[Nightmare]

Tilo cracked his neck and stared at Helix with a mocking expression.

"Tell me, Helix. Do you think that your illusions can surpass mine?" He mocked.

The two were standing in the arena, but a black magic circle now surrounded the floor.

Large signs were posted around the stands outlining a schedule of when the area was closed for private use.

While activated, the circle prevented others from entering or seeing what was happening inside.

There was a recording illusion of Tilo beating the shit out of the young man for trespassers to see.

Tilo found the scene amusing; Helix did not.

"I'm not certain they'll be more useful or effective." Helix replied with a slight smile.

"What I can say is that mine will be prettier."

Tilo laughed.

"That's a bold statement. The ladies love my illusions." The man chuckled.

"You shouldn't change your face for the women, master." Helix replied with a mischievous grin.

"Hoh? Courting death at 9 am?

I didn't know you already gave up on life." Tilo replied with narrowed eyes.

Helix gave the man a slight smile.

"I'm making it easier for you to kill me if something goes wrong."

Tilo gave Helix a complicated expression.

"I know you're worried. But I know that you wouldn't be using that thing if you didn't feel confident." He asserted.

—

"Hah! You're completely fucked, boy." Tilo chuckled heartily.

Tyrene, Tilo, and Elsa were also sitting in Tyrene's trailer.

Elsa was like a mom to him, and he didn't want to keep secrets from her.

Helix had made a blood pact with Tilo and Elsa and explained what happened when he released [Nightmare].

Now he was giving him a wry smile.

Tilo's expression turned cold an instant later.

"I doubt the Winter General threatened me into a blood pact to tell me a ghost story.

So what is the real issue at play here?"

Helix matched his expression with a piercing gaze of his own.

"Tilo, things aren't that simple." Tyrene interjected.

"Helix doesn't want to talk about it. So let me explain."

The three talked for hours about the topic.

Tyrene and Tilo did most of the talking, and Helix only provided insights when asked questions.

After they were finished, Tilo gave Helix a complicated expression.

"Off to bed now. Tyrene's about to break your body senseless, and I don't want to hear you complaining as I break your spirit." He sighed lightly.

"Tilo! I understand the situation, but you two can't put your interests first." Elsa snapped.

Tyrene took a deep breath.

"Don't worry, Elsa. That kid is almost begging us." She sighed.

"Helix…." Elsa whispered.

She looked at Helix, and he nodded to confirm Tyrene's statement.

"Okay. You're waking up at 5 am tomorrow for our hunt.

Tilo, please help me create a Physical Memory Circle and first aid circles.

We'll need them immediately."

Tilo sighed.

"Alright. Let's go. Helix, expect Tyrene and I to be tired and cranky tomorrow.

Fill in the blanks on what to expect."

Helix nodded and walked toward the exit.

"Helix." Tilo called out.

The young man stopped moving and turned around.

"Yes, master?" He asked.

"I'll be the one training that jacked-up Nightmare of yours." Tilo announced with a serious expression.

"You've been through a lot. I get that.

But before you accept a match, you need to suppress that reckless behavior."

Helix looked at the ground with a wry smile.

"If you can't, stop the match. You've done well by warning us of its real power.

So don't prove yourself a prophet."

—

Helix matched the man's gaze with a serious expression.

"Why are you so certain of that?

I've only proved my recklessness to you." He asserted.

Tilo narrowed his eyes.

"You're wrong." Tilo declared.

Helix looked at the man quizzically.

"The Mirror of Helioquie told me everything I needed to know about you.

I wouldn't be here if I didn't see that monstrosity." The man said with sharp eyes.

Helix looked at the man with a strange expression.

"Why? The situation was bleak.

So I created something that would cause havoc and lead to infighting.

Using it in front of my attackers was reckless.

I was bound to get caught in the crossfire even with a path to escape." He replied with a sharp gaze.

"Don't play dumb with me, boy." Tilo scoffed.

"You went through insane lengths to explain your Nightmare if you were called out.

It was also powerful enough on its own, even though you used your Nightmare anyway.

Don't waste my time by denying that."

Helix gave the man a wry smile.

"It was ingenious, meticulously prepared, and effective.

It was created for self-preservation in an impossible scenario, and you didn't use it for revenge.

At least until the end.

You wouldn't use that Nightmare if you weren't confident.

I'm trusting you because of that." Tilo concluded.

Helix gave him a defeated smile.

"I'll do what I can to prove you right." He said with a confident tone.

"Good!" Tilo declared with a bright smile.

"Now come at me so I can kick your ass and show you what real illusions are."

Helix laced his fingers and stretched his arms.

"Alright. Let's see what happens."

"Ten!" Tilo yelled.

"Nine!"

"Eight!"

"Seven!"

"Six!"

"Five!"

Helix's heart started pounding, and sweat rolled down his face.

"Four!"

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Begin!"

Helix exploded with a cloud of black smoke.

The man chuckled at the ruse and threw a couple of magic circles.

When the smoke almost completely disappeared, two Helix's ran around him on either side.

"Not bad…." Tilo chuckled.

"Tch!"

Helix chuckled his tongue when he saw how easily Tilo made work of his first strategy.

However, his expression was unfazed.

"Impressive illusions. But they're still illusions!" Tilo declared.

He shot at Helix and landed a punch on his face.

While the punch sent Helix flying, Tilo's fist came in contact with nothing.

"That's seriously wild…." The man muttered in awe.

While Tilo knew that he hit an illusion, the clone reacted to it as though he was hit.

The sound matched, and the body hitting the earth caused a dust storm.

If an observer saw the exchange, TIlo would have to convince them that he struck an illusion.

"Unfortunately…." He chuckled.

"Gahhhhhh!"

Boom!

Dust flew everywhere.

"Lesson number one! If you're weak, your enemy can hit both of your clones!" Tilo taunted.

However, mid-way through his declaration, the [real] Helix shimmered and became a white doll.

Tilo looked down in amusement to find a disc called the Dummy Clone Summons.

The spell summoned a dummy and masked it with an appearance clone.

The dummies are physical objects made of a silicon-like substance and filled with liquid.

Tilo laughed in amazement and struck at thin air.

"Lesson 2! Illusion masters can see through invisibility—"

"Guuuuuuuuah!"

There was a loud crash, and Tilo's eyes went wide.

He spun around and dodged an attack at an unimaginable speed.

"That Nightmare is a fucking cheat!" He roared in annoyance.

"Gah! Cough!"

Helix's body fell to the ground and writhed in pain.

Tilo's fist connected with the Helix behind an invisibility illusion, and it flew into the distance and crashed.

However, once again, it hit nothing.

He took the situation seriously, identified Helix's location, and hit the boy with an elbow to the spine.

"Lesson three! Don't gamble on one shot again, or I'll break your goddamn legs!

What did I just tell you about defining victory?" Tilo shouted in bewilderment.

Helix couldn't hit Tilo with his speed, so he lunged midair in a single direction.

"You're not a Marskaratt! You just fought one and gave yourself its weakness." He snapped.

Tilo turned around and walked toward the stands.

As he walked away, he stopped and shook his head in disappointment.

"Lesson 4. You're unable to learn from your mistakes because you're dead." He called out with a bitter chuckle.

"Look in front of you, you fool."

Helix pushed himself off the ground where he was wheezing.

Helix looked forward and found a [Contained Charge Trigger] circle in front of him.

Contained Charge Trigger was a landmine.

If it were active, he would have exploded and died.

Helix looked around him.

In the center, there was a [Environment Clone Circle].

The circle copies a small area of a user's environment and masks any changes to it.

Next saw half a dozen other Charge Triggers around where Tilo was standing.

He created a minefield mid-battle without Helix noticing.

While it seemed reckless, the Contained Charge Trigger had a small blast radius.

That's what [contained] denoted.

Tilo could see the discs and markers Helix couldn't.

It was a joke.

"What a joke." Helix scoffed with a self-deprecating tone.

"You're telling me I'm not a Marskaratt while proving that I am one. Hah. Hahaha."

Helix pushed himself to his feet while laughing with depleted eyes.

Tilo looked toward the sky, closed his eyes, and burst into laughter.

"God damn it, boy! Why do you make it so hard for us to scold you!" He laughed heartily.

Helix shocked his head with a shame-filled smile.

"Well? What are you waiting for?

I said we'd eat lunch and discuss that freaky Nightmare after the match." Tilo called out without turning around.

"Just because it lasted less than a minute doesn't mean that it happened."

Tilo turned around and gave Helix a mocking smile.

"I'm sure that you'll find that out soon." He laughed and walked away.

Helix stared at the man with a perplexed expression.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

—

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