The combat was a symphony of chaos. The twelve Cleavers weren't mindless. And they were even able to cooperate. They fought with the tactical cohesion of a drilled military unit. They covered each other's blind spots. Their black blades weaving intricate, lethal patterns.
Jack saw the pattern in their aura. Through his [Eyes of Judgement], he saw the flickering, noticeable panel of sequence. Information that hovered over their heads like a price tag.
"The first one!" Jack yelled.
He unleashed a chain. Ensnaring the target. Forcing the first target, Eduard Cleaver the Envious, into a kneeling position. He leveled his shotgun and his finger tightened on the trigger.
BANG! The shot was clean. The Envious dissolved into grey soot.
"Number two, Love! Left pillar!" Jack yelled again.
Reina blinked. Her heels clicked on the floor as she materialized directly behind the second target, Eduard Cleaver the Schemer. Firing two lightning-infused rounds point-blank into its skull. It crumpled. Vanishing into smoke.
"Great!" Jack praised as he ducked under a horizontal slash of one of the Eduard Cleaver.
That slash would have removed his head if it hit. But it missed. Jack spun a hundred eighty degrees. His chains whipped out to deflect an incoming blade. The clash of cursed-metal on hellfire-metal echoed loudly like a church bell.
The dance of death became faster. The manor seemed to groan. The walls seemed to be distorted. Making the battle even harder than it was.
The trio were working efficiently. Dealing with the rest of the clones without making any mistake. But the pressure was mounting. The remaining ten were fighting with desperation.
They stopped trying to catch the constantly teleporting girls and began to focus on the non-teleporting Jack. Forcing him to work much harder.
Jack had identified the next target though. He moved to finish the third one. Eduard Cleaver, the Pretender. He had his shotgun aimed. His finger was squeezing the trigger, when a blur of black shadow surged in from the periphery.
It was the seventh clone, Eduard Cleaver the Betrayer. It didn't attack Jack. It lunged directly in front of the Pretender. Taking the blast meant for the third target.
"Crap!" Jack swore in irritation.
The blast struck the seventh Eduard Cleaver. Instantly destroying his head. But, it was a wrong sequence elimination.
The moment the seventh clone disintegrated, the air in the manor turned extremely heavy. A high-pitched screech vibrated through the floorboards. The three clones that were already killed, the Envious, the Schemer, and the Betrayer flickered back into existence. Reforming from the soot on the floor.
The entire manor reset. The damage to the furniture repaired itself. And the clones were back at full health and full energy capacity. Their eyes were glowing with a renewed, predatory hunger.
"Dammit!" Jack cursed. Flipping backward as a flurry of blades sliced the air where he had been standing. "I knew it wouldn't be that easy."
"They know the death of a wrong sequence would reset the whole thing, Dear!" Reina yelled. Teleporting three meters to the left just as an Eduard Cleaver's blade passed through her afterimage.
She fired a suppressive shot into his opponent's leg. Forcing him to evade. "But they don't seem to be able to kill themselves or attack their counterparts though." She observed.
"I've noticed that too." Jack replied as he blast the left arm of Eduard Cleaver, the Betrayer.
He gripped his shotgun. His eyes burned with mental calculation. "Let's redo this then! Second round! Aella! Ten o'clock sharp!"
Aella complied instantly. She understood the instruction. She pointed his voidfire revolver sixty degree counter-clockwise. And a blast of purple-black, deadly fire bullet struck the chest of Eduard Cleaver the Envious. Killing him instantly for the second time.
"Now!" Jack wove his chains through the air. Creating five sets of slithering metal chains that scattered the Eduard Cleavers all over the place.
He then threw his weight into a shoulder charge. Slamming Eduard Cleaver the Betrayer into the wall. Holding that clone there with one hand while he fired his shotgun at the head of Eduard Cleaver the Schemer.
However, that second target managed to move his head on time. Evading the bullet completely through luck.
"Reina!" Jack called.
Reina blinked. Reappearing in a flash of grey fog. Her twin handguns barked lightning-coated rounds to the head of the Schemer. Killing the second target for the second time. Turning him to ash instantly.
"Girls! Change of plan!" Jack shouted. "Follow my instruction!"
He threw the Betrayer away and dropped his shotgun. He decided to change to a new plan. He would control the battlefield instead of being the executioner. Reina and Aella would have to be the executioners.
Jack threw both of his hands forward. Multiple blazing [Chains of Vengeance] shot out and leashed toward the many Eduard Cleavers.
"Aella!" He shouted. "This one!"
He yanked one of the clones caught by the blazing chains. Throwing him to Aella's current position. It was Eduard Cleaver the Pretender. The third target.
Aella instantly fired a barrage of voidfire. Demolishing the clone into ashes. Just like that and the Pretender was gone.
They were in sync now. Eduard Cleaver the Hired Killer fell next. Reina's bullets pierced his head as Jack's chains entangled his limbs.
The trio were moving with cold efficiency. But the remaining clones were becoming more aggressive. Their power seemed to increase as their number was reduced. And their cooperation turned into a fearless charge. A suicidal action.
Jack sweated heavily. Less from protecting himself against their attack and more from struggling not to incidentally kill Eduard Cleaver from the wrong sequence.
To make it worse, the battlefield became more complicated the further the battle lasted. As they reached the fourth of the sequence, the manor itself began to tilt. The geometry of the room bent to crush them.
"Reina! Behind you!" Jack bellowed. "Blast it!"
Reina didn't even look. She fired behind her back several times. Her bullet caught Eduard Cleaver the Robber mid-leap. Piercing his head and heart accurately. Eliminating the fifth target.
Jack and the girls kept moving. Their movements became sharper. More practical and instinctual. Their concentration and focus were pushed to the max. They didn't want to make a mistake that turned everything back to the start. Fortunately, their rhythm was holding.
The sixth target, Eduard Cleaver Greedy, was tripped by Jack's blazing chains and died under Reina's barrage of shots.
When they reached the seventh, Eduard Cleaver the Betrayer, Jack took no chances. It was the one who foiled their first attempt. He used his Chains of Vengeance to bind it tightly. Immobilizing it completely.
"Aella, finish that one!"
The girl appeared in a spark of purple black fire and fired a single, concentrated beam of voidfire. The seventh clone screamed. Emitting a sound that wasn't exactly human. Dissolving into ash.
"Stay sharp!" Jack commanded. "Five more to go!"
The momentum shifted. The remaining five Cleavers didn't seem to falter. Their synchronized movements seemed to be more refined instead.
However, the trio were also getting more focused. Aella's voidfire blast was blocked by Eduard Cleaver the Oath Breaker. But it threw him to Jack's direction.
Jack rolled on the ground to avoid the collision. And at the same time, he grabbed his dropped steamrune shotgun.
As the Oath Breaker managed to recover his balance, Jack pulled the trigger of his shotgun. Blasting his head with a single, brutal shotgun shell.
Eight down. Four to go.
"Four more!" Reina shouted. "Which one is the next, Dear?"
"There!" Jack barked. His [Chains of Vengeance] lashed out again. Targeting one of the Eduard Cleaver. The one his [Eyes of Judgement] marked as the Ally Slayer.
That Eduard Cleaver managed to evade the chain lashing. He even lunged at Aella to retaliate.
The little girl unleashed a concentrated burst of voidfire. Unfortunately a piece of collapsed ceiling blocked the shot. Saving the Ally Slayer.
The hall was now ridiculously twisted. Almost unrecognizable from its original form. Pillars and ceiling were crumbling. Random parts of the floor cracked or burst up. Pieces of furniture were moving around as if a nasty poltergeist was throwing an arbitrary tantrum there.
As Aella teleported away, Jack vaulted over a piece of broken debris. Landing a killing shot with his shotgun toward the Ally Slayer.
Nine down. Only three remained. Three Eduard Cleavers. Labeled as the Cursed One, the Insane, and the Dead.
The three clones moved together. A final, desperate charge. They didn't attack different target. All of them ignored Reina and Aella. Charging toward Jack instead. A suicidal maneuver.
Jack grinned and took out two spellcards. [Dragon Lullaby] and [Forceful Trout Morph]. He activated the cards decisively. Two flashes of bright light.
Instantly, Eduard Cleaver the Insane turned into a fish. And Eduard Cleaver the Dead dropped down on his path. Falling into a deep sleep without any resistance.
Jack aimed his shotgun at the remaining active clone. The Cursed One. He pulled the trigger without any hesitation.
The Cursed One lifted his blade and surprisingly managed to block the bullet with it. Showing that the power of the clone got stronger the less their number was indeed.
But it didn't help the Cursed One for long. Aella had blinked behind him and fired her voidfire revolver from almost point blank range. The blast demolished the clone's back and turned the whole body into ash with a blink of an eye.
Jack didn't stop to appreciate the work. His shotgun was quickly aimed at Eduard Cleaver the Insane who reverted back to human from his fish form.
BANG! The Insane fell. A deadly round blasted a big hole through his head. Eleven down. One more to go.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three shots exploded almost simultaneously. All targeting the sleeping Eduard Cleaver the Dead. Coming from Jack, Reina, and Aella.
The last clone hadn't even awaken from his sleep when he was slain...
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