When Alaric's voice rang out beside her, the woman instantly understood, it was a trap.
Although the mist obscured vision, the blindfolded woman had long since forsaken her sight.
To seal away that forbidden pair of eyes, she had completely bound her vision, relying only on hearing, touch, smell, and magical perception to sense the world around her.
Therefore, when her opponent cast a mist spell against her, she could only sneer inwardly.
To use mist magic against a blind woman, who exactly did he think he was mocking?
Perhaps for most who depend on their eyes, a fog spell could drastically limit combat effectiveness. But for this woman, though the magically conjured mist might faintly disturb her perception, that was the extent of it.
Even though her attempt to pinpoint the opponent's position through sound had failed because of his illusionary sound magic, she still sensed his location almost instantly within the mist through smell and magical awareness.
So, she struck, determined to make her enemy pay for underestimating her.
And then, she fell right into his trap.
Seventh-tier spell: Simulacrum. Its effect, creating a partially real clone of a living creature, not unlike the Shadow Clone Technique from Naruto.
Seventh-tier spell: Sander's Phase Concealment. A spell Alaric developed based on Phase Door, allowing one's body to hide within a temporarily created phase that overlaps with the physical world.
Anything within that phase exists as though in another dimension, able to perceive but not interact with the real world.
The woman didn't know these spells by name, but that didn't stop her from realizing that the mage had woven a complex trap for her.
The fog wasn't meant to blind her, it was meant to dull her instincts and make her underestimate Alaric.
And now, what awaited her were Black Tentacles.
These dark tendrils, conjured from raw magic, didn't possess any particular powers, but they were legion.
Countless, writhing, like a mass of serpentine vines, they engulfed her in an instant.
At the sight, or rather, the sense, of these twisting black tendrils surrounding her, a chill of disgust coursed down her spine.
Instinctively, she felt the deep, malicious intent emanating from her foe through them.
'I can't let these things touch me!'
That was her first thought.
Yet the earlier burst of aggression had put her in an awkward position.
No one could charge forward with such explosive speed and then instantly retreat in the opposite direction, it took a fraction of time to adjust, even if only a heartbeat.
And in that fleeting heartbeat, she lost her final chance to escape.
She could already feel the ground behind her pulsating as black tendrils sprouted one after another.
Desperately, she tried slashing through them with her short blade.
The result was abysmal.
Cutting through a tendril was like hacking at a massive, elastic rubber tire, it took tremendous effort, and the speed at which she destroyed them couldn't match the speed of their regeneration.
Her brute strength meant nothing against such resilient magic.
"Damn it!"
Trapped, the woman furrowed her brows.
"Am I really going to have to use that again?"
She wrestled with herself.
Behind her blindfold lay a terrifying power that constantly tempted her. That strength was overwhelming, if she unleashed it, there was no foe she couldn't face.
But…
Even with the divine essence within her still suppressing it, repeated use of that demonic power would eventually consume her.
One day, she would no longer be a demigod on the verge of apotheosis, but a true monster.
That was a fate she refused to accept.
Yet if she didn't use that power now…
Perhaps it was hesitation. Perhaps it was her will battling the corruption inside. But for a single instant during the fight, her mind wavered.
And she paid the price immediately.
A black tentacle finally broke through her defenses and seized her ankle.
Just one tendril, yet it was enough to throw her movements into chaos.
She had been dancing on a knife's edge all along, surrounded by countless writhing limbs, her blade flashing ceaselessly.
If not for her extraordinary skill and agility, she would've been captured long ago.
But now, with her ankle restrained, just for a second, her agility meant nothing.
And what awaited her next was,
At that moment, she made her decision.
'I can't be caught.'
She thought.
'My sisters still need my protection.'
'I swore not to use these eyes again… and it's only been a few days since I made that vow. But now, I have no choice.'
With a fierce tug, she tore off her blindfold.
The eyes long hidden beneath it were finally revealed.
Though sealed for so long, they were breathtakingly beautiful, cold, yet radiant with piercing light.
Framed by her strikingly elegant face, she looked every bit the perfect ice-cold beauty…
If one ignored the madness and murderous chaos swirling within those eyes.
As the sealed power broke free, even her expression began to change, from icy allure to something far more sinister and unearthly.
The unsealing of the Mystic Eyes was subtly warping her very nature.
And then came the true terror, the crimson rays that burst forth from her gaze.
Blood-red light swept through everything before her. Flesh, plants, anything alive, turned instantly to stone. Even the black tentacles were no exception.
In the blink of an eye, those writhing appendages froze mid-motion, transformed into grotesque stone sculptures.
They were fragile, crumbling to dust at the slightest touch.
The ability to turn the act of seeing into a magical attack, to make the gaze itself a weapon, was known as the Mystic Eyes.
And hers were the most powerful of all, the Mystic Eyes of Cybele.
Their effect was almost absolute: weak enemies were petrified unconditionally, and even the mighty, though they might resist full petrification, would still find their power greatly suppressed. One careless glance, and even they could turn to stone.
It was a power so fearsome that even gods could not ignore it.
Yet for the woman, it was also a double-edged sword.
Compared to the divine essence within her, these eyes were utterly alien, a force of pure demonic origin.
Though the Mystic Eyes had once again saved her from peril, she herself was now on the verge of being devoured by their power.
Her movements had already begun to grow erratic, wild, consumed by madness.