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Chapter 48: Legion, For We Are Many
🕑 Added 2024-06-29 07:40:09 +0000 UTCThe ship departed with my clone on board as I hid myself underwater. After swimming for a bit, I found a reef to sit on. Some Anathema could swim, but none chose to pursue me, knowing that water would weaken them. Through my clone's eyes, I watched Shining, Serene, and the rest of my group.
I could go back. I could simply activate my horcrux and return to my friends. However, Tanaka's face haunted me. I had betrayed them. They would be laid off from Shirayuki. But if I had refused to abandon the equipment, five thousand people might have died. It was an obvious choice which one took precedence.
"Lily, we should return. It is dangerous for an MG to act alone in the dark lands," Felicia manifested beside me. A thumping sound marked the arrival of a behemoth. Through the mana eyes I left on the beach, I saw the behemoth staring at the fleeing cargo ships. It then activated its skill, causing the ground to spout black ichor, and its figure was drowned in it before teleporting away. When the boss monster had gone, the rest of the Anathema walked away, leaving the beach deserted.
Five minutes passed. There was little time before my clone vanished. Even until the end, I didn't activate my skill. Using my clone, I cried to Shining before the timer ran out, leaving my sniper rifle with her. As the clone winked out, I returned to the reef.
"Sorry. But I don't want to return…" I said. I climbed the cliff and returned to the land. The cliff was not supposed to be climbable from the ocean, but with my strength stats, I could grip it and quickly pull myself up.
"Request from Shining Arrow and Serene Night. They request your coordinates so they can pick you up."
"No. Please activate the radio silent protocol. Don't let anyone find me," I said to Felicia as I sat on the cliff, viewing the twilight. "Sorry, Felicia, for being so selfish."
Twilight was serene. The cargo ships were no longer in view, and I was alone, leaving everything behind. Guilt started to haunt me. Faces of my father and Kageyama flashed before me as the sun set on the horizon. Night came, and my feelings began to improve. It felt like chains were finally coming off my heart.
[Quest Completed! - New Soil Evacuation]
[Description: New Soil was attacked by an aberrant class Anathema. Thanks to the timely intervention of Magical Girls, even without support from Guardian Command, New Soil's citizens have been saved. We have decided to reward every MG participating with points.]
[Difficulty: Medium]
[Reward: 5000 Points]
[Remaining Points: 6500 (600+5000+900)]
"Felicia, I can buy food from the gate, right?" I asked her after looking at my remaining points. The points from the swarm alone amounted to over 900 points, but there was no level-up even after I killed hundreds of them. The experience gained from defeating lower-level Anathema really diminished as my levels increased. Moreover, I was granted 5,000 points for saving those civilians. I regretted not going home now. With these points, I might be able to repurchase the lost equipment.
"Yes. You have to open the Food and Beverage vault for 100 points."
"Is there a camping set?"
"Yes. It is in the Home and Furniture vault. You can open it for 100 points."
"Later. We have visitors…" I glanced behind me, and several goblins started to gather. Their long ears, pale grey skin, and sharp teeth showed menace.
"Careful. Like Fomorian ghouls, goblins are single-digit-level monsters. They are one of the weakest monsters, just one step above drones. However, like Fomorians, they have a hierarchy called Greenskins. There might be stronger variants mixed there," Felicia explained.
"Okay." I promptly dispatched them with my naginata. Their humanoid form made it easier to use my naginata technique on them. However, just like before, there were no signs of them stopping.
"Let's put our stats to use. Fifteen on Willpower, ten on Spirit, ten on Dexterity, and fifteen on Agility."
"Great! This will make your stats more balanced. Now you can summon up to ten clones, but I still recommend saving some mana for your weapon," Felicia said.
"Now, I want a shotgun and another sniper rifle."
"Roger. For the shotgun, would you like buckshot or slug bullets?"
"Huh?" I cleaved another goblin in two before questioning Felicia.
"Buckshot is for swarms, while slugs are for single targets. Ah, this isn't a standard bullet, so the rate is one bullet per point," Felicia summarized.
"Um… just a dozen of each, maybe?" At least it wasn't as complicated as the specialized bullets for sniper rifles. I will review them more thoroughly later. However, these goblins kept coming, and I needed to arm my clones.
"Done. A semi-automatic shotgun and a magazine's worth of bullets. The magazine is worth a point."
[Purchased: Hecate Sniper Rifle]
[-100 Points]
[Purchased: Hecate Shotgun Rifle]
[-100 Points]
[Purchased: Slug Bullet x12 + Magazine]
[-13 Points]
[Purchased: Buckshot Bullet x12 + Magazine]
[-13 Points]
[Remaining Points: 6274 (6500-200-26)]
"How much is needed to upgrade the vault again?"
"You need 10,000 points to unlock the next tier of the glaive vault."
"I see. Let's clean up first. Summoning six clones. Arm them with Darkeater, harpoon and harpoon gun, shotgun, sniper, and javelin."
"Roger."
The battle continued. A smirk surfaced on my face as I kept slashing through the unending wave of Anathema.
"Hehehe. Hahahaha!!!" A cacophony of maniacal laughter accompanied the slaughter of goblins and the occasional Horned Hellspawn. It dawned on me that my job was simply to kill Anathema. I didn't need to be a bringer of hope. I only needed to kill more of these things. I didn't need to care for humans, Shirayuki, Eden, or New Mesa. As long as I killed more Anathema, every problem would be solved.
"Caution. An armed Trolleater was spotted. It is a high-end level forty Anathema. Retreat is recommended," Felicia warned me. In the distance, a massive humanoid monster approached. The troll had rock-like, ashen gray skin with cracks all over it and carried a club that was taller and bigger than I was.
"I think I can kill it."
"You may try. It is possible to defeat it. However, pay attention to its movements. A single hit could prove fatal due to your low vitality."
"Alright! Legion!" I activated my signature skill.
My six clones turned into twelve. A purple sheen flashed over us all quickly. My signature skill, Legion, doubled all my clones. They now had 100% of my stats, shield aura, access to the gate, my dimensional storage, skills, and augments. I now essentially had twelve magical girls similar to myself under my command for thirty minutes.
"Let's go! We are Legion! Because We are Many!" Clone 7 said, holding my black naginata and spinning it around. Wait, how did she have that? Had I told her to take it from my storage?
"All for one and one for all!" Clone 8 said while holding her javelin, which she also took from my storage.
"Um… four of us clones don't have weapons…" Clone 9 politely pointed out.
"Buy assault rifles! Can we share the FMJ bullets I bought for the sniper rifle today?" Clone 10 asked Felicia.
"Yes, you can," Felicia answered her the same way she answered me. "But I would still recommend buying more magazines and normal bullets. It would be too wasteful otherwise."
"After this!"
[Purchased: Hecate Assault Rifle]
[-100 Points]
[Remaining Points: 6174 (6274-100)]
"Huh?" I blinked as I saw my points decrease.
"Um… I would like another harpoon gun," Clone 9 said.
"May I request the flamethrower war scythe?" Clone 11 asked Felicia as if she were ordering it from a store.
"I want the Darkeater War Scythe!" Clone 12 jumped in with vigor.
"Done, nya!" Felicia confirmed.
[Purchased: Flamethrower War Scythe]
[-300 Points]
[Purchased: Darkeater War Scythe]
[-300 Points]
[Purchased: Hermes Harpoon-gun]
[-100 Points]
[Remaining Points: 5474 (6174-100-300-300)]
"Huh? Wait! Wait!" I felt a sense of danger immediately once I saw my points decrease. 800 points were gone just like that.
"Yes?" Felicia responded.
"Why are you buying things without my permission?" I asked the four clones.
"I mean, we don't have weapons. Are you expecting us to fight using our hands?" Clone 10 answered. She was right, but getting things done without my permission left a bad taste in my mouth. It reminded me of New Soil. Were my gate points not mine after all?
"Why not buy the cheap versions… like the cross spear or a handgun?" The clones looked at me, disappointed.
"Yeah! We who are using the javelin here are suffering. Why do the new clones get the good stuff?" Clone 3 said.
“Um… sorry…” Clone 9 said. I felt guilty immediately. She looked just like me when I got scolded by my mom.
"Come on! You will need this later anyway. This is our weapon. You will use it later. Let's just kill the boss!" Clone 10 rallied us, and I instinctively followed her and charged at the boss with her. She is technically correct. Later, when I didn't use my signature, her weapons could be used by others. But who is this energetic Yuri? Was she really my clone?
As the boss opened its mouth, roaring flames spewed forth, and we dispersed all at once.
"Harpoon! Legs! Bring it down! Scythes, go for the extras!" Clone 10 barked the orders. We all did as we were told. Two clones fired their harpoons while another jabbed its harpoon spear into its thigh. The harpoon gun latched onto the ten-meter troll's back and another leg. Even with our strength, the troll was not fully grounded. However, it did severely hamper its movement, making us, the naginata team, safer. I swung my Icerail at its leg with all my strength. However, I didn't cleave it this time. The blade embedded itself just a tiny bit into the monster's flesh.
"Felicia!" I disengaged and put some distance between myself and the troll after all of us failed to inflict noticeable damage despite our aggressive attacks.
"Anathema Analytic software, engage. This monster has a rigid and strong outer layer of skin. Hitting it in the same place will eventually erode the outer protective layer."
"Roger! Chest or head?"
"Head!"
"Chest!"
Some of us chose chest, but most chose head. We all paused and looked at each other for a while. Then, we unanimously aimed for its head. Majority vote ruled. Clone 6 aimed for the head and an explosion occurred on the troll's head. Some of its rock-like skin peeled off. Clone 5 then charged in with her shotgun. As she got close, she stopped and aimed at its head. The slug bullet also exploded on the colossus's head.
I aimed my Icerail and shot an ice spear into its head. As the face froze, Clone 10 shot it with her semi-automatic assault rifle. The high-caliber bullets exploded on its face, revealing bloody soft tissue inside.
"We can't reach it," my melee clones complained.
"Um… help the harpoon clones. If we can topple the monster, we all can reach its head!"
"Watch out, breath incoming."
"Use Darkeater to shield against it. It's made of magic. It should be able to diminish its effect," Felicia telepathically advised.
"Roger." Clones wielding the Darkeater Scythe and Darkeater Naginata charged forward. The flame sucked into the dark blades.
"My aura still decreased…" my clones whined. However, they held on. When the blaze ran out, we could see the blades glowing red with fire magic. They swung down the blades and the fireball exploded on the colossus's head, peeling off another layer of skin. Then, another shot from the clones with sniper rifles penetrated its brain.
"We won!" The clones all jumped in joy at the fall of the 5-meter colossus. This was a stark contrast to the robot-like behavior of my clones before I used Legion.
"... No kill chime yet," I warned. True to our fear, the colossus stood up and ran toward one of my clones with reckless abandon. As it got near, its body bulged out.
"Huh, w-wait, wait! Run!! Ahhh!!!" Clone 10 ran away as the Anathema charged at her. Then, it exploded, taking three of my clones with it. Rocks from its skin shot out like fragments from grenades, depleting some of our shield aura.
"That was new... Trolleater, explosive variant noted. Enemy analytic software, disengaged." Felicia said. "Shotgun clone, one javelin clone, and black naginata clone are killed in action."
Her robotic voice was devoid of emotion as she announced my clones' deaths. I never thought about it much before since they never talked of their own free will. But now that they could speak, I felt apprehensive about the cold way she treated their deaths. But they are just clones... I have used my own clones as bait myself. Ugh... I feel conflicted now.
"Thank god they didn't come this way…" a clone muttered beside me. A kill chime resounded.
[You have leveled up to level 25]
[Your Slayer class has leveled up to level 10]
[Defeated: Trolleater (explosive variant) level 52]
[Reward: 200 Points]
[You have defeated a horde of Anathema! This is the summary of points received. Consult Familiars for more info]
[Reward: 1500 Points]
[Remaining Points: 7174 (5474+1500+200)]
"Yay! We won! The lesser monsters went away too!" Clone 2 with a javelin gathered.
"Good job, everyone," Clone 11 with the flamethrower warscythe commented. She was the furthest away from us as she took on countless Anathema to isolate the boss.
"The shotgun rifle was obliterated due to the blast. However, the javelin and the black naginata could still be used." Felicia reported.
"Ugh..." I moaned.
"Don't mind. We got points in the end," Clone 3 tried to console me.
"I don't want to be consoled by myself. Let's go. We have to find the nest." I walked away.
"Roger, nyaa. We should start searching. But before that, let's see your new augments and spells." Felicia noted.
"I wanna see!"
We looked at each other, me and my clones. I felt uncomfortable letting others see my stats, but I suppose we are one being. There are barely a few minutes left for them anyway. Let's review our stats.
