Chapter 259 – Ultimatum

The barbarian glared at the old man before looking back at Dream. 

Dream just stood there. His aura also retracted. He felt no need to continue to display his power to these people. The image of that old man spoke for itself. 

His mortal shell was formed over his cosmic form, turning Dream back from a galactic existence to an ordinary man. And using his spatial power, he was able to obscure his soul, preventing the class 6's from seeing it clearly. 

The citizens of the clan below had all also emerged from their buildings, looking up at the sky. They had been alerted by the patriarch's bellow, and hundreds of thousands had seen Dream's cosmic form. Now, they saw him enter a standoff with the patriarchs of the clan. This was a monumental event. 

"...I apologize for what our fellow patriarch has done to what was close to you. But you must understand that he cannot die for the sake of our clan."

The barbarian spoke cautiously. Dream nodded at his statement. 

"Yes, his death would indeed be very detrimental to your clan. But that is none of my concern. I don't care about who he is or about the fate of your clan. He made a mistake, and I wish to kill him for it. Now, I'll tell you exactly how this will end, depending on your choice."

Dream's gaze bore into the barbarian. He clearly wasn't happy, and there weren't many things that angered him. 

"Allow me to kill that old man, and that will be the end of this conflict. Or, withhold him from me, and I'll just come back later. At that time, I won't be prepared to end just his life, but both of yours. And believe me when I say that I will be very capable of doing so."

Dream uttered his ultimatum. The barbarian frowned deeply, and his mind began to run. At the same time, the old man spoke directly to the barbarian through a mana transmission. 

"Patriarch, don't let him escape! That person is a monster! He only has a class 4 soul! If you let him prepare weapons, he could very well end us all! You need to kill him here!"

"A class 4 soul? Impossible."

"Oh, but it's not."

Suddenly Dream spoke. The barbarian was shocked. Dream had heard them. 

Dream smiled. 

"I told you earlier old man, there's nothing you can do to stop me. Keep me from escaping? You can't even touch me unless I deem it so! Patriarchs of the Blue Blood clan, make your decision! Give me his life, or forfeit your future selves!"

"...Dammit!"

Gritting his teeth, the barbarian cursed. He drew a massive sword, and the other patriarch beside him drew a spear. Seeing this, Dream tilted his head. 

"Can I take that as your decision? Or are you going to kill that old bag for me?"

"Silence! You will leave this place at once!"

With a roar, the barbarian launched his body at Dream, swinging his huge sword. In an instant, Dream's mortal body retracted, exposing his cosmic form once more. After that, he raised a finger, pointing it at the oncoming sword. 

"Patriarch, don't!"

The old man shouted from behind seeing this, but the barbarian didn't listen. He chopped down on Dream's single finger.

"I'll split you apart!"

"Not before I ruin your weapon."

Dream voice echoed. The next second, the sword met his finger. Surprisingly, Dream's hand wasn't immediately destroyed. 

Instead, the barbarian's eyes widened. His best weapon, his most powerful and essential companion on his road of slaughter, suddenly decomposed. He was horrified as it turned to mere dust. Then, a fissure to the void opened, sucking in the remnants of the weapon. Not even the sword handle was left.

Dream was pleased to see this, but he was hit with a wave of pain afterward. It took the majority of his remaining power in order to launch that attack. It used the power of space to destroy the sword on an atomic level, obliterating it thoroughly before banishing it to the void where it would never return. 

"NOOO!!!"

With exploding rage, the barbarian let out a guttural roar. He threw out his fist. 

However, Dream was quick to bend space, diverting the fist. Feeling this spatial power, the barbarian was livid. 

"You think I can't surpass your power of space?! Let me show you absolute power!"

With a roar, the barbarian pulled his arm back. Then, on his forehead, a slit suddenly opened, revealing a third eye. Dream saw this eye and felt its power that pierced into his soul. 

"Don't think that old man is the best of us! Die!!"

With his full power released, the barbarian threw out another fist. This time, Dream's power of space was shattered, and the fist came hurtling toward him. 

As a last resort, Dream's finger streaked across the air, a void fissure opening. However, the barbarian didn't stop. Upon crashing into the fissure, his fist broke it directly, only receiving a deep slice in exchange. Dream was surprised as he quickly threw out his palm, meeting the fist. 

*BOOM*

The fist and palm collided. Dream used his power of energy control to directly change the direction of the momentum. However, even though the fist was thrown away by this, the absurd magical power behind it still crashed into him. Dream was blasted away, shooting at the ground. 

*Bang!*

His body hit the floor. Instead of piercing through though, his momentum was diffused throughout the land, shattering the ground for miles and bringing down buildings under the shockwaves. Dream was wracked by pain, but his mind was already beyond pain. Instead, he was shocked as blood streamed from his body. After standing, he looked at his palm, seeing a stream of gray blood flow down it and drip off his figners.

"My soul? I've never seen such a phenomenon."

Dream observed and felt the power of the blood. It was actually the power of his soul leaking from his body. It was a manifestation of Dream's soul being injured. Like how Dream's wedding ring was always exposed due to it being branded onto his soul, anything that happened to his soul would manifest outwardly. With his soul being injured and its power escaping his body, gray blood was shown.

"This blood must be very valuable since my soul power is within it. I'll collect this though. Maybe it can be used in something."

Saying that, Dream waved his hand. The leaking blood disappeared into his inventory. After that, the wound on his hand began slowly closing up. 

Meanwhile, the barbarian was still seething with anger. He looked at his hand that was now almost split in half, spilling its own blue blood. He then looked back at Dream, his third eye bloodshot with anger. 

"I'll kill you!"

The barbarian shot out, throwing another fist at Dream. Before he could reach him though, Dream was sucked into the chaotic void, teleporting into the air a distance away. 

After reappearing, he looked at the barbarian whose fist hit nothing but air. 

"Sorry, but I only allowed you to hit me because I was curious about the result of our collision. It was a valuable experience, and while I would like to collect more data, I can't withstand any more attacks like that. So I'll be leaving."

"No! I will have your head! You cannot come and go as you please!"

"You think you can stop me?"

Dream frowned as he gazed at the barbarian. The barbarian stopped, gritting his teeth. He really couldn't stop Dream. As long as Dream could reach into the void, there was nothing he could do. 

Dream shook his head. Before he turned to leave though, he spoke once more. 

"You've made your decision. I'll be back later. However, It won't be just me who comes. I am currently working for the Red Eye clan, helping them win the war between you two. Before, this was just a war for some resources, but now, I'm going to help them conquer your clan. The next time you see me, I'll have an army behind me. And by the end of this war, you three class 6's will be dead. And don't be so foolish to try and migrate. There is nowhere on this planet that you can hide. Just stick around and fight to your last breath. At the very least, your population will be assimilated into the clan. That much I can promise."

"Damn you! You fucking monster! Fight me, and I'll end your bastard life!"

"Whatever."

At the barbarian's curses, Dream just sighed. He was then sucked into the chaotic void, teleporting away. 

"Ahhh!!!"

Seeing this, the barbarian roared. With Dream actually gone, he felt a lingering fear. He feared for the future. 

And he was also hateful. Not just toward Dream, but toward the old man who called down this calamity. 

"You old piece of no good shit! When this is over, if you haven't died yet, I'm going to kill you myself! Pull all our armies back! Fortify our city! We are fighting this battle to the death!"

The barbarian's orders shook the entire city. The class 5's nearby rushed to carry out his orders. They had all heard Dream's words, and even the people of the city knew that this was a calamitous event. 

..........

Meanwhile, back at the original battlefield, another battle had ensued.

This continuation only lasted for several minutes though. The chase between Dream and the old man didn't last long despite the distance they crossed. Nor did the conversation between Dream and the barbarian. Thus, Dream was quick to return, appearing above the skies. 

And when he saw the battle that had continued, he let out a light breath. His hand waved. 

*Slice!*

Across the board, every class 4 and class 5 asura from the Blue Blood clan was instantly decapitated, their souls being destroyed. This caused Dream to feel another sharp pain in his soul, but he disregarded it as notifications appeared in his vision. After looking at his sister that just killed an enemy, she also looked at him. 

"...Everyone return to the clan. Melody, come with me."

Dream gave an order before appearing next to his sister. He then teleported with Melody, leaving Durack to round up his soldiers. 

Dream and Melody appeared above the clan, specifically above the building where the patriarch resided. After looking down at the building, Dream's Will washed over the entire thing, seeing every person within. Naturally, every person inside was able to detect this observation as well. 

"Patriarch, Vela, come out here."

Dream suddenly spoke a command. Inside the building, the patriarch frowned for a second before disappearing. Vela also rushed out, looking at Dream with confusion. 

When she actually saw Dream though, she was surprised. His aura was much weaker than normal. At the same time though, his aura was free for them to see, and the glimpse of power that Vela saw was enough to shock her. She had never actually witnessed Dream's full power before, but his weak aura right now was enough to stifle her. 

Dream was back in his mortal shell. He looked at the patriarch who stared back at him with an angry stare. 

"Don't look at me like that, old man. I just happened to beat some sense into one of the patriarchs of your rival clan just now. By the way, your war has now changed."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

The patriarch scoffed as he thought about Dream's words. Dream just sighed. 

"Did you not understand me? I had a discussion with the patriarchs of the Blue Blood clan after almost killing one of them. The barbarian of the three decided to be stubborn, and I promised him that I would come back and kill them. I also promised that their clan would be conquered. So how about it? Do you want to assimilate the Blue Blood clan?"

Dream asked, his tone casual. The patriarch was shocked. 

He obviously knew of the three patriarchs of the Blue Blood clan, and he knew that one of them was a barbaric figure that wielded a massive sword. For Dream to speak of this only meant that he had actually spoken with them. 

But this raised many more questions. For a while, the patriarch was silent. Dream just turned to Vela. 

"You'll have a report from Durack once he comes back. He will testify to what happened. As for me, I'm going to spend some time recovering. I want you to prepare to invade the Blue Blood clan. By the end of this war, you're going to have a massive boost in power and an entire clan come under your wing. I'll make sure of it. Oh, and call in any other patriarchs or class 6's that are loyal to your clan. You're going to need at least one more in order to kill those patriarchs reliably. Anyway, we'll be leaving."

Saying that, Dream didn't speak further. He and Melody were wrapped up by a spatial fold before zipping away back to their residence. Vela and the patriarch were left standing there, a bit surprised by this sudden change of events. 

"...Call in that Durack and hear from him exactly what the hell happened."

"U-understood."

Vela hastily nodded at the patriarch's order. After he disappeared, Vela quickly called Durack, telling him to hurry along. 

Not long after that, Durack returned to the clan with his fleet. Right when he did, he was called in to recount recent events to the patriarch and Vela. 

There, he told of everything that happened. He told of the ambush, Melody's armor, the old man that suddenly appeared out of a desire for the armor, and his threatening of Melody's life. He then told of how Dream had appeared from nowhere and saved Melody's life, taking back his armor and entering a standoff with the old man. 

After that, Durack became a bit shaky. He told the two about Dream's release of Death's Knell, how that aura was built on more lives than Durack could fathom. Then, he spoke about Dream's pistol and that nuclear attack he released. Vela and the patriarch were both shocked to hear that Dream's single attack had blown a hole in that old man's chest. They were even more shocked to hear that the old man had run away with his tail between his legs, Dream giving chase while releasing even more of those absurd attacks one after the other. 

While Durack didn't know of anything else, what he saw was enough to convince the two of Dream's power. After remembering what Dream had spoken about, the patriarch was suddenly faced with a decision. The Blue Blood clan had drawn upon Dream's wrath by bringing out their class 6's in a war that shouldn't have escalated that far, and now Dream wanted to help the Red Eye clan conquer them. Given Dream's past help and his new display of power rivaling a class 6, the patriarch was seriously considering the offer. It was indeed true that assimilating an entire clan would boost their power heavily. They would easily double their resources at the bare minimum. 

But this wasn't something that could be hastily done. This would require all the power that the Red Eye clan could muster. There had to be extensive planning and preparations for a final war, and that would take time. 

The patriarch turned to Vela, speaking sternly. 

"I'm calling back Patriarch Star. Gather our armies, and activate our spies in the Blue Blood clan. I need all the information we can get."

"Understood."

Vela nodded before shooting off. The importance of these happenings could not be understated. This was a possible turning point for the entire clan. 

..............

After leaving to his residence, Dream was quick to go to his factory, Melody along with him. It was here that Dream's body slumped down. a cluster of nanites from the floor suddenly raised up, forming a chair underneath him that caught his body. 

"Sheesh. That took a lot out of me."

Dream let out a long breath as he rested. His battle hadn't even been that long, yet he had spent so much energy and gotten injured. It had been over a decade since Dream had done such a thing. 

"I guess it's a nice change of pace. A bit more conflict makes life a bit more interesting."

He spoke as he straightened his body out on the chair. Melody watched, a bit unsure of what to say. 

"...Hey, thanks for that. By the way."

"Eh, it was nothing. I'm just glad that old man didn't go too far too fast. And thanks for protecting her, Aegis."

"Of course, my lord."

Aegis suddenly formed in front of Dream at that moment, bowing like a butler. Melody glanced at him before turning back to her brother. 

"...By the way, I hate to ask, but your Death's Knell..."

"You want to know how many people I've killed? So Aegis told you about what I did on the other world."

"I apologize for overstepping, my lord."

"It's nothing. She's not a child."

Dream waved to Aegis who bowed once more in apology. Then, he turned to Melody. 

"During my time on the other world, I killed approximately 3.3 billion. This number is comprised of both demons and people. The demons amount for 2.4 billion, and the other 900 million are the lives of the humans, beastkin, elves, and dwarves I killed in order to keep them from getting turned into demons themselves. I was only able to save 300 million, a mere fraction of the global population at the time. I razed every empire to the ground with nukes, empires that had thousands of years of history. By the end, the planet wasn't much better than a wasteland."

"..."

Melody was quiet as she heard this number. Even disregarding the demons, Dream had killed almost a billion people. A billion innocent lives had been ordered to death by him. A sane person likely couldn't handle doing such a thing, simply letting the demons kill, eat, and convert people into more demons. They couldn't handle such guilt, and they would stand to the side. 

But Dream hadn't. He had done what needed to be done, disregarding his guilt or feelings about the matter in order to save as many lives as possible. If Melody had been in the same position, she knew she couldn't do what he did. Even thinking about ending a billion innocent lives comprised of men, women, and even children was impossible. 

And yet, here Dream was, going about his life as if nothing was wrong. Melody wanted to think that something was wrong with him, but then again, he was far above what she could understand. Besides, Dream wasn't a bad person. In fact, he was a very pure person when considering his passion. He just happened to be placed in a bad spot at a bad time, forced to make a hard decision.