"!"
Griseo, who was lying on the bed and dreaming, suddenly felt an unsettling presence and was abruptly awakened. She opened her violet eyes, still a little groggy, and rubbed them before slowly sitting up to observe her surroundings.
It was then that Griseo noticed there was no one around her. Talulah, who should have been asleep, was lying on the table under dim candlelight, seemingly unconscious.
However, Griseo did not believe that Talulah was merely sleeping. Others might not notice the abnormality, but she could see it clearly. In her eyes, the draco lying on the table was surrounded by a light and illusory black mist, which was still agitated.
Griseo knew what this black mist was without having to guess. As for why this situation suddenly occurred, she thought it must be her painting that played a role. Just as she was about to get out of bed to do something, an unexpected sound suddenly rang out.
**[Ding, "Ourobouros" Mobius is unlocking, unlocking progress is 1%.]**
"!"
"???"
After hearing the voice in her mind clearly, Griseo froze in her action of getting out of bed. Although there was no expression on her little face, her eyes were full of astonishment and confusion.
Her little head, still foggy from the abrupt awakening, was stunned by this direct impact...
"..."
"!"
After a while, Griseo finally reacted and then pinched her face. Feeling a bit of pain, she confirmed that she was not dreaming.
She quickly summoned the panel and turned to Mobius.
As expected, Mobius, which previously did not show the specific unlocking method, now had it marked.
["Infinity" Mobius]
**[Unlocking method: Collect nightmare value of Deathless Black Snake (Kashchey)]**
**[Current unlocking progress: 2%]**
Seeing the unlocking method for the first time, Griseo was so happy that she almost wanted to jump up and cheer, but her reserved nature restrained her.
This felt like someone gave her a pillow just when she was sleepy—a big win.
At that moment, Griseo finally realized what was going on tonight.
To verify her thoughts, she quickly jumped off the bed and walked towards Talulah step by step.
After arriving beside the draco, Griseo first took a deep look at the still restless black mist. Then she gently pushed Talulah's shoulder and whispered, "Sister Talulah...get up."
"..."
However, Talulah did not react to Griseo's shaking and calling, as if she had fainted.
At this moment, Griseo was completely sure of what was going on. Tonight, her painting had not only taken effect but was very effective, though the effect had been slightly delayed.
As for why she said that, it was because Griseo had just discovered through contact that the magic of the painting had not only affected Talulah but also the snake that resided within her.
Now, if nothing unexpected happened, the Black Snake should have seen the thing it feared most in its heart... As for what that was, Griseo did not know.
Of course, Griseo didn't know what Talulah saw or what she was experiencing.
"Mr. Knight... Please help carry Talulah to the bed."
Griseo slowly withdrew her hand from Talulah's shoulder and softly called her loyal knight.
The blue knight responded to the call of his princess at the fastest speed, appearing beside Griseo almost instantly.
Then, he gently and gentlemanly picked up Talulah and carried her to the bed.
Griseo, watching the knight's movements, was deep in thought.
Since she now knew how to unlock Mobius, she was determined to catch Kashchey and pull out his scales until Mobius was fully unlocked.
However, Griseo knew that Kashchey was no fool. This kind of accident would only happen once at most. If it happened again, he would probably run away and possess someone else.
At that time, it would not be so easy to catch the Black Snake and pull out its scales again.
So, Griseo had to take advantage of the Black Snake's current vulnerability and come up with a foolproof plan to extract its scales...
Even if she accidentally have to let the Black Snake go in the end, she had to wait until Mobius was completely unlocked.
"Hmm..."
After thinking for a while, Griseo couldn't come up with a good plan.
It was easy to keep the Black Snake—just draw a picture now and seal him in it—but it was difficult to keep him afraid, as the "dream" would end sooner or later.
"Ah..."
As Griseo was standing there pondering, Mr. Knight moved to her side without her noticing, picked her up, and placed her on the bed, gently covering her with a quilt.
"Well... Thank you, Mr. Knight."
Feeling the warmth of the quilt, Griseo squinted comfortably and thanked Mr. Knight politely.
...
"..."
After more thought, Griseo still couldn't think of a good plan, so she decided to use the simplest method to get the character value from the Black Snake.
This method was to extend the Black Snake's current fearful state until she collected enough character value.
The extension method was simple: draw a picture with the color of the Deathless Black Snake and send it to Talulah.
"Mr. Knight..."
Just as Griseo was about to call Mr. Knight to tell him what she needed, he had already started to move and set up the easel.
"...Amazing."
After marveling at Mr. Knight, Griseo left the warm bed again and sat on her small stool.
Not knowing when the Black Snake would emerge from this state, she took out her special weapon, [Elysian Astra], to assist in her painting.
She planned to prepare two paintings this time: one to prolong the effect of the dream on the Black Snake and the other to seal Kashchey in Talulah to prevent his escape...