Chapter 611

“Where are we now?”

“Stop asking meaningless questions and find the exit. It should be around here somewhere.”

“That’s what I was doing, going where you said. The place we were at a moment ago was perfect.”

“Shut up.”

Rookie team of the Raid Party.

The group consisting of Jackal, Rest, and Shark had been pulled into a mirror and were now frowning as they wandered through an endless maze.

Initially, upon noticing the oddity of the Space of the Mirror, they tried to destroy it right away.

However, the versions of themselves inside the mirror merely smirked and pulled the rookies in, relocating them to a mysterious place.

Rest, enveloped in a Red Soul, sighed.

“So weren’t we told to destroy it as soon as we see it? Why did you suggest we wait and see…?”

“And just destroy it blindly? What if the Magic inside had erupted like a pressure cooker? What then?”

“So we should have destroyed it, shouldn’t we? But we didn’t, and it ruined everything, didn’t it?”

“Truly childish.”

“Hey! What’s a supporter thinking…”

“Wait.”

Chiiing!

Leading the way, Jackal drew thousands of swords and slashed at something ahead.

The slashing of the swords tore through the maze blocking their path, cutting through the entity that lay ahead as well.

Kuuuguhg!

As the debris collapsed, the dust cleared to reveal someone standing where the sword had cut through.

“Hey, Jackal. I just said not to destroy anything recklessly…”

“…What is that?”

“Huh?”

Jackal’s curious question caught the attention of Shark and Rest, who turned to look at the figure in front of them.

Black hair and black eyes.

His attire was dyed pitch black, and thousands of swords swirled around him.

His face was almost identical to Jackal’s.

Rest frowned.

“Jackal? Why do you look like that?”

“That’s not Jackal. Look closer.”

Meanwhile, the shark summoned by Shark, which had grown to full size, activated its scent of blood detection for the team members.

The smell of the figure who resembled Jackal differed significantly from the one Shark knew.

“Is it a shadow clone?”

“It’s probably a duplicate. Remember how our faces were oddly distorted in that mirror earlier?”

“I think we should kill it. Everyone, back me up.”

Chirrring!

Jackal gripped his sword and prepared to execute a technique, only for the fake to mirror the exact stance.

The pose was eerily identical to Jackal’s.

“Insolent.”

“…”

“Why are you posing?”

“Honestly, I kind of like this version better. How about replacing the real Jackal with this one?”

“Agreed.”

“Shut up and prepare!”

“Thousand Sword Frost.”

“Thousand Sword Frost.”

KWAAAAAANG!!!

A thousand swords lined up and surged forward.

The swords clashed with enormous force, shaking the surroundings as if threatening to obliterate everything.

The maze crumbled like sandcastles.

While the fake possessed the same strength, the rookies were here to support Jackal.

Shark activated a supportive skill from her shark, enhancing Jackal’s sword and weakening the fake’s.

Kiieeeeek!!

Rest used the Soul to protect allies.

Soon after, Jackal’s Thousand Sword Frost pierced through the enemy’s sword and enveloped the fake.

The fake was pinned against a wall, pierced by hundreds of swords.

“Hmph… Is it over?!”

“Hey, don’t say that. It will just revive.”

“True. Why did we even help?”

“Shut up. Don’t you get what this thing is here for?”

“Huh?”

Phuuck!

A sword pierced the fake’s heart.

“My double existing means yours can exist too. Actually, at a 100% chance, they already do.”

“…”

“That’s unsettling.”

“Then stay sharp and move. This fake is just the beginning—”

Keeeeeeeee!!!

A black sword grazed Jackal’s neck.

The shark had barely pushed it aside in time; the strike was close.

But the blood continued to flow, indicating a very real threat.

Pruddrudd… Droop!

“…That could have killed you.”

“See? I told you saying ‘revive’ would bring it back.”

“True. That guy has posture but no substance.”

“…”

The fake made grotesque movements as they stood up.

The fake’s body twisted with sickening crunches as it regained its form, and the sword swung once more.

Both had equal strength, yet this fake possessed a regeneration ability that was absurdly high.

Jackal’s sword slashed through the fake’s neck again, cutting it off with ease that was almost too simple. This is because one significant trait of Rankers is that while they have tremendous attack power, their bodies are fragile.

Commonly referred to as ‘glass cannons,’ this applied to most Rankers, especially those lower than Tankers.

The reason is simple.

Since ‘System’ aids humans in wielding incomprehensible Strong Powers, they can use them despite their frail bodies. Furthermore, even if they die using that power, they can resurrect countless times.

Thus, the head regrew from the sliced body.

“How do we kill this thing?”

“It seems we’ll need to utterly obliterate it before it can regenerate. I’ll assist, and we’ll finish it in one strike.”

“Understood.”

Jackal prepared the gesture for his ultimate technique, this time using all of his swords, not just a thousand.

“Ten Thousand Sword Frost.”

Close to ten thousand swords simultaneously targeted the regenerating fake.

KWAAAAAA!

A black shark sacrificed itself to block it.

No one questioned its actions, seeing what it had done.

Kiiiiiiiek!!!

Everyone leapt upward to avoid the black souls that erupted from beneath their feet.

“Damn it! They’re fakes!”

“Hey, that’s my double, alright?”

“Get out of the way! If you touch mine, it’s instant death! My technique is the strongest!”

“Stop screwing around and stop the shark’s bleeding! When this thing uses its ultimate, there’s no stopping it!”

“Just focus on protection… Above!”

Above?

Everyone looked up.

Above them stood a colossal doll, hundreds of meters tall, ready to stomp down.

■

“Haa… Haa…”

“Disappointing.”

“Hoo…”

WHOOSH!

A black shield formed above the exhausted Knight.

The Mythical Item, Griffin’s Shield.

Originally, it was white with yellow feathers, but the shield wielded by the fake was black with red feathers.

The Knight gritted his teeth and raised the shield to block.

Kagagagagack…!

“The Griffin’s Shield carries the power of the mythical monstrosities of the mythic age. If you’d focused on improving your weapon instead of dealing with your guild and alliance nonsense, you’d be much stronger.”

“…What do you mean? Stop spouting nonsense and disappear!”

TWHOONG!!

Through Griffin’s Shield’s technique “Guardian Shield,” the fake and its shield were pushed far away.

However, seemingly unaffected, the fake Knight shook off the effect with a smirk.

“I’m not lying just because I’m a fake. I am you. Haven’t you sensed it yet?”

“…”

“This weapon has the same power as what we gloriously honor as Lily’s Summon. Comparable to Bloodsucker or the Emperor of the Desert’s level. You do not know the potential of this weapon…”

PUHBUUK!

“Wings Storm!”

KWAAAAAAAANG!!!

A unique skill obtained from the Griffin extermination quest, the Knight moved swiftly with high speed toward the fake and thrust a feather sword into its heart.

With the set-item effect of the Griffin’s Shield, the ‘Feather Sword’ triggered a fierce storm akin to the past image of his original Griffin flapping its wings.

Even the Knight, classified as a Tanker, could not resist such a sudden ambush. The fake Knight’s body vanished instantly.

JINGLAAAAANG!

The feather sword plunged into the heart fell to the ground.

“Hoo… I know. I understand…”

He had captured it.

But he couldn’t let down his guard.

Even after dismantling this fake’s body multiple times, it kept regenerating and resurrecting.

He had momentarily incapacitated it, and now he needed to unleash the ultimate technique to ensure there was no chance of resurrection, obliterating the surroundings completely.

“I know that this weapon is nearly ‘semi-transcendent’ grade… But what do you want me to do about it?”

Improving the Griffin’s Shield further would take far too long.

As the Guild Master of the Guardian Guild and the Alliance Leader of the Challenger Alliance, Knight had a mountain of tasks, leaving little time for training exercises.

Even outside of Deoen, he had to handle ‘reality.’

It was impossible for him to undergo years of seclusion like the Heavenly Horse had done.

‘Besides, it doesn’t matter whether I understand it or not.’

What did they expect him to do with a shield specialized in defense rather than attack?

The Knight sighed pensively as he prepared his ultimate technique.

The Griffin, with attributes of ‘Light’ and ‘Sky.’

Gathering his energy to the extreme, he unleashed the ‘Heaven’s Radiance,’ which would assuredly annihilate the fake.

“I’ll ponder it somehow. If this raid ends, I might have some leisure time…?”

Ghluuuck Ghluuuck Ghluuuck

“Dark energy…?”

Instead of the sky brightening due to the brilliance, it began to turn black.

A spine-chilling, instinctively repulsive aura.

‘Fake!’

The fake was giving up regeneration and instead trying to reverse the technique!

“Damn! I’ve already used the Light Flash…”

The ultimate technique powered by a nearly semi-transcendent weapon.

If struck by that, instant death was guaranteed!

And being unlike the fake, Knight had no regenerative ability. Without the Light Flash, he could not withstand the ultimate technique fueled by Magic.

From the incompletely regenerated fake came a mocking laugh.

“Die… la. Before reaching such… enlightenment …hahahaha… Ugh.”

“Damn…”

“Ugh…Ugh… Kiieeeeek.”

“—KIkkkkRUUUUGHUUURUUUGHUUUGHKUUUUUGUUUU!”

POOOOOOOONG!!!

It exploded.

The partially regenerated fake exploded with a shriek while the Knight looked skyward, bewildered.

Dark sky.

Splitting through the completely darkened sky devoid of any light, Lily descended with wings of light.

Her appearance was almost like that of an Angel’s…

“It’s different.”

“…What did I say?”

“I can see through your thoughts.”

“…Yes.”

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