The two doubles of San appeared behind the two clan leaders, confronting them with a dilemma. They had already committed to their attacks, their momentum taken, and it was difficult to turn back.

Either they continued, leaving their backs exposed to the doubles' counterattack, betting on killing San before being struck.

Or they withdrew their blows to dodge the blades about to fall upon them from behind.

Unfortunately, in battles where every fraction of a second counted, one had to react instantly. And each of them made a different choice.

Iko trusted in his body, protected by the layer of black particles, allowing San's attack to strike him from behind, his claws impaling San from side to side.

As for the leader of the Jupiter clan, he simply vanished, reappearing behind San's double and striking him with his "Shadow Blade."

The wagers were placed, and the results did not take long.

...

Iko felt light. The weight was gone from his body, his severed head taking a stroll through the air.

The Jupiter clan leader, meanwhile, did not enjoy his triumph for long after piercing the heart of one of San's doubles, for his back had been exposed to someone he had unfortunately forgotten to account for in that fraction of a second.

Renard's axe was once again stained with blood as he collapsed to the ground, having poured his very last strength into this strike knowing it was itself a betrayal of the code of knighthood.

Was it rage at the slain elders, or the will to protect his city?

He didn't know what drove him to seize the opportunity and carve a deep wound into his exposed enemy.

As his body crumbled, this time too weak to rise again, his lips opened only to reveal his regret.

"After all... I didn't fall as a knight..."

"Ah, how exasperating..." he heard, before a firm hand caught him, preventing his fall.

Another double of San appeared, supporting Renard, as if now there were four of them.

Who was the real one? Which was the clone? Only he knew.

...

In truth, San's resonance was not about cloning or duplicating his body. It was the opposite: he had the ability to divide himself.

Each time one thought he was creating a clone, he was actually splitting his body into two identical halves.

Each copy was the real San.

The only drawback was that his power was divided as well.

For example, if he made ten copies, his strength was split into ten.

The advantage was that even if one of his copies was killed, as long as at least one San remained, he would not die only weakened temporarily.

By losing two out of four copies, San saw his strength cut in half.

It irritated him, for he still had work to complete tasks Director Gramm had assigned to him, and which he had yet to fulfill.

...

One of the Sans approached the Jupiter clan leader, still alive despite his wound.

San sheathed one of his blades and placed a hand on his head, pressing him to the ground.

He had witnessed him vanish before and had to ensure he would not escape.

"At the slightest movement, I'll cut off your head."

The Jupiter clan leader did not obey, his body beginning to melt into his shadow but before he could vanish

San whispered:

<< Lockdown >>

A thin layer of light emanated from San, surrounding the Jupiter clan leader. He froze instantly, motionless as a statue.

Normally, when one used coating, they would cover their body or weapon in ether to reinforce them.

Lockdown was different, for instead of coating a weapon, you coated a person. As long as you had the energy to maintain it, that person would be immobilized.

Once San was sure he could no longer escape, he slung him over his shoulder and left.

...

As for the San that remained, he pulled a miniature syringe from his coat and injected it into Renard.

It wouldn't neutralize the poison, but it would boost his immune system enough to keep him alive.

Renard felt his strength return, enough to speak:

"The battle isn't over, I must return to the field."

Though Renard did not know San's identity, the fact that he did not attack him made him realize he wasn't from the Mercury clan.

Still, if San wasn't an enemy, that didn't mean he could relax.

Elsewhere, the fighting wasn't over, and though he no longer heard detonations, he doubted it was finished especially since the Mercury clan had two Intermediates capable of wreaking havoc on his knights, not to mention whatever weapons of destruction they had.

San understood his concern and reassured him.

"It's already over."

Renard couldn't have known, for during his fight with Iko, they had moved far enough away to lose sight of Orion city.

Questions filled his eyes, but San didn't care.

He hadn't come alone, and the Director had strictly ordered him to only handle those whom he deemed the candidates couldn't defeat.

He believed that two Intermediate Awakened and a hundred bandits would be no match for the prodigies who had managed to impress Gramm.

...

To better understand the outcome of this war, we must go back a few days, to the interrogation of the smugglers by Fidri.

Not only had he managed to make them confess everything they knew about the Mercury clan including their dealings with Orion city but beyond that, Fidri had hypnotized one of them to deliver false information to Mercury: that the knights of Orion were the ones who annihilated them.

Fidri and the others had already anticipated, at that moment, that the Mercury clan would declare war on Orion.

Their main objective had been to secure the signing of the treaty with the Eterniti kingdom, but they could not turn a blind eye to Mercury's actions.

Thus, after much deliberation, they agreed on this plan.

Taking advantage of their numbers, they split into twenty-eight teams. Each team would head to a city or village of Eterniti to convince them to join the treaty and if they found Mercury men along the way, eliminate them.

Each group included chancellery candidates as well as candidates from the bureau of internal Affairs.

Of course, the team in charge of Orion city was none other than Lucy, Elizir, Fidri, and Gracia, accompanied by a few Internal Affairs candidates who boasted of their combat skills.

As for enemies like the leader of the Mercury clan, Iris, informed by phone, had been tasked with explaining the situation to the Director.

And as Gramm had promised, he sent San, a Master, to deal with Mercury's clan leader.

...

Thus, an hour after hostilities broke out between Orion and Mercury, Lucy was at the wheel of a vehicle (borrowed from the smugglers), following the tracks left by Mercury's cars.

Beside her was Gracia, with Fidri and Elizir in the back.

The road was extremely rough, and Lucy drove at full speed, making Elizir dizzy.

"Slow down!" he complained.

But the sounds of detonations already reached them.

Lucy pressed harder on the accelerator, making the car bounce as if on a ride.

Elizir breathed into a paper bag.

"I'm gonna puke!"

As a prince, it was his first time on such a bumpy road.

The capital's streets had always been perfectly maintained.

Yet, as he kept reminding himself, he was no longer a prince, but an enforcer.

"Get ready, we're here! They'll be shooting at us any second now!"

Lucy warned them, for Mercury's men had already spotted them, and from their reaction, she doubted they'd fallen for the trick.

Lucy caught sight of the two camps, locked in merciless battle.

The walls of Orion had already been destroyed, mortar shells raining upon the city.

The knights seemed overwhelmed by Mercury's firepower, and a weapon was about to erase Orion's existence.

"Holy shit, what the fuck is this?!" Lucy shouted, unable to find softer words. Even Gracia, beside her, wore a grim expression.

"What's happening?" asked Elizir.

Lucy and Gracia fell silent. Fidri rolled down the window and stuck his head out to see what awaited them ahead.

"Oh my... a missile! Fuck, they're firing a missile!"

"What? "

Elizir couldn't believe his eyes. He too stuck his head out and clearly saw one of Mercury's men adjusting the missile.

One thing was certain: if that missile launched, Orion was doomed.

Elizir turned and grabbed Fidri's hands.

"Oh great magician, can't you make it disappear?"

Fidri looked embarrassed.

"A trick like that never worked on TV..."

He wasn't yet good enough to create his own illusions.

...

Lucy let go of the wheel, sending the vehicle skidding until Fidri leaned forward to stabilize it.

"Are you insane? " he yelled at her.

But Lucy didn't argue. She pulled out a rifle, climbed halfway out the window, and onto the roof.

"Do you want to die?!" shouted Elizir.

Lucy gripped the edge of the car with one hand, revealing her intent.

"I'll take out the bastard about to launch it. Just keep the car steady."

"Easier said than done!" Fidri replied, focused on the road.

Mercury's men had already begun shooting at them.

Fidri was forced to swerve wildly to avoid the bullets.

"I'll give you a hand!" said Gracia, extending her hand outside. Blocks of ice appeared, deflecting part of the incoming fire.

Lucy focused all her aim before pulling the trigger.

<< Gate closure >>

The bullet vanished.

<< Gate open >>

It reappeared right next to the man setting up the missile.

Yet, to everyone's surprise, he tanked the shot without a scratch.

Seeing his body covered in a thin layer of light, Lucy understood.

"This guy's an Intermediate... I can't take him down."

"So what do we do?" asked Elizir.

An idea crossed Lucy's mind, and without hesitation, she declared:

"Drive straight into the missile."

"You're crazy ? " Fidri protested, already overwhelmed by the rain of bullets.

"You got a plan ?" Gracia asked.

"No... but I am crazy!"

Next chapter will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.