Chapter 4 - illusion technic
The eye demon's face twisted in rage as he realized Ryujin had shut the door without his orders. "Perhaps the human didn't receive my command," the demon thought, its voice dripping with malice, echoing through the cold, damp corridors of the prison. "Open this door and let me out, my servant! I COMMAND YOU!"
The eye demon's eyes bulged out of its head like two ripe, purple grapes, as it flew closer to Ryujin, its massive eyeball mere inches from Ryujin's face. The demon's command powers washed over Ryujin like a wave of dark energy, but the human didn't flinch, didn't even blink. Unbeknownst to the demon, its powers had no effect on Ryujin, like water off a duck's back.
The eye demon's desperation grew as Ryujin remained unmoved, like a statue carved from stone. It repeated its command, its voice growing shriller, more urgent, but Ryujin didn't react, didn't even acknowledge the demon's presence. The demon's actions only seemed to enrage Ryujin, who swiftly stretched out his left hand and grabbed the demon's head, pulling it down to his chest level with a swift, precise motion.
With a swift motion, Ryujin thrust his right hand forward, his index and middle fingers extended like two sharp, pointed daggers. He poked the demon's eyeball, eliciting a pained shout that echoed through the prison corridors. "Ouch, you despicable human! That hurts! How dare you!" The demon quickly flew away, its eyes dripping with blood, and retreated to a corner of the prison, hovering near the ceiling like a wounded, angry bird.
Ryujin's expression remained impassive, like a mask carved from stone. "You're bleeding. Come down, and I'll take you for treatment." The eye demon's anger only intensified at Ryujin's words, its face twisted in rage. "Come down? You despicable human! I got careless. I'll show you what cruelty is!" The demon began gathering purple energy in its eyes, its gaze locking onto Ryujin like a laser beam.
As their eyes met, Ryujin felt a sudden jolt, like a spark of electricity had passed through his body. His vision began to blur, and the purple tint in the demon's eyes flashed, like a warning signal. Ryujin felt himself being pulled back into the illusionary world, like a puppet on strings.
He found himself standing in a desolate landscape filled with purple mist and skulls, like a graveyard of the damned. The eye demon had transformed into the one-eyed giant cyclops once more, sitting upon a dark throne, its presence radiating an aura of malevolence. Purple flames seemed to dance around the giant's head, casting an eerie, flickering glow over the landscape.
The air was thick with an unnatural silence, like the stillness before a storm. Ryujin's heart pounded in his chest, like a drumbeat in his ears. He knew he had to be careful, had to keep his wits about him, or risk being trapped in this illusionary world forever.
"This is that place again," Ryujin thought, gazing up at the cyclops sitting on the dark throne, its presence radiating an aura of malevolence. He was slightly taller than the giant's feet, which seemed to be rooted to the ground, as if anchored by some unseen force. "I'll make you regret coming to this world, despicable human," the giant cyclops declared, its voice echoing through the desolate landscape despite its lack of a mouth, the sound waves seeming to reverberate through every cell in Ryujin's body. "I'll torture you bit by bit until your mind breaks, until you're nothing but a shell of your former self."
Ryujin felt a shiver run down his spine as he listened to the cyclops' ominous words, the demon's malevolent intent hanging in the air like a challenge. "Although I know this is just a technique, just an illusion," he thought to himself, "I still can't shake off the feeling of overwhelming pressure from the demon. Such power is awe-inspiring, and I can feel its weight bearing down on me like a physical force."
The eye demon's voice cut through Ryujin's thoughts, its command echoing through the wasteland like a crack of thunder. "You despicable human, I command you to kneel down before me, you insect!" Ryujin felt an overwhelming pressure and an intense urge to comply with the demon's order, his body seeming to move of its own accord. He tried to resist with all his might, but sweat dripped from his brow as he struggled to maintain control over his own body, his muscles trembling with the effort.
"Isn't this supposed to be considered an attack from the system?" Ryujin thought, desperation creeping into his mind like a slow-moving tide. "Common system, help me here, wake me up or something!" But the system remained silent, leaving Ryujin to face the demon's wrath alone, abandoned to his fate.
The eye demon's voice grew more menacing, its words dripping with malevolence like venom from a snake's fangs. "Kneel down, I command you!" Lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the dark, foreboding landscape like a flash of inspiration. Multiple eyes appeared in the sky, like miniature suns, casting an eerie, otherworldly glow over the wasteland.
Ryujin felt the atmosphere around him shift, the gravity seeming to grow heavier, as if the very fabric of reality was warping and bending to the demon's will. He could no longer resist the demon's command, his legs slowly bending as he struggled to maintain his balance, his body trembling with the effort. His knee almost kissed the ground, his mind reeling with the implications of defeat.
Attacked by Eye Demon!
Soul Power +10 +10 +10 +10
A flurry of messages from the system appeared, notifying Ryujin of the rapid increase in his soul power, the words flashing across his vision like a scrolling ticker tape.
Congratulations, Host!
Host has acquired the skill Illusion Vision.
The system's messages offered Ryujin a glimmer of hope, a chance to turn the tables on the demon and regain control of his own destiny. But for now, he remained trapped in this illusionary world, at the mercy of the eye demon's twisted whims.
Ryujin's eyes burned with an intense, searing pain, as if hot coals had been poured into his sockets, igniting a fire that threatened to consume him whole. Tears streamed down his face like rivulets of water, as he endured the agony, his mind racing with thoughts of what was happening to him. But after a few seconds, the burning sensation began to subside, replaced by a cooling, refreshing feeling that was like a balm to his soul. "Obtaining the Illusion Vision is like pouring cold oil into the eyes," Ryujin thought to himself, "so refreshing, so rejuvenating."
With his newfound skill, Ryujin gazed at the giant cyclops on the throne, its massive form looming over the desolate landscape like a colossus. The cyclops' one eye seemed to bore into Ryujin's very soul, but he didn't flinch, didn't blink. Instead, he stretched out his hand, palm facing the cyclops, in a gesture reminiscent of Iron Man's iconic pose, as if channeling the superhero's confidence and swagger. "Activate Illusion Vision," he declared, his voice firm and commanding, echoing through the wasteland like a clarion call.
In an instant, the scene before him shifted and distorted, like a reflection in rippling water, as if reality itself was bending and warping to accommodate Ryujin's newfound power. Ryujin found himself seated on the throne, his body now gigantic, towering over the landscape like a titan. The one-eyed cyclops, once so formidable, had reverted to its true form: the small, wiry eye demon, which now knelt on the ground, its eyes wide with confusion and fear.
Ryujin's gaze swept over the tiny demon, a sly grin spreading across his face like a crack in a mirror. "Good, I'll just use you as my test subject for my new skill," he said, his voice dripping with amusement, his words hanging in the air like a challenge. The eye demon, once so confident and menacing, now trembled with fear, its knees shaking beneath its tiny body like leaves in a hurricane.
A brilliant blue aura erupted from Ryujin's form, enveloping the throne and casting an otherworldly glow over the landscape, as if the very fabric of reality was being rewoven to accommodate Ryujin's newfound power. The eye demon felt an overwhelming pressure bearing down upon it, its tiny body crushed by the weight of Ryujin's aura, like an insect beneath a heel. "Come closer," Ryujin ordered, his voice low and menacing, his words dripping with an unspeakable power.
The eye demon's knees buckled, its tiny body trembling with fear, as if it was being pulled apart by unseen forces. It obeyed Ryujin's command, crawling closer to the giant form on the throne, its eyes fixed on Ryujin's face like a mouse mesmerized by a snake. "How did he counter my technique?" the eye demon thought, its mind reeling with confusion and fear, like a ship tossed about in a storm. "Did he break through while under my suppression?"
Ryujin's grin grew wider as he gazed at the tiny demon in his hand, his eyes glinting with amusement, like a cat toying with a mouse. With a mischievous glint in his eye, he raised his thumb and index finger, poised to snap them together, the sound hanging in the air like a promise of doom. "Snap," he said, his voice dripping with anticipation, the word echoing through the wasteland like a death knell. And with that, something happened...