Seeing her prey run headfirst into a wall like an idiot was a truly delightful sight.
At the very least, when Rey bounced back and landed on his back with his limbs flailing, Reppel cackled with genuine amusement.
She might not have known the idiom waiting for a rabbit to hit a tree stump, but that didn't stop her from laughing heartlessly at the result.
It was a blatant slap in the face. Reppel's laughter stung Rey more than the impact.
After hitting the wall, Rey's nose was numb, and his face felt sticky—probably covered in blood.
The only silver lining was that the sudden transparent wall felt more like a barrier of pressurized air.
An air wall was better than a solid brick wall. At least the impact hadn't killed him or knocked him unconscious. That was Rey's greatest stroke of luck.
---
Standing twenty or thirty meters away, the scantily-clad Reppel watched with a grin as her prey writhed on the ground, providing her with entertainment.
When was the last time she had been this happy? Years ago, perhaps. She couldn't remember.
She hadn't felt this kind of joy in ages. Ever since entering the Valley of Evil Spirits to hunt for Specter Beads, her happiness had been built on the suffering of the wizards who trespassed here.
This little wizard reminded her of the days before she became a spirit. He deserved a reward. So, she decided to torture him creatively, to squeeze even more joy out of his despair.
For example, right now, she would simply stand behind him, exerting invisible pressure, waiting to see what new, desperate escape attempts he would come up with to amuse her.
Crack.
Rey shook his dizzy head violently, struggled to sit up, and ruthlessly snapped his crooked nose back into place.
It was quick, but the pain made him grunt and whimper.
Run. He had to run.
Rey scrambled to his feet and charged at the air wall again.
He had entered the desert world once before; there was no reason he couldn't do it again.
However, having learned from his previous mistake, he turned his body at the last moment and slammed into the barrier with his shoulder.
This was a calculated collision, and his speed was less than a fifth of his previous attempt. So this time, Rey just bounced back slightly. He didn't break through, but he didn't fall over from the recoil either.
Hit the wall. Hit the wall again. Rey slammed into the barrier twice in a row, looking increasingly panicked.
"Reparo!"
Watching Rey bash himself against the invisible barrier, a grinning Reppel raised her vine staff. She pointed it at Rey's nose and cast a minor healing spell.
The spell hit, and Rey felt his nose twist painfully before snapping back into perfect alignment. If not for the blood still smeared on his face, reminding him of the injury, he might have thought the pain was a hallucination.
"Consider that a reward from big sister. Now, don't disappoint me."
Her husky voice was laced with mockery. To Rey, it sounded like the prelude to something malicious.
---
Rey didn't thank her.
He didn't speak. He just kept hitting the wall. He moved along the barrier, throwing himself against it repeatedly, like a rat trapped behind a glass door, cornered by a cat.
This wasn't the spot where he had entered the desert before. Rey remembered the exact location clearly, so he ran back toward it, testing the barrier as he went.
Watching Rey try to force his body through the invisible boundary, Reppel's smile widened.
Even when Rey ran to a different spot along the line, Reppel didn't stop him. She simply followed at a leisurely pace, maintaining the distance. The barrier between the wasteland and the desert was infinite; he could never reach the end.
Moreover, Rey's stubborn refusal to give up reminded her of an insect flying into a glass window. The sky was right there, visible and tantalizing, but unreachable. His panicked, foolish persistence only heightened her pleasure.
Shoulder ramming didn't work. Changing locations didn't work. So he started kicking, punching, even headbutting the air.
He was furious, his internal balance completely lost.
"Holy shit! FUCK..."
A stream of expletives exploded from Rey's mouth, venting his total emotional meltdown.
"Ah! Ahhh... I can see the outside! Why can't I get out?!" "I don't want to die here! I don't want to..."
Rey continued to slam against the wall, screaming. His voice cracked with tears, his emotions seemingly collapsing. Every few hits, he would look back in terror at Reppel standing not far behind him, fear written all over his face.
"Did I push him too hard? Is he going insane?"
Reppel wondered as she laughed so hard she had to lean back.
This was thrilling. She had never driven a person insane before.
"Should I add a little more pressure?" Reppel, beaming with joy, suddenly had a brilliant idea.
So, Reppel strode forward on her long legs, exuding every ounce of her seductive charm, and slowly approached Rey, who was trapped against the invisible barrier.
Rey was terrified, on the verge of a breakdown. Reppel knew that with every step she took, the invisible pressure on him would multiply.
She could sense it, and what she saw confirmed her thoughts. With every step she advanced, the little wizard's face twisted further in fear, as if she were the most terrifying demon in existence.
---
"Ah! Ah! Don't come over! Don't come over here..."
Emotionally shattered, Rey pressed his back against the air wall and wailed hysterically, looking utterly pathetic and terrified.
He squeezed backward desperately, trying to put as much distance as possible between himself and the approaching Reppel.
His hands flailed—clawing, scratching. At one point, he pressed both hands backward against the barrier as if trying to push himself through by sheer force of will into the desert beyond.
"Good. Very good. Big sister has never been this happy before. I will reward you properly. Oh yes, properly." Reppel approached slowly, the sight of the broken wizard giving her unprecedented pleasure.
Psychologically toying with him, breaking him down from hopeful running to complete emotional collapse.
The process was intoxicating.
Moreover, the little guy's performance was perfect. It matched the script in her head exactly. No, it exceeded it.
Especially the variety of ways he hit the wall and the rich expressions on his face. Even in his breakdown, his physical movements were varied and non-repetitive, a constant source of amusement for her.
It was a play directed by Reppel herself, with the little guy forced to act out his role perfectly.
"Excellent. I want to experience this joy again. In a moment, big sister will wipe your memory, and then let you run away all over again. After all, this world is so boring; fun like this is precious. If you can come up with different escape attempts to entertain me each time, I might consider letting you live."
Reppel spoke cheerfully to Rey as she closed in. She didn't care if Rey, in his broken state, could even process her words.
None of that mattered. As long as she was happy.
Rey seemed to understand her. Sitting and crying, he used the air wall for support to stand up. Tears still stained his eyes, but the sobbing stopped, replaced by occasional sniffles.
"Not bad. He must have heard me. His mind is filled with fear, but he hasn't snapped completely. He has potential. I'm sure he can bring me even greater pleasure."
Praising him internally, Reppel made her smile as gentle as possible. The little guy had just experienced great terror; she needed him calm enough to play the next round, not completely broken.
However, just as Reppel put on her best "friendly neighborhood big sister" act, the little wizard's demeanor suddenly shifted.
There were still tears in the corners of his eyes, but the fear on his face vanished instantly. His entire mental state refreshed, and the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile that only a victor could wear. It was as if he were an actor who had just finished a highly successful performance and was now acknowledging the audience's applause.
"Bye-bye. I'm leaving now. Big Sister!"
Rey's state changed in a split second. Gone was the crying, broken boy. As he mouthed the words silently, he leaned back and pushed off with his heels.
---
The contrast in Rey's behavior was so jarring that Reppel froze. Before she could react, something even more unbelievable happened. Rey's body melted into the transparent air wall as he pushed backward.
"NO!"
A scream of unwillingness, loss, and frustration erupted from her throat. Reppel lunged forward frantically, trying to grab the little wizard before he fully entered the wall.
He had played her. He had played her like a fool. She didn't know how or why Rey could suddenly merge into the wall, but whatever the reason, she needed to vent the rage of being tricked.
But no matter how fast Reppel was, she wasn't faster than Rey, who had seized the initiative. Besides, she had hesitated for that crucial split second.
Bang!
A loud thud echoed. Rey slipped inside the barrier, but Reppel slammed straight into the air wall. The recoil sent her stumbling backward several steps.
Rey could enter, but she couldn't.
"FUCK! FUCK! FUCK YOU..."
Reppel screamed curses, her mentality completely exploding at being outsmarted by an eleven-year-old wizard.
After regaining her balance, she charged again with her vine staff, smashing it against the invisible barrier in a frenzy, making the air boom with every hit.
---