"Draw the Mark?"
Within the dark dream space, Grego, in his Black Dog form, looked at the sentences and the inverted pentagram symbol that appeared before him, furrowed his dog-like brow, and spoke.
'Can this Mark lift me from my deep slumber?'
Grego thought this to himself. Drawing an unfamiliar mystical Mark on his body was something he would absolutely not agree to under normal circumstances. James had clearly told Grego when he joined the team not to casually read unfamiliar mystical books or draw unfamiliar mystical Marks, because who knew what could happen. But facing the current situation, he could only draw it; there was no other way, as Little Fox's sleepwalking couldn't be maintained for long.
'This mysterious Aka believer was introduced by the Dragon Paturnax. A high-level existence like Captain Paturnax shouldn't be hostile towards me, a mere Student Rank Hunter, so this Mark should also be safe.
'But it looks a bit complicated... Miss Fox, you even had some difficulty controlling me to walk while sleepwalking. Will drawing this Mark be okay...'
Grego thought so. The white Little Fox beside him, after looking at the text and pattern before her, spoke bluntly.
"Just draw this thing on this Black Dog and it'll be fine? Alright then~"
"Uh... Miss Fox, I think this Mark is a bit complicated. You just had some difficulty even getting my body to stand and walk properly. Drawing this thing..." Looking at Little Fox's eager appearance, Grego said with a hint of worry, while Little Fox responded by wagging her tail.
"Oh, that's something you don't understand. Controlling someone to walk while sleepwalking isn't an easy thing. You think walking is simple, but in reality, it involves coordinated movement of the entire body, with countless muscles participating to regulate balance. It's actually very difficult.
"I'm just a Black Rank Dream Diver. My main ability is to infiltrate others' dreams to gain senses and steal memories. The sleepwalking ability is just an extra. Before Chalk, it's difficult for this ability of mine to coordinate the entire body to stand and walk, but if it's just drawing something, I still have a way. Just watch."
Little Fox said this and then began her operation. Under Little Fox's sleepwalking control, Grego, who was originally sitting in the carriage, suddenly raised both hands. His right hand mechanically and stiffly reached forward and slapped the table in front of him. After fumbling around for a while, he finally grabbed the fountain pen placed on the table, which Grego had used for taking notes before.
Little Fox made Grego's body grasp the fountain pen with all five fingers of one hand, then raise the hand. Next, he extended the other hand, opened the palm towards his line of sight and held it steady. Then, using the right hand gripping the fountain pen, he mechanically began to write and draw on the palm of the left hand.
Holding the pen directly with the whole hand to draw something, only the muscles in the arm needed to move, not even the fingers. Just like this, Little Fox successfully began controlling Grego to draw while sleepwalking with minimal manipulation. Grego's eyes also lit up at this scene.
"So it can be done this way. You're really something, Miss Fox."
Looking at his own perspective displayed on the screen in front, Grego said with understanding. This way, he could indeed draw with minimal movement of other body parts.
Finally, Little Fox, holding the pen, successfully drew the Mark that had appeared in the dream space onto the palm of Grego's left hand. Although it was drawn crookedly, it was at least clear overall, not drawn incorrectly, and met the requirements.
After Little Fox finished drawing the Mark, new text appeared in the space.
"Very good, Miss Fox, Hunter. I have felt that the Mark has successfully taken effect. Now, please, Miss Fox, release the sleepwalking state."
Looking at the newly appeared sentences in the space, Grego in his Black Dog form and Little Fox exchanged glances. Then, Little Fox took two steps back and released the sleepwalking control over Grego in the real world. After the sleepwalking was released, the body sitting on the carriage sofa suddenly slumped, collapsing onto the sofa. As his eyes closed, the screen inside the dream cockpit also suddenly darkened.
"Like this... is it okay?"
In the dream space, Grego in his Black Dog form looked at the pitch-black scene before him and murmured with some unease. At this moment, he was pondering what effect the mysterious Mark drawn on his hand had. Could it directly wake him up, or...
As Grego in his imitated form pondered this, the entire dream space suddenly trembled slightly. Then, the perspective screen that had been closed suddenly opened again. Grego and Little Fox once again saw the scene inside the carriage through it. Seeing this, Grego couldn't help but say to Little Fox.
"Miss Fox, didn't I tell you to release the sleepwalking?"
"I did release it! But he's moving again on his own! I'm not controlling this." Little Fox also said to Grego in surprise. After hearing this, Grego's eyes also widened.
"What..."
Just as Grego and Little Fox were surprised, the perspective screen before them suddenly changed again. The entire screen suddenly rose quite a bit, and the viewpoint began to shift to other parts of the carriage. Seeing this, Little Fox couldn't help but say in surprise.
"You're standing up! Hey! Black Dog! You're being controlled by someone else to stand up!"
Hearing Little Fox's words, Grego was startled, and then he shouted into the void of the dream.
"Captain, are you controlling my body?"
"Yes, that is the effect of that Mark. It allows me to control your body in the real world, and the precision of the control is much stronger than sleepwalking. Look... I am now controlling your body to stand and walk around in the carriage."
Responding to Grego, new text appeared in the dream space within the dream cocoon. Looking at these words, Little Fox's mouth slightly widened.
"A Mark that can remotely control someone else's body? And with such precise control... So amazing... It's almost comparable to the flesh puppets in the 'Cup' domain, but flesh puppets can't control living people, and it's impossible to control them from such a long distance."
Little Fox murmured. Because she had a Grandpa at home, her understanding of the hidden world was quite deep. After seeing the scene before her, she immediately thought of the flesh puppets from the 'Cup'.
"It can actually make my body move directly... So powerful. Although I haven't woken up directly, since I can walk, self-preservation should be fine. Captain! Please transfer my body to a safe place in the back carriage now."
Grego spoke towards the darkness in the dream space. After a while, the responding text appeared before Grego again. Regarding Grego's suggestion, the other party seemed to have a different opinion.
"Hunter, I think going out now would be a rather bad choice."
"What?" Looking at the words before him, Grego was startled, momentarily unclear about the other party's meaning. Soon, other text quickly appeared before him as if explaining.
"I have already learned about your general situation from Captain Paturnax, Hunter. If I remember correctly, you were affected because you ate food containing drugs in the dining car specifically serving the first-class carriage, right?"
The text before Grego appeared like this, and Grego nodded after reading it.
"Yes, besides in the dedicated dining car, I haven't eaten anywhere else, nor have I been hypnotized face-to-face by anyone, so the problem should only be there."
"Alright then. I have also taken the first-class carriage on a Prit train and eaten in similar dedicated dining cars. The food there is all prepared in advance, placed together, and then guests serve themselves according to their preferences, Hunter. This kind of self-service model doesn't allow for targeted poisoning... If you really fell unconscious because you ate something from the dining car, then it's possible that all the food in the dining car at that time was problematic. To drug just one of you, perhaps all the passengers in the entire first-class carriage are now in a deep slumber.
"For you... those people in the shadows went to such great lengths to target you. Do you think they would easily let you go back to the safe second-class carriage behind?"
A series of texts and sentences appeared before Grego's eyes. Grego in his Black Dog form couldn't help but tense up after hearing this, and then he spoke seriously.
"Captain's meaning is... if I force my way out now, will they, upon discovering it, judge that their plan to drug me has failed and thus resort to force to confront me head-on?"
"Yes, if my speculation is correct, the entire first-class carriage is now in a deep sleep. Confronting you directly here wouldn't cause a stir."
New text appeared before Grego, and after reading it, Grego was deeply convinced. If he went to the back carriages, what should he do if the other party directly resorted to force in the aisle? The other party's current rank and strength were unknown. Could he really win in a head-on confrontation?
Grego was pondering, and new text continued to appear before his eyes.
"Mr. Hunter, the other party doesn't know yet that you can move while unconscious. This is an opportunity for you, an opportunity to counterattack the other party, to figure out their intentions, to see through their background, and even to turn the passive into active. Don't you want to make good use of such an opportunity?
"Of course, the above is just my personal suggestion. This is your body, and I will still listen to your decision on what actions to take. If Mr. Hunter still decides to go to other carriages now, attempting to play it safe, then I will immediately execute it."
Looking at the newly appeared text before him, Grego was stunned. He suddenly decided that this Aka believer, whom he had never met, made some sense, and the Little Fox on the other side also chimed in.
"Hey, I say, Black Dog, I think that person considers things much more thoroughly than you. Your brain isn't very good, so just listen to him."
'What do you mean my brain isn't very good...'
Listening to the Little Fox's words, Grego was a little angry, but after thinking about it, he felt that the other party did indeed make more sense now.
'Yes, the other party is plotting in the dark, and I'm thinking of hiding? That's too spineless. Hide my foot, let's fight them!'
Grego thought this in his heart, then he spoke to the text before him in his Black Dog mimicry form.
"Captain is right, now is indeed not the time to escape. I also think that perhaps now we need to face those guys head-on."
As Grego said this, Dorothy in Tivian, far away, couldn't help but show a slight smile upon hearing his words.
...
Southwest of the Preet Kingdom's main island, under the dark night sky, the steel train continued to speed forward across the fields.
In the middle of the night, in the aisle of the first-class carriage, at the end of the carpeted corridor, a train conductor in uniform was sitting here, guarding the spot. At this moment, he was half-asleep and half-awake, his eyes hazy, yawning, seemingly about to fall asleep at any moment.
Just then, he suddenly felt a pat on his shoulder. After a moment of surprise, he turned his head to look and saw another young train conductor standing beside him, carrying a suitcase in his hand and smiling at him.
"You look very sleepy. Go to sleep. It's my shift now..."
"Ugh... it's you. You came just in time, I can barely stay awake. It's up to you now."
Stretching and yawning, the train conductor got up and left. After watching him leave, the train conductor with the suitcase looked around. His expression became solemn as he silently walked to a compartment door and began to lightly knock, but there was no response.
'The medicine has taken effect... No one in the entire first-class carriage is awake now, right...'
The young train conductor thought this in his heart, and at the same time, a slight smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Then he strode quickly with his suitcase to another compartment, knocked lightly on the compartment door again, and still received no response.
"Guest... Guest... Compartment service, please open the door!"
The young train conductor continued to knock, this time a little harder, while also calling out, but still received no response. Seeing this, the conductor felt relieved in his heart, a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, and then he took out a key from his pocket and opened the door of the compartment before him.
After entering the compartment, the conductor quickly closed the door behind him and then looked at the scene inside the compartment. What he saw was a man leaning back on the sofa, wearing a vest and shirt, with his outer coat covering him, sleeping soundly. That was Gregorius.
Seeing the sleeping Gregorius, the smile on the conductor's lips became even more pronounced.
'Gregorius Meshaus... It took a lot of effort to eliminate you without a sound. If it were simply to kill you, everything would be much easier...'
Looking at the sleeping Gregorius, the conductor thought in his heart. In order to get rid of Gregorius without causing any disturbance, and to make Gregorius die quietly without any room for resistance, they chose to use medicine, medicine applied to all the dinner in the first-class carriage's dedicated dining car. This elaborate effort was precisely to make Gregorius fall into a deep sleep and then quietly eliminate him.
The purpose of going to such lengths to drug and then kill him was to ensure Gregorius had no room for resistance at all. His mission required Gregorius's death to not cause the slightest disturbance. Drugging him into unconsciousness with powerful medicine before killing him was the most secure method.
Looking at Gregorius, who was deeply asleep due to the medicine, the young train conductor put down the suitcase in his hand and walked very close to Gregorius. Then he took out a dagger from his clothes. However, he was not in a hurry to act. Instead, he stared at Gregorius's sleeping face, observing it carefully from various angles. After watching for a long time, he also closed his eyes, and then his face began to writhe, as if there were worms drilling everywhere under his skin. His entire face began to become unstable.
After a period of change, the conductor's face began to stabilize again, and finally, his face was no longer the one from before, but had become Gregorius's face, a face exactly like Gregorius's.
This was Facade Change, the ability of Black Rank Extraordinary, the Shadow Masked Man.
"So... from today onwards, I am Gregorius Meshaus, the Hunter from Igwinte going to Tivian for my new post..."
Wearing Gregorius's face, the conductor muttered in a low voice with Gregorius's voice. Then he gripped the dagger in his hand, preparing to stab Gregorius on the sofa, but... someone was one step faster than him.
Before he could make a move, those sleeping eyes suddenly snapped open, and then the hand hidden under the coat suddenly reached out. Hidden under the coat was an uncapped bottle of ink. With a sudden swing, a large amount of black ink splashed out of the bottle, splashing towards the conductor's face.
"What..."
Seeing this, the conductor, reacting with Black Rank "Shadow", immediately brought his hand back to his face, blocking the splashing ink to prevent it from getting into his eyes, and this action also obscured his own vision.
Seizing this opportunity, "Gregorius" suddenly exploded from the sofa, approaching the conductor at high speed with cold eyes. Taking advantage of the conductor's limited vision, he kicked him hard in the groin. The conductor, whose groin was violently struck, couldn't help but cry out in pain and was kicked back two steps, hitting the wall with his back. "Gregorius", who had gained the upper hand, didn't give him a chance to catch his breath and immediately stepped forward.
He reached out a hand and firmly grabbed the conductor's wrist holding the dagger. The conductor, in intense pain, wanted to break free, but the strength gripping his wrist was surprisingly great. With his Student Rank "cup", he couldn't completely shake free for a while.
Relying on surprise to restrain the hand holding the weapon, "Gregorius" clenched his fist and mercilessly smashed it towards the conductor's face. The conductor wanted to dodge. Such an attack should have been easy to dodge with the reaction and speed of a Black Rank "Shadow", but unfortunately, the space in the compartment was too small. Furthermore, the other party had restrained his hand, limiting his movement, and the conductor, still in intense pain from the violent blow to his groin, was caught off guard and couldn't dodge.
Then, "Gregorius"'s fist smashed hard onto the face that was identical to his own, deforming his face.
At this moment, in her bedroom in Green Shade Town, Tivian, far away, Dorothy, wearing pajamas, couldn't help but show a slight smile at the corner of her mouth.
"Hehe... So this is what it feels like to punch my brother... A rare experience..."