Chapter 359: Defeat
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 359: Defeat
"A dozen strikes?"
Ellag stared in bewilderment at Muen, who was leisurely twirling a pure white short blade in his hand. A sense of absurdity began to well up in his heart.
He’s already landed a dozen strikes?
How is that possible?
I didn't feel a single thing...
"Hmm?"
The sneer that was about to form on Ellag’s face froze at the corners of his mouth.
A blade wound had actually manifested on his face.
Then came a second, and a third.
More and more gashes appeared across his body, yet no blood sprayed. Instead, his form began to warp and twist, as if it were on the verge of collapse.
The disguise shattered. This was indeed merely a phantom he had used to deceive Muen.
Since this figure was a fake, then the unnaturally large number of magical beasts surrounding them, the girls wailing in despair, and even the arrows poised for a killing blow—all of it was fake.
It was an illusion.
Yet, the scene remained horrific and gruesome.
A chill rose within Ellag. If he had been arrogant enough to expose his true body to this man—who was rumored to be nothing special—did that mean he would have already been hacked to pieces?
But when did this happen?
Even the sword of Paul Marvin, the disciple of the Sword King, shouldn't be so fast that he wouldn't notice it at all!
Ellag’s expression instantly darkened. His figure flickered, and his entire appearance changed. His silver uniform turned red, and the beast-patterned badge on his chest transformed into a hallucinatory heart.
This was his true form and identity.
Ellag of the Illusion School, Tower of Origins.
"I underestimated you, Muen Campbell."
Ellag remained floating in the air, looking down at Muen.
Though his true appearance was now visible, no one could be certain if this figure was the real one either.
"You’ve said that more than once now," Muen said with a nonchalant shrug. "Can't you come up with something new?"
"So what if I have!"
Faced with Muen’s silent provocation, a vein throbbed in Ellag’s forehead. He quickly regained his composure, looking as though he held all the cards once again.
"So what if you realized this is an illusion? You are still trapped within it! The moment you stepped into this snare, you were at an absolute disadvantage. The preemptive advantage of magic isn't something you can erase just by being fast with a blade!"
"If you die within this illusion, you will still die in reality!"
...
"Fair point. I am indeed still inside your illusion."
Muen nodded. Despite Ellag’s threats, his expression remained calm.
The magical beasts were still watching him like hawks, their stench and malice nauseating. Even knowing these things were fakes created by an illusion, no one in their right mind would actually let one of them take a bite out of them.
"However... I recall that so-called illusion magic needs to be built upon a 'fulcrum' in reality."
Information regarding illusion magic flooded Muen’s mind, making him feel that his recent period of diligent study had not been in vain.
"A fulcrum..."
Muen’s gaze swept the area and quickly landed on the corpse he had discovered earlier.
The unidentified body still sat silently against the wall, its eyes vacant and dull. But in that moment, Muen felt as if the corpse were watching him.
"Heh."
Muen chuckled, and his figure blurred into an afterimage, vanishing instantly.
"Dammit!"
Ellag’s expression changed drastically. He barked an order: "Stop him!"
The horde of magical beasts roared and hissed again, lunging at Muen like madmen.
But with his fluid footwork and chilling blade light, Muen forced a path through the unnatural throng of beasts.
Ellag’s expression grew uglier by the second.
The more an illusion sought to be realistic, the more it needed to adhere to common sense to perfectly trap someone.
For instance, even within an illusion, he couldn't simply conjure a hundred Overlord-class magical beasts out of thin air; doing so would cause the illusion to collapse instantly.
While the beasts created by the illusion could eventually wear this man down to death, they couldn't stop his progress in the short term.
Thus, Ellag could only watch helplessly as Muen drew closer to the corpse...
Closer...
And closer...
Until...
At some point, Ellag’s sour expression vanished. The corners of his mouth slowly curled up into a look of excitement... and anticipation.
He couldn't help but crane his neck, watching as Muen finally reached the side of the body. He watched as Muen slowly raised his blade.
The joy in his heart was irrepressible.
Cut it.
Go ahead and cut it.
The moment you do...
"Hmm?"
The blade stopped.
The excitement on Ellag’s face froze.
Muen turned back, retracting the short blade that had been about to fall but hadn't actually struck the corpse. He flashed a mischievous smile at Ellag.
"This fulcrum... it’s a trap, isn't it?"
"You..."
"As far as I know, learning how to better hide a fulcrum is a required course for any excellent illusionist. Would you really use something so obviously suspicious as a fulcrum? You don't seem that stupid."
"Since you knew..." Ellag stammered, "Why did you do it?"
Muen thought about it seriously. "To mess with you?"
"You!"
Just as the veins on Ellag’s forehead bulged and his neck turned a deep, angry red, Muen spoke again.
"Of course, there was another reason: to stall for time... while my 'ultimate' finished charging."
"Ultimate?"
"Yes."
Muen gave a mysterious smile and said, "Don't forget, I'm not alone. And my Saintess over there... she’s no mere decorative vase."
Ding.
The moment Muen finished speaking, a crisp chime echoed from the surroundings.
Then, the space beside Muen rippled. Several familiar, pitch-black metal plates slowly squeezed out of the air.
The metal plates were covered in shimmering starlight and brimming with the mana of Holy Light. They connected to one another, constructing a complex matrix.
The entire world began to shake, like an invisible fire burning through a painted scroll. Finally, all the falsehoods were incinerated. Soft light fell upon Muen’s shoulders, and beside him stood the beautiful girl, her skirt swaying gently.
"How... how is this possible?"
The real Ellag appeared in a completely different direction. He looked at the lovely girl with an expression as if he’d seen a ghost.
"You should have been trapped in the illusion as well!"
"Well, I was trapped."
Liya’s forehead was beaded with fine sweat. Her fingertips guided the crystalline mana as she nodded seriously, her cute face set in a firm expression.
"But I’ve seen this kind of multi-layered illusion magic in a book before. Therefore, it can be broken!"
"Besides... I realized it was an illusion immediately."
Liya stole a glance at Muen out of the corner of her eye, whispering in a voice no one else could hear, "That Muen... wasn't realistic at all."
"Huh?"
Ellag didn't notice Liya’s little aside. He was spiraling into deep self-doubt over her previous words.
Seen it in a book?
It can be broken?
Are you kidding me?
He was the most brilliant genius of the Illusion School, taught by the very best masters in the field. Yet, the magic he had painstakingly constructed had been broken head-on by a little girl who had "seen it in a book"—and in the most humiliating way possible.
How... how is this possible?
"It’s true," Liya said, as if sensing his confusion. She put on a stern face and added even more seriously, "As long as you read enough books, you can do it!"
"..."
Ellag opened his mouth wordlessly, looking like a fish out of water.
His gaze swept over Liya’s serious and adorable face, then turned to Muen, who was watching him with a half-smile. Even in the warmth of the Golden Kingdom, he felt a sudden, shivering chill.
Tears almost welled up in his eyes.
An easy target?
A little lamb?
Who the hell is spreading this ridiculously fake intel?
This is just bullying!