"Hoh. That looks interesting."
Apopis, standing atop the Trihexa, smiled. A magic circle hovered near his ear—he was communicating with Asem.
What are they planning?
The smile sent a chill through everyone. In the next heartbeat—the world turned black.
The sky, the ground, everything. It was as if someone had dumped a vat of ink over reality.
"This is…!"
"Yes, it's the same feeling as back then…! But this is—!"
Miu and Ravel turned pale. Their expressions were filled with pure dread.
"Alice! Use your Shin-ki now!" Miu screamed. "Everyone, don't let the black touch you! Move!"
Alice immediately donned her golden aura, activating her Pseudo-Deification. We tried to retreat, but—
"Whoa!"
"What is this?!"
Zenovia and Irina screamed. Tentacles of shadow had erupted from the blackened earth, ensnaring them. I rushed to help, but the shadows lunged at me too. I sliced through the first few, but eventually, the sheer number overwhelmed me, seizing my legs.
Maurice, Lisha, Dulio—even the strongest among us were caught. Only Miu and Alice, in their divine forms, remained free.
We struggled against the grip of the shadows. But then, as abruptly as they had grabbed us, they let go. The tentacles receded back into the ground.
"What was that…?" someone muttered. "It didn't even hurt."
The ground remained pitch black. Then, the surface began to bubble and churn. Columns of black liquid rose up, each roughly the size of a human. When the liquid peeled away, I gasped in horror.
Because standing there… was me.
I was looking at a second Kiba Yuto.
I looked around. There were two of Rias, two of Akeno, Zenovia, Irina… two of everyone. Every person who had been touched by those shadows now had a double standing before them.
Miu turned her gaze toward a small girl standing in the distance. She had skin as white as snow and hair that reached her feet. Beside her stood the Duplicate of the Red Dragon Emperor.
"Belle…!" Miu growled. "I see. You used the Red Dragon Emperor's power to boost your own duplication ability. Now you don't even need to touch us to copy us… and on this scale!"
Belle nodded slightly, her face expressionless. "Yes. Belle will fight too."
She pointed a hand toward us. In response, the army of clones unsheathed their weapons and charged.
The battle had shifted: The Real vs. The Fake.
[Kiba POV – End]
A gentle breeze blew across the plains. The scent of grass tickled my nose, pulling my consciousness back from the void.
"Where am I…?"
I was standing in the middle of a vast, emerald-green meadow. Above was a brilliant blue sky, and in the distance, a range of majestic mountains.
I had never been here before. And yet, it felt familiar. Nostalgic.
I began to walk, guided by a strange pull. I didn't look around; I just moved forward with total certainty. This was the right way.
After a while, I stopped. Before me was a small hill.
At the summit, a single figure sat, gazing out at the horizon. I knew that back. I had been chasing that back for a long time.
The figure stood up slowly and turned around.
"Yo, Issei."
"Hey… Light."
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