The illusion formation had been forcibly broken, though not completely destroyed. The guards, who had been lost in the illusion, gradually snapped back to reality.
When they took in their actual surroundings and their fallen comrades lying in pools of blood, their faces went pale with horror.
“That illusion formation was terrifyingly real… It could so vividly reflect the desires of the human heart,” Grace said, her voice trembling slightly. Her gratitude towards Dustin deepened.
His sharp gaze darted toward the far end of the valley, where the only real spring shimmered in the distance. The air above it twisted and warped until a faint figure slowly took shape.
It solidified into a woman of otherworldly, almost unsettling beauty. Dressed in rainbow robes, her body was an illusory form of coalescing light and fog.
She hovered barefoot above the spring, surrounded by a haze of seductive energy that tugged at the mind. Her eyes were deep and bottomless, reflecting a thousand images of the world yet holding nothing at all.
She looked at Dustin, and when she spoke, her voice was distant and layered with mild surprise.
“You saw through my ‘Phantasm of Seven Emotions’ and broke it by force. Impressive, outsider. Your divine sense is strong.”
Dustin stood firm with his sword ready. He said calmly, “You feed on the desires of mortals, create false paradises to trap them, then drain their life essence. Are you the guardian of this formation, the Mirage?
The rainbow-clad woman, Mirage, smiled faintly, stunning enough to eclipse nature itself, yet laced with lethal intent.
“Guardian? You could say that. I simply enjoy watching mortals struggle with their desires, lose their way, and finally become sustenance for my illusions. Your willpower seems solid, but what about your companions? Their vulnerabilities far outnumber yours…”
Her gaze swept over the shaken Grace and the guards, a flash of greed flickering in her eyes
Dustin stepped forward, shielding everyone behind him. His longsword was held obliquely toward the ground, its faint hum and the cool intent radiating from it pushing back against the lingering seductive energy.
“Your tricks end here,” he said. Mirage’s lips curved into a bewitching arc, her ethereal voice carrying an imperceptible seduction.
“End here? No, the beautiful dream is just beginning. Why struggle painfully in reality when you can enjoy bliss in the illusion? What you seek is merely an obsession…”
Her words seemed to carry hypnotic force, burrowing into everyone’s thoughts.
The guards, who had just snapped back to reality, felt their focus waver once more as images of their deepest desires rose unbidden within them.
Even Grace felt her resolve tremble. Images of her sick father mixed with scenes from the earlier illusion made her chest tighten. She nearly slipped back under.
“Enough of your mind games!” Dustin’s sharp command cut through Mirage’s demonic whispers. He knew that against an illusionist like her, even the smallest lapse of focus meant doom.
Without another word, he flicked his wrist.
His longsword emitted a clear, piercing cry, and a focused arc of cyan sword aura shot forth like the first ray of dawn. It tore through the thick miasma of enchantment aimed directly at the figure hovering over the spring.
The attack was lightning-fast. But just before impact, Mirage’s form wavered like a reflection on water and vanished.
The sword aura passed through the empty air and slammed into the rocks beside the spring, carving a deep gouge and sending stone fragments flying. Mirage chuckled and said, “Brute force can’t break this illusory realm.”
A light, mocking laugh seemed to come from all around them, echoing faintly through the valley. A moment later, she reformed beside a twisted, dead tree to the left. Her smile was as radiant as it was dangerous.
Dustin’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he wasn’t discouraged. The instant Mirage reappeared, he was a blur of motion. His sword light flashed again, transforming into a dense net of cyan light enveloping her new location.
Yet, the result was the same. The sword net fell, only shredding a cascade of colorful light.
Mirage had already reappeared on top of a massive boulder, looking utterly relaxed, as if observing a performance that was beneath her.
“It’s useless,” she chuckled softly. “This entire valley, the Vale of the Mirror of Illusions, is my domain. I am everywhere and nowhere within it. How could you possibly harm me?”
As she spoke, she lifted her hand, and the world around them began to twist and warp once more.
In the blink of an eye, the crimson soil beneath their feet turned into a bed of soft, fragrant grass. The jagged stones and dead trees around them became branches heavy with blossoms. Even the sulfurous spring nearby transformed into a pool shimmering with rich spiritual energy.
But the most terrifying change was in each other.
To Grace, the face of Judith, who was clutching her arm, twisted into the visage of a hated enemy, now leering at her with malicious intent.
The guards saw their comrades morph into old rivals and bitter foes, their blades suddenly turning against them.
“It’s you!” one guard roared, eyes wild with rage as he swung his sword at the man beside him.
“Stay away from me!” another shrieked, stumbling away and slashing frantically at empty air.
Chaos erupted instantly. Even though some part of them knew it might be an illusion, the sights, the sounds, even the hostile intent they could feel radiating from their “foes” were overwhelmingly real. Panic took hold, and within moments, the guards were turning on each other in blind terror.
