"Don't get so cocky, little girl!" A violet glow projected from the Lizardman's eyes while staring at Amber.
"What the–what's happening to me!?" He seemed to have used an ability on her, which caused her to start sweating abundantly while swaying to the side.
He then dashed toward her, unsheathing what looked like a poison-tipped push dagger.
"Shit!" Amber, barely regaining her balance, shot out the flames from her finger tips.
The Lizardman dodged perfectly, then attempted a straight jab with the dagger, however, Amber managed to scrape her own dagger against the edge of his, while flipping over the bar table to evade the attack.
"Dammit!"
Amber backed away and positioned herself beside me.
"She's a fast one, Vince. I don't think this'll be so easy after all."
"It's alright, just make it as quick as possible," Vince replied.
"Don't worry, boss, you can leave these small fries to us. Just sit back and enjoy the show." The giant began to crack his knuckles as Vince took a seat at the opposite end of the bar, comfortably crossing his arms and legs.
"Heh, that's the spirit," he chuckled. "Entertain me!"
"Yes, boss!" his minions replied in unison, as the giant equipped his battle-axe, ready to attack.
Amber then turned to me and whispered.
"Just follow my lead."
All I did was nod in response, before mentally preparing myself to fight back.
Both sides were clearly ready to engage until suddenly the entrance doors swung open, distorting the tense atmosphere that had built up significantly.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" A man I instantly recognized, casually walked through the entrance, bursting into an uncontrollable laughter like a deranged lunatic.
It's that guy from before…
As someone who was previously wearing a mask, I expected to see some kind of scar or mark he kept hidden behind it, however, his face was slightly tanned, but unblemished. It was as clean as a canvas that no painter was permitted to draw upon.
He quickly garnered the attention of everyone present and continued his frenzy of hilarity.
"Who the fuck are you?" Vince asked him, frustrated by the interruption.
"Oh? You don't recognize me, Vince? Not even after all that time we spent together?"
Vince remained silent, almost uninterested in his response.
"Oh right, my bad... It's been a while since you've seen my real face, hasn't it?" He reached inside his coat and pulled out a white mask that he held over his face. "Recognize me now?"
"N-no way."
"Is that Snapper!?"
The two minions were completely dumbfounded.
"Heh, so it finally came off, huh?" Vince smirked. "I guess that means you no longer work for me, right?"
"Yup, the contract's expired, so now I'm finally free to do whatever the hell I want."
"Oh? And what would that be exactly?"
"At first, I was thinking of killing you guys and getting my ass outta this cold village. But that's no fun at all, considering how easy it would be," he shrugged.
Vince raised his fist, and struck the table beside him, smashing a hole right through it.
"Really!? So what now then, huh!? Since you're not gonna kill us, go ahead and tell us what your new plan is!" Vince's expression showed signs of boundless fury as well as a nagging curiosity.
Snapper suddenly turned to me. "I'll use my special card on the kid, and he can kill you guys instead. That way, I can just watch it all happen without even having to lift a finger. Wouldn't that be awesome?"
The Lizardman and the giant glared at Snapper in frustration, seemingly unaware of the 'special card' he was referring to.
"You damn traitor! I always knew there was something off about you!"
"Yeah, he probably wanted Gouldsworth's card all to himself!"
Vince began to laugh as though this sudden turn of events was nothing short of amusing.
"Hahahaha! You're even crazier than I thought, aren't you, Snapper!?" He glared and pointed a finger in my direction. "This dumb kid ain't gonna do shit! See those shackles? I bet he must be a runaway slave or somethin'. Even if he has the Copy Card, he's still a useless piece of dog shit I can trample under my foot anytime."
"Hey, the boss is right–he's totally a slave, isn't he?" The giant one looked down at me, showing his ugly teeth as he grinned.
"Yeah, let's get rid of him first, then save the girl for later!"
The Lizardman licked his dry lips with his sharp tongue, which caused Amber to grimace.
Without wasting another second, both guys came rushing at me simultaneously, however, I remained still.
My focus had been stolen by Snapper, who was smiling and pointing a finger toward me. He seemed to have summoned a card that floated beside him.
I then turned to Amber, who moved forward to shield me from the vigorous swing of the giant's axe and the rapid strike of the Lizardman's dagger.
"NO–!"
"Manifest: His True Potential."
Snapper's words seemed to reverberate throughout the room, and everything around me stood frozen in time.
Every object and every person remained inanimate apart from Snapper, who crossed eyes with me, still pointing in my direction.
"Show me what you're capable of, kid."
I could feel my heart contracting heavily, burning my chest from the inside out.
I soon realized that I was unable to breathe, and before I knew it, everything was enveloped in complete darkness.
For a moment, I thought this was how it felt like to be dead, but my breathing swiftly returned, and my sight soon after. However, I no longer had control over my body.
What's happening to me?
Once reality was mobile again, the first face I saw was Amber's.
Thankfully, she appeared to be uninjured, but she gave a shocked impression with her wide eyes and gaping mouth.
From the way she was looking up at me, I assumed that I was somehow suspended in the air.
Am I flying?
As I looked down at the others, I could feel my mouth stretching into a smile that continued to grow as I noticed how miserable and helpless they looked.
Snapper, on the other hand, only continued to gaze at me with an prideful grin.
"WorldView: The Mimic."
Those words–deep and resounding–came out of me as if by thoughtless instinct.
The room was instantly enshrouded in a translucent field of blue energy that erupted from all over my body. I then silently pointed a finger toward the guys in front of me.
All of a sudden, several cards started flashing around me, appearing one after another.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" the Lizard exclaimed.
"B-Boss, what's happening!?" The giant looked at Vince with fear and confusion written all over his expression.
"HOW THE HELL SHOULD I KNOW!?" Vince, no longer seated, turned to Snapper. "WHAT DID YOU DO!?"
Snapper ignored him and remained silent as he continued to stare at me in fascination.
"Hey, you son of a bitch! You better answer me or else—ARGHH!!" Just as Vince moved his hand toward Snapper, I set it on fire, shooting a flame from my finger the same way Amber did.
"ACK! ARGHH!!" Vince rapidly shook his hand until the flame went out, but he had now received harsh burns that would forever scar him.
"Isn't that the same ability the girl used?" the giant questioned.
"W-wait, his eyes… I think he's using my Snake Eyes card!" the Lizardman warned. "Don't make eye contact with him or you'll become dazed!"
"No way…" Amber muttered to herself in disbelief, "Is this the true power of the Copy Card?"
Vince, who now seemed ready to attack, quickly summoned his card.
"HYPER NEEDLE!" he cried out, as the same needle that killed Dan shot from his card at a high velocity.
His attack was clearly aimed at me but somehow the needle narrowly missed its target and hit the wall behind me.
I never moved to evade it, and it seemed like there wasn't even a preexisting urge to do so.
"Hyper Needle," I effortlessly called out, and the needle shot out from my card, piercing right through Vince's skull in a near instant.
"Fuck–!" I was surprised he was still able to speak before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed onto the floor, lifeless and unmoving.
"BOSS!!!" the giant cried before hurling his massive axe in my direction.
Just before the large blade reached my neck, thick vines sprouted from under the weapon, catching it in mid-air.
"He has my Vine Trap too!?" The Lizardman started to panic as if he knew something was coming. "Burg, move out of the way!!"
"What?"
Before he could react, the vines twisted and contracted, swinging and releasing the weapon back toward the giant at a dangerous speed.
The Lizardman bravely leapt in front of his comrade, sustaining the blow of the large battle axe which instantly severed his torso in half.
"BASQUE!!!" The giant, now covered in blood from nearly head to toe, fell to his knees and gazed at his partner who was sliced into two, and then at his Boss, who was bleeding from his head.
"Basque… Boss…? You guys… you left me behind…? HOW COULD THEY LEAVE ME BEHIND!!!!"
A mixture of sadness and anger, no different from a temper tantrum, was displayed before me.
There's just one left, I thought, sensing the wild energy inside of me beginning to drain at a rapid rate.
I won't deny it… Whatever this new power is, it is truly amazing...