Chapter 801: Hatred Maxed Out

"Hm?"

As if vaguely sensing something, the gray fog giant, soaked entirely in the River of Nightmares and slowly squeezing into reality, slowly opened its eyes.

After rising from the pitch-black river reflecting countless nightmares, the King of Nightmares' withered hand slowly opened, extending sharp, hooked, twisted fingers that sliced through the gray fog of its own chest and abdomen like cutting flesh, severing a pale nightmare and clutching it tightly in its palm.

Was it the Snow Woman? Has she been dealt with so quickly?

The vertical slit in its palm split open, revealing a hollow gray eye that pressed tightly against the pale nightmare; after observing its contents, the King of Nightmares' withered face twitched slightly in frown.

Inside the pale nightmare, the storm and snow raged as they always had, but the slender woman in thin robes, like a spirit of winter, no longer drifted gracefully through the blizzard as before.

This once-feared spirit of wind and snow, which had appeared in countless dreams of northern humans and devoured innumerable lost souls, was now bound tightly with ropes to a pile of tree branches and dragged downhill by a strange demon with horns on its head.

And from the horned demon's mouth came a strangely cheerful tune, utterly shattering the cold, solemn atmosphere of the pale nightmare; the catchy, odd rhythm was strangely earworm-like and unforgettable.

Even the thorn-crowned hound beside the horned demon, stitched together from countless torn flesh fragments, had learned most of it after hearing it a few times—its barks now faintly synced to the beat.

After hearing the demon and the dog sing it two or three times, the cheerful little tune had strangely burrowed into the King of Nightmares' memory, and began spreading uncontrollably into other nightmares vaguely connected to it.

"Woof woof woof~ I love you~ Woof woof woof woof sweet sweet~"

Whether it was the mountain village buried by an avalanche, the traveler frozen to death in the blizzard, the tragedy of losing a loved one in the storm, or the family destroyed in a snow-lit night…

Using the King of Nightmares' memory as a link, dozens of nightmares tied to snow—regardless of their specific details—all suddenly echoed that cheerful, odd little tune, some even showing faint, blurry silhouettes of the horned demon humming happily.

What the hell is this thing?

Watching the portion of his nightmares suddenly contaminated and inexplicably filled with cheerfulness, the King of Nightmares' withered cheeks twitched twice, then hurriedly sank back into the River of Nightmares.

Under the repeated washing of the pitch-black waters and countless nightmares, the strange tune finally quieted slightly, no longer spreading wildly through the King of Nightmares' entire network of nightmares.

But what made the King of Nightmares deeply uneasy was that the strange melody—half human voice, half dog bark—seemed deeply carved into its memory; no matter how much it washed, it could not be fully erased, still lurking in the depths, feeling as if it might suddenly hum a few notes at any moment.

I think I finally understand what that damn Water Bearer Director meant…

Watching the Snow Woman in the pale nightmare, screaming and struggling but still being forcibly dragged down the mountain, the King of Nightmares' vertical eye, split open in its palm, narrowed slightly as it recalled the Water Bearer Director's earlier instructions.

'Strike at your fastest speed, pour your purest power directly into him, and absolutely give him no chance to speak or scheme!'

Indeed… this is exactly what should be done!

Recalling the haunting, demonic melody, a sharp gleam flashed in the King of Nightmares' eyes.

This cleaner's mind holds too many strange things, many of which are outright meaningless garbage—but somehow, they stick in your head. Like that strange little tune just now: heard only twice, it forced itself into my memory without permission, impossible to wash clean.

Memory is the foundation and flesh of dreams; for me, a dream-world entity, a mind full of such strange memories is pure contamination—an unspeakable poison.

For dream-world entities, memory is as vital as the soul is to humans—an absolute necessity that cannot be discarded. This level of contamination is extremely dangerous, and equally lethal.

I, made of nightmares, cannot be killed; even if the Cleaners destroy me now and erase my existence entirely, as long as the Abyss of Fallen Souls continues spewing nightmares, I will inevitably awaken again.

But if I interact too much with this strange cleaner and too many of my nightmares become contaminated, not only will my power decline due to massive nightmare loss, but I may even collapse entirely.

I must kill him!

After deeply recognizing Li Ang's 'danger,' the King of Nightmares clenched its hooked claws, crushing the Snow Woman's nightmare outright, then closed every eye on its body, sinking deeper and deeper into the pitch-black River of Nightmares.

No matter the cost—even if I am killed outright by the Cleaners—I must make sure he dies!

…

"Ugh…"

Unaware that he had already been targeted by the enemy boss's hatred, with a kill priority even higher than the 【Dream-Eating Armor】, Li Ang, still dazed from sleep and clutching his head as he rose from the ground, slowly regained his memories buried under the snow.

The howling blizzard mountain, the idiot mountain climber woman without winter gear, the Scorpion Director pulling a sled… damn it all!

Recalling what he had endured in the nightmare, Li Ang let out a shaky hiss.

Though the Snow Woman had no other means of attack besides summoning storms and snow, she possessed the ability to erase memories; I only blinked for a moment while watching the Scorpion Director lift his leg to urinate, and instantly forgot who I was—utterly indefensible.

According to the Scorpion Director's account, she seemed to possess power comparable to a Level One Cleaner; meaning anyone with contamination below thirty, once dragged into her nightmare, would likely suffer the same fate as me—having their memories silently stripped away.

At that point, the person trapped in the dream would lose all means of resistance, and even their perception would be twisted; seeing a woman in a dress walking through the snow, I didn't find it strange at all—instead, I unconsciously fabricated a dozen possible explanations and even thought about helping her find a mountain guide.

If not for my unique memory—containing not only Li Ang Lyen's memories but also those from my past life—where losing one set still left another—I might have, in my confused state, foolishly followed her deeper into the mountains out of kindness, only to freeze to death in the blizzard.

Hmm… right, and that dog!

Recalling the dream scene from a 'third-person perspective,' a flash of understanding lit up Li Ang's eyes.

It didn't seem significant while I was in the dream, but now, looking back, it was definitely not ordinary.

Even while fighting in the Snow Woman's nightmare, it could roar and scatter the entire blizzard, pinning her down—likely an anomaly at Level One Cleaner strength. Without it, I might never have dragged the Snow Woman down the mountain and escaped the nightmare… wait!

Looking down at his winter gear, still half-dazed, Li Ang shuddered violently, fully snapping awake, then whirled around.

"Holy shit! It really got pulled out!"

(End of Chapter)