Chapter 683: Crude Extermination
The distorted reality twisted around Northern, folding and unfurling like waves of dark waters, each shift blurring the line between illusion and truth.
The colors clashed violently, shapes rippling with jagged unpredictability, and even his Chaos Eyes struggled to pierce the veil.
For the first time in a long while, Northern felt the faint touch of doubt creep into his mind.
This was different.
The creature wasn't just weaving illusions-it was rewriting the rules of the space entirely. "Trapped, anomaly?" the creature's voice oozed from every direction, dripping with malice. "You've danced long enough. Now you'll be unmade."
Northern exhaled, forcing the doubt down. The Void Aura around him pulsed faintly as he anchored himself mentally and physically.
He couldn't allow this illusion to consume him. He wasn't the prey here.
Northern frowned darkly for a couple of seconds, then his voice came, cutting through the distorted reality like a blade.
"You are so full of crap. You manage to weave a few things well for once, and now you're feeling like you're making this harder than it needs to be. Why don't you just die so I can continue my exploration? This is me asking nicely."
The creature laughed, the sound like a fractured chorus of mockery.
No words from it followed Northern's words. It seemed the sentient being behind the moving illusioned monster was very aware of this person's mental state.
Northern sounded and looked crazy.
All the odds were stacked against him. This wasn't a mere illusion-the creature had seen what the Hefter's illusion did to him.
Northern had to reasonably expend himself to undo the illusion. And this one was much worse.
This one, the sentient being himself had rewritten fabrics of reality. An ability so high it should belong to the gods of this world-if only any existed.
Northern's speed antics that revealed the weakness of the other illusion were going to be useless here.
"You can never get out of this place. If what gives you so much assurance is that you can always try that trickery again, I am inclined to let you know, you will fail. This place will be your grave. I personally will see to it."
As the monster had said, along with Northern, both of them were currently standing meters apart in the shifting waters.
All four eyes of chaos darted in different directions within each eye, seeking a way out of the illusion. But it was to no avail.
Chaos Eyes really was helpless before this one. Northern was amazed and terrified at the same time. Both emotions brought him genuine enjoyment.
But he still had to get out of the illusion somehow.
A wide grin slowly crept up Northern's face.
This caused the monster's-constantly distorting-face to twist with confusion.
"You smile at the face of death? How astonishing..."
"Pfft. The only reason why I am smiling is because I'm not here alone."
Northern gestured with his hands, shrugging smugly.
"If you are here with me, that means I can deal with this thing by dealing with you. Which is, by the way, a piece of cake."
The creature's voice echoed, mockery layered within its words.
"Look at this, anomaly. This is the strength of intelligence unbound. A perfect illusion that even your magnificent eyes cannot unravel. If you are thinking defeating me will put an end to this truth, then you have already lost before this fight even begins."
The twisted landscape shifted again, the walls rippling as if alive.
Tendrils of translucent energy shot out from every direction, moving unpredictably and forcing Northern to act on instinct alone.
He dodged with quick bursts, but each evasion felt closer than the last.
Northern had looked at all the rest of Dante's talent abilities; they all worked around speed and afterimages and were totally useless in this scenario.
All his talents were actually useless. Maybe, except a single one. A single one that Northern had been hoping he wouldn't have to use.
But now, it wasn't looking like he had any choice.
Northern appeared in several afterimages as he sank into the shadows, appearing here and there, dodging the strikes of tendrils.
He then managed to land. Immediately, his eyes flared with a red light that burned viciously for a millisecond, almost filling the entire illusionscape before dying out.
"Lock..."
Then something unexpected began to happen. The creature was unsure at first. All it noticed was that its head was shifting rigorously, phasing into blurs.
Slowly, its control on the monster's entirety seemed to be going out of hand. To make it
worse, the illusioned world was breaking.
"You imbecile! What have you done?"
Northern grinned. "I had my doubts, but looks like it does work on monsters."
He had thought before that Erasure would only work on people with talents. But now that it was working on monsters as well, Northern suspected it affected one's core more than it affected the talent itself.
No doubt, this talent was his greatest trump card. That is what makes him very hesitant to use it. He did not want to always resort to locking an opponent's talent except when absolutely
necessary.
And to him right now, locking the monster's ability was him admitting that with this ability, defeating the monster might not be possible.
He did not want to defeat anyone or any creature by having to resort to locking out its talent. He already had the advantage of more than one talent. Wasn't it unfair to his opponent if he locked out the only one they had?
This was why he didn't use Erasure, even though he could have easily used it to defeat certain adversaries that he faced.
The world of shifting illusions cracked and splintered, jagged lines tearing through the distorted reality.
Northern stood firm, watching with a faint but dangerous blue light in his eyes as the monstrous figure before him writhed uncontrollably.
The creature's translucent tendrils spasmed and faltered, its control over the illusion
crumbling with each passing second.
"You mongrel! What have you done?!" the creature hissed, its voice distorted with fury. Its
form flickered violently, as though fighting to maintain its shape.
Northern grinned wider, his Chaos Eyes glowing faintly as he tilted his head.
"Who knew locking your abilities could have so much adverse effect on your entire
existence?"
The illusion shattered further, fragments of the fake reality falling away like shards of glass.
The cavern slowly reasserted itself, its jagged walls glowing faintly with an eerie, natural luminescence. The oppressive weight of the illusion was gone, replaced by a tense, heavy
silence.
The creature stumbled forward, its massive, grotesque form reduced to something more primal, more tangible. It still held an aura of menace, but with the control of sanity slipping through the hands of whatever that sentient being was, it was less threatening and
vulnerable.
"You sly anomaly. Don't you dare think gimmicks would be enough to defeat me. This is merely a temporary break," the creature growled, its distorted face twisting with rage. "I am
still your death, anomaly!"
Northern rolled his shoulders, spinning Grengar lazily in his hand.
"You're welcome," he said, his voice dripping with casual defiance. "But let's be honest-you
were scarier when you could not talk."
With that, the monster's corpse dropped to the ground, and Northern could finally hear the
sound of the system.
[You have slain a Calamitous Belial, Hefter]
[You have gained 12 talent fragments]
'For the amount of work I did, twice even, this reward suddenly feels so low...'
Just as he was complaining, a strange thing happened. The system's voice came again.
[You have received a new item]
Northern froze. He was so shocked that his senses felt like they went blank for a moment.
Received a new item?
'Are you sure you are talking to me?'
That was, after all, not something that happened enough to be regarded as not frequently. In
fact, since he took on the vestige of the Chaos Prince, Northern could count how many times
he had gotten items.
Although he had never really felt a pressing need for them. All he had within his utilization right now was more than enough for a proper dispensation of his might.
Items were an addition to him; with or without them, he still remained as powerful. But
certain things he did consider a bit differently.
Such as the unique ability of soul forge. He was dying to see what it would birth, and how far
he could go with it. Perhaps creating a weapon tied to one's soul would be possible?
With joy leaking from his facial features, Northern raised his head and glanced around the
cavern. Nothing was there anymore.
The illusioned monster and the being that hijacked its functionality after its first defeat were
gone.
Temporarily, at least.
If he was the dungeon warden of a sort, Northern knew for sure their paths would still cross. Not even when he just got so interested in exploring this dungeon even more.
Putting all those thoughts aside, Northern could wait no further to inspect the item he had
received from killing a Calamitous Belial. 'I'm sure it will be groundbreaking.'