Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 80: A small nightmare

Vale watched as Erok shouted. "What is happening?" The assassin tried to lash out with darkness, but he didn’t feel his essence. It was as if he were reaching for a limb that never existed.

Vale knew then that something was wrong for him. The darkness around Erok ripped and surged like ink, pooling together. When everything settled, only Tiber was standing there, his eyes locked on Erok. "I think we’ve played enough," Tiber said.

He gestured, and Erok flew toward him with a scream. He tried to move, but an invisible force held him, drawing him close to Tiber, who caught him by the neck.

Tiber looked down at him and smiled faintly. "Off we go then."

Darkness covered everything like a rolling tide.

When Erok opened his eyes, he found himself on the first floor, bound by chains of darkness curled into his shadow. Vale stood there with the others, and from the look on his face, he already knew things had gone terribly wrong.

Vale frowned. "You just disturbed my sleep with the stunt you pulled."

"What?" Erok asked blankly. He tried to remember how he’d ended up in the present situation, but the last thing he recalled was staring at the building. Then, he’d seen someone looking at him... their eyes met, and then... nothing.

Danger screamed in his head, and he sat up. Vale watched silently. Erok thought, I’m supposed to kill these three! Just how?!

Just then, memories flooded back to him—how he’d killed them, what he did to them, and how they came back to life... and then...

Slya snickered. "I think he remembers now. What did you even do to him, Tiber? He was staring blankly when I used conjured chains to drag him inside."

"I pulled him into a dream," Tiber said calmly, his voice dark.

The sound of Tiber’s voice made Erok tremble. Darkness crowded his vision before he regained clarity again.

Then Vale could see the understanding hit him.

’A dream? But I wasn’t sleeping! How? Was it then?! When I locked eyes with him. But that was only for an instant!’

Vale turned to Tiber with raised brows. So the ability he’d given him was actually more useful than he thought.

He rubbed his eyes wearily. "What dream did you give him? He looked scared just before he woke up."

"Just a small nightmare," Tiber said with a small smile.

"Did you get any information?" Vale asked. He wasn’t surprised an assassin had come after them; after all, it was the fastest way for the Ten to eliminate him and the others.

"Yes. He was sent by Fell, but this guy, Erok, is a member of Team 28, assassins used by the Scuffed Bones," Tiber said.

"Fell? That’s the team leader of rank three, right? That’s also the leader of the Scuffed Bones in this Layer."

"Yes," a voice answered from the stairs. Xan appeared in his nightclothes, holding a dagger. "I heard a disturbance," he explained when everyone turned to look at him.

Vale understood what had happened. "So an assassin was sent by the Scuffed Bones, not the Ten. That means their meeting didn’t go as the Scuffed Bones wanted. Quite sneaky of him to react this fast."

"We should be getting news from the Ten then," Slya said. Essence flowed from her and into the formation holding the chains that bound Erok.

Xan nodded and grimaced. "That is if another assassin doesn’t actually finish the job."

Erok, for all the bloodlust he emitted, sat there confused. He had no intention of doing anything. It was as if he’d accepted his fate. Anytime an idea flashed through his mind, an urge to cause trouble, he looked like he was submerged in water.

And then... he’d forget what he was about to do.

Vale stayed in silence, all of them looking at Erok. He yawned. "Maybe because this one doesn’t look like an assassin I’d expect them to use."

"Are they feeling out the waters?" Tiber asked.

Vale frowned. "Perhaps. We’ll take turns standing watch tonight. Slya, take care of the rat."

The chains around Erok trembled and began to constrict like a coiled serpent.

"Wait, Slya!" Tiber faced Vale. "I’ve already taken care of it. Can you leave it to me?"

Vale’s frown deepened, but then he shrugged. "If you say so."

Tiber nodded and gestured for Slya to release him. She hesitated but eventually did. The chains around Erok dissolved into darkness. Erok scrambled upright, moving backward with his hands raised defensively.

Tiber chuckled. "You can go."

"What?" Slya and Xan asked in unison, looking from the assassin to Tiber. Even Erok looked as if he couldn’t believe his ears. He watched them warily, waiting for a trick.

Tiber repeated, "You can go. Just don’t do it again."

Erok opened his mouth but thought better of it. He shadow-walked toward the door, still facing them. When he saw they weren’t making any moves, he used shadow steps to exit the building as fast as he could.

Vale watched Tiber. "That was interesting, but really, why?"

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Later, Vale learned that Erok ran as fast as he could, using a combination of shadow steps and natural running to get as far from the building as possible. To think he’d been caught in an illusion from the very beginning.

To be pulled into a dream... apparently, it shook him badly. That wasn’t something he’d trained against as an assassin, and now he knew better. Vale made a mental note: he must find an artifact that can protect against the mind!

Before long, Erok reached the base of Team 28 and was quickly and quietly admitted into the building. He ignored the others as he made his way to the leader’s room.

He knocked quickly on the wooden door and received a reply. "Enter."

He stepped into the dimly lit room, illuminated only by a red lantern on the table. A man sat behind it, pale with almost too-large eyes.

Elwim, the leader, watched him and leaned back in his chair. "So, how was it?"