My Goddess is Good at Pretending

Chapter 581: Nightmare Bliss

The sun hung high in the sky, casting long shadows across the grand arena. Another match of the Martial Arts Competition was about to begin, and the crowd buzzed with anticipation as two combatants prepared to face off.

On one side stood Mizushima Katsue, the Fire Priestess. She waved her hand to the crowd with a radiant and graceful smile adorned her face. Her red and gold sexy robes were pretty revealing to highlight her curves. Embroidered with fancy designs of swans and flames, it billowed as she floated to the arena. Her auburn hair glowed like embers, and her eyes, warm and intense, flickered like fiery flames.

On the other side, Azrael, the Shadow Assassin, already waited in the arena. Cloaked in black, his face was hidden beneath a hood; only his piercing, cold crimson eyes were visible. Where the Fire Priestess radiated light and fiery energy, his aura seemed to absorb it, pulling the light around him into the void and shadowy darkness of his presence.

The contrast between them was palpable. But there was more to this match than a mere contest of abilities.

Azrael had to test this summoned hero and showcase his progress to his master without using his true power. Also, if possible, he had to dig into some useful information.

While Katsue harbored a personal interest in her opponent, though no one else knew it. Beneath her serene expression, her heart fluttered with excitement.

She found he was irresistible—dangerous, elusive, and dark. He was ruthless, and decisive, his mysterious demeanor, and his deadly skills made him the perfect embodiment of the "bad boy" ideal. And in her mind, he was also the perfect husband candidate, the one who could dominate her even in her wildest state.

She didn’t just want to defeat him, but she truly wanted to impress him, to catch his eye, to make him notice her. It was obviously their first meeting, but she understood her feelings... she wanted him as hers!

"..." Azrael frowned as he could feel his opponent staring at him with a burning gaze. It was like a creepy pervert, or rather, the horny woman in the red-light district.

Based on his recent observation, the Fire Priestess was an unscrupulous woman. She flirted and seduced several men, and in fact, he suspected this woman slept with one of the summoned heroes in her room last night.

He couldn’t probe further because his presence would be discovered, but he was sure that a man secretly entered her room, and it was most likely Liu Kang.

’Is she under his mind control? No, her eyes said something different. But, what’s with her gaze? It’s just like a horny pervert, and she sees me as a target to capture, huh?’ Azrael muttered in his mind, feeling that his opponent was overconfident with her assets and charm.

It could never charm him. This woman couldn’t even hold a candle to his martial sisters, and it was really ugly if he had to compare it to the elders back at the sect, let alone his master and Goddess Master. They were in a whole different league.

As the emcee announced the start of the match, the arena fell into silence, and Katsue took a deep breath. Her heart was racing not from fear, but from anticipation. She smiled coyly at the Shadow Assassin, and her lips curved into a teasing grin.

"Come now, handsome~" She softened her voice like a seductive honey. "Let’s not make this too easy. I’d hate to see such a perfect candidate like you fall too quickly."

Azrael said nothing. He narrowed his eyes as he wasn’t here for games or flirtation. He was here to test the summoned heroes and their full potential. He had to win this match as he had to advance to beat the Water Devil up. Furthermore, he had to show his progress before his master!

Katsue, the Fire Priestess, was the first to move. She raised her hands, and with a graceful sweep, she summoned a swirling vortex of flames around her. The fire danced like swan feathers, elegant yet dangerous.

But, Azrael, the Shadow Assassin, was quicker than a sound. He vanished into the shadow, dissolving into the darkness like smoke. The flames hit nothing but empty air, and Katsue blinked her eyes, momentarily disoriented.

"Where are you, my dark knight?" Katsue called out playfully.

"Haha, that’s our battle healer! Big Sis is truly something. She can still tease her opponent during the battle." Harriet patted her belly as she couldn’t contain her laughter.

"Harriet, please pay more attention to your attitude." Nyla sighed and shook her head.

"Boo~" Harriet stuck out her tongue.

"..." Nyla looked at her cards. She divined that Katsue was bound to lose, and Katsue already knew it. Therefore, what Katsue did in the arena was just a performance like what she did, but somehow, the flow suddenly changed and she felt that Katsue was attracted to Azra, the Shadow Assassin.

"!!!" Katsue suddenly felt a presence behind her. She spun around, summoning a shield of fire just in time to block a knife that had been aimed at her back.

The knife disappeared into the shadow mist before it could touch her, and the assassin melted away into smoke again. Her heart pounded, not with fear, but with exhilaration. She had never met anyone who could move like him. Even Liu Kang was not as dangerous as this.

"You’re good." Katsue murmured. Her eyes scanned the dark mist and smoke in her surroundings for any sign of her opponent. "But I’m not just here to fight, you know. I’m here to test you. To see if you’re worthy~"

"???" Azrael asked in wonder. It was him who tested her, but she said that she was also testing him, his worthiness for what?!

Katsue’s eyes gleamed as she threw more flames into the nearby dark mist and smoke. But her capture target was too elusive. Each time she thought she had him, he slipped away like a shadow in the wind.

And then, it came without warning. She felt a strange sensation creeping into her mind. It was subtle at first, like the brush of a soft breeze, but soon it grew stronger. The arena around her seemed to shift and distort, the air growing thick and hazy. She blinked her eyes in confusion, but the world around her began to change.

Azrael struck his opponent not with blades, but with the power of nightmare illusion. He had drawn her into his dream space, a twisted spiritual domain where dreams and nightmares collided.

In the outside world, Katsue stood still and motionless. The thick smoke began to gather around her, wrapping her in a cocoon-like darkness. However, something completely different was happening from within.

At first, what Katsue could see was beautiful scenery. She found herself standing in a flower garden amidst the meadow. The sky above her was a brilliant shade of sunset orange. The air was warm, and in the distance, she saw Azra, the Shadow Assassin, no longer cloaked in dark robes, but standing tall, revealing his face. Upon closer look, he was more handsome than she expected. He smiled at her... a genuine, warm smile.

Her heart thumped fast in her chest. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? To obtain him, to win his heart. In this dreamlike state, she walked toward him, reaching out her hand. He took it, his touch was gentle, and for a moment, everything was perfect. She felt a surge of happiness, satisfaction, and overwhelming feeling as if she had finally found what she had been searching for.

But then, the dream shattered. The sky darkened, the warmth vanished, and the field turned into a desolate wasteland. The Shadow Assassin’s smile twisted into something cruel, and his grip on her hand became painful. She gasped as the ground beneath her feet cracked and split, and from the depths of the earth, shadowy creatures crawled out. Their eyes glowed red with malice.

The world twisted around her, pulling her from one nightmare to the next. One moment, she was engulfed in flames, her own fire turning against her to burn her flesh. The next, she was drowning in the dark sea, unable to breathe, the weight of darkness crushing her.

And then, she was back in the warm meadow, safe and happy again, only for it to dissolve into horror moments later. The cycle repeated, alternating between moments of bliss and terror. Each shift was more disoriented than the last.

Katsue knew it was a nightmare illusion, and she tried to fight back, tried to summon her flames, but in this dream space, her power was useless. The illusion was too strong, but her spirit would never succumb as she found it was pretty unique and exhilarating.

Azrael watched it all from the shadows. His expression was unreadable. He had no interest in toying with his opponent’s affections, no desire to return her flirtations. This was a test, not of love, but a test of will. He could see that, despite her power, she was beginning to break under the weight of his nightmare illusions.

The Fire Priestess held the position of healer in the Hero Party with the flames to heal the wounded but it could also be used to unheal things, inflicting damage over time to slowly kill or destroy almost anything. It was similar to his master’s teaching about the healing technique and its reversal.

*Thud*

"I did it! Uh-huh?" Katsue managed to break free from the tormenting illusion spell. She fell to the ground, gasping for breath with a trembling body. Yet, she was shocked to find that she was back in the initial place, the flower garden amidst the meadow.

"Three minutes. Quite impressive. But, can you hold out for the next one? Just be honest with me and I shall let you experience the true bliss in this dream space." Azrael moved his fingers to bind the Fire Priestess in a tight bondage. He then pulled out a whip and a candle.

"Uh-ueeh?!" Katsue gasped in shock, but she soon succumbed to the illusion as she could do nothing about it.

After a few minutes of unspeakable things Azrael did to Katsue, he managed to extract some useful information from her. He could also confirm that Katsue’s skills and abilities were similar to the healing magic technique that his master taught to the healers back in the sect, albeit weaker and inefficient.

She required yang energy to replenish her power, and to do that, she had to use the males as the source of yang energy. She gained it every time men ogled their eyes to stare at her sexy body, but she did go to the next stage if she managed to find a good, strong, handsome man of her taste.

Regardless, he managed to extract some useful information about the empire and the Council of Gods in the summoned heroes’ eyes.

"Ahn, iyaa~ moo, more~" Katsue pulsed as she moaned, rolling her eyes up with an expression of ecstasy.

"A masochist?" Azrael shuddered a little.

He then sighed and flicked his fingers, returning the broken Fire Priestess back to her consciousness. She should be fine once she returned to her body, and they could continue the match.

"!!!" Katsue flinched. It was like a jolt, and she returned to her body. She looked around, confused and lost. It took her a few seconds to realize that she returned to the arena, the real world outside the illusion.

Azrael deactivated his intangible form and stood before his opponent. He crossed his arms and taunted Katsue to attack him again. "Give your best shoot. Is that all you are capable of?"

"You, you..." Katsue squeezed her legs together and hugged her magic staff tightly, using it as support, as she recalled the previous indecent, embarrassing event.

She was tortured, interrogated, and humiliated. Yet, for some reason, she was exhilarated deep in her heart. It was a new sensation that she never ever felt before, and she felt truly dominated.

Her legs were wobbly and she found it difficult to stand. She trembled because the pain and pleasure were still lingering, as the feeling got engraved into her spirit. At that moment, she raised her hand and announced her surrender. She was unable to fight anymore, but actually, she wetted herself and didn’t want to embarrass herself before many people.

Yet, despite her defeat, she smiled with a soft, almost wistful smile.

"You’re incredible." Katsue whispered. Her voice trembled slightly. "More than I ever imagined."

Before she left, she threw a seductive look at the Shadow Assassin. She then wrapped herself in a healing fire and ran away from the arena with a flushed face.

In this match, almost everyone couldn’t understand how the Fire Priestess was defeated, but they could only accept the fact that it was a powerful illusion that made the Fire Priestess unable to fight anymore.

"Am I dealing with the crazy? Why does she look happy instead?" Azrael muttered under his breath as he left the arena, returning to the Elysion Church’s quarter.

Yet, Azrael was greeted by some weird stares from the girls.

Almost everyone couldn’t comprehend how Azrael defeated Katsue, but the other core disciples could guess it. They understood that Azrael used the nightmare illusion technique and did unspeakable things to the Fire Priestess in the dream space.

"What’s with your stares, everyone? I gained something after ’peacefully’ and ’pleasantly’ talking with her in the spiritual domain." Azrael explained his innocence, but he looked aside as he didn’t dare to look at everyone’s stares.

"Tell us about it in detail later." Miko nodded, not minding what method Azrael used to get the information.