Chapter 314: A Follower's Mission
"Admit you lost."
"Say you're not such a big shot."
"Still feel big now?"
"Still dare to show off now?"
Malfoy's fists never stopped. He pummelled the 'Dudley' beneath him until the boy could not even lift a hand in return and could only keep admitting defeat.
"So you come into your own dream to feel powerful, do you?" Dudley muttered, curling his lip.
His gaze slid to the other beaten figures nearby and, to his mild surprise, he saw Harry and Ron, both black and blue.
Interestingly, Hermione was nowhere to be seen.
So he does not hit girls.
"Call me Dad!"
"Hurry up and call me Dad!"
Malfoy kept swinging
Dudley raised his hand in amusement and flicked his fingers. In that instant, he poured some of his own power into the dream bodies of 'Dudley', 'Harry', and 'Ron'.
The 'Dudley' pinned beneath Draco suddenly sat bolt upright and drove a punch straight into Draco's chest, knocking him flat.
Bang.
Harry shot in from the side, his fist smashing into Draco's face so hard that a front tooth flew out, blood splattering everywhere.
On the other side, Ron's kick landed squarely on Draco's backside, sending him flipping through the air.
"Do you admit it now?"
"Call me Daddy."
"That's what you get for showing off!"
'Dudley', 'Ron', and 'Harry' joined forces and beat Draco until he was sobbing for his parents.
This was his own dream, yet he was the one getting thrashed. Draco's world collapsed a little.
Even the one place where he should have been able to vent his frustrations had betrayed him.
"Ahhh!"
With a shout, Draco jolted awake, tears still at the corners of his eyes.
Dudley had already withdrawn from Draco's dream and was now in the mysterious hall, smiling faintly as he watched Malfoy's current state.
"Damned... bloody hell... Why can't I even beat them in my dreams?" Draco pounded his fists against the mattress, his face flushed an ugly red.
It was bad enough being beaten in real life. Now he could not even win in his own dreams and had been counter-beaten instead. It was beyond humiliating.
Once Dudley decided the time was right, he stopped toying with Draco. A shaft of golden light descended, and an aura of sovereignty manifested out of nowhere, falling upon Draco's body.
"Hm?"
Draco stared at the sudden holy radiance in confusion.
Then, as that terrifying sense of authority washed over him, he understood at once. He scrambled off the bed and dropped to his knees.
"Night Emperor," Draco said reverently.
Ever since he had been ensnared by that strange diary and tried countless ways to free himself, only to have all of them fail, it had been the Night Emperor who had solved it with a flick of the hand. From that moment on, Draco's faith in the Night Emperor had become absolute.
"There is something you must do," Dudley said, his voice altered into a distant, sacred tone.
Draco's body trembled.
What was meant to come had finally come.
From the first time he had come into contact with the Night Emperor, he had been waiting for this day. He knew there was no free lunch in the world. If the Night Emperor helped him, he would eventually have to repay that favour.
Yet for over a year, the Night Emperor had never asked anything of him, which left Draco terrified and at a loss as to how to improve his standing in the god's eyes.
Now, at last, the mission he had dreamed of and dreaded had arrived.
He was afraid the task would be too difficult and beyond him. He was also afraid it would be too easy and show no value at all. His heart was a tangle of contradictory emotions.
"Please command me, Night Emperor," Draco said, voice shaking.
"Your father, Lucius Malfoy, has obtained a card bearing the word 'Emperor'. I require that card," Dudley said directly.
A god had no need for circling words.
At the mention of his father's name, Draco nearly jumped. But hearing that the Night Emperor only wanted a card, he let out a small breath.
"I will do everything in my power to complete your mission," Draco said carefully.
"Very good.
"When it is done, recite my honorific name.
"Offer the card to me as a sacrifice," Dudley continued.
"As you will," Draco answered at once.
The next second, he felt the oppressive presence vanish from around him. The world went quiet again.
"Phew..."
Even though it was not his first time facing the Night Emperor, Draco still felt as though he had stared into an endless abyss.
"A card belonging to my father... How does he know about that?" Draco frowned.
He had not known his father had acquired any such thing. Lucius had never mentioned it.
"If it can catch the Night Emperor's interest, that card is definitely not ordinary," Draco thought, brow furrowing deeper.
He did not hesitate over whether to carry out the task, only over how. He understood that anything the Night Emperor required must be extremely important, both to the god and to his father.
But one thing was clear: if he failed the Night Emperor, his own life might well be forfeit. Compared to that, losing the card was a smaller price to pay.
If his father was forced to choose between him and the card, Draco was certain Lucius would choose to lose the card, not his only son.
With that thought, the guilt weighing on him lightened considerably.
"I do not know if Father is asleep yet. I should go and see..."
He could not sleep anyway. If he stayed in bed, he would only end up getting 'beaten up' by dream-Dudley again. It was better to get up and see whether he could steal that card.
He knew that most of his father's important items were kept in the study. He even knew where the secret compartments were.
He crept down the corridor and made his way silently toward Lucius's study. When he reached the door, a sliver of light was visible through the gap, which meant his father was still inside.
Draco pressed himself to the door and listened.
To his surprise, the room was utterly silent. No movement, no voices.
"Already asleep?" he wondered.
He turned the handle very slowly and eased the door open, trying not to make a sound.
Light spilled out through the widening crack. Draco saw that the lamp on the desk was still burning, casting a pool of warm gold. In that glow, a figure sat holding what looked like a playing card, turning it over and examining it again and again.
"How do I trigger the secret?" the figure muttered under his breath, clearly troubled by some puzzle.
Draco stared at the card in his father's hand. He guessed this must be the one the Night Emperor wanted. He leaned forward slightly, trying to see whether the face bore the word 'Emperor'.
"What do you think you are doing?"
Lucius's voice suddenly sounded right behind him.