Athena in Tower Defense Game! [LitRPG]

Within the illusory realm, Athena found herself in quite the predicament. The creatures around her had not only transformed to mimic the forms of her three little allies but had also mastered their abilities.

Had that been the extent of it, Athena might have merely found it an annoyance. However, no matter how many times she destroyed these impostors, they would restore themselves as if untouched. The lunar power of her Moonlight Bow, usually so effective, seemed to barely graze them. The creatures shaped as a cat and panda were particularly vexing, disrupting her every move. The cat, with its ability to vanish at will, was proving the most troublesome of all.

Refusing to waste her strength endlessly on these resilient foes, she focused her attention on the rabbit.

Among the trio, the half-decayed, half-fiery rabbit was by far the most peculiar. Athena knew these creatures couldn’t be truly immortal; it had to be that she simply hadn’t uncovered their source. Her hunch was that the rabbit might be the keystone to breaking free from this twisted realm, the true essence binding the illusion together.

After a decisive strike that took the panda’s head clean off, she found herself a mere three meters from the rabbit, who made no move to flee. Its crimson eyes gleamed with a mocking glint, its miniature turret retracting as it observed Athena with what seemed to be scorn.

Repeated close-range bombardments had left the area in shambles. Shattered stones and debris from relentless battles peppered her skin with cuts, reminding her starkly that, while this may be a mirage, death here would mean death in reality.

With a burst of speed, Athena's legs propelled her forward, gripping her axe as though it were death's own scythe.

The rabbit sneered. Small and swift, it had evaded her with ease, leaping away whenever she came close. Yet Athena’s efforts to pursue only drained her further. Every passing second within this illusory world siphoned her mental strength. Should her will power wane entirely, she’d sink irreversibly into this illusion, never to wake again.

Unperturbed, the rabbit toyed with her, its agile hops always enough to elude her swings. Though maintaining the illusion drained its energy, the thrill of taunting its prey seemed well worth the cost.

In yet another leap, a sudden gale grazed past it—Athena's foot.

In a moment of sheer disbelief, the rabbit found itself in mid-air, frozen in shock as Athena’s powerful kick sent it hurtling through the air. It sailed with the speed and force of one of its own shells, streaking towards an abandoned pit where it crashed with an earth-shaking thud.

A massive dust cloud billowed up, engulfing the area in a swirling haze that obscured everything. Athena’s kick had been a formidable one, and the rabbit’s body, now mangled, showed signs of internal damage and broken bones.

“Meeeeeeee!” it screeched, its cry now grotesquely distorted, no longer the rabbit’s voice at all. In response, the panda and cat creatures dissolved into pools of inky black water, surging toward their wounded leader.

From beyond the shelter’s boundaries, another identical cry echoed, signalling the same pain.

Observing that the rabbit’s wounds failed to heal, Athena knew she had hit the mark.

These creature manifestations were nothing but burdens now, sapping its strength rather than aiding it. The rabbit’s current state left it vulnerable—another strike might just finish it.

Athena had no intention of wasting time on the puddles. She dashed towards the sprawled rabbit, producing a small vial of violet liquid as she ran. Splattering half of it behind her, the first trickle of black water that touched the liquid reacted violently, merging before letting out a tortured wail and evaporating right in front of the rabbit.

She hadn’t used the potion before because, even if she had, the creatures would have instantly regenerated. But now, with the rabbit pinned down, it was a different story.

The violet liquid was none other than a distilled extract from a Purple Dream Bud- its usual dream-inducing properties transformed, now venomous enough to dissolve the dark pools that sustained these creatures.

With one of the pools gone, the other retreated, fearful of the same fate. Athena didn’t hesitate to send more of the liquid toward her struggling foe.

The rabbit recoiled as droplets sprayed over it, its translucent body flickering. Had it been tangible, the potion might have torn into its very essence.

The potion passed through the creature, landing on the ground. With the rabbit’s form phasing and fading, the space around them could no longer hold steady. The illusion trembled violently, its fabric fraying at the seams.

The entire world around her began to collapse, shattering in a burst of force as it crumbled into countless fragments. Athena’s form flickered, caught in the collapse, until she was thrust back into reality.

A sharp dizziness overtook her as her eyes fluttered open, and with a start, she sat up, startling Gray, who stumbled backwards.

That wretched creature had chosen the most drastic of measures, detonating the entire realm in an attempt to take her with it. Although she’d half-faded before the explosion hit, the blast still jarred her mentally.

Just as she’d regained her senses, a shrill, unrelenting scream assailed her ears. The toll of her recent ordeal compounded with this fresh agony, leaving her reeling.

Raising her left arm, she tugged back her sleeve, revealing faint scratches.

It appeared that injuries sustained within that twisted illusion had materialized upon her body here. Outside, mingling with the sounds of battle, came the unmistakable boom of shellfire. Rising from the couch, she pulled Gray to her feet and moved to the door.

The shelter’s defensive turrets had not ceased firing for a single moment. Her three little allies, stationed around the turrets, adjusted the aim and scanned for any weaknesses in the enemy.

Upon spotting Athena, her small allies swarmed to her as though she were the fortress’ cornerstone.

Her gaze fixed on the enemy, and her first impression was of sheer enormity. The creature loomed, towering nearly half the height of the shelter’s barrier.

All turrets were trained upon it, yet the relentless assault seemed to leave it unscathed. Clawing at the barrier with massive hands, it shifted its entire weight to bear down upon the protective shield, eyes narrowing as it detected Athena.

A twisted half-humanoid creature, its lower body melded into a dense, viscous pool of dark water. Its enormous face pressed against the barrier, strands of seaweed-like hair clinging to its partially rotting, half-scorched visage.

Its disjointed eyes rolled wildly before locking onto Athena, its mouth opening in a feral howl. The sound echoed with such fury that even the cursed, withered treants, previously reluctant to approach, now surged forward in droves toward the shelter.