[Nightmare]

"Hiiiiigh! Purrrurup"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

"That's so beautiful!"

"Oh my gosh! It's so perfect!"

"You've got to be kidding me." Leo commented with dead eyes.

"Why do you sound so bent?" Maze asked in confusion.

"It's got that whole, [I'll make any wish come true] type of vibe. I think it's charming."

Leo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"That's the problem, Maze." He sighed.

"I vowed to treat Sarah as well or better than Helix does his partners."

"Oh…." Maze chuckled awkwardly.

Maze gave the young man a wry smile; he couldn't say anything.

"It's not jealousy. It's a positive competition, and I've done well making her happy so far.

But come on. How the hell am I supposed to match a wedding entrance on Pegasus, for fuck's sake!" Leo cried under his breath.

"Bro… just ask Helix for a hook-up." Atlas sighed.

"You did hear that we're positive rivals, right?" Leo scoff-laughed.

"You've got it all backward, man." Atlas chuckled breathlessly.

Leo gave him a strange expression. "How so?"

Atlas turned to him with a mocking smile.

"Say you could create illusionary magic circles." He replied sassily.

"Do you think Helix would give two fucks about a competition when he knew you could help him make his partners happy?"

Leo's eyes widened, and his face turned red.

"That's… a good point. Do… you think he'd mind?" Leo asked nervously.

Atlas laughed bitterly. "Trust me. He won't refuse."

Leo studied Atlas' facial expressions.

At Helix's funeral, he heard a story that Helix used to help Atlas out of his debt collector problems.

It seemed like a joke at the time, but now he knew it was true.

So he couldn't call out Atlas.

"Ooooooooooooooh!"

"That's majestic!"

"What is that thing!"

"Is it imported? I must have one!"

When Riley flew down from Mount Olympus on [Pegasus], hundreds of people were captivated.

It was a Wico Hawk Avian mount, but a Circle of Illusion had created a flying white horse surrounded by ambient golden light.

While there were many creatures in Myriad—Pegasus wasn't one of them.

So the females were squealing, and the nobles checked their pocketbooks.

Princess Eliza held her breath, unbelieving that Helix would create magic so beautiful.

She would never admit it, but she fantasized that he would treat her wedding that way, but she knew he wouldn't.

No matter what, it would be a simple wedding. His partners would protest otherwise.

Cataclop, cataclop.

"Hiiiiigh! Purrrurup"

Cataclop.

Helix was grinning when he heard the Wico Hawk's [hooves] touching the ground.

The hawk landed on a mount on the stage.

While it was stationary, the flying horse illusion was clip-clopping around.

It was a majestic display of magic.

However, it wasn't nearly as beautiful as Riley, whose hair was braided like an actual princess, courtesy of Queen Liliana's personal stylist.

The otakus and weebs realized something remarkable when they saw the beautiful brunette, known for her kind, beautiful smile—

—she never wore makeup.

It was something people ignored because her personality and smile autocorrected to gorgeous instantly.

However, that day, they witnessed what she looked like after putting in the effort that most women did.

Riley was stunning. Her light tan eyes became golden behind the subtle mascara, and her smile radiated behind the subtle yet perfectly contrasting lipstick.

Everyone was left in awe.

"It's still hard to imagine that he brought a beauty down on Pegasus." Leo commented with a wry smile, "That's serious talent."

"If you think Helix turned a hawk into Pegasus on his own, you're out of your damn mind." Atlas laughed derisively.

Leo's eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait! That thing's not a flying horse?" He cried under his breath.

"Nooooope." Atlas smacked, "It's a fuckin' hawk. A bird. Tweet tweet.

He went through some brutal shit to get a Grandmaster to help him make it."

Leo turned to Atlas with bewilderment and disbelief in his eyes.

He was listening to his every word and soaking them up like a sponge.

"No matter how talented Helix is, he has only been here for half a year." Atlas chuckled breathlessly.

"So he relies on everyone he can to accomplish what he needs.

If he were strong enough to do everything on his own, he wouldn't be here training us and building relationships with the army.

He'll do everything he can to make those women happy.

You should do the same."

Leo's eyes lit up with determination. "I think... I'll try that. I'm not sure what to ask for, but I'll make it happen, whatever it is."

"Yeah...." Maze chuckled breathlessly, "You go, man."

The light faded from Leo's eyes when he realized how awkward he was.

However, there wasn't much time to get lost in the details.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

"Stunning!"

"She looks so free!"

"Fairy Marie!"

"No, seriously, Marie's a Fairy!"

"She's an angel. Stop being such a weeb."

Everyone looked up in shock to see Marie flying through the air with angel wings on her back.

Her mount wore a suit made by a Wyko Hawk suit Samma Shaw, who was currently in Alzeria. It had invisibility circles that hid the hawk from all angles.

As for the angel wings... that was [conditional summoning]. Naturally, he created the best possible circle to explain it to others.

Marie did a strange hair maneuver flying around, moving horizontally for a moment before standing up again.

"Flawless." Helix smiled.

She stood up on the Wyko Hawk, so when she got to the ground—

The audience exploded in feverish applause when Marie landed on her feet and began walking without pause.

Most everyone understood that Helix was using magic to create beautiful sights.

However, the angel wings and missing mount left everyone bewildered.

Marie's appearance was truly flawless.

She embraced the charismatic smile she was famous for and waved to everyone gratefully.

The crowd went wild, looking at her lush, red hair. It was silky smooth, falling past her shoulders without any clips.

It defined her natural beauty that no one could get in Myriad.

"Tell me, Atlas." Leo said with the eyes of a dead fish, "Can Helix help me do that?"

"No-pe." Atlas smacked, turning to him deviously, "You're pretty boned if you want Sarah to be a living angel."

"Thought so." Leo chuckled bitterly.

"Women don't dig if men ask for everything, though." Atlas clarified, "Also, I doubt Sarah wants to be an angel."

Leo turned to the female section and looked at the gambling addict with a mocking smile.

Sarah was in her bridesmaid dress with her hands clasped, gasping with sparkling eyes.

"I repeat, you're pretty boned if you want Sarah to be a living angel." Atlas shrugged nonchalantly, leaving the guy suffering without a distraction.

Luckily, or unluckily, Leo couldn't sulk too long because—

"AH!"

"IS THAT A MONSTER!?"

"SOLDIERS!"

"Everyone calm down!" Queen Liliana boomed, causing everyone to calm down.

The queen looked into the sky with a wry smile, indignant she had to explain.

"You're looking at an illusion of an Earthian myth." Liliana explained.

A hypnotic whistle pierced through the sound waves right before—

SRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEK!

A horrifying shrill shattered the airwaves.

Whooooooosh!

SRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEK!

Whoooooooosh!

Everyone in the audience watched nervously as a roaring flame streaked across the air, making hypnotic yet indescribably terrifying noises.

Queen Liliana watched the sight in awe before continuing. "This mythical creature is called—"

"A Phoenix?" Leo chuckled with madness swirling in his eyes, "Charlotte's riding a fucking Phoenix?"

Atlas turned to him with a slight smile. "How is this much different than watching Pegasus fly down from the heavens?"

"How?" Leo laughed awkwardly, "Her crimson dress is on fire, Atlas! There's real flames flickering off her glasses!"

The gambler looked into the sky.

Whooooooosh!

SRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEK!

Charlotte reigned supreme from the heavens.

A majestic wyvern-sized bird with flaming wings flew through the sky, leaving after-trails everywhere it went.

She was in the center, wearing a crimson dress that was on fire in the illusion.

As Leo pointed out, the flames from the bird flickered off her large framed glasses, showcasing the natural effect.

Helix smiled wryly, knowing that the Phoenix and all its details weren't enough to explain the fire illusion circle suit Samma Shaw made for him.

Whooooooosh! Whooooooosh!

Shiiiiiiieeek!

Whooooooosh! Whooooooosh!

"Ooooooohhhhh!"

As soon as Charlotte stopped terrifying everyone with the terrifying image of the Phoenix, she led it to the ground, watching everyone's faces with a satisfied grin.

The crowd watched in awe as the beautiful bird descended from the heavens lightly, flapping its fiery wings.

She jumped off it to get onto the platform.

When she did, people saw the flames on her dress and panicked.

However, when she touched the ground, the flames turned blue and disappeared.

Everyone gasped in shock at the woman's stunning display.

One person clapped.

That's all it took.

A moment later, the entire building exploded in feverish applause.

Helix sighed. Riley was supposed to have the most stunning mount.

However, he couldn't deny Charlotte the Phoenix on her wedding day and figured the overbearing force wouldn't steal the show.

Or, at the very least, it would spread absolute fear instead of being mesmerizing.

But, as expected, she slayed it.

Marie had a wry smile, and Riley's eyes were sparkling, clapping with everyone else.

"I love you, Riley." Helix smiled warmly, "Maybe... ah, why not."

Without warning, beautiful angel wings grew out of Marie and Riley's shoulder blades, making them look at their future husband with wide eyes.

Helix shrugged, saying [I'll make an excuse later. Either way, it's your wedding.] and smiling gently.

They both lit up in unbridled happiness.

As for Charlotte, she was eyeing him down with predatory eyes. She understood what he was doing and couldn't care less about angel wings.

The blonde was horrifyingly aroused by his bold display of [Nightmare] in public, right before everyone. It made her shiver.

"You see those looks, Leo?" Atlas asked with a slight smile.

"Heh. How can't I?" Leo chuckled bitterly, happy for Helix but simultaneously jealous. The black-haired sighdere was overpowered even in the most absurd and useless categories.

"Yeah, that sarcasm won't get you anywhere." The gamble laugh-scoffed, "Don't you think those smiles were strange?"

Leo looked at Marie and Riley, giggling glee at their semi-permanent angel wings, and Charlotte swiveled her hips to join them with subtle, illusionary smoke coming off her.

"Yeah, it's almost like...." Leo commented, "Excitement?"

"A pleasant surprise, Leo." Atlas smiled warmly, "Even with Pegasus, angel wings, and a Phoenix flying down from the heavens, those three are happiest about a surprise.

Sarah doesn't need a grand display to feel that special. You just need to make her something stunning and surprise her with it.

Then she'll feel like those three right there—the happiest women in the world."

Leo watched in awe as his partners lined up at the opposite end, ready to walk down the aisle as a group.

Each had the most stunning smile imaginable. He vowed that he'd do whatever it took to make Sarah feel that way, even if he had to beg Helix to help him.