As the colorful rainbow light flooded into Geno's core, his entire being was dyed with a layer of dazzling radiance.
"This feeling... the power is surging up."
Geno clenched his fists. He felt as if the current him could punch an old bull to death with a single blow; his confidence multiplied instantly.
"Come on! You Doppelganger named Fate! I shall fight you for three hundred..."
Thud!
Brushing past his cheek, the door panel that flashed by instantly extinguished the courage Geno had just ignited.
"Sorry to disturb you, I'm leaving right now!"
Realizing that the opponent was just a flashy pushover, the Doppelganger wouldn't let him off again. Moving like a ghost, it grabbed two military knives and slashed at Geno.
Clang!
A sound like metal colliding echoed through the room as Geno's claws solidly clashed with the Doppelganger's military knives.
It was only then that Geno finally realized he had indeed become stronger.
Although he didn't know the principle behind it, having the means to resist was a good thing.
He exerted force violently to bounce the Doppelganger away, then lowered his waist, pressing forward like a wild beast in an attempt to suppress it.
But the Doppelganger was simply too agile. Its movements were ghost-like, crossing past Geno's claws with perilous precision.
'Crap!'
Although he had received an unknown enhancement, Geno had not yet adapted to this sudden power.
At the same time, due to his lack of combat experience, the Doppelganger easily found an opening.
A smear of red light flashed, and Geno felt his vision go black before he was sent flying. By the time he came to his senses, the Doppelganger's dual blades were crossed together, hacking towards him.
Unable to react in time, Geno subconsciously blocked with both arms in front of his body. Another tooth-aching sound of friction rang out; the two military knives left deep indentations on his arms, proving that his strength had indeed improved.
Seeing the attack hadn't been effective, the Doppelganger pulled back to create distance, waiting for the next opportunity to strike.
And this gave Geno a chance to catch his breath. He leaned against the wall, looking at the girls who were still in a comatose state nearby. Although he didn't know the way to break this deadlock, he knew that if they continued fighting here, these girls would all get caught in the crossfire.
So, he mustered all his strength and charged toward the main door, intending to shift the battlefield.
The Doppelganger also noticed Geno's move but assumed he wanted to run away. It backhandedly blocked the inevitable path to the door, shaking its dual blades, waiting for Geno to walk right into the trap.
But what it didn't expect was that this played right into Geno's hands.
Geno waved his large arm, wrapping his hands around the Doppelganger's slender waist, and rushed out the door.
Upon reaching the corridor, Geno continued his charge with undiminished momentum, carrying the Doppelganger with him.
Boom!
They crashed into the wall. How could the walls of a hospital in disrepair for years withstand such torment? It shattered directly, revealing a massive hole, and the two Ethereals tumbled straight out of it.
"Wuwuwu?!"
Mid-fall, the Doppelganger attempted to break free from Geno's restraint, continuously stabbing the military knives in its hands into Geno's body.
Squelch! Squelch!! Squelch!!!
Several stabs in a row. It hurt so much that the core on Geno's face couldn't help but tremble, yet those hands held onto the Doppelganger in a death grip, refusing to let go.
The two Ethereals finally crashed onto the ground. A height of two stories wasn't too high, but the powerful impact left them both a bit dizzy.
The night was dark and the wind was high. The clouds that had originally dispersed returned once again, obscuring the somewhat eerie moonlight inside the Hollow.
The Doppelganger, recovering first, realized this was a good opportunity. It immediately pressed forward, raising the long knife in its hand high, aiming at Geno's core for a fatal blow.
"Wuwuwu~"
Accompanied by the Doppelganger's cry that seemed to declare victory, a pitter-patter of rain began to fall from the sky, and its knife fell along with the rainwater.
Crack.
A shattering sound rang out. However, what shattered wasn't Geno's core, but the Doppelganger's military knife.
The core that had originally been exposed had, at some point, grown a set of black crystal outer shells to protect it; the Doppelganger's military knife had snapped against it.
"Haaah!!"
The black beast fought back with all its might, taking advantage of the Doppelganger's dazed state to pin its entire body beneath him.
That mimicked young girl's body now felt the hard sensation coming from above, and it instantly turned pale with fright. Geno's hard and cold claws were firmly strangling its neck, attempting to put it to death in this manner.
"Guwuwuwu~"
Idiot. How could an Ethereal die from something like suffocation?
Geno, having never fought an Ethereal before, didn't know this. He subconsciously attacked the Doppelganger according to human weaknesses, but unexpectedly gave the Doppelganger another chance to resist.
Its only remaining arm grabbed its weapon and reversed direction, ruthlessly stabbing into Geno's waist and twisting incessantly. Immediately after, the knife moved upward bit by bit inside his body, wanting to attack Geno's encased core directly from the inside.
However, all of this was nothing but the Doppelganger's powerless fantasy.
"Guwuwuwuwuwu!!"
One of Geno's claws solidly stabbed into the Doppelganger's neck, while his other hand firmly grabbed the Doppelganger's arm to stop it from advancing any further.
"Deep breaths. Dizziness is normal. Relax."
Like a whisper from hell itself, Geno's voice lingered by the Doppelganger's ear. Only, it didn't have the mood to retort right now.
Because the hard, sharp claws inserted into its body were inching closer and closer to the core within it, just as it had done to Geno before.
Suffering such heavy damage, the Doppelganger could no longer maintain its transformed state.
The originally graceful young girl's appearance instantly turned into a puddle of soft, mud-like biology, looking somewhat like a slime from a fantasy story.
The Doppelganger struggled, struggled to push out the long object Geno had stabbed into its body, but no matter what, it couldn't resist Geno's brutality.
Held hostage at its vitals, it powerlessly attempted to condense its body again, but because it couldn't exert any strength, it could only crudely mimic a hideous face.
Using a face that was neither human nor monster, the Doppelganger roared unwillingly. Its re-condensed slender little hand inched closer to Geno's core bit by bit, but in the end, it was all in vain.
At the final moment before touching it, just when even Geno himself could feel the phantom pain of the opponent's approach, the Doppelganger's last breath finally dissipated. In an instant, centering on the neck, it turned into specks of colorful Ether particles and vanished into nothingness.
The rain was still falling, falling so heavily, as if to wash away all traces.
Geno followed his instincts and absorbed the dissipating Ether particles. Then, with a plop, he fell into the mud, smelling the unique stench inside the Hollow and listening to the crash of the rain, yet feeling an unprecedented peace of mind.
Mm, I definitely need to take a bath after this.
With that, the battle ended.
I'm going to take a bath too~ Kana~
____
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