Chapter 1102 – Seven Are Coming

000

The elevator, with its doors completely closed, will quietly ascend to reach the designated floor according to the command of the button pressed by Lila.

“Haha… Haha…”

However, after pressing the button, Lila just let out a heartless laugh as she felt the weight of Cleon and Cuon’s hands on both of her shoulders.

“What are you going to do? Are you really planning to go find the wyvern brain that Laplace hid?”

“Well… I mean, I’d like to do that if I can…”

To Kuon’s question, Laila answers that way, but the next moment.

“!”

Twisting, the ears of some of the beast-eared people twitched.

“Everyone, everyone! Get off the center of the elevator!!”

And when Sasha was the first to shout that, the people on the elevator immediately followed suit and left their seats in the middle of the elevator.

I’ll move my body to the corner.

And right after that.

Bang!

The elevator shakes with a strong impact.

Sigh! And, a sharp, long, single-edged blade pierced the floor and stabbed towards the elevator.

“Hi!”

One of Attis’ disciples who had been standing there a moment ago let out such a scream.

If Sasha hadn’t warned her in advance, she would have been pierced by that blade and turned into a human skewer.

“Did you follow me as expected…!”

When Cleon confirmed that it was the work of the guy he met on the lowest level a little while ago, he immediately pulled out his sword and tried to strike it down from above.

However, the very moment Cleon swings his sword and strikes.

When the timing is right, the blade disappears from the floor, Cleon’s sword cuts through the air.

“Ugh…!”

In the nick of time, he stopped before hitting the floor of the elevator.

“Wow, it was dangerous…!”

If Galatea had hit the floor of the elevator like this, the entire floor might have fallen off due to the impact.

But next, the entire elevator will shake with strong vibrations, causing people to fall and become entangled, unable to maintain their posture.

Was there a strong force from outside?

And soon after.

The ‘squeak’ sound from above stopped.

When the thudding shock enveloped the elevator box once again, the elevator fell down with intense speed.

“Wow!”

“What happened!?”

“Oh, maybe the pulley is broken…! If you keep going like this, you’ll fall…! The first thing to do is to stop the elevator!”

When Fleur said that, Lila swung her staff and, using as much magic power as possible, raised the elevator from the bottom and slowed it down.

Gigi Geek…!!

A deafening sound was heard, and soon the elevator stopped.

“Wow, it’s heavy…!”

Lila, who supports the weight of the group, the elevator, and everything else, would not have been able to maintain the physically created magical pedestal for a long time.

“K, Kshat! Open the door!”

“I understand, miss!”

And, if you give an instruction to your servant in short words, the Kshat will ‘pretend’ to understand it and run to the door.

It was a door made of steel, but when Kshat used his arms and applied force to both sides, it was opened quite easily.

But at that very moment.

“Peekaboo!”

With a sound, something fell from the ceiling, striking Kshat like a thunderbolt as he stood in front of the door.

“──”

Sigh!

Intense blood surged from the front of Kshat’s body.

Fleur, who saw that, would be so surprised that she would stop thinking.

The next moment, the Kshat collapses from his knees and falls forward.

The attacker can be seen hidden behind her sturdy back.

Hehe… With this, you get 1 point…!”

A girl with long blonde hair.

With eyes that seemed to be out of focus, she looked down at the fallen Kshat and raised the corners of her mouth.

The corners of his mouth were strangely twisted with strange excitement, like an expression of a novice killer recalling the feeling of his hand still lingering after cutting someone with a knife for the first time.

The slightly slanted corners of her eyes further accentuated her features.

What she is wearing is a black and gray suit made of a rubber-like material that clings tightly to her body.

And, held in her hand was a richly decorated ‘dagger’ that appeared to be somewhat expensive.

The blade of that dagger was stained with blood that had adhered to it from an action a moment ago, and it would fall, drip, drip, following gravity.

“Ksha─”

Before Fleur’s scream-like voice continued, there was a human who moved before her voice.

That was Cleon, standing in the center of an empty elevator with his sword drawn.

There was no need to draw a separate sword, so all you had to do was kick the ground and run towards the entrance of the elevator.

With a black flash, Galatea aims for her neck.

Kaang-!!

However, she seemed somewhat unstable, and contrary to her expectations, she immediately took Cleon’s sword with her own small dagger.

To be precise, at the same time as she caught the magic sword that had penetrated her neck with the face of the dagger.

With the expression of her divine magic, Galatea’s black magic was repelled, and the sword was thrown away.

“Ugh…! W-what are you talking about? They said they made a surprise attack, so you’re saying it’s okay to make a surprise attack on that side too…?”

While saying something incomprehensible, she thrust her sword towards herself and glared at Cleon, who was standing in front of him as if he were shielding a Kshat.

But after Cleon attacked, he looked at her again.

She confirms that she looks exactly like the ‘she is she’ she saw in her Five Elements Festival… No, she looks exactly like the ‘she is he’.

“… As expected, it is a clone of Albain…”

“Alvain…? That?”

When Lila reacts to Cleon’s words by frowning her eyes.

“Hehe, hehe… It seems like you know the ‘original’. I’m sorry, I’m an entity that didn’t inherit the memories of the original…”

The clone of Alvain holding the dagger in front of me said that and held the dagger backwards.

“… I guess so. Furthermore, I see you reacting that way when you see me.”

Cleon then thinks he can’t call her ‘Albaine’ and takes her stance as well.

“Did Darwin send it? Under her orders, to stop us.”

Cleon asked her with a wrinkle between her eyebrows.

“Ah, hehe… Joe, that’s good. That look in your eyes. That expression of anger at what happened to your colleague… I can understand, I can make fun of you…”

“…”

She gave a completely irrelevant answer and once again showed an unpleasant and servile smile.

I guess it’s someone I can’t continue a conversation with.

If Cleon thinks so.

Boom…!

Behind Cleon, outside the elevator.

An anxious sound rang out once again.

“Huh?”

When Lila sounds like she’s a bit clueless.

Once again, boom!

“Aaaaah!”

“Layla! Everyone!”

Right in front of Cleon’s eyes, the elevator they were riding in fell down at high speed, leaving only a black space.

“…”

Cleon is blank, and she looks at the empty place.

Although I could hear the sound of ‘kikkigikkik’ from below, I was separated from my colleagues again.

Hehe…”

Meanwhile, an eerie laugh was heard from Dagger’s clone.

[Calm down, Cleon…]

“Ah…”

At Galatea’s words, Cleon takes a deep breath and tries to regain her composure.

The good news is that the Kshat was not hanging over the crack in the door, but was lying outside.

If he had stepped in between them, his body might have been cut off.

Cleon glared at the dagger’s clone, somehow calming down her anger.

But, then.

“Ugh…!”

Kshat’s voice came out once again.

“Oh, uh…”

However, it seems that Cleon wasn’t the only one who thought it was unexpected.

The girl in front of me changed from a smile just a moment ago to an expression full of ‘surprise’.

“Kshat, are you okay?”

Cleon also slowly turned her head back and looked at her condition with the end of her gaze.

Kshat rises from her seat and looks down at her own arms.

There, underneath the torn off butler’s clothes.

The traces of her blood flowing from a not-so-deep wound were clearly visible on Kshat’s fin-like arm.

“I raised my arm in an instant to block a vital point. I’m sorry, Cleon.”

“… I’m glad.”

Thanks to his strong arm muscles and excellent regenerative ability, he was able to block the dagger with only a few injuries.

When that fact came to light—

“Hey…”

The girl with the daggers standing in front of Cleon made a whining voice, as if her tension had dropped.

“Well, I thought that if I made a surprise attack, I could kill at least one person…”

It’s disappointment over the fact that the person you thought you killed didn’t die.

And looking at her in tears, as if she was truly sad, Cleon said –

Pudduk…

I couldn’t hold back the disgust that rose up based on instinct, and I had no choice but to clench my teeth.

Ah, I could understand why this guy was created from ‘Albain’.

A childlike ‘arrogance’ that quickly gets bored and throws tantrums if things don’t go his way.

He tries to hide that part of himself with a servile smile, but that part is like dirt that comes out.

For Cleon, it was an unforgettable anger.

“Well, then… I’ll step down for now, hehe…”

However, as if she didn’t notice Cleon’s anger, the girl took a step, two steps, and tried to disappear into the darkness beyond her hallway.

“Are you afraid you’ll miss it?”

Cleon shouts this and this time pulls out not only her Galatea but also her Cali bun and swings it towards her.

Let’s swing like a black flash and a white flash crossing.

The dagger’s clone seemed surprised by the attack, which was faster than before and with more force, ‘Hi!’ Scream.

However.

“Where are you, you dirty bastard!”

Kaang!

Once again, a metallic sound struck her ears.

What blocked the sword in Cleon’s right hand was a girl who came out of the darkness, holding with both hands a great sword as large as the girl whose dagger he was aiming for, with blonde hair that was also braided in three braids, and a girl with sparkling eyes.

She was slightly taller than the girl with daggers, and her arm muscles were more prominent, but the basic sculpt of her face felt the same, so I could tell that she was also a clone of Albaine.

No… His expression was very angry somewhere.

“Ha…”

Kagak…!!

And, blocking the sword swung from Cleon’s left hand.

It was a clone that appeared as if rising from the shadows and had a thin rapier carved vertically.

It was similar to her greatsword’s clone, but in her case, her hair was short and matted, and she was looking at the tips of her fingernails, not at Cleon’s, with an expression of annoyance about everything.

“Hehe…♡”

And finally.

Cleon’s movement was restricted, and the blade connected to a chain that swung ‘chulrrrr’ as if he thought it was a good opportunity.

A plainclothes sword was swinging towards Cleon’s waist.

“Chee it…!”

If I hadn’t reacted by using magic to defend myself, my back would have been cut in two.

Cleon immediately saw the three people attacking him, widening the distance between them.

The last one, a woman with golden side tails who appeared as if she had fallen from the ceiling of a dark hallway, holding her civilian sword in her hand, had some parts of her suit damaged as if it had been torn compared to the other two.

At that point, her white skin was exposed, she was looking at Cleon with a somewhat flushed expression, and she was waving her sword that was sticking out.

“Four…”

Cleon looked at them and clicked his tongue.

They are all clones of Alvain.

However, unlike the guys I saw before in the capital of the eastern country, each one had their own personality somewhere.

The most annoying thing is the weapons in hand.

There, everyone was emitting divine magic.

‘Could it be a holy sword…?’

Cleon thought so, but at the same time, he realized that her divine magic was weaker than that of Caliburn.

Once the distance was widened, the clone holding the great sword became angry and raised her voice.

“Fuck you! Why didn’t you just kill me!?”

Then, Rapier’s clone answered.

“Eh… But, if you kill him in that state, you won’t know whose point it is…”

“You know… Can’t I taste it once before I kill it?”

When the plainclothes sword’s clone said that, Cleon gave a dirty look.

“What a fucking dirty bastard! Our original source was originally a man!”

The clone of the great sword must have been thinking the same thing as Cleon, and started swearing again.

Dagger’s clone is hiding behind the backs of those three people, looking at them and smiling heartily.

…1:4 Did Cleon think it would be difficult to touch him at will?

“Cleon!”

“Kwaaaaa aaaaaghh!!!?”

However, this one was never just one person.

Quang! And when intense flames erupt from the ground.

The four clones who were standing a moment ago had no choice but to step back.

Of course, the one that pierced through the solid feet and jumped out was Lila.

After that, Kuon, Sasha, and Amelia, who had received the flight magic, followed them up to the floor where Cleon was.

“Everyone, are you okay?”

“Yeah…! Fleur pressed the emergency brake button, so we stopped midway…!”

As Lyla landed next to Cleon, she looked at the four Albaine clones standing against them.

“Wow. I feel bad… Their faces and genders are different. I think they all know it’s Alvain…”

“Layla, I feel sick…”

“Are you okay, Mr. Kuon? Ha, I don’t think it would be a bad idea to vomit it up…!”

The three people seemed to be in a bad mood as they remembered things about Albain.

Only Amelia has never had a direct confrontation with Albaine, even though she doesn’t seem to really understand the feelings of the three of them.

“Fuck…”

“Hehe…”

“Ha…”

“Hehe…♡”

Each person looks at the four people reacting in an unpleasant way and nods their head as if they understand.

“Anyway, let’s quickly get rid of these guys and find something to find. Let’s go down to where we need to go.”

Lila, while saying that, she will point her wand at the four people…

Cleon talks to Laila.

“Wait a minute.”

“Why?”

When Lila looks at Cleon’s seemingly restraining attitude as if she doesn’t understand.

“When I stopped at the bottom floor earlier, I don’t think there was anyone who said hello. … And, maybe. Two more people.”

“… You mean it’s split? First, Quartz is at the bottom…”

Melusine, who was one of the best forces, is still young.

The one that can be fought below is Quartz… And for now, Schrödinger.

“Where is your leader?”

Let Cleon ask that question.

“What!? Where can we get something like that? We’re all fucking equal!”

“Oh, that’s right… To put it bluntly, to decide on a leader. Should I say we’re competing against the number of people who killed you… Hehe…”

“Instead of the number killed, how about using the number committed?”

“Who would do such a troublesome thing…”

An answer comes back that is not helpful at all.

“Okay… Then, first, I’ll have to kill you all…”

At that time.

Shake! If you hear the sound.

“Haa… Haa…! You guys… Left me alone… And went upstairs without saying a word…!”

From beyond the dark hallway, a tired girl’s voice is heard.

“What, why is it so dark in here again? Someone turns on the light! No, use magic…!”

While speaking gibberish, she snaps her fingers.

She, who appeared from a light source created by magic, had a unique personality: long golden hair that reached down to her ankles.

What was worn on her waist was a straight sword with no significant features.

It looked somewhat similar to the Caliburn that Cleon wore on his waist.

She was standing next to the door in the wall, catching her breath, and it seemed like she had walked up the stairs that could be seen beyond.

“It looks like there was a hidden emergency staircase… I wondered how they got up.”

When Lila saw that, she muttered that.

… Oh, so she didn’t really need to fix the elevator?

“You’re acting alone, leaving this leader behind… You all want to be kicked out of here!?”

“Who’s the leader? Fuck you!”

“A troublesome guy has arrived…”

The other clones object to her speaking in an overbearing manner, but-

Cleon, following her instincts, feels that she has the most stable magical power compared to other clones.

Perhaps, others just don’t want to admit it.

In reality, she was their leader, just as she said.

She pushes others out of the way and speaks with a confident attitude.

“Hmm… I was a little surprised that he suddenly disappeared like that. Anyway, this is how we ended up confronting each other. Demon swordsman Cleon? Once again, welcome. To our actual combat training.”

“… Practical training?”

“Yes. We were left with the final adjustments before participating in the Holy Sword Selection Ceremony. What we lack is ‘real-world experience’… I plan to use you to make up for that.”

In response to Cleon’s questions, she smiles as she kindly tells him everything.

“Five on this side, five on that side. How about this? Here, with no difference in numbers, it’s a 5-5 duel? Well, that’s only if you guys know how to be fair and square. Still, it’s not bad. Don’t you think it’s a suggestion?”

“…”

Cleon looks at the longsword clone who says so, and then glances back at the group.

Crossing gazes of party members.

After sending signals with their eyes, each person nodded.

Did you take that as consent?

The long sword’s clone smiled and answered.

“Hehe. I guess I’ve accepted it. Then, I’ll do my best to kill you-“

“””””Haaaaa!!!”””””

“Eh?”

Next moment.

Cleon, Amelia, Lila, Sasha, and Kuon raised their voices and rushed towards the clone holding the long sword.

The embarrassed clone had a blank expression on his face and could only watch the attack that was right in front of him.

The other four clones fell away from her, leaving her longsword clone to attack.

Kwaaang!!!

A loud explosion sounded, filling the hallway.