Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Raif Karsaal triggered his movement-type Skill, advancing directly toward Eren.

The latter appeared to be struggling to maintain his stance given his current condition.

The bleeding from his pierced heart had mysteriously halted, but Raif understood that this was merely a temporary measure Eren had taken to prolong both his life and the battle.

"Aha!"

He let out a scream as he charged Eren with his broadsword. Channeling mana into his weapon, the elemental runes illuminated. As a Ranker proficient in Body-strengthening arts, Raif still had access to a variety of Skills. This was the advantage he had over the traditional Body Cultivators.

Utilizing his water-element affinity, he enveloped his broadsword in potent A-Ranked water-element mana. He wielded his Elemental Attainments with exceptional proficiency, which was surprising considering the Path he had chosen for himself.

From Jen's order to charge to Raif's swift preparations as he approached Eren, all of this unfolded within a fraction of a second. As he neared Eren, Raif intended to lock eyes with his adversary before bringing an end to his life.

'You have accepted your defeat, huh?'

Observing Eren with his head down, gazing at the ground, Raif believed that the man had resigned from the fight and embraced his impending fate.

"It's okay to give up sometimes. Let me grant you a clean death."

Raif muttered to himself as he approached within arm's reach of Eren as if offering the man the last rites in his own mind.

Raising his broadsword, Raif swung it downward, releasing a concentrated burst of water-element mana that transformed into a lethal flying slash attack. The attack sliced through the air, aiming to bisect Eren vertically.

The sheer force generated a sonic boom, showcasing Raif's physical power and the elemental aspect of the water-element mana he had cultivated. The existence of this flying slash attack created atmospheric pressure around it as it tried to dispel the compressed form of mana in the form of waves.

Swoosh. Zoom. Boom.

The flying slash attack struck Eren's body forcefully, propelling him 30 steps backward. Raif was on the verge of relief, witnessing his successful attack on Eren. Already planning his next move, he debated whether to assist Jen or confront Horen, with whom he had clashed earlier.

'Hmmm? Wait a minute. This feedback from Skill is odd. Something's off.'

Raif thought to himself, noticing Eren's body remained entirely intact despite the direct hit from his broadsword. However, that wasn't the peculiar part. What surprised him was the failure of the weapon Skill he had employed against Eren.

All the water-element mana he had invested in the Skill had disappeared without his consent, as if someone had forcefully taken control of his Skill and dispersed it into thin air. It made him question whether he had really attacked Eren with his Skill earlier.

'What the fuck did he do? I didn't sense him casting any Skill to counter. Then how did he do that?'

Raif regarded Eren with curiosity, and as their eyes met, a transformative shift occurred in the surrounding environment. It was as though the world itself was morphing into something ominous.

'This… what the fuck. Those eyes... What the hell are those eyes?'

Raif questioned in dread, fixating on Eren's eyes or the lack thereof. Indeed, Eren no longer had eyes; his eye sockets appeared hollow as if his eyeballs had been stolen.

Instead of eyes, those who dared to gaze into Eren's hollow sockets were met with an all-consuming void, seemingly capable of drawing in the souls and consciousness of onlookers.

Raif felt an intimate and profound disturbance. His soul had been affected by the ocular Skill Eren had unleashed. However, manipulating the targets' psyche was not the sole capability of Eren's Unique Skill.

Having transformed into a unique Skill, Eren's [Skill: Unreal Reflection] began to tamper with the reality surrounding him and his adversary. It was an ocular Skill that ceased to remain just as an ocular Skill.

The laws of reality underwent a profound transformation right before the spectators' eyes, and there was no recourse to halt the change. It was as if someone was introducing new colors to an existing painting, adding a few personal touches that couldn't be avoided.

Raif sensed that the world around him had been reshaped by an omnipotent force, an unprecedented experience for him. It felt as though he had been transported to an alternate reality, one intricately interwoven with his present surroundings in a peculiar juxtaposition.

The newly summoned world, a creation of Eren's ocular Skill, featured blood-red skies and soil, an expansive desolation strewn with bone heaps. The remains of monsters and humans, in hues of white and yellow, are scattered across the landscape, accompanied by various skulls from diverse beings and beasts.

Raif and his teammates couldn't discard these added elements of the altered reality as illusions anymore. Because they could actually step on the bones and skulls littered all over the ground. They could feel a tangible form of bloodlust that surrounded them.

Abruptly, a red moon materialized in the sky, and crimson lightning crackled through scarlet clouds. These illusory elements seamlessly melded with the tangible features of the isolated dimension, generating an alternate reality under Eren's command.

'This… Did he have this Skill from the beginning? No… It can't be. And what the fuck kinda Skill is this? Is… is it a blessing from some unknown god? Wait– what about Jen and Yugi?'

Raif quickly turned around to look at his teammates. And for better or worse, he got the answer he was looking for.

Raif realized that he was not the sole target of Eren's Unique Skill. Both his allies, Jen and Yugi, and Eren's teammates, Horen and Vasco, found themselves drawn into this altered reality.

They all had stopped moving, the shocked expressions on their faces were enough of an indicator for Raid to conclude that Eren's Skill had indeed affected the world around them.

An ocular Skill that blurred the distinction between what was real and what was unreal.