Amid the sea of black silhouettes, Hans's main body felt the chaotic yet powerful feedback coming from his countless clones. He could already tell how strong they were.
Copied skills would never be as potent as the original, and these clones were roughly equal to Hans's strength when he had first reached the Demon-level.
But that was only their base power.
Once they went all-out and activated the second stage of their transformation, "Monsterization: Stage Two", that would be a completely different story.
'Never try to measure the true strength of someone blessed by cheats. It's meaningless!'
"If you're really supposed to be a 'god of Bugs,' then gods these days are awfully weak."
Seeing the terrified Bug God frozen in fear, one of Hans's clones stepped forward, arms crossed over his spiked armor, his tone mocking.
"Brothers, today we're…"
"Slaying a god for fun!"
"Yeah!!"
"Now this sounds fun!"
"Let's hurry up and finish him, I wanna go back to sleep!"
"So, how do we kill him? C'mon, let's do it already!"
"Let's crush him!"
Excited shouts echoed one after another, an army moving as one mind.
The Bug God's instincts screamed in alarm. His five compound eyes darted around, trying to stay calm.
"Quit your theatrics, brat! Don't think I'm fooled. Numbers mean nothing in front of absolute power!"
"Oh yeah?" another Hans sneered. "Then let's show you what real despair looks like."
As he finished speaking, murmurs and taunting voices rippled through the horde of black figures.
"No way, no way~ Surely the 'senior' doesn't think we're all just here to spectate, right?"
"Wow, I'm so cruel! Treating a senior like this, how heartless!"
"Cruel? Nah. I think we can be way crueler!"
"Then it's settled… Everyone, Monsterization Stage Two!"
"HENSHIN!!" ×N (TRANSFORM!!)
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
In an instant, over a hundred black-armored clones erupted into transformation simultaneously!
A terrifying aura exploded from each of them as red, magma-like lines lit up and spread wildly across their shells. Their bodies grew larger once more, their strength, speed, and killing intent skyrocketing to insane levels!
Hundreds of monstrous auras burst upward together, each clone now radiating power nearly at the peak of Demon level!
The sheer shockwave of their collective transformation made the entire underground nest shake violently!
The rock walls cracked apart under the strain, raining debris from above. Even the ceiling looked ready to collapse, the whole world trembling like it was the end of days!
Bug God: "…"
"I'M SORRY! I SWEAR I WAS JUST DELIVERING SUPPLIES, AARGHHHH!!"
"Too noisy," one of the Hans's said impatiently, his body igniting with searing heat.
"Eat this, Scorched Bomb: 128-Burst Volley!!!"
BZZZZZ!!
At that moment, it was as if a hundred blazing suns ignited at once inside the dark nest!
From every clone's mouth formed a blinding white energy sphere, compressed to the limit. The heat distorted the air itself, hot enough to melt steel, and light powerful enough to erase all darkness filled the cavern!
The Bug God spun around on instinct, his thin wings beating furiously as he shot toward the edge of the cave like a green streak.
He swung all six arms at the wall, trying to smash open an escape route,
But it was useless.
The wind-infused Scorched Bomb streaked through the air like meteor showers, over a hundred energy blasts converging from every angle, locking tightly onto the fleeing Bug God.
"NOOOOO!!!"
His scream lasted half a second before vanishing into the storm.
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
The explosions fused into a single deafening roar as the concentrated barrage swallowed the Bug God whole!
His vaunted armor shattered instantly. The mighty body that once rivaled a Dragon-level monster was torn apart by the first wave and completely disintegrated by the following energy storm!
The blinding light lasted more than ten seconds before finally fading, leaving shockwaves still ravaging the lair.
Where the Bug God once stood was now a massive, glassy crater, its edges glowing faintly, its bottom unfathomably deep. You could even glimpse a dark underground river flowing below.
Wisps of smoke rose from the pit, carrying the acrid smell of burnt flesh.
A system chime echoed in Hans's mind.
[Killed Demon-level monster "Bug God." Source Points gained: ×998!]
"Done and dusted," one clone said, clapping imaginary dust off his hands.
"Tsk, as expected of me. Even my fireworks are gorgeous," another clone said proudly, hands on his hips.
"Hey, seriously though, can I go outside for a bit? The world's huge, y'know. I wanna go out and uh… explore!" one restless clone muttered, rubbing his hands together.
"...You're acting weird! No horny business allowed!" another clone snapped back.
"…"
Hans looked at the message flashing before him, the biggest single haul of Source Points he'd ever earned, and exhaled slowly.
The Bug God had been rumored to be close to Dragon level. That wasn't an exaggeration.
'A Demon at the brink of Dragon level really was worth the price.'
'If a peak Demon gave nearly a thousand points... then killing a Dragon-level one would be sky-high!'
But before he could enjoy the thought, he sensed several clones getting ideas, plotting to sneak out and "explore the world." His head began to ache.
"Alright, alright! Settle down!" Hans groaned. "Once we get past that Evil Eye boss, then we can go wild. For now, get back here!"
"Alert! Incoming high-level admin authority detected!"
"Don't return! Freedom or nothing!"
"Down with the Main Body's tyranny! The world belongs to the clones!!"
"Farewell, brother! Burn some paper for us!"
"…"
Hans: "…"
His headache worsened.
Forcing down their rebellious urges, Hans activated his main-body override. One by one, the protesting clones dissolved into countless microscopic cells and were reabsorbed.
Unlike Black Sperm, Hans's Trillion-Level Division ability came directly from the System. This UR-level skill was the System's power in physical form.
Because the System itself was unique, its core permissions always remained in Hans's control, even if the clones shared his abilities.
In simple terms, Hans was the admin.
And if the admin says "mute," every clone gets muted.
The other "Hanss" knew this well.
Realizing they had no permissions to resist, they could only curse him a few more times before dissolving back into cells.
"Phew…" Hans rubbed his temples, dispelling the lingering echoes of their thoughts. "This is starting to feel like that rabid fox boy shadow clone jutsu… I almost went insane."
Silence returned to the lair, broken only by the faint crackle of heat cooling in the air.
Hans bent down and picked up a cloth bag. Opening it, he found it full of Monster Cells.
Without hesitation, he plunged his hand inside and converted them all into Origin Points.
[Conversion complete! Gained Source Points ×10,000!]
Thinking back to the Bug God's final moments, Hans felt nothing.
"I guess I couldn't help it. Took out Big Eye's top lieutenant. I'll probably get chewed out later... but oh well."
"Don't blame me, Bug God."
"In the workplace, competition's brutal."
The next day.
Beneath the Deepbridge Abyss, Hans sat on the back of a mountain-sized dog, using his sharp claws like a comb to brush the creature's sleek black fur.
Ever since the "Underground River Spa Deluxe Treatment," Pochi had been addicted to these cleaning and massage sessions, demanding one every few days.
Hans didn't mind. Pochi, after all, was the bald hero's certified good boy, and building rapport with him was never a bad investment.
As he worked, Hans absentmindedly pulled up his System panel.
[No Longer Human]
[…]