"Break!"
Just as Leon decided to turn this place upside down.
The Aeon of The Hunt before him suddenly moved. It lowered the longbow in its hands, its target shifting from the Denizens of Abundance to him.
As if he were the greatest threat of all.
It seemed to be trying to break his psychological defenses by attacking his faith.
But unfortunately, Leon wasn't buying it.
As a veteran player of Earth Online, his values dictated that he would never kneel to anyone or hold any particular faith.
Leon did indeed see Lan as a senior.
But as for faith in him, it was practically nonexistent.
We're all just guys here, no one's better than anyone else. What's this 'respect' nonsense?
But even if Leon wasn't falling for it, it didn't stop him from laughing in anger.
"You're so OOC, what kind of crappy cosplay is this?!"
Leon said coldly, raising Vanquisher. Bow against bow, he didn't dodge or evade, meeting it head-on.
The true aura of The Hunt easily crushed the illusion before him!
"Don't you dare!"
For the first time, Leon was this angry. "Tainting the image of the senior who taught me how to draw a bow!"
How could Lan possibly aim His bow at me?
This disguise doesn't even try to match the character's personality. What a bullshit imitation, it's just plain disgusting!
"You pull a stunt like this, you sure your family's gonna be okay?"
Without any hesitation, Leon drew his bow. The sight of this imposter existing for even a second longer made his skin crawl!
He pulled the string back, and boundless energy of the Path erupted from his body!
A bright violet light flashed across Vanquisher's azure body, and in the blink of an eye, an arrow of light coalesced, nocked on the bowstring and ready to be fired!
Under the explosive power of an Emanator, the entire world was thrown into turmoil!
Without a doubt, once this arrow was loosed, everything would end on the spot!
Backed by sheer power, whether it was the Denizens of Abundance, the living planet, or this costumed imposter, all would be annihilated by this single arrow!
You think that's supposed to slow me down?
Haha, go tell that to my Vanquisher!
"The Reignbow Arbiter proclaims His will only through arrows of light, and now, I am His arrow!"
Leon was about to loose his arrow and end it all.
When suddenly, a surge of stirring music echoed by his ears.
In the blink of an eye, a dazzling meteor, blue on the outside and violet on the inside, streaked across the sky, leaving a trail symbolizing The Hunt in its wake!
This power came from the same source as his own.
He was all too familiar with its origin.
"Whoa, Senior?"
Leon's motion of loosing the arrow froze.
The meteor's appearance was so sudden, yet so perfectly timed.
The Reignbow Arbiter proclaims His will only through arrows of light.
Just as the imposter confronted His chosen agent, Lan did nothing more than 'tip' him an arrow of light, annihilating everything in the illusion with unstoppable force!
Zero-frame startup!
It was as if He were personally affirming the words Leon had just spoken.
Now, he was His arrow!
"Whoa, Brother Lan, you shouldn't have!"
Leon shouted cheerfully at the meteor, feeling incredibly touched.
Although he couldn't see Lan again, the arrival of this single arrow of light spoke volumes.
"Hee hee, we of The Hunt really know how to spoil our own!"
The illusion began to dissipate, just as expected.
An arrow from the Reignbow Arbiter—in all the universe, none could block it, save for a few other Aeons.
"Alright, let me see who's behind this setup. I'm gonna wreck them!"
The illusion collapsed on its own. Next, it was time for Leon to teach the tricky bastard who screwed him over a world of pain.
...
...
The Galaxy.
Wandering the universe, hunting the blessed of Abundance everywhere.
Lan, who was searching for traces of Yaoshi, withdrew his gaze from a certain location, then dispersed the longbow of pure energy in his hands.
The 'Vanquisher' in Leon's hands was His old companion, having fought against the Abundance with Him for many years.
His connection to it was very deep.
So, no matter what Leon was experiencing, Lan could sense the gist of it through Vanquisher.
While He didn't mind helping him solve some troubles on a whim, He would not presumptuously steal his prey.
The enemies and problems he encountered were still his to deal with.
Unless the person himself requested it, He would generally not interfere.
...
...
Meanwhile.
"Why... is this happening..."
The scene before him made Boothill retreat instinctively.
The few corporate dogs he had just shot and killed, after falling to the ground, their once-blurry faces suddenly took on the appearance of Argonians.
As if he hadn't just killed his enemies, but his own kin.
"Son of a glitch! It's fake! It's all fake!"
Boothill yelled, unable to accept it, his mental state clearly deteriorating.
"Come on out! You son of a glitch, show yourself!"
"You dare joke with me about the Argonians? I swear, you little sweet-talker, this ain't over 'til one of us is dead!"
With several gunshots in succession, Boothill fired wildly at the sky, as if trying to shatter this false heaven and force the true mastermind to show their face!
He knew from the very beginning that he had fallen into a trap set by an unknown enemy.
He'd just wanted to wallow in it a little longer, so he hadn't paid it much mind.
But now that he wanted out, Boothill realized he had no good way to break free.
"I'm awake! I'm awake!"
Boothill kept shouting this, trying to hypnotize himself back to reality.
But in the end, it was useless.
'Son of a glitch, what the hell is missing!'
Boothill screamed internally, agitated to no end.
Logically, this kind of illusion should disappear once it's seen through, so why in the hell ain't this thing playin' by the rules!
Bang!
Just as Boothill was racking his brain, a bullet shot straight at him!
He tilted his head instinctively, and the bullet grazed past his cheek.
Boothill turned his gaze to the shooter and froze for a moment.
It was a young cowboy with black and white, waist-length split hair, wearing a simple hat. He had a face identical to his own, only younger.
He should have been in his prime, full of vigor, but now his sharp eyes held nothing but hatred.
It was his past self.
Boothill fell silent.
"Argonian curse You damned beast!!!"
■■■ aimed the gun at him, shouting ferociously.
Boothill stood there, stunned.
Pathstriders of The Hunt are exceptionally accurate when it comes to intuition; it's no different from a powerful sense of crisis.
If your gut tells you something's off, then something is definitely off.
The self standing before him was the key to breaking this illusion.
The moment he saw him, Boothill understood everything.
If he killed him, it would all be over.
This was Boothill's immediate intuition.
Without a doubt, this intuition was clearly the most likely way to clear the stage.
Boothill was speechless.
He raised his gun, facing off against his past self, muzzles aimed at each other's heads, as if they could pull the trigger at any moment.
______
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