Side Story: The Water Mirror Demon I

Just as Lucina was about to say, "The relationship between the three of you is too complicated," a primal alarm bell alerted her that danger was approaching. She abruptly turned her head and looked at the Dense Fog not far away.

"Lucina...?"

Seeing her suddenly serious expression, Lia was a little flustered. "Shh! Something's coming."

She pulled Lia behind her, shielding her in front of her.

Although Lia possessed far more Mana power than she did, Lucina could clearly sense, just as Lyra had said before,

She had received absolutely no formal Mage training, so right now she could only rely on herself.

The surroundings remained completely silent, as if no living creature had ever existed there.

Even the sound of Lia's breathing beside her could be clearly heard by Lucina.

But my intuition is definitely not wrong; something is definitely approaching them. What is it that's getting closer?

Because of the [Enhanced Perception Magic] she used Lucina could now clearly sense that an object was slowly approaching them directly in front of them.

Approaching... no... the other person seems to have stopped... What is "he" doing?

Due to her limited field of vision, Lucina, like Galan and the others before her, could only see a black shadow and could not see the other party's true face.

But judging from the shadowy figure alone, its shape felt strangely familiar... Wait! That looks like herself!

The moment the thought crossed her mind, a beam of purple light pierced through the Dense Fog and shot towards her. Fortunately Lucina had been on alert since the beginning, and she immediately activated her [Defensive Magic] the instant the attack occurred.

A square blue barrier quickly unfolded in front of her, perfectly defending against the attack that was carrying murderous intent. The powerful residual Mana stirred the color of Lucina's hair by her ears, and even the magic hat on her head swayed continuously under the aftershocks of the Mana.

The opponent showed no mercy in this attack; it was clearly aimed at killing them.

"Who are you? Why are you attacking us?"

Although she already had some guesses in her mind, Lucina still wanted to confirm her thoughts.

As soon as she finished speaking, the dark figure in the Dense Fog did not respond, nor did it make any further move, just like a toy with its batteries removed, frozen in place.

Is it that they can't hear themselves speaking? Or that they don't understand?

Or did they hear it but have no intention of responding?

Lucina hadn't been able to figure out her opponent's background, so she didn't dare to make any rash moves.

"Lucina... who exactly is that?"

Lia cautiously peeked out from behind her, still shaken by the earlier clash of waves.

If Lucina hadn't shielded him, and if that attack had been aimed at him, he would probably be a corpse by now.

"That attack... was 'my' doing... It's unbelievable... That such a thing could actually happen, to be able to completely replicate another person..."

After a brief exchange, even without directly confronting Lucina like Galan and the others, they could basically tell that the dark figure standing behind the Dense Fog was another version of her.

That attack just now, the [Lightning-Piercing Magic], in terms of the amount of Mana released, the structure of the spell formula, and even the starting movements, was exactly the same as her usual habits. And in Lucina's knowledge, only one kind of monster could create such a perfect Copy of the other. "Is that so... So it was the Water Mirror Demon?"

Galan stood behind the three, having discerned their approach.

"Water Mirror Demon? What is that?"

Looking at the Clay Person in front of him that looked exactly like himself, Pass felt only a sense of unease and didn't even have the mind to think about the other's origins. Now, after hearing what Galan said about it being a Water Mirror Demon, he couldn't help but become a little curious.

"That's an extremely dangerous high-ranking demon, possessing the ability to copy the magic and abilities of others."

"It typically takes the form of a humanoid figure or liquid metal, and through [Copy Magic], it can perfectly mimic an opponent's magic, fighting style, and even parts of their memories."

Galan recalled the comic book settings he had seen in the past and then fluently explained them to the group.

"Is this thing really that weird...?"

After hearing Galan's words, Pass felt even more that the version of himself in front of him was somewhat abnormal.

If someone can perfectly replicate their years of combat experience and techniques simply by using [Copy Magic], wouldn't that mean they have no chance against their own Copy?

"Luckily, I wasn't alone. If the Water Mirror Demon paired every lone person with their own Copy, then facing another version of themselves that is devoid of emotion and unafraid of pain, the real person would have almost no chance of winning."

After that move, and with Galan's explanation, Clinton had calmed down and was no longer worried.

The enemy is nothing more than a Copy of Pass. If I can't even defeat Pass, how could I possibly become the team captain?

As long as no other Copy appear to interfere in the battle, I am fully confident that I can end the battle within ten moves.

Just as he was about to make his move, Galan suddenly stepped forward, grabbed his sleeve, and then forcefully pulled him to the other side.

"Brother Galan, what's going on?"

Before he could even react, a gust of cold wind swept across his neck, leaving a shallow bloodstain. By that slight difference, Clinton's neck would have been severed on the spot.

"What! When did he come to my side?"

After realizing the intention behind Galan's actions, Clinton broke out in a cold sweat.

He turned his head to look at the enemy who had tried to assassinate him, only to be shocked to find that it was actually Copy of Galan.

"Brother... you..."

He looked at the other person in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe what had just happened.

He had always been confident in his own strength. Among the many experts in the association, he was renowned as a warrior. There were almost no warriors in the entire [Äußerst] who could defeat him. But now, Galan's Copy had managed to sneak up behind him without him noticing and almost killed him.

If it weren't for Galan's timely intervention, his head and body would already be gone.