[Ding! Bloodline Extraction successful]

[Ding! You have acquired the ability 'Illusion Dust']

Illusion Dust: Scatter a shimmering cloud of prismatic dust into the air. Each mote bends light, sound, and mana perception, creating localized illusions that confuse enemies, cloak movements, and warp terrain visuals within a limited radius. The distance scales with the mastery of the skill.

[Ding! Your luck has increased by 2]

[Ding! Your agility has increased by 1]

[Ding! Bloodline Extraction successful]

[Ding! You have acquired the ability 'Illusion Rain']

Illusion Rain: Summon a mystical downpour composed of enchanted illusion particles that fall like rain across a wide area. Each droplet refracts reality, projecting layered false images, disorienting enemies, and masking allies' presence and movements. The rain lasts for 10 seconds.

[Ding! Your luck has increased by 1]

[Ding! Your affinity with the wind element has increased]

[Ding! Your affinity with the wind element has now reached E rank]

[Ding! Bloodline Extraction successful]

…

…

…

Damon was grinning ear to ear as he hid in his secret spot and silently amassed all the blood essence, all the while enjoying the stream of system notifications quantifying his hard-earned achievements. Each new ding of notification was like music in his ears.

The battlefield was pure chaos now. Umbra Hand assassins darted between treetops and shadows, their movements sharp and deadly. Alzara's retainers clashed with them head-on, elemental flares and blood spraying in bursts.

The fairies retaliated in swarms, spells like glowing vines and crystalline arrows shot from all directions. Illusion dust was everywhere in the air.

But Damon? While the three factions tore each other apart, Damon was a ghost in the mist. Hidden beneath [Shadowmeld], he drifted between corpses and chaos alike, drawing blood essence silently and smoothly.

Every time a powerful fairy or fallen warrior's life ebbed away, his extraction skill flared to life, marking another reward.

The illusions were already wreaking havoc. [Illusion Dust] warped the terrain in isolated pockets. Some enemies believed they were being surrounded. Others ran from phantom threats. And in the center of it all, shimmering droplets from [Illusion Rain] made it impossible to track movement properly.

There were also all sorts of other illusion techniques. The fairies were truly going all out. It was like fighting inside a living dreamscape.

Damon licked a speck of blood from his lips, eyes glowing. Everything was going according to his own plan, but that didn't mean he was going to drop his guard anytime soon. This was because he had a feeling he was going to be surprised any time now.

And just as he expected, ten minutes into the chaotic battle, Alzara made her own move. A faint flicker appeared in the distance, and a trail of dust inconspicuously moved outward. In the grand scheme of things, this small change was barely noticeable.

However, Damon immediately caught it. He was pretty sure that the enchantress was making her move because the dust trail was headed straight into the direction of the core sealed region.

He had to give it to the woman. She was pretty talented. If he had not been constantly keeping an eye on her, using his primordial senses to look past all the illusion crap the fairies were throwing around, he would have definitely missed her.

Alzara was using her elemental affinity in its most refined form, slipping past the frontline chaos without drawing attention. Damon caught it and, without hesitation, activated [Shadowstep] and melded deeper into the layers of illusion, chasing the barely-there flicker of motion like a predator on the trail of prey.

Damon's crimson eyes glinted in the kaleidoscopic haze of illusion and spellfire. The battlefield may have descended into madness, but that madness was his cover.

With every step, he passed broken fairies, dying assassins, and mangled guards who had no idea a second game was being played beneath their feet. He wasn't going to let the princess slip into the fairy king's tomb alone.

He already knew that the woman was more knowledgeable about this whole place, and this only confirmed it. Because if she were not, then why would she risk so much to step into the fairy dungeon when the Umbra's hand was after her?

Soon, the trees changed. The vibrant greens dulled, replaced by pale blue leaves. This had to be the boundary of the sealed core region. The dust trail tried entering straight into the boundary, but from the looks of it, that was a fail.

The next second, Alzara's figure emerged from the dust. She did not even bother looking around. She took out a gem from her spatial chain as fast as she could and activated it. The barrier glowed, and lo and behold, she was able to enter the place just like that!

Naturally, Damon was right with her and quickly entered the place at the same time. He was just about to reveal himself when suddenly a shadow flickered and someone else materialized.

"Oh, princess," the man murmured, "you really are full of surprises."

Damon's eyes widened. It was not a man at all. This was the same woman, the female confidante who had been standing next to Alzara earlier and seemed extremely close to her. But right now, her appearance morphed, and she was a man in a woman's battle gear.

Alzara's eyes widened in shock. "Metina… how are you…" She looked angry and betrayed, but then her expression changed. "No… Metina will never betray me. You are someone else. What did you do to my friend?"

The man chuckled darkly. His form shimmered again, just briefly, revealing swirling black tattoos under his skin. Then he settled back into the illusion of Metina's form, mocking grin still etched across his borrowed face.

"Oh, Alzara," he drawled, voice layered, his own, deeper one mixing with Metina's lighter tone. "You're half right. Metina would never betray you. That's why I had to get rid of her."

Alzara's hands trembled.

"Did you think you were safe in your palace, princess? If the Umbra's hand wants your head, there is no safe place in this whole world!" He laughed.

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