I Became the Tyrant of a Defense Game [EN]: Chapter 779

《Yes, this is within your nightmare.》

Crown spoke, stepping closer.

《More precisely, it’s within the ‘Nightmare of the World,’ where the nightmares of all humanity gather and stagnate.》

As I listened to Crown’s words, my hazy and blurred consciousness gradually became clearer.

It was as if waking from a long dream.

And I began to remember what had happened before I entered this nightmarish world.

***

After Stage 48 ended.

After witnessing Sid’s first steps and first words.

A few days after starting preparations for Stage 49.

A bizarre phenomenon began to engulf Crossroads.

Some of those who fell asleep remained asleep, never to wake again.

No one in this world, no matter how strong a warrior, could avoid sleep. But once they fell asleep, there was a high chance they would lose consciousness.

Among those who had fallen asleep, a soldier who had woken up just before losing consciousness reported to me.

“I heard the sound of a flute in my dream.”

“A flute sound?”

“Yes, a very sorrowful and mournful… and somehow eerie, flute sound…”

People continued to lose consciousness.

Everyone went to bed each night, trembling with fear. They fell asleep, terrified of hearing the flute sound in their dreams.

And when there were far more people who had lost consciousness than those who were awake, news began to spread that this unending sleep was spreading to other nearby cities and countries.

That’s when it appeared above Crossroads.

A huge sphere of darkness, shimmering like liquid.

The Sky Knights attempted to approach it from above, but the moment even a hair touched it, they immediately lost consciousness and fell. And they, too, never regained consciousness.

The mages of the front lines quickly identified the nature of this sphere.

“It’s a materialized nightmare.”

“This is… a nightmare?”

“Yes. It’s speculated that the nightmares of those who have lost consciousness have gathered together to form this shape.”

Materialized nightmares were separating from the bodies of those who were asleep, bubbling up into the air.

Their appearance was eerily similar to the countless ‘dark cocoons’ that existed in the Lake Kingdom.

An emergency meeting was immediately convened.

“We quickly grasped the principle of the magic, but the completeness and sophistication of the spell are too outstanding. It seems to have used ancient magic that has been lost…”

I asked the mages of the front lines who were presiding over the meeting.

“So, can you break it, or not?”

“To put it simply, we cannot dispel it from the outside.”

Junior explained, sweating profusely.

“The nightmares gathered in the sky are, so to speak, the ‘result.’ What we need to dispel is the ’cause’ of this phenomenon… and it is presumed to be in the core of that nightmare.”

“You’re saying [Elemental Disassembly] won’t work?”

“That’s right. Even if we dry up a puddle, what good is it if it keeps raining? It’s the same principle.”

“And this phenomenon isn’t a mental status ailment?”

“Dreaming is actually a natural thing for people. Gathering them is a different principle from the mental realm…”

It was not the kind of phenomenon that could be countered with [Unyielding Commander].

As I clutched my forehead in frustration, Junior continued.

“However, even if it’s difficult to dispel from the outside, if we can find the core from within, it won’t be difficult to dispel.”

“… !”

“If we have a catalyst that can send our elites into the interior of that nightmare, we can dispel the spell from within… and save people from the nightmare.”

But, what could we use as a catalyst?

After closing my eyes and pondering for a moment, I took a breath and said.

“I will go in myself.”

“… !”

“I will be the catalyst.”

Naturally, my subordinates protested, but I was certain.

That I could be the one who could avoid being swallowed by that giant nightmare, maintain my ego completely, and act as a catalyst to bring allies from within.

It was only me.

I was the most familiar with this kind of trial.

‘More than anything… there’s no time.’

Most of those on the front lines had already fallen, and this strange phenomenon had spread throughout the southern part of the continent. If a little more time passed, it would engulf the entire continent.

Before the ground was swept away by the waves of nightmares, I had to believe in myself and jump in.

Eventually, right after my deployment was confirmed, one of the hesitant heroes asked.

“Um, Your Highness. But… even if Your Highness succeeds in the mission, isn’t it possible that we might fail?”

It was the illusionist, Violet.

I quietly met her gaze.

“Isn’t it possible that we all might not be able to hold on and fall asleep, swallowed by the nightmare? Then, even if Your Highness acts as a catalyst inside, it would be meaningless…”

“No, Violet.”

I smiled and looked around at the heroes gathered in the conference room.

“You will endure, definitely. I can tell.”

I looked at each of my people surrounding me, their faces.

My warriors, who were still standing and looking at me with clear eyes, not yet submerged in the nightmare.

This was not a baseless belief.

I knew very well that they would not succumb to the nightmare.

So-

“I’ll be back.”

Trusting my comrades, and no one else.

I willingly decided to plunge into the nightmares of my people.

“If I call, you have to come save me?”

***

And so, back to the present.

At the edge of some nightmare, I am holding the dying sixteen-year-old Sid in my arms, facing Crown who stands right in front of me.

“Hoo…”

Exhaling a white breath, I felt my consciousness gradually clearing. I felt my ego awakening, escaping from the 15-year nightmare and returning to my original self.

The principle by which Crown was able to control the monsters with his flute.

It was because he had received the authority to control ‘nightmares’ from the Demon King.

And now, as the Demon King’s proxy, with all authority over nightmares amplified, he was fully exerting his power.

He was even exerting his authority over the nightmares of people in the mortal realm, forcibly kidnapping their consciousness and collecting their nightmares.

‘What we have to face in this defense battle is none other than ‘nightmares’ themselves.’

And those were the nightmares of my people.

《This place is the nightmare of the world.》

Crown said calmly.

《It is the sum total of what all of humanity fears. And right now, what your people fear most is the destruction of the world.》

An era where destruction was approaching before their eyes.

With all sorts of mythical monsters invading the mortal realm, an endless night coming, and news of the annihilation of elite forces gathered from all over the world spreading everywhere.

It was only natural that people feared destruction.

《And Ash, you are the representative of all people living in the mortal realm.》

“…”

《The most terrible and painful ‘worst future’ among your memories… has been realized as a nightmare experienced by everyone in the world, tailored to your current situation.》

In other words, this ruined world.

Was it a recreation of the worst timeline I had actually experienced in the past, as a nightmare shared by everyone in the world?

I quietly looked down at Sid, who was dying in my arms.

“…”

This was not just a story in a dream.

In some world line that I do not remember.

People continued to live such difficult and miserable lives after the destruction.

And some young boy who was born and raised in such a world would have met such a pitiful and sad end.

“And if I fail and die in this nightmare, it will start over again… repeating this post-apocalyptic world?”

《That’s right. Until you are frustrated, give up, and declare your surrender. Until the moment your heart breaks. This world will repeat infinitely. And this time-》

“No, don’t tell me how many times it’s been repeated.”

I smiled bitterly and glared at Crown.

“Because I’m going to fight until the very end anyway.”

《…Do you really think you can handle the nightmares of everyone you represent, the nightmares that this world itself is having?》

Crown narrowed his eyes behind his mask.

I know.

That this is similar to the hardships that his younger sister… the Nameless One, had experienced.

That’s why I straightened my chest and answered.

“That’s why I’m here, Crown.”

《…….》

Crown, who smiled back bitterly, took out his flute from his pocket.

《No matter how hard you try, your world will not be saved, never. You will just wander this hell for eternity.》

“Then I will fight for eternity.”

I slowly rose to my feet.

“If that is my mission, then so be it.”

Thud thud thud…!

The sound of monsters approaching could be heard in the distance.

Surrounding the ice field where we were, countless monsters appeared.

《In an eternally repeating nightmare, like my poor sister…》

Crown played his flute.

《Embrace all the nightmares of the people you tried to save, and be crushed to death…!》

Peeeeeeek…!

With a long and mournful sound, an infinite number of monsters, and the ‘Sleepless Lake Princess,’ advanced towards me from all directions.

I quietly gazed at this massive tidal wave of monsters.

Now, I could understand.

‘This is my fear.’

The nightmare brought on by my fear that all those who followed me would fall into suffering because of my wrong choices.

Perhaps even at this moment, I am afraid.

Knowing the meaning of the flag I carry, and the number of lives on my shoulders, I am afraid of the path I must take.

But I also know.

That even in this world, there are those who believed that my path was not wrong.

That there are those who told me not to regret it.

So-

I continue my strategy.

I walk my path.

I fight, in my own way.

《This is your nightmare, but it is also a world where the monsters have won!》

Crown shouted, mocking me, surrounded by endless monsters.

《Every time, always, you talked big, but you always lost! Nothing will change this time either!》

“No.”

I answered with conviction.

“This time, it’s different.”

I lightly kicked something at my feet, opening the lid.

It was the box that Eliza of this world had given me, and that Sid had carried all the way here.

A collection of my comrades’ mementos.

A weapon case.

Clang-!

Inside the opened weapon case were only shattered, broken weapons.

Everything was so broken that it was impossible to use. They were so completely destroyed that I couldn’t even remember their exact names.

I picked up one of them.

It was a completely smashed magic gun. The barrel itself was gone, and all that remained was the trigger and the handle, a hideous sight.

But, as I gripped its handle.

“… !”

The fierce battles I had fought with this gun vividly flashed through my mind, and my consciousness cleared.

And the names of the equipment that I couldn’t remember began to come to mind clearly.

Yes, the name of this magic gun was [■■ ■]……

No.

“…[Black Queen].”

The moment I spoke the full name of the equipment.

Charrrr…!

Clack! Clack! Clack!

Particles of light gathered in the air, and the broken magic gun was restored.

A long barrel sprouted from the handle where only the trigger remained, and beautiful decorations bloomed in succession.

And, right after [Black Queen] was completely restored in the air,

Flash!

The particles of light gathered even more fiercely, forming a human shape- and snatched the magic gun.

A young man with brown curly hair tied back, and star-like shining brown eyes.

The strongest sniper of the monster front, and my eternal trigger.

It was Damian.

“Did you sleep well, Your Highness?”

Next to Damian, who was smiling brightly.

Flash! Flash! Flash-!

The other broken equipment also floated into the air one after another, shining brightly as they were restored, and their owners appeared as saviors in this nightmare, wearing their equipment.

A mage with a red staff, a martial artist with a silver cloak, a shield knight with a laurel-crowned helmet.

A dwarf with a hammer and chisel, an elf with a dagger and bow, an old man in a black feather robe……

In the dazzling light, my comrades appeared endlessly, standing in a circle as if to protect me.

I whispered quietly.

“Welcome.”

Those who had faced their fears.

Those who had already overcome the most terrible nightmares.

In my front lines, they are called this-

“…Nightmare Slayers.”

Tearing through the dark night sky, into the nightmare of the world-

My nightmare slayers, who never succumb to fear, appeared one after another.