Would this make sense?

My main character, Kai, is fighting against an antagonist who uses illusions. The illusions are very real and can touch and harm people unless the person doesn't believe in them/realizes they are fake. At the start of the story, Kai had befriended two illusions made by the villain. After Kai faces off with the villain, he remembers hearing this villain uses illusions and he stops believing in them. However, I need for him to still see his two 'friends'. I was thinking he doesn't believe in the illusions he was seeing right then, the ones he knew where created by the antagonist, but he believes in his 'friends' because he doesn't know what they are and he actually wants to see them. Does that make sense or does it seem like a cop out?