The poisonous mist still sizzled on Lina's cloak, bubbling faintly with a sickly green hue. The slowing effect made her movements half a beat too late.
When Jared's dagger flashed toward her throat, Kiriya's voice cut through the air like a blade chilled in ice.
"Fall back!"
Lina retreated almost on instinct, magic surging into her shield. A pale-blue barrier of frost bloomed into existence just in time to catch the dagger's tip.
Even so, the impact forced her back three staggering steps until her spine struck a stone pillar.
"Trying to run? Too late!" Jared snarled, closing in. The crimson glow on his dagger flared brighter—the sign that a Berserk Potion had kicked in, boosting his attack speed by at least thirty percent.
Just then, two pale-blue motes of light streaked across the tunnel like shooting stars. Kiriya's two phantoms appeared in an instant, their bronze swords crossing into an X, perfectly parrying Jared's strike.
The sharp clash of steel rang through the mine. Sparks scattered across the coal dust, blooming into tiny embers.
"Take care of your poison."
Kiriya's real body was already charging toward Garron, his calm, commanding voice cutting through the chaos.
"Leave this to me."
Lina's gaze lingered on his black-cloaked back, then flicked toward the two phantoms whose movements mirrored his so precisely it was uncanny.
She gripped her sword tightly. This time, she didn't rush forward. Instead, she pulled an Antidote from her bag and downed it in one gulp.
The green slow icon above her head blinked out immediately. She knew the smartest move right now was to trust Kiriya.
"You little brat!" Garron roared as Kiriya closed the distance. The giant axe swept in a vicious arc, the blade howling through the air, ready to cleave the swordsman in two.
Kiriya's body suddenly slid to the side, moving like a streak of black lightning. The axe missed by a hair's breadth, smashing into the ground with a deafening crack and leaving a deep gouge in the stone. Shards of rock and coal dust exploded outward.
Before Garron could recover, Kiriya vanished from sight.
"Blink Step!"
The faint blue afterimage of his body hadn't even dissipated when he reappeared behind Garron. His enhanced bronze sword pierced forward with a sharp hiss, striking at the weakest spot in the warrior's leather armor—his unprotected back.
-420!
A scarlet number burst into view. Garron let out a cry of pain, stumbling forward. He hadn't expected the swordsman to be this fast—his turn came a fraction too late, leaving him wide open as Kiriya's sword came stabbing again.
"Rufus! What are you waiting for?!" Garron roared, swinging the axe handle backward to force Kiriya away.
Rufus finally snapped out of the terror of having a sword at his throat. He scrambled to raise his staff, green magic coalescing at its tip.
"Toxic Pierce!"
But before he could cast, a pale-blue slash of sword light came flying at him. One of Kiriya's phantoms had circled around unnoticed.
The arc of its Phantom Slash struck Rufus's staff with pinpoint precision, scattering the spell's energy.
Meanwhile, the other phantom was locked in combat with Jared. Faced with the flurry of Berserk-enhanced dagger strikes, the phantom didn't bother clashing head-on.
Instead, it blinked and warped around the battlefield, a ghostly shadow always just out of reach.
Every time Jared's dagger was about to land, the phantom would appear somewhere else, lightly tapping him on the back with the sword's sheath—not to deal damage, but to mock him.
"You little—!" Jared completely lost it, abandoning all defense as he swung wildly, trying to overwhelm the phantom with sheer speed. But that was exactly what Kiriya wanted—his attacks grew sloppy, full of openings.
The entire battle in the mine shifted in an instant. Garron was completely suppressed by Kiriya's real body. Rufus was too busy fending off a phantom to cast any spells. Jared was being toyed with like a fool.
What had started as a three-on-one advantage was now three separate one-on-ones—and in every single fight, Corroded Crown's members were being crushed.
"This can't be…" Lina whispered from behind the pillar, her ice-blue eyes wide with shock. She could see clearly now—Kiriya's body attacked with relentless precision, yet his two phantoms moved without the slightest delay, as if three separate minds were controlling them. This went beyond any normal understanding of a "clone skill."
"RAAAH!"
Backed into a corner, Garron let out a bestial roar, his whole body glowing a muddy yellow.
"Rock Armor!"
It was the warrior's defensive skill, drastically boosting his defense for a short time. Clearly, he was trying to stall until backup arrived.
But Kiriya had already predicted this. The moment Garron activated his skill, Kiriya abruptly broke off his attack. Mana flared beneath his feet, and in the next instant, his real body and the phantom fighting Jared swapped places.
"Phantom Slash!"
Kiriya's real body materialized behind Jared, bronze sword flashing in a vicious arc. This strike was all-in, empowered to 150% of its normal strength. The sword light was so sharp it kicked up a wave of coal dust.
-680!
The critical hit number flared blood-red in the gloom. Jared's HP hit zero instantly. He didn't even have time to scream before his body dissolved into a streak of white light and was expelled from the dungeon.
[System Notice: You have slain player "Corroded Crown · Jared." Sin Points +100]
The cold, emotionless chime rang in Kiriya's mind, but he didn't slow down for a moment. With Jared down, he blinked again, swapping places with the phantom harassing Rufus.
"Your turn."
Rufus went pale as death. He scrambled backward on all fours, shrieking,
"Garron! Help me!"
But Kiriya was far faster. His bronze sword stayed locked on Rufus's back like a curse that would never miss.
"No—!"
Another Phantom Slash cleaved through the air. Rufus's HP hit zero, and he too vanished in a flash of white light.
[System Notice: You have slain player "Corroded Crown · Rufus." Sin Points +100]
[Current Sin Points: 200 (Warning: At 200 Sin Points, city guards will mark you as a priority target.) ]
The back-to-back kills finally shattered Garron's nerve. His eyes darted to Kiriya, standing a short distance away. The black cloak was dusted with coal, his breathing slightly heavier than before—but the cold gleam in his eyes was sharper than ever.
"You… you dare kill Corroded Crown members?" Garron's voice shook, his grip on the axe quivering. "Our GuildMaster will never let you go!"
Kiriya didn't answer. He only raised his bronze sword slowly. Droplets of virtual blood dripped from its tip, darkening the coal dust beneath his feet. The silent gesture was more terrifying than any words.
Garron broke. His mental defenses collapsed entirely. He glanced at the equipment Jared and Rufus had dropped, then at the two phantoms still lingering like predators at Kiriya's back. With a strangled cry, he dropped his axe, spun around, and bolted toward the tunnel entrance.
He had forgotten the ice wall was still blocking the way. His head smashed into it with a hollow thud.
"Trying to run?"
Lina's voice rang coldly from behind him. Her ice-blue sword pressed against the back of his neck.
"Weren't you pretty arrogant before?"
Garron's legs gave out. He collapsed to his knees with a heavy thump.
"Mercy! I was blind to who you were! Please, spare me! I swear I'll never dare cross you again!"
Kiriya walked up to him, looking down at the man who had been so high and mighty just moments ago.
"Get lost."
Just one word—but Garron bolted as if granted a royal pardon. He grabbed his axe, hacked open a gap in the ice wall, and fled the mine without looking back.
The mine fell silent again. Only Kiriya, Lina, and the forgotten figure in the corner remained—the Mine Lord, still polishing its colossal hammer as if nothing had happened.
Lina stepped to Kiriya's side. Her eyes lifted to the faint red Infamy marker now glowing above his head, her ice-blue gaze filled with concern.
"Sin Points 200… won't that cause trouble?"
"It doesn't matter." Kiriya sheathed his sword, his tone utterly unbothered.
"Trouble comes; I deal with it. Grind a few dungeons, it'll fade."
He paused, glancing at her.
"You alright?"
"I'm fine." Lina shook her head, her gaze lingering on him.
"But… why could your clones act independently? Normal clones just copy movements—or need constant micromanagement. What you did… that was different."
Kiriya fell silent, weighing his words.
"My clones… can share fragments of my consciousness."
It was the closest truth he could voice. In reality, the hidden trait of the Phantom Swordsman allowed clone AI to evolve with his level—at level 10, they could even interpret battlefield conditions.
Lina didn't press further. She knew every player had their secrets—just as her Frost Knight class carried its hidden techniques.
"Let's finish the boss." Kiriya summoned fresh clones, his eyes settling on the hulking figure in the corner.
"We'll deal with Sin Points later."
Lina nodded, raising her longsword. Frost mana shimmered around her once more, intertwining with the pale-blue phantoms at Kiriya's side. Their bond felt stronger than before—an unspoken trust forged in battle.
Finally, the Mine Lord stirred. The giant's stone body rose, shaking the cavern with each step. Its ruby eyes burned as it hefted its polished Warhammer and roared, a sound that made the entire mine quake.