Hiro ran tirelessly through the dark, dirty tunnels soaked in blood. Each step was propelled by his determination to reach his goal, while enemies sent by the mysterious dwarf crossed his path. The sensation was a constant struggle between adrenaline and fear, fueled by the instinct of survival that drove him forward.

After approximately five minutes of wild escape, Hiro finally reached a set of stairs. Quietly ascending them, unnoticed, he observed further ahead the presence of Hikari, King, and Ares. Cautiously, Hiro approached slowly while his invisibility magic still persisted. At the same time, Hikari, thanks to her elven abilities, sensed Hiro's presence and began to distract Ares, casting her ice magic to freeze the iron shackles that held King and her captive. The cold spread through King's wrists, and he looked at Hikari, receiving a reassuring gaze in return.

Hiro retrieved one of the daggers he kept hidden within his cloak, enchanting the blade with a special spell that gave the black dagger's tip a faint greenish glow. With only a second left before his invisibility magic would dissipate, Hiro threw the dagger, revealing himself to the enemy's eyes. Meanwhile, Hikari and King broke free from the frozen shackles and stepped back toward Hiro, who positioned himself in front of them, ready for action.

The dagger thrown by Hiro found its mark, slicing Ares's face just below his eye, provoking a furious expression. Amidst screams, Ares exclaimed, "How the hell are you here, you worthless swordsman?" Hiro replied with a serious and cold gaze, "That's none of your business. Let me take them, and no one gets hurt."

Ares, angered by Hiro's arrogance, brandished his flaming sword and said, "Your arrogance will cost you dearly." Pointing his sword toward the ceiling, Ares unleashed a sudden attack that opened a hole in the castle, revealing the Aries constellation.

As this happened, the presences that Hikari had sensed in the castle emerged from the shadows and closed in on the three of them. Hikari, now more confident and irritated by what Ares had said to her, said, "Hiro, focus on Ares. King and I will take care of the rest." Hiro responded, "Ares? You mean the Ogre over there?"

While Hikari used her ice magic, creating sharp spikes that tore through the enemies, and King fought with impressive speed, knocking out anyone who approached Hikari, they said in unison to Hiro, "Go now, don't worry about us!"

Hiro, seeing the determination in their eyes, decided to focus on Ares. As he directed his gaze toward the enemy, he realized that Ares was acting strangely. Ares had lowered his sword and was on his knees, hands in a prayer-like position, looking up at the constellation as he exclaimed, "Oh, mighty god of the zodiac signs, grant me the power of the god bestowed upon me through your constellation, Aries! Come to me!"

As soon as Ares finished reciting his words, a light descended from the constellation onto him, transforming his appearance. His hair and body hair were now engulfed in flames. Confused, Hiro said, "Oh, human torch, stop praying and face me." Ares, with a deeper and more chilling voice, replied, "Still mocking, are you? You will pay for it."

Ares gripped his sword and charged at Hiro. Hiro attempted to defend against the first attack, but Ares's brute strength was overwhelming, violently pushing him against the castle wall. Ares started laughing and said, "Ahahaha! Is that all you've got?"

Hikari, seeing Hiro being thrown with such force, shouted in concern, "Hiro!" King immediately followed, saying to Hikari, "Princess, focus on what's in front of you. Hiro is strong; he will prevail. He came here to save us; we can't afford to lose our battles. Let's show what we're made of while keeping faith in him."

Hiro began to rise, a bit dizzy with blood in his mouth, and exclaimed loudly, "Do you really think someone as ugly as you can defeat me?" He provoked further, "For someone like you, who relies on such desperate magic, do you think I need to use my full power? I'll tell you more: I'll win without even needing to use half of it."

Saying that, Hiro utilized one of his illusion techniques. Taking advantage of the steam caused by the flames on Ares's body, which heated the entire castle, he created illusions of himself armed with his sword, distributing similar daggers to the ones he kept in his cloak to each of his clones. Upon realizing this, Ares exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing, you piece of shit? I've never seen anyone create so many clones."

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Hiro, filled with confidence, said, "You pile of shit, when you refer to me, address me as Mr. Illusory Swordsman!"

At the crucial moment of the battle against Ares, Hiro reveals his illusion abilities and challenges the enemy with his mirages. But will Hiro be able to defeat the powerful Ares using only his illusory techniques? Or does the confrontation hold more surprises and twists?

Hiro, extending his arm towards Ares, commands his steam clones to attack him. The clones rush towards Ares at high speed, with Hiro being the furthest away. Ares starts laughing and says, "WHAT GOOD DOES IT DO YOU TO HAVE SO MANY CLONES IF YOU DON'T HIDE AMONG THEM, YOU SHITTY SWORDSMAN."

Hiro gives a slight smile and replies, "Just brace yourself and try to survive." Ares starts running and slices through all the mirages wielding fake steam swords, arrogantly saying, "IT'S ALL JUST TALK."

Hiro laughs again and begins counting, "1... 2... 3. Now!" Out of nowhere, the mirages that hadn't been completely dissipated start regenerating next to Ares, who is surprised by the situation but doesn't pay much attention since he knows the clones can't harm him being made of steam. He mocks, "HAVING NUMBERS DOESN'T DO YOU ANY GOOD IF THEY'RE USELESS, YOU FOOL!"

Ares ignores the clones when suddenly, one of the regenerated clones near him stabs him with something sharp, followed by others and more, totaling around 20 stabs. Ares falls to his knees as his blood spills onto the ground. With a weaker and almost lifeless voice, he says, "What... you've done... is... impossible... cough cough" (coughing blood).

Hiro simply laughs and says, "I told you I didn't need to use half of my power against someone like you." He continues, "Now, tell me, do you know someone named Takeshi? What have you done to him, and what do you want?"

Ares starts screaming with all his last strength, his hair beginning to blaze like never before. At that moment, a raven that had been present in the battle flies towards Ares. Hikari notices the raven's presence and, in desperation, quickly says to Hiro, "HIRO, MOVE AWAY! WHATEVER THAT IS, IT'S BEYOND OUR REACH!" Hearing this and sensing Hikari's desperation, Hiro moves away.

As the raven approaches Ares, it lands on his chest and says, "ENOUGH! YOU USELESS FOOL, LOSING IN SUCH A RIDICULOUS MANNER. AT LEAST YOU SERVED AS A DISTRACTION FOR A MOMENT. NOW, JOIN THE REALM OF THE DEAD." The raven continues at high speed, piercing through Ares's chest and leaving a hole of about 20 cm. Ares, now with a hole in his chest and on his knees, falls to the ground, dead. "Master..." he whispers before disappearing.

Hiro watches as Ares's body dissipates and turns to search for Hikari and King, who were fighting in the castle. He realizes they are exhausted and injured, so he quickly runs towards them.

"Are you both alright? Hikari, your arm..." Hiro says with concern.

"We're fine, don't worry. It's just a cut," Hikari responds, trying to reassure him.

King joins the conversation, displaying his alpha animal side, "Do you really think mere lackeys could hurt me? I could have defeated Ares, ahaha!"

Hiro and Hikari look at King and start laughing, releasing all the worries, fears, and frustrations they had accumulated. Hikari laughs while saying, "Only you, King, could make someone laugh after everything we've been through, ahahaha!"

Hiro continues to laugh and says, "Well done, ahahaa! When all of this is over, if you want, I'll arrange a place for you as a clown, where I used to perform, ahahah!"

King, frustrated, says, "I don't see what's so funny..."

They keep laughing, disregarding King's frustration. Hiro extends his hand to help Hikari up and then picks her up on his back, while King jumps onto Hiro's head and pulls his hair, saying, "If you're carrying her on your back, it's only fair that I ride up here." He pulls Hiro's hair again with one hand and points forward with the other. "HI-OH, LET'S RIDE!"

Hiro is frustrated but doesn't move too much to avoid worsening Hikari's injury. They head towards an inn where they can find help. As they leave the castle, they are surprised by a crowd of citizens awaiting them.

"THE HEROES HAVE ARRIVED!" the people cheer.

"A CHEER FOR THE HEROES!" they continue.

Hiro is shocked and says quietly to King and Hikari, "Heroes, us? Ahaha."

Hikari is speechless, while King says, "Finally, I'll truly be a King."

Hiro replies, "Of course, of course, the king of acorns, ahaha."

The three continue laughing, as they are extremely happy and relieved to argue. As they descend the castle stairs, the people welcome them with open arms, treating their wounds immediately while singing, dancing, and celebrating.

At the height of the celebration and the heroes being treated by the citizens, a question arises in their minds: What will happen next on this journey filled with challenges and mysteries?