149 "I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me" ahh situation

Roy sank his consciousness into the mental realm.

"So this is what your mental world looks like... How utterly... bizarre."

Roa's voice echoed in his ears.

"Strange, strange... truly strange. Are you even human?"

Roy lifted his gaze to the man attempting to seize control of his body.

For Roa, Roy's physical form had been an object of envy for some time. Ever since that fateful night when Nrvnqsr Chaos had been mercilessly crushed by Roy, Roa had set his sights on this nearly perfect vessel.

Endless reserves of magical energy, an extraordinary magic circuit, unique techniques, and even a reality-bending ability like Marble Phantasm. To say he wasn't tempted would be an outright lie.

However, the demise of Nrvnqsr Chaos served as a stark warning, confronting Roy directly was a fool's errand. If Roa wanted this body, he would need a more calculated approach.

Yet, Roy's strength wasn't his only concern. The formidable allies surrounding him... the Magician of the Fifth Magic, the Grand Pupperter, the White Princess, and even the Tohno Family... were all significant obstacles.

Thus, Roa devised a meticulous plan.

He sought out Vlov Arkhangel, the perfect pawn, baiting him with the prospect of killing the Princess. The goal was to lure her and Roy into his trap, dividing their forces and isolating Roy. Although Merem's unexpected interference complicated things, it ultimately didn't matter.

Through careful observation, Roa had uncovered Roy's fatal flaw.

Compassion.

In battle, Roy would always avoid harming civilians, unwilling to drag innocent lives into his conflicts. He would even grow angry or mournful over their deaths... a weakness Nrvnqsr Chaos had confirmed with his life.

This weakness was the key.

If Roy were a traditional magus, cold and indifferent, Roa would have struggled to outmaneuver him. But with his compassion, the strategy became clear.

The plan was set in motion:

Step one: Direct waves of Dead Apostles to attack Alice Kuonji, forcing Aoko Aozaki to defend it.

Step two: Ambush Touko Aozaki and the girl accompanying her along the way.

Step three: Ignite chaos within the city by setting fires and turning civilians into Dead Apostles, forcing the Tohno Family into a desperate defense.

The aim was simple: weaken Roy and Arcueid by eroding their support system, isolate them, and force them to face Vlov Arkhangel. Roa would then intervene at the opportune moment.

He had promised Vlov that they would work together to eliminate the Princess and Roy, with Vlov gaining the Princess's heart to lift his curse, and Roa claiming Roy's body. They had even agreed to set aside their grudges temporarily.

Of course, Roa had no intention of keeping that promise. Instead, he deliberately misled Vlov, ensuring the Princess was drawn away and delayed elsewhere. As for Vlov's confrontation with Roy, Roa made no effort to disclose information about his Reality Marble.

Aware that Roy might avoid using his Reality Marble to protect civilians, Roa banked on the resulting handicap forcing Roy into an exhausting battle against Vlov.

Roa didn't mind if things didn't go as planned. If Roy unleashed the Reality Marble and won, Roa could escape amid the chaos or die and prepare for the next reincarnation. Either outcome was acceptable.

But fortune smiled on him this time.

Roy's injuries were unprecedentedly severe, presenting Roa with the perfect opportunity to act.

Abandoning the frail body of SHIKI Tohno, Roa used his reincarnation magecraft at the moment of death, aiming to seize Roy's body.

The spell succeeded.

He entered Roy's mental realm, ready to claim his prize.

Yet what greeted him was not what he had expected.

An endless expanse of white stretched in all directions. No memories. No visions. Nothing but a vast, empty void.

A pale-faced man stood in this endless whiteness. His long, disheveled hair framed his sturdy figure as he wandered aimlessly, his hollow gaze filled with confusion.

Then a voice broke the silence.

"You've arrived?"

Roa noticed Roy's arrival. In an instant, he flickered forward, appearing right in front of Roy. His hollow eyes locked onto Roy's, brimming with undisguised malice and venom.

"What is happening here?"

"Why don't you take a guess?"

Roy gazed at Roa, whose fury boiled into impotent rage. A faint smile lingered on Roy's lips.

Raising his hand, Roy attempted to manipulate his mental world, just as he had done in the dream with Merlin.

The moment the thought crossed his mind, the blank expanse of his mental realm transformed. In the blink of an eye, it became a boundless sea of flowers... an idyllic, isolated paradise.

As expected, the authority over this world remained firmly in his hands.

Roa, on the other hand, was startled by the sudden shift. He immediately distanced himself from Roy, retreating to the farthest edge of this new realm. His incorporeal form flickered, becoming even more unstable.

Realizing the cause of this change, Roa turned sharply, fixing Roy with a venomous glare.

How is this possible? Why can he control such an immense mental world?

But it didn't matter. Even if he couldn't corrupt a mental realm of this scale, all he needed was to destroy Roy's consciousness. The man had foolishly entered his own mental realm... how convenient.

"Die!"

Roa, a master of reincarnation magecraft, might have been physically weaker than many other Dead Apostle Ancestors, but when it came to understanding and manipulating souls and mental energy, few could rival him.

Though Roy's strength was formidable in the outside world, this was the mental realm... a battleground of souls and spiritual power. Here, no external strength could help him.

"Just surrender your body." Roa's eyes turned a chilling shade of bluish-violet as he unleashed a devastating mental assault on Roy.

"I'll make good use of your body... slaughter Arcueid and that fool Merem. After that, it'll be Altrouge's turn, and then all those pathetic Executors who dared to chase me. I'll settle every debt they owe me!"

"Oh? Quite an ambitious plan you have." 

"Still, looking at you like this, I can't help but find you... pitiful."

"Pitiful?" Roa barked a harsh laugh. "At death's door, and you still have the audacity to mock me?" He sneered cruelly. "Soon enough, you'll understand who the real pitiful one is!"

As his words fell, the flower-filled realm rippled. A strange mental wave surged through the air, cutting directly toward Roy. The disturbance spread like concentric ripples on the surface of a calm lake, an anomaly in the tranquil world.

Roy stood motionless, making no attempt to evade the attack. He waited, calm and unflinching, as the assault approached.

As he anticipated, when the mental attack struck him, it left no mark. Not a trace of pain, harm, or discomfort. In fact, he felt nothing at all.

It was as if a grain of sugar had dissolved into warm water, disappearing without a trace.

___

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