Elaina stared at the reflection of her younger self behind the mirror. Her sorrowful eyes suddenly sharpened, transforming into the gaze of a woman who had spent her entire life stripping away the lies of thousands of people.
She stepped closer. The tip of her shoe tapped softly against the mirrored floor. Then, with a carefully fabricated look of sadness, she slowly brushed her fingers against the glass.
"As far as I remember... I was never this hysterical."
Elaina gazed at the little girl inside the mirror, who no longer resembled the person she once was.
Her chin lifted. Her eyes narrowed.
"Not even your illusion can imitate the scent of real sorrow."
The mirror trembled. The small figure faded like smoke swept away by the wind. The entire labyrinth of mirrors shook violently along with it.
A wave of pink energy spread from one end to the other. And from within the darkness, Huli Jing emerged once more.
This time, her expression had changed slightly. The enchanting sweet smile from before was now replaced by a faint trace of irritation.
"How clever, Human," she hissed. The long tails behind her swayed with restrained fury.
"But this game is far from over."
She snapped her fingers. In an instant, a hundred human silhouettes appeared around Elaina, surrounding her in a circle.
Their faces varied. Some were swollen with rage, others burned with vengeance in their eyes. Some cried. Others stared blankly into nothingness. Yet all of them shouted in unison from different directions.
"YOU RUINED MY LIFE!" "YOU FRAMED ME WITH LIES!" "I WAS NEVER GUILTY!"
The accusations pierced like arrows. Their voices merged into a storm of hatred, engulfing Elaina within a vortex of faces from her past.
From the upper stands, Libra visibly tensed, watching with concern. Even the President and The Ancient One upon their grand thrones seemed frozen in place, realizing that this attack was not merely a battle of strength, but a war of morality and the mind.
Yet Elaina remained standing.
Her eyes scanned every face around her with a piercing gaze, like a blade skinning illusion into truth.
She took a long breath. Then looked toward Huli Jing with the faintest cynical smile. The smile of a mentalist who knew her opponent had already run out of tricks.
"This is even worse than before, Fox," she said softly. Yet her voice cut cleanly through the noise of the illusions.
"They really were guilty. And you went through all the trouble of summoning faces I can barely even remember anymore."
She let out a small laugh. Light, yet cutting.
"I've spent years dissecting the minds of murderers, psychopaths, and liars."
One brow lifted. The corner of her lips curled upward.
"If I'm considered a good person, then that has nothing to do with my profession."
As though struck by those words, the illusionary faces surrounding her began to crack one by one. The accusatory voices that had once thundered loudly now faded away, replaced by hollow echoes devoid of meaning.
Within seconds, every figure exploded into fragments of light and vanished into the air, leaving Huli Jing standing alone.
Her smile remained. Yet the corner of her lips twitched faintly, as though suppressing something desperate to escape.
"You are a fascinating woman, Human," she said in a voice both soft and venomous. "But every mind has its fractures. And I will surely find yours."
Elaina answered flatly, straightening her posture slightly.
"Feel free to try, Fox. But don't be surprised if, while searching for it, all you find is a reflection of your own fear."
Silence.
Only the whisper of wind drifted between the mirrors reflecting the skies above the clouds.
Libra watched the two of them with deep eyes. A faint smile touched her lips, as though she had just witnessed two vastly different worlds standing equally firm in their convictions.
The atmosphere inside the Colosseum seemed frozen after the final illusion shattered.
The air that had once trembled with magic and screams suddenly fell silent. Not a comforting silence, but a suffocating one.
Thousands of eyes from across both worlds remained fixed upon the two figures standing at the center of the arena.
No blood had been spilled. No swords had clashed.
Yet everyone watching understood.
The battle they had just witnessed was far more terrifying than any physical duel.
From humanity's stands, tense expressions spread through the crowd.
Soldiers accustomed to battlefields and exploding grenades stared blankly ahead. Because they understood how dangerous a war of the mind could be.
Meanwhile, on the side of the mythological races, the stands were filled with mixed emotions.
For the first time, some of those creatures began questioning something they had never considered before.
What if humans… truly understood fear better than they did?
"She is not merely human. She is the reflection of a truth we cannot deceive."
Upon the highest throne, The Ancient One leaned back against his seat of celestial stone and ancient metal. His eagle-sharp eyes rested upon Elaina with a respect he rarely granted humans.
He spoke quietly to the President beside him.
"That woman fights not with strength, but with awareness. A form of magic that even our world struggles to rival."
The President gazed downward. His blue eyes were dim, yet proud.
"She is our symbol," he murmured. "Fragile humanity… yet impossible to break."
Meanwhile, Libra lowered her face slightly. Her violet eyes glowed softly like distant nebulae.
She watched Elaina and Huli Jing with a mixture of admiration and emotion. Her voice became a delicate whisper audible only to herself.
"A battle without bloodshed… yet powerful enough to shake the heavens. So many truths laid bare by two hearts colliding."
Below them, the wind began to blow softly, carrying the remnants of luminous dust left behind by the vanished illusions.
The sky above the floating Colosseum trembled faintly, as though it too could feel the weight of the battle's meaning.
Between reason and deception. Between logic and fantasy. Between honesty and flawless lies.
Huli Jing snapped her golden fan shut with a swift motion. Her sweet smile disappeared completely.
What remained now was the gaze of an ancient predator who had existed long before the first human civilization was ever born.