Sensing the abundant mana all around, Nanoda frowned. She realized that the fog obscuring her vision seemed to be a kind of magic, and her Mana Perception was also blocked.
Spreading her palm open, a cluster of flames rose, barely illuminating the path ahead.
At the same time, she fully opened her senses, remaining vigilant against the surrounding darkness.
"Rustle, rustle."
There was only the sound of her shoes stepping on the grass, making it feel just like entering a horror movie.
Her foot stepped on something. Following the firelight, she saw what looked very much like a human bone.
Along the way, Nanoda saw many of these things.
She realized that the Demons inside the barrier were far more vicious than she had imagined.
The fog dispersed, revealing an unexpected calm.
She had thought some Demons would suddenly jump out.
Glancing at the large expanse of fog behind her, she figured she had walked out of the magic's range.
Before her were several towering ancient trees rising from the ground. Under the moonlight, these trees were a stale, dark green, looking serene and sacred.
The only discordant detail was the dark red bloodstains, dried for a long time, that tainted the trees.
Wooden cabins were built on some of the thick trunks. From afar, the cabins were mostly damaged and had been abandoned for a long time.
Only Elves would gather to live in large numbers in trees.
Now it was certain that the so-called barrier ruins were nothing more than an Elf village that had been massacred and occupied by the Demon Race.
Her keen intuition told Nanoda that something was hidden here.
Given the Demon Race's nature of burning, killing, and looting, it was impossible for them to guard this place with almost no living creatures, not to mention that there was a barrier set by the Seven Sages of Destruction—Undying Böse outside.
If the intelligence was correct, based on the current situation, there must be a Great Demon's command and arrangement for such a large number of Demons to hide here.
Just as Nanoda pondered this and continued forward, a familiar person who shouldn't be here suddenly appeared ahead.
He had a tall and straight posture, wearing a pure black priest's robe that highlighted the exposed silver cross at his neck. One hand rested behind his back, while the other held an old gospel book.
He had a neat black buzz cut, two sword-like eyebrows, and a thin face. His handsome features leaned more toward coldness, his expression showing neither joy nor sorrow. He sported a short beard and lightly parted his lips.
"Welcome to heaven, Number 12."
His calm tone carried a hint of mockery.
It was exactly the same. His appearance, his aura, and even his speaking habits were identical to her memories.
Nanoda remained silent. Although she vaguely sensed that this was merely an illusion, it was far too realistic.
She truly had no desire to see this old boss from her past life.
Her own death was attributed to him.
"Hmm~ I see. What state am I in right now? A clone? A ghost? Or a phantom? Don't tell me this is magic."
A Phantom Fiend, a cunning monster—or rather, a magic beast—that relied on manipulating illusion magic to bewitch and prey on humans. It was a relatively rare existence.
When humans entered a Phantom Fiend's territory, their memories would be read, and the creature would use illusion magic to replicate the most important person in the human's heart.
When the prey relaxed their vigilance and approached the illusion, the Phantom Fiend would begin its hunt.
As the priest spoke, the space behind him rippled slightly.
"I still want to catch up nicely. Don't disturb me, alright?"
The priest's neck rotated over ninety degrees in an inconceivable manner, coldly glaring at the void behind him.
The Phantom Fiend hid behind a black curtain made of mana. Its body was a ghastly white, with black patterns on its shoulders. Two slender arms hung down, the fingertips as sharp as knives.
Its face and upper body looked similar to a human's, but the area below its waist was a large mass of black substance. It was over two meters tall, floating entirely in mid-air.
It never expected that the illusion it had created would slip somewhat out of its control.
For a moment, the Phantom Fiend froze in place.
"Your appearance has changed a lot, but it is clearly you."
The priest turned his head back, wanting to step closer to look at Nanoda, but as he took a step, the tips of his toes instantly turned to ash.
He was merely an illusion and could not leave the Phantom Fiend's range.
At the same time, Nanoda breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.
Stopping, the priest looked somewhat helpless and regretful.
"You still lack a sense of fear, as always."
Nanoda sighed. It was precisely because he couldn't feel fear that this highly skilled guy in front of her made others feel terrified and left a deep impression.
Nanoda extended a palm, intending to use Killing Magic to directly obliterate both the priest's illusion and the Phantom Fiend.
"Then it can't be helped."
Unexpectedly, after saying this, the priest suddenly turned around, and the hand behind his back suddenly swiped at the void.
The black curtain shattered, revealing the Phantom Fiend's figure. A mark slowly appeared on its neck.
"I see. What a miraculous power. It's a bit like Qigong. How interesting. It's a pity I am just an illusion."
At some point, mana had attached to the priest's hand blade. The strike just now had directly sliced open the neck of the Phantom Fiend hiding behind.
This was an outcome the Phantom Fiend had never anticipated. A powerless puppet illusion it had created had unexpectedly turned around and beheaded it.
Its neck split open, and even as its entire body dissolved into mana and dissipated, the Phantom Fiend died with its eyes wide open in disbelief.
"May the Lord bless your new life. Goodbye."
He reached out to grasp the cross hanging around his neck.
The priest did not look back, but dissipated into black mist alongside the Phantom Fiend.
Everything ended like a farce.
"What an exaggerated guy. I thought I would never see him again in this lifetime..."
Manifesting as an ethereal illusion, breaking free from the Phantom Fiend's control, and teaching himself to manipulate mana within minutes.
In her past life, this old bastard was already as strong as a monster. If he came to this world of swords and magic, wouldn't it be disastrous?
Calming her mind, Nanoda decided to continue onward.
First a barrier, then fog, and a Phantom Fiend.
Seeing so many arrangements, Nanoda was extremely curious. What exactly were those Demon remnants doing inside?
At this time, in the very center of the ruins, over a hundred Demons were entrenched. These Demons were well-equipped and emitted formidable mana; they were clearly elite soldiers at a glance.
"Strange. One of the Phantom Fiends I placed inside the barrier suddenly vanished."
Among the two general-like Demons leading them, a tall and thin Demon with a sharp, long horn on the left side of his forehead noticed something amiss.
"Did humans come in? That's impossible. Lord Böse's barrier shouldn't be broken so easily."
Beside him was a Demon wearing cumbersome bronze knight armor. An iron helm obscured his face, revealing only a pair of large horns resembling a water buffalo's.
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