Chapter 302
The Duke of Illusion had a dumbfounded look on his face, but Chris was serious.
‘The two of us are enough.’
After that, time passed quickly.
First, he leaked the Duke of Illusion’s movements to the Beast King.
The information was that in a few days, the Duke of Illusion would be heading to the sacred site of the Illusion Demonic House.
Since he had leaked the information in the name of the Four Kings' Castle, as he had mentioned to the Beast King beforehand, the Beast King would not be suspicious.
During the remaining time, Chris focused on mastering the Illusory Sacred Stone and the Record of Beast Refinement he had obtained from the Beast King.
‘Even for me, it’s impossible to master the essences of two houses in such a short time.’
But it didn't matter.
He would quickly assimilate only the most core parts and store the rest in his mind for now.
So that he could slowly make it his own later.
“The time has come. You can really do as you said, right?”
On the eve of the decisive battle, the Duke of Illusion was still showing his doubt, so Chris let out a smirk and gave him a demonstration.
Fwaaat!
A single illusion bloomed from Chris’s hand.
It was a small, fluttering butterfly.
It was an insignificant illusion, but soon the butterfly showed a change.
The butterfly’s flapping wings created a wind.
It was ‘Reality Intervention’, the 5-Star level of illusion, where an illusion causes a phenomenon in reality.
That wasn't all.
Its flapping wings created a sharp gust of wind.
It was ‘Reality Augmentation’, the 6-Star level that went beyond simple intervention to amplify a phenomenon.
It didn't stop there. The butterfly landed on the Duke of Illusion’s shoulder.
Feeling the touch of the butterfly, the Duke of Illusion’s eyes widened.
A texture as if it were real. No, it wasn't just similar; it was a real, living butterfly.
It was ‘Reality Manifestation’, the 7-Star state of miracles in illusion arts.
In other words, Chris had risen to the 7-Star level with illusion arts.
‘Of course, I can’t say I’ve properly become a 7-Star illusionist yet.’
He had only raised his level quickly, without a proper foundation.
But the fact that he had succeeded in performing the 7-Star ‘Reality Manifestation’ held great meaning.
Chris spoke with a grin.
“On that day, Your Highness will witness a miracle.”
The preparations to capture the Beast King were complete.
* * *
The day of the decisive battle arrived.
The Duke of Illusion and Chris, just the two of them, headed to the location they had leaked to the Beast King.
In truth, the Duke of Illusion had wanted to bring more troops, but Chris had stopped him.
“The Beast King will not fall for it if many people are with us.”
“…Even so, it is highly likely that just the two of us will not be enough.”
A sign that he still did not trust Chris.
“I believe I am more than enough, but you seem to have many worries.”
“!!”
“If you lack the confidence, you can go and kneel to the Beast King, even now.”
The Duke of Illusion’s face turned bright red, and he moved forward.
‘Such a coward, and yet so greedy. What a petty man.’
Well, it didn't matter.
In the end, everything would be accomplished according to his will.
Whether it was the Beast King or the Duke of Illusion, they were all just dancing on the palm of his hand.
Soon, they arrived at their destination.
Ooooh.
It was a small forest, but the atmosphere was extremely dreary.
The sun was clearly high in the sky, but no light came in, and the ash-gray trees had no life in them at all.
Kiiiiiaaaaaaak.
There were even the occasional demonic shrieks and the sight of specters.
‘So this is the Land of Illusions, the sacred site of the Illusion Demonic House.’
It was a place where reality was twisted and all sorts of illusions appeared.
‘Well, it's not a sacred site with any particularly great effects.’
It was the place where the founder of the Illusion Demonic House had first created his own unique illusion dark magic, so the Illusion Demonic House managed it with some importance.
It was the moment they were about to step toward the shrine in the middle of the forest.
Kuuuung!
The sound of the forest vibrating echoed out.
“It seems he has come.”
Grrrr.
Along with a rough howl, a mountain-sized werewolf appeared.
The Beast King.
He was already in his bestial form, his sharp fur and blade-like claws glinting menacingly.
“It has been a while, Beast King.”
[Yes, there is no need for a long talk. Hand over the leader's seat. Then I will let you rest comfortably in retirement.]
Words that completely ignored the Duke of Illusion.
“I’m afraid that will be difficult. Because you are the one who will die today.”
Chris, who had been standing beside him with a robe pulled over his head, stepped forward.
“I am Grand Duke Christian of the Dark Demonic House. We seem to be old acquaintances.”
[No, you bastard? Then the one at my home is?]
“That’s right, you were tricked.”
The Beast King let out a chuckle.
[Well, I did think something was strange. But it doesn't matter.]
A voice brimming with confidence, even after realizing he had fallen into a trap.
[I will beat you both to death here, then tear the fake one at my home to pieces.]
The Duke of Illusion frowned and shouted.
“Your bravado is useless. Everyone, come out.”
Sreureuk.
From here and there in the forest, the magi of the Illusion Demonic House appeared.
Befitting his suspicious personality, he had not followed Chris’s words and had set up an ambush with his troops in advance.
He was in a situation where he was instantly surrounded, but the Beast King still had a leisurely attitude.
[Just as I expected.]
“…As you expected?”
[You, Duke of Illusion, are more of a coward than a little rat, so I naturally surmised that you would have set up such a trick.]
The Beast King let out a savage laugh.
There was one reason for his confidence.
[Do you think you can harm me, the Beast King, with mere small fry like these?]
It was because he was confident he could break through any trap the Duke of Illusion had laid.
“Everyone, fall back!”
Chris shouted, but it was too late.
Krrrrruuuuung!
The Beast King suddenly let out a powerful roar.
It was ‘Fear’.
“Kuaaaak!”
The ambushing illusionists of the Illusion Demonic House screamed, clutching their ears.
The Beast King’s precise race name is ‘Diamond Lycanthrope’.
A superior race that possesses a rank equal to that of the High Elves or the Vampire True-Blood Clan.
Therefore, the power of his ‘Fear’ was also extremely strong.
The mentally weaker among the ambushing illusionists were instantly thrown into a state of panic, and soon, a storm of blood raged.
Fwaaaaaaaaat!!
[Kuhahahaha!!!]
The Beast King let out a roar.
The very image of a savage beast enjoying the slaughter.
“W-was the Beast King’s power this great?”
“Th-this can’t be.”
The illusionists of the Illusion Demonic House turned pale and stumbled back.
Of course, the Beast King had always been an absolute powerhouse.
But the intense power he was showing now was incomparable to before.
‘It’s the effect of the Berserker Sword.’
Chris thought to himself.
‘Because it amplifies one’s power by an enormous amount.’
For mentally-focused dark mages like those of the Illusion Demonic House, whose physical combat power was weak, the Berserker Sword was a weapon no different from a natural enemy.
Of course, the Illusion Demonic House did not just stand by and take it.
“Most mental attacks won't work on the Beast King! Summon the illusory beasts.”
Fwaaat!
It was another specialty of the Illusion Demonic House.
Phoenixes, two-headed lions, ice snakes, and so on—countless illusory beasts descended upon the land.
Magical beasts from another dimension called the Realm of Illusions, different from spirits.
But even these illusory beasts were no match for the Beast King.
[How dare you! Such pathetic things without even a real form!!]
Wuuuuuuuuu!!!
The Beast King let out another roar.
It was a different kind of roar from the Fear ability he had used before.
Fwaaat!
Along with a distortion in space, a pack of magical beasts appeared.
It was the unique miraculous ability of the Magical Beast Demonic House, ‘Magical Beast Summoning’.
‘A pack of Demon Wolves. And more than twenty of them, at that.’
Each and every one was a high-level magical beast with power equal to that of a 5-Star magus.
Some individuals possessed 6-Star level power, and there was even an Arch Demon Wolf, said to be comparable to a 7-Star magus.
A force that could annihilate an average knightly order in an instant.
As expected, it was a testament to the Beast King’s tremendous mastery of the Art of Beast Refinement.
[Devour them all.]
“Kuaaaaaaaak!!”
The magi of the Illusion Demonic House were pushed back helplessly.
Just then, the Duke of Illusion finally moved.
“Enough. Beast King, you shall now fall into the hell of illusions.”
The Duke of Illusion had not thought that the common illusionists would be able to stop the Beast King.
They were merely a way to buy time.
To activate this spell.
Hwaaaaaaak!
Suddenly, the surrounding scenery changed.
Kaleidoscopic colors dyed the surroundings.
As if they had truly fallen into a world of fantasy.
However, it was not a world of dreams and hopes.
The multi-colored hues gave off a bizarre, twisted feeling rather than being beautiful, and all sorts of chilling demonic shrieks could be heard.
As if they had fallen into a cruel fairy tale.
It was the Duke of Illusion’s Domain of Dominion, the ‘Distorted World of Illusions’.
Sreureu.
The various colors that had been illuminating the empty air liquefied and rose up as a legion of hideous-looking illusory beasts.
Kigik. Kigik.
At the chilling presence flowing from the illusory beasts, Chris thought to himself.
‘Manifested illusory beasts.’
Summoning the illusory beasts of the Realm of Illusions was on a different level from summoning spirits.
To be precise, the illusory beasts of the Realm of Illusions cannot be summoned to the mortal plane.
It is merely projecting the shadow of the illusory beast into reality as an illusion.
But the illusory beasts that the Duke of Illusion had summoned now were different.
Through the 7-Star miracle, ‘Reality Manifestation’, he had actually and perfectly manifested the illusory beasts of the Realm of Illusions in the mortal plane.
Naturally, their power was incomparably stronger than that of the merely projected illusory beasts, but the Beast King only let out a scoff.
[Kukuk, you intend to face me with mere phantoms like that? I will crush this pathetic Domain of Dominion in a single blow!]
The Beast King emanated a powerful presence.
Fwaaaaat!
The area around the Beast King was dyed in a heavy darkness, and a Frenzied Moon, which stimulated the beasts, rose up.
It was his Domain of Dominion, ‘The Frenzied Feast’.
It maximized the power of magical beasts.
The power of the pack of Demon Wolves, which already possessed 5th and 6th-Star level power, was amplified.
At this rate, the legion of illusory beasts was in a crisis of being pushed back helplessly, but suddenly, an upset occurred.
Ttuuk.
The Beast King’s Domain of Dominion could no longer extend its presence and was pushed back.
No, that wasn't all.
Walgak.
The World of Illusions began to devour the Beast King’s Domain of Dominion.
[What? How?]
For the first time, the Beast King was bewildered.
When Domains of Dominion clash, the Domain of the stronger one devours the opponent’s Domain.
But the exact opposite was happening.
[Duke of Illusion, there is no way this is possible with your level!]
Incongruous with the Duke of Illusion’s level, his Domain of Dominion had been abnormally strengthened.
‘How could this be?’
Suddenly, a single thought flashed through his mind, and he turned his gaze.
A boy with a detestable impression, wearing a twisted smile.
It was Christian.
“Hey, beast. Let me ask you one thing. Why do you think we set a trap like this?”
“!!”
“It's because we were confident we could easily capture an ignorant beast like you. No matter how much you rampage, you are nothing but an unenlightened beast.”
The Beast King snorted.
[Don't make me laugh. With a mere trick like this!]
Fwaaat!
He roughly swung the Berserker Sword, but it was not easy.
Thanks to Chris's intervention, the Duke of Illusion’s Domain of Dominion had become incomparably more solid than its original state.
‘Normally, it's impossible to interfere with another’s Domain of Dominion.’
However, illusion arts were different.
‘If one can use Reality Manifestation, one can also intervene in another’s illusions.’
The 7-Star level of illusion arts, Reality Manifestation, was about making an illusion descend as a miracle.
It was possible to make one’s own illusion descend not only into the mortal plane but also into an illusion manifested by another.
‘Of course, even if one were to manifest an overlapping illusion in that way, it would normally be devoured by the opponent’s illusion.’
But Chris was different.
After grasping every detail of what kind of mental image the Duke of Illusion’s Domain was made of, he had complemented it by adding his own illusions into its gaps.
Of course, it was a feat that was only possible for Chris.
[First, kill that arrogant whelp!]
The Beast King commanded his magical beasts.
The pack of Demon Wolves rushed at Chris.
A force that was difficult for even Chris to ignore with his current power.
But Chris twisted the corners of his mouth.
“It seems you're underestimating me too much.”
Chris stretched out his hand.