Chapter 1008 Mirage of Terror
Calidora chose the zone path to progress in her cursed power.
Her cursed zone is called the Mirage of Terror, an unfolding of a misty and rugged expanse adorned with jutting rocks and small hills stretching as far as the eyes can discern. Within this eerie landscape, everything Rex lays his eyes upon is cloaked in a reddish hue.
It has a stark similarity with Kaiser's realm, minus the faint crimson mist.
Moreover, he could feel the air pressing against his skin.
Almost akin to being deep underwater, the pressure is strongly pressed against his body.
Rex could also feel the eeriness infiltrating his heart inside this cursed zone, all due to the terrifying amount of cursed energy condensed in this zone. Such an amount was definitely only possible thanks to her having the power of a ninth epiphany.
Observing the zone, he discerned the difference with Rurvi's cursed zone.
Initially, he thought that the cursed zone would only be an alternate dimension of the place where it was deployed. Since Rurvi is living within the underground canyon, its cursed zone is also within the underground canyon.
Also, its cursed zone has an entrance portal.
Even though it could only be seen by other Witches, it was still an entry point.
Something that stood out the most other than that was the fact that its cursed zone, from the looks of it, was capable of connecting with reality. Rex still remembered the way Rurvi was able to come in and out rather easily.
It was entirely different compared to Caliodra's cursed zone.
Compared to the cursed zone she was showcasing to him right now, the entire place within her cursed zone was not the castle, it was a rugged path of earth instead. Numerous caves could be seen on the body of the small hills and mounds.
Moreover, there appeared to be no discernible entry point or connection to the reality space.
Obviously, the one that was brought here would find it very hard to escape.
"How do you like it? My cursed zone that is" Calidra out of nowhere appeared and asked.
Upon hearing this, Rex remained silent as he kept observing the surroundings. He was still trying to notice anything different but found no more, "For a Vampire's cursed zone, I guess your cursed zone location is not that surprising. I expected it. Now, can you explain to me what your cursed zone provides you with?'
Aside from the dense cursed energy, giving her a power boost, he doesn't know what else.
Surely, the reward for summoning a cursed zone would be worth it.
"Come and attack me," Calidora replied, spreading her arms to the side slightly.
Her expression was taunting at Rex, and her raven black hair was fluttering against the wind alongside her regal robe sleeves. An evident air of confidence swirled around her, which was surprising considering that she knew how strong Rex was.
But then again, her demeanor also depicted that her cursed zone was very powerful.
Okay, I'll try attacking her with around 20% of my strength.
Rex made a quick dash, unleashing a forceful strike with a swing of his arm, coated with the power of his black lightning that crackled thunderously at Calidora. However, she remained unmoved, adopting a statue-like stance without bothering to defend or evade his attack.
A sight that made him frown as Calidora didn't even brace herself for the punch.
No matter how confident she was with her cursed zone, there was an undeniable fact that her physical prowess was nothing more than a peak eighth-rank realm, or possibly on the realm of a pseudo-ninth-rank.
On the other hand, Rex was at the highest peak of the ninth-rank realm.
Physique alone, he was confident that he had the strongest physique in the current era.
Surely, with the existing gap between them, and even with the fact that he was only going to use 20% of his strength, Calidora should brace herself. Eventually, his punch connected, but it didn't connect with Calidora's chest.
It halted about a meter away from her body, blocked by some sort of distortion in the air.
Rex looked at this with squinted eyes.
From the looks of the distortion, she should only be using her cursed energy. But her eyes... why does her Eyes of Terror also seem to be utilized? Is she using both of them at the same time to block? Or is it the cursed zone doing its work?
A few possibilities appeared in Rex's mind as he observed this exchange.
Even though he knew about the Eyes of Terror, it has been quite some time since he saw her Eyes of Terror being utilized in a fight. Based on his knowledge, the use of Eyes of Terror was to create this weird propelling force and also create illusions.
Other abilities that she had hailed from the Eternal Curse, included her dark revival power.
Due to that, seeing this slightly surprised Rex.
Since she rarely uses the power of her eyes, he thought that she stopped developing it.
Boom!
Out of nowhere, Rex got pushed back as the distortion blasted him away, forcing him to somersault back and planted his claws to the ground to stop the momentum. A frown appeared on his face as he raised his gaze.
"Is that all you can do? I thought you were more capable than that" Calidora smirked.
Upon hearing this, Rex also smirked back.
Rex stood upright once again and cracked his neck with his eyes fixed on Calidora.
Alright, 80% it is!
Crack!
Gathering more strength, manipulating his red force, arcane mana, and spirit energy, the ground cracked under the collective might. He then made a powerful dash that literally created a large crater in the ground where he stood.
Swoosh!
In a flickering of ferocity, Rex's eyes flared as he swung his claws powerfully.
But like earlier, his attack was blocked once again.
Even though he was actually trying to push through, he was incapable of going further.
"Within my cursed zone, I transcended the limitations of my Eyes of Terror, granting me unrestricted access to its power to the fullest extent. I don't need to develop my Eyes of Terror anymore since as long as I'm within my cursed zone, I can harness its full ability"
"Added with my ninth epiphany cursed energy, its power quadrupled" She elaborated.
Upon hearing this, Rex nodded in affirmation.
Knowing the versatile nature of cursed energy, being able to be used for anything, it was not a surprise that Calidora was able to utilize it to break through the limitation of her Vampiric Eyes of Terror.
No wonder that she was able to block his attack as easily as that.
Rex backed away again and launched a dozen attacks from all sides, testing whether there was any blindspot that he could utilize. But surprisingly, the Eyes of Terror doesn't require a line of sight and is able to protect her completely.
Considering that it was a power of the eyes, Rex wasn't expecting this.
However, the smirk on Calidora's lips widened.
"As I said, this domain allows me to use my Eyes of Terror's power to the fullest extent. So right now, you are not fighting the real me" She finally dropped the news, which managed to catch Rex off guard as his senses didn't notice that the one he was attacking was not real.
Starting from scent, aura, and vision, there were no flaws at all.
It was then that Calidora's real self appeared, she was flying directly above them.
Looking down at Rex from above, her lips curled into a teasing smile as she knew from the start that Rex would not be able to sense her, "A small mix of cursed energy into my blood energy and you can't sense me, what do you think? Is a cursed zone handy enough?"
Upon hearing the teasing tone, the vein on his forehead bulged a little bit.
"Now that you said that, I'm tempted to take the mind path to not fall for you" He retorted.
Calidora laughed heartily when she heard this.
But then again, if Rex took the mind path, he would be capable of resisting all of this.
After having fun showing Rex her cursed zone, the entire place underwent another distortion before the two found themselves back in reality. To external observers, their entry into the cursed zone left only a lingering sphere of enchantment in its wake.
It was a sign that there was a cursed zone being deployed there.
Had Calidora become better at using her cursed zone, this sphere could have been hidden.
"Don't rush in making a decision, you won't be able to change it again if you had chosen one. I know that you are capable of even mastering numerous elements, but trust me, the power of curses is very different" Calidora said, reprimanding him.
Rex nodded in understanding, he already planned to think it through first.
Out of the two choices, he wanted to choose the zone path compared to the mind path as that would help him fight the Executor. But he's still undecided as he doesn't know full well about the mind path.
Had he been home, he could have asked the Witch about this.
Who knows? Maybe she was even capable of showing both paths at the same time.
But now, he couldn't do that so he needs to contemplate deeply.
"I'll keep on consolidating my greater cursed body while I contemplate, don't wait up for me," Rex said, pivoting his body around with the intention of resuming his meditation. He would need to come to a decision as soon as possible.
Just then, Calidora suddenly grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks.
"What's wrong?" He asked with raised brows.
Giving Rex a resolute gaze, she replied, "It's enough meditation, you need some rest"
"Hmm...? What are you saying, Calidora? I already told you the reason why I need to achieve the ninth epiphany as soon as possible. I have no time to rest, you know that" Rex rebutted, knowing full well that in his life, resting is a taboo.
Every time he wanted some rest, the world always gave him a big problem for him to handle.
So it's best for him to not rest, or else another problem would come knocking.
However, Calidora's expression was stubborn, and she shook her head in response, "Go and rest, your cursed source was injured recently, so you need to stop. If you don't stop, then go and train on your own, I will not be helping"
"What...?" Rex was at a loss for words when he heard this.
Out of anything, he didn't expect Calidora to give him a fierce ultimatum like that.
It stunned him for a solid minute.
Although he managed to achieve the greater cursed body already, he still needs her help to reach the ninth epiphany. Moreover, he was also staying here, so there was going to be a real problem if Calidora suddenly stopped helping him.
Hesitatingly, he asked again, "Are you really doing this?"
"Yes. So are you going to stop or not? Your choice" Calidora looked at him dead in the eyes.
Seeing that she was being serious, Rex had no choice but to comply.
A moment later.
"Rex, I know that you are meditating secretly in there. Don't think that I wouldn't notice"
Currently, Rex was inside his own bed chamber.
Even though he said that he wouldn't meditate, he was going to do it discreetly while he was inside his private chamber, and Calidora was not paying attention. But he was dead wrong as she was capable of catching him every time he tried to meditate.
"This is ridiculous, is she really going to stop me from training today?" Rex muttered wryly.
No matter what methods he tried, she would always know.
Rex even started to suspect that there was a hidden camera inside his chamber that she used to tell if he was trying to meditate, but there surely was none, this is the Vampire's territory after all, there was no technology here.
And if it was a detection magic, he should be able to sense it.
The only explanation if there was really detection magic inside the chamber, then it must be made of cursed energy as that's the only energy that Rex wasn't that adept at sensing, even with his sensitive senses.
For the first half an hour, he couldn't do anything but lay on the bed, resting as he was told.
However, it didn't take long before his eyelids became heavy.
During the time when he was stressing over his future battle against the Executor, he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. But now, being forced to do nothing but rest, Rex slowly drowsed into the dreamland.
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