Even the Doppelganger Is Zeon
The power of the Goddess, resembling both light and darkness, clashed against the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Victory or defeat? Unless the opponent had overwhelmingly superior specs, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art would devour all other forces. Even if that force belonged to the Goddess herself.
“GAAAAAHHH!”
The winner of the long-range exchange was, of course, me. I immediately followed up with a final strike toward the doppelganger whose arm had just been blown off by the shockwave.
“Black Annihilation Flash.”
Unlike the previous blow, this one struck from multiple directions at once. I’d originally wanted to name it something that incorporated the Heavenly Demon, but after Hoya freaked out and desperately tried to stop me—and with Cheonma chiming in too—I ended up taking their opinions into account and creating a new name in my own style.
Black Annihilation Flash
—W-we won!
—Still, do not let your guard down. Who knows when he might utter that word again.
—Of course. That damn Cheonma! Cheonma!! Is it really that great?
They were high-fiving each other and making a huge fuss. But just wait. I will definitely spread the greatness of the Heavenly Demon far and wide once more.
“Anyway, our fight’s over, but it looks like they’re still going at it.”
The doppelganger had been completely annihilated by that last attack. I shook out my tingling fingers from the explosion and turned my gaze toward Mir, who was still in the middle of her battle.
BOOM!KWAAAAANG!
“Somehow it feels like their fight is on a completely different scale from ours.”
—Ugh, why is it so noisy over there?
—…It certainly is flashy. We thought our fight was quite loud, but theirs is even more so?
Well, since I won first, I might as well watch comfortably.
“Then pass me some popcorn too.”
“Here you go.”
I took the popcorn from Alkest and settled in to enjoy the thrilling fight.
“I will definitely win this for you.”
Mir gritted her teeth, recalling her bet with Zeon. How dare he provoke her with that pathetic taunt about whether she could even win? So she had accepted the proposal. This was the perfect chance to satisfy her curiosity.
Thud.
To do that, she needed to quickly take down the doppelganger that looked just like Zeon. But Mir only grew more confused by the doppelganger’s next actions.
“What the… why is he only doing close combat?”
Zeon’s doppelganger charged at her using only his body, not his sword. It was as if he were declaring he wasn’t a swordsman. However, she knew the truth. Zeon’s real power only revealed itself when he held a sword.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
She had realized something during the fight. Even though the doppelganger had higher base stats, his technique was actually lower than hers. His raw physical ability was far superior, but the gap in skill and experience between them was so vast that it more than made up for it.
‘Is this Zeon’s real ability?’
That was why she felt suspicious. While it was certainly impressive, she judged that this level of skill alone couldn’t possibly have created that kind of carnage.
Thud.
“Kugh!”
Sizzle.
Mir landed a counterattack. But at the same time, she felt a strange sensation and immediately created distance from the doppelganger.
“Is this… poison…?”
This guy could use even this kind of power? It felt like some kind of mark had been left on her. Instinctively, Mir realized she couldn’t let any more of these marks accumulate and kicked the approaching doppelganger hard in the stomach.
Thud.
Sizzle.
‘…It increased again.’
Was the condition for increasing triggered by taking damage? Did it activate at 100%? Or was it a certain probability? Was that why he had charged in with only hand-to-hand combat—because he couldn’t use this power if he held a weapon?
Whoosh. Fwoosh.
Earlier she had created openings for counterattacks while receiving blows, but now she focused purely on evasion.
‘He’s really persistent.’
Since the opponent had the advantage in physical ability, no matter how much distance she tried to create, he closed the gap almost instantly. In that case, she had no choice.
‘I’ll create distance with a powerful strike!’
Mir switched from evasion back to counterattacking. The sword in her hand flashed as it stabbed into the doppelganger’s opening.
Clang.
‘What…?’
It had clearly landed perfectly. So why had her sword been repelled? Mir’s eyes quickly darted to the spot she had just struck. There, a black lotus flower that hadn’t been there before was now engraved on the doppelganger’s clothes.
“Diamond Indestructible Body?”
It was slightly different from the information she knew, but there was no doubt about it. The beautiful lotus drawn over the clothes, the extreme defensive power that could even repel steel, and the ability to return a portion of the received impact. The final reflective effect didn’t seem to be active yet, but this was definitely the Diamond Indestructible Body.
But how was Zeon using that technique? The Diamond Indestructible Body was a lost art whose secret manual had disappeared. It was supposed to be a legendary technique that no one could use anymore.
‘Why the hell do you know it?!’
It was truly absurd. But she wasn’t without options either. Mir decided to switch from her sword to a different weapon. Although it was still incomplete, the defensive power of the Diamond Indestructible Body was certainly outstanding. To pierce through it and deal damage, this weapon would be best.
“I’ll turn you into a beehive.”
She shaped it with magical power. Against an enemy whose defense was stupidly strong, she had to respond with the optimal weapon.
The light magic power gathering in both of Mir’s hands gradually took form. Soon, beautifully glowing guns of light appeared in each hand.
Bang. Bang.
The moment they were created, Mir began firing. Small bullets of light bloomed from the guns and slammed into the doppelganger’s body. It seemed to deal a bit more damage than before, but it still couldn’t land a proper effective hit against the Diamond Indestructible Body.
‘But what about this!’
Pure White
A beam of light poured down from the sky and struck the doppelganger’s body. No matter how strong the Diamond Indestructible Body was, it should be vulnerable to this attack. Mir’s choice was exactly the same situation that had occurred in Zeon and the doppelganger’s fight earlier.
However, there was one difference this time. The doppelganger imitating Zeon somehow couldn’t replicate Zeon’s true skill level.
Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.
It would end just by shooting. Thinking that, Mir pulled the trigger relentlessly, and holes continued to open up across the doppelganger’s body as it took damage.
‘What? This is ridiculously easy…’
The longer the fight went on, the easier it became to deal with him. His movements were also much slower than at the beginning.
“GAAAAAHHH! Why, why the hell are you using this kind of power?!”
The doppelganger, who could now speak like a person, screamed while clutching his body without even trying to dodge the attacks. The reason for Mir’s confusion was that the doppelganger possessed weaker mental strength than Zeon. He simply couldn’t endure the pain of his body twisting and constricting.
Sizzle.
But the doppelganger was luckier than Zeon. Another mark had been engraved on Mir, in addition to the two that had already accumulated from striking the doppelganger earlier. Finally, three marks had gathered.
The marks that had stayed dormant without causing any damage until now began stabbing sharp daggers toward her.
It was the reward Zeon had obtained from defeating the Plague Lizard King in the Soul’s Training Ground. The Plague Scales had activated.
Plague Scales
Its terrifying effect was to steal 10% of the opponent’s maximum health for 10 seconds.
“Khup?!”
‘My body!!’
Mir frowned at the sudden intense pain rising from within and staggered. Meanwhile, the doppelganger who had been screaming in agony until now began to breathe a little easier.
‘So he was aiming for this.’
Mir finally understood why he hadn’t dodged her attacks and had taken them head-on. Her movements had become sluggish as if poison had spread throughout her body, and every motion brought a wave of pain. The doppelganger had deliberately allowed himself to be hit in order to reach this moment.
“Hoooooo!”
She had let her guard down this time, but she absolutely wouldn’t collapse here. Mir gritted her teeth and reached out toward the doppelganger, who was now rolling on the ground clutching his arm. She hadn’t originally planned to reveal this weapon, but her own careless mistake had forced her to bring it out after all.
Wooooong.
The guns in both of Mir’s hands disappeared, and what appeared before her was a pure white double-handed sword. Mir grasped it reverently with both hands, closed her eyes, and drove out the plague energy that was ravaging her body.
“Consider it an honor. I’ve only used this technique twice before now.”
“FUUUUUUCK!!!! You damn original bastard! How the hell are you supposed to fight while enduring this kind of pain!!”
“Well, I’m not exactly praising you. I’m just using it to finish this quickly.”
So don’t misunderstand. Mir ignored the doppelganger’s screams and poured all her magical power into synchronizing with the sword she held.
Incarnation Descent
Mir, now with white hair and eyes, appeared alongside the sword she held. Behind her, light magic power gathered and took the shape of wings.
“Eye-searing, you son of a bitch!”
“So Zeon has such a foul mouth.”
“Try feeling this pain yourself! See if you don’t curse!!”
Mir had recreated the appearance of an angel straight out of myth. But to the doppelganger, it was nothing more than a painful flashlight blasting light into his eyes while he was already in agony.
Drip.
The doppelganger wondered why he had to suffer like this. Even though he was made of data, he felt the pain perfectly. And so, half out of his mind from the extreme agony of his body repeatedly collapsing and regenerating, the doppelganger muttered.
“Why… why only me?”
Over there on the other side, the doppelganger that resembled Mir was fighting just fine, so why did only he have to suffer this much?
Chzzzzzz.Crack. Crunch. Crack.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art grew stronger in proportion to the doppelganger’s emotions. But at the same time, the burden on his body only increased.
“This is so unfair I could die!”
It was unfair. That only he had to feel this kind of pain. That torrent of emotion presented the doppelganger with a new possibility.
A unique technique created by pouring out the power and talent that the original possessed.
“This is—!”
He learned on his own and created a new technique. Something that should never have been possible was unfolding right before their eyes.
“Everyone diiiiiie!”
Without caring whether his body collapsed or not, he exploded with every ounce of power he possessed. Body destruction? That meant nothing to the doppelganger. The only thing in his head was the single-minded determination to take revenge on the person before him and the one who had inflicted this pain on him. For that purpose, he didn’t care if his body shattered or his mind broke.
Thud. Plop.
Flesh fell off, unable to withstand the power. The energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art flowed out from the gaps. The power of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art spreading behind him evoked the image of wings.
Yes, just like the Incarnation Descent that Mir had used.
“Incarnation Descent?”
“Die, all of you.”
Mir’s eyes trembled at the anomaly before her as she raised her sword. She didn’t know exactly what it was, but it was clear that this power wasn’t as stable as the one she had used.
Shhhhh.
His body was disappearing in real time. It was probably a forbidden technique that granted immense power in exchange for walking toward self-destruction.
“I acknowledge that fighting spirit of yours, even offering your life.”
“Shut up. You hypocritical bastard.”
“Hmm, I don’t know what you’re saying. That power that resembles the Incarnation Descent I used but is somehow different. Could you tell me its name?”
It had no name. After all, this was a technique that even the original didn’t know—a skill he had just created on the spot. But if he were to give it a name.
Heavenly Demon Descent.
He probably would have called it that. As expected of Zeon’s doppelganger, his naming sense was remarkably similar to the original’s.