The Terror Wrought by an Illusion

Editor(s): Sebas Tian, Speedphoenix

“Baruooo!” The demon screeched as it attacked us right before we could prepare ourselves for another one of the Adamantite Beetle’s attacks .

“Hush,” said Fran .

The oversized bug once again came crashing into us the moment the demon drew our attention . But this time, we weren’t caught unawares . I used a combination of telekinesis and a barrier to prevent Fran from taking a direct hit, but we were subjected to a powerful shockwave nonetheless . I reflected on the attack and its workings as I healed Fran’s left arm, which had once again been shattered .

We were unable to detect it right up until to the very moment it was about to hit us . I highly doubted that we would be able to avoid its attacks unless we were able to focus on them .

“Sorry Fran, but I’m going to be cancelling the Haste spell for a bit . ”

“Got it . ”

“You’re probably going to have to manage on your own for a little bit . ”

“Nn . No problem . Brilliant Lightning Rush!”

I had been using haste, a space/time spell in order to accelerate our thoughts such that we would be able to better deal with the monsters, as they happened to have high agility stats . While that sounded all fine and dandy, the spell did have its demerits . Slowing down our perception of time distorted the sounds around us . Our sense of hearing wasn’t the only sense it distorted either . It messed with most other senses and even dulled the effects of Presence Detection .

It did nothing but get in the way in cases like the current one, in which we needed our detection skills to be fully functional . I had wanted us to keep holding Brilliant Lightning Rush for the time being . The skill was more suited to shorter battles than it was to longer, more drawn out ones, but we didn’t have much of a choice . We wouldn’t have been able to defeat the two monsters before us without Haste if we didn’t bolster our agility .

The demon once again began attacking us despite the change in Fran’s aura . The catkin raised me in an attempt to block the monster’s blade, but it didn’t work . The toxic sword slipped right through me and landed a blow right on Fran’s body .

It proved itself worthy of its rank by momentarily empowering the blade with additional magical energy such that it could pierce through the barrier .

The wound she received from the attack was honestly not that big of a deal . The larger problem was that she had been subjected to its poison . It was clearly causing her a large amount of pain, as her movements immediately dulled in response . The beetle came in for round three, but Fran had already seen it perform that same attack twice . She wasn’t about to let herself just take a third hit without any sort of retaliation .

It came from behind and aimed its horn straight for her heart, but she reacted . She spun her body just enough to avoid a fatal blow . The bug still got her right shoulder and tore the whole arm off, but she bore with the pain and jammed her left hand into the creature’s right eye .

A loud crack resounded as she jammed everything up to her elbow into the beetle’s eyesocket and retaliated with a spell .

“Lightning Blast!”

“God damn, that thing’s resilient!”

The direct attack on its brain caused the insect to screech and writhe . But, although it suffered several heavy burns, the Adamantite Beetle lived on . It was still moving .

“GAGGGGGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!”

“Uwah…”

“Fran!”

The creature’s violent thrashing caused Fran’s arm, which was still in its body, to be torn straight out of its socket . The hard pieces of its shell had acted like scissors and snipped her limb in two .

“Greater Heal! Antidote! Greater Heal!”

I cast several healing magics on Fran, who’d lost both her arms, while keeping her standing with telekinesis . She facilitated the process by using instantaneous regeneration, so she managed to restore her body to its usual state . But unfortunately, doing so had taken quite the toll on her . Much of her mana had been drained, and her physical stamina with it .

I continued to reflect on everything that had just happened as I healed Fran up . There was something wrong . Neither the Adamantite Beetle’s charge nor the demon’s blade seemed quite… right . There was something unusual going on .

The demon was a caster whose sword arts skill was only level six . It didn’t make sense for Fran to be unable to defend against its attacks, even if she did have to deal with another enemy at the same time . Given that, I decided to appraise the demon a second time .

“Wait! It all makes sense now! That damned thing’s got Illusion Magic!”

The level four skill was likely much more effective than I had been giving it credit for . I suspected that there was a good chance it was messing with more than just our sense of sight .

This was our first time fighting against a foe capable of distorting our senses, so I ended up underestimating just how terrifying the magic could be . That said, I should probably affirm that my hypothesis is correct before jumping to conclusions .

I popped all my detection skills and observed the demon’s movements as it moved for another strike and confirmed that my suspicions were on point . The demon had hidden its real arms and produced another set with illusion magic .

The most terrifying aspect was that the demon’s real arms were impossible to detect through standard means . I couldn’t even feel their presence . And to make matters worse, the fake arms could produce sound . I could hear them carving through the air as the demon moved to attack . It had Fran totally fooled . I, however, was not . I immediately used telekinesis to redirect myself and block the demon’s strike .

“Master?”Fran asked, curious as to why I had suddenly started jerking about .

“I’ll focus on defense, you focus on offense!”

“Nn!”

We executed the plan . Fran launched an onslaught of attacks while I warded off whatever the demon threw at her .

As demonstrated back in Schwartzkatze, I was no match for either Fran or Urushi in terms of intuition . My instincts weren’t nearly as sharp as theirs were . But I could make up for it with my ability to see through illusions like the one we were faced with just now . Things that distorted the five senses weren’t nearly as effective on me as they were on my companions, as my senses had been of an inorganic construction from the start . I didn’t have eyes to see with, I barely had a sense of touch, and not even I really knew exactly why it was even possible for me to hear . And those were all the senses I had . I had no sense of taste . I had no sense of smell . I could only see, feel, and hear .

“Giiiiiiiiiii” The demon screeched as it went for another blow .

“Nice try, but I can see right through you!”

The demon’s spells were extremely effective at not only creating illusions, but also concealment . And that was precisely the trick behind the beetle that was coming out of nowhere .

Knowing the trick was half the battle . Understanding it allowed me to develop a mechanism by which I could cope . The beetle’s body was shrouded by an illusion . But that didn’t mean it wasn’t there . The air around it would still shift as it dashed . I could detect it, even if Fran remained none the wiser .

I launched a spell in the beetle’s direction the moment it started to move . It had magic resistance, so I didn’t bother with anything offensive .

“Turn Shield!”

I instead cast a spell meant to alter the paths of enemy projectiles .

The Adamantite Beetle was massive . But, by imbuing the spell with as much mana as possible and then combining it with telekinesis, I was able to redirect it just enough to alter its destination .

Of course, I didn’t expect the beetle’s attack to instantly end the demon . My goal wasn’t to have that happen . All I wanted was an opening, which is exactly what we got .

And Fran, being Fran, wasn’t the type to overlook an opening .

“Haaah!”

The demon leapt backwards in panic in order to avoid the beetle’s rush . Fran chased it down and delivered a heavy blow with her blade, splitting its body in two .

“It’s over!” shouted Fran . She then twisted me around and used me to destroy the demon’s core in an instant . The battle had devolved into a simple sword fight, one in which she held an overwhelming advantage .

The beetle immediately judged that the situation had turned dire, so it charged us down with more speed than it had demonstrated to date . It seemed to have activated some sort of trump card and intended to skewer us alongside the demon’s remains . I had to compliment the beetle . Its judgement call wasn’t too bad despite it being a literal insect .

But the loss of its support meant that it was no longer a threat . I destroyed the incoming bug by teleporting above it and impaling it with a telekinetic catapult .