[Salvos] 693. Not Even Close (Patreon)

693. Not Even Close

***

Rakin the Illusion Lord was a Level 164 [Fiend]— a Primeval Demon that had reached the pinnacle of Demonkind. He wasn’t the highest-leveled of the leaders of Regnorex’s legions, but he was one of the most gifted. After all, his illusions were unrivaled in the entirety of the Demon King’s Domain.

That was not to mention his mind magic that was paired with his illusions.

Even though Rakin knew he was nowhere near the strongest of Regnorex’s forces, he knew that his sheer magical capabilities far surpassed other Primeval Demons even higher-leveled than he was.

Certainly, Oracli had seen Rakin’s talent. That was why even though Rakin was supposed to be amongst Regnorex’s personal forces that would be sent to the Mortal Realm, the Wisest of the Domain had recommended that the Illusion Lord remained here in the Expanse— to best harness Rakin’s potential to the fullest.

That was part of the reason why Rakin was entrusted with a relatively small legion. At the very least, compared to the other legions. At first, there had only been five thousand Demons under the Illusion Lord’s command at a time. Now, he was in charge of twenty thousand of them. Although… nearly half of them had been wiped out throughout Revelation or sent to the Demon King.

Regardless, once Revelation came to an end and Salvation arrived, Rakin would place the entirety of what remained of the Eighteenth Legion under his illusions. That was to train his capabilities, expanding them as best he could. But also, it served as a test of the tenacity of those under him. So it accomplished two things at once.

And since becoming the leader of the Eighteenth Legion, Rakin had grown from being capable of putting three or four thousands individuals under his illusion at once for prolonged periods of time, to over ten thousand individuals for the entire duration of Salvation.

Nobody could rival this level of illusion casting.

Rakin was certain of his capabilities. And he was so certain that he didn’t even flinch when he saw the figure that was rapidly approaching him from a great distance.

“That’s… the Enemy.”

The Illusion Lord whispered, before his eyes narrowed as he stared at her. He used [Identification], and the results he got confused him.

[C-̴̨̯͍̜̘̼̣̯͚̘̹̪̘͙͌̾͆̚͝rr-̴̨̯͍̜̘̼̣̯͚̘̹̪̘͙͌̾͆̚͝pt-̴̨̯͍̜̘̼̣̯͚̘̹̪̘͙͌̾͆̚͝d Appr-̴̨̯͍̜̘̼̣̯͚̘̹̪̘͙͌̾͆̚͝nt-̴̨̯͍̜̘̼̣̯͚̘̹̪̘͙͌̾͆̚͝c-̴̨̯͍̜̘̼̣̯͚̘̹̪̘͙͌̾͆̚͝ - Lvl. 153]

“Wait, what is—”

Rakin started. And the Enemy pointed at him, cutting him off. All at once, his body burst into flames as he let out a guttural scream. He dropped from the sky as the Enemy descended to save the pair of Demons in the Eighteenth Legion that was about to be executed.

But even as the Enemy introduced herself, the Illusion Lord watched.

“Hi! I’m Salvos!”

Rakin was wreathed in flames— he was writhing on the ground in pain. He screamed and clawed at his face. But even still, he regarded the Enemy calmly. Because it was not truly him who was lying on the ground, being eaten by that black flame.

In reality, that was nothing more than an illusion. The true Rakin was watching from the side, hidden in the ravine, carefully observing the Enemy. He regarded her. He studied her. She looked like an ordinary [Fiend]. But there was something different about her.

And that was not just the fact that her [Identification] results were like nothing the Illusion Lord had ever seen. For a moment, he wondered if that result was an illusion. 

But then before he could speculate on anything, Salvos turned around, directly facing Rakin.

“Also— you can stop pretending now.”

Her voice cut through the Illusion Lord’s thoughts. He blinked a few times as the two Demons Salvos saved looked up in confusion. Flitting forward, Rakin just chuckled as the illusions masking his presence vanished.

“I’m surprised. You could sense that wasn’t the real me. How astute.”

Rakin spoke as he looked over at his fake self writhing on the ground and continuing to scream in pain. Shaking his head, the Illusion Lord looked back at Salvos.

“You truly are befitting the Title of the Enemy of the Demon King.”

Salvos didn’t respond. She just met his gaze with an apathetic look on her face. Rakin continued curiously.

“And that Subspecies… just what exactly is it? I have never seen anything like that before.”

Rakin tapped a finger on her chin. Again, no response. That grated on the Illusion Lord’s nerves, but he shook his head.

“Although, it matters not. After all, I am much higher-leveled than you are, so this battle will not last long.”

“Oh?”

Salvos tilted her head when she heard that. And behind her, one of the [Fiends] she saved spoke up.

“B-be careful… Rakin is the Illusion Lord— he’s the greatest illusionist and mind mage under the Demon King!”

Rakin chuckled, almost flattered. While he didn’t know the name of the Demon who spoke up, he was tempted to spare her after this. 

But he didn’t give into his temptations. He knew he would kill her once he was done dealing with the Enemy.

“You heard what she said…”

Rakin smirked as he flitted forward. He raised his hands, before pointing at the Enemy of the Demon King.

“Now do me a favor and die.”

All at once, Rakin unleashed a powerful blast of mind magic at Salvos. To the ordinary eye, it didn’t look like anything different had happened. But to those who were more keen, they could see the flicker in the air— the strands of mana being twisted as an invisible attack was launched.

Salvos recoiled for a moment as she took a step back. Her knees threatened to buckle underneath her, and she gritted her teeth. It was like she was under immense pressure, clenching her fists as she was struck by this blast of mind magic.

Rakin grinned, seeing her struggle. He knew that that single attack was not enough to defeat her, despite the differences in their level. However, all he needed was to distract her. And then—

He flew forward, leaving behind an image of himself where he had been floating. Even if Salvos had been capable of seeing through his illusions earlier, now that she was being assailed by his mind magic, it was impossible for her to see this coming.

Rakin masked his true body with his illusions, blending in with his surroundings as he shot forward. From his side, he produced a spear— one that was created by Oracli himself. An Epic Grade Weapon that was gifted to him.

And using it, he aimed for the Enemy’s head as he shot forward.

I’ve got you now— the thought crossed his mind.

But Salvos… raised her head and glared at his charging body, her piercing gaze seeing straight through the illusion.

“Enough.”

Salvos yelled, and Rakin was the one to reel as her voice echoed out. The word reverberated through his body, interrupting his mind magic assault for a brief moment. His illusions were disrupted— even the ones that were encasing the Eighteenth Legion. 

And as the Illusion Lord tried to comprehend what was happening, Salvos leapt forward at him, raising her claws as they were wreathed in flames.

“[Divine Radiant Slash]!”

She shouted as she cut his chest open. Rakin screamed in pain, breaking out of his stupor. Before he could escape, Salvos grabbed him by the neck and glared at him.

He choked as he struggled to break free from her iron grip. But she refused to let go.

“H-how…?”

Rakin stared at her, coughing up blood. He didn’t understand it at all. Even though he was assailing her with his mind magic and masking his presence with his illusions, she was able to see through it all.

Salvos just tightened her grip around his neck as she snarled.

“Seriously? You call yourself the Illusion Lord? Your illusions are much worse than Belzu’s.”

“T-that insect…?”

Rakin blinked a few times, before feeling his bones break. The skin on his neck continued to tear as he struggled to break free. He swung his spear down at her, but she easily caught it with her free hand. 

“And no Grand Skill too? Is this really all you’ve got?”

The Illusion Lord clenched his jaw. He might not have had a Grand Skill, but he was praised for that fact by the Demon King. So he always prided himself on that fact.  And yet, right now, he wished he had one just so he could prove Salvos wrong.

Especially when he saw the way she looked at him. Even though she didn’t say anything, it was like he could read her mind. Her thoughts were clear. 

She thought he was weak. 

Rakin cursed internally, before focusing for a moment. He realized that he was going to die here if he didn’t do something. So he spoke desperately, trying to bargain for his life.

“If you kill me, I will send a warning to the other legions— they will know that you are coming! They will be prepared for you! So spare me… please.”

Salvos cocked a brow when she heard that, before she laughed.

“Unfortunately for you… they already know I’m coming.”

“What?”

Rakin stared at her in disbelief. He almost thought that was a lie. But he saw the look in her eyes, and he knew she was telling the truth.

“But how?”

And she rolled her eyes as she explained.

“Because I’m already there.”

***

Across the Expanse, half a dozen of my clones moved. And they didn’t move alone. Even though they had spread out far and wide, most of them traveled with a companion. One of the Salvos clones moved with tens of thousands of members of the Third Legion, while another traveled with Haec and only an elite group of Demons from the Third Legion led by Tor.

Another moved with Taburas, Bertrugil, and Aemula alongside ten thousand more members of the Third Legion. While one more traveled with Ultis and Aliq.

And even though they were all moving separately, they worked in tandem to attack the weaker legions of the Expanse.

Whether it was Rector of the Twenty-Fifth Legion or Debil of the Sixteenth Legion. They were all swarmed at once, their leaders killed, and their members recruited into the same cause. It was a coordinated attack to amass as large of a force as possible before the other legions could react.

And it was working.

Especially since I could move and fight alone. 

I bared my teeth dangerously at Rakin as I held him up in the air. Behind me, the two Demons I saved just gaped in shock— in sheer disbelief as to what just happened. At the same time, the Illusion Lord looked back down at me in horror.

“So go send your warning to the other legions.”

I shook my head as I squeezed tighter. And all around me, one after another, the ten thousand Demons in the Eighteen Legion woke up, slowly being freed from the nightmare they had been placed in by Rakin.

“Because I assure you, they will need it.”

And Rakin opened his mouth, but I crushed his neck, making his head exploded into a splash of black blood.

Author's Notes:

What thonk?

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