Chapter 103 : Chapter 103

Chapter 103 - Who are you (3)

“Gerard.”

Artier couldn’t treat the Gerard in front of him comfortably.

Perhaps reading his mind, Gerard did not approach them any further.

“It seems there was a big fight.”

“Just now.”

“Did I appear at too perfect a moment? Alright, I won’t get any closer.”

Artier quietly stared at him.

‘Even if that’s a Doppelganger, if it copied Gerard, its close-combat ability won’t be that high.’

The only offensive skill he had was Arcane Barrage.

He could use holy magic, but so could Jeina next to me.

‘But it’s also true that I’m weakened by that much.’

My mana was at rock bottom, and my health was precarious.

The karma from the lake was slowly catching up. It seemed best to avoid combat as much as possible right now.

‘For now, should I play along and buy some time?’

Artier thought so and took out a potion from his inventory.

“There’s no way to prove if you’re the real Gerard right now.”

“I suppose so. It would be able to think everything the original could.”

“But we can’t conclude that you’re a fake either, so for the time being, let’s keep each other in sight while we move.”

“Understood.”

After drinking the potion, Artier couldn’t hide his bitter expression.

‘I should have gotten at least one expensive one. I was too complacent because we had a healer.’

He was walking with that thought.

“By the way, is there a reason we’re going this way?”

Gerard suddenly asked a question.

Artier answered as calmly as possible.

“To meet up with Collie.”

“I see. So you can feel each other’s location… But there’s a problem.”

“What is it?”

“This is a natural cave. If you just rely on direction, you’ll eventually hit a dead end.”

Indeed, in places like mazes or caves, if you just head straight for the exit, you often end up at a dead end.

“From what I’ve seen, this path is blocked. It would be better to go that way.”

Gerard pointed to a fork in the road next to him and said.

Artier stared at it for quite a long time.

‘That should be a dead end.’

An abandoned cave that could be accessed through a magic trap set by the cultists. Of course, Artier had also memorized the geography of this area.

‘And this path won’t be a dead end.’

…He was getting a feeling.

The being in front of him was not Gerard.

‘What should I do? Should I pretend to be deceived for now? Or persuade him with words? I need to buy time somehow.’

It was when Artier was frantically racking his brain.

“Are you worried about something?”

At Gerard’s question, Artier took his eyes off the fork in the road.

His lips were slightly turned up in a subtle smile.

“When you’re seriously troubled, you have a habit of touching your sword.”

Artier hastily lowered the hand that was touching his sword.

[Gerard is using Tactical Command (Lv.4).]

A brilliant crown appeared above his head.

Normally, it should be reassuring. But right now, nothing was more chilling than that.

“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”

Gerard didn’t answer Jeina’s question.

Instead, he lightly touched his grimoire, and immediately, mana bullets poured down on them.

“!”

Jeina immediately stood in front of Artier and blocked the mana bullets.

“Just as I remember.”

That was no longer Gerard.

The being with a red glow in its eyes was looking at Artier with a sneer.

“Looks like you have no intention of hiding anymore.”

“There’s just no need for it anymore.”

“Heh.”

With a scoff, a sword was drawn.

No matter how bad his condition was, there were two of them and only one of him.

“It seems you couldn’t completely copy Gerard.”

“It would be best to confirm that for yourself.”

With those words, the three immediately clashed.

The Doppelganger, after deflecting Jeina’s axe with a Shield, sent dozens of mana arrows flying towards the approaching Artier.

[??? uses Arcane Barrage (Lv.3).]

‘This much is nothing.’

Artier lightly twirled his sword as he watched the incoming attack.

He felt he could deflect this much even without a skill.

“Hmph.”

The Doppelganger read Artier’s expression and snapped its fingers.

Pat! Pat! Pat!

‘What?!’

Dozens of magic circles appeared above Artier’s body.

Then, the flying mana arrows were all guided towards the magic circles.

Artier hurriedly swung his sword.

[Perfect Counter has been activated!]

[Perfect Counter has failed!]

Kwakwang! Kwang!

“Keuhak!”

He had hurriedly used a skill and deflected a large number of them, but there was a limit.

Arrows pierced his leg, abdomen, and shoulder. And those arrows exploded as they were, and Artier fell flat on the ground.

“Artier!”

Kwajik!

Jeina immediately swung her axe and shattered the Doppelganger’s Shield.

“Is that Taunt.”

A red aura surrounded her axe.

The Doppelganger hurriedly dodged the axe’s trajectory and then immediately rose into the air.

“That is certainly dangerous. How does it work? The original owner was always curious about it.”

“Leave us alone and get lost!”

“I can’t do that.”

The taste of iron filled his mouth.

When he spat, it was a deep crimson.

Artier barely managed to get up and took out another potion.

‘I didn’t expect Gerard’s abilities to have developed this much…’

He had already controlled dozens of mana bullets from Arcane Barrage when he fought the Hell Soul Collector a long time ago.

Gerard’s fighting style was fundamentally similar to Artier’s. The type to make up for a lack of offensive ability with innate talent rather than stats.

There was no need to mention how hard he must have worked.

‘Jeina can’t beat Gerard alone. I have to get up quickly, no matter what!’

Artier, who was about to drink the potion, suddenly felt his whole body stiffen.

‘This is?’

A thin membrane. A translucent membrane that enveloped his entire body.

He remembered it. He had seen it on the ship heading to Gigas Hall.

“You know, don’t you? It breaks with even a small impact. Don’t try any funny business.”

“……You!”

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I think I’ve figured out how to use defensive magic offensively.”

The Doppelganger had been looking only at Artier from the very beginning.

Jeina, who understood his condition, was enraged but could no longer swing her axe.

“Why are you doing this to us!”

At her question, the Doppelganger returned to a cold, expressionless face. It was the expression Gerard often made, but Artier thought it was somehow awkward.

“Are you asking for a reason… Strange. Are you asking why you eat the bread on the table.”

“What did you say?”

“Isn’t that right? This is our home. And you are our food. The food came to our home on its own, is there any reason not to hunt it?”

Grind.

Jeina gritted her teeth at the Doppelganger’s question.

It was impossible for her to refute Gerard with her words.

“Even if we weren’t hungry, we couldn’t let you go.”

“Why……?”

“An order was given. An order to kill all humans who come here.”

The Doppelganger was relaxed.

It had completely subdued Artier, and Jeina could no longer swing her axe recklessly. Wasn’t it a completely advantageous situation without even needing to use Gerard’s brain?

“At first, I didn’t think there would be any humans who would come this far. But it seems nothing is absolute.”

“Who on earth gave such an order?”

“The new god of this world.”

“God……?”

Jeina couldn’t easily understand the Doppelganger’s words.

The Doppelganger sneered and added an explanation.

“The one who will preside over the life and death of this star, and everything else.”

“What? There’s no way such a thing exists.”

“Are humans still in denial even after losing half of their country?”

“……”

The being that burned half of the empire?

Wasn’t there only one?

“You serve… the Hellmorphs?”

At Jeina’s trembling voice, the Doppelganger smiled. At the same time, mana arrows began to form all around.

“You should not have come here.”

The number was about to exceed a thousand.

No matter where he looked, there was no place without an arrow.

“Then, farewell.”

“Don’t make me laugh!”

[Jeina uses Silent Roar (Lv.2).]

Pat!

At her thunderous shout, the mana arrows that were being created disappeared.

The Doppelganger also staggered and began to descend from the air.

“Hyaap!”

Kwang! Jjeong! Kung!

Jeina did not miss that moment. The fiercely spinning axe shattered the surrounding walls and floor.

The Doppelganger hurriedly rolled to avoid them.

‘I have to get out of here during this chance!’

Even though the Doppelganger was silenced, the Shield that had trapped Artier did not disappear.

Artier lightly tried to exert force but immediately gave up. If the shield that was pressed against his body broke, it would be an immediate fatal wound.

Collie! Where are you?

We’ve almost arrived!

In the end, Artier could only watch the fight between Jeina and Gerard.

“Ugh!”

At first, she seemed to have the upper hand. But when the silence wore off, the situation immediately turned.

Gerard cast all sorts of support magic on himself, then laid a magic trap at her feet while simultaneously pouring down mana bullets.

Like a tanker, she endured all the attacks. But magic was constantly being created.

‘Something is strange…’

‘Something is strange?’

The two thought at the same time.

Even for Gerard, he couldn’t continuously use this much magic without a break. Wasn’t this a place where mana recovery was impossible?

‘Could it be that the Doppelganger can replenish mana even in this environment?’

Jjejejeong!

“Ugh!”

Artier’s uneasy premonition became a reality.

The mana the Doppelganger had already used had long since surpassed a normal level.

Jeina couldn’t withstand the unbearable number of mana arrows and was sent flying.

“I wasn’t just talking without any thought.”

The Doppelganger sneered and drew the sword at its side. It was the sword Artier had given him in the past.

“You had no chance of winning from the beginning.”

He slowly approached.

Towards the frozen Artier.

Jeina staggered and blocked his path, but the Doppelganger kicked her away as if annoyed.

“Keok!”

“I even watched over your axe skills.”

“Don’t make me… laugh. You’re not the leader.”

“No, now I am the leader.”

The Doppelganger, holding the sword in its left hand, looked straight at Artier.

The tip of the sword was aimed precisely at his heart.

“The past leader, the current leader, it will all be the same.”

The sword came in an instant.

It felt as if time had stopped.

His heart was pounding as if it would burst.

Artier hurriedly tensed his entire body.

He was planning to get out of the shield even if it meant taking a fatal wound.

[Tersion uses Arrow Ray (Lv.3).]

Teong!

Just then, a flash of light directly shattered the Doppelganger’s wrist. The sword grazed past Artier’s chest by a hair’s breadth.

[Collie uses Ice Wall (Lv.4).]

[Reinard uses Explosion (Lv.3).]

Clear ice enveloped Artier and Jeina, followed by a massive explosion that engulfed the entire space.

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