The Greatest Fear

Accept or refuse?

Ashiok was clearly somewhat hesitant.

Raymond had appeared far too confident, as though he were certain he would win this perilous battle of minds.

Anyone with a functioning brain would find it hard not to suspect there was some kind of trap involved.

Yet the mental realm happened to be Ashiok's greatest specialty.

If he fled from a challenge in the very field he excelled at most, how could he possibly win this war?

Simply put, it was a dilemma. No matter which choice he made, he would be dragged into a passive position where his opponent led him by the nose.

As for overpowering Raymond through raw strength, ever since witnessing Raymond's brief clash with his Nightmare duplicate, Ashiok had realized that the gap between them was far greater than he had imagined.

That instant distortion of time, space, and reality had, to some extent, already surpassed the gods of most planes. Raymond might even possess the ability to create a plane—or an entire universe—on his own.

One could never be too cautious when facing such an opponent.

Not to mention Little Annie, who sat on the ground babbling as she played by herself, looking utterly adorable.

Several dozen Nightmares that had rushed onto the city wall had tried to capture her. They were either instantly torn apart by an invisible force field or grabbed, squeezed into a ball, stuffed into her mouth, and eaten like snacks.

And the strongest ability of a Nightmare was to trigger fear in people...

Sorry, but how many infants who had not even developed self-awareness were afraid of anything?

Even if they caught cockroaches, bedbugs, spiders, or things as deadly as needles, razor blades, and poison crawling before them, they would still dare to shove them straight into their mouths.