An Illusion of Will

Chapter 111: Death, Loss, and Betrayal - Part 1

Al tightly clenched the long-blade Elissa had given him. It was a Supreme Leaf's weapon made especially for Stubborn Will cultivators. it's weight familiar against his palm. 

His left hand gripped the heat-resistant scimitar, he had purchased before reencountering Elissa. The unique blade complimented his Heat Will. 

He was standing on a pentagon platform, looked at the night sky closing his eyes and focusing on the sound around him. 

Beside him stood Elissa, her gaze fixed on the commanding figure Hero Red Queen who treated Al and Elissa then the Heroes around them. 

The air crackled with anticipation, and in an instant, the pentagons beneath them activated. A brilliant flash engulfed them, and the western wall and crowd of Heroes disappered. They had teleported.

The sound entering Al's ear went from the friendly banter between the Heroes to cries of pain and screams full of confusion. In an instant Al, Elissa and six Heroes were teleported to a hellish battle ground. 

The 8 of them were quickly seized upon by hordes of Hybrids. Elissa's figure was immediately ripped to shreds by a monstrous snake with the head of a wolf. 

Elissa's figure erupted into nothingness it was some sort of illusion. In the blink of an eye, Elissa appeared several feet away, wielding a whip that cracked through the air. The leather weapon lashed out, connecting with the snake-wolf hybrid. The impact triggered a gruesome explosion, eradicating the Hybrid in one single attack.

Seizing the moment, Elissa invoked her Reflexive Will once more, the spell "Redux" echoing in her thoughts. The whip, animated by her Reflexive Will, struck again with formidable force. A giant lizard with an eagle's beak and wings was flying towards Elissa, it was sundered in half by Elissa's second strike.

Upon opening his eyes attacks descended upon Al from every angle - the sky, front, and back. His scimitar responded instantaneously, glowing red-hot in his grasp. With precision, he elevated his long-sword, focusing his Stubborn Will into it. The tip of its blade shot forth like a bullet, impaling the head of the hybrid descending from above which appeared like a giant beetle.

"Perfect Revert" Al thought activating the spell which restored his weapon back to it's original state. With such a weapon a Stubborn Will users gained an offensive capability. 

A horse with six legs and armored skin wielding a giant horn on it nose was mounted by an ape adorned with the arms and claws of a crab. The duo charged relentlessly from the front. 

Simultaneously, a spider with butterfly wings soared towards him from behind. Al countered with a graceful spin to evade the horse's horn, simultaneously wielding his blazing scimitar to cut through the oncoming assault.

In a swift and calculated move, Al's blazing scimitar clashed with the ape's right claw, cutting effortlessly through the armored limb. Continuing the fluid motion, he swung his longsword, cleaving the ape's body in twain. The horse-rhino, now obstructing the spider's advance.

Seizing the opportunity, Al harnessed his Heat Will, creating an intense field of heat around him. The surrounding ground ignited, setting the battlefield ablaze and forming a protective barrier against the encroaching horde of hybrids. The flames roared, casting an ominous glow on Al as he prepared for the next wave of adversaries.

In a heartbeat, both Al and Elissa had pivoted, positioning themselves on opposite ends with an instinctual synchronicity. However, the grim reality for the remaining six heroes unfolded less favorably. Their reactions were sluggish in comparison.

The battlefield's sky was a chaotic swarm of flying hybrids, each posing a unique threat. Two of the heroes found themselves plucked from the ground, and devoured in a blink of an eye.