Chapter 264: A Very Powerful Opponent (3)

Chapter 264

Alex crashed through the first building like a human cannonball. The impact shattered the walls, sending bricks, concrete, and broken pieces of furniture flying in every direction. Before the dust could even settle, his body still carried by the momentum smashed straight through another wall and continued into the next building, leaving a trail of destruction behind him.

Seven or eight buildings later, his back finally struck a thick concrete pillar, breaking it in half, before he finally dropped to the ground and rolled several times across the rubble.

For several seconds, Alex couldn’t move because the awful pain in his stomach was so intense that even breathing seemed a bit difficult. He coughed violently, spitting blood onto the broken concrete, before forcing himself to push his upper body off the ground. One hand immediately clutched his abdomen while the other pressed against the rubble to support his weight.

"H-How?"

His voice came out hoarse, almost like he was struggling to understand the words coming out of his own mouth.

"How... how is this possible?"

Alex looked toward the direction he had been thrown from, his forest-green eyes filled with disbelief.

He clearly remembered what had happened. He had used Void Step to get himself and Celine away from the battlefield before detonating the three Crimson Supernovas. George had been standing right in the middle of the triangle when the spheres exploded.

There was no way he could have escaped that attack without using some kind of teleportation ability himself.

Even if he had somehow survived the explosion, he should have sustained serious injuries. The destructive power packed into those three spheres was enough to obliterate everything within their range, and George had been standing directly at the center.

So how could he possibly have appeared behind Alex and punched him with enough force to send him flying through several buildings?

It didn’t make any sense!

"HOW?!"

Alex finally lost his temper and shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice echoing through the ruins. Just then a soft chuckle, he found annoying, answered him.

"Oh, don’t look so surprised, Alex. You should have known better than to celebrate before confirming your opponent’s death."

Alex’s head snapped toward the entrance of the ruined building.

George was walking toward him with his hands casually tucked into his coat pockets. His clothes were completely intact, without even a speck of dust on them, and that stupid smile remained plastered across his face.

It was as though he hadn’t just survived an attack capable of destroying almost a city block. No, that wasn’t the most disturbing part. For Pete’s sake there wasn’t even a single scratch on him.

Alex stared at the approaching man with his expression growing increasingly ugly as the realization that something was seriously wrong began to settle in. George stopped a few meters away and tilted his head slightly.

"I guess now you’re probably wondering how I survived your attack, aren’t you?"

Alex clenched his fists.

"Stop playing this games with me and answer me! How did you survive Crimson Supernova? I saw you standing right in the middle of the explosion!"

George chuckled again.

"Did you?"

Those two words made Alex’s expression freeze. George’s smile widened as he watched the realization slowly dawn on his opponent’s face.

"Well, I suppose I’ve kept you in suspense long enough. The truth is rather simple, really. I let you see what you wanted to see."

Alex’s pupils contracted.

"What...?"

"From the moment you first arrived at the battlefield, you’ve been under the effect of my ability."

George paused, then raised one finger as though he had suddenly remembered something important.

"Oh, where are my manners? We’ve been fighting for quite some time, and I haven’t even explained my ability to you. That was rather rude of me."

He placed a hand against his chest and bowed slightly.

"Allow me to introduce you to my little secret. The name of my ability is Perfect Deception. With this unique ability of mine, I can create illusions so real and convincing that they look, sound, and feel completely real. Anyone caught within its influence will be unable to distinguish between the illusion and reality itself, instead they experience fabricated events as reality itself. Depending on how I use it, even the smallest details can be manipulated until the victim has no reason to doubt what they’re experiencing."

George spread his arms.

"Of course, there are plenty of ways to use such an ability, but I particularly enjoy watching people make their own mistakes. After all, there’s nothing more entertaining than watching someone struggle against a situation that doesn’t even exist."

Alex’s stomach tightened.

An illusion? Was George telling him that the entire battle had been fake?

Impossible!

He had felt their fists colliding against solid flesh. He had felt the resistance when George blocked his attacks. He had even seen the blood coming from the man’s nose after landing a headbutt.

How could any illusion be so realistic?

As though he had read Alex’s thoughts, George laughed softly.

"Ah, I can see the questions forming in your head. How could you feel the impact of our attacks? How could you see me bleeding? How could I possibly make everything seem so real?"

He shrugged.

"That’s the beauty of my ability. Your senses can be deceived, and your mind will do the rest. You experienced everything you believed happened, Alex. Unfortunately for you, that doesn’t mean any of it actually happened."

George snapped his fingers.

"Now, why don’t we return back to reality?"

The world trembled, and for a brief moment, Alex felt as though something had been lifted from his eyes, and the scene before him suddenly changed.

The ruined building disappeared.The broken pillars, the shattered walls, and the rubble surrounding him vanished like mist beneath the morning sun.

When Alex blinked, he found himself standing in the middle of the same battlefield where he had first encountered George.

However, what he saw made his blood run cold.

The surrounding area was completely devastated. Several buildings had collapsed, leaving nothing but heaps of broken concrete and twisted metal. Smoke drifted lazily through the air, while the ground was covered in deep cracks, massive craters and scattered debris.

There were bodies everywhere.

Some belonged to the people who had been unfortunate enough to remain in the vicinity when the battle began. Their bodies had been crushed beneath falling structures or torn apart by the destructive shockwaves. Others were so badly burned that it was impossible to recognize their original appearances.

And a short distance away, Celine lay motionless on the ground.

Her clothes were torn, her body was covered in blood, and one of her arms was bent at an unnatural angle. She was still breathing, but her condition was so terrible that Alex couldn’t immediately tell how badly she had been injured.

"Celine!!!"