11 Holy and Gentle Smile

There is nothing more pleasant than looking at the twisted face of your enemy. At least, that's the case for Astr.

'No, now the relationship between me and the portrait creature is not hostility, but a master-servant relationship,' Astr thought and looked towards the night mare creature.

{Ho—ho—! } The Canvasbane was so angry that her whole body was shaking so fast, and now it is just a colour canvas without any face or anything.

A pair of black hole-like whirlpool eyes stared at Astr, wanting to tear him apart, peel off his skin, and rip his bones from his belly. However, it did not dare to move any more.

In that short moment, all the courage of Canvasbane to resist had been defeated, and its outer shell of anger had been directly peeled off, revealing the deep fear inside it.

The wooden picture frame was falling apart, like a stepped biscuit. This injury is equivalent to the shattering of human bones, except that the portrait will not die.

"Don't look at me like that; do you know there is a saying that a villain dies fast if it talks too much?" Astr smiled happily and said towards the canvas,

"And didn't you already agree to do things for me? Now that you are under my control, why show anger like this?

{You didn't say it would be such a restriction that cannot be resisted! You despicable human being!}

"No restriction? Oh, so you think that I will set you free without any restriction, and while my guard is down, you can take advantage?"

{...} The Canvasbane stopped talking because this human being in front of her is right.

'Anyway, now that I have been tied up by this evil white thread, I cannot resist, so let's leave resistance for now'

Canvasbane stopped pretending and put on a stinky face. And it lay paralysed on the ground motionless.

'It is showing that she didn't want to work. Nice, but it will not work in front of me. She has temper, but she is a spineless coward'.

Astr nodded with satisfaction.

'Once this kind of character is tamed, it will become a good and loyal dog. Ah, no calling dog is bad; a subordinate is a subordinate.'

"System, it's status."

[Name: Canvasbane]

[Creature: Escaped Advanced Portrait Nightmare Creature]

[Level: 13]

[Attitude: Resentment]

[Skills:] 1) Canvas Infiltration: Canvasbane within the enchanted painting dwells in a Nighmare realm depicted by oils. It materialises from paintings as its painted form in Nighmares. And sometimes it can successfully infiltrate another being's body; it can assume their identity and manifest in the real world.

2) Oil Paint Space Gallery: The nightmare space of the portrait is a circular area with a radius of 60 metres; the power of oil paint can be used in this nightmare space.

3) Fusion: It will be unlocked at Wizard Apprentice level 10.]

It is indeed different from the ordinary [portrait] mob; it looks like a high-level Nightmare Creature evolution.

'It has already reached level 13. No wonder it's so hard to fight.'

Astr had no idea how unbelievable and contrary to common sense it was for him to defeat the portrait of "Anna" by surpassing several levels.

'No wonder this Canvasbane was so confident at first.' Aste glanced at the ruined Canvasbane, thought for a moment, and said

"You escaped from the Lust Painter, right?"

Although it was a question, the tone was affirmative.

Hearing this, the Canvasbane suddenly raised its head and said, in shock.{How do you know?}

'I feel that I said this sentence many times today. However, this human being brings a new impact to it every time.

Even if he knows that the portraits are all from the Nightmare Lord Lust Painter, how does he know that it escaped from there? Could it be that this is one of the functions of that white line?' Canvasbane thought over and over in just one minute but wasn't able to find anything.

The Canvasbane does not know that its own creature name has "Escaped Advanced Portrait Nightmare Creature" in its system status, and the Escaped name is only given to those who ran away from their Lord. This is the rule of the game.

Canvasbane looked at Astr tremblingly and vigilantly. It is a deep feeling that the human being in front of her is unfathomable and was by no means as weak and easy to bully as it appeared.

'No, I have already paid the price of measuring him. I can't be late to answer; otherwise, something bad will happen. This is the feeling I'm getting.'

After a moment of silence, the Canvasbane spoke hoarsely.

{Yes, I escaped from... that Lord. For some reason, I was clearly just at the bottom, without even a face, but one day I randomly entered a painting. When I came out of the painting, I got some new abilities, like intelligence, and I started possessing something called "emotion". }

{But emotions and intelligence are not allowed at Lord Place. The Nightmare Lord will not allow an inferior thing to have his own intelligence, thoughts, and emotions. This is blasphemy, like those fanatic believers of the Eternal Burning Sun deeming you heretic if you disrespect their God}

{Same as this, we are heretic if we possess any of our own emotions and thoughts.}

{Originally, as a heretic, I should have been destroyed, but I managed to escape using the nightmare space... Of course, I was seriously injured. }

{Tossing and turning, when I regained consciousness, I was already in this painting... You also know what happened next... And after I got intelligence, I gave myself the name Canvasbane}

After the Canvasbane finished speaking, she felt feelings of shame, anger, and hate bloom in her heart.

'I was hated by my own godlike creator, and he wanted me to be destroyed. And after struggles, I finally managed to escape; I fell into this human being's hand. I hate myself.

Maybe this is the punishment for betraying that Lord.'

At this moment, a warm energy suddenly flowed into the portrait's body.

The scorching flames were extinguished and replaced by moonlight-like clarity, repairing its tattered canvas and cracked wooden frame. The canvasser looked up in surprise and met a pair of icy-blue eyes.

Astr kneeled down, stretched out his slender hand, pressed it on the portrait's dirty and mottled head, and said softly, hiding his cruel smile on his face.

"Your grief days have passed. Under my command, I promise that you will not be wronged."

{...}

Now if Astr smile is holy and gentle, if it is seen by the bishop or pope from the church, he will directly become the Holy Son of the church.

But Canvasbane felt extremely afraid of this smile.

'I feel fear in every inch of my body, even my soul. Not even my original owner, the Nightmare Lord, had ever given me such a feeling.'

The seven nightmare lords, derived from strong desires and the seven deadly sins, rule the entire nightmare world.

People like Astr can be said to be small-time Canon fodders in front of them.

{You feel like Nightmare Lord to me in disguise} Canvasbane asked with so much thought and hesitation, but she wants to know why she is feeling this much fear and his soul.

"Huh, no, I am just a weak, helpless young boy in a wheelchair, and now you are my subordinate. So don't compare me with those high lords, my dear  subordinate."Astr said it with a holy smile while hiding his thoughts.

'What the fuck, Nightmare Lord? I am just a wizard apprentice, bro! Maybe it should be an effect of soul threads as for Nighmare Lord..'

'One of the Nightmare Lords, The Lust Painter, will come back to his life in a year in the outer world. He will show his power to the cultists who believe in the God of Nightmares, and from there he will start his plan to bring the entire Leonis Empire into his nightmare space.

I can't even bring my whole house into my Nightmare Space, and that guy is bringing the whole Empire, so bro, see the fucking difference.

'When the first version of the game started, nightmare creatures and cultists were already wreaking havoc in the empire.

Nightmare creatures attract each other, and if one nightmare creature is not purified in time, it will lead to a series of disasters with a huge army.'

'The Serene family's mansion turned into a twisted nightmare space, which was also affected. But the main reason was because of Noye and Nightmare's school technique.

'The main mission of version 1.0 is to fight against the Lust Painter and stop his crazy attempt. After hard work, the players finally succeeded, but still paid a huge price.'

'Countless people were displaced into various areas of the continent, and the Empire's power also declined. The Leonese Empire failed to return to its former glory in later years. So at least I need to stay safe.

"Fate has tied us together. So let's work together, and don't think of me as a nightmare lord or something; think of me as your good master. We both will work to solve the future disasters that will come," Astr said profoundly with a holy and gentle smile, looking towards Canvasbane.

Now Canvasbane looked like a follower who was being led down the right path.

'I think this human being is right. Maybe he is a good person also.'

Only if she knew what Astr meant—well, that's for later. If she knew, it is estimated that she would burn herself on the spot.

Astr didn't explain much to the Canvasbane because he seemed to see a bright achievement floating in front of his eyes. If people were to see, there are stars in his eyes now.

'Killing a Nightmare Lord, does it count as a big contribution? Can I win the Hamlet Award from Astral Academy for this achievement and get the complete active brain of Midnight Goblin?'

'Yes, I think it is possible. When the time comes, I can ask the Emperor for a reward, maybe. Can I think right?' Astr thought like a crazy person; it was like a single ant was thinking of killing an elephant.

"Hehehe..." Astr chuckled like a crazy maniac due to his bloodied face, and the Canvasbane shuddered for some reason as she looked at the smile on Astr's lips.

'There is always an ominous premonition...What is this human being thinking about? I feel something bad is going to happen.' Canvasbane thought seeing her feelings

Sometimes, the Canvasbane can't help but doubt Astr's ethnicity.

Because Astr doesn't look like a human being to her. He looks more like a nightmare creature due to his soul, and there is a saying in the nightmare realm.

'Never trust any nightmare creature. Never ever.'