"..."
Although the Disillusionment Charm didn't make someone completely invisible, its effect was closer to "advanced camouflage" or a "chameleon" than the perfect, absolute invisibility of an Invisibility Cloak.
Still, as long as you stayed still and made no sound while casting it, its concealment was very effective.
See?
Because Philen had cast the Disillusionment Charm in time, and was hiding motionless in a crevice with her breath held, the enormous vertical pupil that peered over hadn't spotted her.
But the Red Mirror Dragon wasn't about to give up!
"ROAR—!!"
It deliberately brought its huge nose close to the crevice and sniffed hard outside it. The scent seemed to linger, so it looked around, then sniffed again.
It repeated the process several times!
Then it began staring blankly outside the crevice, and it was hard to tell what it was thinking.
Perhaps it was confused. It could clearly smell a tender young female human, so why couldn't it see anyone in the crevice?
"ROAR!!!"
But at last, its rage quickly overwhelmed everything else!
Unable to make sense of it, the dragon simply raised a sharp foreclaw and began clawing at the rocks around the crevice like a vicious dog digging for food. It was clearly determined to dig her out and see what was going on.
RUMBLE—!
In an instant, rocks flew and boulders came crashing down!
"!!"
With no other choice,
Philen darted out at the last moment like a startled rabbit.
The instant she abandoned the Disillusionment Charm and bolted, the crevice that had sheltered her was reduced to dust behind her. The terrifying dragon had clawed the rocks down until the place was flat.
She didn't dare look back. She poured magic into her legs, cast an acceleration spell, and fled in a zigzagging path.
"ROAR!!!!"
The