Ren manifested her true angel.
The overwhelming power radiating from her was more than enough to put pressure on us.
"This is a world where every wish comes true――and that also means this place is under the control of [Samael]."
"No way...!"
Being under [Samael]'s control meant Ren could do whatever she wanted.
"Twelve spirits' worth of spirit waves. I’ll make good use of them. [Samael]."
"Ghk...!"
As Ren shone, eight figures appeared around us.
"Those are... us?"
Yeah. Figures that looked exactly like everyone here.
They were completely identical to us, except their colors were darker.
Maria and Marina weren’t there, probably because they were special cases who could only exist in cyberspace.
While everyone was still reeling from the sudden appearance of those figures, Tohka's shadow attacked Tohka.
"W-What is this...!"
Tohka blocked an attack that was similar to hers, no, even stronger, and stared in shock at the trembling tip of [Sandalphon].
"Tch!"
Even my copy swung its fist at me, and the force was enough to punch a hole through my shoulder and blow one arm off.
"Hieta!"
"I’m fine!"
"I’m all right!"
Since my body would just regenerate anyway, I reassured the others and glared at my copy.
"This is insane...."
Normally, a copy like that should have less power than me.
After all, the souls Ren had absorbed were only a tiny fraction of the total.
The problem was that the empty space had been filled with twelve spirits’ worth of spirit waves.
"......"
"And it’s even a Hollow...!"
On top of that, the souls Ren had absorbed had somehow been mixed with the Dark Soul.
The powerful souls born from the First Flame.
Among them was a soul that held an even deeper darkness than the rest: the Dark Soul.
The Dark Soul that Slave Knight Gael had gone so far as to absorb himself in order to obtain the dark blood he wanted had already shown just how much power it could grant on its own.
Even Gael, whose vessel was smaller than the protagonist’s, had been able to pressure the protagonist with that power, so even a fraction of it added on top would be formidable.
"You damn lunatic!"
My copy had become a Hollow because of the Dark Soul.
With nothing left but the instinct to devour souls, it was only natural that it would attack me first, since I was the only one here with souls left and the most power overall, spirit waves included.
Clang! Clang-clang-clang!
The sounds of the Hollow’s fists colliding with my spiral sword rang out in every direction, rattling my ears.
"......"
Whoosh!
Those empty eyes locked onto me and sparked into flame, and it was a flame filled with black-red darkness.
The black-red fire soon took the shape of a skull similar to the one Gael used, then began raining down on me.
"What did you make, Ren!"
Whoosh!
I also unleashed flames from my spiral sword and blocked every skull, but in the gap, the Hollow’s attack broke through and my chest burst apart.
"Ghk!"
Even as blood sprayed from my mouth into my eyes, the Hollow didn’t care and continued its combo.
Watching the Hollow and the other copies fight their originals, Ren laughed as if she were enjoying herself and said,
"Heehee. They’re your own shadows and injuries, created from your own spirit waves and a portion of Higakieta’s power."
"What...!"
"As long as you’re fighting with spirit power, I can safely call them your natural enemy, one you can never beat. Dance as hard as you can. Make it ugly."
"No need for that. [Metatron]!"
At Ren’s words, Tobiichi said that and used Metatron against her.
But Tobiichi’s shadow blocked him and attacked Tobiichi instead, its behavior matching ours exactly.
"Tch!?"
"Oh? You’re targeting me directly. As expected of Origami. Good judgment. If your shadow hadn’t been here, that ambush might have worked."
"So not just their appearance, but their behavior patterns are the same too...."
Just as the commander said, Tohka and my shadow, the Hollow, which had only its instincts left, were both going on the offensive, while spirits like Rinne and Miss Mayuri, who didn’t especially like fighting, were showing more passive or defensive behavior.
"This is driving me crazy!"
Both Tohka and I were the same.
These insane shadow bastards kept hammering us with nonstop combos and didn’t even give us a moment to breathe.
Tohka was at least holding out by trading sword beams from a distance, but this side was all-out aggressive, making even survival difficult.
"Hup!"
Still, because the body itself was human, openings did appear.
Not missing that opening, I swung my spiral sword and cut the Hollow diagonally from its right shoulder to its left waist.
Sshhk!
"Gahk!"
What came back was a wound carved into my own upper body.
"Hahahahahaha!!! Excellent, truly excellent! You’re dancing exactly as I expected. Didn’t I tell you? Shadows are your counterpart. If the shadow is wounded, so are you. That is the law of this world."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean...!"
Itsuka-kun protested at Ren’s words, but Ren only said that if we died, the shadows would die too.
"Shit...!"
I felt like swearing out loud.
If I attacked, I got hurt. If I didn’t attack, the enemy attacked me anyway, so I got hurt. It was a ridiculous situation.
And if the shadows only disappeared when we, the originals, died, then at the very least, the possibility of that Hollow dying was basically nonexistent.
Because I, the original, wasn’t going to die.
In this utterly hopeless situation, everyone was reluctant to attack their own shadows.
"Tch!"
Even now, the Hollow kept pressing me, its eyes filled only with obsession for souls.
"Hoo...."
First, I needed to calm down and look at the situation carefully.
My armor and weapon weren’t made of spirit waves, so even as a shadow, I was still basically unarmed.
Thanks to that, the actual damage I was taking was very small.
The damage I took from attacking the Hollow was different, but in any case, aside from physical destruction, the damage I received from the Hollow was almost nonexistent.
"The problem is...."
The Hollow’s aggression was too strong.
This was only because I was inside the Dark Souls system, where I took reduced damage. There was no guarantee the others were the same as me.
"And it can even fire skulls filled with the power of the Dark Soul."
If I got hit by those skulls, I’d take far more damage than from its fists, so I had to be careful while dealing with the Hollow.
"Hup!"
I dodged the fist the Hollow threw and drove my own fist into its side.
"Hngh!"
Of course, the impact was transmitted to me and I was the one who took the damage, but even so, the Hollow flinched a little.
"Good. I’m not letting you go to anyone else."
The Hollow and I did nothing but stare at each other and keep attacking.
******
"......"
Watching Shido and the others struggle against their shadows, Ren felt something rising up inside her.
"This is..."
She had been drunk on her sense of omnipotence and hadn’t realized it, but the Dark Soul she had absorbed from Hieta contained a darkness so deep that if one couldn’t endure it, it would turn them into a mindless being.
"...Ghk."
Ren was neither the Lord of Cinder, nor the Ashen One, nor the Abyss King, and before she knew it, she was being swallowed by darkness herself.
At least the spirit waves she had absorbed, along with the spirit waves she had originally possessed, were tugging against the Dark Soul, keeping the boundary taut so she wouldn’t be consumed.
"Kih, hihihit!"
Then she heard someone’s creepy laughter.
Bang! Bang-bang!
A storm of bullets slammed between the shadows and their originals, making the shadows hesitate for a moment.
"You damn Hollow bastard!"
Of course, Hieta’s shadow, with only its instincts left, kept attacking without the slightest hesitation.
"Them too?"
Several people stepped in and blocked it with their bodies.
"Kurumi!"
"Miss!?"
The only spirit who had not been sealed by Shido, and the one who had sensed the aura of a spirit she hated coming from Ren.
Tokisaki Kurumi joined the battle against Ren.
"Looks like everyone’s having a rough time~"
Kurumi appeared with complete ease and said to the flustered Shido,
"You seem to be doing something interesting. I can’t sit this one out."
"You’re helping us...?"
"Well, to put it simply, yes. Ideally, I’d like you to ask me for help, Shido, but I’ll make an exception this time."
At Kurumi’s words, Shido felt a little relieved inside.
Kurumi, who had appeared at the brink of death, was helpful just by existing.
"Ren, was it? Maybe it’s just my imagination, but you give off the same vibe as a spirit I really hate."
Kurumi stared at Ren with open disgust.
Ren shrugged and replied to that.
"My, my. I’ve gone and earned your hatred. Still, I suppose that’s the fate of a villain."
As Ren joked around, others appeared behind Kurumi.
"Heh, so you’re claiming the villain role? I’m the original, you know."
"Marina, is that something to brag about?"
"Maria and Marina!?"
The two artificial spirits, who should have only been able to exist in cyberspace, appeared here with their artificial angels manifested.
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