Volume 12 Chapter 35 Dream And Reality
With just a snap of the fingers, the 3 of us were instantly defeated.
That can't be true. I firmly decided this and took action.
As I collapsed, I used my Ajna chakra to see what had happened.
And I was shocked.
It was reality. It was really happening. We had been completely defeated. We were approached at a speed I couldn't follow with my eyes, and our defenses were broken with bare hands, causing us to fall apart.
"Ugh, Brahma!"
I gritted my teeth. I chanted a mantra and tried to regain my Anahata chakra. But I intentionally didn't let myself heal completely.
Leaving the wound in my chest as it was, I focused on regaining my heart. The pain remained, but I wanted to keep Loki off guard.
"Mm~! It's been ages since I moved like this! Hundreds of years? Thousands? Hehe, I don't remember at all!"
Loki said, moving her blood-stained fingers. Then she squatted down next to me and poked my cheek with her bloody finger, saying, "Hey, hey, Master~♡."
"Do you understand what I did? Hehe, with that attitude, you couldn't even follow it with your eyes~."
"..."
I pretended to be on the verge of death and glared at Loki. She was feeling good and said, "The answer is~♡."
"Loki showed everyone an illusion and made that illusion a reality~♡."
"...?"
"Hehe~♡ You look like you don't get it at all! Master, you're so cute~♡."
Loki cradled my head as I lay there weakly. Then, without caring about the place, she kept kissing me, saying, "Mwah, mwah, mwah~♡."
"When Master becomes a Demon, I'll slowly teach you the tricks~♡ So just quietly die like this♡."
Loki swung her hand back again. I thought, is it time to run? But I quickly realized that 'all my chakra was already destroyed'.
"You think you can trick me? No way~!"
Loki's hand was coming at me. I tried to chant "Brahma!" to rebuild my chakra. But at this close distance, it was too late—
"Domain Control 'Helheim'."
The scenery changed.
Before we knew it, we were lying in a dark ruin instead of Jormungand. Next to me, Ice was breathing heavily.
"!? W-What just happened...? Did Ice save me?"
"...I somehow made it in time, thank goodness..."
Ice was trying to catch her breath with a deep inhale. She looked really tired, sitting down with her hands on the ground.
Looking over, Toxy was blinking in confusion, just like me. Her neck should have been broken, but she seemed fine.
"Right! Ice, your stomach seems okay..."
Well, given the situation, it wouldn't be strange for the other 2 to have immortality too. I just felt happy that they had grown stronger without me noticing.
Just then, Toxy pouted.
"Hey, are you only worried about Ice-chan? What about me?"
"Huh!? No, I was worried about you too. You just looked fine, so I didn't say anything."
"...Really?"
"Really. By the way, how did you fix your neck? Hydra's immortality wasn't that strong, right?"
"Hehe, you see? If I liquefy my body, most wounds heal."
"Both of you..."
While I was playing around with Toxy, Ice called out to me.
"...What do you think about Rollo-chan――Loki's sorcery...?"
Hearing that, my thoughts immediately shifted in that direction. I thought for a moment and replied.
"It's not just about speed. If it were just fast, I could track it with my Ajna chakra. But I couldn't. Maybe, like Loki said, it's skipping the process with some kind of trick."
"Wade, what do you mean by skipping the process?"
"Well... it's like cutting without swinging a sword, or hitting without casting magic. To put it simply, it's accuracy, unpreventable, and unavoidable."
"Wow..."
Toxy was shocked by my explanation. Ice nodded and said, "Yeah, right," then looked at me.
"Loki said, 'It shows an illusion and turns it into reality.' I wonder if that's really what she's doing..."
Ice said this while thinking carefully. I listened, trying to understand.
"Who did Rollo eat? Kyrie and... who else?"
"...The circus leader."
I nodded at Ice's answer. It was definitely like the finger snaps that disappeared right in front of me.
If that's the case, the analysis is easy. A demon steals sorcery from the demon it eats. Based on that, I thought.
"I think the description of Leader Chiero's Domain Control as 'sorcery that manipulates illusions' is correct."
That's the first piece of the puzzle.
"I don't know Kyrie's sorcery, but... it moved way better than a normal demon. It wasn't just trained or efficient; it was like... embodying the ideal movement, or something."
I lowered my gaze to my hands and tried to put my thoughts into words.
"I'm going to rephrase it: 'Her ideal is to realize it herself through sorcery,' right?"
"So, that means they combined?"
"Yeah. That's how I see it."
I confirm Toxy's question.
"Showing illusions and turning that scene into reality. This happens instantly. It's basically a reality-altering ability. I think that's Loki's sorcery."
That's why she nullified our defenses and dodges, taking us 3 down in an instant. She knew about my chakra, so she could destroy it.
But she couldn't neutralize Ice and Toxy because...
"I think the two of you probably have some kind of immortality, but you don't really show it, right?"
"Oh, yeah...! We try not to talk about it too much, you know?"
"That might be true...? Unlike Wade, we don't get beaten up that much."
I chuckle at Toxy's remark.
"That's why Loki definitely couldn't neutralize the two of you. I couldn't either. Even if my chakra gets shattered, she know I can come back. So, she couldn't stop me from reviving my chakra."
She can't do what she don't know. That could be counted as one of Loki's weaknesses.
If that's the case, there is a breakthrough. Reality-altering ability. The desired events happen just like that, literally god-like power.
Still, we can fight.
"Ice, where is Loki right now?"
"Um... she's on top of Jormungand, looking around... sorry, I got noticed and got crushed..."
"It's fine, it can't be helped. This time, I'm going alone. I won't give you two any instructions on purpose. Just back me up well so Loki doesn't figure you out."
I gave my instructions, and after a moment of thought, the two nodded. They must have understood my intention.
I stood up. I left the ruins and used gravity magic to rise up Jormungand again.
Up in the air, I hovered a few meters above Jormungand's head and watched Loki's movements.
"Hey~...? My master is gone. Jormungand, did you see him?"
"Nope, I didn't see anything. I heard something about Helheim, though."
"Helheim...? Does that mean Hel has turned against us? But she wasn't there, right? She wasn't on Naglfar (the ship in the sky) either... Could it be Ice-sama?"
While they were talking about something strange behind me, I landed back on Jormungand.
"Hey. I just changed my outfit a bit."
When I called out, Loki's face lit up with joy. I readied Durandal and said,
"Loki, let's do it again. This time, I won't show a pathetic side."
"...Could it be that you figured out Loki's sorcery secret?"
"Well, who knows? I can't say anything until we try."
I took a long breath. I inhaled deeply and focused my concentration.
Loki smiled.
"That's right~♡ You won't know unless you try."
Loki's thrusting hand pierced my stomach.
At the same time, I opened my Ajna chakra. What I saw was Loki standing still, not moving at all.
Just as I thought. Loki was first showing me an illusion. And then turning that into reality.
In other words, since I can recognize the illusion as an illusion now, Loki's reality-altering ability won't work!
"Ah."
Loki also realized it late and let out a voice.
"As expected, Master, you figured out my secret, didn't you~? ♡."
"All I've been doing is fighting like this! Ugh!"
I closed in on Loki, swinging Durandal.
Loki couldn't dodge with just her natural abilities. I slashed at her torso. Loki's upper and lower body separated.
But Loki didn't show any sign of panic.
"Geez. Sandra-sama was a pain with that eyes too~. So~ ♡."
Loki tightly clenched her hand.
"I'll crush yours too, Master~♡."
My Ajna chakra shattered.
"Ugh!"
Blood gushed from my eyes. I used my Anahata chakra to heal and desperately wiped the blood away, only to see Loki standing there, perfectly fine.
"Hehe~♡ Now Master can't see through the illusion~!"
Loki's figure vanished. I shouted "Brahma!" while swinging Durandal.
Loki leaped over Durandal, doing a flip and bringing down her piercing hand. I tried to dodge, but she was definitely closing in.
However, by that point, my Ajna chakra had already revived. This illusion had lost its meaning!
"――There!"
Loki moved opposite to the illusion, readying her piercing hand. I swung down Durandal at her.
"Hehe~♡ It's so fun to move my body! Master!"
Loki gripped her other hand. At the same time, my Ajna chakra and my eyes were crushed, blood gushing out and blocking my vision.
"Ugh, come here!"
"Hehehehe~♡."
Loki's real piercing hand gouged into my torso. I felt a strange sensation as something foreign entered my body.
But if it's not an illusion, I can respond. It was blocked by Repulsion, making it weaker than the illusion's attack.
I grabbed Loki's arm and swung Durandal down without being able to see.
"Agyaah!"
A scream. I kept swinging Durandal down in quick succession. The screams continued intermittently, and when I felt it was the right moment, I wiped my eyes.
There stood Loki, completely unharmed, with a smile on her face.
"...This is the most confusing battle I've ever had, Loki."
My wounds were healing thanks to the Anahata chakra. Loki was standing right in front of me, as if our previous exchanges had been a complete lie.
"Hehe~♡ That makes you kind of happy~. Right, Master?"
Loki tilted her head with a genuinely happy smile and asked.
"Is fighting me fun?"
"...Pfft, haha, ahahahahahaha!"
I laughed and answered.
"Ah, damn. I was just trying to convince myself it felt bad, but I'm really pathetic...――It's super fun, Loki. I can't help it."
"Yay~! I'm so happy~♡ Master, you always look so happy when you talk about the strong enemies you fought, and I was jealous~! So, you know?"
Loki spread her arms wide. From the tips of her fingers, a faint flame flickered.
"Let's play more and more, Master~♡ Forever and ever, okay~♡."
Loki was trying to intensify the battle even more. I licked my lips slightly in response to that sign.
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