Pure White Knight, White-haired Witch, Hero of the Storm, Arrow of Dream.
The four of us, as usual, were felled by Axe Technique, our hearts pierced by the Throat Chant Blade, killed cleanly and efficiently on the land of Hua.
“How is this possible…”
Kroth’s whole body felt icy cold, the thing she treasured most was lost in this cruel illusion.
This seemed to be an alternate storyline, a different ending to the first encounter between Samimi, who had left her old party, and the Hero Party.
As if foreshadowing—if that day, if Samimi hadn’t chosen to offer help but had instead chosen revenge…
Then the four of us would have died on the Xingpian Grasslands long ago!
In other words, even if Samimi had simply helped strengthen the Four Kingdoms’ Knights, that alone would have been enough to wipe out our Hero Party.
Although everyone more or less recognized this fact, no one ever openly admitted it—that Samimi was actually the core of the Hero Party.
The four of us were nothing but Samimi’s four borrowed blades.
Samimi could replace her four blades at any time, but without the core, the four blades couldn’t even kill a cockroach.
Without Samimi’s support, the Hero Party would be just a roadside band of adventurers in name only.
Rising!—a voice sounded.
Kroth, who had activated free flight exploration mode, crashed down from midair like a kite with its string cut, falling hard to the ground, unable to bear this truth before her.
Cracks began to appear in her heart. The Will of the Queen of the Blood-Sucking Ghosts took the opportunity to slip in, leading her down a dark path.
One had to admit that Kroth’s mentality was already very strong, having endured this long in the illusion, but in the end, a flaw still appeared.
Samimi had always misunderstood Kroth, believing that Kroth’s faith was in the Hero Chynias, but that wasn’t the case.
Kroth’s real faith was in the Hero Party itself—in the team.
If even Kroth herself thought Hero Chynias was the core, then she would steadfastly trust Chynias, so long as the Hero Party endured.
But now, this Illusion shook Kroth’s beliefs. The Hero was not the true core of the Hero Party—the one always lurking in the shadows, the divine support, was the real core.
How could she accept this?
How could I face reality?
While Kroth was losing herself in turmoil, the fake Samimi and four local kingdom Knights were preparing to withdraw, leaving the scene immediately, sheathing their blades coldly and expressionless, as if crushing a swarm of ants.
If you’re so formidable, why not go deal with the Mage King?
“Don’t worry, we are planning to do just that.”
Only a team with Samimi qualifies to be called the Hero Party, only then do they have the power to save the World.
The fake Samimi, after being abandoned and mocked by the World, now appeared utterly terrifying. There was no longer a trace of humanity on her, only ruthless silence—like an abyss with no end.
As Samimi walked past Kroth, Kroth felt a chilling cold engulf her, fear seizing her completely.
“Wait… don’t go…”
Suddenly, Kroth reached out and grabbed the fake Samimi’s hand.
Originally, Kroth was just an observer, on a different plane from the fake Samimi, unable to interfere with each other.
After all, a spellcaster would never let a victim interfere with their illusion.
Yet Kroth could now grab the fake Samimi—this was all within the Will’s calculations.
This… something big is about to happen!
“Can you come back to our Hero Party?” Kroth, her face thick with embarrassment, forced herself to ask.
Yet her usually sharp tone carried a trace of humility and pleading. Truly, living long enough, one sees everything.
“Yun Qiansi, the Hero Party no longer exists,” fake Samimi replied without turning her head, not even bothering to look, clearly knowing who was behind her, her voice utterly indifferent.
“What?” Yun Qiansi was stunned.
“The Hero Party is already destroyed—destroyed by your own hands,” fake Samimi shook off her hand and continued forward.
“No! Don’t go! We can rebuild the Hero Party! I’m willing to do anything!” Kroth clung desperately to the fake Samimi’s hand.
“You’ll do anything?” fake Samimi asked.
“Yes! I’ll do anything, as long as the Hero Party doesn’t break up!” Kroth gripped this last lifeline like a drowning person.
“Then kneel for me,” fake Samimi said.
“…Eh?” Kroth froze.
“You really think after what you all did, just kneeling and saying sorry will bring me back? Seriously? Seriously?” fake Samimi sneered. “Go on, let me see how pathetic you can be. Don’t tell me you can’t even do something as simple as kneeling?”
Kroth’s face flushed red, utterly conflicted, but for the sake of what she treasured, she was willing to pay the price, even her dignity.
Her whole body shook, especially her legs, which trembled uncontrollably. Slowly, she crouched down, but her knees just wouldn’t touch the ground.
“Please… please come back to the party.” Kroth forced her head down, banging it on the grass with a thud, gritting her teeth, eyes brimming with tears, saliva dripping, struggling just to kneel.
“You’re really willing to do anything for the Hero Party, huh?” fake Samimi said with mock sympathy. “But I refuse.”
“Eh? Didn’t you say if I kneeled you’d come back?” Kroth was stunned.
“Pff! I just wanted to see how you looked kneeling! Who’d team up with a bunch of losers like you? I’m going to take your title. I want you to taste what it’s like to lose everything you care about! Just wait to die!” Fake Samimi burst out laughing.
After hearing this, Kroth rolled her eyes in anger, gripping Samimi’s hand so hard her nails dug into flesh, her mouth trembling, unable to utter a word.
“I’m going to form the Sinister Nightmare Squad, and wipe out everything and everyone your Hero Party ever loved, not sparing a single one!”
Suddenly, two demonic horns grew from the fake Samimi’s head. Her body was swallowed by a monstrous will, inhuman scales and armor spreading across her skin, transforming her into the complete opposite of the Hero.
Under her feet, corpses piled ever higher, mountains of white bones stacking far higher than those counted by the real Queen of the Blood-Sucking Ghosts herself—living things perished, all creation fell silent.
“History will remember Samimi…”
Kroth, her voice full of grief and hatred, muttered as she collapsed.
“Repay evil with good—how then do you repay good?”
Then, she was slapped to death by fake Samimi.
(Illusion, authentication failed.)
In reality, Kroth’s eyes glazed over.
Her whole body collapsed to the ground, not moving an inch after she fell, her mind experiencing the sensation of death.
Although she lasted the longest in the illusion, in the end she was also the one most broken by it.
If everyone could survive, when they awoke, the chubby Knight Kiki Duo and Commander Mei Shan Wen Lin would just suffer some inner turmoil.
But Kroth would probably be haunted by psychological shadows for the rest of her life.
Of course, that’s only if they live. Right now, everyone is reeling under the Illusion, and the Queen’s Will could easily snuff out their lives with a snap.
Wait, no, it seems there is still someone lingering within the Illusion, someone who hasn’t been found yet…