Chapter 423

Chapter 429: The Reality Within Illusions (Please Subscribe!)

The sense of reality suddenly began to fade, and the city that had just moments ago been vivid started to transform in an instant.

After all, everything in this small town was originally nothing but a dream.

Upon sensing the presence of the Star God, the creator of the dream finally intervened personally.

The residents of the town vanished entirely.

In their place were rampaging herds of beasts.

Izay soared through the streets with a whistling sound and flashes of light, shattering the Second Beasts that dared to block his path in the blink of an eye.

For these herds, every move Izay made was clean, precise, and lethal, without a trace of hesitation.

These creatures may have once been human, but that was a fact.

But right now, their intent to kill him was also a fact.

With that in mind, Izay wasn’t about to show any mercy.

The glint of cold steel from his spear flashed, and the ground beneath his feet cracked severely.

The herd, primarily composed of Second Beasts, began to stir upon noticing Izay’s approach. Among them were some Sixth Beasts as well.

Their numbers weren’t just a couple of hundred; the total might even double that, and they were attempting to surround him.

As the one about to be surrounded, Izay remained unperturbed.

Certainly, each of these beasts could be dealt with in a single strike by Izay, whether it be one or a mountain of them.

However, diving headfirst into a group of enemies was the act of a brute.

Why exert unnecessary effort when there’s a more straightforward method to reject the enemy?

Izay swept away the encircling Second Beasts, leaped into the air, and while looking down at the ground below, he constructed a magic circle.

“—‘Celestial Movement of All Things’!!”

A massive golden magic circle hovered high above the center of the town, accumulating an indescribable amount of powerful magical energy in an instant.

A dark golden asteroid revealed its edge, making the air heavy.

The mere pressure of something heavy about to fall caused the buildings to tremble precariously.

The herds instinctively looked up, only to see an asteroid that almost completely covered them all hurtling down, causing an explosion that swept through half the town.

Moments after the release of the star’s power, the area before Izay was already desolate.

“————————!”

At the same time, an incomprehensible tone echoed.

The song chanted earlier in the illusion transformed.

At the central square of the town, the small, out-of-order fountain suddenly collapsed, revealing the master of the dream beneath it.

Despair intertwined with countless black vines formed a colossal, faceless humanoid figure.

Its main body was a massive crystal pillar emitting a dim glow.

Countless faces appeared within the pillar. Some smiled, some cried, some were joyful, some sorrowful, some surprised, some serene, some confused, some angry, some fearful, yet they all sang.

And roughly at the middle of the pillar, a crystal statue shaped like the upper body of a young girl, resembling a delicate ship’s figurehead, floated outside.

“The first beast of the moon’s lamentation has revealed its true form?”

Landing on a piece of rock debris from a shattered celestial star, Izay called out its name.

The current situation was not one of direct confrontation.

Yet Izay could still feel the intense aura of danger emanating from the other side.

If powerful creatures unconsciously revealed some sort of field representing their strength, then the First Beast before him was the strongest monster Izay had ever encountered!

Not even the fallen fairy spirit’s avatar could compare.

Moreover, the opponent was no mere phantom created by mental force; it was the genuine “main body.”

At this point, calling the situation an illusion was insufficient.

True and false, false and true.

The surrounding trees, buildings, and scenery could all be considered illusions, manifestations of mental force.

However, the primal herds could not be generalized as such.

They were all true lifeforms, monsters locked within the cage of illusion, servants crowding around the lord of the illusion.

“That near-tangible crystallization of mental force directly sealed my ‘Blazing Like the Sun’… To inflict significant damage on it, I probably need to rely on physical attacks.”

Izay felt the oppressive sensation and exhaled deeply.

‘Blazing Like the Sun’ was one of his currently most potent offensive moves.

The prerequisite for using this move was the successful hit of ‘Wasteland Rising Star.’

The essence of the latter was a sealing magic used to seal the enemy.

Thus came the unfortunate question:

—How does one seal an enemy stronger than oneself?

Especially since the mental force of the First Beast far exceeded Izay’s ability to resist the gravitational pull of ‘Wasteland Rising Star.’

Without being able to seal it, naturally, there was no way to detonate ‘Blazing Like the Sun.’

When Izay realized this situation, the First Beast didn’t wait around like the foolish demons in stories for him to make the first move.

Instinctively, the beast sought to use its unprecedented mental force to defend itself.

The illusory energy surged forth, even scattering the surrounding primal beasts that had gathered.

A tidal wave-like assault rushed toward Izay.

But the result shocked the beast.

—It didn’t work!?

The First Beast froze in confusion.

It had a question mark over its head!

Its attack struck Izay like water droplets hitting a wall, creating no ripples whatsoever.

For several hundred years, it had never encountered such a situation.

“Hmm~? Did you just attack? Unfortunately, mental attacks are useless against me!”

Just as if he were about to shout “Muda Muda,” Izay suddenly changed positions on the rock debris.

Lightly landing on the ground, he turned his spear and pierced a Sixth Beast sneaking up on him, then flicked the blood off the spear tip with a swing of his arm.

“Aarrrrrrr—!”

Whether or not it understood his words, the First Beast began to sing.

Part of the Sixth Beasts and Second Beasts surrounding it quietly disintegrated.

Transforming into tiny specks of light, they merged into its body, the massive crystal pillar.

Then countless vine-like tentacles extended from both sides of the crystal pillar.

Using these new limbs, the First Beast launched another attack.

The net of vines spread everywhere.

Though numerous, many of them were merely showy feints, unnecessary to dodge, as they would strike the ground beside Izay themselves.

It was probably trying to cause panic in Izay this way.

Once that happened, the hidden real killing move beneath the surface would reveal its ferocity.

The First Beast fought following its instincts and pursued its prey accordingly.

Unfortunately…

“This petty trick is too easy to see through!”

Calmly raising his spear, Izay’s sharp gaze accurately found the gap in the vine net, like a hunting beast, dashing forward in a straight line.

“Let the Curtain Fall (Orionids) !!”

The dazzling starry curtain disappeared instantly, resonating with the powerful magical language.

“Bring Down the End (Orionids) !!”

In an instant.

Igniting the magical trigger.

And exploding with meteoric brilliance.