[Nightmare]

"If they accept it, I think the moat is an amazing idea." Marie remarked with a pensive tone.

"But there's fear that comes with magic."

Helix gave her an understanding nod.

"If I casually split the earth in two, and you start throwing around Level 5 magic spells, it shows we're more dangerous than monsters." She continued.

"We'll be stuck with the same issue we faced before we left."

Helix gave her a mysterious smile.

"That's true. So when we create the moat, we need to make the experience positive and memorable."

Marie tilted her head in confusion.

"Marie. With our skill, we can show everyone the otakus the fantasy world we always dreamed of." Helix said with a gentle gaze.

"It's something only beautiful people like you, Charlotte, and Riley can do."

She blushed and got lost in Helix's captivating smile.

Marie could tell that Helix's vision was more important to him than a simple strategy.

It was something close to his heart, and she immediately wanted to help him bring it to fruition.

—

Helix wasn't going to announce he was using a calamity spell, so he casually dropped the [Crop Calamity] circle into the 100-foot-deep crevasse.

The 300-meter-wide crevasse exploded with water the instant it touched down, causing waves to shoot up.

General Masov's eyes widened in shock.

The soldiers didn't know how deep the crevasse was, but they could see it was 50-feet wide.

So [everyone] knew that whatever the hell Helix casually threw into the crevasse was at least a high master-grade to early legendary-grade calamity spell.

Helix casually jumped back 50 feet and started walking around and whistling a tune as if nothing had happened.

A chuckle.

A single chuckle.

Two chuckles.

A few chuckles.

The entire wall exploded with laughter.

Helix chuckled himself and then looked into the moat.

It filled up 70% with the spell, but he couldn't casually throw in two, or the entire area might flood over.

"Hey, Riley… I mean gorgeous, delightful sweetheart of mine…." Helix called out nonchalantly.

"You don't have to flatter me if you want me to do something." Riley giggled.

"Oooof." Helix muttered while clutching his chest.

"You're too good for me."

Joyous laughter filled the nighttime skies.

The atmosphere was getting merry and delightful.

Even those crying or shaking were warming up and feeling comfortable again.

The otakus and weebs knew what Helix was doing, but that was what made them comfortable.

Riley walked over to the chasm.

"I don't think so. [Flood]." She called out with a giggle.

A massive ball of water collected in the sky, ready to fall to the earth and cause a flood.

The entire wall saw the 50-foot sphere with shock in their eyes.

It was hovering a hundred feet in the air, allowing everyone in the Capital to see it.

The pink fortification spells made it a gorgeous neon sun shining in the darkness.

"Charlotte, can you help?" Riley asked gently.

"I'd like to keep from getting wet."

Bewildered chuckles started waving through the audience.

The idea that someone with a massive sphere of water wouldn't get wet was far too much.

"Sure, whatevs Rize. [Gravity Dance]~" Charlotte replied casually.

The ball of water started hovering on its own.

It gently burst into a million droplets of water floating in the air, causing gasps to ring out.

It was beautiful.

A million droplets shined bright pink and white from the moonlight, illuminating the area with sparkling neon light.

"[Condense]." Riley whispered out with a gentle voice.

The water droplets flattened out into condensed water again.

"[Wind Dance]."

The water exploded through the nighttime sky, creating a beautiful floating stream in the air.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhh."

The sight captivated the otakus, weebs, and military personnel.

So were the citizens within the city wall.

Riley intentionally made the water ball 100 feet in the air so those in the Capital could see the neon pink stream gliding through the sky.

Princess Eliza, her sister Lilac, and Queen Liliana watched from a castle window in wonder.

Saul watched the scene with a strange smile on his face.

He knew there was only one group of people capable of the spectacle he was witnessing.

Nobles came out of their houses again to see what the attraction was.

Those with puffy eyes were watching in a trance.

Regardless of their fear, the beautiful magic of Myriad was on full display for the first time.

Leo started hugging Sarah.

Maze started smiling at Miskie, who pretended to ignore him.

Halbert, Chad, and Mason stared at Helix as if he were a god.

Peter and Lily exchanged smiles together.

It was so obvious that she was trying not to crack that it made him smile.

Aleko and Samuel watched together with pride-filled smiles.

Macron was tearing up slightly, seeing how the disastrous situation turned so inspiring.

Major Oakley watched the scene with a genuinely satisfied smile.

General Masov forgot how batshit insane the entire scene was and let himself forget about the impending meetings in his future.

One of Linus' apprentices forced the man out of his room.

When he saw the sight, he stared into the air with true amazement.

He was already preparing to write about the sight to pass it down for ages.

Kylon watched from a guard tower on the opposite side of the city with a gentle smile that periodically turned into fang gnashing.

He was charmed by the display, but he always saw Helix's face in his mind and started pretending to hate what he saw.

Tilo watched from the castle with a bright smile.

Mira and Millie were crying with joyous expressions, making his heart sing.

His daughter Kiko was next to him, nudging him with her shoulder.

Atlas was sitting on a castle wall dangling his legs lazily.

He had his chin in his palm, watching the sight with an amused expression.

The pink neon light created a retro contrast with his blue glasses.

Elsa had walked to a large window and let the beautiful pink light wash over her body.

She cried for the last hour, but when she saw the beautiful scene, she knew Helix, Marie, Charlotte, and Riley were safe.

Timothy came out to console her and hug her.

No one in Alzeria had ever seen such deadly magic used for something so breathtaking.

Riley glided the stream to the crevasse in an intricate pattern for ultimate beauty.

She practiced it a dozen times, and she received amazing feedback.

Therefore, it was the most enchanting use of [Wind Dance] the world had ever seen.

The sound of the stream touching down with the water in the moat.

"That… was stunning, Riley, Charlotte, Marie." Helix called out in a genuine and gentle voice.

The warmth in his voice was charming to most people.

Helix started slow clapping.

Leo started clapping.

Sarah joined in.

Peter joined in.

Maze started clapping more vigorously.

David, Lily, Tammy, Tanya, Aleko, Leera, Whitney, Kyle, Chad, Halbert, Mason, Ramond, and all of the other super-otakus burst into applause.

—except for Atlas, who was too lazy to move.

The weebs, led by Maze, Mark, Simon, Samuel, Mark, and eventually Miskie, gave a thundering ovation to the sight.

Oakley started clapping.

General Masov joined in, triggering a full ovation from the soldiers.

The nobles started clapping in the city.

Then a single cheer triggered a rippling wave of excitement throughout the city.

The shopkeepers on Burlow Street started cheering, spreading through the Kina district, where the nobles followed.

The soldiers gave out a battle cry in the night air.

A celebratory mood rocked Alzeria.

Helix, Marie, Charlotte, and Riley sent gentle smiles in each other's directions.

They had made a gamble—and it paid off.

—

[A/N: I wonder how you feel about this adventure now that they've experienced it—all of it.

I didn't use flash-forwards of the monster fight to create a cliche Jekyll twist.

I wanted you to enjoy a scene of otakus enjoying soda without stressing about the next fight scene.

You won't remember the Colossus fight in a year, but I hope you never forget Tyrene spending two hours listing off students' names.

Small scenes make a story memorable.

However, action scenes make stories entertaining.

That's why [Nightmare] is written like it is.

It uses time leaps to jump to important parts of the story and works backward to present information when it's relevant.

It allowed you to witness a fight scene with [Nightmare] early and sent you into training without forcing development.

This week was gruesome because [everything] was relevant.

Helix has a month to gain control of a country's army—think about that… lol.

This entire sub saga's [twist] has nothing to do with using [Nightmare] to create a monster.

The mystery from the beginning was why Helix [needed to leave] the capital.

It was likely baffling for those who don't read history and common sense for those who do.

Myriad is a realistic world; without seizing power through force, Helix was branded a tyrant for [rational reasons].

The [twist] is seeing how Helix uses this demonstration to solve his mounting political problems so he can face the [biblical-grade death blender attack].

The monster attack solves his problems by showing Alzeria the opponents they will be facing. After that, Alzeria has no choice.

It has nothing to do with Helix being the hero; however, soldiers won't follow someone who's not a leader. It's an equally large issue.

[Having institutional power is useless if you cannot organize people into action].

Sorry cultivators. Helix can seize power by force, be branded an emperor, have sex with the queen, and have a harem of female generals, but it won't solve his problem.

For those who immediately thought [it's [obviously] his Nightmare], I hope you enjoyed the game of cat and mouse.

It's an illusion; wait, it's hurting people.

Helix gets hurt, but the monster remains.

Is Helix leading a real monster to Alzeria, or is that an excuse?

But even if you saw through all of it, how did you enjoy the [strategy]?

It's an illusion, sure—but it could have killed people, and it would have without training.

Yes, he can infuse attacks, but it's difficult and ridiculously [impractical].

So how does he pull it off?

How does he send a message?

How does he cover his tracks?

The soldiers can't attack it, or it could be exposed and then [game over].

That's the [gamble].

So how does he keep people away from it?

Lastly, and most importantly, how does he prepare the otakus and soldiers without leaving them traumatized?

The final scene says it all.

Helix always talks about how Myriad is supposed to be a fantasy world.

In this scene, he finally proves to the otakus that Myriad truly is the world they always dreamt of.

Myriad is a normal world with magic; how you view it is determined by your mindset and how you paint upon its canvas.

Thank you for reading, fellow otakus.

I appreciate you taking the time to read this long author's note to explore the deeper meanings behind this intricate story. Talk soon.]

—

Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)