"March! Be careful!"
Wende decisively moved to protect the still-bewildered March. The Yang Sword in his hand instantly parried the scavenger's attack, and with a swift slash to the throat, he finished it off cleanly within the bedroom.
"Wen... Wende, what was that? Why were there two of you? And one of them turned into a Punklorde scavenger..."
March, looking thoroughly frightened, clutched "Wende's" arm, at a complete loss. Her large, pink-and-blue eyes were wide with terror.
"Really? Isn't there only one of me? Hahahaha!"
Still in a state of shock, March didn't notice anything strange about the person before her. She just snuck a peek at the scavenger that had been slain on the spot, the fear in her eyes yet to dissipate.
"Wende, don't laugh... I'm scared..."
Hearing "Wende's" rather eerie laughter, March couldn't help but feel that something was off. She lifted her head slightly to look, and a terrifying mechanical skull was staring right at her. The arm she was holding had, at some point, turned into a withered bone...
"WAAAAAH! A GHOST! HELP!"
March was instantly scared out of her wits. She staggered and fell to the ground. Seeing the approaching metal skeleton, she scrambled backward on her hands and feet until she was pressed against the wall. Only then did March realize that she had inadvertently blocked her own escape route... The door was on the other side!
"I'm dreaming, right...? This has to be a dream, right?! But why... why is it a nightmare?!"
Staring at the狰狞 face of the metal skeleton, March was struck by a sudden burst of courage. Her longbow materialized in her hand, and she swung it around, bringing it down squarely on the skeleton's head!
"THWACK!"
As if she'd struck a metal sphere, the skull detached from its fragile neck the moment March's bow connected. The hideous skull bounced off the room's wall before clattering onto the floor. The entire body of the metal skeleton, having lost its cranium, collapsed to the ground.
"Hah... hah..."
March leaned against the wall, her face numb with shock, panting heavily. She was truly terrified. What on earth was happening? Was she really dreaming? Why had both of the Wendes she saw turned into monsters?
---o---
The once-closed door was pushed open again. "Wende," holding a longsword, appeared at the bedroom entrance with a panicked expression. Seeing that March was unharmed, he seemed to let out a sigh of relief and lowered his sword. He then hurried over to the wary March, wanting to check if she was injured, but was promptly met with a sharp arrowhead pressed against his forehead.
"Prove you're Wende!"
March's expression was cold as she drew her bow taut. If the Wende before her showed the slightest hint of being off, the arrow in her hand would pierce through his head without hesitation.
"Alright..."
Seeing this, "Wende" shook his head helplessly and began to recount stories about "himself" that only March would know...
---o---
"March?"
The real Wende, who had just been interacting with March, watched with a puzzled expression as "himself" explained something to her. Was this what March was dreaming about right now?
Frowning, Wende subconsciously tried to appear in front of March, to get rid of the imposter and tell her what was happening so she could wake up immediately!
Although he didn't know what "data erosion" signified, his 'Herrscher of Corruption' PTSD alarm was already blaring!
If March was completely eroded by that thing, nothing good would come of it!
But no matter how he called out, March remained like a person trapped in a soundproof prison, completely unable to hear his words. Her gaze toward the imposter began to soften, as if she was starting to believe the lies spilling from its mouth...
"This is bad!"
Wende's brow furrowed tightly. He had a terrible feeling about this. If that imposter attacked March when her guard was down...
He had to think of a way to warn her.
Wende slowly passed through the wall. In this state, he was, ironically, more like the 'ghost' March had been screaming about. It seemed neither March nor the imposter could see him, and he was unable to affect March in any way...
After seeing that all physical means were ineffective, Wende immediately began to circulate the Chaos energy within his body, attempting to use it to warn March not to believe the imposter's nonsense...
Finally, to his delight, Wende discovered he could actually use his Chaos energy to move the metal skull on the floor. That was enough!
Wende decisively took control of the metal skull and slammed it violently into the imposter!
"CLANK!"
A crisp sound rang out. March looked behind her, confused. The "Wende" who had just been cheerfully recounting anecdotes from his arrival on the Astral Express suddenly collapsed to the ground. His form then warped and shifted, ultimately becoming a monster identical to the first metal skeleton.
"!!! Aah! I can't take it anymore! What the hell is going on?!"
March, who thought she had just found her pillar of support, instantly broke down and screamed. But then, she saw a metal skull floating slowly before her eyes. Its empty eye sockets were staring lifelessly at her...
"Sob... what's happening... Why are they all monsters? Stelle, Dan Heng... and Wende, come save me!"
March felt her limbs go weak. She no longer even had the strength to swing her bow and send the terrifying skull flying...
But the skull didn't attack her as she expected. Instead, it began to repeat a strange motion in mid-air.
March, I hope you haven't forgotten what I taught you...
Wende, controlling the skull's movements with his Chaos energy, prayed inwardly as he saw the thoughtful expression appear on March's face.
"This is..."
Watching the skull bob up and down in the air, March felt that its movements were somehow familiar, like...
"There are many types of massage techniques, and the rolling method is one of the most common. Besides what I've already taught you, the key points of the movement are..."
Recalling the scene of Wende teaching her massage techniques, March's mouth fell open in disbelief as she stared at the still-dancing skull.
"You're... Wende?"