The characteristic of Dream Fragment held by Syndrome of Oppression was [Severing].
At first hearing, the name might sound simple, but if one could cut through anything without regard for strength or hardness, the story changes.
He would slowly approach with stealth that no one could detect, then cut straight through.
Syndrome’s ability was specialized entirely for assassination.
But now—
For the first time, Syndrome’s stealth had been seen through, and he had failed to cut something.
‘I could let it slide a hundred times that my stealth was exposed, but that I failed to cut nothing more than a human...?’
Syndrome’s power of severing originated from Dream Fragment.
Dream Fragment was the foundation of Dreamland itself and an immensely powerful force.
This Dream Fragment was realized based on the user’s conviction and imagination.
There exists the word contradiction.
A spear that pierces everything and a shield that blocks everything.
If those two clash, what would the result be?
In Dreamland the result is simple.
The one with stronger mental strength wins.
If one vowed to cut anything, then there would be nothing they could not cut.
Yet he had failed.
‘Does that mean this human’s mental strength is equal to mine, a servant of dreams?’
It was something he could not accept.
How could a mere human possess mental strength equal to his?
He was one of the five Servants of Dreams, created by Nirva, ruler of Dreamland.
He carried power on par with an enemy of the world.
Syndrome’s hand moved.
The five blades at his fingertips caught the light and flashed, then flew at Alex from every direction.
Slashing strikes came writhing like snakes hunting prey.
A fierce murderous aura pressed against the skin.
Alex calmly steadied his breathing and readjusted his grip on his sword.
As the slashes flew toward him, Alex’s sword traced a circle in place.
A circle so beautiful that even if told to draw it, one could not so easily manage it.
That perfect figure drew in the slashes Syndrome had released, as if into a whirlpool.
The absorbed strikes twisted together like a coiled rope and stabbed harmlessly into the ground.
[Huh?]
It was incomprehensible.
To block his slashes was already shocking, but to deflect them naturally and gather them into one spot?
While Syndrome reeled in surprise, Alex thrust his sword like a spear at the exposed abdomen.
KWAANG!
It was a light thrust, yet it sounded like a cannon exploding.
Syndrome’s body shot backward like an arrow and smashed into a massive rock.
A giant crater appeared in the boulder as cracks split across it.
The impact did not stop with the rock. The surrounding ground also split apart with fragments scattering.
Seeing it, Violetta caught her breath.
‘My god. I knew he was strong, but not this much. Has his skill grown in such a short time?’
What played the decisive role in Alex’s growth must have been when he followed Ludger into the elves’ forest.
From what she had heard, there had been a tremendous battle there, and clearly he had leapt forward through it.
Even so, Alex’s pace of growth was unbelievable.
No wonder Ludger valued his talent so highly.
“Hey, what are you doing there?”
Alex pointed his sword at Syndrome stuck in the rock, tilting the tip slightly.
“Are you going to stay buried in the rock? Comfortable in there? Or was this truly all the level you had, to be boasting that much? If so, I’m too disappointed.”
[...How dare you.]
From within Syndrome’s helm boiled a voice filled with rage.
Like magma overflowing from the depths of the earth.
Syndrome pulled himself from the boulder, ignoring the crumbling stones, and crouched low.
BOOUK.
His thighs swelled like balloons filled with air.
KWAANG!
With a powerful leap, Syndrome’s body shot like a shell.
He’s coming.
The instant Alex raised his sword to meet him, Syndrome’s figure melted and vanished in the air.
That stealth.
Alex’s eyes swept quickly around.
Even so, one could not see it just by looking.
It was more like instinct.
As if something tickled the brain.
Unconsciously, the mind perceived that something was there.
In that way Alex naturally unraveled Syndrome’s stealth.
But this time it was not easy.
Syndrome’s movement was too fast.
Even when Alex tried to instinctively grasp his location, Syndrome had already passed it.
Alex’s head spun.
In that fleeting moment, the best choice was to predict where the enemy would aim and land a counter.
Yet Alex instead eased his stance.
At his lips bloomed a relaxed smile, as if not feeling tension at all.
Syndrome, darting swiftly around him, grew quietly enraged at that sight.
‘How dare he lower his sword?’
That expression was too offensive to think he had simply given up.
Did it not look as though he were saying, “No matter what you do, I won’t care”?
‘Fine. If you want to die so badly, I’ll kill you.’
All thought of toying with him was gone.
Syndrome darted in at Alex’s blind spot and swung his hand.
Or rather, tried to swing it.
KWAANG!
Until a massive blow slammed down on his back and drove him flat.
[W-what...!]
His stealth shattered, and his body lay pinned face-down to the ground like a squashed frog.
Alex turned his head at the booming sound behind and looked at Syndrome.
“Oh. You were there?”
Syndrome had no strength to react to the mockery.
The crushing pressure on his back made it hard even to rise.
[You...!]
Only then did Syndrome realize who was pressing him down.
The massive beastkin man, Phantos.
Syndrome, who had been aiming for Alex, was instead caught in the trap, hunted as prey himself.
The best way to hunt a predator was to throw out an attractive bait.
Phantos had one foot planted on Syndrome’s backplate, curiosity flashing in his eyes at the armor’s surprising durability.
“Hm.”
So he pressed harder.
CRACK! CRACKLE!
Armor was still armor. Nothing that could not be broken.
As Phantos bore down with his leg, Syndrome’s armor groaned.
KUUNG!
The ground under Syndrome caved in again.
As though gravity itself had grown too heavy on that spot.
[KRAAAAH!]
Realizing Phantos meant to crush him like an insect, Syndrome roared.
[You dare, insolent beastkin, to try to kill me?!]
Not even a fierce duel, but to be trampled to death underfoot.
There was no greater humiliation.
Syndrome’s hands dug deep into the ground.
Seeing that, Phantos instantly leapt back.
Beastly instinct warned him.
FWOOOSH!
From beneath Syndrome, countless white slashes erupted outward like a volcanic explosion.
Like ivory spikes thrusting up everywhere without aim.
“Dodge!”
Violetta shouted as she pulled Arfa and Bellaruna away.
The slashes rampaged in a narrow area like a localized tornado.
Alex and Phantos were squarely inside the range.
[I’ll slice you into minced meat!]
Within the whirlwind of blades, Syndrome rose.
Moments passed, and the storm died down.
Any ant caught within would have been torn into hundreds of pieces.
Yet Alex and Phantos were unscathed.
Not entirely without damage—their skin bore shallow cuts and their clothes were torn. But that was all.
That they survived such a deadly attack at all was itself a marvel.
[These...!]
Once again, Syndrome’s pride was wounded.
Even Alex was one thing, but for Phantos to come out unscathed was beyond belief.
The one who had dared try to trample him like an insect now stood there with arms folded, unharmed, twisting Syndrome’s insides.
[You will be the first I slice apart!]
Syndrome’s figure vanished from his spot as if collapsing inward.
He reappeared right before Phantos’s face.
Even then, Phantos stood calmly with his arms crossed.
Syndrome’s two hands swung, leaving afterimages.
Dozens of slashes unleashed in less than a second.
It was more than enough to turn Phantos into a three-dimensional puzzle.
But Phantos was untouched.
Instead, Syndrome reeled when he realized nothing remained at the tips of his own claws.
[H-how...]
By then Phantos had unfolded his arms, and in both his hands were clenched the very blades of Syndrome’s claws he had swung.
At the impossible sight, Syndrome let out a gasp.
The return was Phantos’s fist.
KWAANG!
It was like lightning striking at point-blank range.
Alex’s thrust had been strong, but Phantos’s punch was far more destructive.
Syndrome’s chest caved in, dented in the shape of a fist.
As Syndrome went flying, Alex swung his sword as if waiting for that moment.
Syndrome flailed, trying to counter, but only then realized his weapons were gone.
SHHHH-KRAK!
Countless fine lines traced in the air flowed across Syndrome’s armor.
An attack aimed precisely at the joints of the armor.
Unable to withstand it, Syndrome’s left shoulder from the armpit down was sliced off and dropped away.
Alex whistled at the sight.
“What’s this? I thought you were wearing armor, but it turns out the armor itself was your body?”
Inside the armor there was nothing.
Only black smoke-like vapor seeped out from the severed surface.
Syndrome was not a person wearing armor—his body was the armor itself.
[Ghhhhh.]
Syndrome could not even respond to Alex’s taunt.
His body was too ruined to allow it.
“What? After all that showing off, this is how it ends?”
[You... you insolent human!]
From the blank slit of Syndrome’s helm, a mouth split open wide.
Fragments of armor scattered around the forcefully opened maw.
Syndrome’s body began swelling greatly.
Though armor should have had no elasticity, it bulged as if bulking up with muscle.
From the severed stump of his arm, black smoke rose and the arm regenerated.
From atop his helmet sprouted multiple horns, and the nails broken against Phantos grew back longer and more vicious.
[Rejoice. You are the first to witness this power!]
Even speaking shook like a storm.
With every word, massive waves spread in concentric rings.
The ground trembled, the sky resounded.
Power enough to shake the land with just his voice.
At the sight so different from before, Alex frowned.
“That looks like you’re overexerting yourself.”
[Indeed. I will not deny it. Burning all my power now, I have only ten minutes of life left.]
Amid the booming voice, Syndrome admitted it frankly.
[But so what of it?]
Even admitting his weakness before enemies, Syndrome cared nothing.
[As I am now, I can butcher you all within five minutes!]
He opened wide his chest and spread his claws like a peacock’s tail.
His frenzied Dream Fragment surged upward, forming a pillar toward the sky.
Alex and Phantos did not shrink before him.
Without a word between them, they both took battle stance.
[I will kill you all!]
Syndrome burst from his spot and charged them.
And then—
[Th-this cannot be.]
The floating island lay shattered.
As though a world war had taken place, countless craters pocked the surroundings.
At the center of the largest crater lay Syndrome, collapsed.
His massive body bore the marks of fists and sword cuts everywhere.
One leg was severed, one arm crushed.
Wounds beyond recovery.
Leaving the broken Syndrome behind, Alex and Phantos rejoined their companions.
“How long did that take?”
“Hm. I didn’t measure.”
“About three minutes? Something like that?”
“Let’s call it that.”
In truth, it had been exactly two minutes and forty-two seconds.
The Servant of Dreams had burned every ounce of his power to unleash his ultimate technique.
And these two had crushed it so easily, they spoke now as if nothing ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) had happened.
Syndrome could not even muster rage at their demeanor.
With his life about to end, he had no such strength.
[Ah... Lord Nirva.]
Syndrome’s body scattered into golden dust.
As Alex and Phantos subdued the Servant of Dreams, Franz, hood pulled low, muttered in disbelief.
“What... what are you people, really?”
Suddenly Zero Order’s words came back to him.
Had he not said there were people in Dreamland who could aid him?
Franz had thought little of it—but clearly he had been wrong.
“Is our identity so important? Or do you want us to introduce ourselves all over again here?”
“...True. I’m in the same position, pointless thing to say. Let’s head down. From here we must be cautious and focus.”
Franz threw out a warning to all.
“From now on, we go to the middle layer’s central region.”
* * *
“This place is...”
Sedina could not finish her words at the sight before her.
Hans and Seridan were the same.
Below the endlessly stretching floating islands lay, as if obvious, a sea.
But it was no ordinary sea.
There was no wind, no waves.
So calm it felt less like a dawn lake and more like the world’s largest sheet of transparent glass.
A place that stirred strange feelings just by looking at it.
“This is the entrance to the central layer. In truth, from this surface on can be called the middle point of Dreamland.”
Just gazing upon the unnaturally still water, an inexplicable dread welled up.
Though the surface was calm, it felt as though a vast storm churned below.
Merely dipping a foot would drag one under head to toe in an instant.
If fear remained, this was where one should stop.
“Are you all ready?”
“B-brother. Are we truly going down? Wouldn’t it be better to wait here and join with others?”
“The moment we descend through that surface, joining will be meaningless. You know that.”
“That...”
Hans had no rebuttal.
He knew better than anyone that numbers would not make this place safer.
“You remember the caution we were given, don’t you?”
“Do not be lured by anything. Though I’ve no idea what that even means.”
“I heard only that much as well. The details, we’ll only know once inside.”
It was the warning Julia had given Ludger in case they descended into the middle layer.
—Do not be lured by anything.