Chapter Fifty-Five: I Delight in Killing Within Dreams

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Lu Mingfei asked inwardly, “How are things progressing on your end? Is everything going smoothly? Has the Servant resisted or tried to fight back?”

“It’s alright. She hasn’t put up any resistance.”

“Your voice sounds a little off. Is there something you’re not telling me?” Lu Mingfei pressed.

“She’s in the city center. She insisted that I judge her at the Opikla Opera House. Only the Supreme Tribunal is worthy of passing judgment on a Harbinger of the Fools.” Furina’s tone was listless.

“What?” Lu Mingfei was puzzled at first. His initial thought, like Furina’s, was whether the Servant was somehow deranged or had some peculiar fetish. But soon, he sensed something more was amiss.

A trial at the Opera House—with Furina presiding from the highest seat—would leave her no reason to fall asleep. If something unexpected happened during such a moment, it would be deadly for her. The Dream Eater was indeed lethal, but not invincible; its influence wasn’t yet enough to operate openly.

Moreover, the Servant’s demand was not only a challenge to Furina but also a unique form of self-protection.

Yes, it was a kind of protection.

By requesting judgment in the Opera House, she ensured she couldn’t be killed beforehand. Otherwise, the blow to Furina’s reputation would be severe; Lu Mingfei couldn’t simply use the Dream Eater to kill her.

Wait… something’s wrong.

“When Neuvillette arrested her, didn’t he notice anything odd? How can she brazenly demand a public trial at the Opera House? If she were killed by the Dream Eater, it would be grave—if this were my world, death in the Dream Eater’s realm means death in reality,” Lu Mingfei asked, perplexed.

“Eh?” Furina hesitated, then replied, “Maybe it’s because the effect isn’t obvious after just two times, or maybe the worlds are different, so the outcome varies? I asked Neuvillette about it; he said the Servant showed no abnormalities. Her elemental energy was calm, no sign of dark power. During the transfer, she behaved entirely normal.”

“That shouldn’t be… The Dream Eater should kill in one strike in dreams. This doesn’t add up…” Lu Mingfei lowered his head, brow furrowed. In his estimation, the Servant should be either dead or severely crippled by now—she’d been killed twice by the Dream Eater.

Perhaps, due to differences between worlds, the Dream Eater’s power was diminished, but to have no effect at all was absurd. In the dream, the Servant was still trying to bargain, and her demeanor didn’t suggest she was unaffected. So why was she perfectly normal in reality?

Something was very wrong.

“Is it possible the Servant has some method of concealing her abnormal state? After all, she’s the Father of the Hearth House, a Harbinger of the Fools. If she were powerless at such a crucial moment, the other Harbingers or Hearth House children would have no chance to escape, nor the opportunity to make further arrangements,” Lu Mingfei speculated.

“That’s possible.”

“She’s quite difficult to handle.”

“Exactly.”

“Hey, since she seems perfectly fine and lively, why don’t we pull her in again and kill her twice more? If she really is on the brink of death, she won’t be able to keep up the facade,” a wicked grin slowly spread across Lu Mingfei’s face.

“Is… is that alright?” Furina’s lips curled up as well, though her smile was more reserved.

“I think it’s perfect. Nobody else knows what happens in dreams. If she’s caught tainted by forces beyond this world, that’s her problem—not ours, right, Fufu? Any accusation without evidence is pure slander!”

“So… shall we begin?”

“Dream Eater!”

“Activate!”

…

Within the hidden seat of the Oracular Tribunal, the God in disguise, Furcalos, once again felt the familiar sensation.

The black force—the Dream Eater.

But this time, she noticed the Dream Eater’s focus was vague, not as targeted as before. It was as if the user had no particular fear, or perhaps… she herself no longer feared it.

This power cannot remain with Furina.

After a brief hesitation, Furcalos directed the energy toward the Servant, who on the surface appeared perfectly ordinary, thinking to herself:

If you can endure two exposures to power from beyond the world, a third should hardly matter.

Few could withstand such force as she had, and fewer still could Furcalos transfer the burden onto without moral qualms. Thus, the Servant was the ideal candidate.

There was no personal vendetta in this; Furcalos merely sought a safe place for the dangerous energy, ensuring it would not taint any innocent citizen.

How kind she was.

…

Inside the prison of Melopeteburg

The Servant sat alone in her cell, cross-legged as she slowly recovered her strength. Outside, Clorinde led a patrol of mechanized soldiers, leaving her no chance to escape.

And that was only the first line of defense. Beyond Clorinde’s watch stood Lyosley and others. In her current state, escape would be strenuous, and once she fled, Neuvillette would likely suppress her and bring her back. There was little point in running.

She might as well focus on recovery.

“Buzz!”

A familiar wave of dizziness struck. The Servant’s face changed drastically as she sat meditating. She knew that feeling all too well—the sensation of being dragged into a dream.

Lu Mingfei is pulling me in!

Does he mean to kill me, or to negotiate?

To reach across worlds and drag me into a dream—even he would pay a steep price. So, he must be coming to negotiate, to persuade me to spare Furina.

No need to panic.

The Servant closed her eyes and entered the dream. Her consciousness slipped away, darkness engulfed her, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself back on that familiar night when she’d tried to assassinate the Water God, seated on the same bench as before.

A sharp crack sounded.

Lu Mingfei and Furina stood side by side a short distance from the bench, their hands naturally entwined. They smiled, the look of hunters regarding their quarry with playful amusement. This was not what the Servant had expected.

Shouldn’t they want to negotiate?

Why were they smiling?

What was so amusing?

Suddenly, an invisible pressure bore down on the Servant—Lu Mingfei’s mental domain.

“Hm?” The Servant’s expression shifted dramatically. She stared at Lu Mingfei in disbelief, thinking: Could it be… this man’s use of this technique carries no cost or limitation? Or is he merely bluffing, trying to prevent me from striking at Furina when he’s not present?

It must be the latter!

If it were the former, why hadn’t Lu Mingfei used the Dream Eater on her at the very first opportunity? Could it be that he was too weak at the time, unable to deploy it, only to suddenly master it within a few days?

Impossible. No one could master such a technique to this degree in so short a time.