327. [Phase 1: Hall of Illusions!]
327. [Phase 1: Hall of Illusions!]
***
"...Serin. That Yujeong is a fake."
Sua's voice sounded utterly real, and strangely, it came from both sides again.
Durandal, with its striking crimson blade. A bleak, clinging blood-red aura slithered up from Serin's hand and over the blade, but she calmly looked at the other Sua and thought.
'It can not only mimic voices, but copy them too?'
The Sua who had just appeared on the left was, by all appearances, an illusion. So she could only be seen as a fake. But the fact that the voice had come from both sides again raised the question of whether even the real Sua had said the same thing.
Illusions were said to reproduce almost everything about a user—appearance, abilities, equipment, voice—but she had never heard that they could copy a voice into another space, so it caused a moment of confusion.
But only for a moment. Serin's eyes hardened coldly, and she swung her sword.
Slaaash!
A single trail of blood-red light flared brightly, splitting the thick fog in the space in an instant as it slashed toward Sua.
"Serin...?"
Startled, Sua raised her rapier and hurriedly met the blow.
Clang!
Under the full force of Serin's strike, Sua faltered and stepped back. Serin immediately condensed a massive aura into her sword.
Hummm!
The blood-red aura surged fiercely, signaling the approach of a massive technique. Then Serin's hand, holding Durandal, carved a great diagonal slash with restrained movement.
—Great Severance.
A massive line of blood-red light split the fog in an instant and surged forward, and Sua straightened her stance, her expression hardening.
"Serin, please snap out of it! I'm telling you, Yujeong is the fake!"
Even as she shouted, she immediately faced the oncoming form of Great Severance and unleashed her power.
—!
Brilliant golden light shone radiantly upon the blonde knight, and the golden glow that dyed her rapier's blade soon stabbed fiercely into the air.
—Platina Burn.
Whoosh!
Following the rapier that pierced the air in an instant, the golden beam shot through the space in a single breath.
—!
As the blood-red force of Great Severance, cutting through space, met the golden beam, they erupted in a brilliant burst of light as if repelling each other, and at the end of it, the two forces began to fade as if annihilating each other.
Serin raised her sword to immediately launch the next technique.
At that moment, another golden light blazed brilliantly, announcing its presence.
—Platina Burn.
A brilliant golden line tore through the fog and surged toward the defenseless Sua.
Thunk!
Her chest pierced through by the golden line, Sua staggered blankly, spat blood, and collapsed toward the ground.
"..."
At the unexpected sight, Serin found herself staring helplessly at Sua with her chest pierced.
She had been certain it was an illusion, so she had set aside the small details. That was why she had felt not a shred of hesitation or reluctance in opposing Sua.
But even so... the sight of Sua collapsing with such a hollow, pitiful expression was hard to look away from.
"Se...rin."
At the sight of Sua, collapsed and spitting blood, calling out to her even on the verge of death, Serin unconsciously drew a small breath.
It was only an illusion, a phantom, after all. Yet the sight, so real, was utterly alien. As the light faded from Sua's eyes and emptiness took hold, I urgently turned to the right.
"...Yujeong?"
Except for the space where the bright burst of light had parted, thick fog dominated the area, so Yujeong's face was still only faintly visible in my view.
"It's okay, Rin. It really is an illusion."
Yujeong, frowning slightly, stated it as fact, and I had no choice but to ask again.
"But why isn't she turning into light?"
Until now, whether monster or user, when they died, they vanished without leaving a trace. But now, even though it was supposedly an illusion, Sua's corpse remained vividly, and it felt deeply unsettling.
"It's one of the intended mechanics of this raid. I heard that illusion corpses remain until the next situation begins."
At Yujeong's words, Serin couldn't help but frown.
'Why would they design a system like this...'
Even as Sua's corpse was gradually swallowed by the fog and sank out of sight, Serin couldn't stop her gaze from lingering.
The sight of Sua with her chest pierced through.
The small mosaic obscured the gruesome details, but just seeing it still made her feel strange.
Even the way she seemed to call out to her at the end felt like it was needlessly shaking her heart.
...Serin, were you surprised?
Then, hearing Sua's faint voice, I felt a small sense of relief without realizing it.
"A little..."
She answered slowly and let out a small breath.
I could feel that I wasn't quite myself right now.
In a situation she should have handled calmly, she was holding onto a slightly sentimental feeling.
Was it because this was the Zervallua Raid, the Beast of Destruction?
It felt like it was strangely getting under my skin.
***
TSJ headquarters.
With only a few days left until Sunday's finals, the players were each polishing their skills or managing their condition.
Analysis of G1, their finals opponent. Because G1 was said to possess stronger power than ever, the coaching staff and players were engaged in heated discussion, and since most of the team was resting before the finals, finding scrim partners was nearly impossible, so most practice was limited to individual training and condition management.
And the player who could be called the core of TSJ, and its captain. Jeanne d'Arc.
She was currently enjoying a comfortable rest in her own room.
She had been playing Another World steadily to maintain her feel, but during the pre-finals period, she actually preferred to rest calmly.
Leaning against the bed frame, she was watching someone's stream on a large tablet. And beside her was a small-framed woman with red hair. Seola was there too.
...
—A little...
As Rin on the screen exhaled with an odd expression, Eunha's gaze was drawn to her without thinking.
'Was Serin always like this?'
If someone she knew were left behind as a corpse like that, it would certainly be a sight she would hate, but she had thought Serin might be different.
From Serin's usual behavior, she seemed strangely unhesitating when attacking someone. But the way she appeared on the stream now, unexpectedly soft-hearted, made her seem different again.
"Seeing her like this, Rin seems like a pretty emotional person too."
Seola, watching the stream beside her, spoke as if fascinated by the Rin on screen, and Eunha found herself thinking the same.
After that, as the screen filled with fog again and moved on to the next situation, things gradually grew more complicated.
This time, two illusions appeared. Bloody Night and Rin.
In the space shrouded in thick fog, the two stood as if they had always been there, and just like before, they spoke in a friendly manner.
The person who saw her own illusion was a little startled, while Plea looked at the other two illusions and spoke calmly, smoothly navigating the situation.
After that, the party identified the illusions and engaged in another dazzling battle.
The situation was clearly 3:2.
But because the woman's actions were restricted by the need to distinguish illusions, their combat strength seemed lower than usual. Still, Rin and Plea put on a brilliant performance and succeeded in defeating the illusions. Admiration slipped out involuntarily.
"Anyway, Eunha. Isn't the real problem starting now?"
Seola, who had been watching the stream intently, glanced at Eunha and sought agreement, and Eunha nodded without thinking.
'How will they handle this?'
The next illusions to appear were three people.
Rin, Bloody Night, Plea.
There was a reason raids weren't run with more people for no reason. The more people, the more advantageous and comfortable it was.
It was said that as the number of people increased, the number of illusions increased as well, but even so, they had never faced illusions at equal numbers like what was shown on screen now.
And then, on the screen, Yujeong, who had been linking them together, slowly let go of her hand.
As if it had been planned, the moment she released her arm, the means of distinguishing illusions disappeared.
After that.
Suddenly, Yujeong brought her face close to Serin's ear as if whispering, and to those watching the stream, she began speaking in a strangely suggestive manner.
"Oh my, oh my~"
At the sight of Yujeong pressing her body against Serin's as she continued speaking, Seola let out a playful sound, while Eunha, without realizing it, had opened her eyes wide.
'This person. Her behavior really is strange.'
From what she had shown on yesterday's stream to now, the behavior of the user called Bloody Night bothered her even as she watched.
It was clear she was deliberately approaching Serin, and the way she casually bumped against her or spoke to her didn't look natural either.
[Dayum]
[What's this, what's this?]
[What are the two of them whispering about?!]
[Rin x Yujeong is... legendary]
[No what is this]
[Why won't they tell us what they're saying on stream?]
[The moment they switch places mid-fight it's gonna be hell]
[Why are donations turned off]
[Honestly, is this just for me to enjoy...?]
[These guys are delusional again lololol]
[This is 3:3, can they actually tell the fakes apart?]
Eunha glanced at the chat, which was blazing as if on fire, and though she found it distasteful, she focused on the screen.
Perhaps the whisper had ended, because Bloody Night gradually moved away and then approached Plea, whispering to her in the same way.
And then the illusions began to close in.
Rin, gripping her sword, let a blood-red aura surge over her blade, while Bloody Night sharpened her jet-black nails to points. And Plea erupted with a brilliant golden aura from her rapier, announcing her presence.
Watching the screen, Seola tilted her head.
"Eunha. Don't the illusions hear whispers too?"
"Yeah, I'm not sure either."
What could the whispers possibly mean? The two watching the stream couldn't help but wonder.