Barrry admired Nancy's courage, but his attention was drawn more to the girl standing behind her—Kristen.
This child… she had an unusual ability.
The desire to form a contract was already stirring inside him.
"I'm just a kindhearted passerby. Freddy knowing me—why is that strange? Doesn't he know you too, Nancy?" Barrry replied.
"That's different. We can only run… but you can actually hurt Freddy." Nancy spoke solemnly.
As someone who had fought Freddy before, Nancy understood all too well how terrifying he was.
The burned-faced demon couldn't be killed—not truly. As long as you were alive, he would eventually find you in your dreams and kill you in the most brutal way.
But Barrry had tossed Freddy around like dough—clearly, his level of power was no less horrifying.
"Then that thing you said to me before… does it mean you knew he would come after me?" Nancy realized something was wrong, like a giant invisible hand was pushing everything forward. And the black-haired man in front of her was definitely not normal. Maybe… not even human.
Behind the fake human exterior, he might be something even darker than Freddy.
Based on their earlier confrontation, Nancy formed her conclusion.
"I know far more than you think. If you two want to survive, we'll talk about it tomorrow. Right now… we're out of time."
After saying that, Barrry's body turned transparent and disappeared.
Nancy didn't have time to stop him. The space around her shattered like glass, and the moment her vision brightened—
She woke up.
The dream ended.
Nancy was frustrated. She didn't even get to ask how to contact him before he logged off.
Suddenly, her palm burned. She opened her hand and saw letters forming a word—a location.
Her hospital office.
---
The Next Day — In the Office
Nancy and Kristen sat together, discussing last night's dream. Nancy explained Freddy's true nature, while Kristen admitted she had the ability to pull others into dreams.
It was something she awakened when she was young, but after her parents' divorce, she stopped using it—until last night forced it out of her again.
Kristen: "So if Freddy is real… then that mysterious man, Barrry, is real too?"
Nancy nodded. "Yes. What do you think about him? You were right next to him that day."
"Me?" Kristen recalled that moment, the pair of golden eyes vividly returning to her mind.
"Those eyes… they didn't look human. They looked like… something woven out of fabric."
Nancy finally understood Kristen's reaction that day.
"So… it's likely he's not human," Nancy concluded.
Kristen fell silent.
Nancy didn't even know what to feel. Everything was getting too complicated.
One Freddy alone was already enough to push her to exhaustion. Now someone even more powerful appeared… and who knew what he would bring?
Good or bad—no one could say.
At least, Barrry and Freddy clearly weren't on the same side.
The silence grew heavy, so Kristen spoke first.
"Nancy… do you think he'll actually come?"
"I think so. He left a meeting place. And remember the last thing he said."
Knock knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
"Nancy, I'm here."
He arrived.
Barrry closed the door behind him.
Kristen immediately got up and moved closer to Nancy.
"Heh… am I that scary? No need to hide from me," Barrry said with a relaxed smile, sitting across from them.
Kristen awkwardly nodded, then shook her head.
"That hurts my feelings. I actually like making friends with kids your age," Barrry said, removing his Armani sunglasses, revealing his inhuman golden eyes.
Nancy's instincts screamed danger.
Her mother once told her: Freddy was a sick monster who loved tormenting children.
And Barrry's casual words struck the same nerve.
Nancy spoke first. "Mr. Barrry—may I call you that?"
"Of course. Or 'Uncle Barrry,' if you don't mind," he said, glancing at Kristen with a playful smile.
Kristen murmured, "Mr. Barrry," clearly tense.
Barrry didn't press her. There would be time later. If anyone needed to panic, it should be them.
After all, Freddy's killing efficiency was no less than Jason's. Freddy just preferred playing with his prey first.
"May I ask… are you the same kind of being as Freddy?" Nancy asked.
"You mean—am I human?" Barrry smiled. "By human standards, both of us would be considered demons. But our abilities are different—we have our own specialties."
"Specialties?"
"He kills in dreams. I destroy the physical body in reality."
Nancy didn't know how to respond. After a pause, she said, "You're very straightforward."
"I prefer honesty. Ask anything—you ask, and I'll answer if I feel like it."
Nancy continued, "So you and Freddy are enemies?"
"I'm the good guy, he's the bad guy. Good and evil don't coexist. Otherwise, I wouldn't have saved you."
Barrry said it calmly, his golden eyes shining with a sort of righteous conviction.
But whether it was real righteousness or just another mask… Nancy couldn't tell.
Still, she wanted to believe the former.
Because she couldn't keep running forever. Sleeping pills and avoidance weren't a solution.
"…Can you help us? We don't have the strength to fight Freddy," Nancy asked earnestly.
Barrry didn't say yes immediately. Instead, he looked straight at Nancy.
"This is not easy. It can be difficult… or very simple."
"In the real world, Freddy is nothing to me. He's like a stray dog. Nancy—I remember you once beat him in reality too, didn't you?"
Nancy froze.
How did he know that?
Was he there?
She couldn't understand it.
"I told you—I know a lot," Barrry smiled mysteriously.
Then he added:
"But in the dream world? That's his domain. And compared to him there… I'm just a rookie."