This was definitely a nightmare.

Gota, the sleepy one… is the killer.

For some reason, I don’t feel nervous or terrified, just a lot confused.
Why? Is it because I know I can come back from the dead? Or maybe because my brain refuses to process this? Either way, it doesn’t matter now.

“It seems the poison I injected into you didn’t work” she said, her voice calm but full of malice. “So this time, I’ll break your little neck.”

I don’t know why she wants me dead. But oddly, the fact that it’s her almost makes me kinda relieved.
I mean, If it were Freya, Ruma, or Anfang, it would hurt. With Gota, all I feel is confusion.

“I just don’t understand, why you—”

“I’m not going to answer your questions.” Her tone sharpened, as if cutting me off with the blade she hadn’t yet drawn. “If I failed before, this time I'll quickly make sure I do it correctly."

With a mischievous smile, she pulled a kinfe from beneath her coat: a short and small, curved purple kukri. The metal shone even in the pure dark-

D-Damn it. She really is going to kill me. T-That knife will cut my limbs off and-

My heart slammed in my chest, and I could almost feel it spitting out of my mouth. The knife in my trembling hand felt useless, slippery with my sweat, and it didn't seem so powerful anymore, not even my power.

Memories surged back, not just images but raw sensations.
The tearing of flesh. The splintering of bone.
The agony of death.

N-No… no, I don’t want to feel that again. That pain terrifies me more than the knife in her hands!

T-That pain... I DON'T WANT TO FEEL THAT ANYMORE IN MY LIFE!

Calm down. Breathe and think.

If I lose myself to fear now, I won’t even manage words, and my only chance is through dialogue.

Come on... I'm not going to die!

I forced out a shaky voice:
“Y-You… If you take one step closer, or make any sudden move… I’ll scream.”

She froze for a second, then threw her head back and laughed.
“Nhahahaha! Scream? That’s all you’ve got? Why would I obey you?”

But then she stopped. Her laughter suddenly disappeared, replaced by a deadly serious face. She pointed the knife at me, her eyes narrowed.
“That’s not you.”

“…Uh?”

“Show me. Show me what you’re hiding.”

“I-I really don’t know what you’re talking ab—”

She sighed, lowering the short blade a bit, but her expression remained sharp.
“Hermione. You’ve heard that name before.”

My heart skipped a beat.
“Y-Yes… the witch…”

“You know how many people have survived her?”

“N-No…”

“Two. In three hundred years, only two have lived to tell the tale. You. And me.”

“B-But Anfang saved me, he—”

“Doesn’t matter. You fought her. And you survived.”

Her eyes burned with suspicion. It felt more like like she was accusing me of a crime. She stepped closer, her voice always low but with authority:
“That witch challenged the most powerful wizard in the city, perhaps in the kingdom. The result? A draw. Because a certain someone stole a staff.”

The cold steel pressed against my throat.
“By pure luck?!”

T-Take it away… please…

She didn’t.

“And then, you beat a man who has never lost in his life. Ende had never lost a game of chance in his life, EVER, yet you, a complete stranger, interfere in a duel between the highest of wizards, walk away alive and beat him at his own game? And now you just survived Holtmark’s deadliest poison, a poison that kills in twenty minutes?”

Her voice dropped to a whisper, but her eyes were screaming death.
“That just confirmed my suspicions.”

“E-Ende…?”

“Ende Anfang Baumgartner. The almighty.”

I took a few steps back until my back pressed flat against the wall. Nowhere left to run or hide.

“And what? Do you want me to believe that it was all luck? All a mere coincidence? A foreigner who was just passing through? Tell me another one.”

She leaned closer, her words dripping pure venom:
“W-h-o a-r-e y-o-u? Just a random guy? Do you really expect me to believe that shit?”

Was her sleepy, lazy façade all an act? But… it had felt genuine…

“This knife can take your head before you even realize you’re dead,” she whispered. “You stupid liar."

“B-But… y-you’re going to kill me just because you think I’m lying? Just for that?—”

“Someone who escapes Hermione isn’t just anyone. They’re someone with immeasurable power. And you...” her voice sharpened “you even beat Ende in a game of luck.”

“Y-You know her? Hermione?”

“Not your concern.”

I definitely feel a connection there.

“Tell me your true intentions. Why did you join us? What do you want from my friends?”

"I-I... I-I didn't even wanted to join this group-"

“SHUT UP!”

The knife slammed into the wall beside my face, cutting strands of my hair.

“I’ll change the question. What is your real power?”

“A-As I said... I-I don’t have any—”

“Yeah, right. You expect me to believe that?”

She tilted her head, whispering, “Why does Ende like you so much? Have you two met before?”

“N-No—”

“Of course not.”

She pressed the knife against my neck again.
“At least you admit you’re a foreigner. But your intentions? Still a lie.”

G-God, I can already see Brain- no... I'm not going to die—

“I-I’ll kill you.”

interrupting my own thoughts, these words escaped my lips.

That caught her off guard.
“…What?”

“I-I’ll kill you.”

“So you admit you have power—”

“N-No, I don’t… but I’ll kill you anyway.”

“You really don’t understand the situation…”

She dragged the knife across my forehead in a right to left cut. Pure pain went through my skull. I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming.

“I killed you once. Do you think I won’t do it again?”

“I-I said… I’ll kill you.”

“But without power? How?”

“I… I don’t know. But I will.”

She stared at me for a long moment, then suddently she transformed into a wild laughter.

"Nhahahha. You say that, but you're almost pissing yourself."

...I-I don't know what to say nor what's happening.

"You even lie about that uh? You don't even believe what you're saying nhahahaha..."

Her laughter echoed through the room. Finally, she exhaled and gave me a smile. Half amusement, half threat.

“Fine. If you’re really what I think, you’ll dig your own grave soon enough. You're to weak to be even worth killing. But I’ll be watching you. Every step. Every word.”

Her gaze shifted toward the bed.
“Starting now, we’ll be sleeping together.”

“…W-What—”

"Tsk, learn to have a little sense of humor."

She walked to the door, but pausing before with one last killer look.

“And by the way, this lazy act isn’t fake. I just prefer sleeping by day and waking by night. Kinda.”

Then she left.

…

"GODDAMIT!"

As soon as she was gone, my legs simply  gave out. I collapsed onto the floor, gasping for air extremely breathless., drenched in cold sweat, 

W-What the hell just happened? How did I survive that?!

She called me a liar. Me?! She doesn’t know me, none of them do...

And why… why the hell did I say that? 'I’ll kill you'? Like I could.
Was I planning to throw myself at her, relying on my half-immortality? I don’t even know what happned. It felt practically like Instinct...

Does she think I’m a spy? An infiltrator?

…Whatever. I’m just happy to be alive.

I wiped the blood from my forehead, though the tear remained. 

I don't think I can sleep now...

Still… maybe she wasn’t wrong to suspect me. If I were in her shoes, I would also suspect someone like me...

I sighed, very exhausted.

This was definitely a nightmare.