I created a foundation

The visitor was wearing a well-tailored dark suit with an exquisite retro bow tie at his collar. His black hair was combed meticulously, showing a sense of deliberate elegance.

On that overly handsome face, there was a stylized and elegant smile, almost like that of a stage actor.

It's a nightmare.

He turned slightly to face Yukino who was sitting in the middle of the classroom. He gently placed his left hand on his chest, bowed slightly, and performed an impeccable chest-touching gesture.

"Good evening, beautiful lady."

His voice was soft and gentle, with a strange, drowsy rhythm, as if he was reciting a lingering poem in a lover's ear.

"It seems that there is one more audience member tonight than I expected."

As he spoke, his eyes flickered over the three figures in the corner who had almost stopped breathing. The standard smile on the corner of his mouth seemed to deepen, revealing a creepy chill.

Then he closed his eyes, slightly raised his beautifully shaped chin, and took a deep breath.

The action was full of intoxication and fascination, as if smelling the most extreme and rarest fragrance in the world.

"what……"

A trembling, contented sigh escaped his lips, echoing in the silent classroom.

"What a wonderful fragrance..."

He opened his eyes again. Those lifeless eyes, as if covered by a layer of mist, now shone with a sickly, greedy luster. His gaze, like a tangible venomous snake, slowly slithered over San, Bi, and Ye Shan's bodies, which were stiff with fear.

"After a whole day of fermentation, this fear mixed with guilt, regret, and the desire to survive..."

He paused deliberately, as if savoring the taste of each word blooming on his tongue, enjoying the violent emotional fluctuations caused by his prey.

“…it has matured into the finest wine.”

fear.

This word, like the sharpest ice pick, pierced into Miura Yumiko's heart and made her tremble all over.

Guilt.

remorse.

Will to survive.

Every word was like a red-hot iron, mercilessly burning her most fragile nerves. These emotions were exactly what she and Yuigahama had been chewing over and over throughout the day, trying desperately to suppress.

Miura's body began to tremble violently, and his teeth chattered up and down uncontrollably, making a subtle but clear "click" sound.

She's not a fool.

She understood instantly.

I understood why they were left in this ominous classroom.

I understood why this well-dressed and elegantly-spoken man didn't tear them to pieces right away.

They are not lucky survivors.

They are... sacrifices.

It is a living sacrifice in order to "brew" what he calls "top-quality wine".

Yuigahama Yui's face had long lost all color, and her bright eyes, which always had a hint of natural cuteness, were now completely filled with immense horror, as if she had seen the most terrifying scene in the world.

She opened her mouth, wanting to scream, wanting to call for help, but no sound came out. Her throat seemed to be strangled by an invisible hand, and even breathing became extremely difficult.

Crystal clear tears burst out uncontrollably, sliding down her pale and cold cheeks, dripping onto the dusty floor, leaving small wet marks.

The arm that Hayato Hayama used to block the two of them was stretched as straight as steel, and his muscles were twitching slightly uncontrollably due to extreme tension.

He tried hard to remain calm and maintain his image as a "reliable leader", but the fine cold sweat that kept oozing from his forehead and the heart that was almost jumping out of his throat in his chest mercilessly betrayed his inner panic and powerlessness.

He always thought that with his wisdom and family background, he could always control the situation, or at least protect his companions.

However, in front of this man who called himself Nightmare, all his pride and self-confidence were crushed without a trace left.

It turns out that from the moment they set foot on this campus, or perhaps even earlier, they were just garnishes on this monster's carefully arranged dinner plate, waiting to be tasted.

This extremely cruel realization is more despairing than any direct threat of violence and blood.

The bone-chilling feeling of despair, like a surging black tide, swept in from all directions and completely engulfed the three of them in an instant.

Even the last bit of strength to struggle seemed to be completely drained by this suffocating feeling of despair.

Yukinoshita Yukino was still sitting quietly on the chair, like an unchanging ice sculpture.

The elegant yet cruel words of the man at the podium were like the clearest drumbeats, hitting her eardrums again and again.

She could even clearly smell the strange, disgusting smell emanating from the other person, a mixture of stale wood and sweet flowers.

She didn't look at the three classmates in the corner who were on the verge of collapse due to fear.

Her gaze was always like two sharp ice spikes, firmly locked on Nightmare.

The ice-blue eyes were calm and peaceful, like two deep, bottomless cold pools without a single ripple.

The open paperback in her hand had been quietly closed at some point, and she gently pressed it with her slender fingers and placed it flat on her knees.

Her sitting posture was still impeccably upright, and her straight back was like a cedar tree standing proudly in the biting cold wind, revealing an inviolable loneliness and tenacity.

Facing the Nightmare's dramatic and morbid words and the chilling cruel declaration, there was no unnecessary expression on her face.

There was no fear, no anger, not even a hint of disgust.

There was only an extreme, almost inhuman calmness, as if everything happening before her had nothing to do with her, or perhaps, it was all within her expectations and not worth her emotional response.

She just looked at him quietly, like an experienced hunter carefully observing the prey caught in a trap, assessing the degree of danger and value of the other party.

Nightmare seemed very satisfied with the effect of his words.

He looked with interest at the three faces in the corner that were twisted and trembling with extreme fear. Seeing the despair growing in their eyes, the elegant smile on his face became brighter and brighter, with a twisted and creepy satisfaction.

He slowly turned his gaze to Yukino in the middle of the classroom again. In those empty eyes, there was now a barely perceptible hint of amusement and scrutiny, as if he was admiring a precious work of art that was about to be in his possession.

The air in the classroom grew even more dignified due to Yukino's beastly transformation. That primal, ferocious aura, mingled with the rich scent of blood and the lingering stench of burnt lightning, creating a suffocating, oppressive feeling. Her icy-blue, cat-like eyes, gleaming with cold murderous intent, locked onto the "ghost" before her.

The surprise on Nightmare's face lasted only a moment before it was replaced by his usual elegant yet false smile. He looked at Yukino's current form with great interest—the furry yet dangerous animal ears, the long tail swaying slightly behind her, and the energy fangs on the knuckles of her hands that flashed with cold light.

"Oh my, what an amazing gesture." Nightmare clapped softly, his voice hollow and artificial. "From a cold literary girl to an elegant beast. This is truly the most unexpected surprise of the night."

He bowed slightly and performed an exaggerated greeting like a stage actor.

"Well, in return for this surprise, I will present you with the sweetest dream. The banquet begins now."

The moment his voice fell, an indescribable chill rose from the hearts of Hayama, Miura and Yuigahama.

The nightmare didn't give them any time to react or escape.

He used his unique voice with a strange hypnotic rhythm, softly, like the whisper of love, or like a lullaby sung by a mother, to recite: "The whisper of blood vampire magic forced sleep hypnosis..."

The sound was not loud, but it seemed to carry some kind of magic, directly penetrating the eardrum and drilling deep into the brain.

An invisible, invisible wave, centered in the nightmare, spread like ripples across the surface of water, instantly reaching every corner of the music classroom. The air seemed to thicken, the light distorted, a hazy, unreal quality. A faint, almost nauseatingly sweet aroma quietly permeated the air.

Yukino's alert, erect animal ears trembled slightly. She could clearly sense an invisible force surging like a tide, attempting to invade her consciousness and tug at her spirit. An ordinary person would likely lose all resistance the moment they came into contact with this force.

However, the weak yet indestructible [Mind Barrier] that Lin Qing had shared with her quietly unfolded like an invisible barrier around the periphery of her consciousness. The sweet and strange power collided with the barrier without causing a ripple, completely isolated and dissipated. Yukino experienced only a brief, almost negligible moment of trance before her consciousness returned to absolute clarity.

Her cold gaze swept over the other three people in the corner.

The color drained from Hayato Hayama's face at a visible rate. His clenched fists twitched in a futile attempt to maintain a last bit of clarity, but his eyes, usually calm, quickly lost focus, becoming empty and blank. The terror and despair on his face seemed to have been paused, frozen for a moment before being replaced by a smile of utter satisfaction, bordering on idiocy. His lips moved unconsciously, as if he were savoring the world's most delicious candy, and then his body slumped, toppling to the side with a soft, muffled thud.

Miura Yumiko, standing beside him, her body, previously tense with utter fear, strangely relaxed at this moment. Her lips, pale from blood loss, parted slightly, as if about to scream, but only a satisfied sigh escaped. The fear on her face receded like the tide, replaced by a halo of extreme, almost pious happiness. Her eyes narrowed slightly, tears still lingering on her long lashes, but the corners of her mouth stretched into a smile she had never seen before, an eerie, brilliant smile, as if she had seen in a dream all the glory she had pursued her whole life. Like a flower that bloomed and withered in an instant, she collapsed silently to the ground.

Curled up in the far corner, Yuigahama Yui's large eyes, once brimming with tears, now seemed to be filled with honey, gleaming with an innocent and joyful light. The tears still stained her face, but a childlike smile stretched across her lips. Her small hands unconsciously pawed at the air, as if chasing a fluttering butterfly. Then, with that sweet smile on her face, she tilted her head and fell into a deep sleep, a faint blush of satisfaction still on her face.

In just a few seconds, three living beings fell silently to the cold ground like puppets with their souls taken away. Without exception, they had happy and sweet smiles on their faces, immersed in the dream that Nightmare had woven in their hearts, which led to eternal death.

Yukino watched the scene in silence. Her hands, covered in energy fangs, tightened slightly. She knew these people had completely lost consciousness, their spirits completely dragged into the bottomless abyss called "Dreamland."

Nightmare walked with elegant steps, slowly pacing between the three fallen people, like a gardener inspecting his own garden, or like admiring a newly completed masterpiece.

"Hehehe..." He let out a few low and contented chuckles, the sound echoing in the silent classroom. "Look, what peaceful sleeping faces they have. They must be experiencing the most beautiful moments of their lives, right? Soon, this beauty will become eternal."

He stretched out his pale fingers and brushed them across Yuigahama's sweetly smiling cheek, a hint of intoxication flashing in his eyes.

"To die in the happiest dream is the most merciful gift I can give."

He enjoyed the absolute pleasure of being in control of everything and the joy of playing with people's hearts.

Then, he slowly turned around, and his lifeless eyes, which always wore a mask of elegance, finally looked towards the center of the classroom.

There, Yukinoshita Yukino was still standing quietly.

Her pair of snow-white animal ears stood up alertly, and her energy saber fangs flashed with cold light and were ready to strike. There was no confusion or sleepiness in her ice-blue cat eyes, only calmness and murderous intent like ten thousand years of ice.

For the first time, the smile on Nightmare's face truly froze.

There was a slight, imperceptible stiffness in his elegant posture, as if a gear in a precision-operated machine had suddenly gotten stuck.

"Oh?"

He tilted his head slightly, narrowed his narrow eyes, and for the first time, a glimmer of true wonder and inquiry flashed in his pupils that were as dead as a deep pool.

The flesh and blood in the classroom seemed to move slightly with the fluctuation of his emotions, and the eyeballs all over the walls and floor turned to Yukino in unison.

Nightmare took a small step forward, and the slight sound of his leather shoes stepping on the blood-stained floor seemed particularly clear in the silence.

He stared at Yukino intently, his voice a little deeper than before, and a barely perceptible hoarseness and coldness seeped into the deliberately maintained elegance.

"Why... aren't you asleep?"

Chapter 121: The Ice Queen's Beast Transformation

Nightmare's question, with a hint of disbelief trembling at the end, lingered in the silent music classroom.

His lifeless eyes were now fixed on Yukino, trying to find a flaw, a hint of disguise on her calm face.

However, no.

Yukinoshita Yukino still stood still, like the calmest point in the center of the storm.

She did not answer.

Her silence and her clarity are themselves a silent yet extremely clear declaration.