The attacks weren't just illusion-based. Since this was a creature that excelled in both illusory attacks and other soul-based techniques that weren't illusionary, it mixed the two for maximum damage.
The best illusions weren't just those that fooled all of someone's senses to the point they felt real in every way. The truly terrifying ones were those that could even fool the principles of the world itself, transforming the intangible into something tangible. And that cicada had slowly begun to touch upon that level of power. Its illusions carried a real, tangible lethality, which, when coupled with its very real soul attacks, made it a thorny, insidious opponent.
