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chapter 62
Yeon Mirae expanded her ki perception to scan the surroundings, with Rachel and Arthur following closely behind.
Yeon Mirae’s sensory abilities had rapidly expanded through her Samādhi training, allowing her to sense things that ordinary people could not even detect.
Of course, Arthur’s perception was excellent as well, but he specialized in analyzing what was directly in front of him, meaning that Yeon Mirae’s detection range was far broader.
“Have you found anything?”
“Yes. It looks human on the surface, but it’s something that isn’t human.”
Thanks to her perception, Yeon Mirae was able to sense the presence of a creature—a doppelgänger—mimicking humans and causing chaos in Sydney.
“Something that isn’t human?”
“Yes. Though I guess it’s also like a monster… if I had to describe it… it’s like the Mutant Team from the Ironblood Guild.”
At this, Rachel and Arthur’s expressions stiffened.
They were familiar with the Mutant Team: humans forcibly implanted with monster genes as a result of experiments.
“We need to hurry.”
Rachel urged them on, following Yeon Mirae’s lead.
According to Yeon Mirae, the target resembled the Mutant Team. But the phrase “if I had to describe it” implied it was technically a different entity.
And the three of them were familiar with such a being:
“A chimera infused with human genes.”
Tracking the ki, Yeon Mirae saw the chimera attempting to attack civilians who hadn’t yet escaped.
“…!”
Without hesitation, Yeon Mirae drew her sword and threw it.
Yes, she threw the sword.
The sword flew at incredible speed and lodged itself into the chimera’s shoulder.
“Kyaaah…!”
“(Eek?!)”
As the chimera writhed in pain while attacking the civilians, Yeon Mirae quickly approached and grasped the hilt embedded in its shoulder. Then…
Reverse Heaven Sword (逆天劍) – Technique 2: Turbulence
Through the sword, she infused her internal energy into the chimera’s body. The energy spread violently, tearing through the creature from within.
“Kiiiieee…”
The chimera screamed as Yeon Mirae’s energy mercilessly tore it apart from the inside. The pain was unbearable, forcing it to thrash and screech.
Yeon Mirae took advantage of this and tried to pull the sword from the chimera’s body to decapitate it, but…
Shhhik…!
“!”
With surprisingly agile movements for its size, the chimera avoided Yeon Mirae’s sword.
Though its movements looked comical due to the pain caused by her energy tearing through its body, that didn’t matter.
“….”
The fact that it avoided Yeon Mirae’s sword meant that the chimera’s level was extremely high.
“(Run. Now.)”
“(Y-Yes!)”
While Yeon Mirae kept her eyes on the chimera, Rachel and Arthur escorted the civilians to safety.
Once the civilians were safe, Rachel asked,
“That just dodged your attack, right?”
“Yes…”
Given Rachel knew Yeon Mirae’s skill, it was hard for her to believe that the sword had been dodged. Dodging Yeon Mirae’s attack meant the chimera’s abilities could rival an Aura Master.
“…Do you think the masked ones causing havoc elsewhere are of a similar level?”
“I hope not…”
Probably, they were. Those rampaging across Sydney must also possess power comparable to an Aura Master.
“…Everyone else is doomed, then.”
“……”
Among the many awakened beings they had seen earlier, none possessed the power of an Aura Master or Grand Mage. These beings couldn’t possibly stop the chimeras.
“…We have no choice. The fastest we can handle them and then track the others to minimize damage—that’s all we can do.”
Yeon Mirae looked at the chimera. Despite its attempts to regenerate using its monster-like abilities, the internal energy she infused prevented any visible recovery.
“Good. Let’s take it down quickly.”
Arthur stepped forward and swung his sword at the chimera. The chimera dodged his attack just as it had with Yeon Mirae’s sword.
But…
Chaaak…!
Yeon Mirae, following closely behind Arthur, sliced the chimera’s neck. Arthur had anticipated the chimera dodging his attack and maneuvered it into position for Yeon Mirae’s strike.
“Nice assist.”
“Is it dead?”
“No.”
Yeon Mirae responded to Rachel. Though its neck was severed, the chimera was still alive. Using her sword, she removed the mask covering the chimera’s face.
“…This is…”
“You’ve seen it in the files, right? A doppelgänger. It’s a degraded specimen compared to the one the Artist fought.”
Awakened students at the Seoul Academy were aware of doppelgängers. The Academy’s criminology courses used chimeras as examples to illustrate how far criminals could go.
“The doppelgänger at the lab the Artist attacked was the most exceptional among them. Even a degraded specimen appearing now… means the research results have fallen into someone else’s hands. Possibly even a mass-production system has been established… and more could appear in the future.”
This wasn’t just a localized terror incident in Sydney. The situation was far more serious.
Crack!
“Anyway, let’s hurry.”
Yeon Mirae stomped on the doppelgänger’s head and instructed the others. There were likely more doppelgängers causing havoc across Sydney. Handling them was the top priority. Rachel and Arthur followed her with determined expressions.
“…Mirae.”
“Yes?”
“I knew you worship the Artist, but you seem strangely knowledgeable?”
Though doppelgängers were the strongest among chimeras, this wasn’t taught at the Academy.
“……”
Yeon Mirae realized her slip. Though the lab confirmed the chimeras’ deaths and the Artist’s involvement, the exact strength of each specimen wasn’t known. The doppelgänger the Artist had faced had been obliterated, leaving no trace, so its power was only known to Han Gun-woo.
“Mirae?”
“…Just a guess. Let’s go faster.”
Yeon Mirae nervously changed the subject. Rachel, noticing this, clung to Arthur, puzzled by her behavior. Meanwhile…
Ahahaha…
Arthur, knowing the full truth, smiled to himself as he watched the two.
Laura had taken me and Lee Ha-eun to the shelter. She tried to assess the situation outside via phone, but…
“(Please… pick up….)”
She couldn’t reach anyone aside from a single call immediately after the alert.
‘It doesn’t seem like the signal is being blocked…’
Most likely, the people she was trying to reach couldn’t answer due to being busy handling the attacks.
‘Whoever unleashed the doppelgängers in Sydney… they clearly intended to cause serious terror.’
This wasn’t just a test of the doppelgängers’ capabilities. The attacks seemed designed to attract attention.
‘They must have ensured awakened beings couldn’t quickly locate the doppelgängers.’
From my ki, it was clear that the awakened beings wandering around couldn’t coordinate information properly. Even those who found a doppelgänger didn’t know its capabilities and were being picked off one by one. Containing them all would take considerable time.
‘…Huh?’
I sensed a group approaching the shelter. While people fleeing to a shelter wasn’t unusual, something felt off.
‘All of them are awakened?’
If just a few were awakened, they might have been non-combatants. But all being awakened changed the situation.
They weren’t moving as if fleeing in panic, either. I grabbed Lee Ha-eun’s arm.
“Stay behind me. Got it?”
“Okay… I don’t know why, but okay.”
The awakened group entered the shelter with a leisurely gait. It was hard to believe they weren’t the terrorists.
“(Who are you… gah?!)”
“(A-Alarms…! Ugh?!)”
They had subdued the guards and now entered the shelter.
Kriiik…
The door opened, drawing everyone’s attention. In front were suspicious figures wearing gas masks.
“(Time to go to dreamland.)”
The masked man in front gave the order, and the others threw something into the shelter, releasing a suspicious gas.
‘…Sleeping gas…’
Laura dropped her phone and collapsed, and Lee Ha-eun suddenly became drowsy as well.
“(Good. We’ll move everyone.)”
The terrorists’ true goal was to abduct those in the shelter.
“(Wait… who’s that kid?)”
They noticed me standing unharmed. I surveyed the shelter.
‘There are surveillance devices…’
Crack! Thunk!
Using my Finger Strike Technique (彈指功), I destroyed all the devices.
“(What just happened?)”
“(Could that kid have done it?)”
The terrorists were shocked. The others had succumbed to the sleeping gas.
“Shall we have some fun?”
In the next moment, the head and body of one terrorist separated violently.
