Chapter 100: Disbelief!!!

Chapter 97

Why did he continue looking at it with those eyes, as though the outcome of the battle had already been decided?

The Webfiend Lord’s countless eyes narrowed as it stared at the white-haired human trapped before it.

"You can remain as cocky as you want, but once my evolution is complete..."

Its voice grew deeper, carrying a note of anticipation.

"...I want to see whether you’ll still be able to laugh."

A deadly chuckle escaped the monster before its body began to change.

The Webfiend Lord had been seeking to break into Grade S for a very long time. During the Clash of Worlds, the event that had created the scar in reality humans called a dungeon break, it had experienced a tremendous surge in power, rising through the ranks until it finally reached the peak of Grade A.

At that point, it had stood before the threshold of the next grade, the elusive Grade S.

It had tried to take that final step, pushing its power to the limit in an attempt to cross the boundary separating an ordinary high-grade monster from something far more dangerous. Unfortunately, despite coming so close that the distance between itself and the next grade had seemed almost insignificant, it had still failed.

It had been a mere silver away from success, standing right at the edge of evolution, yet it couldn’t cross that final boundary.

However, the Webfiend Lord had never abandoned its ambition.

It continued searching for the right stimulus, convinced that a sufficiently intense battle or an encounter with a powerful enough force would finally allow it to break through.

Then it encountered Katherine.

The battle against the human woman had provided considerable stimulation, particularly when she managed to cut off its head. Although regenerating a new head might have appeared simple from the outside, the process had consumed a significant portion of its life force. The pain, the damage, and the enormous expenditure of energy had pushed its body to the brink.

The Webfiend Lord had believed that the experience would be enough to trigger its evolution, but even that had failed to produce the desired result.

It still couldn’t cross the threshold into Grade S.

Then came its battle with this abnormal white-haired human.

Orion had inflicted multiple severe injuries on its body, repeatedly forcing it to expend enormous amounts of energy to recover. Each time the Webfiend Lord regenerated from a devastating wound, its body was driven to adapt further, and every clash provided another stimulus.

Every near-destruction pushed it closer to the boundary it had struggled to cross for so long.

In the end, the battle had given it more than enough.

There was a downside, of course. The Webfiend Lord had wasted a tremendous amount of its life force healing the damage Orion inflicted, and the cost was far greater than it would have preferred.

However, the benefits outweighed the losses.

Because, at long last, it had finally gathered enough stimulus to take that final step.

The Webfiend Lord was going to break into Grade S!

Its aura began to surge as a powerful pressure erupted from its body, sweeping through the surrounding area like a violent storm. The numerous hands extending from its back began retracting, merging into its body one after another.

Its pale skin darkened beneath layers of thick, hardened carapace. Protective plates spread across its torso and limbs, overlapping until they formed an increasingly formidable shell.

Cracks appeared across its skull, and the structure of its head began to shift.

Its unnatural shape changed as the bone beneath its skin twisted and reformed. The skull gradually transformed, its features rearranging themselves until something resembling a human skull began to take shape.

The transformation was grotesque.

Seeing a monster’s head change into something recognizably human was disturbing enough, but the process continued, and the more its transformation progressed, the more powerful its aura became.

Its pressure kept climbing, spreading outward and forcing the surrounding atmosphere to tremble beneath its growing strength.

The Webfiend Lord’s evolution was accelerating.

Meanwhile, Orion’s gaze slowly began to change. He lowered his head slightly, the rainbow-colored light in his eyes shifting as he watched the monster undergo its transformation.

For the first time since the battle began, his expression became difficult to read.

Then the Webfiend Lord’s booming laughter filled the sky.

It laughed with the confidence of a creature that believed it had finally obtained the power needed to crush its opponent, while Orion remained silent inside the deadly web cocoon.

...

Meanwhile, back at the City Lord’s bunker...

"There are two of them now..."

One of the people gathered near the entrance stared at the two white-haired figures standing guard outside.

"So weird. Are they twins?"

"If they’re twins, why do they look exactly the same?"

Another person turned toward the speaker with an incredulous expression.

"They’re identical twins, duh! What are you even saying?"

"Identical twins? I’ve seen plenty of identical twins before, but I’ve never seen two people who look one hundred percent alike like those two."

The speaker pointed toward the figures standing outside the bunker.

"They don’t just look alike. It’s almost as if they’re one and the same person!"

"Shut up. That can’t be possible."

"...Or can it?"

"Shush! Don’t disturb the medics. If the Sky Dancer isn’t healed, you guys will take the blame!"

The threat immediately silenced the people who had been muttering among themselves. Although their mouths remained shut, their gazes continued drifting toward the two white-haired figures.

The two Orions stood guard in front of the bunker, their expressions calm and their postures relaxed. Despite the commotion surrounding them, neither seemed particularly interested in the curious stares of the people nearby. They simply remained where they were, watching over the bunker and everyone inside it.

Not far from them, several medics were attending to Katherine.

The Sky Dancer had been brought back from the brink of death, and the medics were doing everything they could to stabilize her condition. Their talents and specialized equipment worked together to treat her injuries, attempting to repair the terrible damage her body had suffered during the battle.

It was no easy task.

Katherine had pushed herself far beyond her limits, sustaining severe injuries and losing an enormous amount of blood and energy. Under ordinary circumstances, she would have needed considerable time to recover.

Yet thanks to the medics’ efforts, she was already beginning to regain some of her strength.

Nearby, Iris looked from one Orion to the other, her gaze filled with complicated emotions.

She couldn’t tell them apart.

Both figures looked exactly like her elder brother, down to the smallest detail. Their white hair, rainbow-colored eyes, facial features, and even the calm auras surrounding them were indistinguishable.

Yet, at the same time, neither felt entirely like the elder brother she remembered.

At least, that was what her instincts told her.

Both were Orion, and yet neither seemed to be one hundred percent the brother she knew.

Iris lowered her gaze for a moment, unable to make sense of the strange feeling.

She was happy that her brother was alive, and she was grateful that he had returned to protect them. However, the changes in him were impossible to ignore.

The brother she remembered had always been someone she could recognize without hesitation. Now, looking at the two identical figures standing outside the bunker, she found herself wondering just how much he had changed and why she felt there was something about him that she couldn’t understand.

Before Iris could dwell on the thought any further, a faint movement came from the direction of the medics.

Katherine’s eyelids fluttered.

Once, then twice.

After the third time, her eyes suddenly snapped open, and her breathing caught as she looked around, momentarily disoriented.

The first things she noticed were the medics surrounding her. Some were using their talents, while others operated their equipment, continuing to treat her injuries and monitor her condition.

For a few seconds, Katherine simply stared at them before realizing something important.

She was alive.

More importantly, she no longer felt as though she were standing one step away from death.

The unbearable pain that had consumed her body during the battle had eased considerably. Her breathing was steadier, and although she remained weak, she could feel that her condition had improved.

The medics had managed to pull her back from the edge.

Katherine slowly turned her head, allowing her gaze to sweep across the bunker before finally settling on the two white-haired figures standing nearby.

The moment she saw them, her mind returned to the battlefield.

The Webfiend Lord, the monster’s terrifying strength, her desperate final attack, and the two identical figures who had appeared at the last moment to save her from its killing blow all came rushing back.

Katherine’s expression tightened as she opened her mouth and asked the question that had occupied her thoughts since she regained consciousness.

"Is he dead?"

The two Orions understood her question immediately and shook their heads at the same time.

One of them answered calmly, "No. The dungeon boss is still being fought by the original."

Katherine’s eyes widened.

Despite her weakened condition, her mind was clear enough to pick up on the details.

The original.

That meant these two were clones.

And if they were clones, then...

Her thoughts raced as she considered the implications. There were three of these white-haired figures: two were here, standing guard over the bunker, while the original was still fighting the dungeon boss.

Katherine stared at them, struggling to process the revelation.

Three identical figures, each with the same face, appearance, and overwhelming calmness, yet only one of them was the original.

She didn’t have time to dwell on the matter.

Her expression tightened as she recalled the Webfiend Lord’s strength and the dangerous aura that had surrounded the monster.

"What are you guys waiting around here for?"

Katherine’s voice carried irritation despite her weakness. She could sense the immense power radiating from the two figures standing before her. Even though they were supposedly clones, the pressure they carried suggested otherwise.

They were not ordinary copies, and their strength was undeniable.

If all three were available, wouldn’t it be better for them to face the dungeon boss together instead of leaving the original to fight it alone?

Katherine couldn’t understand their reasoning.

Why were these two still here? Why weren’t they helping?

The two Orions exchanged a brief glance before shaking their heads in unison.

"Don’t worry. He’ll be fine."

Katherine stared at them in disbelief.

"Fine?"

Her breathing grew heavier as she attempted to push herself up, only for the pain in her body to remind her of her current condition.

"You have to help him!"

Her voice grew more urgent as she continued, "That dungeon boss... it’s close. It’s close to breaking through to Grade S!"

The memory of the monster’s powerful aura remained fresh in her mind. Even before the Webfiend Lord had completed its evolution, its strength had been enough to push her to the brink of death.

If it truly broke through to Grade S, the consequences would be unimaginable.

And Orion was still fighting it alone.

Katherine’s hands tightened against the surface beneath her as she remembered what the monster was capable of. She knew how dangerous it was, and she understood that the difference between the peak of Grade A and Grade S wasn’t something that could be casually dismissed.

The two clones might be powerful, but their original was facing a monster on the verge of evolving into something far more dangerous.

They had to help him.

Immediately.

"Miss, you’re not in good condition. Please refrain from moving!"

One of the medics warned her as she attempted to shift her body, while another quickly moved closer to prevent her from aggravating her injuries.

Katherine barely paid attention to them, keeping her gaze fixed on the two white-haired figures.

A pleading look had replaced her earlier irritation.

She knew she couldn’t return to the battlefield in her current condition. Even if she forced herself to stand, she would be little more than a burden.

But these two were different.

They were strong enough to help. They could join their original and overwhelm the dungeon boss before its evolution was completed.

If the Webfiend Lord broke into Grade S, all of them might be doomed.

The city, the survivors inside the bunker, and the warriors who had already sacrificed their lives... everyone could be lost.

Katherine couldn’t accept that possibility.

"Please..."

Her voice softened, but the urgency remained.

"You have to help your original. If that monster breaks through to Grade S, we’re all finished!"

The two Orions looked at her, neither speaking for a brief moment. Then they exchanged another glance.

It was a small gesture, almost insignificant, but Katherine noticed it, and for some reason, it made her uneasy.

The two white-haired figures turned back toward her.

One of them spoke.

"Sorry..."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"But the dungeon boss has already broken through to Grade S."

Katherine froze.

"...What?"

Her voice was barely audible, and for a moment, she wondered whether she had heard him correctly.

The dungeon boss had already broken through?

How? When?

Her mind struggled to catch up with the words she had just heard. Before she could ask another question, the second clone calmly answered the question forming in her thoughts.

"The original helped him break through."

Silence descended upon Katherine.

She stared at the two white-haired figures before her, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted. For several long seconds, she could do nothing but look at them.

The original had helped the dungeon boss break through to Grade S?

What the hell was she hearing?

Katherine had spent her entire battle trying to prevent that very outcome. She had risked her life, exhausted her mana, consumed her potions, and pushed herself to the brink of death in an attempt to kill the Webfiend Lord before it could evolve.

She had fought with everything she possessed, yet even then, she had barely managed to survive.

And now these two were telling her that their original had helped the monster achieve the very breakthrough she had been desperately trying to prevent.

Katherine’s thoughts came to a complete standstill.

She couldn’t understand it, nor could she begin to imagine why anyone would do something so absurd.

For several long seconds, she continued staring listlessly at the two white-haired figures, unable to believe what the hell she was hearing.