<906 - Dark Shadow vs Dark Shadow (15)>
Oknodie didn’t feel betrayed.
If she were to name the emotion she felt now, it would be surprise.
And also, pride.
She had bet everything on her first child going to medical school to become a doctor, but the second child—unexpectedly—became a YouTube creator, raking in three thousand a month!
Going against Oknodie wasn’t an easy task; it required immense courage.
Oknodie herself knew that.
“When did you start saving up?”
“Since I first disguised myself. I noticed you had a ‘lock’ and a ‘piggy bank’ you don’t share. The Doppelganger Queen can sense her opponent’s potential.”
“Wow, amazing!”
“I’m sorry. I never wanted to fight you. If you had been just a little bit kinder, if I thought I could trust you with the mob, we wouldn’t need to come to this!”
“Then let’s do this! If you satisfy me, the mob is safe. If you can’t satisfy me, then the mob will die once to earn the achievement [Defier of Death]!”
Oknodie pulled out a jewel-encrusted staff from the shadow of her +12 cape.
“That’s the trouble with you…!”
Forever More couldn’t intervene in the battle as Oknodie’s mana being injected into her heart pushed her power away.
But her eyes didn’t miss the skirmish, even while pushing back the invading energy.
[Acceleration Afterimage Sword]
[Acceleration Afterimage Sword]
The shapes of the two dancers blurred rapidly, leaving afterimages as they brushed past, cleverly creating doppelgangers that leaped out to launch surprise attacks.
[Multi-Doppelganger Technique]
[Multi-Doppelganger Technique]
Oknodie’s doppelganger thrust a small sword it had pulled from a backpack, while Oknodie’s other doppelganger swung a massive hammer pulled from her cloak.
In the clash of sword and hammer, the first advantage went to Oknodie’s doppelganger, but in the second clash, the sword unleashed an electric shock, stunning a doppelganger and cutting it down.
The sword had runes engraved on it, each symbolizing different properties, transforming it into a magic sword with unpredictable abilities.
Before the collision, who knew what kind of elemental critical strike would come!
The power of the random elemental sword could easily be blocked if the “correct answer” was known. If unknown, one would either be knocked down or have to unleash all elemental shields to defend.
‘If you’re confident in your skills, it’s a provocation to engage in a tactical game, and if you’re not, it’s a battle style that involves severe resource depletion. This fighting method only applies to a Magic Swordsman adept in all elements by utilizing the adaptability of the magician.’
The power of electricity felt like being struck by lightning, while the flames seemed capable of spitting fire from her mouth.
Against the deadly power of Oknodie’s elemental sword, Oknodie countered with all sorts of treasures she had collected over her long existence as the Doppelganger Queen.
The struggle of tactical wit between Oknodie and Oknodzie, who dug through her treasure trove from her cloak, slowly began to tilt in favor of Oknodie.
‘Even if the level of sword enhancement isn’t as high as Oknodzie’s, it’s still excessively high. The rumors that the Foundation could ensure a certain level of enhancement in the [Warrior's Tower] were true.’
A disadvantageous game must be reversed.
As she began to lose out in the number of doppelgangers and sustain damage, Oknodzie suddenly started scattering various junk items from her cloak.
[One Thousand Origami Cranes in a Jar]
[Seal Release]
Having been unable to use magic after being countered in the previous fight, Oknodie was now bombarded by paper attacks!
Oknodzie’s origami cranes swung sharp wings comparable to blades, or shot forth like spears.
As one doppelganger lightly parried a crane with a sword, the explosion caused by the crane swept up the remaining doppelgangers as they pointed their fingers, aiming at the origami cranes.
“Yap!”
“Yat!”
“Hat!”
Despite the playful cries, the doppelgangers, endowed with a portion of the original’s enormous mana and mana control skills, unleashed magic missiles like a machine gun, shooting down the origami cranes one after another.
“Is this really all you’ve got? Compared to my origami aircraft, this is nothing!”
“Hmph. My dexterity may be inferior to yours, but I have one advantage.”
“What’s that?”
“The time I spent without attending the lecture. What do you think I did with that long, boring time?”
“Ahh?!”
From her cloak, a glass jar containing a thousand origami cranes kept pouring out, rolling out like a drum in a “whoosh”!
As the cork popped, an immense swarm of origami cranes surged forth, reminiscent of a hundred thousand troops.
“Burn!”
“Burn them all!”
“Ugh, they have high resistance!”
One origami crane was helplessly torn apart, but the sheer number of a hundred thousand cranes activated the [Great Army Form], enhancing each other to negate magic.
“It’s a skill I learned from living as an ancient general. I might be outmaneuvered in battle techniques, but when it comes to commanding a legion of origami cranes, I will not yield!”
Oknodzie, always adorned with a small crown atop her head, revealed a rare glimpse of her confidence as a queen.
“Looks good! That confidence!”
“It fits perfectly, doesn’t it? I learned many of my spells from you!”
The origami cranes flapped their wings in unison.
A chilly wind surged like waves crashing, and Wind Cutter swept through like a storm.
As Oknodie raised her shield against the powerful gusts of wind, she intended to maintain a defensive stance without retaliating, facing unyielding assaults.
She had the upper hand.
Oknodzie had the advantage over Oknodie.
‘…Something is wrong.’
Forever More noticed the anxious expression rising on Oknodzie’s face.
This wasn’t the full strength of Oknodie.
[Shield]
[Shield]
[Shield]
A surround-defending barrier appeared floating in the air.
[Great Rotation]
[Poison Spike]
[Liquid Flame]
The shape of the defensive magic morphed, generating spikes out of the surface and dark flames that created an ominous hue.
Those shields began to spin threateningly, and it became clear what they were plotting.
[Shield Attack]
Thanks to professor-level mana control, Oknodie’s shield magic was not something to be underestimated.
She utilized that solidity to have the shields dart through the air, executing [Field Generation], bouncing off walls in the air and moving freely.
The origami cranes in their path were burned or dissolved by poison.
“No! My origami cranes!”
Oknodzie, on the verge of tears, hurriedly grasped the glass jar.
The scorched origami cranes scrambled to take refuge in the jar, but their number was barely a fraction of the original.
“Just give up. It’s getting hard to hold on.”
Oknodie’s words rang true.
Oknodzie’s duration of sustaining her spell was reaching its limit.
As she approached the limit, Oknodzie’s movements began to slow down, a clear sign of exhaustion.
“I can’t fall. I don’t know what will happen to the mob if I fall— I absolutely can’t!”
“The mob is a student, but Oknodzie is not. In fact, continuing this way will probably sadden the mob even more.”
You can’t be revived when dead, but the mob can.
Casually discussing death, Oknodzie recalled the figure of ‘Chairman of the Foundation’ Jeil Wahyhiemhai in Oknodie’s memory.
It was the same.
Even if they don’t want it, the cruelty of being indifferent to death— using lives as threats— was reminiscent of her own papa.
Did Oknodie realize that fact?
Oknodzie became curious.
“Oknodie. You’ve taken after your papa so much.”
“Which papa?”
“Chairman of the Foundation.”
“Is that so?”
“You don’t know where to draw the line you should protect.”
Oknodie felt an emotional sting.
The anger unique to someone whose facts had been scraped surged.
She’s a person too.
She has emotions.
It’s just that the feelings she experiences disappear unrealistically quickly compared to others or she fails to grasp her own emotions properly.
“Hmmm… So you’ve come to this. Since you can’t win with strength, you’re hitting where it hurts emotionally.”
“Are you angry?”
“No. I feel pity. I got along well with Oknodzie, but it seems Oknodzie dislikes me. But that’s okay. I understand it all. There are things invisible to the narrow view of a newbie!”
Oknodzie didn’t like that calmness.
So she activated [Borrowing].
The borrowing feature of all doppelganger races— Borrowing.
Doppelgangers can arbitrarily take others’ bodies, but they can also borrow lives by paying a fair price.
A life borrowed because a dying woman in the mountains asked to be the mother of her children left back in the village.
A life borrowed at a man’s request who would cheerfully share information about the corpse just to stand by instead of a deceased loved one.
By fulfilling someone else’s wish, the lives borrowed taught the Doppelganger Queen what human emotion truly is— the hardships and joys of having only one life.
And right now, she wished.
She didn’t desire someone else’s life.
She didn’t desire great knowledge.
Conversely, she offered her own body.
She earnestly wished to borrow strength to surpass Oknodie.
That wish was granted by someone she never expected.
– Hoo hoo hoo. Your wish is quite intriguing. Do you know? Within the dark heart of the Dark Princess exists a sealed door that must not be opened.
– !!
– The door serves as a gateway and a trial. To protect what’s precious. If opened, Oknodie would certainly find herself in trouble. What say you? Will you try opening it?
As the Jibsa Jang Okashii-ne.
The old man who always lingered by Oknodie’s side subtly shifted through the space, placing a key in Oknodzie’s hand.
Oknodzie realized.
This was an exceptionally special key.
A key that could open anything, even the huge sealed door within Oknodie’s heart.
At the same time, she understood that using it would come at a terrible cost.
“Oknodzie!!”
“What will you do now that the mob has arrived?”
“…I think I’ll stop.”
“Good call!”
Oknodie handed Oknodzie a handful of colored paper.
“Fold the origami cranes again with this!”
“…Alright.”
“Since Oknodzie lost, the mob needs to earn the achievement. Come here!”
If the key were to be inserted, now would be the perfect opportunity.
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, the mob rushed in.
The key in hand.
Oknodie within reach.
Oknodzie steeled her resolve.
And then pierced the key into her chest.
“Uh?”
Oknodzie sent Oknodie away.
Instead, she inserted the key into the mob’s chest.
The key unlocked his potential.
‘I owe a debt to Oknodie. So I’ve repaid my life debt with this.’
Oknodzie realized that, as the cost of unlocking the key, “Memory of Oknodie” was flowing into the Jibsa Jang Okashii-ne.
At the same time, she could feel the potential she had accumulated flowing into the mob via the key.
This was a key intended for something like this from the start.
A key that opens something at the cost of memory, life, and potential.
However, it merely opened something different than Okashii-ne’s intentions.
“From now on, live diligently. You’ve unlocked the limits of your talent with this.”
“Oknodzie. Why, why are you saying that? What’s happening to my body?”
“I didn’t want to see you die. So get strong. To not worry anyone.”
“Oknodzie?”
It was the end.
A remembrance lost—she couldn’t maintain Oknodzie’s shape anymore.
“I’ll be alright.”
“Oknodzie! Oknodzieee!!”
Swish!
Transforming into formless monsters as the Doppelganger Queen, devoid of the queen’s consciousness and regressing into savagery, Mob couldn’t stop her.
Eventually left with nothing, Mob knew this marked his farewell to Oknodzie.
“Oknodie. Tell me. What on earth is happening? Why did Oknodzie leave such words and end up like this?”
Mob was gripped by deep sadness and anger.
Explanations were needed to not hate Oknodie.
A whole lot of explanation.
