I'll Fuck You Until Your Bones Are Crushed
Shiro and Lidoem's fight was already tilting toward its end. They were holding on, no doubt. But wounds were accumulating on Shiro's body one by one, while the woman's condition remained suspiciously pristine. The only marks on her armor were a few faint scratches.
"Shiro, you okay?" Lidoem's curt question.
At that moment—thud.
Blood trickled from Shiro's shoulder once more. It was a wound that had already burst open before. The bandage soaked through, slowly staining red.
"…."
Shiro didn't look at Lidoem. She just gave a tiny nod. No words.
"Hoo…." Lidoem let out a short breath.
It wasn't hopeless. The woman's breathing was growing ragged, bit by bit. Subtle, but undeniably disrupted.
"You're… holding up better than I thought."
The woman twisted her lips into a smirk. Overt mockery. Leisurely demeanor. But neither Shiro nor Lidoem responded. They simply glared at her in silence.
Just as they prepared to resume the fight.
"That's far enough."
A low, deep voice cut in from the side. All eyes turned at once.
Rustle—the bushes parted, revealing a woman. Black armor. A massive bow slung on her back. And clutched in her hand—a captive.
"Aymdel!" Lidoem's voice burst out roughly.
A dagger pressed tight against Aymdel's throat. The blade dimpled her skin, drawing a thin red line. One more ounce of pressure, and it would slice clean through.
"Move, and she dies."
Short words. And with them, all motion froze. Shiro's hand trembled finely on her shield. Lidoem gritted her teeth, halting in place. The dagger at Aymdel's neck. One twitch, and it was over.
Silence.
Then—
"…The one dying will be you."
With those words from someone—whoosh!
Vines shot up from a nearby tree. They pierced straight through the woman's skull from behind.
"…Can't let your guard down."
Ian emerged from behind the corpse.
"Ian…."
Shiro's lips parted softly, whispering his name. Her tense shoulders slowly relaxed.
"Thank you… Ian."
Aymdel, her face drained of color, bowed her head.
"Haaah… my lord… please…."
Lidoem staggered forward, gasping for breath.
"…Just spank my ass once."
Relief had fully restored her to her usual self.
Smack—
"You crazy bitch, enough!"
Lidoem grabbed her leg, holding firm.
"It's not over yet."
Ian's gaze shifted sideways. To the remaining woman in black armor. And—
"Entangle."
A flat command. The vines twisted upward on their own, binding the woman's body tight. In seconds, she was fully restrained. No spell was more effective in a forest.
Ian approached slowly.
"Now, let's talk."
He drew a dagger to intimidate her. But she was still smirking.
"Since when are we that close?"
Bound as she was, she looked utterly at ease. Ian slowly pressed the dagger to her face.
"What boon is it? Speak."
Only a boon could produce that kind of power. They needed to know what it was to figure out how many there were—and how to fight them.
But even with the blade touching her skin, the woman kept smiling.
"Hee hee… You think I'd tell you that easily?"
Ian mirrored her, curling his lips.
"What, some cloning technique? Or maybe…."
His eyes flicked briefly to the corpse.
"…Manipulating the dead?"
"Ian… so these bitches are…."
Aymdel spoke cautiously from behind.
"Yeah… all the same person."
Ian's gaze locked back on the woman.
"She said something about using multiple bodies, right?"
Aymdel's eyes widened round.
"Then… there are more?"
Ian answered curtly.
"Probably."
His eyes never left the woman.
"That's why she's so smug."
Then Shiro stepped forward.
"I've… heard of it before."
Softly, but clearly.
"A boon that splits the body."
She paused to catch her breath.
"Don't know the details, but…."
Brief silence.
"Maximum of seven, they say."
The moment Shiro spoke, the woman's eyes twitched ever so slightly. Ian caught it.
"Hee hee… So?"
She was still smiling. But it was different now.
"What difference does it make?"
Ian's lips slowly curved upward at her words. Knowing the max was seven—that was enough.
"It changes everything."
Now they just needed to know how it worked.
Crunch—
The vines twisted, shredding her armor. Metal tore with a screech. Bare skin exposed in an instant.
Ian reached out casually.
Tap.
The moment his hand touched her—
"…Like this, huh."
Ian's eyes narrowed. Something definite flowed in. No visible change. But the shift was real. Like an extra arm sprouting from nowhere. An alien sensation spread from his fingertips.
Ian exhaled softly.
"Shiro."
Without looking away.
"I'll handle these bitches."
Pause—
"Get out of the labyrinth first."
Shiro's eyes shook at his cryptic words. The upper floors should be blocked by mantises.
"Pardon? But—"
Shiro couldn't finish. Ian raised his index finger. Silently. A signal to say no more.
The real body was surely listening through this clone.
"Bring Arcia from outside the labyrinth."
"Yes… got it."
Shiro played along with his baffling instruction. Arcia was deep in the labyrinth, after all. No way to fetch her from outside. But she nodded.
Ian turned back to the woman, conversation done.
"See you later."
He activated the boon he'd gleaned from her. The moment he did—
"Wh-what is this…?"
The woman visibly faltered. Her form began crumbling bit by bit.
"You… what are you! What did you do?!"
She screamed in frenzy, but it was futile. The collapsing shape warped, twisting into something entirely different.
"I… I'm… I…."
When the transformation finished, no woman stood there.
A man. He resembled Ian somehow, but different hair and eye color made him look like a stranger. And Ian's own body had changed too. His mana sharply depleted. Less than half.
Clones weaken the original—it seemed structured that way.
Then the man slowly spoke.
"So it works like this…."
And Ian seamlessly continued.
"Fascinating."
Clearly separate beings. Yet thoughts connected. Sensations overlapped. Two fields of vision at once, but no confusion. Like two, yet one.
But—
Drip.
The man's body began to crumble. From fingertips, shedding like broken clods of earth. The boon's power was fading. Skin contact severed, the power died with it.
Crackle.
Faster now. Arm, shoulder, face losing form, pouring downward.
Moments later, when the man fully collapsed, only an unknown adventurer's corpse remained.
Tatadot—!
Days later. Ian sprinted at full speed through the 3rd floor jungle. Women's footsteps dogged him relentlessly from behind.
No sign of his party. Had they really made it above? No one in sight.
Splat.
"Where you off to in such a hurry?!"
His path blocked. A hulking woman thrust her massive frame in his way.
"…Tch."
Ian skidded to a halt.
"Entangle!"
No hesitation—magic unleashed. Vines erupted from the ground, writhing to bind her.
But—
Whoosh!
Flames flared, devouring the vines.
"Can't fall for the same trick twice."
A robe-clad mage stepped out behind the brute. Lingering fire danced at her fingertips.
Not two. Presence from the rear too.
Surrounded.
The realization curved Ian's lips faintly.
"…Preparations are done."
His wand hummed low. The second gem flashed.
"Flow. Connect."
Short breath.
"Burn everything you touch—"
His gaze swept the entire jungle.
"Chain Lightning."
Kraaaack—!!
Lightning exploded. A single bolt arced through trees, grazed earth, split air—branching everywhere.
Flash—!
Flash—!
Merciless barrage, no room to dodge.
"Kuh—!"
"Dodge—!"
Screams drowned in blinding white. Then silence.
Crackle… Faint afterglow scorched the air.
"What…?"
"Where'd he go…?"
Smoke cleared. No one there. Ian was long gone.
"Over here, you catapult bitch!"
A nearby voice. The women's eyes snapped toward it.
But Ian was already elsewhere.
"…Ha."
A short sigh escaped.
"Fuck."
Days. Days chasing Ian. Grasped victory, only to lose it every time. Slippery as an eel, always slipping away.
"…Always like this."
She ground her teeth slowly. Veins bulged under her jaw.
"I swear…."
Even her breath held back.
"I'll fuck you till you scream yourself hoarse and pass out. Till your bones are crushed."
Her lips slowly rose. Obsessively. Like a beast that wouldn't let go till the end. Intent on devouring Ian.