Yivern recoiled instinctively as Olivia approached.

  It wasn’t fear. The Devourer wasn’t terrified of the demon.

  It was threatened.

  Threatened by its inability to comprehend how her manipulation of illusion worked.

  Prouding itself on its deadly illusions—those that had served it well during its confrontation with Valkyrie Rakia—it could not believe how utterly superior hers were.

  Olivia’s illusions were true. Like the two faces of a coin.

  Illusions strong enough to feel real. Strong enough to be real.

  It could still feel the woman’s neck between its fingers, yet everything had turned upside down.

  What was once reality had become an afterthought, while the true reality—deceitful and slipping away—shook its mind.

  The throbbing pain in Rakia’s body screamed real, and the blood dripping from its nose felt far too fresh to be dismissed as fake.

  Being thrashed around didn’t feel good either. While taking heavy physical impacts meant to counter its natural abilities, whatever illusions it tried to create were rendered useless.

  The people standing in the back had been smart enough to exploit an obvious weakness—one it had never considered until now.

  Yivern’s eyes briefly shifted to Keleanos. The child of Rakia, perceptive and intelligent enough to see through its lies.

  And the first to damage its pride as an Elder One.

  But Olivia was approaching rapidly, forcing its gaze to lock onto hers.

  “Alright. You’ve forced me to come forward. I hope you won’t deceive me.” Olivia stopped a short distance from Yivern. They glared at each other, ten meters apart.

  The Devourer—still kneeling—finally gathered the strength within its human shell and stood.

  Their face-off continued in silence for two full minutes.

  Olivia’s wings fluttered tentatively, a deliberate provocation. Yet the Devourer remained calm, fingers twitching and cracking softly.

  Everyone could feel it. Nervousness spread from one maid to another, their eyes anchored to their Master’s back.

  “Hmm~” The demoness entwined her fingers and stretched her back, an obvious attempt to lure her opponent.

  She closed her eyes and cracked her neck, doing everything she could to force the enemy into making the first move.

  But Yivern did not budge.

  “Really… I have to do it myself? And you call yourself an absolute being?”

  A low sigh escaped her lips as she slipped both hands into her pockets, her thumbs resting against the outer seams of her jeans.

  Yivern, fully focused on her, suddenly noticed something wrong.

  Olivia’s shadow wasn’t on the ground.

  Against its initial judgment, it stopped trusting its eyes and listened.

  “!”

  It spun around instantly, arms raised above its head just in time.

  “Oh?!” A small smile formed on the illusion’s face as a powerful overhead kick slammed into Rakia’s frail-looking arms.

  The illusion dissolved into mist as the real Olivia leapt over Yivern, landing effortlessly behind it.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Its arms trembled from the sheer force of the impact. As it tried to turn, Olivia was already moving.

  She struck its side, and with the momentum of her rotation, hurled its body into the wall—the same one where Keleanos had first launched it.

  This time, Yivern was ready. Two ink-black wings unfurled, slowing its momentum significantly.

  They stood on opposite ends of the room, staring at one another. Olivia glanced over her shoulder; Yivern stared through the gaps in its wings.

  “At first, I wasn’t very good at fighting. I did my best with what I was born with—which is magic.” Snapping her fingers, Olivia faced the Devourer, a mocking smile on her lips.

  Six water orbs materialized around Yivern, hovering motionlessly. Two above its head, two at chest level, and two near the ground.

  Caught off guard by their sudden appearance, it failed to prepare in time.

  The lower orbs fired piercing water lances that connected with the diagonally positioned ones above its head, while the central pair drove straight into its chest.

  At first, Yivern appeared to be in pain. But moments later, it lowered its head and looked at Olivia with bored eyes.

  “Heh. I would mistake you for a theater professional. Your acting is top-notch.” She smiled. “Well, I was expecting that to not work.”

  Amused, Olivia clapped her hands as Yivern stepped forward, the watery constructs phasing harmlessly through it.

  Eden, analyzing everything from the back, noticed her Master holding back against the enemy—as if waiting for something.

  Once more, Olivia’s arm moved behind her back.

  Inside her other back pocket, a black crystal pulsed gently, as though waiting for her call.

  Holding it in her hand, she recalled picking it up from the ground after Tenebrisis had been released from the warp gate.

  “Well, let’s get this battle properly started.” Clenching the crystal, she channeled her magic into it, shaping it into something she knew how to use.

  A long, curved sword—black as an empty night—slowly stretched into existence before her chest.

  “You wouldn’t believe me, but I took some fencing lessons with a man I once called my enemy before coming here.”

  The dark blade gleamed between her fingers, looking exactly like the weapon Elliott had once wielded against Miasma.

  Strangely enough, many nail-sized spheres—resembling ritual orbs—were embedded in the pommel.

  Mist began to rise from the ground, slowly enveloping Olivia entirely.

  Her voice turned ghostly, as if her presence had expanded to fill the entire room.

  “Devourer, it’s time to see how long your illusions can hold against a nightmarish demon.”

  Echoing endlessly, her voice made anyone who heard it shudder, its tone growing darker with every reverberation.

  From the side, Yivern caught sight of Olivia as she appeared—halfway crouched, sword poised to strike.

  CLING.

  It shifted its right wing and blocked the blade. Two solid objects, harder than steel itself, collided, sparks bursting forth from the impact.

  Then another Olivia appeared opposite the first, leaping into the air. She brought her blade down in a vertical slash, only for Yivern to block it again—this time with its left wing.

  A third Olivia manifested directly in front of it, one hand resting calmly on the hilt. She took a single step forward, then surged ahead, crossing the distance in an instant, her blade looming above Yivern, ready to cleave it in two.

  Yivern flung its wings wide, forcing the previous attackers back, then curled them over its head.

  Olivia’s blade struck the hardened feathers and slid harmlessly aside.

  Yivern pulled back its arm, clenched its fist, and drove it forward—straight into Olivia’s gut.

  But it struck nothing but mist.

  Even the other two Olivias were gone, as if the entire exchange had been nothing more than a dream.

  Without hesitation, Yivern charged toward the drifting mist ahead and swung its leg through it—meeting resistance.

  “Well…”

  The mist exploded outward from the shockwave, revealing Olivia holding her sword vertically in defense, the orbs embedded in the pommel positioned directly before her eyes.

  “You’ve noticed my little trick. Now what?” With a light push, she slid backward, creating distance between them.

  They stared at one another.

  Yivern spread its wings wide and beat them in succession, driving the mist away with the force of the wind.

  It carefully observed the shifting haze until it noticed a section that moved unnaturally—sliding along something unseen.

  Without hesitation, it sprinted toward it. The blurry figure fled, but not fast enough.

  Yivern hurled a powerful punch into the mist, striking something solid.

  “Kyah!”

  Olivia’s fading voice echoed through the room as blood splattered against the wall.

  “Hahaha~ Your tricks won’t work on me, woman. Not anymore.” The Devourer mocked at last.

  Then Olivia’s voice echoed once more.

  “Are you sure about that?” she replied, matching its mockery.

  As realization struck, Yivern glanced down at its hand.

  Its fingers were broken, its wrist shattered, blood pouring freely.

  Lifting its gaze, it understood what it had truly struck.

  The wall.

  Having been led to believe it had injured her, an overwhelming surge of fury consumed the Devourer.

  But slowly, the mist rose again, swallowing its vision completely.

  “Devourer. It’s time you understand what a true illusion is.”

  As its sight gradually returned, Yivern found itself somewhere else entirely.

  “Welcome to my world.”

  A vast expanse of greenery stretched endlessly before it—a stark contrast to the ruined chamber they had left behind.

  All sensations left Yivern's body. It began to doubt everything, even its own powers.

  “Our world.”

  The beautiful land of Horizon filled Yivern’s vision, the sheer magnitude of Olivia’s illusion pressing down on it with crushing force.