After a short journey across the sea, Ranboo and his task force arrived at Eret's castle. He didn't waste any time; with a sense of urgency coursing through his veins, the sentient led the charge to the end of the red carpet.

"Eret!!"

The king, who sat discussing something with his attendant, jumped at the sound of his name. His brow furrowed at the sight of so many unannounced guests. "Ranboo? What are you doing here?"

The enderman had his hands on his knees, struggling to catch his breath; Eret took this as an opportunity to acknowledge the rest of his visitors. "Technoblade, Sapnap, and President Tubbo- what a surprise. That's incredible, President Tubbo. I was just about to send for you."

"Really?" Tubbo queried. "What for?"

Eret shooed his attendant out from the throne room and sighed. "I have a bit of an unusual request," the king confessed, "and I thought, with your set of skills, you'd know exactly how to handle it. It seems as though something is haunting my castle. I was hoping you could help me get to the bottom of it."

Sapnap gasped. "Oh my gods! They could be dreamons!!"

"Dreamons?" Techno echoed. "What's that?"

Tubbo immediately spun around to face the piglin. "Dreamons are a special class of demons," he replied. "They're very rare, but very dangerous."

Ranboo stepped in front of the group, and bent himself into a deep bow before the throne. "We'd like to stay the night and catch these evil creatures, if it would please you, Your Highness."

Eret clapped his hands together and smiled. "Splendid! By all means, please, stay the night. My armory's at your disposal, should you need any weapons. Dinner will begin shortly in the main hall-"

"Dinner?" Sapnap inquired. "Alright!" The human raced out of the throne room, his heart set on finding his free meal.

Ranboo shook his head fondly at the man's antics. Tonight would be interesting to say the least. One good meal together would surely do them some good.

As the sun set on the horizon, the shadows of the castle stretched longer and longer, appearing more ominous as time went on. Techno lazily swung his diamond hoe behind a decorative pillar, and sighed when nothing happened. "I don't understand what the big deal is with these dreamons," the piglin huffed. "They're just demons. It's not like they'd hurt us or anything."

"Dreamons are no joke, Techno. They're nothing like demons," Ranboo said. "Wait, have you fought a demon before?"

The piglin shrugged. "Never had to," he replied. "I'm the Blood God. Demons practically worship me."

Ranboo paused. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Of course, the Blood God would have a pact with demons- he was the top PVP player on the server! The warrior piglin must have sent hundreds, if not thousands, of souls down to hell. Ranboo could see the demons being very pleased with the number of souls Techno had gifted them.

"Okay, but these aren't just any demons," the enderman countered. "They're like walking triggers. They can bring up your deepest, darkest secret, and use it against you." Ranboo suddenly stopped walking in the middle of the hall, and looked his brother in-law dead in the eye. "Techno, I know you hear voices in your head."

"What?! Who told you?!"

"Phil did. On our way out." Ranboo knew it was risky even talking about the voices, but the enderman couldn't put their mission in jeopardy. Some things just had to be said. "Look, Techno, I'm not here to judge you or make fun of you or anything. I just need you to know that dreamons don't care. They don't care that you're the Blood God, or how you're King of the Demons. They'll use your voices against you and they will possess you."

Techno scoffed. "I'm pretty sure I can handle myself, Ranboo," he said. "I mean, come on. We're using eggs to attack them? They can't be that powerful."

"Don't underestimate the power of a dreamon," the enderman warned. "The eggs are just to stun them. It can be the difference between life and death." Ranboo bit his lip, hesitating before he added, "I don't want you fighting them, alright, Techno? You haven't fought them before, and they're really dangerous."

"Right," Techno monotoned, voice dripping with sarcasm. "And that's supposed to make me fear them?"

"Techno-"

Just then, a long, blood-curdling howl echoed down the halls. Ranboo gasped. "That sounded like Eret," he said. "Come on!" The two sprinted off down in the direction of the scream, fully intent on defending the lone monarch.

When the two finally reached the king's private chambers, they quickly realized that they'd stumbled into a warzone. Tubbo was near the front of the room by the large oak doors, swinging his diamond hoe every which way. As he backed one creature into the corner, he slashed another creeping up on his left, causing the dreamon to vanish in mid-air.

Meanwhile, Sapnap dueled with another figure off to the right. He stood at the foot of the master bed, defending the startled king from yet another ruinous creature. But like a wicked hydra, the dreamons kept coming, two appearing where one had just fallen. It was a mighty battle indeed; the hunters needed all the help they could get.

Ranboo shoved his carton of eggs into Technoblade's hands. "Techno, stay here!" he ordered. "Use the eggs!" Before the piglin could respond, the enderman was off, leaping to the middle of the fray.

Ranboo dodged every sinister reach of the dreamons' clawed hands, weaving through every shadow with ease. He stabbed and parried, finishing off dreamon after dreamon. But these were crafty creatures. They began forming dark spheres of fog, and blasting them towards their humanoid enemies. Ranboo braced himself for one such blow, and hissed when the orb made impact. Fortunately, most of the darkness evaporated the second it touched the sentient's sleeve. Wisps of the fog came over him, swirling traces of sinister thoughts of his mind- it was nothing the enderman couldn't handle.

Just then, Sapnap's yelp could be heard over the echoes of battle: "I'm out of eggs!" the man screamed. "What do I do?!"

Ranboo, who had fought his way to the opposite side of the room, looked back the same time a rogue dreamon came up from the floorboards. Carrying a sphere so dark, he knew the creature didn't intend to stun Sapnap- it meant to possess him. Ranboo wouldn't let that happen, not on his watch.

The second the orb left the being's grasp, Ranboo sprinted forward. He dove over the edge of the bed, and violently slashed down through the sphere. The demonic threat evaporated into nothing; the enderman had won. Ranboo continued to tumble over the foot of the bed, and banged his head hard against a nearby dresser. His hoe dropped from his hand as his body went limp on the hardwood floor. 

RANBOOOO!!!! NOOOO!!!

VOTE TO WAKE UP OUR FAVORITE ENDERBOY!!!

As always, thank you so much for all the love and support. I would fight Dreamons for y'all. <333

[Image Credits] "A bedroom" (Cropped out desk on left-hand side) by Tristan Higbee (https://www.flickr.com/photos/tristanhigbee/8158614769/)