It didn't matter how Raika had gotten his hands on Ared's final grimoire. What did matter was that he had it, and that he'd appeared in front of Kang Oh!

'You're mine.'

Kang Oh, Raika, and Sara moved simultaneously.

Sara extended her hand at Raika.

Ice Spike!

Sharp ice surged from beneath Raika's feet and pierced through his body. However, it was just an illusion.

Raika had already gotten out of the way, and the grimoire in his hand glowed with bright light.

'The third volume must be special.'

Grimoires were books that allowed a person to learn magic. They had no real use in battle; at least when it came to normal grimoires, that is.

Extraordinary grimoires could be used as equipment during battle.

'I want it even more now. I won't let you get away.'

Kang Oh kicked off the floor. He folded his wings and shot at Raika like a rocket.

Raika stomped on the floor. A yellow ring of sand rippled outwards.

Then, Raika swung his staff.

Bam!

The ring exploded and spread through the air like thrown flour, obscuring his vision.

'Over there!'

Kang Oh found Raika in the sand cloud, and thrust his sword at him. However, he didn't feel anything. It was definitely an illusion.

'Is he over there?'

He moved to the location where he sensed a presence. However, there were two Raikas there.

No, two became four, and four became eight. He couldn't tell which was the real one.

He sliced the closest one first. However, he didn't feel like he'd cut through anything.

Raika eventually created more than 100 clones of him.

Infinite Illusion!

That was one of the spells that Raika had discovered in Ared's grimoire.

The countless illusions chanted simultaneously. All of their staffs glowed as if they were actually casting magic.

Moreover, all of their spells were different.

"Die!" Raika and his clones simultaneously yelled.

Countless spells came flying at him.

It started with Sand Spears and Sand Blades, and then clumps of sand fell from the sky. Sand Soldiers were created, and a sandstorm raged too.

There were several other spells cast as well.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The explosive sound, the resulting effect, the fierce magical energy, etc. All of it seemed like it was real.

However, they weren't real. All of them were ultimately just illusions!

'Fake, fake, fake!' Kang Oh confidently took every spell that came his way.

If his Hyper Intuition didn't warn him of danger, then the spells were just illusions.

Then...

Kang Oh felt a chill run up his spine. The attack came from the back, not the front.

'Behind me!' Kang Oh quickly turned around.

Something invisible grazed his body. To be more specific, he could see little bits of it.

Although it was transparent, it clearly looked different from the space around it, so you could see the outline if you looked hard enough.

The cobra had grazed him. Raika's staff had transformed.

Plus, he could see the outline of a person holding a staff.

'You're the real one!'

His Hyper Intuition activated.

There were three weak points in total!

Kang Oh aimed for all three of them.

He swung Ubist, Blood, and then Ubist again using Transcendent Blade.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

He could actually feel something this time, which differentiated it from illusions!

The transparent being staggered, and Raika appeared spilling shards of light.

He looked at him in complete disbelief. 'How did you find me?'

Summon illusions of himself, draw his opponent's attention with countless spells, and then conceal his body with illusion magic. After that, attack his opponent with his cobra staff. That sequence of events was basically his sure kill move.

The cobra was coated in King Scorpion's poison, which was considered the strongest poison in the desert.

Moreover, he had repeatedly modified it to increase its potency, so it was even stronger than a normal King Scorpion's poison.

Whoever was poisoned by this venom would die no matter what! At least, that's what Raika thought.

However, Raika's secret weapon had failed. What's worse, his opponent had unleashed a fierce counter, which made him feel like running was his only option here.

"Argh!" Raika quickly shot sand at him.

As soon as the sand flew at his eyes, Kang Oh closed his eyes and swung his sword.

The tip of his blade struck nothing but air. Did he make a mistake because he couldn't see?

Nope, that couldn't be.

His body had been well trained from overcoming Ubist's trial, so not being able to see wasn't a problem for him!

Bam!

A refreshing 'bam' rang out from an area with nothing but air.

The illusion faded away into nothingness, and Raika reappeared, looking completely dumbfounded.

When Kang Oh closed his eyes, he was pretty much Raika's natural enemy. Raika's illusions were useless before Kang Oh's Hyper Intuition.

"How are you doing this!?" Raika yelled furiously, and randomly fired spells.

Sand fists came flying at him from every direction. However, Sara's flying sapphires either blew them away or froze them solid.

He knew who the real Raika was, so it'd be stupid not to take advantage of it.

Kang Oh then sliced through Raika again and again.

"Ugh!"

Raika felt like he'd go crazy.

None of his strategies were working. Not only that, but Kang Oh's attacks were way too sharp and they hurt so much.

'I have to run away!' That's all he could think about.

"S-Save me, you idiots!"

Ultimately, he called for help.

However, there was no one there to help him.

The Gray Sand Squad had their own problems to worry about. While Raika was engaging Kang Oh, the sand soldiers, the illusions, and the sandstorm had gone away.

Moreover...!

Scallion, who'd taken over after Darcun died, had long since been killed by Dion's gladiuses. The next in line wasn't able to stop him either.

More than half of the Gray Sand Squad had been killed already, or were unable to fight anymore.

Raika was on the brink of death.

'This is the only thing I can do!'

He used his trump card.

Summon Red Golem!

All of a sudden, a sand golem with a muscular upper body reminiscent of a genie in the lamp appeared.

The golem's fist came out of the ground, so Kang Oh had no choice but to back off.

Then...

'Now!'

Sand Explosion!

This spell was exactly as advertised; it allowed him to explode sand! The more sand there was to work with, the more powerful the explosion.

The Red Golem was the perfect bomb. Using it as a medium would allow him to unleash a spell equal to the strength of three or four great magic spells!

The golem's arms and chest swelled. The countdown had begun.

9, 8, 7...

Kang Oh widened his arms like an eagle soaring into the air.

Blood Emperor!

Abyss Predator!

His demon swords unleashed explosive power. A red pillar of energy shot out of Blood, while Ubist released a deluge of darkness.

"Huaahp!"

He crossed his arms and swung his swords.

Slash!

The abyss and blood energy mixed together, and struck the golem.

Right before it was about to explode...

Bam!

Kang Oh left a cross mark on its body, splitting it into four equal parts. Then, the two attacks swallowed Raika whole.

"Ah, no..." Raika extended his hand and fought back. His bloodshot eyes were filled with resentment towards Kang Oh.

However, he couldn't avoid death.

Boom!

The mighty blasts of energy swept through him, and countless shards of light flew through the air as he exploded.

That marked the end of Raika, the Lord of the Red Tower.

* * *

Because he'd killed both Darcun and Raika, the 100 Fighters defeated the Gray Sand Squad in a landslide victory.

That was the result of the battle fought atop Merick's walls.

"Hoo." Kang Oh deactivated Devil Trigger and caught his breath. Then, he thought back to his fight with Raika.

If he were to give his opinion of Raika, then he'd say...

'He was strong, but... He was unlike any mage I've ever encountered!'

Raika was a Master Mage. But rather than destructive, flashy spells, he used cheap tricks and illusions to defeat his opponent.

Without his tricks, he had no other choice besides death.

Kang Oh stopped thinking about him and examined the items he'd dropped.

He had dropped three items in total.

Raika had dropped an SS-rank cobra staff, an S-rank star-shaped necklace, and Ared's grimoire!

"Haha." Kang Oh's lips curled upwards.

Kang Oh placed the staff, the necklace, and the grimoire into his inventory.

Then...

[There are memories contained within the grimoire.]

[Would you like to see the memories?]

"Memories? Ared's memories? I'm going to look at them."

A recording appeared before his eyes.

* * *

There was a place called the 'Miraculous Oasis' in the eastern desert.

Are you familiar with a mirage?

It's a strange phenomenon that tricks travelers in the desert!

Natives of the desert have all seen a mirage, something that suddenly appears and then disappears as soon as you get close.

The Miraculous Oasis was the exact opposite of a mirage.

When people lose their way in the desert, the Miraculous Oasis will suddenly appear before them.

It truly was miraculous; it was an oasis that suddenly appeared in the vast desert!

Moreover, it wasn't a mirage. It was an actual oasis. You could actually drink refreshing water from it too.

Countless people were saved by the Miraculous Oasis.

However, at some point, the Miraculous Oasis stopped showing up. People began to think of the Miraculous Oasis as nothing more than a myth.

Once the Miraculous Oasis disappeared, one particular Sand Mage gained incredible renown.

He could use red sand, which was more powerful than ordinary sand. Moreover, his illusion magic was first-rate too.

The man was the Sand Mage Leader's successor, and eventually replaced him without incident.

The Red Sand Tower was both his home and his laboratory, so they called him the Lord of the Red Tower.

There was probably no way of connecting the Miraculous Oasis and Raika's sudden proficiency in illusion magic.

"I want my Miraculous Oasis to at least help people a little."

Ared was a great mage, who'd spent his life using his magic for the betterment of others!

He had created the Miraculous Oasis using his 'Imaginary Projection' in his old age, creating an illusion that was more real than reality itself!

However, people couldn't tell that the Miraculous Oasis was actually an illusion.

That was the type of magic Imaginary Projection was.

The device that sustained this illusionary oasis and helped those in need was An Illusion More Real Than Reality Itself Grimoire 3.

The Miraculous Oasis did exactly as Ared hoped for some time. It had saved countless lives.

But not everyone who was saved was good-natured.

Raika, who'd been saved by the Miraculous Oasis, began investigating it, and eventually managed to find the third volume of Ared's grimoire.

Then, Ared's ghost appeared.

Ared asked him not to take the grimoire. He explained that if he did, the Miraculous Oasis would disappear.

However, Raika laughed wickedly and refused, and took the grimoire with him.

That was when the Miraculous Oasis disappeared.

After that, Raika took advantage of the knowledge contained within the grimoire, and those lost in the desert would roam around and die.

That was the end of the recording.

[A remnant of Ared's thoughts are contained within the grimoire.]

[Would you like to speak with them?]

This was a chance to meet a great mage like Ared. There was no reason for him to refuse.

"Yes!"

Then, a man appeared. It was an old man with a flat, round nose like an actual clown.

"I'm a mage that studied illusion magic. My name is Ared."

"My name is Kang Oh. I am a Demonic Swordsman."

"I'd like to offer my thanks for defeating Raika." Ared bowed his head. His voice was completely genuine.

"I just did my duty," Kang Oh said. He was unexpectedly modest.

Even someone like Kang Oh could respect someone who spent their entire life trying to make others happy.

Thus, he automatically became respectful around him.

"I have a favor to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Could you please restore the Miraculous Oasis?"

"How?"

"You can learn Imaginary Projection if you collect all three of the grimoires. You can recreate the Miraculous Oasis with that spell."

"It doesn't have to be me, does it?"

'Since I'm not a mage.'

"I don't care who does it, as long as the oasis is restored."

"Hmm."

Once he obtained the third volume, all three volumes became his. And when he got rid of these grimoires, all he needed to do was ask the buyer to recreate the Miraculous Oasis.

"Understood."

"Thank you so much."

Then, Ared's spirit slowly faded away until it disappeared completely.

Kang Oh respectfully dusted off the grimoire, and placed it into his inventory.

He grinned. 'I won the bet.'

Kang Oh would have to visit the Witch's Forest soon and meet Helena.