Dream World, a certain spot in the Woodland.
On the dream cocoon suspended from a giant tree, Buck, in his Black Wolf mimicry, stared in astonishment at the colossal, never-before-seen spectacle before him. His mind was blank, and it took him a moment to react.
'This, this is a Dragon? What kind of joke is this? There's a Dragon in the Dream World? Is it a Dream World creature? No! There's nothing as exaggerated as a Dragon among Dream World creatures. This... this must be an image from the Dream World, it can only be an image...'
Just as Luer was lost between astonishment and confusion, trying to explain the scene before him with his common sense, the Dragon that had taken flight began to move. She swung her long tail, covered in thick, sharp spikes, like a giant whip, sweeping towards the Black Wolf that Luer had transformed into.
The range was vast, and the speed was incredibly fast. The airflow generated by the tail whip was like a hurricane. Luer's Black Wolf mimicry was shattered into pieces before it could react much, and his final thought was.
'It seems... it's not an image...'
After the Dragon mimicry of Dorothy shattered Luer's Black Wolf mimicry with a single tail swipe, she turned her gaze towards the massive dream cocoon before her. Then she flew onto the dream cocoon and, using both fangs and sharp claws, tore several large openings in Luer's dream cocoon in an instant.
Luer's dream cocoon was severely damaged and then disintegrated into nothingness before Dorothy's eyes. Luer, who was preparing to find the guide through the Dream World, was blocked by Dorothy the moment he stepped out.
"Hmph... Forced awakening?"
Looking at the disappearing, tattered dream cocoon, Dorothy sneered and said. After that, she didn't bother with anything else and immediately dispelled her Dream World mimicry, waking up in reality as well.
The battle in the dream ended with absolute dominance, and the battle in reality had just begun.
...
"Ahhhhh!!!"
Inside the ritual chapel, at the center of the singing and progression, Luer, who had been sleeping in a chair, suddenly opened his eyes. He covered his head with both hands and screamed loudly, his cry incredibly mournful, as if he had suffered a devastating blow.
His mimicry was destroyed, his dream cocoon was broken, and the intense backlash from the dream caused Luer's mind to be on the verge of collapse. The intense pain made him feel as if his brain was being torn apart, and blood tears flowed from his widened eyes.
"Mentor! What's wrong with Captain!"
Seeing this scene, Bill and Feich, who were nearby, wanted to step forward to check on the situation, but at this moment, due to Luer's abnormality, the promotion ritual collapsed. An inexplicable whirlwind swirled in the field, hindering the two from advancing. And affected by the chain reaction of the ritual, the children who had been singing in unison had now all fainted.
"What, what happened?" Vanya, who was hidden upstairs, said in surprise, looking at the sudden strange phenomenon before her. Not far away, Dorothy, who had just woken up, quickly spoke up.
"I prayed for that one's Dream World messenger to come. That guy's Dream World mimicry was destroyed, and now he's suffering a mental backlash."
"Dream World messenger? Does that Aka actually have a dedicated messenger in the Dream World? And can respond to prayers?" Vanya spoke with some disbelief, while Dorothy responded urgently.
"Of course, but there's no time for too much explanation now, hurry and act!"
"Act? Understood!"
Listening to Dorothy's words, Vanya quickly aimed the rifle in her hand at Luer, who was covering his head and wailing below. After consuming the Spirituality of the "Light", her will became unprecedentedly focused at this moment, her mind became ethereal, and her eyesight greatly improved. In the darkness, she seemed to feel some kind of guidance.
This is the ability of a Light Student Extraordinary, the Enlightened. By consuming "Light", one can concentrate their will, enter a state of single-minded focus, and also improve their eyesight.
One of the mental manifestations of "Light" is focus, and one of the sensory manifestations is vision. These manifestations make almost all Light Extraordinary capable of being excellent marksmen.
"Lord... please enlighten me..."
"Bang!!"
Amidst the murmured prayer, Vanya pulled the trigger. With a violent gunshot, the bullet shot downwards, flying across more than half of the chapel before hitting Luer's head, piercing his skull. Luer, whose various abilities, including reaction, had significantly decreased due to the severe mental backlash, had no way to defend against this bullet and was directly shot in the head and fell to the ground. Seeing this scene, Bill exclaimed in astonishment.
"Mentor!"
"Suc- successfully!"
On the third floor, Vanya shouted with joy upon seeing Luer fall, and Dorothy also smiled slightly.
"Heh... It seems this mental backlash debuff is quite powerful after all. Now, it's time to clean up the others."
As she spoke, Dorothy activated the Corpse Puppet Ring. Immediately, all the Corpse Puppets she had already arranged were activated at this moment.
On the first floor of the chapel, several small doors and the main door were all kicked open at this moment. Five figures holding guns appeared behind the doors simultaneously. Looking closely, they were all the guards of this villa.
Without a word, these armed guards opened fire on Bill and Feich, who were still standing in the field. Instantly, gunshots erupted throughout the chapel.
Countless bullets shot towards Bill and Feich. In an instant, Bill was hit by one bullet and Feich by two. They then frantically found cover, drew their guns, and returned fire at the attacking guards, roaring curses.
"What are you guys doing!"
The surprise attack had been launched, and the enemy's leader had been taken down at the very beginning. Now, Dorothy's side had gained a complete advantage, and ending the battle was only a matter of time.
However, just as Dorothy was preparing to launch a further offensive to complete the final cleanup, at the center of the magic circle in the chapel, at the waist of Luer's fallen corpse, the tip of a staff tucked there, a large embedded ruby, emitted a slow, crimson light.
As the large amount of "cup" stored within the ruby staff was rapidly consumed, the wound on Luer's head, which had been shot, quickly healed. Before long, Luer's pale, stiff face regained vitality.
This staff was the same one Buck had used before, but its original owner was Luer. This Extraordinary item, which had the appearance of a staff, seemed to possess the ability to consume stored "cup" to restore a fatal injury for its owner!
"Hoo... hoo... Invaders... you... will all pay the price..."
Covering his head, which was still throbbing with nerve pain, Luer slowly stood up from the magic circle. Scanning the enemies before him, his eyes were filled with burning rage.
As he stood, coarse black hair grew on Luer's body. With a cracking sound of bones breaking, his physique visibly swelled by a circle. His face turned green, fangs grew from his mouth, sharp claws extended from his hands, and his height suddenly surged to nearly two meters.
Not long after, a tall humanoid creature covered in black hair and possessing numerous beastly features appeared at the center of the magic circle. This was the Rank to which Luer belonged, the Black Rank "Beastman."
"You... all must die!"