Phantom Dream!
Born from the Spectator and Darkness pathways, its core now shaped by the Book of Dreams.
Specks of dreamlike phosphorescence fell amid the thunder and flames, seeping into Badheil's body.
Silently, everything changed.
"Slash!" Twilight-tinged sword light struck the three angelic projections.
Their mythical forms aged rapidly, skin wrinkling, spotted, oozing decay.
Pop!
The projections dissolved, evaporating.
Three historical projections, gone so easily?
"You'll die too!" The giant roared, flashing before Truman, but twilight couldn't harm his scattered data stream. Truman reformed, a cryptic smile on his lips, and pulled.
A figure in a dark robe, wielding a black scythe, half-human, half-demon wolf, appeared beside him.
With one glance, the orange-red twilight light turned to sketch lines, erased by an invisible rubber.
Secrecy!
"Amanises!" Badheil bellowed, his relentless momentum faltering.
Just as Giant King Aurmir constantly craved devouring the demon wolf, Badheil dreamed of consuming its heirs, especially Amanises, Goddess of Misfortune!
But Amanises was too strong. In their past clash, he was nearly toyed to death like prey!
"Badheil's most unbeatable foe is the goddess?" Truman, within "Phantom Dream," was stunned, then chuckled.
"That's too fitting."
The Giant King and Annihilation Demonic Wolf endlessly sought to consume each other, clashing countless times over eons. Naturally, Amanises and Badheil had fought.
The outcome was predictable.
Once dreamlike phosphorescence infiltrated Badheil, the battle's outcome was sealed.
What followed was Truman's woven dream: slaying three angelic projections inflated Badheil's confidence to unimaginable heights, then summoned his most invincible foe.
Extreme emotional swings exposed mental vulnerabilities, letting phosphorescence breach his consciousness island.
The surprise was the dream projection being Amanises—Truman expected an ancient god.
Amanises's shadow gazed at Badheil, attacking. Her hands clasped, and Badheil was swiftly erased.
Simultaneously, a misty orb rose in her hands, echoing the giant's roars, orange-red light boiling!
"You're too weak," Amanises's shadow said, controlled by Truman. The clash paused, then resumed with greater ferocity!
"As long as your father exists, you'll never defeat me." Her cold, indifferent voice rang as her scythe became black mist, burrowing into the orb.
The orb swelled, then shrank, tainted with death's aura.
"Roar!" Badheil's bellows from the orb sounded… aggrieved?
Truman, seeing all was set, emotions sufficiently stirred, planted a psychological suggestion in Badheil's mind—a place name.
He wouldn't notice the suggestion, but encountering related matters would spark curiosity.
Only Truman could trace dreamlike phosphorescence.
"It's almost time." Truman silently ended "Phantom Dream," restoring reality.
Roar!
Badheil roared, fleeing. Twilight light enveloped him, his body rotting into pus.
His true form reborn in the spirit world!
"Leaving?" Truman looked up. Traveler's spatial mastery sealed all exits, visible and invisible doors trapping Badheil at the center.
The towering giant resembled an insect in amber.
"You…" Badheil's eye was bloodshot, teetering on madness.
Whoosh!
Countless plants—flowers, trees—bloomed in the spirit world, piercing spatial barriers!
Wheat clumps and blossoms intertwined in the surreal spirit world, forming a massive coffin encasing Badheil.
Truman, expressionless, snapped his fingers, shattering space. The plant coffin fragmented, but a tall, voluptuous female giant appeared in reality, clad in wooden armor and a war skirt, wielding a wooden staff.
Her leather armor and long skirt framed deep brown hair adorned with golden wheat and vibrant mushrooms.
She raised her staff, pointing at Truman.
Truman felt his vitality drain, as if death loomed.
But he reacted swiftly, becoming a chaotic data stream, immune to vitality loss.
Vines like pythons sprouted, aiming to pierce him.
As a data stream, Truman ignored them.
"Sigh!" A sigh echoed. His Sage foresight urged him to stop!
He complied, releasing his hold, letting the voluptuous figure carry Badheil's coffin away through the spirit world.
"Twilight…" Truman shook his head. Had he persisted, he'd have drawn Giant King Aurmir's gaze.
With ancient gods in stalemate, acting first risked loss. But a prolonged fight with the Harvest Goddess and a near-mad God of Dawn would surely summon Aurmir.
"Perfect!" Truman smiled as the two subordinate gods vanished into the spirit world.
"Just waiting for the right moment." He opened the Book of Dreams, writing "plausible" developments.
"I'm becoming more like a writer…" Truman mused, catching Medici's odd stare.
"What?" Truman asked, puzzled. Medici shook his head, silent.
He'd watched Truman pummel Badheil. Though the Scholar of Yore's powers irked him, the battle showcased Truman's overwhelming combat prowess.
"Having such an angelic ally… good or bad?" Medici pondered, then shook his head, leading his legion back into battle.
(End of Chapter)
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Do you know:
The Scholar of Yore in this story is called Ancient Scholar.
The main ability of a Scholar of Yore is to access and get help from history. Such an ability is divided into three parts- Historical Void Borrowing, Historical Void Projection, and Historical Void Hiding.