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Chapter 209

In the early morning, Alkeinea entered Yeon-woo’s empty dorm room. Since the room’s owner, Yeon-woo, had been away for some time, she was there to manage things in his absence.

Every morning or night, she would often come by the dormitory to clean or sort out packages. Although she had a personal agenda during these visits, Yeon-woo would likely understand. After all, he wasn’t the petty type who would get mad over a few neglected laundry items.

“…Is he not coming back soon?”

Stepping outside the dormitory, Nea muttered to herself and suddenly gasped, her eyes widening in surprise.

Until recently, she had not even comprehended what loneliness felt like, yet just a few days had passed, and she found herself missing the presence of a single human.

As Nea absentmindedly fanned her flushed face, feeling bewildered by her own feelings, In-young approached her.

“Hello, Nea unnie.”

“Oh, it’s In-hwa. How have you been?”

Nea greeted her warmly, recognizing Baek In-hwa, a friend of Yeon-woo’s who was somewhat aware of the situation. In-hwa nodded, just like a doll designed to do so.

There weren’t many who knew about Nea in this city.

Though it sounded like some sort of secret information known only to the powerful of Harmony City, it was merely the spread of information centered around Yeon-woo’s personal relationships.

Regardless of the circumstances, Nea found this sudden encounter to be somewhat unexpected. Especially since In-hwa had no reason to be around the Bronze dormitory in the first place.

“There’s no academic building here, nor any training facilities, so what brings you to the Bronze dormitory?”

‘Ah, maybe she’s here to consult me about something?’

Anyway, Alkeinea was an adult and a wise dragon who had lived for many years, so she assured herself she was a suitable figure for the kids to consult.

Though she acknowledged her lack of practical experience, she figured her objectivity was still solid.

“What brings you here, In-hwa? Did you come to find me?”

“…Um, yes, that’s right.”

Nea clapped her hands, feeling victorious at In-hwa’s somewhat stiff nod. Immediately after, she worried that it might have been a bit too frivolous, and cautiously hid her hands behind her back.

“Did you come for advice? If you think it’s okay, I’d be happy to listen.”

“…But it’s during your work hours, are you sure it’s alright?”

“It’s perfectly fine. Research has made significant progress over the last few days, so I was told to take two days off.”

Thanks to that, Nea gained a nickname among the college students in the Magic Tower’s research lab: the Great Goddess.

Coughing lightly, she puffed out her chest proudly while In-hwa nodded slowly. Her tiny lips opened to speak.

“I think…I like Yeon-woo. What should I do?”

“Hmm, that could be…Wait, what did you say?”

In-hwa, not one for clandestine approaches or appeals, decided to be frank. It was quite the revelation from a young lady.

Nea stared blankly at In-hwa, who spoke so matter-of-factly, seemingly oblivious to the gravity of her words.

*

“Ugh!!”

The elongated Aura Blade swept through the room. Hundreds of shadows aimed at Yeon-woo shattered and broke apart. The fragments that fell took on a bizarre form, resembling droplets.

The room was filled with countless shadows suspended in the air. Yeon-woo wasn’t directly competing with the Doppleganger for control.

While he had grown accustomed to handling Elemental Mana, he wasn’t at the level where he could simultaneously compete against a Doppleganger that was literally formed from shadow.

Therefore, it was only natural that the one grappling for control would be Tae-oh. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the dark spirit and the Doppleganger were essentially the same being. The only distinction was their way of life.

One instinctively wished to kill humans and mostly lived by killing them, while the other coexisted with humans. It wasn’t surprising that their control levels were evenly matched.

– Ugh…!! Seriously, what’s going on…!!

However, the battle for control between the current Doppleganger and Tae-oh was anything but equal.

In the midst of a landscape where it felt as if time had frozen while black rain poured down, most shadows couldn’t withstand the pressure and burst apart.

But the shadows that didn’t burst landed on the ground, mostly being pulled into Yeon-woo’s shadows.

This meant Tae-oh was overwhelmingly dominating the situation. Within that scene, the Doppleganger, taking on the form of a child, spoke fluently in human language while venting its rage.

“Are you okay, Tae-oh!?”

[I’m fine! I feel like I could do this all day!!]

Tae-oh answered cheerfully to Yeon-woo’s worried shout. It was comforting to hear, but there was a worry that he might be overdoing it.

No matter how much he was dominating through control, Tae-oh was still a child. There was a possibility he didn’t realize his mental strength was waning.

– I’m so annoyed, so annoyed, so annoyed!!

With hysterical screams, sharp shadows burst forth from all directions. The shadows Tae-oh could control were only those that had separated from the Doppleganger’s nest and reached a neutral state.

In other words, as the shadows that Yeon-woo slashed or shattered increased, the Doppleganger’s power decreased.

Golden eyes gleamed as Yeon-woo twisted his body and fiercely swung his sword like a scythe. How on earth should he dodge the incoming spears from all directions?

Faced with a crisis, Yeon-woo’s thoughts harnessed the output of the courage-elemental mana.

If Yeon-woo was asked to express the courage-elemental mana, he would answer without hesitation that it’s akin to quantum mechanics. Because, honestly, it’s all very confusing.

The very condition of having to be in a crisis was complex enough that he couldn’t even start researching it, and the control over how to alter his body was also complicated.

If he didn’t know how to change himself, then how was he flailing around and not changing at all?

His forearms, which were supposed to be skewered, suddenly thinned as if from a Western cartoon, shrinking to the thickness of a single piece of paper as the spears bypassed without piercing.

– What the heck is that!! That’s so cowardly!!

“I don’t even know!”

It’s true. He called it quantum mechanics magic, yet it wasn’t a validated opinion. He just threw the term around because it sounded smarter.

As if he had never thinned out, he swung his body back to normal. The Aura Blade destroys everything that exists. This applied to mana as well, and everything swept up in its path shattered into confetti in the air.

Thanks to this, the room was an absolute chaotic mess. Yeon-woo was moving forward, using the Aura Blade to obliterate shadows from the center of the room, and Shar was also breaking through all threats aimed at Amir using her precise adjustments.

As a result, the Doppleganger, which had been perfectly nested, began to show indications of limitation, its volume shrinking visibly. It was completely different from six months ago when he had to gamble and do this and that.

– Hehe, hehe!!

“I’m getting tired of this inferiority complex exploding. Isn’t there something new?”

He had already gone through this opponent several times even before his regression, so it was strange to feel any excitement now. While dragging out a prolonged war was one option, there was no reason to resort to delay tactics when he could press forward directly.

Muttering a provoking comment, Yeon-woo stomped down and charged straight ahead. Naturally, the Doppleganger had no intention of letting Yeon-woo approach unchallenged, so it unleashed all-out attacks once more.

Unless someone had extraordinary mana synesthesia, it was hard to tell that it was not human, as it mimicked humans remarkably well; however, it was subpar in combat-related cognitive abilities, likely because those it had consumed hadn’t been hunters. Of course, that was good news for Yeon-woo.

The ground erupted as he leaped to dodge the wall of shadows meant to block him.

With overwhelming speed, he executed a spin and planted his feet on the ceiling, pushing his body diagonally toward the Doppleganger amidst obstructive objects arranged in a straight path to hinder him.

However, at that moment, Yeon-woo’s body was already enveloped in silver mana. He deftly evaded the spears while staying just short of being skewered by the shadows, launching himself off a silver platform, and then he landed on the wall, running forward.

The prince’s chamber was vast. But it wasn’t so large that it could host a marathon.

Seeing Yeon-woo inch closer, the Doppleganger’s eyes filled with terror as it realized there was no further room to retreat.

– Aaaah!! What the heck!! Kai, what the hell is he doing!! He’s supposed to be protecting me!! Where is he? Did he die already!?

For a moment, Yeon-woo contemplated whether he should voice this thought or not. Speaking it might ruin the mood. But if he could retrieve everything without a trace, wouldn’t it go unnoticed?

“Actually, Kai betrayed you. So please die quietly.”

– What, what…?

Surprisingly, it seemed the Doppleganger had believed in Kai, as it absurdly allowed Yeon-woo to approach with astonishing ease.

Whether it had a particular attachment or merely thought its father, the Demon King, would never betray it was uncertain.

However, it hardly mattered, as Yeon-woo raised his sword overhead. He took a deep breath. A proper strike only surfaces in perfect condition.

Steadying his breath, Yeon-woo’s sword descended as if it were a guillotine, and the overwhelmed Doppleganger curled into a ball, panicking and unable to consider dodging.

The precursor to an explosion of darkness. The highest defensive state for the Doppleganger.

That said, Yeon-woo had no intention of stopping the downward swing. Would the situation improve if he halted? Absolutely not. Now was the time to strike. He had no choice but to believe that the mastery he had attained surpassed the entity’s desperate flailing about.

As if reflecting Yeon-woo’s emotions nearing the final blow, the Aura Blade ignited along the sword’s edge.

With that, Yeon-woo swung his sword down sharply. A sensation of cleaving through something surged through his hand. However, it was too shallow. One strike wasn’t enough.

In the next moment, Yeon-woo forcibly twisted his body, ignoring the recoil from the strength of his full swing. He paid no mind to the burden on his body; the starlight embedded within dampened the recoil.

In the meantime, the lightly reversed sword tip swung again, forming a cross-shaped blade of light.

Darkness exploded outwards. The thick darkness, seemingly capable of engulfing everything in sight, failed to surpass the starlight’s cross and perished.

– Kki, ya, aa…

The screams that burst forth along with the darkness also faded away. As if time that had frozen was now returning, the black raindrops suspended in the air began to fall.

It was a perfect victory that nobody could argue against.

(To be continued in the next chapter)

 

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