Chapter 18: Children Do Not Need Dreams

"What?" Aihara Ryu was momentarily stunned.

He then hurriedly asked, "Are you saying there really is an alien here?!"

Shinjo glanced at Aihara Ryu with a strange expression.

"Alien of the different dimension, Cilanbo..." Daigo muttered the name, feeling a sense of familiarity he couldn't quite place.

"Is he the one responsible for the children who went missing all over the world on Halloween?" Konomi’s round face filled with indignation.

"Yes, it’s highly likely to be him." Lin Yu nodded, his eyes sharpening as he scanned the surrounding crowd. "Cilanbo is an alien that feeds on the dreams of children. It prefers to disguise itself as an old woman and lure them with lollipops. It usually hides in a different dimensional space and only emerges to hunt on Halloween."

As Lin Yu explained, Daigo suddenly looked up.

An old woman? Lollipops? Feeding on children's dreams?!

Wasn't that...?

The quick-witted Aihara Ryu and Shinjo realized it too, their expressions darkening instantly.

"Damn it, it's that old hag!"

"We let her slip right past us!"

"She must be in that direction!"

Aihara Ryu took off sprinting, with Shinjo hot on his heels.

"Daigo, what’s wrong with you guys?" Rena and Konomi asked, confused and lagging behind.

"The alien Captain Lin Yu mentioned—I’ve seen her before!" Daigo explained dejectedly, "It’s my fault for not seeing through her disguise!" He then ran off to join the others.

"Let’s go too. We can't let scum like that get away," Lin Yu added, following them.

"I’m contacting headquarters!" Rena pulled out her communicator. Konomi hung her head and hurried to keep up.

...

"Little ones, come, take your candy."

The old woman was still surrounded by a group of children, the lollipops on her cart nearly gone. Watching several children begin to eat the sweets, a sinister grin spread across the ugly face hidden beneath her witch's hat.

"Stop right there!" A shout of fury rang out.

Aihara Ryu and Shinjo arrived first. Seeing the old woman, the two hotheads immediately drew their weapons and aimed, fingers tightening on the triggers!

Fortunately, Daigo arrived just in time. "Wait! There are children everywhere!" he shouted, blocking them.

The two men realized their mistake and quickly holstered their weapons. Realizing she had been exposed, the old woman immediately tried to push her cart and flee.

*Whoosh!*

A stone flew through the air with incredible speed, striking the old woman precisely on the forehead. While a human-sized Zarab alien could be killed by a pistol, Cilanbo was no tougher. Empowered by Ultra-Telekinesis, the stone struck with such force that she let out a howl of pain and stumbled to the ground. Her cart crashed into a utility pole, sending lollipops scattering everywhere. She looked utterly wretched.

"Evacuate the crowd! Kill her as quickly as possible!" Lin Yu’s command rang out, snapping everyone to attention.

"Everyone, get out of here! We are from the GUYS and GUTS teams. This is an alien, it's dangerous!"

"This is not a performance! Everyone leave immediately!" Konomi and Rena shouted at the top of their lungs, waving their identification badges.

However, without uniforms or megaphones, it was unrealistic to expect a quick evacuation in such a setting. Most people simply took it as a Halloween show and watched with amusement.

Aihara Ryu, Shinjo, and Daigo drew their weapons and quickly approached the fallen figure. Lin Yu’s eyes flashed with blue light; he intended to do as he had with the Zarab alien—forcefully suppress the creature's ability to enlarge with his Ultra-Telekinesis to give the others a chance to finish it off. After all, no matter how weak an alien might be, its giant form could cause immense destruction. It was best to kill it before it could grow. Besides, Cilanbo was not exactly weak.

"You meddlesome defense teams again!" The old woman scrambled to her feet. She glared at them with venomous hatred, her voice raspy like a witch consumed by fire. "Why do you keep ruining my fun over and over again?!"

The old woman let out a shriek that made their eardrums ache. The unsuspecting crowd nearby began to scream in pain. Panic finally erupted, and people started to scatter in every direction. Even the pressure of Lin Yu’s telekinesis was dampened by the force of her screech.

"This creature is an interdimensional being with the ability to warp space and create illusions. Its mental strength is far superior to the Zarab alien’s. I can't suppress it," Lin Yu frowned, realizing the cause.

"We are stopping you because you are preying on our future!" Daigo asked, battling the ringing in his ears, "Where did you take those missing children?"

"Heh, don't worry, they are doing just fine!" The old woman laughed strangely. She gestured, and a child holding a half-eaten lollipop walked toward her with a vacant, glassy-eyed stare. Before everyone's eyes, the old woman leaned toward the child's ear. As a multicolored glow drifted from the child into her mouth, the boy’s face—and then his entire body—turned deathly pale in a second. He collapsed limply to the ground. The old woman looked satisfied, smacking her lips as if savoring the taste.

"You monster!" The men's eyes turned red. Aihara Ryu dropped his gun, ready to charge in and fight hand-to-hand!

"Give that child's dream back! His dreams belong only to him!" Konomi’s tears fell uncontrollably as she aimed her weapon at the old woman with trembling hands.

"Children don't need dreams! Before they grow up, they only need to be as obedient as dolls and toys!" The old woman cackled as her body began to change.

She was enlarging. Since she was exposed, she would embark on a massacre.

In an instant, a forty-to-fifty-meter tall alien appeared. A single, jewel-blue eye in the center of a brown body looked especially eerie under the oppressive light of the Halloween moon. Panic ignited!

The interdimensional alien—Cilanbo—had arrived!

Raising a massive foot, Cilanbo aimed for Konomi, who was ignoring the danger to scoop up the child whose dream had been stolen.

"Watch out!"

"Damn thing, is attacking women and children all you know how to do?" Aihara Ryu, Shinjo, and Daigo fired repeatedly, their special ammunition sparking against Cilanbo’s hide, but it did little damage to the giant form.

Cilanbo ignored their attacks, intent on crushing Konomi first.

*Gegi!*

A shrill cry rang out! A black hole opened in the sky behind Cilanbo without warning, and a lightning-charged tail whipped out with lethal precision, striking Cilanbo hard!

*Boom!*

Cilanbo was sent flying, crashing heavily into a skyscraper! Eleking landed, closing the distance in a few strides, and raised its massive foot to stomp down hard.

So, you like stepping on people, do you?!