Chapter 38 – A World of Illusions

Luisina had entered Aokami, the wildest region of Yukihana. Endless forests blanketed in snow, home to masterless rōnin and untamed beasts that prowled between the frozen trees.

It was no fortified bastion like Kurogane, but their mission here was no less dangerous.

They were to capture Kurobane Senzō, leader of the Beast Clan—a half-Yuki winter wolf, feared even among his own. He was the true monster behind Latina’s nightmares.

He had been the one buying slaves in Cegris, treating them as livestock, fattening his wealth on the misery of others.

Ren had wanted to face him personally, to cut him down with his own hands. But he knew this fight wasn’t his to take.

This was a trial only Luisina and Latina could overcome.

Their final initiation into Opera had begun.

The closer they drew to Aokami’s capital, the more beasts assailed the caravan. Horses panted, soldiers staggered with exhaustion, and blood-stained snow marked the cost of their advance.

“I don’t think we can hold out much longer…” a soldier murmured, barely gripping his spear.

“We’re close to the capital,” Luisina replied firmly, her eyes hidden beneath the brim of her hat. “There’s no turning back now.”

She glared at him sharply.

“Or is it that you’ve no honor, soldier?”

The man swallowed hard and fell silent.

Then, a deep voice cut the air like a blade of ice. It did not belong to a man, but to a beast lurking in the shadows.

“You shouldn’t meddle where you don’t belong… rebels.”

Luisina stepped forward, discarding all theatrics.

“So we finally meet… General Kurobane.”

From between the trees emerged the silhouette of a half-Yuki with white hair and lupine eyes, fangs bared in a savage grin. His claws stretched long, gleaming like steel under the moonlight.

“How’s your father, Luis Fontaine?” he growled, his voice feral. “Still putting on those pathetic little magic shows?”

Luisina’s chest tightened. Her fists trembled with restrained fury. The memory of her father’s execution—carried out on the Shogun’s orders eight years ago—still burned deep in her heart.

Kurobane turned toward the other figure.

“And look what we have here… the elf with excess mana. Quite the prize. I see you’ve grown since that day.”

Latina’s breath caught. Her eyes fixed on him. It was him—the half-Yuki who had attacked her village, the one who had shattered her childhood.

Kurobane laughed, baring his fangs.

“Oh yes, I know you well. My beasts have been watching your every move since you stepped into my woods.”

A chorus of growls rumbled from the darkness. A pack of white wolves padded from the trees, surrounding the caravan with glowing eyes and slavering jaws.

“An ambush… typical of a cowardly slaver,” Luisina spat, snapping her fingers.

“I call it tactics.” Kurobane slowly extended his claws, lengthening and curving into blades of steel. “But don’t worry… no one will ever know you vanished in this forest.”

The soldiers clashed with the beasts, steel ringing against claw, the forest echoing with savage cries.

“Just like we practiced,” Luisina said, extending her hand.

Latina took it without hesitation.

“I wonder, Kurobane…” the illusionist’s voice rose above the chaos. “Are you the predator… or the prey?”

“I know all your tricks! Illusions don’t work on me!” the half-Yuki roared, lunging with his claws outstretched.

“Live Stage!” “Fantasy World!”

Both girls shouted in unison.

A massive illusory dome rose around them, plunging everything into absolute darkness.

“Wh-What the hell is this?! Where am I?!” Kurobane snarled, confused.

Suddenly, a spotlight flared on Luisina. She stood in the void, bowing gracefully like an actress greeting an invisible audience.

“Ladies and gentlemen… welcome to the grand finale of your lives!” she declared with theatrical flourish.

A soldier appeared beside the general and drove a blade straight through him. His body dissolved into snowflakes.

“An illusion! I knew it. My nose can’t be fooled.”

The spotlight went dark. At another point in the dome, Luisina sipped tea calmly while Latina charged a spell of light beside her.

“That little brat must be fake,” Kurobane laughed. “She doesn’t have any offensive magic.”

“Oh? Are you so certain… just because your nose tells you so? Or maybe… that’s an illusion too?”

The beam of light fired. Kurobane’s left arm split open in a deep gash. Crimson blood splattered across the snow.

“Ghh…! Impossible! That was… the real one! But my nose never lies!”

The spotlight over Latina flickered out, and she vanished from his sight.

“Even a simple spell can become lethal… if there’s enough mana behind it,” Luisina’s voice echoed. “And she has more than enough.”

“Enough games!” Kurobane lunged at Luisina, but her figure crumbled into a mirage the moment he touched it.

“Ironic, isn’t it?” Luisina’s whisper cut like ice. “This act wouldn’t be nearly so vivid without her. But tell me… what’s real, and what’s a lie? My words? This place? Or perhaps… your fears?”

“Coward! Show yourself!” he roared, slashing at empty air.

“Coward?” Luisina’s voice sharpened like a dagger. “That from the man who razed an elven village under the guise of a messenger of peace?”

“In war there are no forbidden tactics! That’s what separates the strong from the weak!”

Latina’s voice, soft as a spring breeze, whispered behind him.

“…Bind.”

Chains of light snapped shut around his body, locking him in place.

“N-no… this isn’t real! It can’t be—!”

Luisina snapped her fingers. In an instant, dozens of phantom soldiers surrounded the bound general.

“What’s real… is that you’ll receive what you deserve.”

Kurobane howled and tried to unleash his berserker form, but then—

“Magical Silence.”

Latina raised her hand. Her spell sealed his voice, stealing his roar, his chants, even his power.

“Being support…” she said calmly, “…also means curses and debuffs. You should have known that.”

The illusory soldiers struck. Blood stained his clothes, but not a sound escaped his throat. Shackled and silenced, the executioner fell to his knees… then to the ground, defeated.

Luisina’s illusory dome dissolved, and the world returned to normal.

Seeing their leader fall, the beasts howled and scattered into the forest, their ambush crumbling apart.

The victory was sealed.

Luisina and Latina slapped hands together, laughing between gasps.

“The performance of our lives…” Luisina whispered with a proud smile.

“And the first of many,” Latina answered, her eyes shining.

Thus, the two seized control of Aokami—the prefecture of forests and wandering clans. With Kurobane Senzō’s fall, the roads to the capital lay open.

Only one destination remained: the Shogunate’s capital itself.