Breaking Illusions

'This demon is using illusions to misdirect me, but it doesn't try attacking me directly. It had at least two opportunities now. Is it afraid of getting close or is it trying to tire me out?' Alexander thought as he watched closely for any changes in posture or stance from this monster that refused to die!

His eyes darted around curiously until they landed on the demon's eye itself.

'The line of sight! The demon needs to have a clear view of me to maintain the illusion!' Instantly, Alexander tried to calculate how best to exploit this weakness!

'A frontal attack won't work because I can't sense its illusion.' That meant there had to be some other way for him to deal damage to this demon without fighting directly against it! But what? He needed an angle that wouldn't reveal him as long as possible...

He quickly surveyed his surroundings again until an idea struck him: 'The roof!'

The roof of the cavern was littered with stalactites! Those, in turn, were covered by cracks! As long as he could crash enough of them, they could create a dust cloud big enough for him to hide in. Then he could just wait until this creature finished its illusion and exposed itself...and finish it off! This would work perfectly!

He gave himself two options: either crash all of them or just crash those closest to him...he chose the latter option without hesitation! Instantly all thoughts about crashing all hit their mark on purpose and vanished from his mind!

He moved toward those closest pillars as fast as possible! He didn't even worry about how much stamina this would cost him; nothing mattered anymore but defeating this demon! 'Then I'll just need some luck!' He prayed fervently that karma would smile upon him before he rushed forward again!

He crashed into one pillar after another until finally they crumbled under his blows and formed a large cloud above him! In an instant all thoughts evaporated from his mind; not even breathing existed anymore for him as he now focused solely on survival at all costs! Between waiting for the demon to tire him out and risking it all... His choice was obvious! He flew towards one last pillar that had not yet crumbled under his blows...and crashed into its base headfirst! With incredible speed and strength...he managed to break through its stone shell with just one blow; however...the demon's silhouette slowly appeared from behind this pillar!

'Sh-shit!' The demon's single eye stared at him intensely without blinking once! 'It saw me!' He thought in panic as well as fear but then immediately realized that this wasn't necessarily true: 'I have an advantage over this creature!' After all...he finally forced the demon to engage him in close quarters!

He immediately switched gears and launched an assault against the demonic figure behind that stone shell...only for it to twist around and strike him hard in the face with its fist! Alexander fell back against another stalagmite pillar that crumbled under his weight...and remained there motionless for several seconds before managing to get back up on his feet again!

'Damn, while that thing is definitely weaker than the hotel demon, it still is strong...' This creature did not seem prone to showing mercy either; however...he had made his move now and there was no turning back! 'I have to finish this now!' Alexander rose back up and charged toward the demon again! He had to do it before the dust settles!

With renewed vigor and fearlessness pushing him forward, Alexander charged at full speed toward the demonic figure behind that broken pillar. He swung his arm wildly in front of himself but at the last moment, instead of landing on its skin like he planned...his punch instead hit something else entirely: a stone pillar almost at its breaking point! It instantly broke down and formed a cloud of dust around him! In an instant...the cloud enveloped him like a giant ghostly shroud...and like a ghost itself...he disappeared from sight instantly!

Just before rushing towards the demon's last location, he had a sudden flash of inspiration. His father's meditation technique! What if he could use it to break through illusions? This time, instead of relying on his sight to determine the position of the demon, he used the mental technique that his father taught him. Instead of seeing with his eyes...he saw with his mind instead! His consciousness expanded beyond his body and he instantly was able to lock onto the demon's position.

What surprised Alexander the most, was that there were no dust clouds around him. The last few seconds of the fight were illusionary! The demon stood in the same position with its veins bulging around its eye.

'Now!' He immediately attacked the demon with full force without hesitation or reservation! He saw through its illusions once again with his mind's eye and struck hard against its chest with both hands as hard as possible! Immediately after striking its chest...it flew away from him like a rag doll and crashed into one of several stalagmite pillars.

'There was no notification... It is still alive.' It wasn't dead by any means but Alexander knew that now that he had a way of breaking its illusions, it was only a matter of time before it dies.

His next move would be simple: keep hitting it until it dies! With unwavering determination filling every fiber of his being...Alexander charged toward the rising figure beside that broken pillar. With every ounce of energy left in his body...he unleashed a flurry of strikes full of fury and rage towards that figure; after all...it was either him or the demon!

The demonic figure tried desperately to dodge each attack but couldn't avoid them all; each strike struck home with enough force to shatter bones or injure organs if not kill outright. The creature's eye was bulging out now from exertion but Alexander didn't care about it anymore; he just wanted this fight over with as soon as possible! Hopefully before dying from exhaustion himself! And then finally...after dozens of strikes landed on its chest...

[Confusion Demon Level 5 Defeated]

[Accumulated Soul Force +354]

Panting heavily, Alexander slowly turned around towards where he last saw the demonic figure before collapsing: "I did it!" He breathed heavily as relief washed over him like a wave after successfully defeating such an opponent. He sat down cross-legged and looked at his hands covered with bruises.

"I did it..." He repeated quietly as he smiled triumphantly at himself. "I actually did it..." As much as he wanted someone to acknowledge what he'd done, no one besides himself was witness to that. Nevertheless, he still laughed out loud. "I did it!"