Watching Horitake walk across the surface of the lava completely unscathed, the demoness Kyojutsu's voice erupted from every corner of the illusion, shrill with desperation.
"How?! How is this possible?! How can the heat of magma not burn you to ash?!"
Horitake shook his head helplessly, looking for all the world like a weary professor dealing with a particularly slow student.
"I told you already. When it comes to illusions and matters of the spirit, it's all purely idealistic. Magma is hot, yes; it can incinerate almost anything. But in this place, it is a phantasm. It is a lie."
"In your mind, your lava can burn everything. That's fine for you. But it has nothing to do with me!"
"Because in my mind, I know none of this is real. Therefore, none of it can harm me. It doesn't matter if it's lava, or storms, or tsunamis, or earthquakes, or even meteors. Even if the entire world within this dream were to be annihilated, it wouldn't matter. As long as I believe I am safe, then I am safe."
In the office on the library's fifth floor, Kyojutsu sat frozen. Through her mental link, she listened to Horitake's words echoing within the dream. She was beginning to grasp his meaning—the true essence of "idealism"—but she still couldn't bring herself to believe it.
"That can't be right... How could anyone actually do that? You are inside an illusion I built! How can you remain unaffected?!"
Inside the magma-filled world, Horitake continued his stroll, answering her with measured calm.
"That is indeed the crux of the matter. Logically, being inside your construct, I should be subject to your rules. Why is it that no matter what you do, I remain unharmed? The answer is simple."
"It's because my spirit is stronger than yours."
"That's impossible!" Kyojutsu's denial was instantaneous. "I am Lower Rank Four! My Blood Demon Art is specifically designed for hypnosis and the construction of mental realms! My spiritual energy is naturally higher than any other demon's—even the Upper Ranks might not surpass me in pure mental fortitude! You are a mere human! How could your spirit be stronger than mine?!"
Wandering across the glowing orange surface, Horitake smiled and shook his head.
"Don't be so quick to jump to conclusions. And certainly don't think that just because you've become a demon, you are somehow superior. What of the Upper Ranks? Have I not defeated—and even decapitated—them? If I can kill them, is it so hard to believe that my spirit outclasses a Lower Rank like you?"
"The evidence is right before you. I am walking on your fire, yet I am untouched. Not only can I remain safe within your world, I can even... reverse our roles. I can take over. For example... like this."
As he spoke, Horitake leaned down and touched the surface of the churning magma with a single finger.
It was as if he had tapped the surface of a still pond. A ripple expanded outward from his fingertip, racing across the sea of fire. Wherever the ripple passed, the magma vanished. In its place, thick, heavy thunderclouds began to gather, crackling with violent purple electricity.
Rumble! Crash!
The sky groaned with the sound of thunder; the very air vibrated with the roar of a coming storm.
In a flash, the area surrounding Horitake was no longer a lake of fire. He stood atop a rolling carpet of dark, dense clouds that flickered with arcs of violet lightning.
The storm clouds surged and billowed, their imposing majesty enough to make the soul tremble.
Before anyone realized it, the purple-tinged thunderclouds had claimed half of the mental realm. The world was now split: the original magma flowed below, while the crackling storm gathered above. Two opposing forces, distinct and powerful, stood in a stalemate.
Back in the office, Kyojutsu stared at her notebook in absolute horror. She could feel the shift within the domain. She couldn't believe her eyes; she couldn't believe her own consciousness.
Someone had actually... reversed the roles within her own illusion. He had seized control of half her world!
How was this possible?!
Today had been a sequence of one impossible event after another for Kyojutsu. The constant shattering of her common sense, paired with Horitake's blatant defiance, finally pushed her past the brink of sanity.
"I won't allow it!"
With a shriek of rage, Kyojutsu gripped her pen and began to write frantically. She poured every ounce of her will into the notebook, commanding the magma to strike back.
Inside the dream, the world reacted.
The searing lava below grew restless. It began to churn and roll, boiling with a newfound ferocity. Thick plumes of smoke and the acrid, stinging scent of sulfur filled the air. Finally, with a thunderous roar, several pillars of molten rock—each meters thick—erupted from the surface. They hissed as they soared upward, claws of fire reaching for the clouds above.
The magma had been provoked. It sought to incinerate the storm.
Horitake, standing high above the chaos, looked down with a cold smirk.
"In the real world," he mused to himself, "I can't truly control the lightning of the heavens. But here... in a world governed by my own consciousness... there is nothing I cannot do."
With that thought, Horitake raised his hand and swung it downward in a sharp, commanding arc.
BOOM!
The thick clouds overhead seemed to roar in response. Violet bolts of lightning condensed from the mist, coiling into massive, jagged spears of electricity that struck downward with the force of a divine judgment!
For every pillar of magma that rose from the depths, a bolt of purple thunder crashed down to meet it.
The two forces collided in mid-air.
A series of concussive explosions rocked the realm. The massive pillars of lava were shattered and dispersed by the terrifying power of the thunder. The cooling rock fell back toward the surface like a pathetic, harmless rain of stone.
On the fifth floor, Kyojutsu was nearly vibrating with fury. Her pen blurred across the page as she desperately tried to rebuild the illusion and mount a counter-offensive.
Under her desperate writing, the magma transformed once more.
As the liquid fire surged and smoked, a massive amount of it began to gather and rise, coalescing into a distinct shape. The lava flowed and knit together until a colossal figure stood before the clouds.
A Magma Giant.
It stood at least twenty meters tall, a gargantuan entity composed entirely of white-hot molten rock. Its presence was suffocating, its power terrifying to behold. The giant tilted its head back toward the clouds and let out a roar that made the entire illusion tremble.
Then, with a tremendous burst of strength, the behemoth leaped. Its massive body soared into the air, fist cocked back to punch through the thick blanket of thunderclouds.
Horitake, watching from above, spoke softly to the wind.
"It's only polite to return the favor."
Note:
Hello everyone!!
I want to send my warmest New Year wishes to all of you. May the new year bring you all your wishes, along with good health and countless joyful moments with your loved ones!
Holiday Announcement:
To rest and spend time with my family, I will be taking a Lunar New Year holiday from February 15th to February 22nd, 2026. I will officially return on February 23rd.
During my break, I will focus on translating more new chapters so that when the holiday ends, I can release chapters regularly for you all!
Thank you so much for your continued support.
Happy Lunar New Year!