The shock of Adonis' initial strike echoed in the air, sending a thunderous noise reverberating across the space.
Many eyes widened in shock upon seeing this, two of which belonged to Rey.
'That blow was incredibly strong. It would have caused a lot of damage to my Jet persona.' Rey was recoiling in confusion as he stared at Adonis.
'What the hell? Why is he being so aggressive? And calling me a Dragon Spy?'
It made no sense to him!
'Maybe he's hallucinating now?' Rey looked behind Adonis, hoping at least someone in his group could see what was happening here, but everyone had their arms folded and stared at him.
'E-eh?!'
No one reacted surprised or even worried that two Heroic Rank Adventurers were fighting. It was nearly creepy the way they looked—especially at him.
Their stern expressions told him that they were not on his side.
'Why? Could it be… some sort of mind control?' Rey tried to use his [Absolute Appriasal], but the moment his eyes glowed, Adonis charged at him with another powerful strike that would be dangerous if he was still following the 'Jet' narrative.
He still didn't understand what was going on, but he couldn't give these people more reasons to suspect him.
~BOOOOM!~
Adonis' punch was strong enough to break the clear marble tiles that served as footing instantly causing the ground to tremble. The only way Rey could avoid it was by evading to the side, and even that was a close call.
'He's much faster than he displayed as Sebas. How is that even fair…?!'
If he was forced to stick with his persona, why was Adonis coming out of it and getting no complaints? Fortunately, he was about to find out using [Absolute Appraisal]!
'Let's search for any negative Status Conditions.'
Rey checked a few random people at once, but what he saw shocked him… almost as much as the next attack that neared his stomach in the form of a kick.
'A-ah… looks like I'll have to take this one on!'
Rey felt the force of Adonis' straight kick thrust on his stomach, feeling his body rise from the ground and fly a distance away.
He loosened control and allowed himself to hit the nearby wall, sending debris flying everywhere.
~BOOOOOM!~
Slightly buried by all that smoke and rubble, Rey's face was the very personification of confusion.
'They're not hallucinating? What's going on here?'
He couldn't comprehend the reason behind their weird behavior if they weren't being affected by some kind of shared hunger or exhaustion induced hunger.
Unless…!
'Is this Adrien's doing? Did he somehow alter their memories? Is he controlling them the same way he did with Scylla and the others back then?'
If that was the case, then there was no use looking at their Status Windows or trying to reason with them. They were being manipulated to act a certain way, and he didn't think trying to convince them would prove anything.
'Damnit!' Once again Rey felt a disgusting amount of rage rise within his chest.
He didn't like feeling like a piece in someone else's game. Right now, it felt like he was dancing in the palm of Adrien's hands, and he hated it to the core.
He preferred being the player, and not the piece. However, the mere fact that he still couldn't decipher Adrien's intentions showed just how incompetent he was—or at least inferior, compared to Adrien—in mind games this intricate.
Rey was out of his league here, and he felt it.
'My plans as Jet, all of it is coming apart with this confrontation!' He growled, slowly rising out of the rubble.
The way he saw it, there was really no way out than to reveal his power and put an end to this scenario once and for all.
'[Absolute Mental Control] would have really come in handy right about now…'
However, he had other means which he could use to ensure that he could get away with a bunch of things.
'[Phantom Illusion] is one of them…' Rey wasn't as skilled with illusion as Ater was, but he wasn't a novice either.
'Things could get a little problematic if Adonis takes this fight more seriously, or if our classmates join in.'
Right now, it felt like it was him against the world.
'I guess I have no choi—!'
"HEY, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!"
"WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING SIR JET?!"
"SIR SEBAS, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THAT IS SIR JET YOU'RE TREATING LIKE THAT!"
"STOP IT! STOP IT!"
"LEAVE SIR JET ALONE!"
The loud voices of the thousands of people that Rey saved began to echo forth within their dome of light. Rey heard their loud voices and felt a certain stirring within him.
He knew he wasn't really the "Jet" that they thought he was, but their joint voices regarding the current situation made him feel a little better.
… A little less alone.
"You all are being brainwashed by that… that thing! He is not what you think he is! He is a Dragon Spy!" Adonis pointed towards Rey, who just got up from the damaged area of impact.
His gaze was filled with such rage and bloodlust that Rey began to shiver a little.
The level of hate that Adonis displayed felt too raw… too real for a mere hallucination or illusion. Rey could see that Adonis genuinely, with all his soul and mind, believed Rey to be the enemy.
In such a case, nothing could possibly convince him.
"D-DRAGON SPY? NO WAY!"
"SIR JET WOULD NEVER BE SUCH A THING!"
"YOU'RE MISTAKEN, SIR SEBAS! PLEASE STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING!"
"SIR JET IS INNOCENT!"
"HE HAS BEEN HELPING US AND SAVING US ALL THIS TIME!"
Despite all of these pleas, Adonis shook his head and walked forward. He didn't seem to care for their words since he considered them "brainwashed."
As he took one more step forward, though, a figure in white stepped right in front of him and halted his footsteps.
Many knew her as Lux, but this was Esme in all her glory. For the first time ever, she parted her lips to speak in front of everyone.
It was nothing short of an ominous warning; one that made even Rey tremble.
"Don't take another step… or you're dead."