RE: Player again

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[Chapter 101] [Even If You Mix Blood with Blood (10)]

Illusion is nothing but a lie.

Therefore, the essence of illusion magic lies in making lies seem like truth.

These were the words revealed by Yoo Dojun, the 2nd generation Twelve Seats, in an interview before the regression.

The words spoken by the ranger who made great achievements in the 2nd Uijeongbu Recapture Battle at that time were words that revealed what the essence of illusion magic was.

"...In the end, it's just a matter of not believing, right?"

Eunha, who remembered that interview, remained calm even when facing a demon that dealt with illusions.

Kkeulkkeul, j-just a h-human l-like y-you, w-what c-can y-you d-do a-against m-me.

5th tier over-rank monster, Group Image Demon.

The demon belonging to a high tier used human language intermittently.

However, the tone that sank powerlessly as if struggling in a swamp made listeners feel drained.

"After running away because you didn't want to die, now you're talking big..."

Eunha took out an automatic pistol from his holster with his left hand that wasn't holding the sword.

Loading the S-K5 automatic pistol said to have been developed by Sirius Device, he burst into laughter.

Because the creature's appearance was shabby.

The bipedal body supporting a wolf-like head was covered in blood all over.

It was obvious whose blood it was without having to ask.

Unlike what it was saying, the creature was trembling and breathing heavily.

It seemed to have been intensively attacked by players until now.

Whether it killed them or ran away, yet to put on airs.

He couldn't help but laugh at the demon-like appearance trying to deceive lies as truth.

Y-you a-are w-weak t-too.

Was it because the bluff didn't work?

Unlike just before, a tone that seemed upset echoed in the forest.

The creature stretched its head forward and took him in with its jewel-embedded eyes.

D-don't y-you f-feel t-this h-heat?

Y-you a-are a-already i-in m-my w-world.

D-do y-you t-think y-you c-can e-escape f-from t-these h-hellish f-flames?

When those words echoed in the forest, Eunha suddenly thought that the surroundings were brightening.

Oh no, I said to be careful...

By the time he realized, it was already too late.

When he heard words reminiscent of illusions in the creature's speech, he unconsciously ended up imagining flames.

Then the illusion of flames was soon changed into a fantasy by the creature's magic, and the fantasy was materialized into reality.

Before he knew it, the entire forest was being consumed by blazing flames.

D-do I s-still s-seem w-weak?

N-no, I a-am s-strong. S-stronger t-than y-you.

"Yeah, bullshit. I'm stronger than you."

He mustn't be overwhelmed by momentum.

A demon dealing with illusions will look for openings to attack consciousness.

If he doesn't refute here, the creature will become even more arrogant and materialize illusions to make them seem true.

Of course, silence is the same.

For a demon, even silence was affirmation.

So this is what a high tier is like.

Judging by the lack of presence in the detection network, it seems I've been caught by this thing.

Tsk, I bet they were caught off guard.

Even if the opponent was weakened, the 5th tier over-rank tier didn't go anywhere.

It was high tier.

Generally, creatures that were huge and could handle magic were not beings that could be killed alone.

Nevertheless, Eunha infused mana into the Black Thorn Tree in his hand.

The blade, already dyed black, absorbed mana and emitted black energy around it.

Thousand Step

Violent Venom

Mere flames like this.

Eunha, who had become accustomed to piercing through flames while facing Kang Hyeonchul in his previous life, advanced forward regardless of flames sticking to his body.

The flames were illusions anyway.

Even if they were materialized visually, if he accepted them as illusions, they were just images.

It's just that the unconscious of people who witnessed realistically blazing flames couldn't accept them as illusions.

H-how...!

"You're not speaking strangely this time?"

However, it was meaningless to him.

He wasn't afraid of flames.

This was all thanks to that.

That crazy squid is helpful at times like this.

Whether it's hot or not.

He no longer had resistance to jumping into flames after facing the "Sword Saint" in his previous life.

That's why the flames attached to his body disappeared flutteringly, becoming illusions.

And he who ran towards the surprised creature exploded all the energy gathered on his blade at once.

......!

The sword strike curved like a crescent moon quickly sliced the creature's side.

Keu, keuooooo...!

Y-you, y-you...!

The creature clutching its side hurriedly moved away.

Soon blending into the darkness, it eventually let out a scream filled with pain.

The ground shook, and trees fell.

The flames that had been burning the forest disappeared, and the creature that fell to the ground with a thud rolled around.

Violent Venom.

The poison causing sepsis was effective on the creature too.

"What? Is this all you've got? I'm incredibly disappointed..."

It was effective.

Thinking so and about to end its remaining life, Eunha paused at an attack that grazed his cheek.

The wind blew.

D-do y-you r-really t-think i-it's w-wind?

C-can w-wind b-be t-this s-sharp?

Y-you a-are a-already i-inside m-my b-blade.

Eunha raised his head.

Like stars.

He saw a cluster of lights twinkling in the night sky.

They weren't stars.

Blades stretched out in the air so densely that he couldn't count how many there were, targeting him.

I-is y-your b-blade t-this s-sharp?

T-thanks t-to y-you, I c-could m-make w-well-sharpened b-blades.

"Damn..."

The poison wasn't effective on the creature.

No, the poison was effective.

Now that he looked, blood was pouring from the creature's side.

He had thought it was a phenomenon due to sepsis, but in fact, flesh had been completely torn off.

W-what i-is y-your s-sword d-doing?

The creature, struggling to get up from the ground, spoke in a heavier voice than before.

Eunha swung the Black Thorn Tree before it could regain its posture.

However, he felt no sensation in his hand.

As if cutting an illusion.

The creature's body disappeared like smoke in the direction the Black Thorn Tree passed through.

D-didn't I s-say f-from t-the b-beginning? T-that y-you a-are i-in m-my w-world.

D-do y-you t-think e-everything y-you p-perceive a-and f-feel i-is y-yours?

He couldn't understand what trick the creature had pulled.

The only thing he could understand was that his detection network wasn't functioning properly.

The demon dealing with cognitive abilities and senses had interfered with his detection network.

Like this, there was no way he could rely on the detection network.

In the end, all he could rely on was intuition and eyes.

As if mocking that situation.

W-what y-you s-see i-isn't e-everything.

B-but y-you c-can't d-do a-anything b-but s-see w-with y-your e-eyes.

The demon appearing with arms spread in the flames that hadn't yet subsided.

At that moment, the blades floating in the night sky fell towards him in droves.

It's just an illusion anyway.

Eunha inwardly repeated not to be deceived by the creature's illusions.

Gritting his teeth and rushing out, he just intended to swing his sword towards the creature.

However, one of the blades that should have been mere illusions grazed his forearm, leaving a wound.

Some blades didn't cause any wounds as he thought, but some caused wounds as if they really existed.

A-as t-truth i-is h-hidden i-in l-lies.

T-truth i-is h-hidden i-in l-lies.

His intuition shouted.

That he must block the blades falling from above.

Eunha instinctively swung his sword to deflect the blades.

Huh?

He thought he would hear the sound of metal clashing.

However, the blade flew off with a sound like a branch breaking.

The blade broken in half had its illusion dispelled and had become a branch.

Only then did Eunha realize that the creature had attacked by overlaying blade illusions on branches.

It was a very ingenious trick.

To make illusions seem real, it had inserted such realities into the illusions.

No wonder it seemed real even though it was an illusion.

Eunha deployed a barrier to shake off all the falling blades.

He didn't even glance at the blades.

He swung the Black Thorn Tree with all his might towards the demon in front of him.

Mana Crusher

He intended to smash its head.

However, just like before, the creature scattered and disappeared like smoke as soon as it was cut by the sword.

Thud

The ground shook.

Suddenly, the ground split open and something like roots shot up from the cracks.

The giant roots, writhing like living creatures, flew towards him without a moment's hesitation.

Surely this must be an illusion too.

But the creature must be targeting him by mixing something into what should be a harmless illusion.

Therefore, he couldn't just take the hit.

He aimed the S-K5 at the tree roots that had become half real.

Revolver Shot

The bullets that left the muzzle became thorns and pierced through the illusion.

Beyond the disappearing illusion, the creature's form came into view.

The illusion was trying to regain its form.

Eunha didn't miss that moment.

Stygian Eye

If the creature promotes illusions.

He would promote fear.

Illusion and fear were the same in terms of materializing the invisible.

The only difference was that illusion was an outward phenomenon while fear was an inward phenomenon.

Eunha bestowed unparalleled fear the moment their eyes met.

......!

Of course, a monster belonging to a high tier wouldn't be caught up in his fear.

The creature only hesitated momentarily as it resisted with mana.

However, that momentary disturbance helped drive away the illusions.

Since when were these things here?

Quickly deploying his detection network, he soon realized that monsters had been lying in ambush around him.

Moreover, even what he thought were trees were actually monsters.

It seemed the monsters had either quietly closed the distance while he was battling the creature, or had been disguising their presence by hiding among the trees.

Even the tree roots that came out of the ground earlier seemed to be the work of monsters disguised as trees.

Y-your e-eyes, w-what d-did y-you j-just...

"I was just trying to pay you back in kind, why."

Meanwhile, the demon waved its hand.

As electricity gathered at its fingertips flew towards him, Eunha clicked his tongue and hurriedly turned his body.

Although it was a demon dealing with illusions, there was no way it couldn't handle magic.

The electricity emitted from the creature soon soared into the sky, split into strands, and fell from the sky.

With crackling sounds, the ground burned and holes formed.

The ground split and roots shot up, rocks flew in from the air, and attacks came from all directions chaotically.

What was fiction and what was reality.

Eunha couldn't tell.

Once again, his detection network wasn't functioning properly.

So what.

From where it was an illusion.

There was no need to know that.

Even if the terrain had completely changed from the forest that was there just before, even if there were demons and monsters waiting for an opportunity around.

In the end, whether illusion or reality, what they were aiming for was himself.

Pride's Counterattack

Invisible Tracker

He would counter anything.

Eunha infused mana into his necklace with such will.

The artifact emitted an intense light, driving away illusions and countering reality.

The deflected electricity fell randomly, incinerating monsters.

The smell of burning permeated everywhere, and few survived intact.

Y-you, h-human...!

"What, you monster."

The demon emitting the same smell as others beyond the clearing smoke.

The creature with its fur completely singed was enraged.

Its side that had been bleeding profusely until just before was now scorched, either from its own doing or from being struck by lightning.

"Do demons feel fear too?"

The creature seemed to have considerably lower mana resistance than when first seen.

Then could he properly bestow fear on it this time?

He changed the magazine of his automatic pistol and quietly watched the creature creating illusions while muttering something.

I-I'll m-make y-you k-know w-what d-death i-is.

I-I'll m-make y-you r-regret b-being b-born.

Y-you w-will d-deeply r-regret s-seeing t-this h-hell.

He no longer even listened with half an ear.

Eunha realized the effect of the "Ghost Spider's Web" artifact used to kill students had ended and rummaged through his pocket.

Ah... so this was the end.

I didn't make enough "Ghost Spider's Web" because I was focused on making "Stygian Eye" artifacts.

Eunha clicked his tongue.

It was very difficult to find artifacts that could withstand Julieta's Gift, so he couldn't make many artifacts containing "Stygian Eye" this time either.

Even then, he gave one to Bruno and used the rest himself, resulting in running out already.

I should have brought fruit-flavored potions.

If he could receive buffs, he could fight that demon comfortably.

He regretted not having buff-type potions and was sorry there was no supporter to assist him.

"Well, whatever."

Eunha decided to act nonchalant while looking around the space that looked like a monster's lair.

The creature was dying anyway, and he could take it down without support.

There was no need to dwell on it.

Above all—

"—This isn't the end of my power either."

He had his Gift too.

Eunha surrendered his body to the energy trying to creep up from inside his heart for a while now.

His internal mana was in a state where not much was left for the Gift to activate.

The power he had been suppressing until now was leaking outside to the point where he could no longer suppress it.

Gift

Eventually, an unknown power burst out explosively.