"Seems like you piles of trash didn't hear what I said."
The crowd was confused. They didn't know what this kid was trying to say.
"Hey, what is he talking about??"
"I can't understand him at all."
"Rub your nose on the ground... what does he mean by this??"
"Seems like he's playing around."
Is this... Desired End? I don't know, but the way Leviathan appeared and this kid... All of this feels like... like I'm the one behind this. And the Leviathan isn't attacking us at all. It feels like it doesn't recognize us as its prey. It's something that could happen in Desired End. And this kid... is he a butler?
"I'll say it again... RUB YOUR NOSE ON THE GROUND, YOU PILES OF TRASH!!"
The crowd erupted in rage after hearing the kid's words. Well, it was obvious they would. No one would take orders from a child.
"What're you trying to say, brat?"
"You're just a kid! You don't have any right to order us!!"
"Why would we rub our noses on the ground??"
"This isn't a time to play, kid!!"
"Go sleep in your mom's lap!"
"Guys, let's teach this kid a lesson!!"
"Yeah, let's go!"
"Yeahhh!"
Four men... There were four of them. They stepped in front of the kid.
"Kid... you're too small, aren't you?"
The others burst into laughter.
"Pfttt pfttt, for real, he's so small, and he's still ordering us."
"Then let's teach him a lesson."
One of the men grabbed the kid's collar and lifted him up.
I don't feel good about this... Was this in Desired End? Wait... if it was, then maybe... I can confirm it. But before that, I need to do something about this. Something... Something doesn't feel right.
The man clenched his left fist, aiming to punch the kid's face.
"Now pay for what you said earlier."
The kid spoke.
"Try it if you can, piece of trash."
The man flew into a rage.
"Die, brat!!"
He swung his fist toward the kid's face, but—
"EVERYONE GET DOWN!!"
I shouted. Those who heard me dropped to the ground immediately. But those who didn't...
SPLAT!
Their heads were crushed by an invisible force. Multiple heads... Uncountable heads.
I wasn't able to see much, but the kid clenched his right hand into a fist. And the moment he did, he looked towards the man.
Just after that, heads exploded.
SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!
Such destructive power... It truly is... It's like he can kill us however he wants with just his hands.
The four men surrounding the kid, women, children, men—everyone who was standing and simply watching the scene—
All crushed.
The only survivors were those who heard me and got down or those who were already sitting.
The whole atmosphere changed.
Screams. Cries. The smell of blood.
"Honey!! Honey!! Wh-What ha-happened?"
"Dad! Noooo! It c-can't be!"
"Brother! What happened to Mom's head?? Is she... our mom? Why is everyone crying, brother?"
"Why... Why... I told you... I told you to stay at home today..."
Kids losing their parents. Wives losing their husbands. Tragic scenes unfolded in front of me.
The kid—no, the butler—was laughing.
"Pfttttt pfttt, Hahahahahahahahaha! How does it feel?? Does it feel good, my favorite piles of trash? Hahaha! It's so fun to watch."
Futaba survived, but he was in shock. He wasn't saying anything, just staring at the ground the entire time.
And me... I just stood there.
...
My guess seems right. I saved many lives, but... how is this possible? How am I inside my novel?? Is Desired End becoming reality?? Does that mean this is an Endless Dream??? Have I... and the whole world... entered an Endless Dream?
But how? How do I survive?? Surviving in an Endless Dream, where there's no way to survive...
If this truly is my novel, then he's about to come now. If he comes, then this is definitely an Endless Dream.
[ Quest 1 begins in 5 minutes ]
Everything is happening exactly as it did in the novel.
I started running slowly.
Where... Where is he? Brown hair... brown hair... Where is that brown-haired boy?
I caught a glimpse of brown hair.
There he is!
A boy with brown hair, covered in blood and tears, walked toward a body. It must be his mother's body, and the one sitting beside her must be his sister.
They are the family that was walking earlier! Is this really the kid who will—
His sister spoke.
"Brother, what happened to Mother?"
The brother was completely in tears.
"S-She is o-okay, she had some w-work... No, she died."
What..? He told her the truth!
"Mom is dead now, and the one responsible for this is that bastard over there!"
He pointed towards the butler.
"I see."
"Chaeyoung."
"Yes, brother?"
He started walking towards the butler.
"I'll take revenge for Mom's death. You sit here and wait for me."
It's happening...
A 14-year-old boy, Han Seeyoung, walked through the sea of corpses towards the butler, who was still laughing over the dead bodies.
Han Seeyoung, a 14-year-old boy with brown hair and hazel-colored eyes, stormed through the bloodstained ground... I was seeing the psychopath of my novel in front of me.
How... How is this possible?
The cold eyes. The cold walk. The neutral expression on his face... I was witnessing everything I wrote come to life before my very eyes.
The butler noticed Han Seeyoung approaching.
"Hohh, a new character... Can you tell me what's your problem this time?"
Han Seeyoung erupted in rage.
"Son of a— Do you know what you've done? You killed my mother! I have a little sister who is too small to understand any of this. She needs a mother to care for her! And you... You stole that mother from her!!"
The butler seemed amused.
"I see, that's so bad, but death comes for everyone someday. There's no point in crying over it."
The butler's body began to grow, transforming into that of a 16-year-old boy. He bent forward towards Han Seeyoung.
"Do you wish to go to the same place where she went?"
Han Seeyoung backed off slightly.
"You mean the afterlife?"
"Yes, but in this world, we don't call it the afterlife."
Han Seeyoung seemed confused.
"Wh-What do you mean?"
The butler smirked.
"I mean THE VOID."
GULP
"T-The Void..?"
"Yes. The Void is the afterlife of this world. No one can escape it. Every soul gets devoured by The Void. So your mother's soul is now—"
A fist shot toward the butler's face, but he caught it effortlessly with one hand. A twisted grin spread across his face.
"Too bad. If you had let me finish, I would've told you more… but now? I won't say a word."
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY ANYTHING ABOUT MY MOM!!"
Han Seeyoung roared.
The crowd gasped.
"What is he doing?!"
"We should stop him! He's going to get killed!"
"Kid, come back! It's too dangerous!"
"Don't mess with him!"
Han seeyoung clenched his fists.
"I DON'T CARE HOW STRONG YOU ARE… I'LL HUNT YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!!"
He started walking back towards his sister who was standing still in the crowd.
The butler chuckled. His eyes gleamed with amusement.
"We've got an interesting one."
I stood there, paralyzed.
I am the author of Endless Dream, and I just witnessed one of my novel's most important events unfold before my eyes.
I was shocked. And terrified.
The butler let out a long sigh.
"I suppose I should explain the situation to all of you."
The crowd stiffened. Fear and confusion was all over their face.
"As you all may already know, this is a dream. Or to be more precise—this dream is now your reality."
Murmurs spread among the people.
"Huh? What is he talking about?"
The Butler heard them.
"Wait… you guys didn't know this was a dream?"
A man in the crowd answered.
"No… we didn't."
The butler tilted his head.
"Seriously? Tch… Fine. Let me make it simple."
"The world you lived in before you fell asleep? It's gone. Replaced. This dream is your new reality. Right now, your physical body is still lying in bed, but everything you do here will affect that body."
He smirked.
"Welcome to this endless-"
The questions came flooding in.
"If this is a dream… does that mean we'll wake up eventually?"
"So the people who just died… didn't actually die in real life?"
"If this is a dream, we should just wait it out, right?"
"But what about this 'quest' thing…?"
The butler clicked his tongue.
"When did I give you permission to speak?"
He swung his hand through the air.
"DIE."
SPLAT!
The heads of the people who had spoken exploded in an instant. Blood sprayed across the ground.
I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to stay silent. One wrong move… and I was dead.
"NOOOOO! HONEY, OPEN YOUR EYES!!!"
"DAD!!!"
More screams.
SPLAT!
More heads rolled.
"I said, stay silent."
The butler's voice was calm.
Too calm.
The survivors desperately clamped their hands over their mouths, trying to not make a sound. They had seen what happened to those who failed.
And I… I was responsible for this.
If I hadn't written this much pain into the story… these people wouldn't have died.
Everything was playing out exactly as I had written.
The butler straightened his tie.
"Now then, do not speak unless I allow it. Understood?"
The crowd nodded.
The butler's grin widened.
"Good. Now, listen carefully. This is an Endless Dream. It will not end. Which means you can never wake up. No matter how much you try, you are trapped here forever."
His words sent a cold chill down my spine.
"And here's the fun part."
The butler's smirk deepened.
"Everything you do here… happens in reality too. Get a scar on your hand? You'll have it when you wake up. Destroy a building? It crumbles in real life. Kill someone? They die in both worlds."
He spread his arms wide.
"Your 'reality' has changed. And there's no going back. You may speak now."
A hesitant murmur spread through the crowd.
"I-I see…"
"S-So what do we do now…?"
"There's nothing left anymore, is there…?"
The butler snapped his fingers.
"I have a gift for you all."
I felt my stomach drop.
It's finally happening.
I turned to my holographic screen.
[ Quest 1 begins in 00:03 ]
.
.
[ Quest 1 begins now ]
[QUEST 1 - COLD BLOODED ]
[ DIFFICULTY - D ]
[ KILL ANYONE WHO'S IMPORTANT TO YOU ]
[ TIME LIMIT - 10 MINUTES ]
[ REWARD - 500 COINS ]
[ FAILIURE - DEATH ]
I am guilty for this.
〆 Welcome to your new reality—where even dreams bleed.
— The Butler