Side Story: Remaining Time

Even though it was missing an arm and leg and had such a large, bloody thorn stuck in it, the Copy was still, after all, another version of itself.

If I were truly prepared to fight to the death, even in my weakened state, I might still inflict unexpected harm on Galan.

This is definitely not the outcome he wanted to see.

In my eyes, the other party is already at his last gasp; there's no need to fight him to the death.

Smart people still need to use smart people's tactics.

The Alchemy Longsword swiftly rose from the ground, clashing with the opponent's weapon.

The powerful force repeatedly dispersed the surrounding Dense Fog, and it didn't even recover during the time the two were fighting. Clearly, every collision between them was a high-quality, high-intensity battle, with each person swinging their weapons with the goal of killing the other.

If Clinton and Pass were present, they would surely be speechless at the sight of their battle.

After all, the two of them had been fighting for so long, and even if they had given it their all, they couldn't have made such a commotion.

Call!

After several rounds of combat, Galan was somewhat surprised that the Copy, even in its current state, could still fight him to a standstill.

However, the fact that the other person is not sensitive to pain or emotionally affected by it probably plays a role in this as well.

If it were a normal person, they would have died from massive blood loss long ago, and wouldn't be able to fight me so fiercely for so long.

He subtly took a step back, but the other party, whose thinking was aligned with his own, instantly realized that he was preparing to retreat and create distance after a powerful strike.

Having figured out Galan's battle strategy, the Copy obviously didn't intend to let Galan retreat so easily. So when the opponent actually used his ultimate technique on it, it chose to avoid its vital points and went straight for Galan. But what it didn't expect was that up to this point, the Copy's actions were all within Galan's expectations.

Their relationship goes far beyond mere confidants; in a sense, they are practically the same person.

Therefore, by subconsciously overlooking a certain point, Galan was able to easily grasp the opponent's combat strategy and guide it, until the current situation arose.

"Suo once again stirred at the foot of the Copy, where Galan had just spilled blood, which the clone had not noticed. The moment it approached the clone, it became agitated."

The enormous blood spikes formed almost the instant it reacted, swiftly and decisively locking both of its legs firmly to the ground.

Galan originally intended to pierce it directly, but that would consume too much Mana, so he changed to this method.

The Copy, which was originally sprinting at high speed, collapsed to the ground due to the restraints on its feet.

He stood there, head held high, staring blankly at Galan approaching him.

"It's still 'myself' after all, and doing this feels a bit strange."

He said that, but Galan's hands told a completely different story.

Not only was the head removed cleanly and efficiently, but it was also split vertically in two to prevent the "corpse from rising from the dead" phenomenon.

"That should solve it, but to truly resolve this problem, we still need to deal with that Water Mirror Demon hiding somewhere."

Watching the Copy's body gradually dissipate as it transformed into black Mana Particles, Galan breathed a sigh of relief and began to hurry back in the direction he had come from.

This time, however, he did not simply rely on his memory to walk back to where he had come from, as he had done before.

Judging from the fact that we went back to look for Lia and the others but couldn't find them, this thick Dense Fog is likely intended to mislead people.

You think you're heading in the direction you remember, but in reality, you're going further and further down the wrong path.

This is probably why Lia and the others got separated from them.

"This is still a bit troublesome... They can't just stay in the same place forever, can they?"

Thinking of this, Galan couldn't help but feel another headache coming on.

Finding them right now is proving to be a tricky business...

With his eyes closed, he relied entirely on the feeling he had when he got here to walk back to where Clinton and the others were. But he hadn't taken more than a few steps when he suddenly opened his eyes, clearly sensing something approaching.

"We can't go on like this, Captain! We'll be worn down and die here!"

Pass shouted as he desperately resisted the relentless attacks of his other "self".

The axes rained down on his head like a storm, but with his strength waning, he could no longer mount an effective counterattack and could only defend himself against this emotionless killing machine.

Meanwhile, in Clinton, not far from him, the situation wasn't much better.

Now, he not only has many scars on his body, but he is also in a wolf-fox state. Even though his condition is much better than Pass's, no matter how many wounds he inflicts on his Copy, it is all just a pointless waste against a magical creation that has no sense of pain.

On the contrary, in order to inflict these ineffective wounds, he inevitably ended up with many more wounds of varying depths on his own body.

What a mess...

Clinton couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself. Faced with the Copy before him, which was almost constantly on the offensive, it wouldn't be long before he, like Pass, found himself on the defensive...

He couldn't think about it, nor did he dare to.

Once fear takes hold, one's fighting spirit will plummet. If I fall here, what will happen to Pass? What will happen to Lucina?

He's the captain, and he has to be responsible for his teammates.

Boom!

Another powerful blow.

Although Clinton could already predict what move the Copy would use after seeing its opponent's starting stance.

Even so, he was still inevitably knocked away when facing his own near-peak form.

"Puff!"

The blood in his chest surged, and as he quickly steadied himself, stood up, and assumed a fighting stance...

Two streams of blood flowed uncontrollably from the corners of his mouth.

That last blow clearly caused internal injuries.

My condition has undoubtedly deteriorated to another level. If I continue to be worn down by the opponent like this, then, as Pass just said, we will both perish here.

Is there really no other way?

He looked around in despair, praying for a miracle.

The association has sent so many elite teams this time!

Isn't there a single team capable of dealing with that damned Water Mirror Demon?