Chapter 43
Facing the colossal shadow bird radiating an overwhelming, heaven-defying aura, little Silva turned pale with terror, tears welling in her eyes. With a wail, she crouched down and burst into tears. Meanwhile, a silver longsword materialized in little Yenoa’s small hand.
Expressionless, she gazed at the black shadow bird mere inches away. Suddenly, boundless dazzling radiance erupted from her body. Magical energy and aura surged wildly within her.
The shadow bird’s massive frame seemed forged from steel and iron. Its wings blotted out sun and sky; a single flap could unleash a horizon-swallowing sandstorm. Its razor-sharp beak gleamed—sharp enough to pierce the heavens.
The shadow bird was a nightmare manifestation. As master of this dreamscape, Dimensional Dream naturally commanded all nightmares within it.
Nightmares possessed no fixed form or physical substance. They could appear as anything in dreams, their sole purpose: to kill those trapped within.
This particular nightmare took the shape of an Imperial-tier Beast Dimensional Dream had read about in ancient texts—a legendary avian emperor said to have once ruled the entire sky. Believing it immensely powerful, he conjured it forth.
Yet though the template was Imperial-tier, the entity remained a nightmare, not a beast. It had to obey the dream world’s laws.
Within this realm, a nightmare’s power only slightly exceeded that of the nightmare-plagued dreamer.
Here, that dreamer was Yenoa—an Archmage whose strength neared the Archmage Tier. Thus, the nightmare’s power rested at the Archmage Tier, not the Imperial Rank Dimensional Dream imagined.
Still, Archmage Tier was no small feat—a rank famed across the continent.
Yenoa felt no fear. So what if it was Archmage Tier? Even a Grand Sage would fall beneath her blade.
The Augustine Family’s ancient forbidden magic held pinnacle knowledge across dozens of domains. One spell could temporarily skyrocket her power to terrifying heights—easily slaying a Grand Sage far beyond her rank.
It was precisely this overwhelming power that led the Augustine Family to ruin…
As the shadow bird descended on raging winds, Yenoa’s eyes remained calm as still water. Her surging aura abruptly stilled.
A thread of killing intent coalesced. A silvery flash split heaven and earth, brightening the gloomy sky. A blade of light, spanning sky to ground, slashed toward the bird’s unbreakable beak.
“No matter what you are—if you dare lay a finger on little Silva, I’ll cut you down with one stroke!”
The next second, the colossal shadow bird froze midair in eerie stillness.
Little Yenoa sheathed her silver longsword. The overwhelming blade intent receded like a tide. Ignoring the grotesque creature, she crouched and gently comforted little Silva.
Seconds later, the shadow bird dissolved into wisps of black smoke and vanished.
The nightmare was shattered—effortlessly.
Yenoa would never have used the secret technique unless the nightmare threatened Silva. Its aftermath inflicted direct soul wounds. Though healable, the agony was unavoidable. But for Silva’s safety? Nothing else mattered.
High above, Dimensional Dream reeled in shock. *She slew a nightmare stronger than herself… with one casual stroke? Who is she?*
He was equally curious about Yenoa’s nightmare—but he’d never live to uncover it.
Yenoa’s strike lasted seconds. Roland’s grand magic array was already complete. One move from Dimensional Dream, and escape became impossible. Death was inevitable.
Unaware of his doom, Dimensional Dream suddenly laughed aloud.
“So you can slay nightmares? So what? This is a dream—a world of dreams! Here, I am sovereign!”
As he spoke, dozens of black cloud pillars crashed down. The earth rumbled. On the distant horizon, a boundless tsunami of black water surged forth—apocalyptic in scale.
Gales howled. Thunder roared. The world trembled as if facing annihilation.
“See this?! I am master of this world! I control everything!”
Dimensional Dream spread his arms. Six pitch-black wings flared behind him—a malevolent deity descended.
He shot Roland a disdainful glance. “Want those women alive? Submit. Swear fealty. Become my eternal slave. I care not for women—but others crave noble beauties like them.”
Roland answered with a scornful smile.
Intricate array patterns erupted across the ruined city—dense, interwoven, glowing. Arcane incantations surfaced within, many utterly unrecognizable to Dimensional Dream.
“This… this…” he stammered, staring at the kilometer-spanning array, voice lost in awe.
“You… actually built a Forbidden Spell-level array this vast… in moments?”
“Who *are* you?”
“The one who kills you.” Roland’s reply was calm—but killing intent radiated like frost.
