Praised By My Nightmares
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“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up,” said the voice. “But it’s important.” The speaker was a man in his late twenties or early thirties with dark hair and eyes that were almost black. He wore an expensive suit but had no tie on; he seemed relaxed as if this wasn’t even unusual for him.
The woman who answered her door looked like she’d just rolled out of bed herself: Her long brown hair hung down over one shoulder while she yawned widely enough to show off two rows of perfectly white teeth. She also appeared quite young—not much older than twenty-five at most.
But there was something about her face that made me think otherwise… maybe because of those same perfect teeth? Or perhaps it was how confident and self-assured she sounded when talking to someone else. Either way, I could tell right away that this girl would be in trouble later on.
She opened the door wider before stepping aside and motioning us inside without saying anything more. It took me a moment to realize why we hadn’t been allowed into the apartment until now: There was another person sleeping soundly in front of our hostess’ bedroom.
A little boy, judging by his size. And not only did he look asleep, he actually looked dead! His body lay completely still except for his chest rising slightly every few seconds as though breathing. If he weren’t wearing pajamas, I might have thought he was some kind of corpse brought back from the grave.
As soon as my gaze fell upon the child, however, I realized what must’ve happened here. This kid is probably her son, isn’t he? Well, whatever. Let’s get going already. We’re wasting time standing around here.
After taking care of business with the mother, I turned toward the living room where the other guest awaited us. As I walked past the kitchen table, I noticed a small bowl filled with fruit sitting next to a half-eaten apple. What caught my eye, however, was the fact that the apples all bore bite marks identical to the ones left behind by the demon lord’s pet monster.
That explains everything. They were attacked during their sleep.
It was then that I remembered the strange dream I’d had last night. In it, the Demon Lord himself came crashing through the ceiling above our heads. That meant these people were likely victims of his attack too. So they went ahead and moved to a new place after being terrorized by the nightmare creature.
And yet, despite the obvious danger lurking within, I couldn’t help feeling disappointed. After all, the Demon Lord was supposed to be invincible. With such powerful enemies surrounding them, surely none of the residents of this building would ever dare fall asleep again.
If only things really worked out that way.
Just as I began to wonder whether this whole thing was nothing more than a bad joke played on me, I heard footsteps coming from the hallway leading outside. When I glanced over my shoulder, I saw a tall figure entering the house.
Even though he was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt, he exuded a sense of authority that immediately commanded respect.
He stopped directly in front of me and flashed me a warm smile. “You must be Mr. Kogami. Thank you very much for agreeing to meet with me today. Please come in.”
His voice was deep and rich, like melted chocolate poured onto your tongue. Though I knew better than to let myself be charmed by appearances alone, I found it hard not to respond in kind.
“Of course. Thanks for inviting me here.”
When I stepped forward to enter the apartment, the man nodded briefly before turning his attention toward the woman standing beside him. “Mrs. Yamada?”
“Yes, sir!”
Her response was quick and sharp, which surprised me somewhat since she didn’t seem especially bright. Then again, I suppose anyone would struggle to keep up with a conversation between a high school student and a college professor. Still, I felt compelled to ask anyway.
“What are you doing here, Mrs. Yamada? You don’t work at the university anymore, do you?”
“No, I quit working there several years ago. Nowadays, I mostly stay home and take care of my son. But I’m happy to hear that you remember me. How nice of you to say hello.”
I guess she doesn’t need to worry about remembering names.
Still, I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she simply wanted to make sure we got along well enough to continue speaking with each other throughout the interview.
With that in mind, I smiled politely and replied, “Well, thank you. It’s good to see you again.”
The two of them exchanged pleasantries while I followed them inside. Once everyone had taken their seats, the man introduced himself once more.
“My name is Professor Nakagawa. My field is comparative literature—specifically, Japanese language studies. The reason I contacted you earlier was because I believe you may possess information relevant to an ongoing research project I am conducting.”
Professor Nakagawa spoke so smoothly and elegantly that I almost forgot how young he appeared. He seemed like someone who could easily pass for a graduate student or even a lecturer instead of a full professor. And yet, when I looked into those dark eyes of his, I sensed something else entirely: intelligence, wisdom, and confidence.
In short, I was impressed.
But I wasn’t the only one. The woman seated across from him also reacted to his words with surprise. Her expression quickly shifted to confusion, but then she regained control of herself and returned to her usual self.
She gave him a polite nod and said, “Thank you for asking me to participate in this meeting. If I can answer any questions, please feel free to ask away.”
“Please call me Ryuto,” the man responded. “Ryuto Nakagawa, Ph.D., if you prefer.”
This guy has a Ph.D.?!
Before I could dwell on the shock of finding out the person sitting right in front of me held a doctorate degree, Professor Nakagawa continued explaining why he’d asked me to join them.
“Mr. Kogami, I understand that you have some experience dealing with demons.”
“Yeah… I mean, yeah, I did encounter a few back in elementary school…”
As soon as I mentioned the word demon, both the professor and the mother turned their attention to me. Their expressions remained neutral, but I could tell they were waiting for me to elaborate.
So I told them what happened.
***
Back in fifth grade, I lived in a rural town called Yomiyama. Not long after moving there, I started having nightmares every single night. At first, I thought it might just be a coincidence, but eventually, I realized that the dreams weren’t going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, they kept getting worse and worse until I finally reached my breaking point.
One day, during recess, I ran straight through the schoolyard fence without stopping to think twice about it. As I sprinted down the road, I tried calling out to Mommy dearest, hoping to find comfort in her arms.
Unfortunately, no matter how loud I shouted, she never answered. So I took off running faster than ever before, desperate to escape the nightmare world where everything was always falling apart around me.
After that, things went downhill pretty fast. One moment, I was walking calmly alongside the riverbank; the next thing I knew, I was lying unconscious on the ground, surrounded by blood-soaked corpses. When I came to, I was being carried over someone’s shoulder.
A pair of strong hands gently placed me down on top of a bed, and the instant I opened my eyes, I saw Mommy dearest kneeling beside me.
She was wearing a white lab coat and holding a syringe filled with clear liquid. Without saying a word, she injected whatever it was into my arm. Instantly, all of the pain disappeared. That’s when I heard a voice coming from somewhere nearby.
“You’re awake now, huh? Good job, kid! Just relax and let your body heal itself. We’ll talk later.”
Mommy dearest must’ve been talking to whoever brought me back to life. Afterward, she left the room and closed the door behind her. Before long, I fell asleep again.
When I woke up for real, I found myself in a hospital ward. There were lots of people milling about, none of whom paid me much attention at first. Then suddenly, one of them approached me and began asking me questions.
“Are you okay?”
He sounded kind of like a nurse, but I couldn’t really place his face. All I remembered seeing was his hair, which reminded me of mine.
“What do you mean ‘are’ I okay? Of course, I’m not!”
I didn’t know what was happening, but I felt like I’d lost time somehow. I wondered whether I should start crying or screaming, but I decided against either option. Instead, I simply stared blankly ahead, trying to figure out what was going on.
Eventually, the man in question walked closer and sat down next to me. His hand brushed lightly against my forehead, causing me to jump slightly in surprise.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered softly. “It’s just me. It won’t hurt.”
His touch was gentle, warm, and reassuring—and yet, I still didn’t trust him. My instincts screamed that he had ulterior motives, but I refused to believe it. Why would anyone want to harm a child?
Then, just as I was starting to calm down, another stranger entered the room. This one wore an expensive suit and looked completely different from everyone else in here. But despite his polished appearance, he acted more like a soldier than anything else. He stood directly across from me, staring intently at my face.
“Who are you?!” I demanded angrily, struggling to keep my voice under control. “Why am I here? Who the hell are you guys!?”
The man who’d touched my head laughed loudly. “Oh, come on. You don’t remember us, do you?”
I shook my head violently. “No way! How can I forget something so important!? What is this place anyway? Where’s my mommy? And why does everybody look weird?! Are we dead already…? Am I gonna die?”
My mind was racing, unable to process any of these new revelations. The only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted nothing more than to go home.
But then the man sitting next to me spoke up. “Relax, kid. Everything will make sense once you hear our story.”
“Story? Story? But I haven’t even met anybody yet!”
“That’s because nobody has, yet. Now listen carefully: Your name is Kamijou Touma. You live in Yomiyama, Japan. And right now, you’re trapped inside a dream.”
***
Kamijou Touma awoke to a bright light shining in his eyes.
“…Huh? Wha…huh…”
As he slowly regained consciousness, the first thing that registered in his brain was the sound of voices echoing throughout the room. They seemed distant, muffled by distance and volume alike. However, their words made perfect sense.
“This isn’t good. If they find out about this, we could be looking at a major incident.”
“A minor one, maybe, but that doesn’t change the fact that we have no choice but to hide the truth. Besides, if there’s one person who knows how to handle such situations, it’s Tsuchimikado.”
“Yeah, but where did he run off to? Did he get caught by the police after all?”
“If he got arrested, he wouldn’t be able to contact us. In other words, he’s probably fine. Let’s just hope he stays that way until morning.”
“Good point. Well, since we don’t have any leads, I guess we might as well check the school. Maybe he went there instead. Oh, wait. I forgot. He’s supposed to be sick today. So unless he skipped class without telling anyone, I doubt he’ll be hanging around anywhere near campus.”
“Hm? Wait, what? Is that true? Wasn’t he feeling better yesterday?”
“Maybe he took some medicine last night and passed out. Or perhaps he suffered from food poisoning. Either way, I think it’s safe to assume he’s not at school. We need to focus our efforts elsewhere.”
“Right. Okay, let’s split it into two groups. One group goes with me; the rest stay here and search the area. First, we head over to the high-rise building. That guy said he saw someone running away from there earlier.”
“All right. Then I’ll take the south side of town. Everyone meet back here before sunset.”
There were three people talking behind Kamijou Touma. As far as he could tell, none of them resembled the boy in front of him.
However, he wasn’t exactly sure what was real anymore. For example, why was he lying on a bed? And where was he? Had he been kidnapped or something?
For a moment, Kamijou thought about calling out for help, but then he noticed that his hands and feet weren’t tied together. Furthermore, he hadn’t heard any footsteps approaching while he slept. There was no reason to suspect that he had been abducted.
Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something strange was going on.
In response, Kamijou turned his attention to the ceiling above him. A single fluorescent lamp hung there, illuminating the entire room. It was white, which meant it must’ve belonged to a hospital.
He tried moving his body experimentally and found that he could move freely. Of course, he also discovered that his clothes felt stiffer than usual. His shirt collar was tight enough to cut off his air supply.
Then again, considering the circumstances, he didn’t really mind being dressed like an old lady. At least he would be warm in winter.
After confirming that he could walk unassisted, Kamijou sat up. The instant he did, a pair of arms wrapped themselves tightly around his neck from behind.
“Wha—!?”
It was too late to escape. Before he realized what was happening, Kamijou Touma was lifted off the ground and carried away.
The voice that came from beside him sounded female. She whispered into his ear.
“Don’t struggle. Don’t try anything stupid. Just relax.”
Her breath smelled faintly sweet. Her hair brushed against his cheek.
She held him close to her chest as she walked through the hallway. After walking down several corridors, they finally stopped outside a door. When the girl opened it with ease despite its heavy weight, Kamijou was taken aback.
Inside was a large living space filled entirely with beds. Each bed was occupied by a different person. Some were sleeping peacefully, others looked dazed, and still more were awake. All of them wore hospital gowns.
And all of them were girls.
They were all young women, ranging from elementary school age to college students. Their ages ranged from 8 years old to 20. Every single one of them bore scars on their skin, whether visible or hidden beneath clothing.
Some had cut across their cheeks. Others had deep gashes along their foreheads. Still, others had burns covering part of their bodies. They all seemed to have been beaten mercilessly.
Their injuries made it clear that these were victims of violence. But there was nothing to indicate when or how they’d gotten hurt.
Kamijou stared at each face in turn. None of them showed signs of hostility toward him. Instead, they all gazed blankly ahead.
“What…is this place?”
“You’re asking me? You should know.”
The girl spoke softly so only he could hear. However, she didn’t seem particularly surprised by his question.
“This is your home.”
The End