Surprise attack
The battle wasn't very intense.
After being knocked down by the crowd, "Laufen" stood frozen in place, like a real stone statue.
Then, starting from the fingertips, fine cracks silently spread, quickly covering the entire body. There was no blood, no internal organs, only fine stone chips falling softly.
A few seconds later, it turned into a pile of inconspicuous gray powder, spread out on the ground, mixed with the dust on the maze floor, and could no longer be seen as humanoid.
The passageway was silent, save for the sound of everyone breathing.
Duncan stared at the pile of powder, his cloudy eyes narrowing. He spoke slowly, his voice unusually steady in the confined space.
"It appears to be a clone created using magic. To achieve this level of sophistication... it must be the work of Demons, or some special kind of demon."
He paused, then added.
"But in all my years, I have never seen magic that can replicate another person so perfectly. Not only the appearance, but also the magical fluctuations, the fighting style, and even the behavioral habits are exactly the same. The rhythm of its dodging and counterattack just now was exactly the same as Laufen's."
His gaze fell on the pile of powder.
"I'm afraid... even their memories have been stolen or read in some way. Otherwise, that fighting instinct is inexplicable."
Laufen crossed her arms, pouted, and complained, "This is really uncomfortable."
Lichta leaned against the wall, her gaze sweeping across the ground.
"Fortunately, at least it's obvious this thing is a fake at a glance. The body is made of stone; unless someone is hopelessly stupid, they can tell the difference the moment they see it."
"At least, you don't have to worry about doing stupid things like 'mistakenly killing a teammate because they're a clone' or 'being attacked by a teammate because they're a clone.'"
Methode nodded slightly, her posture still elegant, but her eyes held a hint of seriousness.
"That being said, what if the user of this magic could manipulate multiple such clones simultaneously?"
Her voice was gentle, yet it pointed out a crucial point.
"If one can perfectly replicate one person, then a second, a third can be replicated. If multiple clones possessing all of our abilities and memories were to appear simultaneously, coordinating their attacks... then the threat level would be far more than just one plus one."
Duncan paused for a moment, then slowly nodded.
"Yes... it seems the greatest danger in this Ruined King's Tomb isn't the ancient traps and mechanisms, but this bizarre 'copying' magic. In any case, choosing to come in as a team was a wise decision. More people means more options, and we can support each other..."
His words came to an abrupt end.
Not only him, but everyone in the passageway stopped moving.
A deep, slow, yet incredibly clear rumbling sound came from inside the walls on both sides.
"Boom... Rumble..."
The sound was dull, with a teeth-grinding creaking sound of rocks rubbing against each other.
Immediately afterwards, a clear tremor came from the ground beneath everyone's feet.
What is that?
"The wall is moving..."
The rock walls on both sides of the passage, which had originally seemed incredibly solid and were inlaid with glowing moss, were now slowly but irresistibly closing in on each other!
It wasn't an illusion. The peeling pebbles and falling dust on the wall surface were incredibly real.
"Scatter!"
Duncan gave a low shout, and at the same time slammed his staff on the ground, instantly unleashing a honeycomb-shaped Defensive Magic that blocked the slowly approaching rock wall, attempting to slow its closing speed.
But the force with which the rock walls closed was astonishing. The light of the Defensive Magic circle flickered violently, emitting a creaking sound as it struggled under the strain, and cracks quickly spread across its surface.
The group was forced to separate; Frieren friends retreated to the back, while Duncan and his friends retreated to the front.
"Lichta!" Duncan shouted to Lichta beside him as he rapidly retreated while maintaining his Defensive Magic.
Lichta had already crouched down, slamming her hands heavily on the ground.
Boom!
A thick earthen wall rose up from behind them, temporarily blocking the closing rock wall on the other side and creating a narrow space for them to catch their breath.
But the rock wall ahead was still closing in. Duncan's Defensive Magic finally gave way and shattered into points of light with a "bang".
"This place is too cramped!" Duncan quickly analyzed the situation, his gaze sweeping across the front. "We can't cast our spells properly! We'll be squeezed to death here! Lichta, cover us! Everyone, follow me, retreat to that stone chamber ahead! It's more spacious there, we can maneuver around!"
He pointed to the end of the passage ahead, where the outline of a relatively open square space could be vaguely seen.
"Quick!"
Laufen and Methode reacted the fastest, immediately turning and retreating towards the stone chamber, with Länge following behind. Edel was also protected by Bly and Dunster on either side, retreating quickly. The rest of the people, along with Frieren, were left behind at the back.
Duncan used Ordinary Attack Magic to bombard the approaching rock wall, slowing its speed, while steadily retreating.
Lichta remained at the back. He half-squatted on the ground, his hands pressed firmly against it. The earthen wall in front of him trembled and crumbled under the pressure of the rock wall, but he continuously channeled his magic to repair and reinforce it, resisting the attack.
"Tsk, this thing is really strong. Duncan, hurry up, his magic is stronger than mine."
The others gradually retreated into the stone chamber. The stone chamber was much more spacious than the passage, about half the size of a plaza, enough for everyone to move around easily.
Duncan was the last to retreat into the stone chamber entrance, looking back at the passageway.
"Lichta! It's ready! Come here!"
Upon hearing this, Lichta immediately withdrew her hand and swiftly retreated.
The instant he removed the earthen wall spell—
"Boom!!"
The rock walls, now free of obstruction, crashed together with an even greater speed, creating a deafening roar! Countless fragments of rock and dust exploded in the passage, and the entire maze seemed to tremble.
However, a figure "flowed" out from the crevice of the closing rock wall in a strange way.
It's Elder.
No, it's "Elder".
His upper body silently "emerged" from the hard rock wall, his dark gray-blue stone skin gleaming coldly in the dim light. His short black hair and the Demons horns on his head were almost identical to his own.
But his face was expressionless, his eyes were empty, and he simply "watched" the people in the stone chamber.
The next second, he raised his stone arm.
"Whoosh--!"
Countless magically enhanced, sharp-edged clods of earth rained down from the passageway into the stone chamber, covering an extremely wide area and almost engulfing everyone at the entrance!
"Defense!"
Duncan, Methode, and Länge acted almost simultaneously. Three layers of honeycomb-shaped Defensive Magic instantly overlapped and unfolded, blocking their path.
"Bang bang--!"
The dense, resounding impacts were like hailstones pounding on a tin roof, continuous and relentless. The Defensive Magic circle flickered violently, and ripples Swirl wildly.
"We can't hold out here!" Duncan observed "Elder's " attack patterns; it seemed to be able to endlessly extract soil and stones from the walls and ground to attack. "Methode, Länge, coordinate with me, use wide-area magic to suppress it and restrict its movements! Lichta, Bly, Dunster, protect Edel; Edel, try using Mental Magic to control him! Laufen, watch your surroundings, be careful of other clones!"
The battle has begun.