Point-of-View: Shiro Blanc
———————————————————————————
"So, um...where exactly are we going?" Inquired Mika curiously, as we began to head out of the apartment.
Tch, annoying brat. Gotta be nice and friendly though, just for a little bit.
"I told you, it's a surprise," I replied, before deciding to play this differently, "How about this, I'll keep you inside a Store spell and then use Extract as soon as we get there, that way it'll feel like you didn't wait at all. What do you say?"
"Sure, sounds good!" She replied without hesitation, after mulling it over a bit.
No reluctance or apprehension, huh...her trust in Kuro sure is coming in handy right now. I then used Store on her, picked up the corresponding Extract spell, and then headed out. Alright, timing is going to be crucial for this to work. It's a somewhat risky plan, but if it works, my victory is all but guaranteed, and I can eliminate any doubts over me being the imposter.
Okay, Kuro is definitely at the Goblin cave, no doubt about it. I'll need a few teleport spells as well. The instant that I begin, I'll have to work fast. Time to get this underway. As I left the building, I entered Soul-Eater Mode and used the Quintuple Cross to form a clone.
"You know what to do," I remarked, handing him a couple of teleport spells.
"Yeah, I know," He replied with a smirk, before rushing off.
Now, then...I used a teleport spell to get myself outside the west gate of the Rustlands, probably the same spell that Fuo used to get away from me. I then took out another teleport spell and pointed it in the direction of the Goblin cave, before activating it, teleporting myself forward and reappearing a little ways inside the entrance.
I swiftly activated my Lightning Sensory Field as I hurried further inside, looking for a Goblin...there, found one! It's about two hundred and fifty meters inside, I need to reach it and get its attention quickly, which will alert Kuro and draw him out. I zipped forward using Lightning Boost, till I reached the spot I sensed the Goblin at.
There it is, this better work, because if he doesn't respond and show up, then this was going to backfire on me pretty badly. The Goblin then noticed me and crept out of the shadows, it's eyes focused on me intently. I then used Extract, Mika appearing next to me as I did.
"Huh, where are we? It's dark in here," She remarked curiously, straining her eyes to adjust to the dim surroundings, as the Goblin suddenly vanished...yes, it worked.
A second later, the Goblin reappeared...along with Kuro, who had a look of rage in his eyes. Looks like he's figured out that this is a hostage situation...well, he is as smart as I am, so that's to be expected.
"You...what are you trying to do here?" He growled, entering Vampire Mode.
I quickly entered Vampire Mode as well.
"Careful, Mika, that's my imposter, the one I told you about...get behind me," I warned, putting on a protective tone...the 'surprise' should be the last thing on her mind now.
"Huh? Why is he here? I don't-."
"Get away from her, imposter! Mika, don't listen to him, he's not the original, I am! You have to believe me!" Implored Kuro, his eyes pleading with her to believe him.
Come on, what's taking my clone so long, I can't have him talk too much...
"What are you talking about?" She inquired suspiciously.
"Listen to me, think back, hasn't he been acting even a little differently over the past couple of months than you remember from before!?" Urged Kuro, as he drew out his short-sword and pointed it at me.
She was silent for a moment, before remarking with a wary look on her face...
"Hey, Bro...you said that you broke up with Sis because you didn't want her to be targeted by this imposter, right? Is that really true? Because...it doesn't make sense. If he really has all your memories, then he'd know how you actually feel, wouldn't he?"
Damn it, she's sharp...I'm running out of-...suddenly, I began glowing red, and another flash of red shot towards me and combined with me...my clone had returned.
"Shut it, you annoying little brat...now die," I replied with a smirk, swiftly grabbing her shoulder before she could react and using Teleport to move right in front of Kuro, who still had his short-sword pointed forward at me.
Perfect...
"B-big bro...wh-why...?" She uttered weakly, as blood poured down her mouth.
"N-no...," He stuttered with a look of despairing horror, as blood dripped down his blade.
When I teleported forward, I reappeared so that his sword would go right through the brat...and I nailed it...the blade had pierced her square through the heart. As the light faded from her eyes, I swiftly turned my gaze around and teleported back to get some distance away from him.
Right on time, as I heard several footsteps approaching. The task I'd given my clone was this...go find as many of the others as he can within two minutes and then teleport to the Goblin cave with them, and rejoin with me as soon as he got to the entrance. And just as planned, the others arrived just in time to see Kuro's blade pierced through Mika's heart. Time for some acting...
"You bastard, how dare you kill her!?" I exclaimed, putting on an enraged tone.
"M-Mika, no...," Persia gasped, her eyes glossing over as she stumbled back with a look of horror and disbelief.
My clone had brought the four that were off-limits to me, as well as Selesa and Ekai. They all had horrified expressions on their faces, which were slowly changing to rage and anger. Excellent, this should definitely crush his spirit. Finally, time to end this...
———————————————————————————
Point-of-View: Kuro Black
———————————————————————————
I was trembling...but I wasn't sure which emotion was driving it. Fury? Grief? Shock? Rage? Oh...it's all of them. And more...so much more. My blade handle slipped out of my hand as I stumbled back, Mika's body falling to the ground lifelessly. No, this can't be happening right now...
I could hear Shiro yelling something at me, but I wasn't listening...oh, I see, he's acting furious to make it seem like I'm the one who killed her...everyone's looking at me with hatred and grief...but I was barely even noticing them...I couldn't look away from the corpse of my apprentice, laying in a growing puddle of her own blood...
Unforgivable...I suddenly felt something snap inside me, everything going red as a burning rage exploded and overwhelmed my emotions...and I had no desire to resist it...I let it take over my mind...a sense of absolute fury combined with a icy cold calmness...and bloodlust more intense than I'd ever felt before...
"You'll pay for this," I remarked coldly, a blank yet fierce glare in my eyes as I entered Vampire God Mode, the ground beneath me cracking slightly as I did.
Everyone, including him, flinched as I transformed, fear in their eyes as I took a step forward.
"Pay for this? H-have you gone mad, you're the one who- gahh!" He began, continuing to put on his act, before I interrupted him by using my Healing Factor to fire off my left fist at him.
It slammed onto his chest and sent him flying back, as I swiftly regrew my hand, my body trembling with rage. This time, I'll kill him for sure.
"Not so fast!" Exclaimed Az, sending a wave of ice towards me, which I evaded by using Teleport to appear in front of all of them.
"I command you to stand down," I ordered, all of them freezing as I formed four clones and simultaneously made eye contact with them all.
I had the clones rejoin me and then restrained the others further with spiderwebs, before zipping towards Shiro, who had just transformed to God Mode. He sprang back in alarm as I closed in, I drove my claws towards his chest, piercing through his skin...and hitting bone. Hm, he's done the same thing with his skeleton that I did. No matter. I pumped him full off Hydra venom using my claws.
He coughed out blood as his body spasmed, his gaze began to shift, no doubt an attempt to use Teleport...I swiftly swung my other hand up and grabbed the top of his head, the bottom of my palm covering his eyes as I shot towards the entrance with a tight grip on his head, with barely any resistance thanks to the poison, his face turning pale.
As I reached the entrance, I halted and slammed his head onto the ground with all the force that I could generate, cracking and breaking apart the ground and kicking up a dust cloud as a shockwave burst out upon impact...tch, his head didn't split open, guess he increased the density of his skull too. I then lifted him up and pulled on his head while twisting his neck. If I tear it off, then this nightmare will finally be over...
The skin around his neck began to tear apart, when suddenly, I was forced to let go and spring back as he whipped his tail up at my wrists and bony spikes burst out of his body towards me, the color returning to his face as he got rid of the poison.
"You fucking piece of shit...just die already," I remarked, as my rage only intensified.
"Right back at you," He replied, drawing out his blades.
If I don't finish him now, if he manages to get away again...he might try this again...I can't let him kill anyone else, just to get to me...I have to kill him, right here and now...
_____________________________________________
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to vote, and feel free to leave a comment, I appreciate any and all feedback and criticism!
Also, check out my Instagram account @aimdaqs for posts relating to this book.