"Welcome to my planet," he said.
"Since when did you have a planet?!" Anthony asked, both serious and confused.
"Always," Lucius replied with a smirk. "I wanted to make Earth similar to this, but due to certain circumstances, I couldn't."
"You sadistic bastard," Anthony said angrily.
Without another word, Anthony rushed forward and began striking the nearest clones with heavy blows, expecting them to crumble under his strength. However, the clones endured far more than he anticipated, barely staggering despite the force behind his punches. In response, Anthony's own clones attacked him with identical speed and power, forcing him to block rather than dodge as the impact pushed him backward.
Anthony retaliated with a massive HULK PUNCH straight to one clone's gut, causing it to stagger and briefly lose balance. Seizing the opportunity, he followed with a crushing punch to the face that sent the clone crashing onto the ground. Despite that victory, he quickly realized it was only one among thousands standing around them.
As Anthony turned to his right, he saw Adrian locked in combat with three Kenji clones. Adrian was clearly struggling, as fighting even one Kenji was difficult, let alone three identical versions attacking in coordination. He barely managed to avoid being overwhelmed by their synchronized strikes.
Anthony had no time to assist, as two Cosmic clones and three Adrian clones lunged at him simultaneously. Their combined attacks forced him into a defensive position, blocking and countering while taking hits he could not fully evade. The battlefield grew increasingly chaotic as more clones closed in from every direction.
After a prolonged and brutal fight, Anthony had defeated twenty clones while Adrian managed to take down fifteen. Both of them were severely injured, breathing heavily, and barely able to stand. The sheer number of enemies proved overwhelming, and eventually the endless waves of clones knocked them both unconscious.
When they woke up, they found themselves inside a prison cell.
Two Adrian clones stood guard outside the bars.
"What do we do?" Adrian whispered into Anthony's ear, making sure the guards could not hear.
"I have a plan," Anthony replied quietly before standing up.
He walked toward the wall opposite the bars and delivered a single powerful punch that shattered the wall instantly.
They escaped quickly, running through corridors and taking random turns to avoid detection. After several minutes of sprinting, they entered a large, empty room that seemed safe for the moment.
However, two unfamiliar clones entered the room shortly after.
The clones immediately attacked using chains that shot forward with incredible speed and precision. One chain wrapped tightly around Adrian's leg before he could react, and the clone yanked it hard, causing him to lose balance and fall. In an instant, the clone appeared before him and wrapped multiple chains around his body, restraining him within milliseconds.
Adrian reacted quickly by summoning a portal beneath himself, teleporting behind the clone before the chains could fully immobilize him. He grabbed the clone and slammed it into the ground, following up with several rapid punches aimed at disabling it. Despite the assault, the clone stood back up almost immediately, showing little sign of damage.
"These clones are pretty tough, whose clones are they?!" Adrian shouted.
"Probably the legendary light of justice, Noah's," Anthony answered.
"Is he strong?" Adrian asked while dodging another incoming chain.
"Very," Anthony replied. "We need to work together and focus on one clone at a time."
"Alright," Adrian agreed.
Adrian summoned a portal directly in front of himself, and Anthony leapt through it, appearing in front of one of the clones. He grabbed the clone and slammed it violently into the wall before unleashing multiple devastating HULK PUNCHES aimed at finishing it off. The room shook from the force of his blows as cracks spread across the surface behind the clone.
Meanwhile, Adrian continued narrowly dodging the chains, striking the second clone whenever he found an opening. Despite landing several clean hits, the clone's resilience made it difficult to gain any real advantage. The chains lashed out repeatedly, forcing Adrian to stay constantly on the move.
Finally, as one clone became distracted by Adrian, Anthony appeared behind it and delivered a powerful punch that launched the clone directly into one of Adrian's portals. The portal closed instantly, sending the clone to a random planet in a random galaxy far away.
They had thought that they had finally won.
But suddenly, the clone Anthony had seemingly killed stood back up despite its heart not beating. At the same moment, the clone that had been teleported reappeared right in front of Adrian as if nothing had happened.
Both Adrian and Anthony froze in shock.
The two clones took advantage of that hesitation and slammed them hard against the wall. Before they could recover, the clones rushed toward them with lethal intent.
Just as they were about to be killed, a man appeared and slashed both clones cleanly, finally destroying them.
Adrian and Anthony were too stunned to react immediately.
The man had blonde hair and an attractive face, and he bowed slightly.
"I've been waiting for you two," he said.
"What…? Waiting for us?" Adrian asked, confused.
"Yes. Lucius, our boss, told us that some outsiders were coming and that we should kill them," the blonde-haired man explained.
Anthony forced himself to stand despite his injuries. "So you are here to kill us?" he asked, taking a fighting stance.
"No. I am here to help you defeat him. I hate that guy, but I am too weak to kill him alone, especially with his army of clones. With you two, it will be much easier," the blonde man said.
"Oh. Okay then," Anthony replied without suspicion, as he had always relied more on strength than caution.
Adrian followed Anthony's lead, assuming that Anthony understood the situation.
"By the way, I am very impressed. Despite clones having only five percent of their original person's power, you were able to fight quite well against a clone of Noah," the blonde man said.
"Five percent of their power?!" Adrian exclaimed in shock. "This Noah guy must have been really strong."
"It is true. When I was fighting my clones, I did not have much trouble defeating them," Anthony said, trusting the blonde man even more.
"Name's Luca. Anyway, follow me," Luca said.
Adrian and Anthony followed him.