Kapitel 53: Mei's ability

'My energy and mana won't decrease but I get the feeling of them draining.'

Which means I can just keep spamming my skills infinitely.

Hmm, If I had to guess the reason, it is probably because all of this is in my mind. When I 'use' the skills, the illusion magic emulates the effects in my brain but it doesn't actually spend the resources needed as the skill is not being used.

Which means I'm probably unconscious, locked up in a cell or something.'

"*Sigh*"

At that moment, the floor shook violently.

Cracks were formed in the shape of spiderweb and the candles flickered.

A chilling gust of wind blew, blowing out the candles.

Darkness engulfed everything making Aster's eyes useless.

FWOOM

The candles were lit once again, revealing the maid Aster previously knocked out.

She stood like a puppet waiting for orders.

Her long hair was covering her face, giving the corridor a haunted by a ghost feel.

"Uhh, sorry for almost breaking your neck?" Aster gulped. He sensed a fight incoming.

***

"Make the maid prettier!"

"Make the maid hotter!"

The twins wailed and complained to their maid.

'You spoiled brats, can't you have mercy on this poor lady's soul? Do you know how tiring it is to sustain an illusion for this long?

This filthy human making a tantrum there doesn't help at all.

Ahh, this seriously sucks. It can't be helped, the pay is sweet after all.'

"Right away, young misses."

***

In front of Aster's very own eyes, the maid got a makeover.

Her long hair was brushed and straightened, lipsticks were applied and the maid outfit was changed to an elegant white dress.

He felt like he had witnessed the transformation of a magical girl or a cartoon princess.

Contrary to the glow-up of the maid, the dread in the atmosphere grew stronger.

'Those eyes, those do not belong to a sentient being at all.'

Her black, hollow irises seemed to leak out eternal darkness. Then without any warning whatsoever, the eyes gained a hint of emotion within them.

The said emotion was an intense bloodlust.

BOOM

The sound barrier broke and the shockwave ricocheted in the tight space of the corridor.

SWOOSH

Aster barely managed to duck and avoid the deadly blow.

Her fist howled through the air and landed on the obsidian-like metal which produced another deafening sound.

"Tsk"

His right hand went up to his right cheek.

It stung.

The wind pressure created by the strike was so strong that the wind cut his tough skin. This maid, now more accurate to say princess, was no joke.

'I see, this is an illusion and a highly realistic one at that.

Because it is taking place in my mind, the [Pain immunity] skill that makes my body unable to feel pain doesn't affect it.

What a pain.'

[[Whirlwind] has been activated]

[[Dash] has been activated]

[[Strengthen] has been activated]

[[Great strike] has been activated]

With a similarly loud boom, Aster ran up to the former maid and threw his right fist at her abdomen.

It went through it.

'Change of plans, run away!'

His courage diminished a little now that he could feel pain but his determination to live stood firm.

He ran and the illusion followed.

***

The white-haired girl screamed in delight; "BWAHAHAHAHA, look at that coward running!"

Her twin screeched in ecstasy; "GYAHAHAHAHA, Look at that virgin running from a woman!"

Demoness twins were having the time of their lives as they watched Aster run like a fool on their holographic television.

Mei the maid's expression was not able to be seen due to her mask but it was one of utter disgust.

'Let's see, uhh, I still have about 116 years of the contract left, goddamnit.'

'I am almost feeling sympathetic towards this man, almost. I would have felt bad for him if he weren't a human.'

'*Yawn*, I should enjoy the show while I can. It's not every day that I get free entertainment like this one.'

"Hey, Mei! This is getting boring."-White-haired girl

"Yeah, Mei! This is already boring."-Black-haired girl

"He is just running while doing absolutely nothing. He's not screaming or lusting over the princess? How- How is he able to keep a perfectly straight face while running for his life?"

"Give me my terrified expression! How are we going to break his mind if he is like that?"

'... So much for free entertainment.'

***

"What the fu-, Give me a break!"

Another princess perfectly identical to the one chasing after him dropped out of the metal ceiling and landed in front of him.

Startled but unfazed by the new antagonistic illusory fiend, he kept running at full speed.

Before it could recover from its fall, he gritted his teeth and collided with it.

He closed his eyes and braced for the pain.

WHAM

BOOM

Aster was prepared for it but it still struck like a tsunami. It wasn't anything serious and his hp didn't decrease but the pain was enough to daze him.

The second one managed to land a few blows on him before it was bulldozed through.

'The illusions are normal illusions unless they are attacking. That's when they acquire a 'physical' body and are able to hurt me.

The caster of this illusion magic obviously can't sustain an illusion as big as this with such quality for an extended period.

So they make the illusions incorporeal when they are not interacting with the victim, aka me, so they can slack off a bit.

What a lazy bum. Can't even make a proper illusion.'

He ran and ran.

His legs turned into lead and moving them took an impressive amount of willpower.

'I can't keep on going like this. I will collapse soon.'

Desperate, he entertained the idea of jumping from the intangible wall.

It was a simple idea. Escaping from this lengthy corridor meant escaping from the illusion and he would wake up. Really simple idea and it could very well be the solution he needs right now.

But the mere idea of jumping from this mental plane rooted in his consciousness and into the unknown gave him goosebumps along with an existential crisis.

It was almost as if something was inaudibly telling him not to jump.

So he endured. He kept running and running.

More and more princesses kept popping out of the walls and the ceilings and more than on one occasion, he was forced to take a beating to escape an ambush.

***

"Hey Mei, I have been thinking, the walls in your illusion are incorporeal, right? Why won't he jump through it? Wouldn't that mean he would escape your illusion?"

"Nice thinking, young miss but your guess is wrong. Jumping from the hall will not save him, rather it would erase his consciousness of existence so him jumping would be beneficial to you two."

"You see, my illusion magic does more than just planting fake hallucinations inside one's mind. It fuses both of our astral bodies together.

Mine would act as the cage, the corridor you see and he would be the mice stuck inside it.

This means he is currently in my subconsciousness and the corridor is his prison cell.

If he escapes from his cell then his mind would clash against mine and the winner will take control of my body.

He was unconscious when I initiated my ability so I have the upper hand if it comes to that. It means my mind has a grip on his. Not to mention I have prepared a trap for him.

If he escapes from that corridor then his consciousness would be completely and utterly destroyed and his astral body would be severely weakened. It would resemble a newborn.

A newborn does not particularly have a strong will so the mask can take complete control of him.

This is why I have to remain close to him and preferably have physical contact. This allows the astral fusion to be a lot smoother and have fewer risks."

'So why, why won't he jump?'