Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

"You spoke of granting me a painless death—"

Eren uttered in a neutral tone, his gaze fixed on Raif's lifeless, vertically divided form at his feet.

"I sensed no trace of sarcasm in those words. I guess you showed respect to your opponent. I kinda get that. In return, I offer you the same—a death devoid of suffering. Um… relatively speaking."

Speaking to the remains of Raif, still expelling blood and entrails from the brutal cleaving, Eren drew a deep breath before snapping his fingers.

'No matter where I am– cruelty follows me. I embrace every facet of it, acknowledging all it presents to me. I'll not pretend that I detest it.

I have long come to accept the fundamental truth of life– that there's no absolute right or wrong. In the battle of survival, whoever wins gets to tell their version of the truth to the masses.

But it also doesn't mean that I should become heartless. That I should be driven mad by any one set of emotions. My enmity dies with the death of my enemy.

So, Raif, I extend to you a warrior's final respects.'

Eren found a sense of clarity as he looked at the pool of blood that had come into existence because of Raif's split form. In an instant, Raif's bisected figure became engulfed in searing Enderflames.

The flames conjured within the pseudo-domain raged with such intensity that Raif's lifeless form disintegrated into dust within mere seconds. The Spirit-driven flames had done their job and were about to be extinguished on their own.

'These flames…. I can use them without any worry inside the Unreal Reflection. I guess they consume the same amount of Spiritual Force as before. But for some reason, I don't feel like I'll ever run out of Spirit Stat while this Unique Skill is active.'

***

In the wake of this act, Eren experienced an unusual revelation about his Unique Skill.

Within Unreal Reflection's effective zone, he sensed an inexhaustible reserve of Spiritual Force. His nearly depleted Spirit stat had undergone an inexplicable replenishment.

This was similar to how Eliza was able to wield Enderflames to their fullest potential. She too had near limitless reserves of the Spiritual Force due to her Sin-Series Mark. Eren could tell that there was something very different about how he had achieved this feat. However, he had to admit that the end result was the same.

'There's more. I feel rejuvenated mentally. As if I did not spend my Spiritual Force at all. This Unique Skill is strange.'

This was another effect of using the Unique Skill. All traces of mental weariness vanished. His mind was clear and focused. It was as if he had enjoyed a restful sleep, and his cognitive abilities felt notably heightened.

'Kekeke. I should research this Unique Skill carefully later on. For now, I'll just run with what I got.'

Eren thought to himself as he raised his right hand and twisted it in half-lotus formation. In the next moment, his hand was engulfed in bright Enderflames that illuminated his face green, making him look even more sinister in the eyes of his enemies.

Eren didn't hesitate to employ Enderflames any longer. Although he couldn't comprehend why his Spirit Stat seemed inexhaustible while [Skill: Unreal Reflection] was active, that was a matter to investigate later, away from the ongoing battle. For now, his focus was on eliminating the immediate threat.

***

'Vasco, Horen, stay back and don't intervene. Let me handle this.'

Eren issued a concise directive to his teammates through the voice communication channel. Recognizing Horen's severe injuries and Vasco's damaged mana core, Eren understood their limited use in the current confrontation.

The Unreal Reflection was still active, allowing Eren to take complete control of the battlefield. With three days left in the test, Eren prioritized stabilizing his teammates' conditions, deeming any external assistance unnecessary.

'Tha— thank fucking go—' Vasco whispered his gratitude to the heavens, collapsing to the ground as if his very soul had departed.

It seemed that only his survival instinct had kept him upright until Eren took charge. Once assured that Eren had everything under control, Vasco's survival instinct dissipated. In the following moment, he closed his eyes and surrendered to sleep, as if he had heard the sweetest lullaby from Eren's lips.

"Haa!" Horen, too, experienced relief.

He sank to one knee, employing his broadsword for support to maintain balance. Though exhausted, he was eager to witness Eren's capabilities within the pseudo-domain.

'Hehehe. Look at their faces. I want to see that crazy cat beg for mercy,' A triumphant grin adorned the Body Cultivator's face as he regarded his adversaries with a predatory gaze, anticipating a spectacular performance from Eren.

***

Meanwhile, Eren's enemies had a different set of emotions budding within their hearts from his allies.

'This… how could this be? How did Raif even die?'

Asked Jen to herself, her cat-like eyes contracting to focus on Raif's form that wasn't there anymore. For a moment, she felt as if she was inside an illusion, which was not completely untrue considering the properties of Eren's Unique Skill.

Despite the short duration since Eren activated his Unique Skill, to Jen and Yugi, it felt as though they had been trapped in a nightmarish scenario for hours. It took them a while to grasp that Raif had met his end at Eren's hands.

'This… This man is not simple. It has to be a power drawn from a divine Blessing. It means that the god behind him must be very powerful,' Jen started connecting dots in her head as she processed the current situation.

There was a part of her that wanted to simply run away from the mess she had created. However, she doubted Eren would let her go so easily after she had tried to kill him with her earlier attack.

'I… I still have seven lifelines left. What… what should I do now?'

Jen thought of the divine Blessing she had received from Cat Goddess Bastet. She forced herself to stop thinking about Raif and focus on her survival. Of course, she had stopped thinking about claiming the demonic energies from the demonic creatures a long time ago.

'If it gives me assurance that I could kill him and be done with any potential ramifications later on, I would gladly sacrifice one more lifeline. But what if—'

Jen started thinking about the pros and cons of her next move. For the first time since she had received the divine blessing, she felt that seven lifelines were not enough.

"Aaaaah!"

Yugi's horrified scream echoed as she witnessed her teammate disintegrate within the Enderflames.

While Eren's attention remained on the fading remnants of the Enderflames, the emerald-green eyes within the ancient Array Formation observed the spot where Raif's body existed just moments before.

It appeared that the areas not scrutinized by the emerald-

green eyes inside the Array Formation were less constrained by the binding effects of Eren's pseudo-domain. Thus, Yugi discovered the ability to move within Eren's pseudo-domain.

'Run... run... fucking run.'

Yugi's internal scream urged her to escape Eren's pseudo-

domain. Fortunately, she mustered the strength she needed, rising to her feet and sprinting in the opposite direction, determined to exit the Skill zone promptly.

She did not even try to deal with her opponent who had obviously lost his consciousness and was completely vulnerable to her attack.

Taking advantage of her Elementalist abilities and the lessons learned from previous encounters with Eren, Yugi devised a simple strategy. Aware of Eren's difficulty in targeting her body effectively with Spirit Force, she activated her primary Skills, transforming into Venti form.

Her flesh converted into Mana Body, rendering her seemingly impervious to Eren's attacks. The Mana Body also made her feel lighter. She felt as if she had become wind herself.

"Hm? Where are you running off to?"

Eren, sensing commotion, turned his attention toward Yugi, who, with a mix of dread and hope, was just steps away from escaping his pseudo-domain. However, upon hearing Eren's voice, she froze in place.

As the emerald-green eyes inside the Array Eye locked onto her, Yugi's newfound ability to navigate freely within Eren's Skill zone was abruptly taken away. Eren unsheathed Anduril, infusing it with mana while coating it in the menacing Enderflames.

[ Skill: Invi Blaze ]

Eren activated the weapon-specific Skill and sent a flying slash attack in Yugi's direction, his expressions nonchalant. He wanted to target Yugi's vital spot.

But at the same time, he detected another commotion from Jen which made him lose his focus on Yugi.

"Aaaaah!"

The Natural Defence Layer meant little to the Enderflames. Yugi's cry echoed in pain as Eren's flying slash attack severed her left arm at the joint.

Believing that her Mana Body would grant immunity to Eren's assaults proved to be a miscalculation. Within the Skill zone of Unreal Reflection, Eren's attacks were guaranteed to connect, making evasion futile.

Initially, Jen anticipated using Yugi's actions as a window of opportunity for a surprise attack on Eren. However, Yugi turned the tables by leveraging Jen's intervention for her escape.

Eren swiftly shifted focus to deal with Jen the moment he sensed her movement, prioritizing her over Yugi.

Despite the loss of her arm, Yugi pressed on, continuously running until she broke free from Eren's Skill zone. As she escaped, her senses returned to normal, allowing her to activate her movement-type Skill.

Swiftly distancing herself from the scene, Yugi left Jen to deal with the consequences of her actions alone.