-Frey Starlight's POV-
Bounty on your head: 200 Points
"Haaā¦"
I took a deep breath, gripping my sword tightly.
A pounding headache had followed me for the past two days.
I wasn't alone.
All around meādozens of them.
And they weren't just regular third-years.
Many were from the elite.
I'd been hunted down relentlessly for two whole days.
Magnus wasn't among them this timeā¦ but what I got instead was just as troublesome.
I looked at herāthat filthy womanāand then at the army surrounding me.
The rain hadn't stopped for even a second.
I stuck out my tongue, letting the droplets moisten my dry throat.
After such an intense chase, I was reaching my limit.
"You sure run well, Frey Starlight. I've never met anyone so stubborn."
It was Missandei who spoke, Egon's subordinate, looking down on me with disdain while I gave her a tired smile.
"I think you guys are more stubborn than me."
Even after defeating so many of themā¦ they just kept coming.
"Let's end this farce."
Missandeiāsecond strongest among the third-yearsāand with this many on her sideā¦
Fighting them in my current state would be tough.
Sure, I could winā¦ but it would cost me far too much. I had no intention of fighting in the first place.
Missandei began to manipulate the threads between her fingers.
Those steel nailsā¦ the spool wrapped around her armsā¦
She controlled the threads with the windāher combat style was truly one of a kind.
She wove a giant spider cocoon around us, attempting to seal off any chance of escape.
From all sides, the other students began slowly advancing toward me.
"Looks like you've finally accepted your fateā¦ Frey."
"Yeah, I accepted itā¦ a long time ago."
I raised both hands in surrender.
"I've got no desire to fight."
Missandei frowned.
She clearly hadn't expected this response after two full days of chasing me.
"Take him out."
She didn't want to prolong things. Something about this situation clearly made her uneasy.
One of the students stepped forward and attacked meāhis sword slashed clean through, cutting me in halfā¦
But what he struck wasn't me to begin with.
"Huh?"
Missandei was stunned.
Because what appeared in my placeā¦ was only an illusion.
"La~ la~ la~ā¦"
The singing began.
Those creaturesā¦ sang gleefully.
Night had fallen, and the melody grew stronger.
From those brainsā¦ the eyeballs emerged.
"La~ la~ la~ā¦"
The third-years' expressions darkened as they saw the dozensāno, hundredsāof Mensis Nightmare creatures surrounding them.
This was their nest.
And now, the illusion had fully taken hold.
Perched atop a tree in the distance,
I watched it all unfold.
Missandei had woven the trap herself.
Trapped inside her own spider cocoonāsurrounded by hundreds of Mensis Nightmares.
Above them, my eyes shimmered with a faint glow.
"Skill: Ascension."
That skill rendered me completely immuneā¦ to all forms of mental attacks.
During the early days of the exam, I'd discovered this placeā¦ the lair of those creatures.
"La~ la~ la~ā¦"
A single Mensis Nightmare's illusion can be resisted.
Maybe even twoā¦ or three.
But when illusions come at you from this many, it's nearly on par with the Mist stalker itself.
Unless you're prepared in advance and have strong resistance, you won't even realize you've been trapped.
"Frey Starlight! You bastard! What did you do!!!"
Missandei screamed, as the nightmares lunged to attack.
"What did I do, you ask?"
Simpleā¦
"I led you, step by stepāstraight into their nest.
Without you even noticingā¦ your intense focus on me made it all too easy for the Mensis Nightmares to pull you into their illusion."
"Damn itā¦ damn itā¦damn it!!"
Missandei cursed fiercely, as if her mind was being stabbed by a filthy blade.
"You're going to get us killed! There's no way we're getting out of this alive!"
She screamed, lashing out wildly.
She had already fallen victim to the nightmare's delusions...
These mental attacksāmight even leave her mentally crippled in the futureā¦ a fate worse than death.
"Complaining now, after all that chasing earlier? Your hypocrisy isn't even funnyā¦"
One by one...
They all fell prey to the Menses Nightmare.
"La~ la~ la~"
The melody of death played on, relentlessā¦
Missandei, of all people, screamed the mostā¦ the exact opposite of her usual calm.
Now, only one thing remained: to be devoured by the ravenous minds...
But their armor would protect them.
And sure enoughā
Critical hit!
Critical hit!
Critical hit!
They were savedā¦ butā
"They didn't get teleportedā¦"
Some of them were already being devoured by the Menses Nightmares.
"What's going on?"
Confused beyond belief, I watched as the temple disciples were wiped outā¦
The teleportation spell had failed.
After observing for a while, I finally realized what was happening.
"The Nest of the Menses Nightmaresā¦"
The illusion cast by those creaturesā¦ it was like magic.
It was overwhelmingly denseābecause this was their den. And soā¦
"It blocked the signalā¦"
They couldn't be transported. The power of the Menses Nightmares was interfering with spatial magic.
In other wordsā¦
"They're going to dieā¦"
"La~ la~ la~"
I watched with a bitter expression.
Theyā¦ were going to die because of me.
Many had already begun to be consumed.
The Menses Nightmares devoured their victims slowlyā¦ forcing me to witness every moment as limbs were torn apart, and bright red blood spilled endlessly.
I remained silent as I watched.
"Sadlyā¦ I won't be able to save youā¦"
In truthā¦ I could've, if I had used Balerion.
But if I didā¦ I would be disqualified.
Between their livesā¦ and the Victoriadeā¦
The scale was unfair.
I wasn't a heroā¦ nor a noble manā¦ I was justā
"Someone trying to return to his worldā¦"
With a grim face, I turned away.
I had already given up on them.
And thenā
BOOOOM!
An overwhelming force surged from the distance.
It was fire.
A fire greater than anything I had ever seen.
It swept across me, the Menses Nightmares, the students, the treesā¦ the rocksā¦ the groundā¦ everything within a kilometer radius.
But itā
"It wasn't hotā¦"
I didn't feel a thing.
It was so cold, I felt like I was dreamingā¦ or maybe I had fallen into another of the Menses illusionsā¦
But no. That wasn't it. Down belowā¦
The Menses Nightmares burned to death.
That same fireā¦ didn't touch the students.
That level of controlā
"What's going onā¦"
A flame that burns what it wantsā¦ and spares what it wants.
But thanks to itā¦ many of the students were saved.
The fire only lasted a moment before it vanishedā
I stared in awe at the scorched land around me.
The tree I had been standing on moments ago was completely gone.
And the one responsibleā¦ stood before me.
His presence was overwhelmingā¦ it reminded me of my time with Ivar Valerion.
His brown hair and that elegant black cloakā¦
Those burning crimson eyes lighting up his youthful faceā¦
"At last we meetā¦ son of Abrahamā¦"
The man spoke with a radiant smile as the void erupted around him.
It was Phoenix.
Phoenix Sunlight.