WinterHord (7) – Madness is something sad, isn’t it?…

Instead of going to sleep immediately like the others, I meditated to enter my spiritual landscape and see how things were there.

I wasn't going to do anything major, no big experiment or anything close to that; I was just going to see how things were and examine the "biome" of nightmare energy.

I must have spent about an hour poking the purple swamp with a stick before the Minimap beeped, sending me a notification.

I had set up the Minimap with two alarms when I arrived at WinterHord. The first was to alert me if anything entered the maximum range of five kilometers that wasn't a hallucination.

This alarm was exclusively set for the Deerclops, but if something else could move out there without being him, I would like to be notified.

Anything that could move freely out there was something I would like to know exists.

The second alarm was more focused, in case any enemy came within thirty meters of me, including hallucinations.

If it was a hallucination, I would like to know why, as hallucinations didn't seem to come closer than that; so, if one crossed that threshold, I would like to know to see what the reason was.

If they weren't hallucinations, well...

Opening my eyes, I exited my spiritual landscape and looked at the Minimap, seeing the five red dots moving quickly, but organized, through the mansion corridors.

...They were probably traitors within WinterHord, or maybe the guards who had flashed red before.

Let's see which of these options was true... Maybe there were some hallucinations too, as behind the five red dots, at the threshold of thirty meters, I could see a few more red dots clustered in the hallway.

Hallucinations, for sure.

"Did you finish your meditation?" Millia asked, looking at me from the table.

"Yes. For now, this time is good," I said to the little slime. Even without the Minimap alert, I was about to end this session.

"You need to fix your sleep; staying awake all night and sleeping during the day is not healthy." I looked at the little slime watching a movie on the cellphone I had given her. Bad idea.

At least for humans and Earthlings, staying up late was unhealthy. I had no idea if this applied to slimes, but it still wasn't a good habit.

Was it hypocritical of me to say that? Maybe, but I didn't care. I could endure the consequences of my horrible sleep habits; my body was resilient. Millia was just a child.

"Okay, geez, you sound like mom..." Millia quickly wrote before creating a little hand waving. "I'll go to sleep then, wake me up in the morning, I want to spend time with you guys :D - Good night!" Those were her last words before disappearing into the Slime Staff.

Cute little thing.

With that done, I rose from the chair I was sitting in and walked slowly through the room without making noise, the only illumination being the tiny moonlight threads passing through the storm and the curtains of the room's windows.

Not that it mattered, as using nightmare energy in my eyes gave me a kind of night vision besides being able to see hallucinations.

It was a useful energy to use, even though it was strange to use.

Actually, all the energies I had were useful; I just needed to start using them more and in more ways.

Well, another thing on my to-do list, this time a top priority.

On the short way to the door of the room, I looked at the rest of the group.

Everyone in the room seemed to be sleeping, with Gilbert and Dylan sleeping in two single beds on the left side of the room that I had taken from the inventory for them to use.

Selina, Robyn, along with the two animals of the latter, slept on the right side, on the main bed of the room which was a double bed, with Selina wrapping herself in a cocoon of blankets and Robyn hugging her two animals in a kind of improvised nest of blankets and pillows.

Damn, what a horrible way to sleep those two had. How could Robyn sleep with that plug, I had no idea.

How long had she been using that thing to be so accustomed to it?

Interestingly, even before I left the room, a green dot a few rooms away came out and confronted the other five red dots.

Melissa or Annabel, since from what I remembered, those were the two sleeping there, with Darnell sleeping a few rooms away.

It didn't take long for the other green dot to come out too. The two of them then.

Let's see what's going on before that...

[STARTING STREAM!]

Was it three in the morning? Yes, but I was "The Streamer"; if something interesting was happening, I would broadcast it.

I had really embraced this role, hadn't I?...

The moment I opened the door of the room, the noise suppression matrix I had set up for testing, in case the Deerclops screamed while everyone slept, turned off, making Annabel's angry screams heard in the room.

"ARE YOU FUCKING CRAZY?! WHOSE IDEA WAS THIS?! COME ON! TELL ME! WHO LET YOU COME HERE?!" She didn't seem happy at all.

The moment the sound reached the room, everyone woke up alarmed and looked at the door, where I was standing.

It was funny to see Selina almost fall to the floor trying to get out of the blanket cocoon she had created.

I waved my hand to indicate that everything was fine so they could calm down.

"I'll see what's going on, you can go back to sleep." I knew they wouldn't do that, as I knew they would follow me out of the room, still, it didn't hurt to give everyone the option.

Leaving the room, I only had to turn the corner to see the complete scene of what was happening.

As I expected, Annabel and Melissa were in front of what looked like a small squad of guards. The other red dots, as I could see further back, were hallucinations.

The atmosphere was tense; the guards were on edge, Melissa seemed on the verge of killing someone, and the only thing preventing her, Annabel, appeared to be contemplating whether it was worth stopping the nurse from starting a rampage.

The funniest part of it all was that both of them were still in their pajamas. To be more specific, bunny pajamas.

Not the sexy kind, but ones that made them look like two white balls since the pajamas were made of thick, fluffy material.

They were not tall either, making the scene even funnier, at least to me, not to the others, as everyone was tense.

The guards didn't seem to have noticed me; their eyes were red and insane, staring at Melissa and Annabel. I could literally see madness leaking from them.

That... was quite sad, actually.

Despite their intention to come here being something bad, as they wanted to steal the Humvee, probably forcing me to hand it over to them, they were still just men driven by madness, a madness that wasn't really theirs.

I shook my head and sighed before taking a step forward and speaking.

Let's end this quickly; tomorrow is going to be a busy day.

[...]

POV: Melissa Oakwood.

I didn't know what made me more ANGRY!

Whether it was the fact that these guards had woken me up, woke me up when I had the first good night's sleep in weeks!

Or their shitty plan, which was to steal the group's vehicle that had come to help us!

Damn, we had deactivated the room's noise matrix to listen in case something happened to the city barrier, but at this moment, I was regretting it.

Can I just kill them and go back to sleep? I promise I'll do it quickly; they won't even feel a thing.

"What is this? A pajama party? And I wasn't even invited?" My body tensed even more as a voice sounded behind me and Annabel.

I just didn't turn around to punch the owner of the voice because I recognized him. Devas, the leader of the rescue group.

The guy who had more mana than my mom and still insisted he was just a mere contractor. He must think we're idiots... and a pajama party?

I felt my face blush when I finally realized I was still wearing the pajamas Annabel had lent me. I didn't even need to turn around to know that the countess was mirroring my redness.

Damn, I didn't even remember I was wearing this thing; it's so comfortable and warm.

At least it wasn't my baby-doll...

I was already embarrassed enough to be seen like this by everyone, as I could see Dylan, Selina, and the other two from Devas's group watching from afar, just coming out of the room.

If I were seen with my favorite baby-doll, and everyone saw my nipples and my tattoo, I might as well leave the barrier.

Turning into an ice statue would be more acceptable than this. Much less embarrassing.

Almost unintentionally, in my fog of shame, I noticed that the man passing between Annabel and me made no noise when he walked.

Devas's steps had such a minimal sound, made so little noise as he walked that even concentrating fully, I could only hear the slightest noise. It was so low that I could have imagined the sound myself.

And this guy wanted me to believe he wasn't some kind of secret crown guard.

I'll need to talk to Charlotte when we return to the kingdom. Where did she hide this guy? And what about that no secrets from each other story?

"Ha..." Devas sighed as he looked at the men who seemed even more tense at seeing him. "Let me guess, you wanted to kill me and take the Humvee?" He asked the guards.

Humvee? Was that the vehicle's name?

"No!" The first guard, the one who seemed to be the leader of the small group, practically shouted before correcting himself.

"I mean, yes, but no. We didn't intend to kill anyone; we just wanted to get that machine to get our families out of this frozen cage!" The man had a wild, crazed look. "We don't want to hurt anyone..."

What a brilliant idea, steal the rescue group and try our luck in the storm.

I won't applaud only because I left what little good mood I had in my dream. Damn, I just want to go back to sleep!

Curiously, Devas didn't seem to get angry at the man's admission of attempted theft. Instead, his gaze seemed thoughtful, even sad.

"Madness is truly cruel, isn't it?..." I heard him murmur softly before sighing again.

I must have blinked, maybe not even that, but in one moment, the guards were fully armed and ready to fight; in the next, all their armor had disappeared, as well as their weapons, leaving them only in the clothes they wore under the armor.

What the hell?!

Even the guards didn't seem to have noticed what happened, the five holding their heads as if they had a severe headache.

Was this some kind of spell? I didn't feel any mana; some kind of artifact?

Before anyone could ask anything, chains appeared around the legs and arms of the guards.

Devas walked calmly towards them and placed a cloth over their faces; one by one, the guards lost consciousness without even being able to react.

It happened so quickly, and it was such a strange sequence of events that basically no one had time to react.

"Sleep and rest." The emotion in his voice was almost gentle, but closer to pity than anything else.

Then, before getting up, he sprinkled a layer of Purification Powder over the men, improving their sleeping expressions, but still, they had furrowed brows and faces, as if they were suffering, having horrible nightmares.

Even though these five had woken me up, I could sympathize with them on this side. If hallucinations were bad, nightmares were worse.

"I will take care of the nightmares that torment your minds..." That phrase was the only warning everyone had before Devas simply disappeared.

At the same time he disappeared, my eyes unconsciously noticed a shadow, a blur appearing at the end of the corridor, about thirty meters away. Devas.

He was fast, very fast. He had covered that entire distance in a second, no... less than a second.

I hadn't felt any mana in that movement; it wasn't some kind of technique or teleportation, it was just pure and simple physical strength.

The worst part of all this, something that terrified me and relieved me at the same time? I didn't hear him move.

The floor made no noise; the air didn't stir...

The only other person I saw with that speed was Alalia, the strongest being I've ever seen in my life.

Who was this guy?...

The instant he reappeared at the end of the corridor, a wooden sword appeared in his hand, the same wooden sword that seemed to have branches he used to kill the hallucinations.

Then he spun, cutting through the air around him quickly. For a moment, I had the impression of seeing flames coming out of the sword, reddish liquid flames.

Then the atmosphere seemed to lighten, as if something bad had just been expelled, or in this case, killed.

Hallucinations, those things were here, weren't they?...

Damn, if there was something I hated more than those black insects, I hadn't discovered it yet.

"Annabel." Devas said as he walked back slowly. "I ask that you don't punish these guards too harshly; they are just desperate men, driven by madness to try to save their families." He could have made a request, but I felt that it was anything but that, something in his voice said so.

It wasn't a request; it was an order, and Devas didn't even seem to realize that his voice sounded that way.

"O-of course." Annabel nodded in agreement. "I'll have the guards, other guards, in this case, lock them up in the barracks." After we left the prison, Annabel ordered all the prisoners to be moved to a cell in the guards' barracks.

It was a place away from the main barracks, but still close enough for the guards to stay alert.

"Thank you." He smiled gently. "Goodnight." He said as he passed by both of us without saying anything else, returning to the room where he and his group were sleeping.

Were they all sleeping in the same room? Why?...

Oh, right, he can see and kill hallucinations... Can I go sleep there too?

As tempting and interesting as the idea was, I was too embarrassed, tired, and sleepy to ask, so I just wished him a good night back with a sleepy voice and went back inside the room Annabel and I shared to sleep while Annabel herself ordered the imprisonment of the five guards outside.

I practically passed out the moment I touched the bed, my last thoughts being that Dylan, and even worse, Selina, had seen me in this bunny pajama...

Damn...

Only then did sleep consume my consciousness, leading me into a sweet rest, and for the first time in a long time, without nightmares, just small and fleeting sweet dreams.

[…]

POV: Devas Asura.

After the sad but swift incident that occurred last night with the crazed guards attempting to steal the Humvee, I returned to my room to sleep.

Of course, I explained what had happened to the group and to the (CHAT), which, to my surprise, had more than a thousand people, and then bid everyone good night and turned off the stream, going to sleep.

I woke up about two hours later, at five in the morning, with a refreshed mind and an even more refreshed body.

I let the group sleep for about two more hours while I scribbled some matrices of Mystic Symbols in a notebook. They were prototypes of the matrix I had thought of after discovering the Nightmare Fuel. Nothing too complex, just some ideas.

First, of course, I had to see if I could make some kind of ink with that stuff, but having some ideas ready beforehand was good.

I started the stream around seven-thirty in the morning; everyone was awake, and we headed to the main hall, where there was a large table for breakfast.

"Dylan," I said after sitting down and wishing everyone a good morning. "I had some ideas, take a look and see what you think." I passed the notebook with my doodles for the guide to see.

Even though he didn't have nightmare or spiritual energy and couldn't interact with the Nightmare Fuel, having a second opinion was always good.

In this case, a few second opinions, since the (CHAT) was also helping me, especially Snape, as always, when paints were involved.

Despite there being nothing like Nightmare Fuel in their world, the potions master compared the item to residues left by ghosts and other beings of the same kind. Something he had already thought of using in some potions before discarding it, but at this moment, it helped me since he had some scrolls full of ideas.

Why the hell didn't Hogwarts use notebooks and pens? I had no idea. Probably some pure-blooded nonsense or variations. It always was or almost always was that crap.

I was sure that when I went to that world, these guys would annoy me. More than sure, actually.

Dumbledore had some positions of power, didn't he? If I beat up a dozen idiots, could he get me out of any charges?

Probably. It's always good to have friends in power, especially someone who held three incredibly important positions alone.

Damn, the politicians in that world must be idiots.

"What are your ideas?" Melissa asked, sitting next to Selina.

She looked much better than yesterday and last night. Her voice was calmer, without the tension she seemed to carry; even her face seemed brighter.

The three of them did, actually: Melissa, Annabel, and Darnell. Even the guards around seemed better.

"First of all, let's see if we can find out more about the deer," I said, placing the utensils on the table. Of course, the first thing was to finish breakfast, but that was obvious.

"I've already asked some guards to gather information, both in the library and by asking the older people in the city. I'll try to remember any information too," Annabel replied. Well, that saves time.

"Any information about the seal or the place where that thing was sealed will help." I commented before continuing.

"The next step would be to work on a way for you guys to see the hallucinations. Glasses or an amulet, probably." I pointed to the notebook and to Dylan, who was reading it intently.

"What joy, seeing hallucinations, always wanted that," Robyn muttered with a certain sarcasm in her voice.

"Better to see them because of an item than to see them because you went crazy," I retorted, making the fox woman give a small jump in the chair she was sitting on the other side of the table.

What, did she expect me not to hear? I may not have four ears like her, but mine still work well.

"Anything else?" Gilbert asked with a playful voice as he looked at his daughter. "Something that this old man here and all the others who don't understand Mystic Symbols can help with in the case," he added. He and Robyn, in this case, since Selina and Dylan were going to help me.

Good question...

"Not much..." I commented vaguely.

Sending them wandering around the city to help the guards in the search for any information didn't seem like a good idea.

I had killed several hallucinations yesterday and intended to kill more today, but still, the atmosphere wasn't pleasant. Both the cold and the presence of hallucinations made the environment suffocating.

It was better to keep everyone in the mansion, where the presence of hallucinations was practically nonexistent after I arrived.

"You could look for information in the mansion's library. Of course, if Annabel allows it," I commented belatedly as I looked at the two and then at the countess, who nodded.

"Sure, I was planning to look there; any company is welcome," she replied after chewing.

As for the rest, in this case, Darnell and Melissa, and to a lesser extent, Annabel, I didn't ask them to do anything since it wasn't really my job, and I didn't know their capabilities.

I'll assume that Melissa will either help Annabel or join Dylan and Selina; as for Darnell, the man seemed more like the type who was more action-oriented than research, so he probably would patrol or go with the guards to see if he could discover anything in the city.

I also needed to see if I could adapt the barrier of the Humvee to block the Deerclops' scream. I had some ideas, but nothing certain, especially without being able to do any real tests since the deer decided to stay silent all night.

As for modifying the barrier covering the city, that didn't even cross my mind. Even if the modification to the Humvee worked, the matrix that created the city's barrier, besides being enormous, couldn't be deactivated.

Without it protecting WinterHord from the cold, the city would go to hell in a matter of minutes, seconds, depending on how cold it was outside.

"By the way, do you know exactly how cold it is outside the barrier?" I asked Annabel and Melissa, who seemed to be the two who took care of most things. "My temperature gauges couldn't measure accurately."

The technological temperature gauges had fried, or in this case, frozen when the temperature reached ninety degrees below zero. As for creating a temperature measurement matrix in the Humvee, it had one, but it was internal, regulating the temperature inside the car.

I didn't bother creating an external one since it would take up space that I could use for another more useful matrix.

Seeing now, I could have created that "Temperature measurement plate" later.

"The temperature is confusing," Annabel replied. "It fluctuates a lot, something that was supposed to be impossible."

I didn't even need to ask what the temperature fluctuation was before Annabel answered.

"It usually stays between a hundred degrees below zero and a hundred and twenty degrees below zero, but it has reached a hundred and forty degrees below zero," she said with a tense voice. "It varies from the location where the measurement is made; in some, the measurement goes crazy and isn't even completed." The mana that prevents communication to the outside probably should interfere with the matrix too.

Good thing I had protected the matrices of the Humvee from that, even better that the barrier around the city was protected too.

A hundred and forty degrees below zero. That was bad, but still better than I expected...

Damn, if I have to fight in this cold, it's going to suck.

"And then..." Melissa said with some hesitation. "About what happened in the prison. How did you see that hallucination?" She asked after a few moments.

Well, the question finally came.

"Innate magic." That was my answer. I had already said the same thing to my group.

After Dylan explained about innate magic a few days ago, that was the answer I would use when explaining something involving the stream.

Of course, I had explained a few more things to my own group and told them, in this case, Selina and Dylan, that they could tell Melissa if they found it necessary.

But I would avoid saying much more than that, as some information was better kept secret.

Maybe, if I invited any of them to the stream, I could say more, but for now, that was it.

"I thought you would say that..." Melissa grumbled in a cute way. "I'll change the question then. What do you see when your eyes are like that?" She pointed at me, or more specifically, at my eyes.

I had looked at myself in the mirror after Kazuma's comment about my eyes. Well, dead fish eyes were a wrong comparison.

When I used nightmare energy in my eyes, they looked like I hadn't slept in weeks, with black bags under them that made me look like a panda, one that had gone through war and returned with some traumas.

Few.

Even my irises seemed to become glazed, with an almost insane look, although I still retained my sanity and it was possible to see that within my eyes.

"It's like seeing through a filter," I described. "The world becomes more opaque, everything seems to tremble slightly as if your vision can't stay still, the lights dim, shadows become more pronounced, and everything beyond people is covered by red tendrils, as if everything is slowly cracking."

The look they gave me when I finished describing was kind of funny.

"I'm not going crazy, nor will I, don't worry," I said, joking, which made some people at the table laugh.

As for the stream, I found out that I could turn my vision on and off for them, this "texture," where the camera, in addition to showing the hallucinations, showed the world as I saw it when using nightmare energy.

It was basically a unanimous decision for me to make this option something optional, so only those who wanted more immersion in the stream would use it.

I didn't blame them; it was a strange thing to see. Although I was getting used to it, it was still kind of weird.

After that, breakfast proceeded without much else happening, only in the middle of it, where I woke Millia up to eat.

"Good morning! :D" The little slime drew everyone's attention at the table, even more with the small hat she wore as clothing to protect her from the cold.

"I... have many questions." That was Melissa's reaction upon seeing Millia, the reaction that everyone who hadn't seen her before had, actually.

"You can ask, but first, Millia, hungry?" I said to the inferner before asking the slime.

"I'm not always hungry, but whenever they ask me, I'm hungry!" An answer I expected from her.

"Here." I handed her a plate along with a knife and fork. "Help yourself." Why had she started using fork and knife? I had no idea, but it was cute.

Millia existing was cute.

[...]

After breakfast, where Millia had conquered the table, we split up to each do our respective tasks.

Annabel, Gilbert, Robyn, and her animals went to the library to look for any useful information.

Darnell went with the guards to the city to see if he could find anything.

Melissa, Dylan, and Selina came with me to try to create something for everyone to see the hallucinations.

Of course, this would happen after Dylan and Melissa returned since Selina pushed the two away to have a conversation and sort things out once and for all.

In the meantime, I was working on the Humvee, seeing if I could adapt its barriers, or at least the external barrier.

This while Selina trembled like a withdrawal addict.

"Can I help?" Her voice trembled as she seemed barely able to hold herself in place.

"Help with updating the matrices or messing with the Humvee?" I asked as I surrounded some areas and the Mystic Symbols that I needed to erase.

"Everything!" I really thought that would be the answer.

"Don't touch the engine, just where I tell you, or I'll beat that ass you like to comment on so much." I warned the steampunker. The last thing I needed was to have to fix the Humvee because she did something stupid.

"Don't threaten me with a good time." She practically purred, making the (CHAT) explode in messages.

Damn...

I was so focused on the Mystic Symbols that I had forgotten that Selina was, well... Selina.

I thought about changing my warning, or in this case, threat, but I decided not to and just turned to look at Selina as I let my eyes be taken over by nightmare energy.

I stared at the steampunker for about ten seconds before she looked away.

"Fine... I won't touch anything without permission." Her voice was a bit hoarse, and she avoided any eye contact.

"Good. Here, this area." I pointed to the area above the front right wheel of the Humvee. "Erase everything inside the circle, but be careful with the paint." I would ask her to draw the test matrix, but I found it unnecessary since I wanted to leave all the matrices of the Humvee with only my mana.

I ignored the way she pouted because she couldn't study the Humvee.

I ignored even more her legs rubbing against each other on the inner part of her thighs, and I turned the camera so it wouldn't appear on the stream.

Damn if it was thirty degrees below zero out here since I hadn't created a heat matrix around us yet.

Damn if my eyes looked like those of a maniac when I used nightmare energy.

Selina had issues.