Chapter 153: Chapter 153: Arachne (5)

To be honest, the illusion of Denif that appeared in the darkness was not much of a problem.

It felt real and alive like Denif, and even if you died here, it was just an illusion in reality.

That fake cannot perfectly recreate Denif’s swordsmanship. The swordsmanship used by the illusion is just Denif’s swordsmanship that I already know.

That’s why it wasn’t a problem. The Denif’s swordsmanship I knew was mostly from a few years ago.

Even if we had a short duel recently, it wouldn’t make much difference. It was a battle that didn’t last long with Denif not going all out.

‘The confusing senses are the hard part.’

It’s just difficult to coordinate my body while feeling two different senses – the illusion and the outside. If I focus on just one, there’s no problem, but I’m getting a little dizzy.

The illusory Denif kept clinging to me. But the reason I didn’t attack was simple.

The more swordsmanship I showed, the more the illusory me would mimic my techniques.

The fallacy of the illusion.

Arniel separated people for one reason – to make them see each other killing each other.

‘It’s actually easier to get out of this situation.’

She could have just gathered everyone in one place, raised a tidal wave, cast down lightning bolts, and slaughtered them in the form of a dragon.

But Arniel enjoyed seeing her enemies experience despair in different worlds and die at the hands of their comrades.

She was especially excited to see the sense of betrayal heighten. At first the trapped ones suspect, but gradually come to believe the illusions are real.

The illusions became more sophisticated, and Arniel’s magic wore away at the prisoners’ minds.

‘I can’t just leave it like this.’

Even if I defeat this illusion, another one will just appear. For Denif’s sake too, focusing on defense was the best option.

As I acted passively, another illusion began to form.

‘How bothersome…’

A slight irritation rose up. I was on edge from the disorienting senses and felt frustrated.

I’d rather just fight it out directly, even against stronger opponents, than deal with this.

Hah. I calmed my mind. I must stay composed. This is a battle of endurance.

I can’t be hasty. I deliberately slowed my pace.

Responding to the increasing illusions would only make me dizzier. The more rushed I am, the more I need to pull back.

The longer this takes, the harder it will be on Denif, but I have to trust him.

‘To be honest, besides the Sword Master, Denif is the strongest person I know.’

Or maybe Phiri.

I must trust him. He’ll endure. Anyway, the battle ends when one of us falls.

I cooled my mind and pressed forward.

How much time passed like that? The illusions kept increasing until there were now five.

‘This should be about right.’

I moved according to the map I had visualized in my head.

I had trained in distance perception before, but it was hard to recreate it perfectly.

All I could do was hope my memories and movements matched up, which is why I had been straining my senses to the utmost despite the dizziness.

Then, at that moment, as I was deflecting an attack from a fake Denif, I felt another foreign sensation.

10cm in front of my chest.

It was a signal from the Winds I had wrapped around myself to detect the enemy’s attacks.

I quickly twisted my body, bringing my left hand to my thigh. In the illusion, my right arm was cut off.

The wound was quite deep.

Searing pain shot through me. I grit my teeth as agony also came from the other side.

‘Got cut huh.’

In the real world outside the illusion, my left chest had been cut. I dodged but couldn’t avoid it completely.

No, just being able to dodge was fortunate enough.

Faintly, I could feel my left hand’s Ghost Blade piercing through Arniel’s Starlight.

As I twisted my body, I immediately tried to counterattack with my dagger.

I had prepared for this. The enemy would only be watching my sword.

Well, they’d be surprised I made it this far even under the illusion, so they probably wouldn’t pay attention to the dagger.

“Dammit.”

But as a result, my left arm in the illusion was cut off below the elbow by another fake Denif’s attack.

Burning agony shot up from the severed limb.

I endured the searing pain. All that was left was Arniel. There would be a counterattack, so she’d stay put.

‘It was three steps ahead, wasn’t it?’

As long as I kill her before I die. I just had to deflect the frontal attacks and advance.

Wounds accumulated on my sides, shoulders and arms.

I swung my sword with my remaining hand. Though the illusion wounds sapped my strength, I gave it my all.

My bulging muscles screamed in protest. And then Moonlight traced an arc of moonlight.

The third illusory Denif thrust his sword into my abdomen, using the exact same technique.

Stab, then twist the wrist. I vividly felt the blade in my gut distorting, ripping my insides further.

Warmth rushed up my throat. Probably blood. Arniel’s head was likely removed at nearly the same time, since the fake Denifs were disappearing.

The illusory world drenched in darkness began crumbling away.

“Haah.”

I let out a ragged breath. My gut had been stabbed and my throat was filled with blood, choking me.

Before me was the decapitated Arniel.

Arniel’s wide-eyed severed head spun in the air. Her intense gaze was fixed on me.

“What are you gawking at?”

“……”

Was she trying to say something at the last moment? Arniel’s lips twitched, but no sound came out.

I wiped the blood off my blade and checked my body.

The illusion wounds were gone, including my severed left arm that was still gripping the Ghost Blade.

But the phantom pains lingered, including the strange sensation in my throat where it had felt flooded with blood.

Blood was indeed flowing from the cut on my left chest. I had dodged, but it was quite deep. Not life-threatening, though.

“Ugh.”

Pain shot through me as I raised my left arm to stanch the bleeding. It was the limb cut off in the illusion.

The alien feeling was unsettling.

To dispel the weird throat sensation, I spat some phlegm. Illusions were definitely not a pleasant experience.

***

Ju Rina suddenly regained consciousness but couldn’t open her eyes due to an inexplicable sense of dread.

What is this? Why am I afraid? Why am I acting like this? Did I pass out?

It seemed like she had. Rina opened her eyes into darkness. Why is it dark? What happened?

She was bewildered. Rina’s brain had erased her memories just before passing out due to excessive stress.

Rina tried to recall the fragmented memories. Right, led by Carlyn’s hand, she had come to Elish.

She jumped into the Moon Pond and killed the Stars. Even the Star that had been her master knelt before her.

And then Carlyn slayed the second Star with a single stroke. Just recalling those memories sent chills through her.

But what happened after that…?

“Rina, did you have a good dream?”

The voice she least wanted to hear in the world reached her ears. At the same time, her body started trembling uncontrollably.

From the darkness, her former Star, Comin, revealed his aged, monstrous face.

“A dre…dream? That wasn’t a dream!”

Rina shook her head. Right, before she passed out, she had faced that decrepit monster. An illusion.

But it didn’t seem like just an illusion. All of this felt real. Rina kept shaking her head.

“No. No. No. This can’t be. You…you died!”

“Me, die? This body? Haha.”

Comin laughed wickedly. Rina felt as if bugs were crawling all over her body.

“Daring to speak to a Star like that? It seems you need obedience training again.”

“No, no. No, no……”

Rina’s brain wasn’t functioning properly. Her trembling body could only repeat the same words.

She couldn’t accept this reality.

In this mind-shattering situation, Rina desperately wished the decrepit monster before her would disappear.

‘…Carlyn.’

The one hope that surfaced from that pit of despair was Carlyn. Please, get me out of here.

The moment she thought that, Comin’s approaching hand vanished, then his face crumbled away, along with the surrounding darkness. She found herself kneeling on the ground.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Turning her head, she saw Denif there, Carlyn’s friend. Rina stared blankly at him for a moment.

Denif also examined her complexion.

“Is…is this reality?”

“Yeah. He’s not too late, thankfully.”

Denif let out a ragged breath. He, too, was mentally and physically exhausted from the battle with Arniel.

More accurately, it was about evading – dodging tidal waves, lightning bolts, firestorms, and a dragon had been quite terrifying.

His side had a hole in it and before escaping the illusion, his left leg had been severed.

Still, he endured and didn’t show any weakness, pressing his left hand firmly against his left thigh.

In any case, he sincerely meant it was fortunate he wasn’t too late – for both himself and the kneeling Rina.

Denif had seen people’s minds break before.

He had even broken others’ minds himself, for Haisen’s sake.

Rina before him was on the verge of mental collapse.

Her slightly parted lips, slack facial muscles, and unfocused eyes.

As color returned to her face, Rina suddenly reached out and touched Denif’s cheek.

“Wh-what? Why are you suddenly touching me?”

Surprised, Denif flinched back. Rina just wanted to confirm reality through touch.

“Haha…it was real.”

Rina didn’t fully grasp what had happened. She thought Carlyn and Denif had saved her from a hellish illusion.

Not an incorrect assessment.

While Carlyn had killed Arniel, it wouldn’t have been possible without Denif.

A seesaw effect, perhaps.

As Rina looked at Denif before her, she felt her heart pounding.

Of course, Denif was just blinking in bewilderment at the sudden touch. An awkward atmosphere.

Conveniently, Carlyn approached from the distance.

Denif quickly turned his head. Though wounded in the left chest, it didn’t seem too serious.

Eager to dispel the awkwardness, Denif spoke up.

“Hey, you should have dealt with it faster. I really thought I was going to lose there.”

“I did it as fast as I could.”

“You should have been faster.”

“Right. My bad.”

Carlyn waved a dismissive hand, pressing down his Adam’s apple. He still felt some lingering dizziness like an afterimage.

“Rina, are you okay?”

“Hm? Yeah, yeah.”

Rina seemed different from before entering the Moon Pond.

Like a long knot had unraveled, and she had overcome something by escaping that hellish illusion and facing it again.

Carlyn found Rina’s occasional glances at Denif a bit odd. Why is she acting like that?

But it wasn’t worth worrying about right away.

“Let’s rest a bit. I’m dizzy.”

“What did you do to get dizzy?”

“You couldn’t sense the outside while in the illusion, could you?”

“The outside? Didn’t you escape the illusion?”

“Yeah. By relying on the Winds, I fought in both worlds simultaneously. Don’t ask.”

Carlyn assumed a seated meditation pose and adjusted his Moonlight Technique. The dizziness was gradually fading.

In contrast, Denif barely hid his astonishment.

He couldn’t fully comprehend Carlyn’s words about fighting in two worlds simultaneously. He interpreted it as an exaggeration.

‘He fought different battles inside and outside the illusion?’

Did he mean while battling that massive dragon, he also dealt with enemies outside? Preposterous.

Of course, only Denif had faced Arniel’s dragon form, so the illusion Carlyn encountered was unknown.

‘This guy is truly insane.’

Denif felt a burning competitive spirit. Despite the time apart, he thought Carlyn was still Carlyn.

No, that was an underestimation.

In their fight, Carlyn hadn’t used his full power. He was stronger than what Denif had witnessed.

‘Dammit.’

When Denif first saw Carlyn’s talent, he was pleased. A gifted new friend had joined.

Then he felt amazement watching Carlyn catch up to him.

Until graduation, Denif had the upper hand, but only because Carlyn had entered knowing nothing.

Marhan said Carlyn’s talent was brimming. Not an inaccurate statement.

While Carlyn had a slight edge, it wasn’t enough to determine overall superiority.

Carlyn’s further development stemmed from peak conditioning and the battle experience against the Sword Master.

That single day’s training and fighting was more valuable than a year’s time.

‘You were way ahead of me already.’

But to Denif, it felt like Carlyn surpassed him with only half his actual skill.

What welled up in Denif’s chest wasn’t a sense of inferiority.

He couldn’t say it was completely absent, but it was closer to a burning passion for martial power.

‘I need to increase my training load by 1.5 times.’

Even his current regimen was intense, but to close this gap, he had to work harder.

And have more duels against Carlyn too.

Denif resolved that if Carlyn didn’t spar with him, he’d attack first to force a duel.

Of course, Carlyn was completely oblivious to Denif’s thoughts.

Having stabilized the dizziness somewhat, Carlyn rose from his seated position.

“Let’s search around here for now.”

Though his mind and body were fatigued from the brief rest, there were plenty of reasons to examine this place:

To check for traces of the devil worshippers, or where the missing Stars had gone.

But what Carlyn immediately sought wasn’t any of those things.

He intended to find the incredibly precious artifact he had seen Arniel possessing in the game.

Author's Thoughts

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