So Harry didn't attack right away. Instead, he asked with clear interest, "Terms? What terms are you offering?"
Hearing Harry's question, the Dreamqueen's taut nerves eased slightly.
As long as Harry didn't strike immediately—and was willing to talk—there was still room to maneuver.
Even so, she was still extremely tense.
In the dream world, she had always been one of the most exalted existences, lofty and revered.
But the being standing in front of her now was someone who stood on equal footing with her father, Nightmare—perhaps even stronger.
So now, speaking face-to-face with a being like this, even with her temperament, her heart couldn't help but race.
Still, for the plan she'd been plotting for a long time, the Dreamqueen bit her lip and forced herself to steady her breathing.
She lifted a hand gently. In an instant, an invisible barrier rose, sealing their voices away so nothing leaked out.
Only then did she continue.
"Respected Chaos Controller, allow me to introduce myself. I am the princess of the Dream Dimension—the Dreamqueen.
"Originally, I intended to use Tony Stark to pass you a message. But since I've had the fortune to meet you directly today, I won't waste such an opportunity.
"I've come to discuss a partnership."
"Get to the point," Harry replied calmly, his tone flat.
The Dreamqueen took a deep breath. The rise and fall of her chest—revealing a sweep of pale cleavage—was the only hint of how hard she was forcing herself to sound steady.
She met Harry's gaze and spoke slowly.
"Recently, on Earth in your universe, there should have been a series of incidents where civilians fall into comas and remain unable to wake.
"What I want to cooperate with you on is directly connected to that."
Harry's brows tightened, his voice sharpening.
"So those comatose victims really are connected to your Dream Dimension!"
Sensing the hostility in his tone—and the dangerous pressure beginning to leak from him—the Dreamqueen's heart clenched. She didn't dare waste a second and hurried to clarify.
"No, you misunderstand! I firmly oppose this. This is entirely my father's command. I don't agree with it!"
"If this involves Nightmare," Harry said, the flow of magic along his surface growing more violent, "then tell me—what exactly do you want to cooperate with me on?"
The Dreamqueen knew that if she didn't explain fast, she was going to die. She blurted it out at the fastest speed of her life.
"I want to cooperate with you… to kill my father!"
Harry's half-formed execution plan paused mid-thought. He stared at her, completely lost.
What?
You're Nightmare's daughter, and you want to kill Nightmare?
Is this real?
If it was real… then this was the most spectacular act of "filial piety" imaginable.
Seeing Harry still looking doubtful, the Dreamqueen clenched her fist, inhaled, and pushed on urgently.
"My relationship with my father… with Nightmare… is terrible. Don't let the title fool you. Even though I'm the princess of the Dream Dimension, in his eyes, I'm nothing but an energy battery he can drain whenever he pleases.
"Back then, Nightmare spent an enormous amount of precious higher-dimensional energy to bring me into existence. It wasn't out of love. It was because of the same-origin bloodline in my body. He wanted a container for dimensional energy—something that could amplify his own power.
"I was born with extraordinary talent. I had the potential to become the next generation of dimensional demon-god.
"But for years, I've been used as his long-term power source, constantly drained. Over time, not only did I fail to grow stronger—my power kept declining.
"And it gets worse. Nightmare has never had even a shred of father-daughter affection for me. Day to day, it's either beating or cursing, and he's used countless vile methods to bind me and torture me.
"I live in pain and despair every single day. Now, the only way I can escape this lightless misery… is to get rid of him."
Without showing it, Harry had already placed a Truth Charm on the Dreamqueen.
Because the Dreamqueen was still far stronger than Harry's normal state, he couldn't guarantee she'd be forced to speak nothing but truth—but it was more than enough to detect lies.
And as he listened, Harry's brow lifted slightly, surprise flickering in his eyes.
The Truth Charm's feedback told him that everything she'd said… was true.
That was genuinely good news.
He immediately pressed further.
"From what you're saying, Nightmare usually stays tucked inside his own dimension and rarely expands outward.
"So why is he suddenly trying to invade Earth—and why did he specifically choose the universe I'm in?"
The Dreamqueen answered.
"Mephisto has something to do with it. Mephisto offered him a huge amount of benefits to come after you.
"But more importantly, Nightmare needs more dream power. He's currently in the middle of a transformation. If he has enough dream power to complete it, he may gain the ability to let dreams influence reality.
"If that happens, his strength will undergo a world-shaking leap—he'll become a dimensional demon-god on the same tier as Cyttorak.
"But a transformation of that magnitude can't be fueled by mortal dream power alone. He needs dream power of much higher quality.
"Your chaos magic is extremely compatible with the ability he's developing. If he can obtain even part of your power, Nightmare will complete his transformation completely."
Well, damn.
Harry had assumed Nightmare was craving the dream power produced by Earth's intelligent life.
Turns out he was craving Harry himself.
In that case, Nightmare absolutely had to die.
"I see…" Harry nodded slightly, falling into brief thought.
After a moment, he looked up at the Dreamqueen.
"Do you have a way to deal with Nightmare? Even I can't kill Nightmare inside the Dream Dimension."
Right now, Harry was in the dream world, while the Dream Dimension lay deeper—so deep that ordinary sorcerers would struggle just to reach it.
This dream world was like an indestructible barrier, protecting the Dream Dimension.
Even a dimensional demon-god, if they wanted to force their power through that barrier, would have to pay an enormous price—burning a massive amount of dimensional energy.
That was Nightmare's cleverness.
The Dreamqueen didn't disappoint him. At Harry's question, confidence flashed in her eyes—she'd clearly prepared for this.
She spoke quickly, methodically.
"I can lure Nightmare out of the Dream Dimension. Once he steps into the dream world, I can use my own power to briefly seal him for a few seconds.
"And during those few seconds, you need to strike and kill him completely."
"No way to lure him into the waking world?" Harry asked.
In the dream world, Nightmare's power would be weakened to some extent, but he'd still be strong enough to be dangerous.
If Harry could drag him into reality, then Harry was confident he could kill Nightmare with certainty.
The Dreamqueen shook her head.
"No. The only reason I can lure him into the dream world at all is because he still has some degree of trust in me.
"But even so, I could never lure him into the waking world.
"In all my memory, since the day I was born—across thousands of years—Nightmare has never once stepped outside the Dream Dimension."
Harry went quiet, inwardly cursing.
That was absurdly cautious.
No wonder Nightmare—despite such an obvious weakness—had still built such a terrifying reputation across the multiverse.
If he never leaves the Dream Dimension, then it's like he has no weakness at all.
The Dreamqueen's proposal had no obvious flaw for now, so Harry agreed immediately.
"Fine. When do we move?"
Hearing his agreement, the Dreamqueen's face lit with wild joy, her excitement leaking through.
"Good. Give me some time. Once I'm prepared, I'll contact you."
…
After learning a great deal about the dream world and the Dream Dimension from the Dreamqueen, Harry returned to reality.
Naturally, he also brought the trembling civilians back with him.
But just as naturally, he sent their faces to JARVIS and had Tony confirm whether they had criminal records.
As expected, the two Black men both had records—one was even a wanted fugitive.
So right after they finished celebrating that they'd "escaped" from Harry…
The FBI arrived, grabbed them, and threw them into prison.
…
Tony's seaside villa had been reduced to rubble, but that level of damage was nothing to Harry.
He shouted:
"Reparo!"
The collapsed villa rewound as if time itself flowed backward. Before long, it was restored to its original state.
And to guard against another possible attack, Harry also carved a simple layer of defensive rune wards around the villa.
It wouldn't stop truly overwhelming firepower—but it would at least buy them reaction time.
Inside the living room, Pepper went to grind coffee, while Harry and Tony sat on the couch, talking about what had just happened.
"It's complicated…" Tony rubbed his face and sank back, exhausted. "You've probably been busy, so you might not know—something big happened. A terrorist openly issued a challenge to the United States and set off a chain of explosions."
Harry nodded, motioning for him to continue.
Tony's expression darkened.
"Not long ago, Happy was attacked by terrorists led by the Mandarin. After that, I declared war on them. I baited them into attacking my villa so I could trace them back to their base, but I didn't expect…"
"Didn't expect they were stronger than you thought?" Harry finished, amused.
"Exactly. They've got mature enhancement tech, and they've got some kind of mysterious method—just like the Chitauri back then.
"From what I've dug up, huge numbers of civilians are falling into deep sleep, and the number is rising fast. Do you know anything about it?"
Even though Harry had only just arrived, Tony trusted that Harry—who understood the occult far better—would have relevant information.
And sure enough, Harry said calmly, "It involves a dimensional demon-god. Nightmare is trying to take another step forward—using dreams to influence reality…"
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