~ Chapter 165: The end of Phantom Rage ~

[Shanteya’s point of view]

The battle between me and the Guild Master resumed, but this time, with an intensity that was fiercer and far more merciless than before. The obsidian sword fueled by his Dark Magic released an ominous aura, while his attacks were all aimed either at my joints or vital points. I had to do my best as well to block each and every one of those strikes. My body moved on its own most of the time, but thanks to my speed, I could avoid all the more dangerous ones.

It was highly unlikely that he could shatter the Magic Armor of this clone with that sword of his, but I wasn’t willing to take the chance. I dodged, parried, and blocked his attacks like my life was depending on it. There was no room left for mistakes in our movements. It was like a ballet between professional martial artists. When he was pushing for more strength, I did follow suit, matching him perfectly. When he increased his speed, I did the same. I did not allow myself to fall behind by even one single millimeter.

When he reached the peak of his strength and speed, I pushed further and broke through the standstill. My dagger grazed his Magic Armor, chipping at it just a little. This caused him to take a step back, but I took a step forward and launched my fist at him. He blocked it with his hand, which caused a crack in his Magic Armor.

The surprised expression on his face said it all, but he recovered just as fast. A spike of shadows burst forward from his dagger, aimed at my heart. I blocked it with my hand, pushing it to the side as I spun in the air, landing on the other side of the room.

The moment my feet touched the ground, I cast and released a wind spell behind me, which sent me flying towards my most detested foe.

A barrier of shadows was formed in front of me, but I just punched it. The burst of power was enough to cause it to vanish, but I knew he wasn’t behind it. The Guild Master used a spell of camouflage and hid in the shadows, outside of my field of vision.

When the barrier of shadows was gone, he reappeared to my right, slashing down with his obsidian sword at me. I barely avoided it, but the edge still chipped at my Magic Armor.

This was the moment when we both jumped back to the opposite sides of the room.

“So, you aren’t unreachable.” he smirked as he leaned forward.

“The same I can be said about you.” I replied.

I jumped forward, sending my magic into the floor and telling the ground we stood on to unravel and transform. Stone spike popped out while shadow tendrils formed around him, all aiming at the Guild Master, but he immediately noticed the danger and jumped up. I leaned back and focused Magic Energy into a [Flamethrower] spell in each palm. When he was right above me, I released the two spells right at him.

”Futile!” he shouted as he cut the two spells with his sword, causing some of that Magic Energy to dissipate in the air.

I stopped the spells and jumped to the side. The elf attacked, and the obsidian sword was stabbed right where I was a moment ago. He clicked his tongue as he glared at me and sent a volley of ice spikes at me. To defend myself against them, I used my daggers to cut through them. The guild Master used this moment to slip to the side and then launch an attack right at me. At this moment, I summoned a barrier of wind to stop his attack, but he used something rather unexpected.

Casting his shadows tendrils behind him, in my blind point, he used them to push himself forward and force himself through my shield. That obsidian sword of his was eating away at the Magic Energy of the shield, cutting the thread that made it whole, yet it could still hold on if I simply caused a lot more Magic Energy to flow into it than he dissipated with it. Another shield layer or two could have made it impossible for it to reach me, but I didn’t have enough time to cast it.

The sword pierced the shield and then reached my Magic Armor.

Above us, where Illsy was watching the fight with my original self, furrowed his brow when he saw the attack and tightened his hold on my hand.

The obsidian sword now tried to dissipate the magic around me.

CRACK!

My Magic Armor let out a terrible sound right as the tip of the sword tried to pierce through to reach me.

CLANK!

The blade was unable to move past my Magic Armor, and I gave the elf a kick in the stomach, sending him flying back into one of the bookcases.

“Ugh... Just a little more.” he grumbled as he got up from the ground.

“It’s just a crack.” I said.

“The first of many...” he retorted as he showed me a smirk.

Up on the surface, I looked at Illsy and said ”Now.”

With a nod, he lifted himself off the ground with the help of a few wind spells and then moved right above the glass ceiling of the Guild Master’s office. Aiming with his palm at it, he then cast five powerful ice spikes, which he sent flying towards the five corners of the ceiling. The enchants that sustained it were unable to resist and their magic quickly dissipated, letting the fragile glass to shatter and fall to the ground below.

This attack was anything but simple and ordinary. The Guild Master of the Phantom Rage Guild would not have some flimsy enchants to protect his office, so normal attacks wouldn’t get through. Actually, each one of those ice spikes cast by my husband could pierce through the Magic Armor of any of the Supremes I had met so far and then skewer them before they even realized that they were dead.

My clone looked up and quickly dodged the falling shards. The elf did the same and when the dust settled, he looked up. A frown appeared on his face upon meeting the cold merciless glare of my husband.

Illsy was angry because he managed to crack the Magic Armor and even scratch the Godlike armor of my clone below.

“Hou? You brought reinforcements it seems.” He remarked and then looked back at me.

“No.” I shook my head.

“Hm?”

“My husband is here only to witness the moment of your demise.” I told him.

“Your husband? Illsyore Deus?” he then looked back up at the cold glare that saw him as nothing more than a bug. “So, he’s that infamous Dungeon... It will be very fun... pleasant even to take his life right after I take yours... Then...” he looked back at me “I will go after the rest of your family. For the impudence of going against me... you don’t deserve a family.” he threatened.

These words were terrible to listen to, but they weren’t as frightening and damaging as they would have been a long time ago. For me to actually feel anything like fear or worry from him would mean that there actually was a part of me that believed this piece of trash could actually win against me... and more so, against Illsy.

It was... laughable.

“You never experienced fear, did you?” I asked him.

“Hm?” he blinked surprised at me.

I lifted my hand up and snapped my fingers.

Four of my clones walked up to the edge of the room and made their presence known, while the others walked at a calm pace out of the long dark corridor. The expression on his face was one of surprise and also a bit of a horror as he realized how many clones there were there. Of course, the only one with a haggard breath and a scratch on her armor was the one he had fought against so far.

“Let me tell you something...” the clone said as the four above jumped down here. “You are not worthy of fighting against the real me.” I said as we all pierced him with our cold glare.

“I-Impossible! I didn’t feel your presence at all!” he shouted.

“Don’t you get it? I let you feel my presence.” the clone said and then snapped her fingers again.

All of us attacked him at the same time. It was like a storm of illusion, but unfortunately for him, not even one of my clones was as weak and fragile as one of those things. I knew how to cast mass illusions as well, but they were nothing better than a simple distraction. They couldn’t fight, and a solid illusion was very similar to one of my clones, with the exception of the fact that they didn’t hold a pulse and couldn’t regenerate their own Magic Energy pool.

“This... is... IMPOSSIBLE!” the Guild Master shouted as he desperately tried to fight against me.

His prized sword was not reaching us. The dagger slashed at empty air, and his eyes didn’t know which one of us to follow. Meanwhile, our daggers could reach him, our swords could cut him, but we weren’t aiming for a killing blow. Using my clones, I chipped away at his Magic Energy and used him as a bouncing ball, pushing him to the left and to the right, almost as if we were playing with him.

Actually, it wasn’t such a far-off statement to declare that we were indeed playing around with him. We were showing our superiority and how easy we could kill him. Against one of my clones, he may have struggled a bit, but against ten or more of my clones, it was a complete domination. Just as I had expected, none of his attacks even reached us, yet our attacks cut through his Magic Armor.

The most troubling thing for me right now wasn’t the tactics or power to use against him, but rather how I viewed myself. With so many points of view and bodies to control, I often found myself getting lost in how I addressed myself or others. It was usually ‘we’ when referring to one or more clones at the same time, and ‘I’ one referring to an individual clone or the original. Still, the fact that this was what was troubling me right now said enough in regard to how much I overpowered the Guild Master of the Assassin Guild Phantom Rage.

If I would have canceled my Over Supreme skill and jumped into the battle with my original body, then let alone touching me, he could not have even seen me. After all, he said it himself, he didn’t feel the presence of my clones, but my original body had always been there, looking down at him, yet his own eyes refused to look at me. This skill, however, never worked against Illsy. He always found me almost immediately, so for a long time, back on the Boss Island, I thought that it didn’t work at all. It was Nanya and Ayuseya who proved me wrong, when I used this skill to hide myself and Illsy when we were... ahem, enjoying ourselves.

“This is... ridiculous. Such power.” the elf grumbled as he desperately tried to kill us, but to no avail.

I watched this fool of a Guild Master as he was slowly getting tired and worn out. The Magic Armor that protected him from my attacks was being chipped away little by little, while in some parts, my daggers already reached his clothes and skin. If I so much as pressed on one dagger a little harder, the cut would go through, and blood would be spilled.

Not yet. I thought as I looked at him struggling to keep up and fight back.

Of course, I also made sure that none of his spells were cast. When he reached out and tried to send those shadow tendrils at me, they were destroyed almost immediately by our daggers.

I was prolonging this battle for as long as I could, not letting him catch his breath for even one second. I was quite literally bullying him at this point, and he knew this. He was getting angry and desperate to get out of this situation, to flee at least if he couldn’t land a single blow on me.

After about fifteen minutes had passed, I pulled back, jumping to the edge of the room as we maintained our glare on him.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!” he was breathing hard.

The sword and dagger in his hands were trembling, his knees were shaking, and he looked as though he could barely stand. The fine clothes he was wearing had all been ripped to shreds. The Magic Armor he claimed it would keep him safe had been chipped off pieces by pieces until only a small layer was left, but it wasn’t able to protect him anymore, and we all knew this, but the gaze in his eyes was not one of fear, rather of hate and anger.

“You still think you can win?” I asked.

“Huff! Huff! Huff!” he didn’t reply, but he did look up at Illsy, who took the time to build himself a nice throne from which he could gaze down at him like the King would at the champions in his Colosseum.
“Do you realize now?” I asked him and then all of my clones looked up.

Seeing the sudden movement, his gaze followed theirs and saw my original body as I stepped off the edge and floated towards my husband. My armor was the powerful one made by him, and on my waist, I carried the daggers he made for me. From a simple glance, you could tell that their quality was beyond exceptional. They were powerful, filled with Magic Energy, and could easily surpass even those of the most renowned blacksmiths in this world. They were, quite literally, beyond what could be made with the current level of technology.

Illsy called it Power Armor and Plasma Blades, and they were definitely not something that should be underestimated.

“You never had a chance from the moment I stepped on this island. If you can’t even defeat my clones, how do you expect to defeat my original body?” I asked him as I stared down at him.

The one who spoke now was the one who was now wrapping her arms around Illsy and looking at this arena like an empress.

“Ridiculous... RIDICULOUS!” he shouted.

“You don’t deserve for my original me to raise her sword against you.” I told him.

“I’m unworthy of fighting against you at your full strength?! My power is enough to cripple a party of Supremes! I can kill anyone I so damn please! So why should I be afraid of you?!” he shouted at me.

“Afraid of me? When did I mention such a thing?” I replied with a mocking smile, but these words came out from the mouth of every clone that surrounded him.

The elf was startled by me and looked around at us, but the moment his gaze fell upon us, he took a step back and looked down at his trembling hand.

“Do you understand now?” I asked him again.

He looked up at me with a twitch on his angered expression. The fingers grasping the obsidian sword tightened around its hilt, and the black miasma around it began to grow. He was only now starting to understand in just what sort of dangerous predicament he found himself in.

“Will this... play, keep you busy for much longer?” Illsy asked.

Turning my gentle gaze towards him, I placed a kiss on cheek and then replied “No. This is the grand finale.”

The elf flinched when he heard me and began to look with worry at my clones.

“[Boost]!” the first clones said.

“[Boost]!” the second one said.

“[Boost]! [Boost]! [Boost]! [Boost]!...” the clones said one after another, their strength and speed rising dramatically even if their Magic Energy pool was low, but they were not done yet.

“[Stealth]!” they all shouted at the same time and vanished from his sight.

“What the... this... this can’t be happening!” he said.

“[Wind Blade]!” they all shouted at the same time.

“Huh?”

He did not even know how to react anymore as my spells were cast at him from all directions. The first one slashed his left shoulder in half, the second one cut a deep gap in his right cheek. Then all of them began to reach him one by one, keeping him in place as they cut deep into his flesh. With his weakened Magic Armor, even this simple basic spell could kill him if reinforced plenty enough.

When the last of the [Wind Blade] was released, he could not even hold his sword in his hand let alone stand up. The elf was bleeding terribly, and in this state, I highly doubted he could be saved without my husband’s help.

“T-This... I’ll... get you... for this... I’ll make you... pay...” he managed to spit out through the blood and tears.

“Pay? You are mistaken. The one who is required to pay right now is none other than yourself, mister Nobody. You took my life away at the age of ten and then spat in my face as I struggled to survive. You will pay for all of that... for all those years.” I told him from high above like a goddess glaring down at the pathetic mortal below her.

“Keh... just try it!” he shouted.

“Very well.” I nodded.

It was at this point that all of my clones jumped at him, piercing his body with their daggers and swords. He watched helplessly as I skewered him. There was a flinch a moment before the blades pierced him. He probably tried to jump out of the way, but I made sure before to cut off his muscles and tendons. He could not move even if he wanted to.

“Kuh! Kah!” he spat out a mouthful of blood as he looked up at me with resentment.

“As I said... you are not worthy for my humble self to fight against you. Die knowing that you couldn’t even lay a single scratch on me despite bragging like a god.” I told him with a cold sneer.

“Y-You...” he said, but then two of my clones punched him right in the temples of his head, squashing his head and killing him for good.

As I pulled black the swords, I let his body fall on the ground, lifeless and headless. I then tossed a fireball on it and turned to look at Illsy.

“It’s over now...”

“Good... Now, what do you want to do with this place?” he asked me.

Jumping down on the floor below, I approached one of the bookcases and began to absorb the book in my Storage Crystal.

“Absorb this island, Illsy. There’s no need for it to become the new headquarters for some random criminal civilization. With this... the Phantom Rage Guild is no more, and with the death of the Guild Master, everyone under his curse will slowly die off.” I told him and then a small smile appeared on my lips “You know, back when I activated my curse because I went against my orders, I thought that I could rush back to the Guild Master to have him cancel my imminent death, but with everything considered, I honestly doubt I would have ever made it in time. Finding this place wasn’t easy, after all...” I looked up at the clouded sky.

A storm was brewing on the horizon as seen by the clouds above that were growing darker and darker with each second that passed.

“Ayuseya’s curse was similar, but hers was cast with the help of Black Magic. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to study your curse, Shanteya, but I do wonder if this was the case. He could have made it so that there were those who could act as his representative and cancel out the execution brought on by the curse.” he told me.

“It’s too late to ask him now anyway...” I said and then glanced over at his dead remains. “Illsy... how is Ayuseya doing?” I asked him.

“She’s... recovering.” he replied and closed his eyes for a moment.

His silence spoke volumes. The journey to Teslov was definitely not one of leisure, and to see her home country’s real face for the first time in her life had definitely came as a shock to her. While we were back on Illsyorea, I often listened to the rumors about Teslov, but when I approached them about it, she often found something else to do just at that right time. Ayuseya had been avoiding any and all connection with that place, that was why I could only guess how difficult it must have been for her to step up and face the truth that had been hidden from her all these years.

“I miss Bachus and Anette...” I told Illsy.

“You’ll get to see them soon.” I said as he embraced me.

After our little moment was over, I canceled out all of my clones, and my Magic Energy pool returned to its original size. The first thing I did was to absorb into my Storage Crystal all the books in the Guild Master’s office and then those in his private chamber. That room was located on the other side of this office, following a hidden corridor behind a fake bookcase. It was bigger and far more spacious, with big marble doors leading to adjacent rooms on the left and right side of it. One led to his personal armory, another to his collection of clothes from various parts of the three continents, there was one for his personal treasury, which was by no means humble. There was also one that led to his personal alchemy laboratory, where he concocted his many poisons and antidotes. There was also a slave room here, where I found seven women who wore nothing but rags.

They looked injured, so I asked Illsy to heal them, but what he told me next was rather shocking.

“Look at the holes on the marks on the left and right side of the temples. They have been lobotomized... Now, they are nothing more than human vegetables.” he spoke in a sad tone of voice, but from the gaze in his eyes, it didn’t seem like this was the first time he saw something as terrible as this.

“There’s no way to fix them?” I asked, feeling a little pity for these poor women.

“No. There’s a lot I learned about the human body over the years, but how to restore someone from this state isn’t one of them. Well, it’s not impossible, but...” he said as he knelt next to one and lifted her chin up. There was only an empty gaze that lacked the spark of a soul behind it. “I don’t know if they will be the same as before or a completely new individual... be it for the best or worse.” he looked back at me.

“What about their memories?” I asked.

Illsy shook his head “This lobotomy, from what I can see, was done in a way that would have astounded even the neurosurgeons of Earth. The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for higher-level cognitive process had been more or less extracted. Although you would not die from this, your ability to inhibit certain impulses and the overall ability to think would become almost impossible. If they also went through some other mind-altering processes, then no matter what I do, I won’t be able to return them to normal. It would be simpler to just take out their brain and replace it with a new one.” he explained.

If this was something that not even Illsy could cure at the moment, then rather than let them live as vegetables for others to do with them as they pleased, it would be far better to simply end their suffering.
“Please step aside.” I told him.

When he looked into my eyes, he understood what I was planning to do, so he didn’t try to stop me.

I took out a dagger from my Storage Crystal and then used it to completely destroy their brain in one smooth strike. They were killed without suffering, and their souls were released to be healed by the gods above. This was the best we could do for them. It was our way of showing them pity.

Then, when everything was over, I took all the documents and books the former Guild Master had in his private quarters and then made my way up to the surface. Illsy was waiting for me there, sitting down on a rock and looking towards the jagged rocks that protected this island. He was rather handsome like this, and I couldn’t help but stare at his focused eyes, but then my gaze went down to the ridge of his nose, his smooth cheeks, and manly chin. I felt my heart beating faster as my gaze followed the trace of his nape, to his clothes and then his strong arms.

After so many weeks have passed without being held by him even once, I realized that this had been the longest time we spent separated ever since that auspicious day when my assassin group was sent to Fellyore.
It wasn’t wrong to admit that I was missing his embrace and that feeling of protection and desire he showered me with. If I could frame this image of his and then sell it out on the market, I think all of my sister-wives would end up fighting in an auction for it, while noble ladies from all across the lands would drool upon glancing at it.

Then again, I wouldn’t find it surprising if this mesmerizing effect of his was something only the few of us who held the title of his wife were affected by it. Really now, is it possible that the way we look at this handsome husband of ours is the same as he looks at us? I wondered and then with a soft smile on my lips, I walked up to him.