"I've dragged this on for too long. She's used all her attack patterns, I've memorized them all, so I should be able to finish this easily." Slayde stared at Anyachi, his gaze locked, his body steady despite the damage he had taken.
"By now he's realized I've used all my sword attack patterns, so that won't work on him anymore—guess I have no choice." Anyachi replied from a distance, her grip tightening around her blade as she steadied her breathing.
A bead of sweat slid down Slayde's face, slow and heavy. The moment it dropped to the ground, he moved.
"This is it, this is our final stance!" he shouted, rushing forward with both fists clenched, the air bending slightly from the force of his charge.
"Flow Reika," Anyachi muttered calmly.
His punch tore forward—only to pass straight through her. Her body dissolved into wind, scattering like mist, leaving nothing but a fading afterimage.
"Huh?! What did she do? Where's she?!" Slayde's thoughts roared as his eyes darted around in confusion.
"Behind you, dipshit."
He twisted instantly, but what he saw made his expression tighten. Figures began forming around him, one after another, until the space was filled with multiple versions of Anyachi, each identical, each staring at him with the same calm intensity.
"She's multiplying… so she's not just an attack type!" Slayde muttered, scanning them as their numbers climbed, stopping at fifty.
"You really thought I was just an attack type? Look again, ape. There's more to a battalion head than meets the eye." The duplicates spoke in unison, their voices overlapping in a chilling harmony.
Slayde narrowed his eyes, analyzing.
"No way those duplicates are physical. It's extremely rare for someone to have a duplication ability on top of their testament. It's only happened a few times in history… these are mirages, meant to hide the real one. Good tactic…"
A smirk crept onto his face.
"…for an amateur."
"You really think cheap tricks will help you now? As I said before, this is our final stance." He dashed forward again without hesitation, his speed tearing through the space between them.
"You know all you do is rush head in, you're pretty dumb." One of the duplicates spoke as ten stepped forward, fists drawn back, ready.
"They're taking an attack stance? No… it doesn't matter. I've already located the main body. These mirages can't do damage. I'll just blitz past them."
He surged forward—
"Take permission before you think of passing us!!"
The moment he crossed into their range, fists crashed into him from every direction, solid, heavy, real.
"Th—they're real!!" His body jerked violently from the impact as he was forced backward, his feet dragging against the ground before he was driven into the entrance, dropping to one knee.
"They aren't mirages… how?!" he shouted, breath slightly uneven now.
"They sure aren't. You really thought just anyone could become a battalion leader? I'm the only one in Estalcia capable of creating wind clones with fully functioning bodies." One of the duplicates stretched out her hand, beckoning him forward with a faint smirk. "So come on."
"Don't get cocky, you bitch. It doesn't matter if there are a hundred of you—I'll take you all down." Slayde pushed himself back up, rolling his shoulders as he stepped forward again.
—
Meanwhile, Selene and the others moved through the long, winding hallway toward the control room, their footsteps echoing against the walls.
"So you're the hero Anyachi was talking about. Our supposed savior." Selene glanced back slightly at Miura, her tone calm but observant.
"So I've been told. I still can't wrap my head around it… just earlier today I was an ordinary teenager, now I've got a whole destiny dumped on me." Miura replied, scratching the back of his head.
"You know, I expected our new hero after 200 years to be a tall, handsome, mature man… definitely not a kid."
"Eh?! The hell is that supposed to mean?" Miura snapped, half-annoyed, though there was no real anger behind it.
Selene let out a small chuckle.
"Miura's the new hero… that's amazing. He's already a hero in my book, since he saved me and we held hands." Liah said softly, her face turning red again as she looked down at their memory.
Selene ignored that and shifted her attention to Penelope. "How many attackers do you think there are?"
"Based on the lack of widespread commotion, I'd estimate two or three. The Head must be dealing with one, that's probably why she's taking so long."
"Oh yeah, there was this crazy chick that could hop through shadows." Miura added casually.
"Where?! Is she still at—"
"No," Miura cut in. "I took her down. She tried to hurt Liah, so I put her out. She's unconscious in one of the hallway kitchens."
Selene's eyes flickered slightly as she processed that. He took down an enemy… without even completing his pact?
"We'll still need to restrain her, right vice head?" Penelope asked.
"Yeah. We can't risk her waking up later." Selene stopped walking and pointed at Liah. "You. Show Penelope where it happened."
"O-Okay!" Liah responded quickly.
"What about me?" Miura asked.
"You're staying with me."
"Huh?!"
"Got a problem with that?"
"…None at all." He raised his hands slightly in surrender as they continued walking.
"Can I ask a question?" Miura said after a moment.
"What is it?"
"Why are these hallways so damn long? And why are there so many rooms? This place is a nightmare to navigate."
Selene exhaled lightly. "If you want someone to blame, blame the first hero, Stefan Redborne. He had over 800 concubines."
"800?! Is he Solomon or something?! What does someone even do with that many?!"
"He built the Hero Hall this large to accommodate them."
"So we're suffering because he couldn't keep it in his pants…" Miura muttered, raising his fist slightly in mock frustration.
"…Pretty much." Selene replied with a faint smile.
"Want to know something odd?" she added.
"What could be more odd than that?"
"He only had one child… with one woman."
"…Out of 800?!"
"Yeah. Apparently, he truly loved that one."
Miura shook his head. "Still doesn't change the fact that he was addicted to women."
"…I guess not."
They finally reached the control room.
Inside, it was empty, the silence almost unsettling.
"Figures. They don't usually station soldiers here, no one expected an attack." Selene muttered as she took a seat and grabbed the triangular device connected to the larger interface.
Miura watched closely. That must be their communication system… looks weird.
Then suddenly—
"Shit!!"
She slammed the device down violently.
"What's wrong?!" Miura asked, stepping closer.
"They planned ahead. The wave emitter is down—we're cut off from outside communication." Her voice carried frustration, her brows furrowed tightly.
"So no help is coming…"
"…Yeah. We're on our own."
—
Back in the containment area, Slayde tore through the wind clones with brute force, each movement more aggressive than the last.
"Shit… they just keep coming. Their strength is in numbers, but individually they're…" He grabbed one by the head mid-motion and crushed it instantly. "…weak."
His eyes locked onto one holding a sword among the many.
"That's the main body."
His muscles tensed, veins slightly visible as he gathered strength.
"I'll burn half my energy if I have to… but this ends now."
He burst forward at an insane speed, ripping through the clones in a straight line, their bodies scattering as he reached the target.
"Got you."
He grabbed her and slammed her hard into the entrance, the impact echoing through the space. Without hesitation, he rushed in and pinned her down, his arm pressing tightly against her neck.
"Remember what I said? Not even a hundred of you could stop me." He smirked, increasing the pressure slightly.
She said nothing.
"Not talking? Guess silence really is defeat."
Then—
The door behind them creaked open.
"How…? I haven't even—"
The "Anyachi" in his grip dissolved into wind, her form dispersing instantly as the sword dropped to the ground with a sharp clang.
"If this isn't the real one, then—"
A crushing force slammed into his stomach before he could finish the thought.
His body folded from the impact, breath escaping him violently.
"How—who?!"
The real Anyachi stood in front of him, her expression calm but sharp.
The force of her punch lifted him clean off the ground, sending him flying out of the room. His body tore through multiple structures as he was launched across the hall, each impact echoing violently.
"Didn't expect that, huh?" she said with a slight smirk as her full body stabilized, solid once again.
She picked up her sword and stepped out, closing the containment room behind her before glancing at her hand.
"That punch tore my knuckle open… what the hell is his body made of?" she muttered, flexing her fingers slightly.
Without wasting time, she leapt forward, chasing after him through the path of destruction he created.
—
Elsewhere, Penelope and Liah reached the kitchen.
"She's in there, the eighth hallway kitchen," Liah said, pointing, though she noticed Penelope's body trembling slightly.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"I… I get nervous a lot. All the time, actually. I'm sorry." Penelope admitted, her eyes shifting away in embarrassment.
"Aren't you supposed to be a knight? If you're this nervous, why did you join?" Liah asked bluntly.
Penelope paused, then smiled softly. "Because I want to be one. A brave knight of Estalcia, just like my mother. So it doesn't matter how I feel right now."
She looked ahead, her eyes steadier now.
"A caterpillar doesn't stay a caterpillar forever… it becomes a butterfly. It eventually does."
Liah stared at her, slightly taken aback by the determination in her voice.
"…Let's go."
They stepped inside.
"She's gone!!" Liah shouted, pointing at the empty spot.
"She must've regained consciousness already. This is bad… she could be anywhere."
"No… I'm right here."
Their heads snapped upward.
Eroica dropped from the shadow above, blade aimed straight down.
"Look out!" Penelope shoved Liah aside and raised a wooden shield just in time to block the strike, the impact ringing through the structure.
"A wood user… that's troublesome." Eroica muttered before slipping away into the shadows outside.
"Where did she go?!"
"She's outside! Miura said her range is only four meters!"
Penelope rushed forward and burst through the door.
Then she stopped.
"A room with no light… is a room where you're dead."
Wood surged outward instantly, sealing the hallway completely. Doors, openings, cracks—everything was covered, layered so thick that not a single ray of light could enter.
Darkness swallowed everything.
"Shit…" Eroica's voice echoed faintly.
"We're both in the dark, you fool!" she shouted.
"Correction… only you are." Penelope's voice came calmly through the darkness.
"All my wood is an extension of me… which means I can feel everything it touches."
A brief silence followed.
"Including… where you're standing."
"No—!!"
A massive slab of wood shot upward from beneath Eroica, slamming her into the ceiling with crushing force.
Silence followed.
A wooden structure formed around her immediately, sealing her inside like a coffin, leaving no room for light or escape.
"I… I did it." Penelope's voice trembled slightly with excitement.
Then—
"Koink."
"Ahhh!! I hit my head, I can't see anything!" Liah shouted from the darkness.
"…Sorry." Penelope muttered as the wood receded, allowing light back in.
But the moment it did, her body gave out and she collapsed.
"Hey! Are you okay?!" Liah rushed to her side.
"I just… used too much energy."
"Come on, lean on me. Let's get to the control room."
—
Far away, Slayde's body continued tearing through structures, each impact shaking the halls.
"How… how did she disappear like that?! Wasn't she part of the duplicates?! Then how—how did she vanish like that?!" his thoughts spiraled as he struggled to regain control.
—
Back in the control room—
"We have no other choice but to end this and report—" Selene began, but before she could finish—
The door exploded open.
Slayde's body burst into the room, his back slamming violently into the mechanical interface before collapsing face-first onto the ground.
"What the hell is that?!" Selene shouted, stepping back instinctively.
"Get out of there now!!" a familiar voice rang out from behind them.
"Anyachi?!" Selene and Miura turned immediately, recognizing the voice.
They didn't hesitate, moving out of the room as Slayde slowly began to rise.
"You look horrible, Anyachi." Selene said as she stepped out, her eyes scanning the bruises and blood covering her comrade.
"Like you can talk. You look just as bad." Anyachi replied calmly.
"Yeah… let's just say I hate needles now. The bastard did a number on me, but I took him down." Selene said, adjusting her stance slightly despite the pain in her arm.
Vicoe was defeated… Slayde thought as he forced himself up, his body still reacting to the damage.
"Anyachi, who is this?" Miura asked, pointing at him, his voice tense.
Anyachi's gaze hardened as she stared directly at Slayde.
"He's the one behind the invasion. The one responsible for all of this… the relentless reaper, and a preacher of THE HOMONCULUS."
Selene's expression shifted instantly, a trace of fear crossing her face. "The Homonculus…"
"This guy… he reeks of death." Miura muttered, swallowing hard.
Anyachi stepped forward slightly, her grip tightening on her sword as the air around her seemed to sharpen.
"It ends here and now, Slayde."