Chapitre 281: Falling to the realm of Dreams - Demons Arrive!
Shinobu later realized that the said fight between the demon and her Sword Spirit in her Inner World had been nothing but a stalling technique.
By the time Shinobu had figured out a way to leave the forced dream, an Upper Rank Demon had already dealt a fatal blow to her vitals.
No wonder she couldn't awaken the Demon Slayer Marks and resonate them with each other to release her Bankai. She had been fighting two battles simultaneously, one outside and the other in her Inner World, using her Sword Spirit.
When Kai had come, this demon had been forced to leave Shinobu's Sword Spirit, but things had already become unsalvageable by then.
Her death was an outcome set in stone if Kai hadn't come to save her, and the further treatment he had given to her in the hut.
…
Presently,
Kai saw the boy smiling at him, but his eyes weren't reflecting the boy's image.
It was the hand propped up on the boy's shoulder. This hand was cut just above the wrist, looked pale and white, and there was a mouth on the backside of its palm.
To the right of this mouth, over the thumb, was a green toad-like eye.
Kai's hair stood over his neck as he saw the mouth open, rows of bone-white teeth salivating over the boy's shoulder.
It was the same dream demon!
The realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.
Behind him, he could feel Nezuko running towards Shinobu. If they fell to sleep now, it was all over for them, Kai knew.
A red-green tongue slithered out of the mouth on demon's hand and licked its teeth, and said, "Go to…"
Kai's webbed hands lifted along with the first two words, and as the mouth uttered the last word, he slammed his flat palms over his ears.
"… sleep!"
Whispers of Forced Unconscious Hypnosis!
The spell caused a formless shockwave to explode out of the mouth, directing it towards Kai and Nezuko.
However, it was also the time when Kai's palms landed on his ears.
Smack!
Kai had no way to tell if this dream spell's origin lay in sound waves, Mana, or Breath.
But, from what he had learned from Shinobu, he could surmise that listening to the words spoken by the mouth was the core of the demon's trick.
And Kai had always been a decisive person, even in extreme and hazardous situations.
He wouldn't have survived the onslaught of an entire world in his previous life otherwise.
Blood burst from his ears, his smack rupturing his eardrums.
A ring buzzed in his mind, and the world shook, rotating, revolving in his eyes. Kai gritted his teeth in anger and pain and somehow prevented himself from losing his balance.
A tiny, sudden drop in HP was of no concern to Kai. The ruptured eardrums would heal in a few minutes, he knew.
Before that, he must take care of this demon.
Telekinesis burst out with fury about it, and sent the boy and the hand slamming into the wall behind them.
The boy was a normal human child, and he lost consciousness after the impact.
The mouth on the hand clacked its teeth and ran away on its fingers.
Kai didn't pursue it. He spun and saw Nezuko lying on the floor.
The dream spell had hit her head-on, making her sleep. Kai grabbed the package by the neck, stuffed it into the wooden box, and put the box on his back.
Then he ran to Shinobu, who was sleeping as well, her brows furrowed and pressed together in deep struggle.
Kai slapped her a few times, but when he didn't see her waking up, he lifted her in one arm. In the other, he was already wielding Murasame.
I must leave this inn first, Kai reasoned. Who knows where the rest of the demon's body is hiding? Tch!
So Kai spun around once more, running inside the room.
Obviously, the easiest and shortest way out of the inn was through the window.
The window was just a few feet away from him now. He could even see the sheet of rain beating against it, and the unheard roars of thunders lighting up the dark sky.
One more moment, and he would be out of the inn.
Hmm? A sudden thought bubbled up in his mind. This?! Isn't this just too easy?
Kai's head was just inches away from the glass.
It was then his instincts went wild.
Not good!
Too late.
The window, which had an ordinary appearance until now, suddenly opened by itself like the parting of eyelids over an eye.
No. It was an eye.
The entire window had become a gigantic eye with strange characters embedded in its pupil.
Shinobu didn't know everything about the demon, either. How could she have known, or even imagine, that just speaking out with a mouth on its hand wasn't the demon's true power?
The same formless shockwave, but with even more intensity, exploded out of the eye.
Its target — Kai.
Eyes of Forced Unconscious Sleep!
Kai knew what he must do now.
In that tiny moment, Kai's brilliant mind had already figured out that he must blind himself.
Alas! His Agility wasn't high enough for such a tremendous reflex. Nor could he shut his eyes in time.
Bang!
Kai's entire figure wavered as if a powerful gust of wind had hit him on the face, his eyes rolling back into his head.
With a dull thud, both Kai and Shinobu fell to the floor, their eyes fluttering, their minds lost in the realm of dreams.
No matter if it was because of the pounding headache dulling his instincts, or the dizziness caused by the rupture of his eardrums, Red had finally fallen into a brilliantly laid trap.
Even Selene couldn't help him now because…
… she herself had been dreaming about Kai patting her head and kicking Meg, Cersei, and Petyr since a while ago.
*
*
In the land of dreams…
"Mother!" the 11-year-old Kai cried cheerily. "Look! I solved it!"
"Let me see," Edith Stormborn said, rubbing her son's head and glancing at the papers. "Oh! You really did it, Kai. This gene sequence… Wonderful! You saved us years of research."
Her words were cheerful, but there was a sadness hidden behind her smile as well.
…
It was a long corridor. Many scientists crossed them, greeting Edith with great respect on their faces.
More kept taking secret glances at Kai, pointing at him, whispering about him. An even greater respect gleamed in their eyes as they looked at him.
However, this respect had quite a dark shadow about it.
It was rotten, and it reeked…
… of fear.
This 11-year-old boy was a living nightmare. A monster who devoured knowledge like the ancient Taotie.
…
The giant red snake hissed, shaking its head.
Kai looked quite flustered. "Oh!" he breathed out, looking down. "Never mind, then."
Edith crouched near him and lifted his chin. "A man can lose everything, son," she told him, "but not the hope in his heart. Your father will come back. I know him."
Kai's eyes were misty. "But why did he leave?" he asked, his breath heavy. "How will you work alone, mother? It's killing you."
Knowledge didn't mean bliss for everyone.
"You tested my blood again, didn't you?" Edith asked, smiling. "No, I am not mad at you, Kai. But you are wrong. I am not alone. I have you. You are my hope. You are this world's hope."
…
"He is Brock from House Valeheart," Edith introduced. "Members of Valeheart House sacrificed themselves courageously for humanity's survival in the last beast tide. He will live with us from now on. I know you two will be good to each other, just like two brothers."
The 12-year-old Kai smiled at that. His entire childhood had gone without having any friend.
To have Brock live with them, he could have hoped for nothing better.
…
"No… why… why is this happening… mother…"
The 14-year-old Kai's lips trembled. His eyes were bloodshot and tears fell down his chin like trails of shooting stars. In his lap was Edith, her chest pierced and bloody. Blood was seeping out from her eyes, ears, and mouth, the smile on her face widening with every next moment.
Tired. She was too tired.
Edith's hand touched Kai's heart. "… hope…" the word came out of her mouth like a breeze. "… live…"
And she said no more, her hazel eyes looking at Kai with great pride.
Kai's face became blue. He felt suffocated, choking on words, his face and body covered in the blood of his mother.
"I knew she would come here," Brock said, stepping into the room, wielding the spear which was once the weapon of Alan Stormborn. "Where is it? Give it to me, Kai. I don't want to kill you, too."
Kai's hand trembled as he closed his mother's eyes.
Knowledge truly wasn't bliss for everyone.
With a broken motion, Kai lifted his face and stared into those dead eyes. He was breathing like a beast, his body shaking, and veins popping up all over his body.
"She gave you a home… I… gave you a brother…" Kai muttered, as though the entire world had said it. "Brock… Brock…
"… I… WILL… KILL… YOU!!!"
**************
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