Screams rang out from the bystanders on the street as the monstrous harroth demon charged forward like an unchained bull. The nuns in the demon’s path scattered as they desperately tried to ready weapons and spells. One of the red-robed women managed to fire her crossbow, and Piper tweaked her illusion to make it look like the bolt embedded in the creature’s shoulder.

  She hurriedly cast [Wraithskin] on herself, disappearing from view. As the nuns tried to retreat to reform their ranks, she hurried over to Lukas. The young man hadn’t moved since the appearance of the demon, and he stared at it with wide eyes.

  “Lukas,” she whispered urgently. “Come with me!”

  Shaking himself out of his stupor, the young man glanced around. “Piper?”

  She nodded her head before realizing he couldn’t see her response. Then she grabbed his arm and started to drag him away. As she did, she cast [Shifting Veil] to make him disappear before tying it off with [Enduring Casting].

  Notifications were piling up in her vision, but she ignored them for now. She flinched as one of the nuns unleashed a torrent of darkness at the demon. The beam narrowly missed her and dug a two-meter-deep trench in the street, heading toward the harroth.

  Holy cow, that’s a powerful spell.

  When the spell reached her illusion, she hurriedly altered the spell to show the harroth almost casually knocking away the blast. Though in real life it probably would have melted a real demon. She then made her harroth leap forward and landed in the newly dug channel in the street before loping forward like a predator.

  The nuns had formed up into a line, those with shields and melee weapons at the forefront, while the spellcasters and ranged classes stood in the rear. They had been momentarily thrown off guard by her sudden appearance, but they had quickly fallen back on their training. Now they moved to engage the harroth.

  Pulling Lukas into the nearby alleyway, she searched for Selene. After a moment, she spotted the young woman crouching behind a broken barrel.

  When she reached the stack of crates beside Selene, she let her [Wraithskin] and [Shifting Veil] fall away. The sudden appearance nearly made the dark-haired woman jump out of her skin.

  Selene pushed back her dark hair and scowled. “What’s going on over there? It almost sounds like a…” she trailed off, her mouth falling open as the hulking demon rushed past the end of the alleyway.

  Piper mentally made the demon dodge a burning sphere of fire. As she did, a new notification appeared above the others.

  Congratulations! You have learned the spell, Phantom Flesh, Level 1.

  The illusions of a Deceiver are not limited to tricking and misleading their opponents. A particularly skilled caster can infuse a layer of mana into the surface of their spells to make them tangible. This spell allows your illusions to interact with the surrounding world, take damage, and even bleed.

  Piper’s brow shot up toward her hairline as she hurriedly scanned the text. This was an amazing upgrade to her spells. Now, she could use the illusions in potentially thousands of new ways against her opponents.

  Piper hurriedly cast [Phantom Flesh] on the harroth as a nun leapt down from the edge of the trench at the demon with a raised sword. Her mana drained out at an alarming rate, but she felt her illusion solidify in her mind.

  When the blade struck the demon, it glanced harmlessly off its thick armor. Before the nun could recover, the demon batted the woman aside with one of its taloned arms; she was sent cartwheeling through the air before slamming into the trench wall.

  A torrent of spells battered the demon, stripping away its skin and sending dark blood splashing across the crater in the street. The harroth roared and stampeded forward; its massive form crashed into the nun’s line, toppling them like pins.

  Piper grinned as she watched her illusory demon toss the nuns around. With their high-level bodies, she doubted any of them would end up seriously hurt. After all, she wasn’t using the talons or teeth. But it was intoxicating having a powerful demon under her control.

  “Is that a demon?” Selene shouted as the harroth roared again. “We need to get out of here!”

  Shaking her head, she realized she’d gotten too caught up in the excitement of controlling her illusion. With a thought, she sent her demon dashing down an alleyway on the far side of the street. She would wait until it was out of sight and then cancel her spell. Her entire plan would be ruined if they realized the demon was nothing more than an illusion.

  She had taken a few steps away from the street before she realized that Lukas was nowhere to be seen. She scanned the area, but there was no sign of him. At some point during the battle, he’d slipped away.

  Stomping her foot in frustration, she tried to decide whether she should pursue the young man or escape. Her gaze bounced between the nuns chasing after her illusory demon and Selene.

  Finally coming to a decision, she cast [Shifting Veil] to create a spinning portal in front of the harroth. Then she made the demon disappear through the illusion before cancelling both spells. The harroth—and the portal—blinked out, making the nuns giving chase stumble to a stop.

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  Piper reached out and grabbed Selene’s hand. She dragged her friend behind her as they raced away from the members of the Dawnward Host. At any second, the nuns were going to start searching for the infernal caster again. And she wanted to be far away when that happened.

  As they sprinted down the street, she recast [False Face]. Her hair shimmered as her long locks transformed from black to blond, and her face shifted, the angular lines becoming softer. In the blink of an eye, she looked like herself again.

  Thankfully, they blended in among the dozens fleeing from the sounds of battle. The nuns had unleashed some incredibly powerful magic, and anyone with a brain in their head knew to run when people with combat classes started fighting.

  Weaving through the crowd, she would have preferred to have concealed them with illusions, but she’d chewed through most of her mana in the battle. Her new spell used a crazy amount of the stuff. The next time she leveled up, she’d have to add serious points to Mana and Mana Regeneration.

  After a few blocks, they slowed, both of them panting with exertion. Though Piper’s exhaustion stemmed mainly from using nearly all her Mana. As they transitioned to a walk, she tried to look casual. They were far enough away from the battle that no one was running for their lives here. Though a few people were pointing in the direction of the battle with concerned expressions.

  After a few course corrections, they finally ended up in front of their inn. But instead of going inside, Selene took her hand and dragged her to the stables in the rear. The dark-haired young woman checked the stalls, then returned to Piper.

  “What was that? Did you lie to me about your class? How did you summon a demon?”

  Piper frowned at Selene. “I didn’t lie to you. That was just an illusion.”

  “That was a real demon.” Selene insisted. “I saw it knock a nun halfway into the Death Realm. Tell me the truth, or I’m done with you.”

  “That really was an illusion,” Piper said earnestly. “I simply have a spell that makes them feel solid.”

  Selene pursed her lips and tapped her foot on the floor. “Really?”

  Piper nodded. “I swear. I’d show you, but I’m completely out of mana.”

  “Promise?”

  Piper extended her hand, offering her pinky finger. When Selene quirked her eyebrow, she explained. “It’s a pinky swear. Take my finger, and then it’s an unbreakable promise.”

  Selene took the pinky finger and tugged on it. She released it and took a step back. “Did you see what happened to Lukas?”

  “No,” she shook her head. “What if they find him again? He knows too much about me.”

  “Well, we'll just have to find him first,” Selene said. “Though I have no idea how.”

  “What do you think will happen if they catch him?” Piper asked quietly.

  “I guess it depends on how they view what just happened.” Selene took out her dagger and balanced the tip on her finger. “If they think you were in league with him, he’ll probably be executed. But if they think you were just another egotistical higher-realm caster, they might let him go.”

  “I was just trying to help. Do you think I screwed up?”

  Selene sheathed her dagger in a smooth motion before stepping forward and rubbing Piper’s arm comfortingly. “Maybe try to be a little more subtle next time? A mammoth in a glassware store would have been more restrained that what you did.”

  In hindsight, Piper realized she’d gotten a little carried away. She’d spent so much time hiding her abilities; it had been nice to let loose a bit. And she may have carried a little grudge against the nuns after they’d arrested her and her friends. However, she’d try to be more subtle in the future.

  “What now?” Piper asked. “Should we hide for a bit?”

  “That’s the last thing we should do. We’ll go inside the inn, have some dinner, and then relax for the rest of the evening. They’ll be suspicious if we disappear.”

  Piper sucked in a deep breath before nodding. She felt jumpy after everything that had happened, and her head ached. But that was probably a lingering effect from the earlier wine, though.

  Together, they left the stables and headed toward the inn. Piper reached the front door first and held it open for Selene. After her party member had entered, she followed her inside.

  The room seemed more muted than usual, with everyone conversing in low tones. There was none of the usual boisterousness so common at the inn. The appearance of the nuns earlier seemed to have cast a pall over everyone.

  Piper scanned the room and spotted Ophelia sitting in the corner with a wooden sword in hand. Shockingly, the young woman hadn’t led a one-woman crusade to break her out of the Dawn Citadel. Ophelia was currently spinning her sword around on the table, much to the annoyance of those around her.

  Hurrying over, Piper was greeted by a broad smile as Ophelia leapt to her feet. Her friend’s wooden chair clattered down behind her, making the nearby patrons jump. A few of them grumbled under their breath.

  She drew Ophelia into a big hug, closing her eyes as she squeezed her tightly. Her friend returned the hug with just as much gusto, and they held each other for a second. Finally, a cough from Selene made them disentangle themselves.

  Piper looked her friend up and down. “Are you alright? Did the nuns do anything to you?”

  Ophelia shrugged. “Those stupid nuns didn’t even bother asking me any questions. When one of them figured out I hadn’t awakened, they sent me back to the inn.” She hesitated. “How did you escape? I was just getting ready to break you out. That coward Andreas wouldn’t even help me!

  “They let us go,” she said, hesitating to go into details in the crowded room.

  “What about Lukas…?” Ophelia looked genuinely distraught at the mention of his name. They must have bonded during their training sessions. Even though she’d brained him to protect Piper, she must really like him.

  Piper glanced around to make sure no one was listening. Then, in a whisper, she continued, “I don’t know what happened to him.”

  “We need to find him!”

  “There’s nothing more I can do at the moment.” She gave her friend a meaningful look to drop it, but as usual, the young woman missed the cue.

  “If you won’t do it, I will.”

  Selene stepped forward. “This isn’t the time or place to talk about it,” she said sharply. “Understood?”

  Ophelia frowned before nodding. Clearly, she didn’t agree with it. But anything they said here could get them all in trouble.

  “Why don’t we all have dinner?” Piper said, settling down at the table. As she did, she spotted Ophelia’s original tutor, Andreas, in the corner. Assuming he still wanted to work with them after her friend had tried to recruit him to assault the Dawn Citadel. Plus, she wanted him to teach her how to use a blade.

  If she wanted to survive, she needed to stop using Gorebark immediately. According to the nuns, every time she used [Demonic Mark] she was practically sending up a flare to mark her location. That meant she needed to learn to use a new weapon.

  A few minutes after she sat down, Iris, the innkeeper, appeared, her fiery hair crazier than usual. Without a word, she deposited three overflowing plates in front of them. On the plates were a kind of small roasted bird, mashed potatoes, and thick slices of bread slathered in butter.

  None of them spoke as they tucked into the meal. Later, when they were alone, they could discuss their options. But right now, they ate in silence, each of them lost in their thoughts.