Chapter 62
“……What? You’re saying that’s a hallucination?”
Elpinire asked in disbelief even after hearing Gini’s words.
Her eyes, fixed on the outside of the cabin, were still chasing the invisible bats.
Gini gave a heavy nod toward such an Elpinire.
“They really can’t see those bats……?”
“Can’t see ‘em.”
“No way……”
She trembled her eyes fiercely as she stared outside.
There were definitely bats out there right now, but they were all hallucinations?
“When the hell did it get you?”
“Gini. Any way to snap Elpinire out of the hallucination?”
“There is, but……”
Trailing off, she glanced sideways.
There hung a chain of mana that had been sparkling since earlier.
Biting her lip, she pulled a bell from her pocket and rang it lightly.
The clear chime echoed, but no response came back.
“Don’t tell me Omen got hit too?”
Gini bowed her head deeply, unable to say a word.
Did we stay trapped in that dream too long?
I clicked my tongue and turned my head, when something black suddenly shot up from the floor.
Gini!
Something black shot toward Gini at high speed.
I blinked at the soccer-ball-sized thing.
“No way, Omen?”
Good human. It worked. I’m truly grateful.
Omen cried out, hugging Gini’s head.
I stared at the guy with a dumbfounded look.
It was definitely bigger than me before.
Now Omen was only about soccer-ball sized.
Sensing my gaze, he cleared his throat and spoke.
I used too much power and shrank. No problem.
“Doesn’t that sound like a ton of problems?”
Had no choice. To link you into Gini’s dream using only my own power.
Come to think of it, spirits have limits without borrowing their contractor’s power.
Even so, Omen got me into Gini’s dream.
Meaning Omen burned his own power to shove me in there.
“Told you. I keep my word.”
Hmm. You’re one hell of a human.
Praise from a pure spirit, huh.
Feels better than I expected.
I was grinning for that reason when Elpinire, eyes narrowed, looked back and forth between me and Gini.
“Hey, Master and Gini. You two under hallucinations too?”
“Huh? Oh, you can’t see it? Omen’s right here.”
“Don’t tell me you mean that bat on top of Gini’s head right now?”
Me and Gini widened our eyes at the same time.
What? She can see it?
Omen responded flatly to our reaction.
She was forced to see spirits because she was hit by our king. Illusions have no form, just like spirits.
With that, Omen hopped down from Gini’s head.
He flapped hard and landed on the table, staring straight at Elpinire.
I was hiding before because the hallucinating elf might attack me. Had to.
“……”
Now that Gini’s awake, I can finally talk.
Phew……
The mouthless spirit let out a long sigh.
Raising his head, he spoke with resolute eyes.
Our king has been consumed by Ma Gi. As a result, hallucinations are randomly afflicting everyone in the forest.
Ma Gi.
At that word, thick veins bulged on Elpinire’s forehead.
Clenching her fist tight, she ground her teeth.
That’s why, Gini. You can’t stay here anymore. If you do, our fully Ma Gi-consumed king might come after you.
“……I know. The nightmares were from the King of Darkness Spirits too.”
……!
Guess he didn’t know that much.
Omen floated an exclamation mark above his head at Gini’s words.
“The King of Darkness Spirits probably targeted us…… no.”
Poke.
Bowing her head, she trembled her hands finely.
“Targeted me, I think.”
“……What makes you say that?”
“Spirit kings are the only spirits that can use their power freely without contractors.”
Even high-level spirits can’t use their full power without contractors.
But spirit kings, at the pinnacle, can wield power freely even without one.
“And they can use even more with a contractor.”
Gini had such talent as a spiritist that she could borrow spirit aid even without seeing them.
A Ma Gi-consumed spirit king wouldn’t leave that alone.
“Ma Gi is a really bad power, right?”
“Yeah.”
“If he’s consumed by that…… he definitely wants to use me as a puppet.”
Control the spiritist with the greatest talent as a puppet.
That’s why the Ma Gi-consumed King of Darkness Spirits of Darkness gave Gini nightmares.
To trap her in eternal nightmares, break her mind.
Then contract with the broken her and puppet her.
Arms crossed, listening to Gini, I nodded firmly.
“So, this Darkness guy’s the problem, right?”
“Y-Yeah……?”
“Then we fight.”
Even as I said it, I didn’t think it’d be possible.
The eyes of the King of Darkness Spirits I glimpsed in the dream.
Just a fragment, but it shrank me—I could barely speak.
Yet I have to fight and beat that thing.
Only then can I—and Gini—survive.
Is that even really possible?
Messing up my hair wildly, I turned to the rippling darkness.
For now, elf girl. Sit in the chair. It’ll take a bit, but I’ll weaken the hallucination from our king.
“……Can’t fully remove it?”
My power can’t compare to the spirit king’s, so no. Gini, lend me strength?
“I-I’ll do my best!”
“Thanks, Gini. Omen asks too.”
Darkness enveloped Elpinire by Omen’s power.
I kept staring into the darkness until her treatment finished.
The rippling darkness showed no Ma Gi at all—just calm.
* * *
Back in the room, I rested my chin on my hand, looking down at the sleeping Cheori.
Thought it’d wake up after the dream, but still out.
Wonder if it’s hurt somewhere, but the steady snoring says no.
“Gotta buy you something really tasty when we get out.”
Stroking its forehead, I turned to the system.
“Anyway, ‘Repel the Darkness Spirit King’s 1st Invasion’ or whatever……”
Honestly, I don’t get it.
What’s a “1st invasion” even mean?
Does the spirit king attack first?
Not weird since it’s targeting Gini.
But do we have to?
We’re inside Darkness right now.
We’re trapped in its body, basically. Why would it attack first?
If it were me, I wouldn’t.
I’d let ‘em dry up slowly.
But the system says it will.
That’s the question.
How exactly will it invade?
“Frustrating.”
Nothing we can do first anyway.
All the darkness in this forest is Darkness’s, but not the main body.
Sighing in frustration, I stood from the chair and turned.
And spotted it.
“……Ah, so that’s the invasion.”
Outside the window.
Hundreds of eyes staring from the darkness.
I know.
Hallucinations.
But too damn real for hallucinations.
“Ha. When’d I get hit?”
This’ll drive me nuts.
I squeezed my eyes shut, blocking my vision.
Now I get it.
No wonder Elpinire fell for it.
“Finally figured it out.”
The Darkness Spirit King’s 1st invasion.
Its true nature was.
“The 1st invasion means breaking us mentally.”
With hallucinations and illusions.
That’s what it meant.
But hey.
“Yo, Mr. Darkness. You picked the wrong target, didn’t you?”
What to do.
Bad matchup for mental breakdown.
I smirked at the empty air.
Thus began the invasion by the Darkness Spirit King, Darkness.
* * *
Next day.
I woke casually, lit the fire normally, and put on water.
“Oh, Gini. Sorry, forgot to grab fish on the way.”
“I-It’s okay! I just like fish……”
“For ‘just like,’ you sure hunted nothing but fish in the dream?”
“……”
Gini bowed her flushed face.
Elpinire, who’d heard the full dream story last night, giggled cutely at her.
“Gini, the Evergreen Forest’s full of tasty fish. I’ll make sure you get some later.”
“Wow…… really?”
Gini’s eyes sparkled at Elpinire.
Elpinire nodded heartily back.
I checked the seasoning, turned, and watched them.
“You were so shocked yesterday, fine today?”
“Ah……”
Gini hadn’t known Elpinire was an elf until yesterday.
Seemed impossible, but seeing Gini’s past made it plausible.
Thanks to that, Gini learned about the Evergreen Forest from Elpinire’s mouth—but the shocked one was.
“……Don’t look at me like that, Master.”
Elpinire.
I figured since Gini said it was one of the five forbidden zones, Elpinire knew too.
But Elpinire freaked at learning the Evergreen Forest was one.
She quietly turned away, avoiding my gaze.
Snickering, I served them heaping bowls of hot soybean paste stew noodles.
Organic, home-grown everything except the chili paste.
“Spicy?”
“I know by now.”
Elpinire grumbled as she slurped the broth.
Gini dug into the chili stew too.
I watched them fondly and peered out the window.
“Whoa. Now something new?”
Yesterday just eyes; now even the bats Elpinire saw.
Damn, just like reality.
If I hadn’t realized it was hallucinations, I’d be nuts.
But knowing it’s fake, no need to waste mental energy.
So I thought, shoving noodles in my mouth.
“Oh.”
Dough turned out good.
* * *
One day, two days.
Time passed.
The Darkness Spirit King’s hallucinations only worsened.
But they didn’t affect us much.
Just annoying, not unbearable.
“Time to give up already?”
Thud.
I set down the trump card I held lightly.
Mine was a color joker.
The attacked Elpinire groaned and tossed her cards.
“How do all the attack cards go to you!? Cheating!”
“You shuffled.”
“Gaaah!”
Bored killing time, I improvised trump cards from cabin stuff.
Playing made time fly, hallucinations or not.
I looked away from the collapsed, frustrated Elpinire to Gini.
She set her cards with utmost seriousness……
“……”
J, J, K, K, K, black-and-white jokers.
Wait a sec.
“One card!”
Using a cheat combo like that.
“Got cards?”
“……Nope.”
“Hehe.”
I raised a tiger cub.
While I fought Elpinire, Gini was stacking her hand solo.
How’s the deck break so perfectly?
Impossible to beat 1v1.
I sighed deeply and dropped my cards.
Shouldn’t have snatched the color joker to kill Elpinire.
“Next round, I win.”
Elpinire ground her teeth.
She shuffled fiercely.
That loss pissed her that much?
Chuckling as I watched her, I absently glanced at the window behind.
“……Ah. Guess it’s over.”
Gini and Elpinire whipped their heads around at my words.
They stared at the same sight and spoke.
“The hallucinations……”
“Are gone.”
The nonstop hallucinations vanished in an instant.
[Repel the Darkness Spirit King, Darkness’s 1st Invasion]
[Achievement Unlocked]
[Moving to the Next Floor]
And in their place.
[8th Floor]
[Repel the Darkness Spirit King, Darkness’s 2nd Invasion]
[Not Achieved]
Stepping from the darkness, bearing intensely real Ma Gi too potent for mere hallucinations.
Numerous darkness puppets.