Isabel furrowed her brow, questioning my certainty. "Are you sure?" she asked.

I nodded in response. "There are numerous explosions occurring there," I confirmed.

Lyra's expression turned anxious as she voiced her concerns. "What should we do, Isabel? We can't abandon the people here to the monsters, but if the castle falls..."

Isabel nodded, a mixture of frustration and concern on her face. "I know... Gods, we lack sufficient information. We have no idea how many monsters are still lurking around here and..."

Viktor interrupted, raising his hand to draw our attention. "Well, we kind of do," he interjected. He gestured to his large disc, capturing Isabel's focus. "What's the range on that thing?" she inquired.

Viktor pondered the question momentarily before nodding to himself. "I can probably cover a quarter of the district. Right now, it's showing a few signatures, but not many," he explained.

Isabel nodded in understanding. "We need to clear this district before we proceed. David, I hate to ask this of you, but could you head to the castle?"

I shrugged, expressing my uncertainty. "I can, but I'm not sure how much I can do up there. The situation seems highly intense."

Isabel gripped my shoulder, her voice firm. "Be a shadow, David. Observe and strike only when the opportunity presents itself. The castle has its own defenders, but I can't shake the feeling that all of this leads back to the governor."

I nodded, accepting her instructions. "Alright, I guess I can do that. But are you sure you'll be fine on your own?" I questioned, realizing the silliness of my inquiry even as the words left my mouth.

Isabel's smile reassured me. "David, Lyra and I are quite formidable if you haven't noticed. I believe we'll manage just fine."

Grinning, I replied, "Alright then. I'll see you at the castle."

Lyra approached and embraced me tightly, followed by a tender kiss and a bright smile. "Don't get yourself killed up there, David. It would be a shame to have to search for another bedmate," she teased.

I pretended to look hurt before turning away and summoning my mask. "See you later," I said as I took off running towards the castle.

I sprinted to the nearest bridge, swiftly crossing it to return to the trade district. From there, I navigated my way towards the castle, running along the outskirts of the district, crossing bridges, and passing through another residential area until I finally arrived at the large bridge leading to the castle. Grim scouted ahead, ensuring a safe path for us. We traversed the trade district without encountering any threats, though we did come across a few soldiers heading in the same direction, whom I decided to avoid for the time being.

As I approached the neighborhood where our house was located, the situation took a sudden turn. While running along a rooftop, I heard nearby screams. I froze in place, trying to gauge the direction, and then Grim and I swiftly converged on the source of the commotion.

To my horror, I stumbled upon a gruesome scene. One of those spiky monsters had discovered a family hiding in their house. It had torn apart the front of the house, and now a man was desperately defending himself against the monster with an old spear. But what surprised me even more was the behavior of the monster. It wasn't simply charging at the man—it was playing with him, relishing in his fear and helplessness. The sound it emitted was a gurgling, twisted laughter that sent shivers down my spine.

This particular monster displayed intelligence, unlike any of the core monsters I had encountered before. If it was intelligent, perhaps I could exploit that to my advantage. I pondered my options for a brief moment before sending Grim into the street.

Grim materialized in the street, his voice taking on a creepy tone as he called out to the monster, "Hey there... I was just looking for something to torture!"

The monster spun around upon hearing Grim's words, its eyes revealing a level of cunning and calculation that exceeded that of a mindless beast. It locked its gaze on Grim, its wide, menacing smile exposing sharp fangs. "The masked one," it chuckled darkly. "I have heard of you. Such a nuisance you have been."

A shiver ran down my spine as I listened to the monster's voice, reminiscent of the sound of a knife scraping against bone. Another illusion of me materialized behind the monster. "You have heard of me? I am honored," the illusion stated.

The monster growled in response, "Harlequin! Illusionist... I will not be deceived. These are fakes!" In response, a third illusion appeared, and then I summoned several dozen more illusions, all resembling myself.

The monster's vicious smile widened, taunting me. "Such a coward, hiding in the shadows. But I know how to bring you out!" It then turned its attention to the terrified family, who huddled together, the small boy crying into his mother's chest. Despite the horror before her, there was a defiant spark in her eyes.

A deep respect for the woman swelled within me, and I knew it was time to take action. Extending my hand, I opened a portal, but I didn't linger. Instead, I blinked and materialized right next to the monster, swiftly swinging my fist into an unprotected area of its skin, aiming where the liver would be on a human.

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My strike landed, and the monster growled in pain. It retaliated by swinging its massive arm, prompting me to jump back into a crowd of illusions. The pack of illusions sprang into motion, launching feigned attacks at the monster. It struck at empty air a few times before growling and charging in the direction I had evaded.

That was when an illusion that wasn't fake made its move. A spirit-possessed version of me delivered a powerful kick to the monster's knee, causing considerable pain. The monster seized the illusion and squeezed its neck. The illusions dissipated into mist, and I sensed the spirit transferring to another illusion, slightly weakened but still fighting.

Seizing the opportunity, I lunged forward and struck the monster's stomach, being cautious not to impale myself on any spikes. A rush of air escaped the monster, and it retaliated by swinging at me. However, an illusion appeared from the side, swiftly transforming into a giant gorilla mid-flight.

The gorilla-like illusion collided with the monster like an unstoppable force, sending it crashing to the ground. Roaring in anger, the monster responded by launching a meter long thick spike into the gorilla’s chest. Sensing the weakening spirit within the gorilla, an idea sparked in my mind.

Concentrating intensely, I focused on the injured spirit and activated "conjurer's wrath," ensuring that I drained only that particular spirit. Swiftly, I absorbed the energy from the spirit, infusing it with my own ether into a purple spear that materialized above my hand. Although not as dense or powerful as the previous one, I hurled it anyway.

The spear streaked down the street, catching the monster's attention just as it leaped aside. However, it wasn't quick enough to avoid the strike entirely. The spear pierced its shoulder, resulting in an explosion of gore as the monster's arm was torn off.

A victorious grin spread beneath my mask, echoed by Grim's laughter reverberating through the surrounding buildings. Clutching its maimed shoulder, the monster glared at me, prompting a small, friendly wave from my side. Then, three illusions descended upon it, bringing it crashing to the ground. One of the illusions was a fire spirit, and from its hand erupted a stream of flames. I could feel the spirit rapidly depleting its own energy, unable to sustain the fiery assault for more than a few seconds. Nevertheless, it was worth it in my book.

The monster let out a piercing scream as it desperately rolled, shooting spikes in every direction. Thankfully, I had positioned two spirits to shield the family, and I was relieved to see that the spikes had not managed to destroy them.

Checking my ether reserves, which were at around 50%, I conjured a ring of fire around the monster. My new illusions felt incredibly realistic, and to the monster, the heat would be intense. Although it wouldn't physically harm the monster, it would create the illusion of pain. I cast phantom pain across its body, and even though it was weaker when dispersed in this manner, it still had a significant effect. The monster recoiled from the flames.

"I am not the monster here, you are!" It growled.

I walked casually toward the fire. "How are you intelligent?" I asked, in a conversational tone.

The monster let out a laugh. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know?"

I nodded. "I really would, and since you can feel pain... Well, certain types of, shall we say, questioning work really well."

The monster scowled at me. "These are just illusions! You think you can fool me?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "You're welcome to walk into it. At least it would be entertaining."

Tentatively, the monster reached a hand toward the flames, and I unleashed phantom pain at full strength upon its hand. The monster recoiled. "How are you doing this? We know you're no elemental mage!"

"Pretty sure I asked first, big guy," I retorted. The monster growled menacingly, but then it admitted, "I volunteered!"

Frowning behind my mask, I maintained my casual tone. "So you were human, or rather, you were once human?"

The monster nodded. "The great master granted me power, power I will use to tear you apart!"

The sudden revelation unsettled me, "alright, that's pretty messed up and foolish of you. But I suppose you talked, so here's my secret... It's all an illusion!"

As the monster reached for the flames once more, I allowed its hand to touch the fire without inflicting any damage. The other arm had slowly begun to regenerate, and I decided it was time to bring an end to this confrontation.

Just as the monster was on the verge of charging at me, I quickly cast 'Unstable Footing,' causing the big guy's feet to stick to the cobblestones. He looked surprised and glanced down, giving me the opportunity to drain the energy from three spirits while he was distracted.

With the monster's attention back on me, I waved and, using my other hand, sent a spear of pure magic hurtling towards him. He let out a horrifying, desperate scream as the spear struck his chest, and in that moment, I activated 'Mirror Mirage' in front of me. The resulting explosion sent shockwaves rippling through the area, causing the house directly behind the monster to collapse. Another strike from my Mirror Mirage inflicted serious damage to the next structure in line.

The monster was reduced to nothing more than a smudge, and I dismissed my illusions, sending the two remaining spirits that had safely moved the family away back to their own realm.

Checking my ether reserves, I saw that I had only 20% remaining. Fortunately, I had acquired another vial of ether from Isabel before embarking on this mission, so I had three in my possession. I swiftly consumed one of them, allowing my ether to begin regenerating.

I entered the house where the family had taken shelter, making my way through the back door and into a small courtyard behind it. There, I found the family huddled together in the shadows of another building.

As I materialized, the man among them stood up and aimed his spear at me. "What... What are you!?" he exclaimed, his voice trembling.

I raised my hands in a conciliatory gesture and removed my mask. "I am with the guild," I assured him, displaying the crest on my robes. The man still appeared suspicious, but he lowered the spear slightly. "You... You saved us," he acknowledged.

I grinned at him. "I suppose I did! I guess being a hero might not be so bad after all." The man managed a faint smile. "The heroes in stories are usually not as intimidating as you."

I chuckled. "I suppose not. Perhaps I'm more like a dark guardian lurking in the shadows then."