Eyolian ducked under the spear aimed at the eye slit of her helmet. She took a few steps back, but the spear disappeared, along with its wielder.

  She retreated further, focusing her senses only on her immediate surroundings, not extending them too far. She was surrounded by enemies, yet she couldn't see them.

  Eyolian had regained her senses against the formation that targeted perception by enhancing them with mana, which allowed her to evade and counterattack.

  However, her vision remained unchanged due to the illusion surrounding her.

  Since the illusion was also the result of a formation, she simply couldn't escape it, see through it, or nullify its effect. She could only navigate through it with the utmost caution and awareness.

  Eyolian had been able to negate the effect of the formation that targeted her senses, unlike the illusion formation, because the former affected her directly. As long as she noticed it, she could resist its effect by sharpening her senses.

  But she couldn't do the same for the illusion formation, as it didn't target her directly but rather the surroundings. To break free completely, Eyolian would have to destroy the formation's nodes or whatever supplied it with mana.

  Her current situation was different from the illusion she encountered in the town while protecting Lord Edric. She had escaped that illusion by killing the mage responsible, but she couldn’t do that now.

  All she could do was defend herself passively. But Eyolian had no intention of staying on the defensive for long.

  She could cast a large-scale spell to destroy the environment along with the enemy, but she preferred to conserve her magic, keeping it for a more dire threat.

  Instead, Eyolian sprinted toward a specific location within the forest. She wasn't worried about her senses leading her in the wrong direction, as she had already recovered them.

  She weaved through the trees, dodging every trap and attack launched at her. Some she merely evaded and continued running, while others she had to counter.

  Yet, one thing was common among all the attacks she faced—they aimed to hinder her rather than kill her.

  Eyolian didn’t know why, but she didn’t dwell on the thought.

  Because there was one person, without a doubt, who was aiming directly for her head. It was the spear-wielding enemy from before.

  ‘Maybe because I killed one of them?’ Eyolian didn’t focus too much on the idea, as the sight of a vast lake came into view.

  The lake was her destination.

  Its surface stretched out like a glass mirror, reflecting the gray and dark blue hues of the sky. Raindrops struck the surface, creating ripples that expanded slowly before vanishing—only for the process to repeat endlessly.

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  Eyolian came here because she needed a massive source of water. Not to use in a spell, but to see through the illusion.

  Water was an excellent conductor of magical energy, and if the lake was within the illusion’s field, her trained eyes could detect distortions in the mana flow. This could ultimately lead her to the illusion’s source, its weak point, or more specifically, the nearest mana supply node.

  The spear came again, aimed at the back of Eyolian’s helmet. At the last moment, she dodged to the side and reached out to grab the spear.

  The wielder lowered his spear to avoid her grip. But instead of retreating, he made the mistake of attacking.

  Eyolian didn’t dodge but instead cast a magical barrier around herself to stop the spear.

  She had already obtained what she needed from the lake, so now it was time to finish off the pests that had been bothering her the entire way.

  Her outstretched hand didn’t stop but continued forward, striking the wielder. She couldn’t see him—only at the moment of impact.

  Like everyone else in this organization, he was also dressed in black. But Eyolian couldn't bring herself to care.

  Her fist, aimed at his neck, instead grabbed the hand he used to block her. He thought he had escaped death, only for Eyolian to incinerate that hand to ashes in seconds.

  His desperate screams filled the air, but Eyolian ignored them and seized his throat, silencing him forever. His head exploded in flames, scattering in every direction.

  Eyolian didn’t stop there. The hand holding her sword moved for the first time, blocking a dagger that came from behind. At the same time, her other hand—still covered in the blood of the spear wielder—was forming a spell with impossible speed.

  Water from the lake seemed to lose its direction as it surged outward, soaking Eyolian’s leather boots. But that was only the beginning of the spell.

  While forming the spell, Eyolian fought with one hand against five opponents. Each of her sword strikes landed with explosive force, sending anyone foolish enough to block them tumbling across the ground.

  Eyolian preferred to dodge, but her armor made it slightly difficult, so she simply opted to attack instead.

  The water spread out until it reached the treeline, then began to rise into the air, forming a swirling barrier around Eyolian in a massive circle, with her at its center.

  The spell was complete, and Eyolian’s hand was free again. Without wasting a second, she caught an enemy off guard and launched a lightning spear at him, paralyzing him long enough for her to break free from their encirclement.

  Her enemies were concerned about the water barrier around them, which was rapidly shrinking in a threatening manner, but they were forced to ignore it because Eyolian was the greater danger.

  She dashed toward the barrier and passed through before it could trap her. They attempted to do the same, only to crash into it forcefully, falling back.

  They raised their swords and daggers to try and cut through it, but Eyolian thickened the water wall and increased its rotation, making it more durable. She could no longer clearly see their figures—only their general movements.

  Her hand began forming another spell. Small arcs of blue lightning danced across her palm.

  She waited until they had gathered in sufficient numbers around the water barrier before releasing the lightning, one after another.

  The surface of the water barrier flickered with arcs of electricity, while the barrier itself shrank at an accelerating pace. The five enemies were trapped inside, but Eyolian couldn't see their expressions or hear their screams. She had no intention of staying to watch.

  But before leaving, she stripped the headless corpse of its black clothing, then removed all her own armor, standing nearly naked in the open.

  She donned the enemy’s black garments, which were slightly loose, but she didn’t plan on wearing them for long.

  Before departing for the location the lake had helped her pinpoint, she burned what remained of the corpse to ash that stuck to the ground beneath the rain and tossed the armor she had entered the forest with deep into the lake.

  Now, it was time to investigate this organization and uncover their true objective.