Chapter 406: Nightmare Summoning, Father Douglas Sullivan

Chapter 406: Chapter 406: Nightmare Summoning, Father Douglas Sullivan

The black-haired Eureka’s eyes held undisguised malice.

A teasing cruelty and a lofty indifference.

The corners of his mouth curled into a cruel arc.

"Geh heh heh... The Peach Kingdom?"

The black-haired "Eureka" let out a harsh, grating laugh.

His voice echoed through the hall, which had just begun to quiet down. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Carrying with it a power that corroded the heart.

"Then become the 1,223rd boring dream I have destroyed within the Divine Kingdom of Sweet Dreams!"

His words were a direct declaration of his identity and purpose.

This was no ally, but an existence that opposed the God of Sweet Dreams, one who commanded nightmares and craved destruction and ruin!

Seraphina Sullivan understood instantly.

The blond Eureka represented the side of the God of Sweet Dreams.

And this black-haired Eureka before her was undoubtedly on the side of the Nightmare God.

They were enemies.

The Player, Dex, was a Nightmare God’s Favored.

This "Protect the Banquet" quest was never about fighting off sporadically spawning monsters, but a prelude to a faction-versus-faction conflict!

A contest between Players from the Nightmare God’s faction and Players from the God of Sweet Dreams’ faction.

Watching the sudden turn of events, they realized the quest they thought would end after dealing with those Nightmare Minions had now escalated in difficulty.

"What... what the hell is going on?!"

Ironhide stared at the five people on the other side, who were clearly Players.

And at the black-haired man who stood as a mirror image opposite Eureka.

His simple, honest face was a mask of confusion and disbelief.

The way this instance was unfolding had completely exceeded his comprehension.

Clayton Quinn was calmer by comparison, his brow tightly furrowed.

His gaze swept over the enemy Players and his own side.

He analyzed in a low voice, "I’m not sure of the exact reason.

But it seems this instance split us entrants into two factions from the very beginning.

The Dream Faction and the Nightmare Faction.

We were probably assigned to the Dream side because of the [Beautiful Dream Stamp].

And them... they might have used something like a [Nightmare Stamp] or some other method to become helpers for the Nightmare faction."

Clayton Quinn paused, his tone growing heavier.

"So, the quest requires us to protect the banquet from being destroyed and to knock back the nightmare forces.

In that case, killing these Players who belong to the Nightmare faction is very likely... also a way to complete the quest and earn enough contribution points. It might even be a necessary condition."

"So we have to take them out to finish the quest, is that what you’re saying?"

Lamb shook the horns on his head and chimed in with an "Oh, I get it now" tone.

It was as if the Low Rank minions from before were just appetizers, and the main course was only now being served.

Seraphina Sullivan’s gaze, however, was fixed more on the two figures at the edge of the battlefield, facing each other from afar like opposite poles of light and darkness.

The blond Eureka and the black-haired "Eureka."

Neither of them had directly joined the battle since appearing.

They just stood there silently, looking at each other, both wearing inscrutable smiles.

But the air between them was faintly distorting and vibrating, as if two invisible, immense wills were fiercely clashing and probing, engaging in a silent, higher-level contest.

Clearly, these two "big shots" wouldn’t be personally entering the fray for now.

Or perhaps, the way they competed was far beyond the comprehension of ordinary Players.

The battle below was more of a game between the Favored and "Chess Pieces" of both sides.

Hearing Lamb’s "naive" comment, Dex, the leader of the Nightmare God’s Favored, let out a disdainful sneer.

His face was filled with an arrogance that suggested he had everything under control.

"Such ignorant fools! Did you really think that just the few of you, plus a bunch of useless Guards who can only dream, would be enough to handle us?"

He spread his arms wide, as if embracing the surrounding darkness and fear.

"Nightmares are the truest and most powerful force in the dreamscape!

Fear, anger, despair... These are the essences that drive everything!"

The other Players beside him chimed in, their faces showing disdain for the Dream Faction and an eagerness to finish the quest and return:

"Boss Dex, stop wasting your breath on them! Let’s just finish them off so we can complete the quest and get our rewards!"

"Yeah! All that ’sweet dream’ stuff is so hypocritical! Nightmares are way more direct and satisfying!"

Dex nodded, a glint of cruelty and excitement flashing in his eyes.

He said no more. Taking a sudden step forward, he formed a bizarre hand seal in front of his chest, and the black mist churning around him instantly went into a frenzy!

"Nightmares... are the eternal home!"

He roared and activated his core Ability as one of the Nightmare God’s Favored.

The [Nightmare Messenger]’s: Nightmare Summoning!

An invisible shock wave of energy, carrying intense mental corruption and an inductive quality, suddenly spread out in all directions with Dex at its center!

This shock wave was not a physical attack, but one that directly affected the mental plane.

It stirred up the deepest fears, sorrows, regrets, and other negative emotions within its targets!

Seraphina Sullivan felt a cold, viscous, and extremely unsettling power sweep over her "body" in an instant.

Immediately after, she felt something deep within her consciousness being forcibly pried open and dragged out!

On an empty patch of ground not far in front of her, the air twisted and warped, and a blurry figure rapidly solidified, condensing into a physical form.

It was the figure of a middle-aged man.

He wasn’t particularly tall, and even a little stooped.

He wore faded, old work clothes.

His hair was messy and graying, and his face was covered in deep wrinkles carved by time and hardship.

His eyes were murky, holding the numbness and cowardice born from a long life of repression.

And... a faint, almost imperceptible trace of impotent rage.

The moment she saw this man.

Seraphina Sullivan’s "body" froze stiff!

It was as if an icicle had been driven from the crown of her head straight through to the soles of her feet.

Causing the blood in her veins to nearly freeze solid!

’How many years has it been... How many years...’

’...since I’ve "seen" this face?’

Ever since the end of the college entrance exams that year,

she had fought with all her might, practically fleeing that place called "home"—

—a place filled with repression, accusations, and coldness.

She had never gone back.

And she had never again seen this man who had given her life, yet had also brought her countless childhood traumas and emotional scars.

Her father.

Douglas Sullivan.

A man who was mediocre and timid in reality.

A man easily instigated by others, who converted the disappointments and pressures of his life into verbal and physical abuse toward his child.

The pain of the past was deeply embedded in the young Seraphina Sullivan’s heart.

It became one of the indelible scars and deepest "nightmares" of her upbringing.

’I thought that after the apocalypse, after experiencing countless life-and-death trials and even facing the will of the Divine, I had long since sealed away, moved past, or even forgotten this part of my life.’

’I thought that if the [Nightmare Summoning] was truly effective,’

’my nightmare would be a powerful enemy I had faced in an instance.’