The bullets pushed through the air, still tracking it.

I opened a small portal beside me, making the bullets vanish and reappear from another angle to confuse it.

The butterfly quickly reacted, summoning a swirling wind barrier around itself.

The attacks struck the barrier and sparked faintly before bouncing off.

I could tell it was waiting for me to make a mistake.

But I didn't stop.

I kept attacking, shifting the angle of the portals, tightening my control over the bullets, forcing it to move faster and faster.

Then one of the bullets broke through the barrier.

It struck the butterfly's wing.

The delicate wing tore slightly, and I heard a faint sound. Like a pained grunt.

A human one.

Before I could fire again, another butterfly appeared beside it.

This one glowed softly, its wings shimmering with light.

A wave of healing energy spread out from it, mending the first butterfly's damaged wing.

'It can create clones.'

I changed my battle tactics to match my enemies and began attacking again, not intending to give them a moment of breathing air.

I formed two more piercing magic bullets and launched them at the second butterfly.

But the moment they made contact with it, they passed right through its body.

There was no impact.

'Damn it, it's immune to mana attacks.'

'I need to check physical attacks.'

Still keeping pressure on the first butterfly, I summoned Daritas from my inventory rune and dashed toward the second one.

My blade sliced through the air, and through the butterfly.

There was no resistance.

But the moment it touched it, a sharp noise burst inside my skull.

"Not !$%@ us, Lo#4 A#!f12421!"

I staggered, my mind ringing with the sound.

Before I could understand it, a sharp wind bullet from the first butterfly came toward me.

I reacted instantly and created a portal in front of me.

The attack disappeared into it, reappearing above me before dispersing harmlessly.

The butterflies circled around, wings fluttering rapidly, creating gusts that tore across the hall.

I moved between portals, dodging wind bullets and countering with more piercing magic.

Each clash made small bursts of light echo through the dark room.

The fight felt endless.

Through the battle, I tried thinking about the words I heard when I attacked the second butterfly.

But my mind wouldn't just focus on it.

It was like grabbing sand with my hands. The thoughts kept slipping away.

Then it came again.

"Lord A21SF A@!$! I@ us!"

My mind cleared for a moment.

I looked at the second butterfly.

And for a brief second, I didn't see a butterfly anymore. I saw Yuna.

Her wings. Her glow. Her worried expression.

"Ye#% @#$!R SFASFA!" the second butterfly screamed before going silent again.

My mind understood.

It wasn't the Deputy Director.

It was Yuna.

And if that was true, then the other butterfly—the one attacking me nonstop—

"Selene…" I whispered.

She was the first butterfly.

She must have been under the same illusion, thinking I was the Deputy Director.

The realization hit me like a blade to the chest.

I was fighting them.

They were fighting me.

And all of us were trapped in the Deputy Director's mental attack.

Yuna wasn't healing Selene, and she was not affected by the mental attack.

It only looked like she was healing Selene since I knew about her ability, and I was under a mental attack.

My mind started to blur again, the truth fading as fast as it came.

I was forgetting what I had just realized.

The thought of killing both butterflies returned, pounding in my skull like a command.

Kill them.

End it.

Only then could we escape.

But somewhere deep inside, a small voice fought back.

'If these aren't the Deputy Director… then he must be invisible.'

That thought cut through the chaos.

Even as my mind twisted and warped, a small piece of me held on to reason.

I forced myself to breathe slowly, ignoring the battle sounds around me.

The Adernal Silence perk forced my mind to not fall under adrenaline rushed bloodlust.

'I can't see the Deputy Director. Even if I am looking straight at him, I won't know it's him. He's controlling my perception.'

The world around me flickered, as if my mind itself was starting to collapse.

'I have only a few seconds before I forget all this.'

I had to act before that happened.

'We're in his chamber.'

'Selene and Yuna are not him.'

'The Deputy Director is in the chamber.'

So the solution was simple.

'Attack everywhere Selene and Yuna are not.'

I raised my hand.

Mana gathered rapidly, pulling from my Stars.

Portals started to open all around me.

Inside each one, I formed piercing magic bullets.

Then I fired them all at once.

They flew in every direction, bouncing through portals, moving across the hall like streaks of light.

Everywhere except where Selene and Yuna were.

The air trembled.

The area around me had become a kill zone as piercing magic bullets tore through everywhere.

Then I heard it. A loud, sharp sound, like glass breaking.

The pressure inside my head snapped.

The fog in my mind lifted.

I gasped for air and dropped to one knee.

My vision cleared.

The butterflies vanished.

Selene and Yuna stood in front of me again.

Selene was breathing heavily, one hand clutching her side.

Blood dripped down her arm.

Yuna stood beside her, wings dim, eyes wide with worry.

You have resisted a powerful mental attack: Spirit +8

The system message flashed in front of my eyes before fading.

My chest ached with pain and exhaustion. But my mind was clear, and my spirit was invigorated.

Selene's body was covered in cuts and burns from my attacks.

Her armor was cracked, and her breathing was shallow.

She looked at me with confusion and pain in her eyes.

"Alan? That…" Selene grabbed her head, wincing.

Even I wasn't fine.

My memories had started to come together, and I could see the truth in my memories.

The 'two butterflies' were Selene and Yuna. The real butterfly, the deputy director, had been watching everything from the corner.

Selene realized her perception had been tampered, and she looked like she wanted to apologize for attacking me.

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