Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest Chapter 1925: Dealing With The Nightmares
Previously on Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest...
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The Queen, however, was in a league of her own. Harumi’s mother was not someone anyone could afford to trifle with. She stood alone against three Nightmares that rushed toward her, each one distorting and warping reality as they dragged their Nightmare Realms with them.
A giant Nightmare resembling a monstrous doll stepped forward. With its long painted nails, oversized lips, and eyes framed by exaggerated lashes, the grotesque creature wailed endlessly, frantically covering its face with layers of makeup.
A skeletal man, little more than skin stretched over bone and towering nearly twenty meters tall, lurched forward. He cried out in agony and terror over his own insecurities, flooding the area with a black fog that drained the life from everything it touched.
A lonely shadow surged ahead, constantly shifting and glitching beneath tattered black clothes. Long phantasmal claws tore relentlessly at its own face.
"You are not monsters, but people—victims," the Queen sighed. "I shall free you from your pain..."
Her eyes flashed bright red as the Nightmares lunged at her, hissing and unleashing powerful attacks that warped space itself through their Nightmare Realms.
And yet...
Her aura erupted. Crimson blood manifested all around her, twisting reality before completely overpowering the three Nightmare Realms stacked against her.
"?!"
"!!!"
"...?"
All three Nightmares were instantly trapped within a vast sea of blood. Unable to escape, they drowned as the crimson tide crushed them, then exploded violently.
The Nightmares burst into pieces. Blood poured from their shattered bodies and flowed back into the Queen’s aura as she let out a quiet sigh.
"May you rest in peace," she murmured, closing her eyes. "Now, what is this?"
She retrieved the three black stones the Nightmares had dropped. Noticing that their Nightmare Realms had not vanished but instead sank beneath the planet’s surface, she rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
"Some kind of black magic stone... It is filled with dark emotions, almost like the mana cores that Hollows leave behind," she thought. "In a way, these ’Nightmares’ seem like a subspecies of Hollows—beings born from the dark emotions of living creatures. But these are infectious... and far more dangerous."
As she spoke, her voice carried clearly to everyone present, helping them understand the nature of their enemy.
"I see. So that’s how it is," muttered the Werewolf King.
"Then a Cleansing Spell should work wonders here!" declared the current Master of the Amaterasu Clan. "All sorcerers, mobilize and form the circle!"
A golden formation began to take shape within the battlefield where the Nightmares gathered. While the werewolves and vampires held the creatures at bay, the magic circle rapidly activated. Beams of golden sunlight pierced the area, cleansing the dark emotions around them. The weakest Nightmares screamed in agony before exploding into black dust, leaving small cores behind. The stronger ones resisted, shielding themselves with their Nightmare Realms.
"Damn things! You really won’t give us a break, will you?!" roared the Werewolf King. He charged through a group of Nightmares, punching them apart until they burst. "Erika! Where are you?!"
"They are more persistent and skilled than I expected!" said the Vampire Queen, her long red nails slicing through the air in a graceful, deadly dance of crimson blood. "Harumi? Harumi! Where are you, girl?"
As the two rulers searched desperately for their children, Tartarus’s eyes widened at the growing commotion. Three powerful beings had descended, accompanied by an army of formidable fighters.
"It looks like things have become even more chaotic," she said, her voice a distorted blend of countless overlapping tones.
"Wait, Mom! Where are you going?!" Elena cried as Tartarus began to walk away. "Mom! Don’t leave me!"
Elena crawled out of the wooden nest and ran after her. Tartarus glared back with clear irritation, clenching her teeth. She would have kicked the girl away if she didn’t know Elena was her master.
"Leave me alone! I am not your mother! I am Tartarus!" she snarled. "I will bring death to all! Stay out of this, child! You are only spared because you are my master... But do not expect any motherly love from me. I am a being of darkness!"
Tartarus shoved her away with dark branches, but Elena sliced through them and continued running toward her.
At that moment, the Werewolf King, the Vampire Queen, and the Amaterasu Clan Master stepped forward to confront her.
"W-What is this?!"
"...!!!"
"Such immense dark power...!"
All three were left stunned. The overwhelming dark energy radiating from Tartarus twisted space itself. She was the reason everything here had become so dark and warped.
Her power alone had shattered reality, unleashing this nightmare upon countless innocent people.
"Hm?" Tartarus narrowed her eyes at them. "Son of Fenrir, descendant of Satan, and... what’s this? A child of a foreign god?" She let out a cold laugh. "I’ve hit the jackpot, it seems, Master. Shall I kill them all?"
"Wait! No!!!" Elena cried, but Tartarus trapped her in a cage of dark branches and pushed her along with her friends away from the confrontation.
Only then did the three leaders realize that the children were being held hostage right behind her, trapped inside a cursed cage.
"Release the kids, lady," the Werewolf King growled, his aura flaring dangerously. "Or things are going to get really damn nasty, really damn soon."
"Who exactly are you?! Where did you come from?!" demanded the Vampire Queen. "That sinister aura... I’ve never felt anything like it before. And yet... why does it feel so similar to mine?"
"She’s some kind of wicked evil goddess... or a spirit of some sort— Wait! A Heroic Spirit?! No, that’s impossible!" muttered the Amaterasu Clan Leader. "Has someone actually summoned such a monstrous entity?!"
"Are you going to talk or fight?!" roared Tartarus, sneering as darkness spread wildly around her. "Yeah, I kidnapped those kids! Want them back? Then you’ll have to go through my corpse."
"Gladly," the Vampire Queen replied, her aura surging to its full power.
"You’re not giving us many options here," the Werewolf King sighed, already beginning to transform.
"So be it!" declared the Amaterasu Clan Leader. "We had planned to stay out of this Holy War, but this has gone way too far!"
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