Because Rose's illusions could only mimic and not master the strengths of the people she cloned, their only real advantage was size.
Being smaller than the Nox by several feet, they were able to weave through the chaotic environment with much more dexterity, which was what allowed them to avoid their two pursuers for an extended period of time.
Only, there weren't only two after them.
Rakash and Krato were the ones who chased the fastest, but once the rest arrived, there was no chance at all.
One by one, each member of the Judgement Order was turned into mincemeat.
All except Rose.
She stood surrounded by ten High Commanders, her neck in the hands of an Executioner.
"This is their leader. Let us take her back to the Lord. He has been eager to torture this one," the Executioner said.
"Sir, can't we have a bite first? Humans are a rare breed in the universe. I am curious about how they taste."
"Hm?"
The Executioner looked at Rakash, who spoke, with a cold gaze.
"You wish to put your hands on the Lord's things?"
"Nothing like that! However, this piece of scrap meat, the Lord wouldn't mind if we touched it, right?"
"WRONG!"
The Executioner's words boomed through the surroundings, shattering the black trees around them into pieces.
"Do you not know who this woman is?" He continued.
"This is a treasured person of 'that man.'"
"That man? You mean…"
The Executioner nodded.
"The man that felled the Saint King. This is his woman."
The eyes of those listening widened.
The meat they grabbed was far more valuable than expected!
"Hehe…the Lord will have a splendid time with her…I am almost jealous."
"No need to be. This one is not for pleasure, after all."
Those ominous words were the end of their conversation. Instead of entertaining his lessers more, the Executioner leapt into the air, flying back towards the base.
In his grasp, Rose didn't make a single move, almost like a doll.
After all, she was one.
'Should I detonate it, or should I wait?'
In the tunnels below, the real Rose contemplated on it.
If she waited, she would be able to grasp more of the enemy's positions, but…
'The effects should be wearing off soon. Those High Commanders won't take long to realize.'
Rose couldn't trust what she thought was common knowledge.
Regardless of her power, she couldn't be sure that the Nox didn't have a way to stop her from dispelling her illusion.
If a Supreme got a hold of her clone, they would likely be able to trace their location through the mana connection!
Naturally, if they didn't know she was an illusion, this problem wouldn't occur.
Unfortunately, she didn't have infinite mana to waste on maintaining the bloodstain illusions, so this wasn't a possibility.
"Hey," she said through her clone.
"What is it, human? Begging for your life?" The Executioner responded, looking down on her with condescension.
"No, nothing like that. Do you think I'm such a weak person? It's just…"
"Sir, bad news!"
The call of a High Commander came from below.
A grin spread on Rose's face.
"It's all fake! The blood is an illusion!"
"Bye, bitch."
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
Rose collected all the mana she spent on the clones into her clone body and exploded it in a rush of fiery mana.
The air was consumed by an explosive cloud that raged for several seconds before dying down.
The Executioner stood there with empty hands, unharmed.
Yet, extremely angry.
"HUMAN!" He roared.
"I WILL KILL YOU!"
It was an empty declaration since he still had to deliver that human to his superior, but the rest…
He would make sure she watched as the rest were brutally torn apart and devoured by his minions.
He would make her experience hell!
"SPREAD OUT AND SEARCH! THE REAL ONES COULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN FAR!"
His furious roar spread for several tens of kilometers, and every Nox being in that area obeyed his order.
A fierce manhunt began. From the location of the cave outward, all forces searched for the enemy.
However, their preliminary results were nil!
"We will not abandon this area until we find them. The Lord is serious about getting his hands on that woman," the Executioner said.
They hadn't been found yet, but it was impossible for them to disappear.
There was no "if."
It was only a matter of "when."
***
"It looks like we've been found out," Rose said in the underground.
"Oh? That lasted longer than expected," Aishia responded.
"Mm, but we have to start moving seriously now. It won't be long before they find the entrance to this place."
The rest nodded in agreement.
Rose made sure the entrance was hidden thoroughly with illusions, and when the cave was destroyed afterward, its rubble covered the original hole's location entirely.
However, it was just a matter of moving the rubble. Since they were already expecting illusions, the one she set wouldn't last long.
"We have the advantage right now. It's time to move into the second step of the plan."
They needed to surface soon. It wasn't because of the enemy, but the environment.
Eien was not a place that people were meant to explore underground. The rock was as hard as bedrock for a mortal, and the further they went towards its edge, the harder it got.
At this point, it was difficult to make progress fast enough to effectively escape with this method.
So surfacing was the only option.
"We need to be quiet. As long as they don't detect us upon exiting, we should be able to move properly," Rose continued.
"Everyone form groups of three. Focus on synergy. For this next part, we'll be moving forward while utilizing guerrilla assassination techniques."
The goal was to misdirect the enemy as much as possible.
Direct assassination would only give away their position with the Nox's strange collective confidence, but if they took the guerrilla route, there were still possibilities open to them.
"Whatever you do, do not get caught. If you get caught, die before they can do anything. This is the only path to salvation."
They'd been doing fine thus far because they were far separated from the powerful foes ahead.
That wouldn't be the case any longer.
As everyone internalized the danger of their coming steps, they gradually and quietly inclined their path steeply to make their way to the surface.
At the same time…
"Sir Valakos, we've found it!"
On the surface, a High Commander sent a message to the Executioner who commanded him.
The man arrived instantly.
He looked down at the seemingly normal ground below and then back up at the High Commander.
"An illusion?"
"Yes, sir."
"I see."
BANG!
He stomped his foot down and tore away the illusory rock layer Rose left behind, revealing the deep hole.
"Tch. Pesky rats," Valakos sneered.
"Give chase. I will monitor the situation from above."
"Yes, sir! How many should we take?"
"How many troops…?"
Valakos' eyes shone with a light of cruelty.
"All of them. When you find those rats, kill all except the pink one."
"Yes, sir!"
"Oh, and also…"
He turned his gaze to Krato and Rakash.
"You can do whatever you want with the others. I won't say anything."
The High Commanders grinned maniacally.
Free reign?
The things they could do with this privilege…
"Kekeke, none of you are getting away!"
