Chapter 121

Legion Commander of Darkness

Someone who looked exactly like me.

And it wasn't just his appearance. The information revealed by Predatory Instincts[S] was the same as mine, too.

The one difference was the information under his name.

Adrian Whitewolf (Memorier).

'Memorier?'

... I'd never heard of it. Even searching through the memories and experiences of my previous life yielded no information about a Memorier.

Fortunately, when I used Predatory Instincts[S], information about the Memorier appeared before my eyes.

◆Memorier (Memoria)

: An informational life-form that perfectly duplicates a target's memories, experiences, and information. It reproduces not only their appearance, but also their age, health, habits, personality, and even trauma, and can use their abilities.

Duplication that went beyond imitation.

Only now did I understand Rule 6 of The Forgotten Social Gathering.

[Rule 6] - If the next social gathering event begins without the Anomaly being eliminated, ⱩἷⱲἰⱷⱲⱩⱾ will devour your memories and soul. Be sure to eliminate the Anomaly.

ⱩἷⱲἰⱷⱲⱩⱾ, the thing that devoured memories and souls.

Apparently, that was the Memorier. Its identity hadn't been defined at the time, which was why the text had appeared corrupted.

But over dozens of repetitions of the gathering, it had absorbed enough of my memories and experiences.

In that it imitated a target, the Memorier resembled a homunculus. Fundamentally, however, it was different.

An informational life-form.

A Memorier formed its existence by absorbing a target's memories and information, rather than their genes. In other words, it was closer to a perfect duplicate than a mere imitation.

Above all, the fact that it dealt with memories and information—

'The Sovereign of Darkness.'

... It was connected to him.

But could it be the Sovereign of Darkness himself? That was a bit of a stretch.

Which led me to one conclusion.

'A legion commander of Darkness.'

That would explain why I had no information whatsoever about the Memorier. Just as with the Sovereign of Darkness, all information about it would have been forgotten.

Viewed in that light, The Forgotten Social Gathering seemed to be an incubator for raising the Memorier.

The kingdom's high-ranking nobles attending the gathering.

A vast, horrifying plan to turn all their memories and information into Memorier copies and swallow the Kingdom of Battenberg whole.

That was the gathering's true purpose.

But I had derailed that plan. Because I hadn't forgotten through the repetitions, because I'd recognized the pattern and resisted, the Memorier hadn't been able to devour anyone but me.

As a result, though, my memories and existence had been etched all the more deeply into it. It had duplicated my abilities perfectly.

It was a funny thing for me to say, but...

'That's a lot of abilities.'

Even so, there were abilities the Memorier hadn't managed to duplicate. The abilities it had copied were perfect, but it hadn't copied all of them.

I Alone Level Up[EX].

Successor's Will[EX].

And Predation[S+].

It had failed to duplicate my most important, essential abilities.

Whether it was incapable of copying them or simply hadn't had enough repetitions to do so, I couldn't say.

But it didn't matter much.

In our current situation, where neither leveling up nor Predation[S+] was an option, those abilities wouldn't make any meaningful difference to the outcome.

It was safe to consider that thing identical to me as I was now.

Perhaps that was why we lunged at each other at precisely the same moment.

* * *

CLAAANG!!

A chilling impact rang out like metal clashing against metal. Ominous sparks flew as even the air shuddered.

At the center stood Adrian and Adrian. Two identical beings had locked claws.

"Wh-what is that...?"

First Prince Leon was half out of his mind with mounting confusion.

Seraphia was no different. She blinked, looking back and forth between the two Adrians.

'There are... two of Brother...!'

The exact same appearance, the exact same stance, the exact same strength. Perfectly mirrored movements without a single discrepancy.

"You want to get rid of me and pass yourself off as the real one—"

"Not a chance."

Even their voices were exactly alike. Two utterly identical beings were trying to kill each other.

Seraphia swallowed a nervous breath. She had to help.

... But.

'I can't tell which one's really Brother...!'

She couldn't distinguish the real Adrian from the fake.

Their claws tore through the air toward each other. Once again, they reacted at the same speed, with perfectly identical attacks and perfectly identical counters.

They read each other's attacks and countered simultaneously, only to meet the same movements again. It was like watching someone fight his reflection in a mirror.

'If this keeps up...!'

Seraphia clenched her fists. She had to find a way to identify the real Adrian. Otherwise, her real brother might die.

Her eyes darted about. She couldn't follow the two Adrians fighting at such incredible speed, but every clash created a brief opening. She used those openings to search for a difference between them.

Just then, a voice abruptly rang out.

"We can't have that."

She turned to see Luseria wearing a leisurely smile.

"Don't go interfering in someone else's fight. Why don't we have some fun of our own?"

Darkness spread from Luseria's fingertips.

* * *

Luseria's darkness swallowed the space in an instant. I immediately moved to intercept it, but something blocked my path.

Dragon's Claw[A] shot straight toward me, aiming to pierce my heart.

'Danger!'

I twisted my upper body, only for the other Dragon's Claw[A] to thrust toward me as if it had anticipated my move.

Its movements showed a complete understanding of my habits and behavior. That was only natural. This was the Memorier that had grown by devouring my memories and soul, a being exactly like me.

But that worked both ways.

Dragon's Claw[A] met Dragon's Claw[A]. The same abilities collided in midair.

Once. Twice.

Attacks clashed relentlessly, leaving no room even to breathe.

CLANG! CLANG-CLANG! CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

CRUNCH!

'Now!'

I slipped inside his reach and seized the Memorier's arm. He flinched in surprise and pulled back.

Not so fast.

I yanked hard on the arm in my grasp—

CRRUNCH!

Flesh and bone tore with a grinding sound. Blood sprayed, and the Memorier's severed arm swung through the air.

But no. That wasn't my doing. I hadn't torn off his arm.

The Memorier had severed his own arm where I held it.

He used that to put distance between us. I didn't pursue him.

I glanced aside as the darkness slowly cleared. Luseria and Seraphia were gone.

'What about Leon...?'

He was nowhere to be seen, either. Apparently, he'd been swept away along with Seraphia. Or perhaps Luseria had targeted them both.

When I looked ahead again, the Memorier's severed arm was fully restored.

The power of Regeneration[B+].

I wasn't exactly one to talk, but...

"You monster."

"Look who's talking."

We stared each other down. Each of us could see through the other's thoughts.

Every strategy and movement I came up with would be read. Any rash move would leave an opening for a counterattack.

"Weren't you in a hurry?"

The Memorier spoke first.

"You know what'll happen to my little sister if you waste time, don't you?"

Luseria's Mind Penetration[E].

She could corrupt Seraphia's mind. In other words, if this dragged on, the Sovereign of Bitter Cold could awaken.

I had to deal with the Memorier quickly.

'That'll be difficult as things stand.'

Our abilities were completely identical. There was no variable that could decide the fight.

* * *

Within a space of darkness that swallowed even light, Luseria smiled in satisfaction.

This was her space. A black mage's domain.

Everything here was under her control.

She raised her eyes and looked ahead. First Prince Leon clutched his head, seemingly confused.

Seraphia was looking around with wavering eyes. She seemed to be keeping her wits about her relatively well, but her small shoulders were tightly hunched.

'That's the normal reaction.'

Anyone who entered this place had no choice but to tremble in terror. As long as they were human, they were subject to fear.

'I don't know how that wastrel managed to withstand it, but...'

Adrian wasn't here. Here, no one would interfere. She could burrow into Seraphia's mind and corrupt her.

And if she brought everything to a successful conclusion...

'The Great One will choose me, too.'

Luseria's eyes shone with anticipation—

WHOOOOSH!

Black energy reached from her fingertips like tentacles and began enveloping Seraphia's consciousness.

"Ugh...!"

Seraphia staggered, clutching her head.

Complete engulfment. There was no escaping now.

Luseria's smile deepened. It was time to finish this.

* * *

Fighting the Memorier, an exact duplicate of myself, was bound to take time.

But that was all. I wasn't pressed for time, nor was I running out of it.

"So you couldn't copy the memories associated with the abilities you failed to duplicate, either."

"... What do you mean?"

The Memorier's eyes widened at my words.

In other words, the Memorier didn't know.

◆Activating Bond Skill, Mental Empathy[E]!

The Bond Skill, Mental Empathy[E]. A skill that could only be used on someone whose affinity had reached the 「Bond Tier」.

The Memorier hadn't been able to copy Ian's abilities. As a result, it hadn't copied the Bond Skills tied to affinity, and didn't even know they existed.

If it couldn't duplicate a skill, it couldn't duplicate the associated memories, either.

The evidence was right there.

'It doesn't seem to remember my previous life.'

That was because it hadn't copied Ian's abilities.

The Memorier hadn't duplicated the ability to return to the past, nor had it duplicated the memories of my previous life.

Not that I possessed the ability to return to the past in the first place.

In short, the Memorier had perfectly duplicated my abilities and experiences, but not my connections and bonds.

Consequently, it had no idea that Seraphia was under the influence of Successor's Will[EX].

Seraphia had been separated from me.

That was actually for the best. In a chaotic melee where she couldn't tell me and the Memorier apart, she wouldn't have been able to use her Authority carelessly.

She still lacked proficiency with the Authority of Bitter Cold[P]. Using it would be even harder when she couldn't tell which one was really me.

But in a situation like this?

The Enchantress of Lust, Luseria. However powerful a black mage she might be...

"You've both made a mistake."

Before the Sovereign of Bitter Cold, who stood on an entirely different level, she was nothing but a peddler of cheap tricks.

* * *

Slowly but surely, Seraphia's reason was being consumed.

'At last...!'

Luseria was certain of victory.

At that moment, something shattered her encroaching control.

SNAP!

A small but powerful resistance flared within Seraphia's clouding mind. Luseria's eyes wavered for an instant.

"... Huh?"

The tendrils of darkness extending from her fingertips froze in place.

Seraphia raised her head. Her ruby-red eyes were sharply focused.

... She had broken free of the mental encroachment.

"Wh-why is this...?"

That couldn't be. It wasn't possible.

It was... impossible.

Luseria took a sudden step back. It was instinctive.

Unlike her instincts, however, her rational mind couldn't comprehend the situation.

"Wh-what...?"

Frost descended. The air froze, and an icy chill wrapped around the darkness.

"Why...? Why? No, how?"

WHOOOOOSH!!

The darkness twisted. Space warped.

A vast, frigid power surged in, taking control of Luseria's domain.

Luseria frantically waved her hands. But the darkness she conjured vanished as though suffocated by the freezing chill.

CRRRRACK!!

Now, this was no longer a black mage's domain.

The Empress of Bitter Cold.

"Give my brother back right now!!"

A cold silence enveloped the space in an instant.