Nero's Demon Eyes lit up with an icy, cold fervor as demonic scales crawled beneath the skin of his hands, while a pair of demon horns, blazing with blue fire, protruded from the sides of his temples. (Devil Trigger at 5%, for estimation).
Just as Nero was about to condense energy at his claw-tips, all of the resurrected clones hurled their attacks at him, forcing him to teleport and dissipate the gathered energy.
'This isn't going anywhere. My Demon Body won't let me fall, but this brotherly abomination just recovers his spent spirit energy as quickly as he loses it — thanks to their dual souls.'
Finally feeling annoyed, Nero decided it was time to let loose a little.
Stopping in place, just as the leading clone was about to strike, Nero phantom-teleported, leaving behind a shadowy doppelgänger. The shadow morphed into a thin, double-edged, needle-like weapon, its blade crawling with demonic scales and its hollow handle engraved with a ferocious demonic face. (Image in Comments)
Before the clones could pursue him further, the demonic needle unleashed hundreds of spirit-energy threads, entangling all the clones at once. A flash of white light flickered across the threads — likely the Law of Separation — and the next moment, every restrained clone dissolved into gray mist, only to respawn at their original positions.
Over the next minute, Nero methodically scouted the entire outer ring, planting more of his demonic needles. This forced the real Enlinki, hidden among the clones, to reposition. The clones could now only respawn within the inner ring; any attempt to respawn outside would result in them instantly being entangled again by the awaiting demonic needles.
Having finished marking the outer ring, Nero stopped relying on teleportation and instead engaged the clones in hand-to-hand combat, pulling them into his rhythm.
Sidestepping an incoming jab from the lead clone, Nero conjured a Demonic Needle and struck its nape, driving it face-first into the ground. Wasting no time, he cast a thread-snare with his other hand, latching onto another clone and yanking it toward him. Using the dragged clone as leverage, Nero vaulted over its shoulder, flipping past the horde in a sudden blur.
Landing exactly where he wanted, Nero planted another Demonic Needle into the ground, beginning his mapping of the inner ring. The clones, heedless of the trap, charged at him with reckless persistence.
Enlinki could do nothing but grumble. While it was true that his Martial Soul granted him the ability to produce a continuous undead army of clones, controlling them with precision was an entirely different matter.
From the audience's perspective, it looked as though Nero had begun a battle-dance, weaving effortlessly as the army of Enlinki's clones charged him like stampeding bulls.
The potholes littering the arena floor were proof enough of the clones' inhuman strength — yet it was meaningless. Not a single one of their blows could land, as Nero's Demon Eyes allowed him to evade even the most complex attacks, slipping aside only a breath before strikes connected.
Combined with the spirit threads — slippery as serpents, quick as lightning, and unbreakable as divine chains — the entire arena transformed into a grotesque marionette stage, with Nero as the puppeteer. The clones and even Enlinki himself danced helplessly on strings of demonic threads.
Leading Enlinki around, Nero continued mapping the entire inner ring, methodically planting Demonic Needles at precise locations. From a distance, the formation of the needles began to form an obscure pattern, though still vague and incomplete.
After setting the final needle of the inner ring, Nero teleported to the center of the arena and simply stood waiting. Enlinki's clones, seeing this pause, unleashed a barrage of attacks, which Nero casually avoided and countered with swift strikes.
Strangely, the respawned clones no longer became entangled — as long as they appeared in the gaps between the planted needles. The needles themselves now looked faintly translucent. To the audience, and even to Enlinki, it seemed as though Nero's constant conjuring had already begun to hollow him out.
But just as a clone lunged at him, Nero sensed something. He vanished, reappeared behind it, and in one fluid motion delivered a spinning back-kick to its waist. Riding the momentum of the strike, he leapt upward, his arm stretching into a throwing motion.
An enormous Demonic Needle materialized instantly, crashing down and impaling the clone clean through, pinning it — and the very ground beneath — in place.
As soon as the giant needle struck the ground, it and all the others blazed like a thousand suns. Thousands of spirit threads erupted, linking every planted needle to the massive one at the center. In a single instant, every clone was entangled.
The formation Nero had been creating finally became clear. At first glance, it resembled a chaotic mess of lines, but upon closer inspection it revealed itself to be an intricate geometrical design — an unbreakable maze.
The clones struggled, thrashing with their inhuman strength to snap the threads, but the pattern's nature betrayed them: with every pull, the other clones became even more bound. The net tightened inexorably, until not even exchanging positions could free them. Every single clone was simultaneously locked in place.
Nero's cold gaze turned toward the clone impaled by the giant needle. From beneath it, Qliphoth roots erupted, piercing flesh and siphoning energy. At once, the entire army of clones grew sluggish, their movements dulled.
And in that moment, it was clear to everyone that the pinned one was no mere fake — it was Enlinki himself.
Realizing he had been exposed, Enlinki glared fiercely at Nero and demanded, "How did you find me out?"
Pulling a slight curve of lips, Nero simply uttered:
"Guess."
Enlinki was dumbfounded, glaring at Nero with hatred as the Qliphoth roots cocooned around him.
In truth, Nero hadn't possessed a specific method to identify the real Enlinki. Instead, from the moment he engaged the clones head-on, he had begun mentally marking each one — tracking their reaction times, placement in the formation, and minute behavioral differences. Thus methodologically approximating the true body hidden among the swarm.
The audience erupted in excitement as their "Dark Slayer" once again proved victorious, triumphing even against impossible odds. Yet, strangely, the referee made no announcement of the match's conclusion — nor did Nero release his combat stance.
The reason soon became clear as purple motes of light seeped from the cocoon. An instant later, the Qliphoth prison exploded, shards of roots scattering violently across the ring.
From within the wreckage, Enlinki emerged — but transformed. His mask was gone, his hair now cascading to his waist. His skin had turned a pale ash gray, and in his hand, he gripped a sword forged of condensed purple light.
"Finally finished your good night's sleep," Nero taunted the newly-emerged Enlinki.
But the response was nothing but hollow, emotionless eyes.
"Not the talkative type… guess," Nero murmured, his Demon Eyes narrowing as it became clear: this version, controlled by the other soul, was calmer, sharper, far more dangerous than before.
On instinct, Nero conjured a Mirage Blade, parrying Enlinki's vertical cleave while simultaneously striking back with his Demonic Needle like a stinger.
In a flash, both vanished, their forms becoming afterimages. Sparks erupted all across the arena as phantom clashes rang out — Nero and Enlinki were moving too fast to be tracked by the naked eyes of the audience, or even by spirit masters below Level 40.
Enlinki pressed his relentless assault, cleaves raining down furiously. Nero parried with the Mirage Blade, but each clash shattered the weapon instantly, forcing him to regenerate it again and again just to keep pace with the onslaught.
While it was true that the Mirage Blades, solidified from Demonic-Spirit energy, were exceptionally sharp and strong, they were useless compared to the purple blade, whose very specialty was annihilating defenses.
Stepping back, Nero dissolved both the Mirage Blade and the Demonic Needle in his hands. With a tap of his foot, Qliphoth roots burst forth from the ground, momentarily entangling Enlinki in place.
His Demonic-Spirit energy flared violently, radiating in massive waves. At his sides, two enormous demonic claws manifested, each gripping a colossal Demonic Needle. To further fortify them, tiny interwoven threads of white and blue extended outward, linking from Nero's shoulders and hands to cover the energy-forged claws and needles in an intricate net of power.
Breaking free from the roots, Enlinki instantly appeared in front of Nero and unleashed a crescent strike. But before the blow could land, it froze mid-air — white-blue threads had extended from Nero's arms, wrapping tightly around Enlinki, his sword, and even his motion, holding everything at a standstill.
The Energy Demon-Claws instantly thrusted the Demonic-Needles at Enlinki who defenseless took the whole brunt and was sent flying backwards.
Mid-Air more blue-white threads seized him in midair. With a single motion from Nero's hand, they redirected his body upward. At that exact moment, a waiting Demonic Claw manifested above and slammed down with crushing force, driving Enlinki straight into the arena floor.