Illusion.

The ability to ensnare the mind of anyone in a flawless, self-contained world. It was the most dangerous kind of psychic attack. It didn't harm the body directly, but by fooling the senses, it allowed the attacker to neutralize a target without a fight.

Levi knew the move well; it was a common, highly refined skill in the world of the novel, reserved for the elite sorcerers.

The man hadn't actually sliced Levi into pieces. Instead, he had convinced Levi'sq mind that his head, arms, legs, and waist were separated and disconnected.

The result, however, was just as effective as a physical attack. His brain, accepting the illusion as reality, had shut down the communication lines to his limbs. His body was now a broken puppet, his senses cut off from his consciousness.

He was awake, aware of his frantic fall down the hill, yet utterly helpless. The man had used a single, silent glance to turn Levi's own nervous system against him, ending the confrontation before it even began.

The middle-aged man, began to slide down the sloped hill, dragging Levi by his collar. A self-satisfied, silly smile stretched across his face. It didn't take an expert to realize he was dreaming of world domination.

Levi, despite his terrifying situation, sneered internally. The move was powerful, yes, but it was still just a G1 (Grade 1) technique. He was already middle-aged; his path in the world of true sorcerers was sealed. He had peaked.

Levi wasn't hating on the dude unnecessarily, he was just stating the fact.

They soon reached the multi-terrain truck. The vehicle came to a smooth stop, and two people hopped out. The first was a second middle-aged man, who looked utterly ordinary.

The second was a woman, late twenties or early thirties, with noticeable curves— a "big butt woman" in Levi's assessment.

The ordinary-looking man frowned at Levi's limp body. "What's your name?". He asked in a cautious voice.

When Levi didn't respond for several moments, the atmosphere turned awkward. Just as the ordinary man was about to make a move in anger thinking that Levi was ignoring him, the younger woman tapped his shoulder.

"Leon attacked him with an illusion, look at him face". She said simply.

Leon, suddenly snapping out of his own self-congratulatory daze, realized his mistake. "Oh, right! Sorry about that". He muttered, sounding genuinely apologetic.

However, before Leon released the paralysis, the ordinary man quickly and expertly tied Levi with a sturdy rope. Only then did Leon break the illusion.

Feeling returned to Levi's body in a painful rush. The broken connections snapped back, flooding his mind with the agonizing ache of his bruised knee and bruised ribs. The ordinary man immediately pressed him.

"Alright. What's your name, and what are you doing in this forest? Are you all alone, or where is your crew?".

"My name is Rambottom". Levi said, the word sounding dangerously close to "Round Bottom."

The trio stared at him in confusion. Levi quickly shook his head, wincing at the pain. "Sorry, I was still thinking about her". He said in embarrassment. Despite not saying a name everyone knew who he was talking about.

Leon, ever the daydreamer, subconsciously nodded. "Yeah, I know how that feels." He coughed awkwardly into his fist when he felt the woman's sharp eyes on him.

The initial awkwardness quickly faded. The ordinary-looking man— Levi noted he still hadn't given his own name— stared at him with narrowed eyes, dismissing Levi's "thinking about her" excuse.

With a grunt, he hauled Levi, now tightly bound, into the back of the multi-terrain truck.

The moment Levi was thrown onto the cold metal floor, his internal sneer deepened, but his stomach turned with genuine horror. This wasn't a rescue. He had landed squarely in a human trafficking operation.

Crammed against the rear wall was a large metal cage. Inside, nine other people— men and women of various ages— were tied and huddled together, their faces etched with despair.

Levi was too large, or perhaps too newly acquired, to fit. Instead, he was simply tied to the floor near the cage.

Still not ready to accept reality he foolishly asked the individuals in the cage stupid questions.

With shinning eyes he asked. "Did they save you guys too?". He was met with looks of pity and anger.

As the truck roared to life and began to rumble through the rough terrain, Levi's internal spy network— his ears and eyes— went to work. He learned several things quickly.

First, they were indeed in the Southern Domain, deep within a massive, overgrown forest— the kind of wild, dangerous territory that served as a perfect, untraceable trade route.

Second, the group was exactly what they seemed human traffickers. The ordinary man was the likely leader, pragmatic and cautious. Leon was the muscle, powerful but vain. And the woman— the "big butt woman"— was the scout and information broker. And a young adult of seventeen.

Third, the group was headed for a massive buyer in the southern domain, a notorious wealthy woman known for needing "fresh stock" for "extracurricular activities". Before bed times.

Not the one to judge but Levi ended up confused, why would the wealthy woman need people for "extracurricular activities" before bed?.

Two grueling days passed. The truck barely stopped. Levi's injured knee and bruised ribs ached constantly, a pain amplified by the rough ride. He spent the time watching the miserable captives in the cage and wondering what the "extracurricular activities" were?.

"Maybe tennis? Or football? No stupid you can't football in a cramped space of a bedroom". Levi muttered underneath his breath.

Levi kept praying for divine intervention, to prepare, he had secretly channeled and stored a lot of his origin energy into his stomach acid, causing a subtle, painful bloat. Despite the torment, he was at least given food to eat.

Their journey was frequently interrupted by feral animals. Just now, they were under attack by a pack of three-eyed cats, predators the size of small refrigerators. They weren't individually powerful, but their numbers were a problem.

"Finally!".

Levi finally slipped out of the ropes tying him down. Luckily, they had just had lunch when the attack began, and the back door of the truck wasn't fully locked from the outside.

Levi quickly slipped out, only to come face-to-face with the milky-white body of one of the twin-headed worms.

"Damn, I forgot about them!". Then an idea struck him. Turning, Levi faced the trapped people with a reluctantly heroic expression.

"It would have been easier to escape by myself, but I reluctantly release you". He announced. He grabbed a large stone lying nearby, using the blunt of it to slam into the lock, snapping it open and releasing the captives.

Just then, the worm let out a piercing cry. The sound broke Leon's focus on defending the perimeter. He whirled around to see the open cage and the terrified prisoners scrambling out.

Another cry came from the worm, as one of the escaped men— in his twenties— slammed sharp branch into its body.

But Leon's attention snapped to a figure fleeing at the furthest edge of the clearing. He saw the lavender-haired bastard running away.

Leon gritted his teeth, knowing he couldn't attack from this distance, but he knew who could.

"Cliff! Look, that bastard is getting away!". Leon yelled at the top of his voice.

Cliff, the ordinary-looking man, turned. True to Leon's words, he saw the figure with the exotic, lavender hair fleeing.

To Cliff, Levi wasn't just an escaped prisoner; he was a bag of money running away— the wealthy woman would pay extra for that hair.

Disengaging from his fight with a cat, the seemingly ordinary man bent down, picked up a stone, and threw it with all his strength.

The pebble curved through the air and slammed accurately into Levi's ankle, sending him tumbling down the sloped ground.

"Ed, quick, after him!". Leon yelled to the seventeen-year-old, who immediately took off in Levi's direction.

******

Levi was sprinting away when a sharp pain exploded in his ankle, he hadn't seen it, but he felt the impact of the pebble as it slammed into him. The force sent him tumbling violently down the sloping ground. He rolled, crashing through brush and dirt, until he finally splashed into the shallow edge of a river.

"Fuckk!!!". Levi cursed out loud, the sound raw with agony. The small stone was lodged deep in his ankle, causing massive, throbbing pain that ripped through his body.

He lay there, half in the water, his strength gone. The relentless chain of events— the creature, the tigers, and now these traffickers— had broken his spirit.

"I quit. I quit". He muttered out in anger, resigning himself to his fate. He had only killed a heroine, only to fall from one brutal problem to the next. If this endless torment was the price of being a villain, Levi was officially done.

Just then he felt the connection of the tiger strengthen. His eyes lit up, after the time the Leon paralysed him with the illusion he had lost control of the tiger.

It was only after illusion was released that he could feel the connection, and using his authority he called the tiger from where ever it was.

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