The sword tore through the air with unimaginable speed and force, cutting through the profane flesh of a Nightmare Creature.
As soon as it died, Samael felt an impact against his ribs.
Fangs pierced his back.
A strange, small creature had managed to reach him.
Its size did nothing to lessen the pain.
Samael pivoted on his heel and kicked the creature forward.
While it was still in the air, his sword pierced through it, slicing its body in half.
"How many hours have I been fighting?"
Samael had long since lost count.
All he knew was that he had been fighting for more than forty-eight hours.
On the fifth night, he had entered the battlefield.
And he hadn't left since.
The number of Nightmare Creatures continued to increase.
They never stopped appearing.
Not for a single second.
And beyond them, there was something far worse.
An overwhelming presence was pressing down on everyone from somewhere in the distance, near the border.
A Cursed being was coming.
That was the only thing on everyone's mind.
They had to finish the evacuation before it arrived.
If that was even still possible.
"My arms are heavy."
Samael forced his arms to move.
He kept fighting.
His lips were cracked and dry.
"I've lost count of how many I've killed."
He had managed to obtain a decent number of Memories over the past few days.
But he had donated them to equip soldiers who had lost their own Memories on the battlefield.
In the end, Samael had barely accumulated any for himself.
Besides, the Memories he had received were only mediocre.
His sword continued to move.
Slashing.
Piercing.
Killing.
It was as if his body were fighting through muscle memory alone.
His movements, which had once been strange and almost artistic, had now become an empty shell of what they used to be.
However, it was a far deadlier shell.
And a much more efficient one.
The bodies of Nightmare Creatures and humans were scattered everywhere.
After killing thousands without stopping, Samael finally had a moment to look around.
And what he saw was a sea of corpses.
Humans.
Creatures.
They covered the ground.
The survivors fought atop that mountain of bodies.
The terrain had become unstable.
At any moment, it could collapse beneath their feet.
Corpses of different sizes created countless mounds and pits, turning the battlefield into something almost impossible to traverse.
Then Samael saw the wall.
Or what remained of it.
The structure that had once seemed impenetrable had collapsed.
A group of Awakened were fighting desperately to prevent the Nightmare Creatures from passing through the breach.
But now...
Most of them were dead.
Samael spotted a girl with messy blonde hair stained with blood.
She was covered in wounds.
Even so, she continued fighting as she tried to reach the breach in the wall.
On the other side came the deadliest and most powerful creatures.
In unimaginable numbers.
The girl stretched out her hand.
She reached a boy with brown hair.
And helped him to his feet.
For a brief moment, it seemed they had made it.
Then...
Something emerged from the ground.
A tentacle pierced through both of them.
They didn't even have time to react.
"Huh?"
Samael's golden eyes widened.
He stared fixedly at the scene.
He couldn't believe it.
In that moment of shock, the fangs of a wolf-like creature sank into his shoulder.
Samael didn't even flinch in pain.
He had suffered so many injuries that this one barely meant anything anymore.
He severed two of the creature's legs and ran.
Within seconds, he reached the two of them.
And what he saw still seemed impossible.
There lay Noah and Nero.
Dead.
Their organs had been destroyed by the tentacle of some underground Corrupted Creature.
Samael stood motionless.
Then a man's voice echoed through the city's sirens.
"Attention! The civilians have been evacuated! Everyone, listen! There is one last ship in the harbor! Run to it!"
A pause.
"And may God protect you."
The broadcast ended.
Despair swept through the city.
Thousands of people began fleeing toward the harbor.
The massive gate in the wall was now open, making the breach practically useless as a defensive position.
This greatly relieved the pressure in that area.
Samael continued staring at the two bodies.
"What are you doing?"
Nobody answered.
"Let's go."
He knelt down and embraced their bodies.
"Get up. We can leave now."
His voice remained strangely calm.
"We're supposed to get married, Nero."
Samael held her body tighter.
"So please, get up."
He looked at Noah.
"And what about your wife's cooking, Noah? I haven't even tried it yet."
His voice began to grow quieter.
"If you don't keep your promises..."
Samael pressed both of them against his chest.
"How can you die?"
There were no tears.
His body didn't even seem capable of producing them at that moment.
He was far too exhausted.
"If you're going to sleep..."
Samael closed his eyes.
"Then I'll take you away from here."
He stood up.
"Leave it to me. I'll take you out of this cursed place."
Then he heard a familiar voice.
[You have received a Memory.]
[You have received a Memory.]
Footsteps echoed behind him.
Calmly.
Samael turned his head.
A man entered the city through the breach in the wall.
All around him was a veritable purgatory.
Awakened were fleeing.
Nightmare Creatures were chasing them.
The bodies of Awakened and civilians covered the streets.
Not everyone had managed to be evacuated.
Samael began to walk.
Slowly.
Calmly.
Any Nightmare Creature that tried to attack him was killed.
He continued forward.
Until he came across familiar faces.
A green-haired man with a hole in his chest sat beside a girl with long pink hair.
Enkidu.
Cyrene.
"Hello, Samael."
Cyrene raised a hand.
"I don't think we're looking our best right now."
Samael stared at them.
"You two, too?"
His voice was empty.
"Are you going to leave me alone?"
He approached them.
"Am I going to have to carry you while you sleep peacefully?"
Cyrene giggled softly.
"Didn't you know?"
She closed her eyes.
"I'm a selfish woman."
Cyrene stretched out her arms.
"Please, carry me, too."
Her smile was faint.
"And carry all of us. Take us away from this land that has imprisoned us for nineteen years."
Samael looked at Enkidu.
"Why did you heal me?"
He needed to understand.
He needed to know before leaving.
Enkidu answered calmly.
"Because you remind me of my teacher."
Samael fell silent.
"That's all?"
He couldn't understand how such a trivial reason could be enough.
"Yes."
Enkidu closed his eyes.
Samael took a deep breath.
"Your Nightmare is over."
He looked at the two of them.
"You can rest now."
Then he smiled faintly.
"I promise I'll carry you out of here."
A pause.
"Besides, nobody ever thinks about how much weight I'll have to carry when they make requests like this."
He complained coldly.
Then he heard the Spell's voice again.
[You have received a Memory.]
[You have received a Memory.]
Samael fell silent.
That was when he noticed something among the rubble.
A child.
She slowly emerged from the ruins.
She was approximately four years old.
She didn't have purple hair.
Nor purple eyes.
But Samael recognized her immediately.
Acheron.
His Master.
"So that's why you were like this..."
Samael looked at Enkidu and Cyrene.
They knew they were nothing more than phantoms created by the Spell.
They knew their real selves were still alive.
Waiting for them beyond this Nightmare.
And yet...
They had given their lives to protect her.
Samael was tired.
Very tired.
More than forty-eight hours of nonstop fighting were enough to exhaust even his heart.
Normally, he would have been furious with himself for reacting that way.
But he couldn't even feel that.
Not at that moment.
Samael approached the little Acheron.
He held out his hand.
"Come."
The child looked at him.
"I'll get you out of here."
She took his hand.
The two began walking through the ruined city.
Samael continued killing any Nightmare Creature that tried to attack them.
But he wasn't heading toward the harbor.
With everyone rushing there, the number of Nightmare Creatures along that route would be unimaginable.
Instead, Samael slowly made his way out of the city.
There were a few creatures in that area.
But they were nothing compared to the hordes from a few hours earlier.
They were merely a drop in the ocean compared to what the battlefield had been.
Samael felt something.
The Nightmare was about to end.
He continued walking in silence, guiding the little Acheron.
"What folly."
Samael looked at the child.
"Leaving the real one alone because of a mere phantom created by the Spell."
A tear rolled down his golden eyes.
Samael froze.
"I would never even cry over the death of a Spell phantom."
Another tear fell.
Then another.
And another.
"Huh?"
Samael raised a hand to his face.
"What's happening?"
He let go of Folly for a moment and raised his hand to wipe away the tears.
"Why am I crying?"
The little Acheron looked at him.
"Mister..."
Her voice was small.
"Why are you crying?"
She moved closer.
"It's okay, mister. You don't have to cry."
Acheron raised her tiny fist.
Her hands trembled slightly.
She was afraid.
Terrified.
But she still tried to appear confident.
"I'll protect you."
Samael stared at her.
Such a young child...
And already so strong.
The Spell had begun tempering her from an early age.
No child should ever have to be that strong.
Because it meant that, even at such a young age, she had already suffered.
She had already been forced to grow up.
Forced to mature far too quickly.
Samael smiled.
"Really?"
He gently squeezed her hand.
"Then I'm counting on you to protect me."
The two continued walking.
Then Samael felt a presence.
Even from a distance...
It could crush him.
And not just him.
Every living being in that region would be destroyed when that presence arrived.
It was coming.
America's first Cursed being.
Samael gently squeezed Acheron's hand.
A small gesture.
As if telling her he was still there.
That he wouldn't leave her alone.
Then the pressure intensified.
Every inch of his body began to compress.
His bones creaked.
His muscles felt as though they were about to burst.
Samael continued holding the little Acheron's hand.
And then...
Everything went dark.
[The first part of your Nightmare has ended.]