Chapter 218 - The Lord of Illusions ( Part 1 )

The blade was still stuck in the invisible barrier.

It was hanging in the air; it was half-immersed in nothing, and violet cracks were spreading around it due to the morning rays that hit the silver metal.

For one second... nobody moved.

The courtyard seemed to be frozen. The guards stood motionless with weapons half-drawn; Roxy's staff shined brightly with magical energy, and Snow's nine tails were spread around the royal warrior. Even Rudy's hand with which she had thrown the knife remained outstretched, and golden eyes of the young girl were staring at the rooftop above.

Jennie was standing in the middle of all that with Excalibur in her hand that pushed back shadows starting to appear at the edges of the courtyard.

Suddenly... BOOM!

Hundreds of black shadows appeared in the palace courtyard. They were bursting from the ground, walls, and even air; dozens of figures wearing dark armor and shining with violet eyes.

"INTRUDERS!"

The shouts of royal guards sounded. They were alarmed, and their swords started singing as they were being drawn from scabbards.

Dozens of figures jumped down from rooftops. Some of them appeared in silence from walls, others simply appeared from nowhere—out of shadows.

They were dressed in dark armor; their eyes were glowing with violet color—it was the color of something different from usual magic. Something more... demonic.

Demon agents.

Jennie moved to the middle of the yard. Her voice sounded calm, but her eyes were sharp.

"Roxy."

"I know."

Roxy struck her staff to the floor. There was a boom sound, and the crimson magic circle appeared under the warrior's feet. It was rotating, and the runes on it were burning with magical power.

"Barrier!"

BOOOOM!

The magic barrier erupted around the palace. It was like a red dome rising up from the ground and shining with protective runes. Shadow creatures were striking the barrier and disappeared into black smoke.

They were flying away with their forms destroyed by the power of the barrier.

Jennie drew Excalibur. The Divine Sword was shining brighter, pushing back shadows with its golden light.

"Stay behind me."

Roxy smirked. Her ears were twitching with joy.

"Absolutely not."

The warrior raised her staff. Magical energy was glowing on her fingers, and her eyes were shining with power.

"I've been waiting for this."

Snow's ears were twitching, too. Nine tails were swishing behind him, and divine aura was sparkling.

"Finally."

Jennie looked at him. "You too?"

Snow's tails were spread wider. His eyes were shining with anticipation.

"I was getting bored."

Then... the shadows started attacking.

An assassin demon materialized behind Jennie.

And she did not even turn back.

Excalibur cut through the air with its beautiful golden glow.

CLANG!

The demon's blade split into pieces of black metal and fell. The creature stumbled backward.

She turned around. One strike. The demon was hurled to the other side of the courtyard, crashing into a stone pillar that collapsed and absorbed the demon, turning into shadow once more.

Another demon appeared above her. Falling down like a meteor, its claws extending towards her.

Roxy cast her crimson beam of magic.

BOOM!

It exploded in a burst of light.

"Great!"

Jennie cried out.

"I know!"

Roxy beamed.

Three demons formed a circle around her now. Moving in perfect coordination—one from the left, one from the right, one from above.

Their blades were filled with dark energy.

Her eyes flashed. "Too slow."

She snapped her fingers. And five circles of magical power appeared around her, spinning in various directions.

"Flame Prison!"

Magic flames started erupting from all five sides. It was not your usual fire—it was magical white-hot fire that was consuming them all, leaving nothing behind but ashes.

Snow ran through the smoke and closed his huge jaws around the weapon of one of the demons.

Crunch.

The blade broke.

Snow spat it out with a disgusted expression on his face.

"Tastes awful."

Jennie laughed. "Pay attention!"

"I am paying attention."

Another demon approached him. Snow's massive tail struck it.

BOOM!

The demon vanished inside a wall. The stone cracked and dust showered down.

Rudy was moving like a shadow herself.

Jumping on the balcony, her cloak trailing behind her, she faced the demon who followed her and reached out its claws to take her throat.

She spun in the air. The cloak wrapped around her body and became a weapon. The demon lunged at her, its claw reaching for her neck. She dodged and the blade passed over her head, brushing her hair.

She attacked. One dagger. Two. Three. Every strike was precise—dagger dance of death without any room for mistakes.

The demon reeled back. Its armor had cracks in it, dark blood trickling from the wounds.

Rudy kicked it to fall off the balcony. It fell and disintegrated inside the shadow.

"Too predictable."

Rudy gracefully landed on the balcony. Her golden eyes scanned the courtyard.

She smiled then.

"Who wants next?"

There was an answer.

It was soft and cold and very familiar.

"Me."

Rudy's smile disappeared.

Another Rudy appeared behind her. Then a second Rudy appeared. Third. Fourth. And then ten. Then twenty. Identical figures with purple hair and golden eyes, black cloaks and mischievous smiles.

Rudy stared. "What..."

They smiled. All the copies speaking in unison.

"Hello."

Her eyes narrowed. Her grip on daggers tightened.

"Illusion."

They attacked.

Rudy jumped back. She threw three knives at them. They passed right through the copies. Just fake.

"Fake."

She spun. Second copy attacked her from behind. She blocked it.

CLANG!

This time the copy was real. The shockwave spread through her arm.

Rudy's eyes widened. The copy vanished.

Then another attack appeared from the opposite side. Rudy blocked again.

"Interesting."

She smiled. Dangerous smile.

"You are not creating illusion here."

The figure disappeared. Rudy scanned the courtyard, looking for it.

"You hide the real attack inside it."

The whispering voice was coming from everywhere and nowhere.

"Very good."

Rudy stopped. She recognized that voice. It was a voice she had heard before—in her nightmares, in the shadows, in the space between waking and sleep.

Lokiar.

Across the courtyard...

Jennie was fighting.

Or, at least, she thought she was.

She cut through one shadow. Then another. Then another one. Her sword was doing its work with deadly precision, finding the mark of each strike.

But something was wrong.

The palace was changing. Suddenly the courtyard had become long. The walls were shifting. The towers were multiplying.

Jennie stopped. Her breathing was deep and ragged.

"Roxy?"

No answer.

"Rudy?"

Nothing.

"Lilia?"

Silence.

Jennie turned around. The royal palace was standing behind her. But there was something wrong with it. The windows had different positions. The towers had wrong positions too. The courtyard had grown enormous—stretched infinitely in all directions.

Jennie stared. Her voice was a whisper.

"This is not the palace."

Whispering voice appeared behind her.

"Are you sure?"

Jennie turned. Nothing.

Then suddenly... a second palace appeared. Next to the first one. And then a third one. And a fourth one.

Within seconds... dozens of identical royal palaces appeared across Seraiya. Appearing out of the ground like mushrooms after a rainstorm, identical to the original.

Jennie stared. "What?"

The city was now impossible. There were palaces on the rooftops. There were palaces filling the streets. There were upside-down palaces in the sky. There was a palace floating above the clouds. And another one was stretching infinitely to the end of the world.

The guards were seeing that too.

"THE PALACE!"

"There are dozens of palaces!"

"Protect the queen!"

"Which one is real?!"

Panic was spreading. The guards were rushing to different buildings, their formations breaking up. Some of them attacking illusionary enemies. Some were defending the empty doors. One entire squad of them went inside a fake palace. Vanishing through the wall.

"Stop!"

Jennie cried out. But nobody was listening. The illusion had already taken over the battlefield.

Inside one of the false palaces...

Lilia was running through a corridor. Her steps echoed on the marble floor. Her breath was ragged.

"Raven!"

Echoing her voice. No answer.

Turning another corner. Another corridor. Opening another door. Another throne room.

"Raven ..."

She stopped. Jennie's voice. It was coming from somewhere ahead.

"Raven ?"

She rushed to it. The door was open. Jennie was inside. Her silver hair was disheveled. Her golden eyes were glowing.

" My Queen ."

Lilia rushed towards her. But she could not touch her. Jennie's face changed. Her eyes were now violet. Her smile cruel.

Lilia stopped.

The figure smiled. "You should have remembered."

Lilia stepped back. Her hand reached to Aurelia. "You are not Raven."

The illusion laughed. And the room shattered. Lilia fell through the darkness.

Elsewhere...

Jennie found herself in yet another corridor. Her feet slammed into the ground, and she stumbled.

"Lilia!"

No response.

She tried reaching out for any sort of trace of Aurelia's presence. No success. Then she tried to sense Roxy's essence. No success either.

The five Divine Swords around her started behaving weirdly. Excalibur pointed to the left. Leviathan pointed to the right. Tempest trembled. Eclipse grew dark. Gram pulsed with anger.

Jennie frowned. "You're sensing different directions."

Eclipse whispered. Its voice was cold and sharp.

"Because all directions are false."

Jennie turned to look at the blade. "Explain."

"The world around us is being rewritten."

Jennie finally comprehended. Not physically. Perceptually. The illusion wasn't distorting the palace. It was distorting what everyone believed they were seeing.

Something moved. Jennie attacked.

CLANG!

Her sword sliced through another illusion. It vanished. Then five illusions appeared.

Jennie took a step back. Her eyes narrowed.

"This isn't magic that produces false images."

Eclipse was silent.

Jennie went on. "This magic creates a false reality."

A voice answered her. It sounded smooth and calm and terrifying.

"Exactly."

Jennie turned. At the other end of the corridor stood a tall man wearing a black coat and violet eyes. He was smiling calmly.

Lokiar. The Fifth Demon General. The Lord of Illusions.

Jennie raised Excalibur. "You."

Lokiar smiled. " Leonis ."

Jennie's eyes narrowed. "You know me."

"I know everyone worth knowing."

Lokiar took several steps toward her. His feet made no sounds on the marble floor.

Jennie raised her sword. "Come closer."

Lokiar stopped. His smile broadened.

"I don't need to."

Jennie frowned. "Why?"

Lokiar smiled. "You think this is a fight."

The corridor shifted. In the next second Jennie found herself in the throne room. Then in the battlefield. Then in the Forbidden Battlefield. Then in the Royal Palace. Then in the darkness.

Each world lasted less than a second. Lokiar kept standing in all of them.

"You swing your sword."

Jennie watched him. Her grip on Excalibur tightened.

"You destroy everything you see."

Another illusion appeared before her. Jennie attacked it. But nothing happened.

Lokiar's voice filled the whole world.

"But what happens..."

Everything shattered.

"...when you can't trust what you see?"

Jennie found herself alone. All her Divine Swords were gone. Magic was gone too. Everything around her was empty.

And then she heard Roxy's voice.

"Jennie!"

Jennie turned around. Roxy was standing nearby. Her hair was messy.

"Help me!"

Jennie took a step toward her. Then froze.

Something was wrong. Roxy's shadow was moving the other way around.

Jennie narrowed her eyes. "You're not Roxy."

The illusion smiled. "No."

It changed. Lilia appeared.

"Then maybe I'm her."

Jennie felt her heart tighten. "Lilia?"

The figure smiled. "Come here."

Jennie didn't move.

Once again the figure changed. This time Rudy appeared.

"Sweet Heart."

Jennie remained still.

Once again the figure changed. This time Lucas appeared.

"Jennie."

Her breath caught.

Once again it changed. Arthur. Elena. Snow. Roxy. Lilia. All of them one after another.

Lokiar's voice whispered:

"Which one do you believe?"

Jennie closed her eyes. Silence.

She remembered something. Eclipse's words. A Divine Sword remembers the voice of its wielder. Gram recognized Leonis. Aurelia remembered something that Lilia didn't.

Memories. Emotions. Truth.

Jennie opened her eyes.

"This isn't a battle of strength."

Lokiar's smile faded a little.

Jennie tightened her grip on the hilt of her sword. "This is a battle of what we consider to be real."

The illusions stopped. For the first time... Lokiar seemed genuinely interested.

"Very good."

Jennie raised Excalibur. "But you made one mistake."

Lokiar tilted his head.

"You assumed I needed to know what's real."

Jennie smiled. "I don't."

She lowered her sword. "I only need to know what matters."

The five Divine Swords resounded.

BOOOOOOM!

Light exploded through the illusion. The false palace broke. False corridors crumbled. Thousands of false copies of Seraiya began falling apart.

Across the whole city... the guards suddenly found themselves in the real streets.

Roxy tumbled out of the illusion onto a roof.

"What the hell?!"

Snow fell into a fountain.

"I hate magic."

Rudy appeared beside Jennie. Her cloak was torn, and her hair was messed up.

"That was impressive."

Jennie looked around. "Lilia."

Rudy's smile vanished. "She's missing."

Jennie's expression hardened.

Lokiar stood in front of the crumbling illusion. He was smiling.

"Exactly."

Jennie looked at him. "Where is she?"

Lokiar turned away. His body began to dissolve in shadows.

"I'll leave you a clue."

Jennie narrowed her eyes. "What clue?"

Lokiar smiled. "Your Queen isn't where you think she is."

His body disappeared. The last thing he left behind was his voice.

"And neither is your enemy."

Jennie's eyes widened. The five Divine Swords suddenly pointed in different directions.

Roxy appeared beside her. Her face was pale.

"Jennie..."

Rudy joined them. Her golden eyes were sharp.

"What now?"

Jennie gazed at the empty space where Lokiar had disappeared. Her expression became cold.

"We find Lilia."

Then... from some place deep beneath the palace... Aurelia flashed. Once. Twice.

A signal.

Jennie's eyes widened. "Lilia."

She turned toward the palace. And ran.