The impact was brutal. Johnny's feet sank several centimeters into the cracked concrete asphalt, absorbing the weight of the blow.
Damn it! Johnny thought. That's not human weight.
The figure in red didn't linger. It leaped back with stiff, acrobatic movements—like a puppet whose strings were yanked too hard—and landed atop a flickering streetlamp.
Now, under the glare of Sector 4's industrial floodlights, they could see it clearly.
The creature wore maroon leather armor. Its hands gripped twin blades. And its face...
It was the face of a handsome man with reddish-brown hair and sharp features. But the skin was a pale gray, textured like melting plastic. The eyes were empty voids, pupil-less, emotionless. Just a hollow shell.
"That..." Aerith covered her mouth with her hand in horror. "Is that a human?"
"No," Johnny growled, his voice low. "More like a living corpse."
From the steam fog at the end of the alley, five more figures emerged. Their faces were identical to the first—a horrifying clone army.
Two of them carried Assault Rifles. Two more wielded twin blades. And the last one, standing in the center, had a single tattered black wing on its left back and gripped a massive scythe. An elite variant.
"Six hostiles," Johnny calculated quickly. His commander instincts took over. "Aerith, practice formation! Behind me!"
"Puck, Ivalera! Use Barrier and Manaward on Aerith! Guard her with your lives!"
"You got it, Boss!" the two fairies shouted. A transparent protective light wrapped around Aerith's body.
"Aerith, focus Arcane Ward! Use Fire on the G-Copies holding rifles first!"
"Roger, Johnny!"
Johnny stepped forward, assuming a Guard Stance. The Dragon Slayer was held horizontally across his chest. Behind him, Aerith began twirling her staff, gathering particles of fire magic.
"Sacri... fice..." one of the creatures hissed, its voice like sandpaper scraping together.
They attacked simultaneously.
Four melee-type creatures charged Johnny at the front. One Gunner fired at Johnny to suppress his position, while the other aimed at Aerith, who was casting her spell.
Johnny couldn't move freely. If he dodged, the bullets would hit Aerith. He had to be a wall.
TING! CLANG!
Johnny parried the twin blade thrusts from the right and left with the broad blade of his sword. Sparks flew. Suddenly, the scythe of the winged G-Copy swooped down from above.
Johnny growled, spinning his body rapidly (Spinning Slash), knocking back the two G-Copies on his flanks, then blocking the massive scythe with the hilt of his sword.
However, he couldn't deflect the barrage of bullets from the Gunner.
RAT-TAT-TAT!
Three bullets slammed into Johnny's chest and shoulder. His steel chest plate dented, but the Vitality Up Materia embedded in his armor made Johnny's skin as hard as steel.
"Just a tickle," Johnny grunted. But he knew Aerith felt it.
Behind him, Aerith gasped, clutching her own shoulder as if she had been shot. But the girl didn't stop casting.
"Berserk State: ACTIVE."
Black smoke began to billow from Johnny's body. His eyes turned pitch black, with glowing red pupils in the center. Pain became fuel.
"SEPTUPLE SLASH!"
Johnny launched himself. With leaps that defied logic for a body of his weight, he slashed through all six enemies in one fluid sequence.
The first slash struck the winged G-Copy, forcing it back. The second, third, and fourth tore into the Twin Blade G-Copies. The fifth and sixth targeted the Gunners. Then he circled back to the Winged one.
They staggered back, their formation broken.
"NOW, AERITH!"
Aerith slammed her staff down. "FIRA!"
A large fireball launched past Johnny's shoulder, slamming into one of the rifle-wielding G-Copies.
BOOM!
The creature exploded. Its body didn't bleed; instead, sticky purple fluid splattered everywhere before it was incinerated.
Seeing its comrade destroyed, the remaining Gunner took aim at Aerith.
Aerith calmly spun her Guard Stick. "LUSTROUS SHIELD!"
A blooming energy flower shield appeared floating in front of her. The bullets fired by the enemy slammed into the light shield and vanished instantly. Some projectiles even ricocheted back, injuring the shooter.
Aerith knew Johnny would go insane if he saw her get even a scratch.
Five enemies remained.
Three melee G-Copies charged again. Two Twin Blades tried to slash Johnny's legs, while another backed off slightly and cast magic.
"BLIZZARD!"
Sharp chunks of ice appeared from thin air, stabbing into Johnny's back.
"ARGH!" Johnny groaned. The cold pierced his bones.
At the same moment, Aerith let out a stifled scream. Her body shivered violently as if doused in ice water, even though fire was at the tip of her staff.
Johnny heard that small scream. His rage exploded.
"DON'T LOOK AT ME! JUST FOCUS!" Aerith shouted.
He lunged at the G-Copy casting the ice.
"BRUTAL THRUST!"
THUD!
The tip of the Dragon Slayer slammed into the creature's handsome face, caving it in like a soda can. There was no scream. The creature instead tried to bite Johnny's arm with its broken jaw.
"Disgusting!" Johnny kicked its stomach, sending it flying into the concrete wall.
Four left. The three standing G-Copies tried to surround Johnny.
Johnny grinned sadistically.
"WHIRLWIND STRIKE!"
Johnny spun like a deadly top. His massive sword created a vortex of razor-sharp wind. The two Twin Blade G-Copies that were too close didn't have time to dodge.
SLASH! SLASH!
Their bodies were cleaved in two at the waist. Upper and lower torsos fell separately, spewing purple fluid everywhere.
Two left.
Aerith showed no mercy to the remaining Gunner.
"FIRE!"
A small but fast fireball struck the rifle G-Copy busy reloading. The creature caught fire, thrashing silently before collapsing into ash.
One left. The Winged Elite.
The winged G-Copy raised its scythe high. A black ball of energy gathered at the tip.
"GRAVITY!"
The gravity ball slammed into Johnny.
CRUNCH!
Johnny fell to his knees. His body felt like it weighed a ton. Gravity forced him to kiss the asphalt. His bones creaked under the pressure.
Behind her shield, Aerith fell to her butt. Her breath hitched as if a boulder were crushing her chest.
"Ugh..." Aerith whimpered.
Hearing that whimper, Johnny growled. He forced his legs to stand against the laws of physics. His muscles bulged, veins looking ready to burst.
"You..." Johnny stared at the winged creature with a demonic gaze. "...die."
Johnny broke the gravity spell with sheer physical strength.
"SEPTUPLE SLASH!"
Seven slashes in one second. Johnny minced the winged G-Copy. Its black wing was severed. Its scythe shattered. Its body was cleaved seven times before it even touched the ground.
Purple fluid flooded the street.
Silence.
Johnny's breathing was ragged. Hot steam hissed from his mouth. His black eyes slowly turned back to green, scanning the surroundings with paranoia.
"Clear," Johnny said briefly, his voice hoarse.
Then he remembered. He spun around, panic on his face. "Aerith! Are you okay?! That Gravity just now..."
Aerith was already standing, though her face was pale and cold sweat drenched her forehead. She trotted over to Johnny.
"CURE."
Green light enveloped them both, washing away the pain in Johnny's back and the tightness in Aerith's chest.
"I'm safe, Johnny. We're safe," Aerith said soothingly.
Puck appeared from behind the barrier, clapping his hands. "Awesome, Boss! That was a real humanoid fight! Boss is getting better!"
Ivalera nodded proudly. "Amazing, Princess! Your Shield was perfect!"
The two of them then bent down to examine the corpses of the creatures.
The sight was gruesome. The creatures' bodies began to smoke. Their gray skin melted like heated wax, losing their human form, turning into puddles of foul-smelling, stinging purple fluid. Even their armor and weapons slowly degraded into sludge.
"They're melting..." Aerith covered her nose, her eyes glassy with sadness. "They don't return to the Planet. Their spirits... aren't there. They just dissolve."
Johnny touched the purple fluid with the tip of his sword, then wiped it on the asphalt.
"These aren't natural creatures," Johnny concluded darkly. "Lab creations. Someone made 'photocopies' of a human, but the ink was bad. Their cells are broken."
The homeless old man from earlier peeked out from behind the cardboard, trembling.
"I told you..." he squeaked. "Their faces are the same... They're looking for something. They keep muttering about 'Cells' and 'Goddess'."
Johnny stood tall. He looked north, toward the dark tunnel full of electrical cables leading to Sector 1.
"Whoever made these monsters..." Johnny clenched his fist until his glove creaked. "He is at the end of this road."
Aerith stood beside him, holding Johnny's arm. Her face was pale, but her eyes were sharp.
"We have to stop him, Johnny," Aerith said firmly. "These false souls... they are suffering. Their existence itself is painful. We have to end their suffering."