Chapter 34 (Emori)

“Fortis? Brother?” I turned around the empty space. It looked exactly like the demon king’s throne room that I was fighting in before, just without everyone else.

“What’s going on?”

It happened right after I destroyed the demon king with my White Void. The last strike, in which I combined eight White Voids into one concentrated spell, was tough on my mana. I could feel the drain and tiredness over my body. It wasn’t so bad that I would collapse, but I couldn’t deploy many spells anymore, certainly not White Void.

“Your Highness, please remain on guard,” Mister Akareseki spoke through my mind. I wasn’t sure if it was because of our little mana reserve, or because of this room, but his voice was a bit hazier when compared to how we spoke before.

“Mister Akareseki, what’s happening?” Mister Akareseki had been speaking to me throughout the battle, using his ability to sense the demon king’s thoughts and convey them to me. Along with the help of my allies, he allowed me to focus on merging the spells.

Because of his help during the battle, I expected that he understands what’s going on.

“I… I don’t know. His thoughts are gone.”

“As in…”

“Disappear, gone. Nonexistent.”

“Shouldn’t that mean we have killed him-”

“Your Highness, left!”

I jumped to the left, barely dodging an incoming spear. It wasn’t a spear formed with a spell, but instead a regular spear. I looked at the direction where it came from. What stepped forward wasn’t the demon king, but rather…

“Me?”

Stepping in front of me was a picture perfect replica of myself. She looked like me, even our clothes looked exactly the same. That said, on her right hand wasn’t a magic wand like the one I had, but instead a physical spear, something I didn’t have.

“Are you the demon king?”

Much like the demon king, this figure didn’t speak.

“Your Highness, I have a feeling that she’s a dangerous threat.”

“Alright.”

While remaining on guard, I fired White Void.

But the spell didn’t form.

What’s going on?

It worked fine just a few moments ago. Heck, I even killed the demon king with it. The figure stepped forward, wielding her spear, stabbing at me. I tried utilizing my light spells, but not a single one was formed.

“Akh-” The other me slashed with her spear, the tip barely grazing my clothes. She adjusted the butt of her spear and used it to knock me away.

“Ouch!” I held my stomach in pain. She came closer and was about to stab me. I forced my body to move against the pain, taking off in a completely different direction and away from her. I looked for an exit, only to realize that this room was completely sealed off. There was no entrance. The windows that previously showed the outside world had completely disappeared.

I tried to use Connect, yet the elementless spells didn’t work in this place. It was as if this place was devoid of magic. It was different from the anti-magic barrier, which messed up the flow of mana. It wasn’t the same as the weird mana flow in the demon king’s castle, either. It was as if mana itself didn’t exist in this place.

I could only dodge over and over as the figure tried to claim my life.

“What do you want?” I shouted, but was ignored. She continued chasing after me like tomorrow doesn't exist. I did my best in my attempts to dodge, getting as far away as possible. Without a way to use magic, it was impossible for me to fight back. I didn’t even have a physical weapon in the first place. The spear’s swings were too strong and fast to handle.

Is this like stage 2 of a boss?

Are the others fighting their own copies without magic?

If that was the case, then we would have huge trouble. Back during the fight against the demon king, even if elementless magic didn’t work, other kinds still. I never saw Fortis fight without magic. If he were to fight a figure like her…

He would die.

I need to get out of here, fast!

I need to find an exit, a way to reach Fortis. I couldn’t let myself die here. I need to somehow reunite all of us and defeat this figure.

But how?

The figure continued fighting, chasing after me as I ran away with all my strength. I didn’t have much left, thanks to the fight against the demon king.

“Your Highness!”

In my attempt, I failed to notice the spear spiraling straight at me.

“Ah!” The spear stabbed…

Huh?

The spear created a huge amount of pain on my forehead, then bounced off. I touched my head, realizing that I wasn’t even harmed. There was no wound, no pain on me.

“Is this… similar to a Duel Shield?”

“It must be. There is no way you could have survived that strike.”

That means… I might be able to defeat her. I did fight off Akareseki, who had an easier time hurting me. I still remember the pain, I still remember the way I endured every fight. I didn’t run away then, I wouldn’t run away now.

“Come you!”

The figure grabbed her spear then jumped backward, trying to run farther, but I have none of it. I chased after her. She used the spear to stab at me, trying to keep her distance. I grabbed the end of the spear, sharp pain on my left palm. It hurts. It really hurts.

But I didn’t want to lose.

I pulled my left hand back, swinging my right hand forward. I punched the figure straight on the head, knocking the spear off her hand and pushing her back. Struggling to ignore the pain on my palm, I clenched my left hand and punched again, and again, and then again, using the punches as a way to force my brain to ignore the pain.

I put all my strength into one last attack and sent the figure flying into the wall.

“Huff… Huff…” My breathing was heavy and ragged. I swiped a sweat off my forehead, approaching the figure. It hadn’t disappeared, so there was still a chance it would stand. I came closer and took her by her neck. Straggling myself felt strange.

“Speak!” I yelled, yet the figure didn’t say anything. All she did was struggle. I tightened the grip around her neck.

“Who are you? Where are you from? Where are we? Are you the demon king?” I fired off question after question, the figure refusing to answer.

“Your Highness, beware of her hands!”

She tried to grab my neck as well, but I used my head to butt her hands off, moving side-to-side. Her hand continued flailing wildly. I looked for a way to keep them held, but failed to find a solution in time. She began punching my stomach, each punch stronger than the one before.

I winced as I held the pain, not realizing my grip slipping. She continued punching, then punched my cheeks. It was too much, forcing me to finally let go. She pushed me away, running to her spear. Despite the pain, I fought myself, ignoring my senses screaming at me. I tried to reach the spear before her, but,

A streak of light appeared in front of me, taking the spear.

“Emori!” the familiar voice of Fortis appeared in my ears.

“Yes!” I yelled back at Fortis. “I’m Emori, not her!”

Fortis turned to find the second me staggering toward him. Unlike me, though, she didn’t even try to defend herself. Maybe because she couldn’t speak, but she didn’t accuse me of being the fake. Instead, she tried to snatch the spear off Fortis’ hand. Fortis moved quickly, holding the spear across his chest, then pushed against the figure. Not holding back, he pushed the other Emori straight to the wall, slamming her to the wall.

Using the spear, he continued pushing, the figure struggling to breath. It took a couple seconds, but the figure finally closed her eyes and disappeared. Fortis reached out and held my hand.

“Let’s get out of here.”