Pov — Ignis
The night vibrated like a tightened string—thin, fragile, ready to snap. A faint cold breeze slithered between the trees, brushing against my cheeks as I stepped toward the clone.
"Oh really?"
My hand lifted, fingers glowing with the first flicker of a spell.
"Then get ready… because I'm planning to make you run."
I drew in a slow breath. The sharp focus of battle settled over me like a cloak.
With a swift motion, I traced a magic circle through the air. Light spilled out in spinning rings, humming softly as I poured half my Yūgen into its core.
Then I took off my hat—my partner, my troublemaker—and let it float in the center of the circle.
Magic swallowed it whole. The woven fabric rippled as two catlike eyes blinked awake, followed by a row of thin, wicked teeth.
The hat glared at me. Annoyed, obviously.
"What do you want this time, kid?"
I smiled as if the world wasn't about to fall apart.
"Valouris… I've got a problem. Help me?"
He let out a sigh that could've powered a windmill.
"A problem? You let a Nemesis run wild, left a child alone in a suspicious inn, your partner wandered off to nowhere… and now you're facing a clone. And now you want my help?"
A brutally accurate summary.
Even I winced.
"…When you say it like that, yeah, it sounds terrible. But I have a plan. Possibly."
Valouris floated above me in a slow, judging circle.
"And? Don't tell me you wanna split the work in half."
I grinned wider, proud and shameless.
"Exactly."
He squinted at the clone, then at me again.
"So?"
"You help Akira. I'll take care of the clone and the kid."
"Fine. Try not to die."
With a dramatic flap of enchantment, he vanished into the forest's darkness.
I faced the clone alone.
The wind grew sharper, colder.
"Hope you're ready to get erased."
He rolled his eyes like he was bored of this world already.
"I tried being nice. I gave you a chance. But you're stubborn… so I'll just have to devour you."
"You underestimate me. And you talk too much. You remind me of someone annoying."
"Prepare yourself, human."
He lunged forward—fast, furious, silent like a falling blade.
I needed to finish him before sunrise.
⸻
Pov — Akira
I followed Ignis deeper and deeper into the forest.
The darkness here wasn't just shadow—it felt thick, alive, brushing against my arms like the breath of something unseen.
"Isn't this a bit too deep…?"
My hands trembled before I even registered the fear. This place had a way of grabbing onto people, refusing to let go.
"We can still turn back…"
"We're going."
Her answer cut the air cleanly, no hesitation.
Me? I would've turned back ten times already if monsters weren't everywhere.
Then—something made me stop in my tracks.
A metallic tang in the air.
"Hey… Ignis, do you smell that?"
She nodded and pointed toward a dark, lonely house tucked between the trees. Its silhouette looked wrong somehow, like it wasn't meant to be part of this world.
"Yes. It's coming from there."
A solitary house… in a Nemesis-infested forest.
Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic.
We approached the entrance, every step heavier than the last.
"Okay, that's it. I'm done pretending."
Ignis turned sharply.
"Huh?"
"You're not the real Ignis. Where's your hat? Where's your shadow? And that smile… way too weird."
Her expression froze—
Then cracked open.
A smile stretched across her face—too wide, too sharp, too wrong.
"Not bad, human. You figured it out. Just like the other one with my second half."
Second half…
So Ignis had already fought a version of this thing.
"So you can split yourself? And copy appearances? That's insane!"
She laughed.
A glitching, distorted sound that felt like broken glass.
"Too bad I have to eat you."
…Eat me?
Eat me???
I wasn't ready for any of this. My life did not come with the right tutorial.
"I'm warning you… I don't taste good!"
She licked her lips with slow menace.
"How would I know… without tasting you first?"
Her arms shot forward—
And were sliced clean off before touching me.
I blinked. Hard.
Saved again.
My luck stat must've been hacked.
A hat dropped onto my head with a soft thud.
"Hey kid. I'm Ignis's hat."
Right. Of course. Why wouldn't the hat talk.
The Nemesis regenerated her arms instantly, like snapping fingers.
"Seriously!? Two against one!? You don't feel even a little ashamed!?"
"Not at all."
Valouris suddenly went quiet.
"Wait… do you hear that?"
The Nemesis frowned.
"Hear what?"
A mechanical roar shredded through the forest, getting louder—
"Kid. Move a bit to your left."
"Uh… okay…?"
The moment I shifted, a motorcycle exploded through the trees and smashed straight into the Nemesis.
A girl rode it—wild hair, blazing eyes, laughing like a creature born from chaos.
"AMERICA HELL YEAH!!!"
This was getting out of hand.
No—this had sprinted past "out of hand" and jumped into pure insanity.