"Your brother can't do it either?"
"He can't."
Kokushibo bluntly said: "He is a supremely sharp sword, touching it means death, there is no need for defense."
Kibutsuji Muzan's heart twisted, and he couldn't help recalling that night when he first encountered the fiery swordsman, angrily saying, "What is Nightmare doing?"
"People who have fallen asleep, how could they have conscious defenses?!"
Kokushibo remained silent. He too didn't know what that offline demon was doing. He glanced at him with one eye... Akaza and Ryu also looked over immediately, realizing something was wrong!
"Where is your hypnosis?"
Nightmare looked soulless, his eyes vacant as he stared ahead, without answering.
Ryu couldn't cut through Roy, so he reached out to touch Nightmare's shoulder, only for Akaza to catch him midway!
"Don't touch him!" With red brows and golden eyes, emblazoned with a large "Three," Akaza sat right next to Nightmare, his nostrils flaring as he keenly detected something unusual.
"Akaza, what did you find?"
The eye demon turned, noticing Akaza's actions, Kibutsuji Muzan's words abruptly surfacing in his mind.
[Flipping through, checking... deciding the life and death of subordinates instantly is precisely Kibutsuji Muzan's exclusive ability to control demons...]
Akaza lowered his head, respectfully saying, "Reporting to Lord Muzan, I think perhaps Nightmare discovered something."
Relying on manipulating dreams to control others, this demon's fighting style is different from most demons. Nightmare's bizarre state might be related to his struggle with someone in a dream.
[Dream] is also the second Blood Demon Art that Nightmare awakened after [Compulsory Sleep Hypnosis Whisper].
He can, after hypnotizing others, trap them in a dream he creates.
Unlike naturally formed dreams, Nightmare's creations are not infinitely expansive but form a dream circle around the dream's owner, with the area beyond being the owner's unconscious domain.
Each dream owner's unconscious domain harbors a "spiritual core." If this core is destroyed, the dream owner loses consciousness and becomes a wasted person, unable to resist even if killed.
In the original work, Nightmare, through the "Dream Rope," controlled others into entering Kyojuro Rengoku's "dream," intending to destroy his "spiritual core," but unfortunately, was thwarted by his strong self-consciousness, controlling his body, instinctively subduing several people, thus evading disaster.
Moreover, it is noteworthy that the "unconscious domain" of ordinary people is empty, with nothing present, yet it does not exclude the possibility that some with strong self-awareness might see other things in their unconscious domain after entering the dream.
"The reason Nightmare is in such a state might be related to something he saw...."
Akaza detailed his hypothesis to Kibutsuji Muzan. He wasn't a fool; on the contrary, it's precisely because of his extremely high "combat talent" that Muzan noticed and discovered him... Naturally, after receiving the order to kill Roy, he learned about Nightmare's abilities and spoke without reservation: "Lord Muzan can attempt to look into Nightmare's memory, perhaps then you'll find the answer."
I won't!
Kibutsuji Muzan coldly denied: "I'm not here to listen to your nonsense; before he fully awakens, quickly move and kill him for me!"
One time... two times... "unexpected situations" would always occur, and the thing Kibutsuji Muzan hated most was any event that went beyond his control!
He said with a stern face, "If it's you, there shouldn't be a problem."
Akaza stood up, clenched his fist: "Although a gang fight goes against the samurai code, since it's Lord Muzan's order..."
[Technique Unleash·Disorder Style·Destructive Kill!]
Fist out, bringing waves of shock, like a torrential downfall of pear blossoms!
As Ryu felt the gust from the fist, unwillingly gave way to Akaza... The spider web withdrew, rain-like punches came thundering in like cannonballs....
[In the Dream]...
Roy deliberately entered the dream,
feeling the external [Ken] ripple like waves, he concentrated and slightly increased his telekinesis output, further strengthening [Ken], then leaned on his sword as he stood in his own dream, gazing into the distance, separated by his unconscious domain...
In a boundless white world, unable to distinguish east from west...
A series of footsteps gradually echoed... Then Nightmare's excited, yet perversely magnetic, proud hum reached him...
Whirling around Roy's ears...
"I can feel Lord Muzan's cells are afraid, desperately urging me to kill you quickly."
"Kamado Eiichiro, right? I hope you understand, as his subordinate, I must obey Lord Muzan's orders, even if it costs me my life for him..." Nightmare strolled leisurely, lightly biting a finger, looked at Roy with infatuation, whispering: "I'm willing."
A biting dog doesn't bark, but those little dogs with no real skill, relying on their owner's support, yapping wildly.
In the original, due to Ryu's death, from six Lower Moons, five were culled, leaving only Nightmare. It must be said, as a "little dog," its extreme flattering towards Muzan had its reasons, being favored with ghost blood by Muzan.
Unfortunately...
"Muzan isn't here; he can't hear your licking."
"It's fine."
Nightmare gave a faint smile: "Once I kill you, Lord Muzan will naturally know my loyalty."
So... Nightmare tilted his head to look: "May I see your 'spiritual core'?"
With those words, Nightmare raised his hand, flung a rope woven from a dreamy mist, hooking around Roy's wrist,
[Blood Demon Art: Dream Rope. (Note: Nightmare's special dream rope can invade the bound individual, achieving control through dreams.
In use, simply tie one end to the target's hand and the other to yourself to invade the opponent's consciousness domain.]
"Whoosh~" The rope coiled around Roy's wrist, tying a knot.
So easily... It somewhat surprises.
Nightmare raised an eyebrow: "You don't resist?"
"Why resist?" Roy permitted Nightmare's actions, smiled at him: "Excellent employees like you are rare, I... decided to give you a little reward..."
The young man spoke, opening his arms, summoning his "spiritual core"....
"Since you want to see, I'll let you....."
The hazy chaos opened, a great sun, radiating ten thousand beams, slowly rose behind Roy...
Bright, it was hot, it was impossibly dazzling yet allowed no filth or darkness....
Nightmare finally saw what he wanted... the unfortunate part was, he didn't seem very satisfied. Amidst a piercing wail, under the sun's shine, he turned into a fiery figure, before disappearing into silence, obliterated by the world into nothingness....
"Dong~" A soft bell tolled, like a grand bell and drum, chiming atop the speeding train...
The passengers with drooping heads awoke from their dreams.
Rubbing their sleepy eyes, some yawned, others stretched, or surreptitiously wiped drool from their mouths with the backs of their hands, at that moment... the haunted [Dream] train seemingly "came alive"!
"What devilry are you up to, Nightmare?!"
Hidden in the train carriage's corner, the demon's eye turned, Kibutsuji Muzan hiding in Infinity Castle watched each customer awaken and became exceedingly enraged!
He moved his hand, wishing to manipulate the ghost blood and simply explode Nightmare, who knew it wasn't necessary, by the window corner, deprived of his consciousness's support, Nightmare's body tilted and promptly turned to ashes...
In a scene of ashes drifting with the wind...
The young man "finally" opened his eyes, departing the dream, returning to reality, facing Akaza, a flurry of chaotic fists continually bombarded, flipped a sword backwards, decapitating Ryu, turned to him and said: "Have you had enough?"