Chapter 621
Killing the Nightmare
Chapter 621 Killing the Nightmare
Freddy, wearing a red and green knit sweater and a black hat, was sealed inside a mirror by Constantine.
The other person also seemed to be able to see the outside scene in the mirror.
With the added protection of the dream world, Freddy in the mirror arrogantly brandished his razor-sharp four-pronged claws on his right hand, a provocative smile on his face.
"It really is Freddy, he's back!!!"
"..."
Parents had only heard about nightmares from their children before, and some parents didn't even believe their children's words, thinking they were just playing pranks.
But now, the nightmare Freddy, with his severely burned face, appears in the mirror, instantly causing panic among the parents.
Their panic allowed Freddy's strength to continue to grow, and he even showed a satisfied expression on his face.
"Come help me!" Constantine, who was about to break free of the mirror seal as Freddy's power continued to increase, immediately shouted for help.
"In the name of the Father and the Mother of God... begone, demons..."
Father James's exorcism method was somewhat similar to Constantine's. He poured a large amount of holy water onto the mirror, then took out a small crucifix and began chanting exorcism incantations.
The nightmare Freddy in the mirror screamed in agony as if he had been thrown into a vat of boiling oil after being exposed to holy water and a blessed cross.
His previous composure was gone.
Protected only by a layer of dream power, Freddy, though in pain, showed no signs of being destroyed.
Upon seeing this, Bruce, the apprentice angel standing nearby, also gathered a ball of faith and projected it onto the mirror.
As the power of faith washed over him, the nightmare Freddy in the mirror roared even louder, and his skin began to slowly rot.
Clearly, the power of pure faith has damaged the other party's very essence.
Sensing something was wrong, Freddy gave Constantine and the other two a vicious look before his body gradually turned into mist, trying to escape back into the children's dream.
"Shit~ Come on, a few people, carry the mirror outside the church and use the sunlight to kill the demon..." Constantine shouted to the parents watching nearby as the demon was about to escape.
Mirrors are yin in nature and are inherently opposite to reality, plus Freddy's true form is a nightmare.
With double protection, even the power of an apprentice angel cannot kill it in a short time.
However, for a demon like Freddy who is still in its infancy, the sun is definitely its natural enemy.
Sunlight can wash away all evil.
However, the parents, who had never actually witnessed an exorcism ritual, were too afraid to approach the terrifying demon in the mirror.
"If you don't want your children to suffer, come and help quickly..." Constantine, who was struggling to hold onto the mirror, shouted a reminder to the parents.
For children……
Thinking of their children, several parents finally mustered up the courage to step forward and work together to lift the mirror out into the sunlight outside the church.
"Ow!!!"
Just as they were getting close to the door, a parent's arm was scratched by sharp claws that appeared in the mirror.
Immediately afterwards, other parents who came to help also had varying degrees of claw marks on their hands and arms.
"Don't be afraid, most of its power has been sealed by the mirror. It's just struggling in its death throes..." Constantine, whose hands also bore scratches, loudly reassured the parents.
Make sure they don't drop the mirror and run away out of fear.
And Constantine was right; the damage Freddy could project into reality in the mirror was very limited, at most like being cut on the arm with a razor blade—painful but not fatal.
However, just as the parents, suppressing their horror, finally carried the mirror to the doorway, the mirror in their hands suddenly began to shatter from the inside out.
It eventually shattered into a pile of broken glass.
"Damn it!" Constantine, who was almost successful, looked at the broken glass on the ground and showed a frustrated expression.
Clearly, the exorcism ritual failed. Freddy, who had shattered the mirror with his claws, eventually escaped back into the children's dreams.
And the dream world is Freddie's home turf.
Everything seems to have gotten worse than before.
"Mike, why didn't you make a move? I don't believe you're capable of handling a mere dream demon." After his frustration subsided, Constantine turned his gaze to Mike, who was calmly watching the show from the side.
"Relax, I'm here, there won't be any problems." Mike smiled and said, "Since they want to play, let's go to their home turf and have some fun."
With the [Dream World] feature as a safety net, the dream world is no longer Freddy's domain alone.
"Do you have a way to deal with that nightmare?" Constantine's expression also calmed down inexplicably when he saw Mike's calm demeanor.
“Of course, given how vile it is, simply eliminating it like this would be too lenient.” Mike glanced at the various expressions on the faces of the Elm Street residents around him and said, “Everyone gets a share. Now, let’s go and meet that nightmare in our dreams!”
As the aria ended, Mike used his hypnotic abilities to instantly pull everyone into the same dream.
"Freddy, we're not afraid of you!!!"
In this dream, five children, led by Christine, are confronting Freddy, who has just returned.
The skinny black boy named Max, because of his courage, transformed into a muscular man in his dream.
He was charging at Freddy with a fist as big as a sandbag raised.
"You don't even smell of fear on you???" Freddy frowned as he looked at the immature black kid in front of him.
The power of nightmares comes from fear.
Therefore, courage is the thing it hates most.
"Interesting. Let me see if you're really not scared~" Freddy, who had just been humiliated outside, immediately revealed an evil smile, wanting to take his anger out on the child in front of him.
So, as Max rushed in front of Freddy, Freddy instantly transformed into a giant.
The claws on his hands also turned into four guillotines, and he slashed down at Max's head.
"Behold my invincible divine fist!"
However, the thought processes of a child with chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) can be quite strange. Facing the mountain-sized Freddy, Max shouted passionate slogans.
He actually knocked away the sharp claws above his head with just his bare fists.
It even aptly produced a clanging sound like metal being struck.
"See? The best way to deal with nightmares is courage." Mike led a group of people closer to the battlefield and then said to them, "And this is your dream too. If you want to, you can do anything."
The most direct proof is that the black child Max believed his fists were as hard as iron, and therefore he had the ability to block claws with his fists.
"I think I understand~" As a group of familiar people appeared, Quentin, one of the five children who entered the dream first, no longer looked apprehensive, but rather eager to try. "Behold my fire magic!!!"
With another dramatic shout, Quentin conjured a wizard's robe for himself, and with a flick of his chopstick-like wand, a huge tongue of fire was unleashed.
This stopped Freddy, who was skeptical and wanted to launch another attack.
"Flaming flames... Whirlwind chili..."
Quentin, upon discovering that he could actually use magic, was like someone who had found a fun toy, and spells flew from his wand.
Soon, the enormous Freddy was surrounded by all sorts of magical spells.
And coincidentally, he was burned to death, so he had a fear of fire.
Therefore, Quentin really made things difficult for them for a while.
"Let's give it a try!"
After their fear of nightmares was dispelled, a large group of teenagers in the midst of their adolescent delusions couldn't contain themselves any longer.
"The Decepticons strike!!!"
Jesse shouted and transformed into a giant mecha warrior, charging into the battlefield.
Judging from his appearance, he is a mecha enthusiast.
"Thomas the Tank Engine is here!!!"
On the other side, an even younger child transformed into a cartoon train, cheering as he crashed into Freddy.
Then some people turned into Sailor Moon, while others became flying "Superman".
Children's rich imaginations have transformed them into various virtual characters that only appear in comics and on television.
Following that, the parents, whose imaginations were rather limited, transformed into "Rambo," wielding various firearms and joining the battle against the nightmare.
"Is this what you wanted?" Constantine looked at Mike curiously at the chaotic battle scene before him.
It should be noted that with the opponent's strength, eliminating Nightmare wouldn't require any extra effort.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I want. The best way to truly defeat a nightmare is to overcome fear. Otherwise, even if we eliminate Freddy, other nightmares will appear,” Mike explained with a smile.
Given the previous situation on Elm Street, the seeds of fear have already been sown. If not handled properly, the nightmare incident might evolve into a terrifying legend or "ghost story."
As long as someone remembers Freddy, it can be resurrected from fear.
This is good enough. It makes people realize that nightmares are not so terrible, and this will fundamentally prevent them from happening again.
"Damn it, how dare you treat me like this!! I'll make you all pay the price!!!"
In the center of the arena, Freddy, who had been pinned down and beaten by a group of people for half a day, finally erupted, and three gray-black evil thoughts with triangular heads and resembling small snakes emerged from his body.
Upon its appearance, it sent all the surrounding "hero" characters flying.
[Nightmare* Energy +200] x3... [Possession Ability (Trait)]... [Dream Weaving (Trait)]...
The three things that looked like small snakes were also nightmares.
They had previously possessed Freddy, which explains why Freddy's power increased so quickly.
As the three primal nightmares appeared, the evil aura surged instantly, making the surrounding air seem viscous.
Just as they were about to continue spreading fear, a large golden hand appeared and grabbed them.
Before the three primal nightmares could struggle, they were crushed into mincemeat by the giant hand and eventually turned into black smoke and dissipated.
After doing all this, Mike once again acted as if nothing had happened and watched the show from the back.
Freddy was in a terrible state; having lost his last resort, he became a "mortal" even in his dreams.
Then they were overwhelmed again by the children and parents who had come to their senses.
Half a day later, when Freddy was beaten beyond recognition and wanted to give up his power and escape, he was suddenly bound by a string of golden runes.
"Alright, now it's time to really deal with it." Mike, who was controlling the runes with one hand, snapped his fingers, and the dream began to shatter.
……
"Hey, I just dreamt I became a magician and taught that nightmare a lesson..."
"And me, I've become a mecha warrior..."
"..."
The children, still half-asleep from their sweet dreams, were not yet fully awake.
They excitedly shared the scenes from their dreams.
"Yes, it's Freddy. He was also brought out of the dream..."
Then someone noticed that there was something in the center of the church that looked like a charred corpse.
Although their faces were obscured, everyone knew that it was Freddy, the nightmare that had appeared in their dreams before.
“Now, as long as we kill it, all the nightmares will end,” Mike said to the crowd, pointing to the nightmare locked by golden runes.
There are two ways to deal with evil spirits. One is to dispel the evil thoughts in the spirit's heart, allowing it to transcend. The other is to directly destroy the evil spirit.
Freddy's actions clearly make him unworthy of salvation. Therefore, eliminating him completely is the best option.
Without the protection of the dream world, Freddy is just an ordinary evil spirit, easily killed.
However, when the evil spirit from the dream actually appeared before them, even though it was very weak, the adults and children couldn't help but feel fear.
"You lambs, I curse you all to go to hell..."
Seeing the fear on everyone's faces, Freddy burst into arrogant laughter again.
"May the Holy Father and Holy Mother protect you... Freddy, you are guilty of grave sins, you are the one who should go to hell..."
At the crucial moment, the old nun stepped forward and slapped Freddy across the face with the crucifix in her hand, freezing his smug smile.
Then a group of parents stepped forward, condemning Freddy's crimes while executing this evil nightmare.
“Very good, because of your courage, it’s all over.” Mike, who was in charge of cleaning up, used his purifying power to sweep away the debris on the ground, ensuring that Freddy had no chance of reappearing. He then smiled and said to the parents, “Congratulations to you all as well. You have protected your children’s dreams with your actions.”
……
(End of this chapter)