”Grrr…..”
Standing in front of the two phantoms, seemingly different than before I nodded my head inwardly.
‘Indeed, just as I had suspected.’
The moment I had seen their forms, my suspicions were immediately corrected.
“What are they?”
Irina asked as she looked into their face. Even if now that she had returned to how she used to be, it seemed she also understood the monsters before her weren’t the same.
–SCREECH!
Yet, they are not the only ones that were out there looking for us. Behind, countless different sounds of screeches echoed around the place.
‘They are here.’
The number of presences I could sense was immensely high. All of these patterns indicated that the enemy was what I knew.
“WHAT! What are we going to do now!” Irina shouted, looking at the sounds.
–GRRR!
The sounds of the two phantoms before us also started as the two monsters approached.
“Cover behind,” I mumbled while raising my bow.
“What? You are going to face them alone?” Her face, while asking this, was quite a sight to see, but it wasn’t the time for that.
“Yes. We don’t have a choice.” I replied while pointing at the two. “They are not as strong as you think.”
This was an honest statement. Contrary to what one may think after seeing them, at the end of the day, they were phantoms and had a clear weakness. People tend to get the first impression of them being different from other phantoms thanks to them being the souls of high-ranking monsters, but in the end, they were nothing but simple phantoms.
“…..” She was speechless at my statement, but after looking into my eyes for a second, she scoffed. “Humph…..I trust you…” She said while turning her body backward.
–SWIRL!
The fire started swirling around her head as she faced the horde of phantoms approaching us from where we came.
“…” She didn’t say much as she walked back, but stopped for a second and threw a look at me. “You…Don’t ever think of dying.” Her eyes, her mimics, and everything was genuine. At that moment, she wholeheartedly believed and wanted what she had said.
“Don’t worry,” I said as the response while starting to walk forward. “I had yet to attain the right to die.”
“Humph….Who is worried about you?”
–TAP! TAP!
I wanted to retort but let her do as she pleased, walking forward.
‘Now…..’
It was time to face the enemy.
‘Using [Shadowborne] is pointless.’
I deduced immediately. Now that my location had already been revealed, Shadowborne was basically nullified for the time being, though that wouldn’t be the case for the next enemies.
But it was not like I needed it anyway.
“ROOAR!”
As the first enemy immediately leaped towards me, I calmed myself down, both my body as well as my mind.
“Haaaaah…..”
Taking a deep breath, I drew my bow, channeling it with my mana. I no longer needed to hold back, as Irina was also busy dealing with other phantoms.
–SWOOSH! ᴡ ᴏᴠʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛʀs ᴀʀ ᴘᴜʙʟsʜᴅ ᴏ N(o)vl(ꜰ)ire.nt
However, contrary to what it had expected, the arrow went right past it and immediately headed backward.
–BOOM!
And following that, the arrow exploded from the place where the other phantom was residing.
As the explosion resonated through the air, I swiftly transitioned to the next phase of my plan.
The dark elf phantom, engulfed in the aftermath of the explosion, had likely taken a significant hit. Now was the perfect moment to deal with the soul of Raksha, the wolf-type monster.
I manipulated my mana, transforming my [Celestalith] from the bow into its dual dagger form. The celestial energy infused within the blades glimmered with a faint, ethereal glow.
Gripping the daggers tightly, I focused on the incoming wolf phantom.
–SWOOSH!
The wolf, seemingly confused by the unexpected explosion, regained its composure and lunged at me with ferocious speed.
‘What a speed.’
Even in its phantom form, its speed was insane. Considering the fact that it was stronger than many of the other phantoms, it seemed even the souls had their rankings.
‘But, not enough.’
I sidestepped its attack, narrowly avoiding its sharp claws. With a quick motion, I slashed at its flank with [Celestalith], leaving a glowing trail in the air.
–SLASH!
Raksha recoiled from the strike, its ghostly form showing signs of damage. However, the phantom was resilient and quickly countered with a series of agile maneuvers.
Dodging its attacks required precision and anticipation, yet I adapted to its movements with each passing moment. After all, I still remember the moment when I faced it in the game.
Its attack patterns were carved in my head, but I could also observe its body at the same time.
Meanwhile, the dark elf phantom emerged from the remnants of the explosion, weakened but not defeated. It raised its hand, preparing to unleash a barrage of magical attacks.
‘I need to deal with this fast.’
Before its dark magic became a significant threat, I needed to deal with the Raksha.
–SWOOSH!
The wolf immediately lunged forward once again, its fangs glowing. From the looks, it was using one of the special skills it obtained after becoming a phantom.
I raised my daggers and channeled mana into them as the wolf approached. The Raksha opened its mouth, aiming to bite me from my shoulder, yet just at the last second, it disappeared from where it was.
–WRR!
And in an instant, it reappeared right behind me. It was its newly obtained skill「Space Leap」 thanks to being a phantom. After all, that demon had the Spatial Mana Manipulation and was able to manipulate space.
Yet, there are always things that such mindless creatures lack. They are unable to think and are just a bunch of lesser beings.
That is how it works.
「Dash」
–STAB!
As I immediately increased my speed and rotated my body with an incredible speed, I stabbed the Phantom of the monster that had just appeared right behind me.
My eyes were already focused on its weak point, the place where its mana was connected to the hive of the demon.
Where the phantom’s core was located.
–FUSH!
As my dagger stabbed the core of the phantom, it instantly turned into a bunch of particles.
After dealing with the Raksha, I swiftly turned my attention towards the dark elf phantom. Transforming [Celestalith] back into its bow form, I focused on the approaching threat. The moon energy within the bow I pushed pulsed with power as I drew an arrow infused with mana.
The dark elf, recovering from the aftermath of the explosion, prepared to unleash its magical onslaught. It was going to be detrimental since if it could do that, both Irina and I would be put into a tricky situation.
With a rapid motion, I released the arrow towards the phantom. However, the dark elf was not about to be an easy target.
–SWOOSH!
The arrow sailed through the air, aiming for the dark elf’s essence. Yet, just before the arrow could make contact, the dark elf employed its spatial manipulation abilities and teleported, evading the impending strike.
‘Tricky little creature.’
Yet, I knew it would do that. Once one of that guy’s family members had done the same, the others were bound to do the same.
Anticipating its teleportation, I tracked the dark elf’s movements with my enhanced perception, thanks to [Perceptive Insight].
As the dark elf reappeared in a new location, I swiftly adjusted my aim. Spatial fluctuations gave away its next position, and I released another arrow in that direction.
–THUD!
The arrow hit its mark, and a resonating explosion engulfed the dark elf. The force of the blast disrupted its magical concentration, causing it to dissipate into fading shadows.
With both the Raksha and the dark elf phantoms defeated, a momentary calm settled over the battlefield.
“Huuuuhhh…..”
I took a deep breath, feeling the strain of the intense confrontation. Glancing back, I saw Irina still engaged in combat with the remaining phantoms.
‘I guess she is doing fine on her own.’
Seeing that she was burning the horde of Phantoms on her own, I started walking to the entrance of the location where the demon resided.
********
As Irina turned to face the approaching horde of phantoms, her fire magic swirling around her hand, she couldn’t shake off the nagging worry about Astron.
His decision to face the two seemingly unique phantoms alone puzzled her, and she couldn’t help but question his strategy.
‘I know he is stronger than he looks, but….’
As the first wave of phantoms descended upon her, Irina unleashed controlled torrents of fire, engulfing the malevolent entities in a dance of flames. The heat radiated from her attacks, creating a protective barrier around her, but the horde seemed endless.
‘How can he fight those monsters alone?’
Irina wondered, her concentration divided between her own battle and the unseen threat Astron faced.
‘No. If he trusted me enough to let me have his back, then I should do the same.’
She thought. The fact that he hadn’t even looked at her way once after before was the proof of that.
‘I need to do my part too.’
Despite her formidable abilities, facing a horde of phantoms wasn’t an easy task. Her mind raced with concerns, but she pushed them aside, focusing on the immediate threat before her, yet she couldn’t help but smile.
‘Bastard…..Making me do the groundwork while you are having all the fun…..You owe me another….’
She raised her hand as she started building her magic in her head.
“Should I show you the imitation of a real hell?”
For the first time in a while, she could go all out. Who wouldn’t want to do that? Especially the girl who liked to destroy things as a hobby.
“Burn….Under my guidance.”
「Inferno」
The flames started taking control.
*********
After I had entered the core, things started getting different.
THUMP!
With each step I had taken, the beating of my heart intensified. The demonic energy in the air, as well as the mana, started thickening.
‘Certainly, no joke.’
I thought, feeling the amount of the mana around. There was no doubt that this guy I was going to face was something that I needed to keep my calm.
‘Yet, it is impossible.’
Even if I try to calm myself down forcefully, these soaring emotions inside me can not go down. But this time, I felt like I no longer needed to refuse those feelings. I felt like I could accept both the hatred and the logic as mine.
–WROOM!
Just at that moment, I felt like the presence of a spatial vortex.
It seemed I had finally reached the place of my desire.