I advanced with the rest of my team under Alyssa’s supervision, trying to keep calm despite the tension twisting my stomach. The forest ahead of us stretched endlessly, its trees towering and casting deep shadows, while the air carried the soft rustle of leaves and the distant murmur of water. Every step filled with a mixture of excitent and anticipation, as if we were sinking deeper into a world unfamiliar to reality.
Alyssa moved lightly, exuding confidence, then raised her hand and said in a calm yet firm voice:
"Everyone, stop."
We all froze, confusion and hesitation written clearly on their faces. As for , I felt no shock—I had already known she would use her special ability, so there was nothing particularly surprising.
But Drak couldn’t contain himself. He raised his voice, asking:
"I... I don’t feel anything. Does anyone else feel sothing in front of us?"
He looked to the rest of the team, then continued:
"It seems they don’t feel anything like I do."
Noticing his words, Alyssa fixed her piercing gaze on him and said with quiet authority, a subtle threat underlying her tone:
"Who is the leader here? , or you?"
She stepped forward, asserting her dominance, and added:
"You must follow complete silence and remain exactly where you are. When I say move, you move. When I say stop, you stop. Is that clear?"
A deadly intent radiated from her, and Drak felt it instantly. He began to tremble in fear, nodded in agreent, and stepped back, frozen in place, paralyzed by terror.
Alyssa raised her head and looked at us with sharp eyes, her voice calm yet full of command:
"Alright, now that the noise has quieted, let explain what you need to do."
She turned her gaze to Anzai, looking him squarely in the eyes:
"You use the Earth elent, correct?"
Anzai nodded without daring to argue. Alyssa gave a short smile, one that carried an implicit threat, then said:
"Then co here."
He stepped forward, and she leaned slightly toward his ear, whispering words none of us could hear, instructions or warnings invisible to others.
At that mont, sothing twisted inside . I thought to myself, I really hate her personality.
At first glance, anyone might think she’s kind simply because of her attractive appearance, perhaps drawn to her smile or outwardly pleasant behavior. But beneath that beauty lay a dark side: a strict, dominant personality, sotis cruel and rciless. Her beauty masked these flaws, making many overlook who she truly was.
"Well, it doesn’t matter to anyway. Let’s just remain silent," I thought to myself, lost in my own thoughts, indifferent to what was happening around .
Alyssa finished her conversation with Anzai, whose face was marked with worry, and refocused on us. Her voice was firm and calm:
"Alright, we mustn’t waste any more ti. Let’s move."
Everyone seed about to ask what we were going to do next, especially since there were people ahead of us, but when Drak and Ron looked at Alyssa’s face, they suddenly felt fear and swallowed their words. We advanced as well, but did not move until a few seconds later, when Alyssa suddenly said:
"Stop!"
We halted instantly, anticipation heavy in the air. At that mont, a group of eighteen students appeared before us, surrounding us from every direction. On their faces were mocking smiles, eyes full of derision, as if waiting for us to make a single mistake.
One of them spoke in a sarcastic voice. He seed to be the leader, with thick red hair and sharp, gleaming eyes:
"Look who’s fallen into the trap... Isn’t this the big fish we thought was sowhat clever?"
He turned his gaze to Alyssa, challenging her in so way. A mont later, a beautiful girl with green-tinged hair appeared behind him, one of the academy’s well-known students, a clear smirk etched across her face.
Everyone around us laughed, a harsh, mocking laughter. Yet Ron, Drak, and I felt sothing strange stir inside us. The situation was confusing: the students were not really looking at us—they were staring at an empty space ahead, where no one stood.
Aron, voice trembling and filled with unease, muttered:
"Are... are they pretending to be foolish to weaken our defenses, or are they deliberately mocking us?"
Drak felt exactly the sa, eyes wide, mouth slightly open, unable to process what was happening. I, too, felt an unusual sense of unease, as if this entire scene was a complex ga being played on our minds without warning.
At that mont, Alyssa spoke in a low, firm voice while strands of blue energy tinged with violet surrounded her entire body, glowing as if filling the air with a supernatural aura:
"I’ve placed them in an illusion. That’s why they are acting this way."
Ron and Drak were literally shocked. They couldn’t believe their ears—they realized the students were not moving of their own will, and that everything was a skillful illusion created by Alyssa.
The shock was double. First, we hadn’t seen Alyssa prepare herself for this illusion. Second, seeing all eighteen students encompassed by the illusion at the sa ti was terrifying for Ron and Drak.
Drak could not contain himself. He burst out:
"This... this is impossible!"
The disbelief was clear in his voice. Placing even one person in an illusion is difficult—what about eighteen at once?
His fear of Alyssa intensified. His entire body was drenched in sweat, every movent of hers striking terror into him. He stared at her with wide eyes, his fear and astonishnt warring within him.
Why was he overreacting like this? Was it because he was a secondary character, shocked at every mont? And if he realized Alyssa could do even more, would he have a heart attack?
I thought this to myself as I observed the scene, not understanding why I felt a strange desire to see soone be shocked—maybe even to the point of collapse. Perhaps it was curiosity, or so dark fascination I couldn’t explain, but sothing inside waited, eager to see what would happen next.
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