Chapter 136 : The Dream World
Chapter 136: The Dream World
The cave was pitch black.
A gas lamp hung from Levi's waist.
With a cane in one hand and a pistol in the other, he descended the staircase one step at a time.
It was so dark here that, aside from the ground illuminated by the lamp, nothing else could be seen.
It was as if there was absolutely nothing surrounding him.
Even Levi's footsteps produced no echo within the narrow passage.
Instead...
The sound simply vanished.
“Hmm...”
As he walked, Levi began to think.
Was he asleep now...
Or awake?
The Phantom Killer's method of using his ability had been rather crude.
But Levi had watched plenty of movies.
He knew that a truly powerful nightmare creator could seamlessly connect reality and dreams.
Just when you believed you were still awake...
You might have already entered a dream.
That was what a true Nightmare Killer should be.
Compared to that...
The Phantom Killer had been rather... low-level.
Still...
Figuring out whether he was dreaming didn't seem difficult.
Thinking of this, Levi closed his eyes.
Then he slowly opened them again.
The empty darkness disappeared.
What appeared before him instead...
Was a dense tropical rainforest.
The air was humid and stifling, making it difficult even to breathe.
The distant sky was dark and overcast, as though a thunderstorm were about to arrive.
As expected...
He really was dreaming.
The only question was...
When had the dream begun?
Levi looked down at himself once more.
He was still wearing the same Hunter outfit he'd had on before going to sleep.
The Persuader felt exactly the same as always.
The Cane Gun also appeared completely normal.
What about everything else?
Levi closed his eyes once more.
He began imagining—
Immediately afterward...
A strange, illusory, distorted object appeared before him.
It continuously shifted, attempting to take shape somewhere between a liquid and a solid.
However...
With a sharp pop...
The bizarre object exploded completely.
At the same time, a stabbing pain shot through Levi's mind, and the image he had been imagining instantly disappeared.
“As expected... I can't create things out of thin air inside a dream.”
Rubbing his forehead, Levi sighed.
A moment ago, he had attempted to create an incomparably powerful robot to carry him out of here.
It had failed.
Apparently...
This world wouldn't accept things he simply imagined at random.
Only things that he genuinely recognized as existing deep down in his heart could manifest here.
Fortunately...
That also meant he wasn't completely helpless.
Previously, Levi might have found a dream like this troublesome.
Fortunately...
After increasing his 【Intelligence】, he had acquired the skill 【Perfect Recall】.
That ability reinforced his memory.
As a result...
He could reconstruct anything he needed from his own memories.
Moreover...
He didn't need to worry about whether these things were logical.
Because...
That's exactly how it worked in the movies.
Thinking this, Levi raised a hand and whistled.
“———————!”
The moment the whistle sounded...
The surrounding bushes began to rustle.
Moments later...
Several two-legged beasts resembling giant lizards emerged from the undergrowth, circling around Levi.
“Just as I thought.”
Looking at the dinosaurs pacing around him, Levi nodded.
These Velociraptors came from a movie Levi had watched.
In that film, they had been tamed by the protagonist and obeyed his commands.
Later in the movie, they had become invaluable allies to the hero.
Within Levi's subconscious...
These Velociraptors naturally belonged on the protagonist's side and obeyed his orders.
Now it seemed...
The dream accepted that logic.
Levi reached into his pocket, took out several tiny mechanisms, and fastened one around each Velociraptor's slender neck.
Then he gestured.
“Go!”
The next instant...
The Velociraptors shot into the jungle like arrows released from a bow, scattering in every direction.
Now then...
Where were the others?
As Levi continuously switched between the mechanisms using the 【Puppeteer】 ability to monitor his surroundings, he pondered the situation.
He still didn't fully understand what was happening.
But at the very least...
He could confirm that he was inside a dream world.
Furthermore...
A dream world constructed from his own memories.
If that was the case...
The others should be experiencing something similar.
So where were they?
Sure enough, persistence paid off.
Before long, through the mechanism attached to one of the Velociraptors' necks, Levi spotted another member of the expedition.
It wasn't anyone else.
It was Annie.
Only...
Her current situation was rather strange—
No...
Rather than merely strange...
It was extremely strange.
Annie was lying upon an operating table in the middle of a clearing within the jungle.
Surrounding her...
Were several creatures wearing white laboratory coats.
That's right.
Creatures.
Among them were rabbits.
Mice.
Pigeons.
At least...
Their heads belonged to those animals.
Their bodies were likewise animal bodies...
Only enlarged to the size of humans and dressed in white lab coats.
The entire scene looked like something straight out of a children's cartoon.
However...
These animals behaved nothing like the heartwarming characters one would expect from such cartoons.
Levi could clearly see them holding razor-sharp scalpels above Annie's body while chattering away amongst themselves.
In short...
This wasn't good.
【Shadow Shift】!
The instant the thought crossed Levi's mind...
The mechanism tied around the Velociraptor's neck activated before dropping to the ground.
His figure flashed.
In the next instant, Levi exchanged places with the mechanism lying on the forest floor.
He silently slipped into the undergrowth and cautiously approached the animals.
As the distance between them gradually closed...
Levi finally heard what they were saying.
“Remember, class. Next, we'll be conducting a human dissection. First, we must cut through the outermost layer of the human body—which is this layer of clothing...”
The rabbit standing at the front spoke like a teacher while waving the scalpel in its hand.
“Afterward come the skin and bones. Next, we need to observe how the internal organs function. Therefore, first, this student shall...”
Good grief.
So this wasn't some heartwarming children's cartoon after all.
It was an adult film.
A particularly disturbing one at that.
Hearing this, Levi wasted no more time.
He burst from the bushes, raised his pistol toward the animals...
And pulled the trigger.
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Gunshots echoed through the clearing.
Most of the animals surrounding Annie were shot dead.
Only the rabbit teacher leaped into the air like an actual rabbit—
Well...
It was a rabbit.
Dodging Levi's bullets, it let out a shrill screech before lunging straight at him.
“Gyaaaaaah—————!”
Just then—
A Velociraptor burst from another patch of bushes.
Opening its jaws, it bit down viciously upon the rabbit teacher's neck.
Moments later...
Several more Velociraptors rushed forward as well.
They completely surrounded the rabbit.
Each taking a bite in turn.
Within the blink of an eye...
The rabbit, which had been as large as an adult human...
Became nothing more than dinner for the dinosaurs.
“Good grief... This really turned into a faithful recreation of the movie.”
Watching the Velociraptors feasting around the rabbit's corpse, Levi shook his head before walking over to Annie.
“Are you all right, Miss Branson?”
“...Mr. Levi?”
Seeing Levi appear, Annie blinked while still lying on the operating table.
“How did you get here?”
“Are you here to dissect me as well?”
“Dissect you?”
“Yes. I was supposed to serve as the experimental human subject to be dissected by the animals.”
“Uh...”
Hearing Annie answer without changing her expression in the slightest, Levi was left speechless.
“We're just dreaming.”
“Dreaming?”
“That's right. This is merely your dream, not reality. Besides, you aren't going to be dissected. The animals that wanted to dissect you have all been killed by me.”
“……………………”
Annie said nothing.
She merely stared at Levi without blinking.
A moment later...
She finally seemed to understand the current situation and slowly sat up on the operating table.
“So...
This is a dream?”
“That's right. Don't you remember anything?”
“I only remember waking up here. Then Mr. Rabbit told me I needed to become material for a dissection experiment.”
“Your dreams are certainly strange.”
Levi couldn't help but complain.
“You weren't seriously planning to let those animals chop you into pieces, were you?”
“We have dissected many animals ourselves for experiments. Therefore, when animals wish to dissect humans, I believe that is a perfectly reasonable request.”
“I don't see anything reasonable about that whatsoever...”
Listening to Annie's calm explanation, cold sweat ran down Levi's back.
This young lady truly did seem to have something... unusual about her.
At the very least...
Her way of thinking was definitely abnormal.
“………………”
“I understand now.”
At that moment, Annie stared at Levi.
Then, as though she had solved a difficult problem, she nodded.
“What exactly have you figured out now?”
“I've realized that I like Mr. Levi.”
“……………… Hm?”
It had to be said...
This sudden confession completely caught Levi off guard.
“You... like me?”
“Yes. It's a logical conclusion.”
“How is that logical?”
“If this is a nightmare, then I should have been cut into pieces by those animals. However, at the critical moment, Mr. Levi appeared and rescued me. This perfectly matches the Prince Charming complex described in girls' psychology. When faced with danger, a girl instinctively hopes that the person she loves and relies upon will come to save her. Therefore, I must like Mr. Levi. That is why, while dreaming, I unconsciously wished for your appearance and your rescue.”
“...Well...”
“That actually does sound rather logical.”
Levi had completely given up trying to complain.
Normally, Miss Annie hardly spoke at all.
Yet every time she did...
She said something astonishing.
“In any case, let's go find the others. They should also be trapped somewhere inside this dream.”
“So they were also hoping for Mr. Levi to rescue them?”
“Do they also like Mr. Levi?”
“………………”
“I think... you'd better not ask me that question.”
Levi surrendered completely.
(End of Chapter)