Shin stood firmly on a cracked concrete at the center, surrounded by a circle of Gegees, each one identical and standing still with their fists clenche. At least they weren’t wielding any weapons.
His eyes darted between them. "What are these? Clones?"
"Bingo~!!" one chid.
"But not just any clones," another added from the side. "We’re premium grade, darling. So get ready to bleed!"
All five rushed him.
Shin didn’t wait. He pulled a dagger and hurled it at the closest clone, striking her square in the forehead. The body puffed into a curl of smoke, his dagger clattering to the ground behind it.
And the mont it hit the floor—he was already moving.
Another clone lunged at him with a punch, but he crouched, slipped beneath it, then surged upward and ramd his dagger into its gut. It gurgled like a real person, eyes wide in simulated pain... then vanished into mist.
"Wow! Not bad!" said the clone frozen under his Slave Leash.
He barely heard her when a harsh kick slamd into his back, launching him across the dirt until his body crashed against a rusted pole with a loud clang.
Damn. These things were stronger than they looked.
No wonder Gegee had said he was already a dead man.
He used a small portion of MP to numb the pain, forcing himself to stand again. But before he could even breathe, another ca. He dodged left just in ti, but then the next kicked him square in the ribs. He ducked, dodged again, blocked. They were relentless, attacking in flawless tandem.
Still, he didn’t panic. He studied. Their timing, their patterns and weaknesses.
As they sward at him again, he spun low, sweeping one off its feet. It fell hard, tripping with a startled yelp. He stabbed it in the thigh as it fell, then knelt and ramd the blade into its gut.
Now there were only two active clones left and the frozen one.
They kept their distance this ti, bouncing on their heels like boxers, assessing him.
Shin grinned at the still-frozen Gegee. "Looks to like there’s nothing special about your damn clones. Just sheer numbers."
She didn’t answer.
But one of the clones did.
"Really?"
"I was just testing you," said another from his right. "You’re not bad. But you’re slow. I can read your next move before you even think it."
Shin’s grin faded slightly. Sothing was off.
They could talk, but only one at a ti.
He had a feeling. What if....
A brutal strike hit him in the face. He didn’t know if it was a punch, a brick, or sothing else, but it wasn’t normal. It didn’t just knock him back—it slamd him to the ground like gravity had been tripled just for him.
The concrete cracked beneath him, his body imprinting into the floor. He couldn’t breathe. His ribs fractured. His spine might’ve too. His vision went black.
Except for the stars he saw in broad daylight.
It took everything he had just to summon the system and activate his healing—max level. His bones snapped back into place with an agonizing pain. He scread as the healing reassembled his body like a jigsaw puzzle dipped in acid.
It drained most of his MP, but at least he could move again.
He stood slowly, his body feeling heavy, mind still dizzy. His head pounded.
"Well, that didn’t kill you?" one clone asked, sounding genuinely surprised.
"He has a healing skill," the other concluded. "A good one."
Shin coughed up blood, wiped it with the back of his hand, and grinned through his split lips.
"That... was nice," he rasped. "The pain. The near-death. I fucking needed that."
He flipped backward, landed right where his second dagger had fallen earlier. He scooped it up.
Two blades now.
"You’re a psycho, aren’t you?" one Gegee asked, smirking.
"Nah," he replied darkly, rolling his shoulders. "Just enjoying myself. Because once I kill you... I’ll earn so damn good battle experience."
He turned to the frozen Gegee. "Let’s make it fair. Two against two. Co on, Geraldine. Help out."
The clone blinked. "Wait—how do you know my na? I never told you."
"Does it matter?" he growled, charging forward.
The frozen Gegee moved against her will, jumping into the battlefield beside him.
She and another clone clashed violently in rapid, brutal blows, fists eting fists with mirrored strength. The kind of brawl only soone fighting themselves could pull off.
"Oh, this is fun!" she said mid-punch.
"You enjoying this?" Shin asked, ducking under an uppercut.
"I didn’t an this fight," said the clone across from him. "I ant playing you."
Shin felt uneasy again at how they operated. One clone spoke, another responded. He never saw them talk at the sa ti.
Always in sequence.
Then the clone he fought grabbed a jagged piece of tal and hurled it at him.
He dropped backward into a bridge position, hands and feet planted on the ground, the tal grazing his stomach by inches. As it clanged sowhere behind him, he kicked up and flipped back to his feet in a seamless Chinese wake-up, quickly throwing his dagger in retaliation.
The clone tilted her head just slightly and the dagger missed.
He was sure of it now. Sothing was off.
On his left, Gegee was still trading blows with her copy, both of them standing still as statues, fists slamming into each other with force.
He leapt onto a broken car, scanning them all.
"Tell sothing, ladies... None of you are real, are you?"
One of the clones stiffened. "How... how did you know?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Because your attacks have no soul. No heat. Just raw function and emptiness. Ever heard that cliché about fists talking? Well, your fists are dead silent."
One clone stepped forward, face darkening.
"Don’t talk about emptiness." She hissed.
"Not when you’re the reason we feel this way," the other added. "You killed Gerald."
Ah. He’d hit a nerve there.
"Ohhh," He said slowly, starting to realize what was going on. "So it’s not that there’s no real you... You just shift between the clones, don’t you? Hop consciousness from body to body. Tell if I’m wrong."
He was half-guessing. But he’d been paying attention. The first clone he killed fought like a real person, spoke like one. But the mont it died, the next one picked up without skipping a beat.
Then Gegee laughed. "You’re a smart little thing, huh? No one’s ever figured that out. Not even my boss!"
Another clone spoke up. "You wanna know sothing even crazier?"
The first fell silent instantly.
"I’m not even sure I have a real body anymore. I think I lost it a long ti ago. Now... I’m just consciousness. Drifting between bodies."
Shin gave a low whistle. "So what? You’re telling you’re unkillable?"
She grinned. "Yup! You might kill ... but staying dead? That’s adorable."
Shin smirked back. "Well, good. That ans I get to kill you again... and again... and again."
He tightened his grip on his daggers.
This fight wasn’t ending any ti soon. If her consciousness really was hopping between clones, then he’d have to wipe out all of them. Over and over, until she ran out of energy. Or will. Or sanity. Whatever works.
The clone he enslaved was proving useless. Fighting her like this? Alone? It would be hard.
He closed his eyes, muttering sothing under his breath.
I just hope it works.
He dropped into a fighting stance. One leg forward, the other back. He was ready for the next wave.
If only he could sohow enslave all the clones... maybe he could trap her consciousness. Maybe then, just maybe, he could kill her for real. But unfortunately, Slave Leash didn’t seem to be able to enslave more than one person at a ti.
This girl, Geraldine was the worst match for everything in his arsenal.
But damn.
Her clone skill?
It was badass.
And he was going to reap it no matter what.
TBC
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