Here we go! Hope you enjoy this new chapter!
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The group—Long, Mai, Dreamy, and Miki—was inside the Dream Realm. The place was still truly beautiful, with green grass, white clouds, and golden sunlight pouring down, creating a peaceful atmosphere. But all of them knew that peace was hiding something horrifying.
Long suddenly patted himself all over.
"So this is what entering a dream feels like… I'm completely asleep in the real world now, huh…"
Mai suddenly cried out,
"Long, wait! There's something on your hand, your finger…"
Long was startled and looked carefully. On his hand was a strange, thick ring made of silver. In the center was a large blue gemstone. Carved onto the surface of the stone was the image of a Poodle, and every now and then, it emitted a faint light.
Dreamy spoke up.
"That is the EN container I told you about. Mai, touch your ear."
Mai reached up and touched her left ear. There was a silver earring there, with a small golden gemstone hanging from it. On the stone was the image of Miki, the golden dragon, glowing with golden light. That was Mai's EN container.
Long shouted in delight,
"Oh… so now I can freely use my own EN! Dreamy… assimilate—"
Before he could finish, Dreamy flew swiftly toward Long and struck him hard on the shoulder.
"You idiot! Not yet. We only assimilate when we're fighting. We need to save EN for the battle against Mary!"
Long rubbed his shoulder with his hand. Beside him, Mai covered her mouth and laughed at her friend's innocent foolishness.
Suddenly, the sky darkened. In the distance, rumbling sounds grew louder and closer. Mai panicked.
"What's happening?"
Rays of multicolored light stretched across the sky like long streaks. They flew chaotically at first, then gradually fell into formation, all heading toward Long's group. They were Mary's young warriors, her close followers.
The largest person among them flew forward and shouted with overwhelming force. His aura was terrifying, and his voice rang out like thunder.
"Empress Mary has given her command: any new guests who arrive in this world are to be brought to the castle so that she may personally greet them! Anyone who resists will be executed!"
Long turned to the others.
"This isn't good. It looks like they were prepared for us. What should we do?"
Mai looked at the powerful figures flying above them. She thought for a long while.
"We'll go with them to the castle."
Long was shocked.
"But isn't that the same as walking straight into death?"
Mai replied,
"Alice is definitely somewhere near Mary. As long as we can get close to Mary and her location, we'll have a chance to meet Alice. Fighting them now will only waste our EN before we even face Mary. We have to take this risk…"
Before Long could answer, Mai immediately raised her voice so the people in the sky could hear her.
"Brave warriors, we agree to let you take us to Empress Mary!"
Then Mai quickly turned and whispered something into Long's ear. After she finished, she winked at him as if to say, "It'll be fine!"
A Baku AI Witch from the group flew forward. Its eyes lit up, and several glowing rings appeared in the air. They flew toward the group, wrapping around each person's arms and binding their hands.
Dreamy glanced at Mai.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the whole group was lifted into the air. They were escorted away at a terrifying speed, heading straight toward Mary's castle.
After flying for a long while, a magnificent castle appeared before their eyes. It was made of white marble, surrounded by beautiful, sparkling, iridescent bubbles. Far in the distance were lush green meadows, where humans and Baku-shaped AI Witches worked together to care for the trees. Mary's soldiers flew in and out of the castle, and the atmosphere was solemn and imposing.
At the center of the castle stood a vast glass hall. From above, they could see Mary and her people already waiting inside.
Mary's escort began to slow down, then gradually descended into the hall.
At the highest point of the hall, in the seat of honor, Mary sat on a golden throne lined with red velvet cushions. Her eyes were clear and beautifully shimmering, her face delicate, and her lips deep red. Her eyes were enchanting, yet filled with a pensive air. Her white dress had thin silk ribbons that fluttered in the tremendous flow of power around her. She radiated the presence of a powerful, flawless, and beautiful being.
She took slow steps toward Long.
"You are quite brave to dare return here…"
Long's eyes were resolute.
"We came back to save villagers. They're slowly dying out there in the real world!"
Mary lifted Long's chin with her hand. At that moment, both of Long's arms were restrained by the magic rings. She looked into his eyes.
"Are you certain they will live better lives once they return to reality than they do here?"
Long gritted his teeth and glared at Mary in anger.
"Mary, are you sure this is their dream? Or is it only your own? Are you sure they'll be happy while their loved ones and their bodies are being destroyed outside in reality? This is a world of lies built by you!"
Mary floated gently into the air. She sighed. The tiny bells on her fair ankles rang softly. She turned her back to Long.
"I will give you another chance. Join my world. Here, you will constantly have your power upgraded and become my strongest, most trusted followers… You can live a beautiful life without worry."
Then she turned toward Long. With a slight movement of one finger, she used magic to move him. His arms dangled loosely, still restrained by the magic rings. With just that small motion, Long was immediately pulled into the air toward her.
"What do you think of my offer?"
Long lowered his head.
Then he smirked.
His eyes were filled with anger as he stared straight at Mary.
Blue energy and strange gusts of wind began to surge from his body.
His long ponytail lifted into the air. Then, little by little, the hair tie came loose, allowing his long hair to fly wildly with each wave of wind.
"Mary, you want my answer…? Then this will be my answer. Dreamy, assimilate!"
A thunderous explosion shook the entire great hall. Dust and smoke filled the air.
Within that smoke, blue light spread throughout the area. The magic rings binding Mai and the others' hands were easily crushed by Long.
Long said to Mai,
"Go find Alice. Leave this place to me!"
Before Mai stood a heroic young boy with a firm, powerful body, his hair fluttering under an incredible surge of energy. The EN-container ring on Long's hand shone continuously. Beside him was a large AI Witch. Though it had the form of a Poodle, its fur was pure white and fluffy, and wings had grown from its body like those of a divine hound. It was Dreamy.
Mai felt as though she had once again seen the boy from long ago, during the battle against the Witchiecoop Corporation.
Mai was rather flustered. Her heart wavered for a brief moment, and she said softly,
"Okay. I trust you. I'll go find Alice."
With that, Mai ordered Miki to create an illusion of herself still bound. In addition, she created countless other illusions of Long and herself. Then, hidden within the dust and smoke, she slipped into the castle.
When the smoke cleared, it revealed the illusions of the entire group. There were dozens of Longs and Mais.
Mary sat calmly on her golden throne, resting her chin on one hand as she sighed.
"How foolish you all are. Everyone, attack and destroy them!"
Mary's soldiers charged toward Long, Dreamy, and the other illusions with the force of a storm.
Mai slipped toward the right side of the hall, where an intermediate chamber led deeper into the castle. As she ran, she kept watch for Mary's soldiers. Outside, she could still hear the sounds of battle between Mary's troops and Long. Mai hurried through the castle, searching for Alice.
Mai asked Miki,
"Miki, can you create a spatial map of this castle?"
Miki replied,
"My lady, this is a dream world, not reality, so I cannot create one!"
Mai sighed. She truly had no way of knowing where Alice might be inside such a vast castle. She ran back and forth, trying to see whether there were any signs she could use, but everything was useless.
Suddenly, while she was running, a small figure blocked her path.
"Stop!"
Mai froze in alarm and looked carefully to see who it was. She was frightened, thinking the plan had been exposed.
It was Ti Ni.
"Mai, what are you doing here? Where is Sister Jen… Ah, no, where is that traitor?" Ti Ni asked, crossing her arms in a stern manner. But she could not hide the worry in her eyes when she asked about Jen. Little Ti Ni pressed her lips together and kept glancing at Mai's reaction.
Mai replied,
"Jen has returned to the real world and saved the monster…I mean Mrs. Suzan. That monster was actually Mrs. Suzan, Jen's mother, but she was harmed by Empress Mary… You saw it too!"
Ti Ni shouted angrily. She gripped her iron mace and pointed it at Mai.
"You're lying! Back then, I only hurt Sister Jen by accident because I accidentally inhaled the energy from the bubble… And… that monster couldn't possibly have been Mrs. Suzan. Jen would never abandon me…Empress Mary never lied…"
Then Ti Ni suddenly lowered her iron mace and began to sob.
"Is that true…? That day, after I went back and thought about it, I felt regret because I joined the others in hurting Sister Jen after getting intoxicated by the energy from the bubble… But is what you said really the truth? Did I also take part in torturing and killing the monster? I feel so scared and confused…"
Ti Ni fell to her knees, crying bitterly. Mai gently moved closer and embraced Ti Ni.
"What I said is true, but none of this is your fault. If you don't believe me, then from now on, look at everything with your own eyes. Listen with your own ears and your own heart…"
Mai looked straight into Ti Ni's eyes. She smiled gently, her gaze firm.
"Ti Ni, you know where Alice is, don't you? If you trust me, please lead me to Alice."
Ti Ni looked into Mai's eyes. The little girl seemed confused for a moment and thought for a long while. Then Ti Ni spoke.
"Follow me…"
Ti Ni led Mai through room after room inside the castle. The castle was truly vast and magnificent. Several times, they encountered soldiers, but Mai created illusions of Mary to distract them. Then she and Ti Ni continued toward a dark chamber.
There, Alice sat with lifeless eyes, completely motionless. She sat like a statue on the back of a gigantic Baku-shaped AI Witch named Bakky.
Bakky's eyes were ambitious and sinister as they stared at Mai and Ti Ni, sending chills down Mai's spine. Those were the same eyes they had seen when they fought Jen. There was no doubt about it. In Mai's research on AI Witches, there were powerful Dark AI Witches, and today, she had encountered one of them. They had been created by dark witches and criminals to serve dark purposes, and Mai's mother had been murdered by one of them.
Mai's old trauma began to resurface. She felt a chill run through her body, and then, almost instinctively, she hugged herself tightly with both arms as if she were freezing. The golden earring suddenly glowed, helping her regain her composure. Mai became calmer, because she herself had gained the color of her power after enduring emotional wounds.
Mai stepped forward cautiously.
"Alice… is that really you? Are you all right?"
"Hmph. Another little mouse has come here!" said the deep, gruff voice of a middle-aged man.
Mai flinched and turned around, trying to see clearly.
There stood a person in a black cloak. Half of his face was hidden, and he wore a wicked, slippery smile.
It was Jacob, Mary's advisor and close confidant.