Chapter 65

"NO! Who am I?" The expression on the demon's face was very weary, with a hint of alertness and the pallor caused by lack of sleep. No, this young man who had taken off the demon mask had already returned to his true self: "Yes, I remember."

"I am Jason Philip Smack Indale, once just a low-life thug, and now the demon of New York City!"

Jason showed signs of hysteria as he roared at his reflection in the mirror.

The Jason in the mirror looked at him, seeming to come alive: "You are not a demon, you are afraid..."

Jason flew into a rage: "What am I afraid of?"

"Sleep."

Just like Imir, who was harassed by Spider-Man and couldn't sleep, Jason also dared not sleep. Not only sleep, but ever since leaving the destroyed new technology center hall, whenever Jason relaxed a bit, a moment of distraction might plunge him into a terrible nightmare.

Nightmares tormented him, regardless of his identity. Even after returning to his criminal lair and taking off the mask, fear still accompanied the demon.

This was the grudge curse Imir left on him!

"Do you not fear sleep? Then close your eyes and try." The Jason in the mirror put on the demon mask, reaching out from the mirror, pointing at Jason's chest: "A demon is not afraid, prove it to me."

"No!" Jason clutched his head, squatting down in pain, afraid to sleep.

Once he closed his eyes, the terrible nightmares would come.

Jason was on the verge of breaking down!

He suddenly realized, looking at the demon that had crawled out of the mirror, and took several steps back in fear: "This is impossible, I clearly didn't sleep, why would I have nightmares with my eyes open?"

This place was both a dream world and the real world. Jason, trapped in the inner space, couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep.

"Are you really sure this is just a nightmare?" The demon with the yellow hood raised his head, revealing a vague figure in the shadow of his hood. His laughter was more rampant and hysterical than the demon's: "Hehehehe, darkness, descend!"

The last light in the room suddenly went out, all colors were drained, disappearing into the endless darkness. Everything seemed to be swallowed by the blackness, and it was abnormally quiet around Jason.

So quiet that he could hardly feel his own existence, even the sounds of his breathing and heartbeat were silenced by the darkness.

Suddenly, two slender, white arms reached out, tightly gripping the demon's neck.

This was the goddess in Jason's heart, the blonde woman, crying: "You... you, are actually a criminal? No, I can't believe it..."

Jason struggled, trying to break free from the blonde woman's hands, defending himself: "But it's true, darling. My mansion, my money, all the material things I enjoy, come from crime. Including you, without money, how could you love me?"

"What have I done? I never loved you! You demon!" The blonde woman's voice grew coarser, gradually changing from a female voice to a male voice.

Jason was startled by the sudden change in his beloved: "Who are you?"

"I am the demon."

This deep voice had no hint of madness, pale and lifeless, like... the wailing of a spirit from hell...

Jason screamed, swinging his fists and hitting the arms that gripped his neck: "No, I am the demon!" His voice was hoarse and off-key from being choked.

The shadow in front of him instantly disappeared, leaving only the voice repeating: "The person you fear the most is yourself. I am you, I am your fear, your nightmare."

Jason's feet felt empty, he couldn't even be sure if he was standing on solid ground, only able to mumble: "What are you talking about?"

"I am you, I am your fear and nightmare." The voice continued to echo, repeating the same words.

Jason held his breath, eyes wide, looking around. It was very dark, he couldn't even see where he was standing, and everything else was pitch black, like the color of hell, if hell had a color.

He felt his head was about to explode, his blood seemed to slowly flow through his body, pounding in his ears, but he couldn't hear anything.

A cold fear spread through Jason's body, he was so afraid that his whole body was trembling, and he didn't have the strength to stand up.

A distant voice seemed to come from the sky: "Hey, Spider-Man, are you sure he is the demon?"

Jason strained to open his eyes and look in the direction of the voice, but it was still dark in front of him.

He could only vaguely see a shadow moving. When the shadow stepped out of the darkness, his pupils dilated to the limit, bursting. But Jason felt no pain, not even a scream.

In the air behind Spider-Man, Imir's figure appeared. He squatted down and looked at Jason, whose eyes were streaming with blood, and nodded: "I left a mark on him, I won't make a mistake."

Peter, wearing the Spider-Man mask, looked at the young man in front of him, whose face was full of fear, and couldn't believe this was the arrogant and rampant demon.

He looked at the Imir, who was radiating coldness, opened his mouth to say something, but swallowed it back.

Imir turned to look at Spider-Man, smiled, and retracted his dark power, saying: "I didn't do anything to him, at most he scared himself. I didn't expect that this demon would harbor such rich fear."

"Is that so?" Spider-Man discounted Imir's words in his mind.

But Imir wasn't in the mood to ponder the spider's thoughts. He sniffed, and all the negative emotions fermenting in Jason's body were swept away, converted into his own grudge power.

Imir had a blissful expression, this was a pleasant surprise, even more than the negative emotions contributed by Doctor Octopus.

Would the more psychologically twisted super-criminals harbor even richer fear? Moreover, emotions like anger, tension, pride, and other negative emotions, though not as effective as fear, could still be utilized. Imir had the idea to specifically target these super-criminals!