Chapter 345: Architecture Of Illusion

"Um... Carl won." Davy said in surprised, not expecting the battle to end so quickly.​Davy forcefully cleared his throat to reset the tournament’s heavy atmosphere.

​"Okay everyone, let’s see the next round." He said, his words snapping the audience from their shock, and disbelief.

​The massive screen above the arena violently lit up, rapidly cycling through the surviving roster’s variables until two names finally locked into place:

​"Rose from the Dragon Academy, and Blade from the Eagle Academy!!" He said.

​Blade calmly stepped forward, his hand resting respectfully on his hilt. From the Dragon Academy’s side, Hitachi, whose eyes rarely bothered to acknowledge the existence of those beneath him, narrowed his gaze.

​"Be careful... That guy is not simple." He said, his words stunning not only Rose, but everyone present, for Hitachi to warn someone, it means the opponent wasn’t weak.

​"I will, thank you." Rose nodded, and stepped forward, standing before her opponent. She walked past the shimmering ward, her boots clicking against the pristine white stone.

​"Begin!!"

​Blade bowed his head at her, and Rose nodded in acknowledgement. The formal duel etiquette of the high empires was still deeply ingrained in them, despite the brutal stakes of the fifth round.

​’With the information I got, this guy is a Knight...’ Rose thought, and lowered her gaze to the sword in Blade’s hand.

​’But why would a knight only hold one sword? Does he have double bloodlines?’ She thought.

​"I will attack now." Blade said, and instantly vanished. It wasn’t sheer physical speed; the ambient light around him simply folded inward, erasing his physical presence from the Arena.

​Rose was stunned, moving her gaze all over the place, then raised an eyebrow:

​"You think hiding will protect you!!" She smashed her feet on the ground, and instantly, vibrations spread from her feet, moving all over the place.

​"Got you!!" Rose stretched her hand towards the location, as her mage staff, appeared, and lightning bolts shot out, heading forward. The crackling, high energy tore through the empty space, seeking out the anomaly she had pinpointed.

​BAM!!

​The lightning smashed right into Blade’s sword, the force pushing him back:

​"Using earth vibration to reveal my location, smart." Blade said, and with a flick of his sword, he forced the lightning to a different location, stunning Rose. He hadn’t absorbed the elemental damage; he had mathematically deflected its trajectory using the flat of his blade.

​"You’re a swordsman?" She asked in confusion.

​"Swordsman? Seems you don’t know my family." Blade said, and raised his sword above his head:

​"I haven’t used this skill for a while, so I will try it on you." He added. The energy in the arena instantly thickened, warping reality around his physical coordinates.

​Rose only blinked, and the next moment, Blade separated, forming nine extra clones, making ten. They were flawless, absolute copies, sharing his identical spirit energy signature, weight distribution, and rhythmic breathing.

In the Dragon Academy’s staging area, the students watched with deep unease.

​"What is this?" Grace asked in shock.

​"Now I remember him... He’s the heir of the illusion family in the eagle empire, known as Lucio family." Austin said with a small frown.

​"The Lucio family? Isn’t the one of the strongest families in the eagle empire?" Aurelia asked in disbelief.

The Lucios were historically renowned for plunging entire rival armies into waking nightmares, turning their own senses into lethal weapons against them, such enemies are unpredictable.

​"No worries, the Korana family is also one of the strongest in the dragon empire." Grace said, staring at Rose with anticipation.

​"Rose will lose." Mirabella revealed flatly, causing everyone to turn towards her in surprised. Her tone held absolute certainty.

​"Huh? But she already went through hell with us on Earth, how will she lose?" Carl asked in surprised. Rose had lasted six months in their training; an illusion trick seemed trivial in comparison.

​"Not only will she lose, I will also interfere." Mirabella continued, her words stunning the group further.

​They discovered Mirabella will never tell them anything, so they simply turned their heads to the battle before them, wanting to see how Rose will fall.

​’If Rose has the Soul eyes like her sister, then victory is a sure thing, but without it, she’ll lose.’ Mirabella thought.

On the arena, the pressure mounted.

​Rose raised her staff into the air: "Using tricks against me!! You are a bit annoying!" She spat out, as the ten Blades shot towards her in a perfectly synchronized, deadly formation.

​"Light explosion!!"

​BOOOOM!!!

​A bright light shot out from the staff, spreading all over the place, burning every single thing it touches.

​WHOOSH!!!

​Everyone watched as the light touched the blades, and instantly, they caught in flames, burning.

​"AHHH!!"

​Everyone was stunned, as Rose dropped to her knee, violently rubbing herself, like trying to off an invisible fire from her body; her action stunning everyone present. Her screams echoed through the coliseum. The Lucio family’s true terrifying power wasn’t making you see things; it was sympathetic feedback. Whatever happened to the illusion was projected directly into the opponent’s nervous system, causing their brain to register catastrophic, phantom damage.

​"What is happening to her?" David asked in shock.

​"She fell for the trap." Hitachi said coldly:

​"I told her to be careful." He added.

​The group looked at him, all lost; at the moment, not only the dragon team, but the sword team, and Audience were all dumbfounded. They watched the powerful mage completely incapacitate herself fighting an enemy that wasn’t even there.

​"This is the finishing blow." Hitachi said.

​Everyone turned to the Arena, as the true blade appeared, he raised his sword, channeling his energy into it, and slashed down at the kneeling Rose.

​BOOOOM!!!

​The invisible force smashed into her, rising cloud of smoke and dust. The impact shattered the stone beneath her, rising cloud of smoke into the air.

​"It’s over." Blade said, lowering his hand, his gaze fixed on the dust.

​"Hahahaha!!"

​Everyone blinked, staring at the smoke as it slowly cleared, revealing Rose. She was no longer kneeling in agony. She was now hovering in the air, her eyes fully white:

​"The Soul eyes?!!"

​The absolute zenith of the Korana lineage had forcefully triggered under the extreme, life-threatening pressure of the psychic assault. The phantom flames had been instantly cleansed from her nervous system. Not only her, but everyone was shocked, even Hayatobi and Yakima were on the edge of their seats, staring at Rose in disbelief.

​"She actually awakened the soul eyes?!" Hayatobi muttered in disbelief, staring at his second daughter.

​"Hahaha! That’s my baby sister! I know she has it inside of her!!" Yakima said with a laugh, her own pure white eyes practically shining with overwhelming, protective pride.