As Kieran and Elseria entered the alley, a strange feeling enveloped them, as if they were passing through an invisible layer and entering a separate dimension. The bustling sounds of the market, once vibrant and bustling, faded away, replaced by an eerie silence that hung in the air.
Simultaneously, their surroundings underwent a sudden transformation. The buildings around them disappeared, giving way to an immense plain.
"Where are we?" asked Kieran, checking around.
Elseria inspected her body before spreading her crystal essence around her when her brows furrowed, "We are in an illusion."
A woman's voice echoed across the plain following Elseria's words, its origin impossible to discern, "Oh! You've noticed rather quickly. My informants were right. You're quite skilled, Princess Elseria."
"Who are you, and what do you want from us?" asked Kieran.
"From you? Nothing. Stay quietly in a corner, and nothing bad will happen to you. On the other hand, you, Princess Elseria, I'll need you to follow me, willingly or not," a woman's voice spoke up again to answer his question.
The bracelet on Elseria's wrist shone, and the next second, a sword appeared in her hands, along with armor that covered her body.
Next to her, Kieran's body changed, taking the form of a lycan while his double-bladed sword appeared in his hands.
"It seems you prefer the hard way. Fine. Since you want to play, I'll accompany you."
The air suddenly seemed filled with killing intent as a hundred shadows rose from the plain, taking on human forms equipped with various weapons.
Observing the shadows, Kieran sensed a slight difference among them. Some seemed dangerous, to the point that he could die if he took a single hit from them, while others appeared harmless, given his current strength.
"Will you be okay?" Elseria asked, tightening her grip on her sword while keeping an eye on the approaching shadows.
"As long as I avoid some of them, I should be fine."
"I'm sorry, it's my fault that..."
Elseria's words were interrupted when a trail of flame appeared beside her before propelling itself toward the shadows.
Kieran jumped high into the air, the flame trails following him. The cry of a crow was heard from his body as the flame trails intertwined as he struck with his palm forward.
"Scarlet Crow Ignites the Skies!"
A scarlet crow formed in front of his palm, flying towards the shadows, bringing with it intense heat.
One of the shadows leaped towards the crow. The sword in its hand moved swiftly, delivering a vertical strike, cutting the crow in half.
"Ah! You think with your Silver rank strength you could scratch my shadows?" the woman's mocking voice echoed across the plain.
Another shadow behind the one with the sword lifted its right arm, holding a spear, backward before throwing it towards Kieran.
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A black dot grew rapidly in his vision, but before he could even worry about it, Elseria appeared in front of him. With a swift movement of her arm, a horizontal cut formed in front of them, destroying the spear.
All had happened in an instant. Their bodies had just started to fall when Kieran created numerous earth platforms to create a path for them to the ground. Meanwhile, about twenty shadows began to shoot arrows with the bows they held in their hands.
As Kieran set foot on one of the earth's platforms, elemental particles of earth appeared beneath him. The platform subtly changed, allowing him to get a better foothold on it. With a single step on it, his body disappeared, reappearing several meters below, evading a volley of arrows.
The steps he took on the earth platforms seemed enigmatic as he quickly changed direction between them, dodging the attacks of the shadows.
The two of them didn't take long to reach the ground. As Elseria seemed to look at him with a hidden expression of anger, Kieran smiled and looked up at the earth platforms.
A dull yellow light shone in his eyes, and each earth platform fractured one after the other into several hundred sharp-shaped fragments.
Elseria saw the scene and raised her free hand above her. Kieran glanced at her, unsure of what she was doing, as elemental water particles swirled around her before a torrent of water gushed from her hand, mixing with the sharp fragments of earth.
Kieran felt a connection with the water surrounding his fragments of earth and sensed his control over them being shared with Elseria.
A blue light suddenly shone in Elseria's golden eyes as she tried to manipulate the fragments of earth to spin on themselves. Kieran quickly sensed it and assisted her. At the same time, Elseria manipulated the water to envelop the rotating fragments, increasing their rotational speed and forming water blades around them.
Before the shadows could react, the rapidly spinning fragments of earth resembling drills surrounded by water blades descended upon them.
The plain trembled as the attack struck the shadows with relentless force. Rotating fragments of earth, enhanced by swirling blades of water, tore through the shadows, causing a destructive whirlwind that left chaos in its wake.
Almost all the shadows had been obliterated, their forms dissipating like smoke in the wind. However, a few shadows remained intact amidst the destruction.
"You..." the mysterious woman's voice rang out again, sounding irritated this time.
As her voice echoed, the shadows that had been erased began to reform. Their number seemed reduced, but the aura they emitted was more menacing than before.
"It doesn't seem like these illusions weakened after we destroyed them, and I also can't determine where she's hiding. We need to force her to create more illusions while conserving our crystal essence," said Elseria.
Kieran nodded, tightening his grip on his sword.
As the shadows closed in on them, the ground beneath their feet began to twist, and thick trees sprouted from the soil instantly, separating them from each other.
"Elseria!"
Kieran moved quickly, using the trees as support to maneuver and try to reach Elseria, but as he circled around a massive tree, a shadow appeared in front of him, swinging a halberd held between its hands toward his head.
He raised his sword to parry the halberd. The impact was like two metal weapons clashing against each other, pushing him backward.
Another shadow emerged behind him during his fall, wielding two blades, slashing forward.
Creating a platform of earth under his feet, earth particles surrounded them as he stepped on it. His body moved naturally, evading the shadow's blades effortlessly with a flip. Another earth platform appeared to follow his movements.
He raised his sword in front of him, ready to cut through the shadow, when a chain flew through the tree branches, aiming to restrict his movements. Kieran changed his plan and jumped backward, narrowly avoiding the chain.
The shadow with the halberd rushed at him, closing the distance.
Dodging the halberd strike, Kieran paid attention to the other shadows around him, which were becoming more numerous. The elemental particles of earth around his feet increased as he took complex steps to dodge the shadows' attacks, while the earth beneath his feet constantly changed shape to allow him to maneuver as he pleased.
Meanwhile, Elseria also faced a group of shadows attacking her from multiple directions. The sword in her hand moved skillfully, repelling all their attacks despite the coordination the shadows displayed. Although she focused on her opponents, part of her crystal essence was divided to search for Kieran.
In the midst of chaos, no one noticed that someone had just entered the illusion.
A man wearing the Transcendental Academy of Ostrion uniform with spiky dark blue hair and black circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept for days walked with a lost expression on his face in the forest that had formed while one of his hands absentmindedly dipped into a bag of chips.
*munch*
"Where am I?" he muttered through a mouthful of chips.