  “He did! He got close to me at night, trying to wrap his arm around me! I slapped some sense into him, alright!”

  “Hahaha! She slapped him!”

  “That’s it? Cut the boy some slack. If he’s a human as you say, that meant he survived on his own for a month and a half out there. He must have had some pent up frustration.” The barkeep uncrossed his arms and rested them on his hips. He nodded his head repeatedly. “Besides, what’s the harm in making a move? It’s not like he forced you into anything. Are you sure he wasn’t just trying to comfort you after losing your man instead?”

  “What are you saying?! I definitely felt something on my back before I slapped him!”

  “Hahaha! This is too funny! Barkeep, another drink!”

  “Fine, but it’s your last one, Skrixis.” The barkeep walked away, sighing and shaking his head in disbelief.

  “Can you believe this?! He doesn’t believe me!” Carmella said with a weak voice, that somehow immediately stirred Skrixis back on his feet.

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  “Don’t mind him, pretty, I believe you wholeheartedly!” The cockroach sneered, reaching out and touching a strand of the blond lady’s hair.

  It took everything in her to resist the shudder, digging her long nails into her palms.

  “Thank you, handsome. You’re the best!” Her soft voice sounded sweet, melodious.

  “Say, how about we take this elsewhere now? Maybe back to my room?” Skrixis asked, getting close enough to whisper in her ear.

  Carmella clenched her teeth, making sure not to let out any sound. Her heart was pounding, sweat was starting to run down her face.

  Any other day, she would have ran away or attacked her drinking partner, but not today.

  Today, she was doing it all for him. As horrible as it was, if it was to be of help to him, she would do it without question.

  “I want to show you something.” Skrixis whispered again. “Henry was involved too, you see. I think it’s time we bring you in on this too.”

  “Involved? In what?” Carmella questioned, making a point to act surprised.

  “Well, you know about everything that’s happening here, right?”

  “You mean the serial murders?”

  “Yup, if you want to ensure you don’t become one of the victims eventually, you’ll have to pledge your allegiance to the one leading us.” Skrixis moved his hand and grabbed onto one of Carmella’s breasts, squeezing it. “You’ll have to do as he says and accept him inside you.”

  Among the songs and dancing, the laughter and chatter, no one paid heed to the shivering blond lady getting groped by a cockroach person.

  Not until…

  “?!”

  “Wha-?!”

  CRASHH!!

  Skrixis suddenly crashed into the dance floor, startling everyone in the tavern. A cloud of dust and black smoke rose up around him.

  The Luscairna guards rushed forward, clenching their spears. Many Sleepers stood up, summoning their own weapons. Even the barkeep took out a shotgun from under the counter and aimed it at the figure slowly appearing from behind the dense black smoke.

  “!” Carmella’s eyes widened in shock, but she held her ground. In a matter of seconds, she quickly adapted to the situation and faked some shivering, looking around for help like a damsel in distress.

  “What the hell?!” Skrixis bellowed as he punched the ground and attempted to get back up. “Who the hell-”

  SQUELLLCHH!

  A foot stomped on the cockroach’s head, crushing it completely. White liquid and brain matter of the same color scattered everywhere.

  “Wha– what is that?!”

  “Did they just… kill a sleeper?!”

  “Summon all the fort guards!”

  “?!”

  Suddenly, the charging Luscairna froze mid motion. Both Dreamers and Savant Sleepers who were considering to jump in took a few steps back instead.

  They all trusted the nerves screaming at them, just as they had when faced with Nightmare Creatures based on their active fears.

  As the cloud of dust cleared, the black smoke erupted from the figure, then scattered all around him in a violent wave.

  The black leather wrapped tightly around the deep, plum outfit stood out under the tavern lights. The mysterious figure retracted the now white foot and clung the two glowing violet sickles together. The hood on its head came together at the front, closing with a row of jagged, harrowing teeth.

  CLUNG!

  CLUNG! CLUNG!

  “Damn you!” Skrixis somehow recovered with the tenacity of his race and attempted to get up again.

  SQUELLLCHH!

  CLUNG!

  CLUNG! CLUNG!

  CLUNG! CLUNG! CLUNG!

  Every time the cockroach recovered and raised his head, it got squashed again and again beneath the music of the blades.

  BANG!

  “?!”

  The barkeep finally shot the figure, but all it did was make it raise its head and open its steaming maw slightly, revealing two crimson orbs glaring at everything that dared meet its gaze.

  “Ah—Aghhh!!”

  “Don’t tell me… Is it a Nightmare Creature?!”

  Some Sleepers attempted to run, before their knees gave out and they hit the floor. A few Dreamers passed out, unable to withstand neither the pressure, sight, nor smell.

  “Who are you, dammit! I’ll make him-”

  SQUELLLCHH!

  CLUNG!

  CLUNG! CLUNG!

  Again, the cockroach’s head was stomped. However, this time, the figure crouched down, opening its maw wide.

  “?!”

  CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH!

  Everyone watched as the hooded creature devoured the corpse whole, armor and all, leaving no room for it to recover.

  Then, it raised its head back up and scanned the area, clinging its sickles again.

  “Aghhh! Get them!”

  Gritting his teeth, the barkeep built up the courage and shouted. However, only a couple of Sleepers jump forward at his signal.

  In only a fraction of a second, they all crashed into nearby furniture, some part of their bodies aching only after the fact.

  And when everyone looked back at where the hooded figure had just been standing, a newly formed cloud of black smoke remained, leaving no trace of the invader behind.

  The only proof of its existence was the scattered white liquid and brain matter around.

  At least that’s how it seemed at first, for on closer inspection, the secretions had all formed a dreadful symbol depicting a hollow, melting face with a wide, crazed smile.

  Everyone stood in shock, the terror of the incident freshly carved both in their bodies and psyche.

  Everyone, but one. For she knew exactly what had happened.

  Carmella reached into her bosom and touched the hiding serpent clone within. For a brief second while everyone was busy processing the incident, she remembered the last glare he had given her before disappearing. The corners of her lips curled up a bit as she reached for her pounding heart next.

  She knew these were but the first chilling embers of the raging flames yet to come.