Surrounded in the darkness of Forbidden Illusion's realm, Eve and Vulcan stood close together. As Forbidden Illusion faded into the void, his laughter echoed through the darkness. Eve and Vulcan scrambled to come up with strategies. However, with only his name "Forbidden Illusion", they found themselves wondering what his battle capabilities were. One thing remained clear: they were facing someone who has complete mastery in Illusions.
Vulcan walked cautiously, edging sideways through until he bumped into an unexpected obstacle. From his point of view, there was nothing, but when he reached out with his hand, he felt the solid texture of bricks of the once nearby buildings.
"Eve, I think we're still in the alleyway, it's just this bastard is making us see something completely different," Vulcan observed as he touched the building.
"He said he likes to keep things quiet, so I don't think we have to worry if he drags us out of this alley, but we still don't know where he is," Eve reasoned, her voice steady.
"I'll level the playing field a bit," Illusion announced his voice echoing. "In addition to my mastery of illusions, I'm also specialized with mana threads." As he spoke, azure threads materialized, wrapping around Vulcan's arm, forcing him to clench his fist involuntarily.
"Look out, Eve—!" Vulcan's arm jerked back against his will, the mana threads manipulating his movements, and he unleashed a forceful punch aimed directly at Eve.
Eve activated her Ornament, conjuring a protective wind sphere between herself and Vulcan's incoming fist. The sphere formed just in time, absorbing the impact and acting as a cushion. "Tempest, air slash!" Eve focused a burst of wind. The sharp pressure sliced through the mana threads ensnaring Vulcan's arm.
"Now that you know how it works, let's start for real now! Let me separate you two!"
The void began to shift, presenting different illusions to Eve and Vulcan. For Eve, the surroundings turned white, with only the silhouette of a lady in the distance. Meanwhile, Vulcan found himself surrounded by hordes of void beasts, appearing from every direction.
As the void beasts closed in on him, Vulcan muttered to himself, "Ahh, what the hell am I supposed to do here..." He looked around his surroundings for any sign of escape.
"Vulcan—? No, Illusion just said he'll separate us. Damn it, I better get back to Vulcan, he has no Ornament to protect himself. That silhouette though, that could be Illusion..." She whispered to herself.
"Eve..." The silhouette spoke, a voice she recognized very well.
"T-that voice..." Eve stuttered, stepping closer, but with each step, the silhouette seemed to move further away.
"Have you been behaving well, Eve? How is Eliza doing? I hope Vaos is looking after you well enough," the silhouette's voice echoed, each word.
"M-Mother..?"
"Eve, I want to apologize for leaving you and Eliza so suddenly. It was selfish of me," the silhouette spoke softly.
"N-no, mother, it wasn't selfish at all—" Eve's words were cut short as mana threads suddenly surrounded her, tightly binding her in place.
Forbidden Illusion revealed himself beside the silhouette. "Don't worry, if you miss your mother. I'll send you to her right now, but broken beyond repair, Forbidden attribute, Void pistol" he taunted. As Illusion extended his hand to mimic a finger gun, the silhouette revealed itself, a perfect image of Eve's mother. A blast of void energy shot forth from his index finger, piercing through the her head with deadly accuracy.
Eve's voice caught in her throat, her eyes widening in horror as she tried to comprehend what she was witnessing. Before she could utter a word, the illusion of her mother started to crawl toward her, "You're right, it's your fault, Eve! If you hadn't been born, I wouldn't have died!" The sound of its voice seemed to twist and distort, as it crawled closer, its movements became more frantic.
More illusions of her mother began to materialize around Eve, however, Forbidden Illusion walked among them with precision, he raised his void pistol and fired, each shot pierced the illusionary heads one by one, dissolving them into nothingness.
The illusion that was crawling towards Eve reached out its hands, clawing at her. "If you don't die now, Eliza will perish!"
Slowly, an illusion of Eliza materialized in front of Eve..But before Eve could react, Forbidden Illusion aimed his void pistol and fired, the blast tearing through the illusion's head.
"Y-you..." Eve's voice began to shake, her eyes reflecting a mix of anger and sadness.
"A bullshit ending to a bullshit fight..." Forbidden Illusion smirked, his finger pointing towards Eve's head as he prepared to deliver the final blow.
"YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Eve's rage ignited a surge of power within her, as the air around her formed sharp air slashes that sliced through the mana threads binding her, inflicted a shallow cut on Forbidden Illusion, and obliterated the illusion of her mother in a burst of fury.
"No, no, no, just accept that you die here and now," Forbidden Illusion grinned as he manipulated the mana threads from the tips of his fingers, wrapping them tightly around Eve's neck and forcefully bringing her to the ground.
Eve's right eye began to glow slightly, the color of the void. "I think you're mistaken... YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S GOING TO DIE!" She effortlessly tore through the mana threads with her hands, narrowly dodging the blast of void energy from Illusion.
"What the—?" Before Illusion could react, the air around his left hand began to pressurize into a swirling vortex. Without warning, the swirling vortex of pressurized air closed in on Forbidden Illusion's left hand, severing it from his body in a sudden and violent motion.
"Damn it, I didn't mean to awaken your power. As long as you don't use your attribute, then I should be safe..." he muttered as his shadow form hand replaced his human hand.
Forbidden Illusion realized he had to stall, waiting until the burst of energy Eve had suddenly received would wear out. He needed to keep her occupied, until the option to the counter attack presented itself.
Eve relentlessly charged at Illusion, refusing to give him even a single moment to manipulate their surroundings. She unleashed a barrage of air slashes and random bursts of lightning from the sky, each aimed at him. Some of the air slashes managed to scratch his natural magic barrier, causing him to wince as he felt the strain. He knew he couldn't keep taking hits like this; eventually, the barrier would weaken and break under the relentless assault.
Using the mana threads from his shadow hand, he attempted to ensnare Eve, hoping to slow her down long enough to use his Illusion power. However, her endless aggression made it difficult for him to maintain control, and the threads struggled to hold her back.
Charged particles in the atmosphere began intensify, a tempest of electricity surged around them. During this electric storm, needles made from pressurized air flew towards Forbidden Illusion propelled by the force of powerful winds.
As Forbidden Illusion focused on Eve, he saw the transformation taking place. A spectral hooded cloak on her head, and a menacing scythe materialized on her back, its blade ready for action.
"Grim reaper, huh? That's just a load of crap! I'm your grim reaper!" Manipulating the mana threads with his left hand, he ensnared Eve's legs. Simultaneously, he aimed his right hand, unleashing a powerful blast of void energy directly at her lower body, shooting straight through her legs.
As Eve was lifted off her feet by the mana threads ensnaring her, Forbidden Illusion changed the surroundings, causing the ground beneath them to disappear. Suddenly, they were plummeting through the sky. Eve struggled against the grip of the mana threads, because of the force pulling her downward.
Forbidden Illusion unleashed a barrage of void bullets, each one aimed precisely at Eve. The bullets tore through the air and found their marks one after another. Eve's body jolted with each impact, the force of the bullets sending shockwaves of pain through her.
The intense electrical atmosphere that had surrounded them erupted in a explosion of energy, engulfing both Eve and Forbidden Illusion. Caught in the storm of power, they were both thrown back, they found themselves momentarily stunned.
To Eve's surprised, she wasn't plummeting through the sky, she found herself standing on solid ground, her feet firmly planted despite the apparent descent.
"Tempest, void lightning!" Dark bolts of lightning came from the sky, piercing through Illusion's shoulder with a impact that shattered his magical barrier. And in an instant, Eve's hand clamped around his throat, squeezing tight, while her other hand reached out towards the scythe.
Illusion, struggling against Eve's grip, fired his void pistol repeatedly, but Eve remained unfazed, her grip tightening even further despite the blood flowing from her wounds.
The glow from Eve's right eye began to dim, her grip weakened, and the cloak and scythe slowly faded away. The burst of energy now disappearing, Illusion took the opportunity to break free from her grasp.
Illusion swiftly shot through her legs again, causing her to collapse on all fours, weakened by the exertion of her power and now feeling the effects of her injuries.
"H-haha! I'll admit, you almost had me there, but 'almost' isn't good enough. You see, this is just fate, an anomaly like you was never meant to exist, simple as that really," Illusion smirked.
"Do you have any final words, any useless attempts to beg for mercy before I kill you?" Illusion's grin widened as he pointed his finger toward Eve's head.
Vulcan struggled to stand from the unforgiving ground, his body battered and bruised, he used every ounce of strength within him. He pushed through the pain, determined to defy the odds stacked against him. Despite his efforts to dodge the attacks of the void beasts, their tusks found their mark with each attempted dodge.
As the void beasts closed in around him, backing him into a corner, Vulcan couldn't help but grin. "Hah, don't tell me this is how I go out," he chuckled. "I didn't even get the chance to take on the big bad guy here." The air around him began to glow with a faint, ethereal glow.
"I'm afraid I can't die just yet, not when there's still so much left to do," Vulcan declared. "I'm not itching for a fight with the Forbidden, but I have a pressing matter to attend to in the future: hearing Eve's answer. So, come on, give me your best shot..." With a gesture, he welcomed their assault.
As the void beasts charged towards Vulcan, he closed his eyes in focus. Suddenly, an explosion of energy erupted from his body, rippling outward like a shockwave. The force obliterated the surrounding void beasts, scattering them like leaves in a storm, and shattered the illusion landscape around him.
"What the—?!" Forbidden Illusion was forcefully pushed backward by the sudden and powerful explosion. His body was sent crashing in a nearby building.
"Eve!" Vulcan ran towards Eve, his heart clenched at the sight of her lying there, her body stained with blood, her breath shallow.
"Vulcan," Eve's voice was barely audible, "he's right behind you."
"Both of you, die, now!" Vulcan as he turned around, he saw Forbidden Illusion extending his hand, aiming his finger directly at Vulcan's forehead.
Eve quickly got up, she instinctively pushed Vulcan aside, "Tempest, Gale razor!" The air around her began to howl. With each passing moment, the winds grew stronger, engulfing Eve's hands and shaping them into a weapon a razor-sharp saw.
Forbidden Illusion shot his void bullet and despite the pain that shot through her shoulder, Eve remained steadfast, she pressed forward. As she closed in on Forbidden Illusion, her eyes locked onto his. With a decisive motion, she thrust her wind-formed blade forward, piercing through Illusion's chest.
Forbidden Illusion's eyes widened in shock as Eve's attack pierced through his chest, Blood-red void energy spilled from the wound. Clenching his teeth against the pain, he glared at Eve. "Y-You bitch..!" he grunted through gritted teeth. With a trembling hand, he grasped the wound in his chest.
"You pierced straight through my core, I can't even see clearly now..." Illusion's voice trembled with pain.
"Oh, you were right, Blood. There is a Forbidden here." Simon's voice cut through the tension, his tone casual.
"Don't think I'll let you live next time you, bitch!" Illusion using spatial retreat, leaves the fight.
With a heavy sigh, Eve fell to her hands and knees, her wounds and the toll of the fight finally catching up to her.
"Simon, we have to take Eve to a hospital now!" Vulcan shouted as he lifted her up.
"Oi, Simon, let me take over," Blood commanded.
Simon nodded, allowing Blood to take control; his blond hair turning red. "Oi, come here, Forbidden attribute, close wound." Forbidden Blood held a hand over Eve and Vulcan, their wounds slowly closing. "This won't give you any blood you lost, so you might want to go to a proper doctor, lad," Blood advised.
Eve's breathing slowly returned to normal, and she opened her eyes.
"Vulcan..?"