Chapter 37
Mary was out of her boss stage and walking down the street
Occasionally, she deals with monsters parasitized by spiders.
Unlike other monsters, the spiders keep attacking anyone.
Mary found it annoying.
Shaking off bodily fluids from her sharp knife, she frowned.
"The knife is dirty. And I feel dirty too."
If you take a walk, you can see various monsters. They are indifferent to each other, but sometimes they also talk.
Among the bosses, Mary understand the monsters stories the best.
The monsters were always looking for someone.
Even if they don't know who it is, they resemble themselves.
That's why she felt annoyed.
"Who am I looking for?"
Mary said that and cut down the spiders that kept attacking.
She is usually absent-minded, but as the days go by, the image of an adult woman that comes to mind confuses her.
Who is that woman that keeps coming to mind?
And why does she miss her?
Mary knew nothing. She kept thinking while walking through the city.
It's when she cut the spider webs that hindered her passage.
She felt that the moonlight was obstructed by something.
Mary looked up at the sky.
"...?"
The spiders were passing trough the webs between buildings and using it as a bridge, and several monsters were being kidnapped behind them.
A clock rabbit, a clock head monster, a monster that embodies the fear of being chased by time, a monster with legs attached to a time bomb.
Anyway, they were creatures related to time.
Mary listened.
The monster of time was muttering something.
[Time is distorted. They are trying to overcome the process and be born forcibly!]
Naturally, Mary did not understand this.
She just tilted her head.
"What do you want to do, Miss Spider?"
Questions about the other boss comes to mind.
Mary quickly came to a conclusion.
"It has nothing to do with Mary."
She walked, thinking again about the person she was looking for.
POV Switch - Ella
I avoided the attack of the fake Ha-rim in front of me.
She had a strange knife.
A bundle of items assembled by attaching them together with tape and glue.
It's a crude thing that's completely different from synthesizing items to become artifacts.
However, the power of the knife was not negligible.
Perhaps, as the performance of the items overlapped, they exerted more power than artifacts.
'It's impossible to combine items like this in the game. Even if it's a reality patch, a mere doppelganger came up with this idea?'
"That's enough. There's no way I'll be hit by you."
A doppelganger copies a target so perfectly that even he or she mistakes their own identity.
If Ha-rim is perfectly copied, the skill is limited to Ha-rim's potential.
Of course, that includes physical abilities. To me, who has the power as a monster, melee combat is useless.
[You are selfish. Ella, why did you kill Kyeong-min? He obviously won the game, but you didn't keep your promise!]
"...It's from the original route?"
In Chapter 1, Ella slits Kyeong-min's throat.
This is a fucking horror game.
It is a cruel game with only despair.
The original route is everyone dying except Ha-rim.
Shall we check it out?
I asked while leisurely dodging the attack of the fake Ha-rim.
"Do you remember what happened to Eun-jeong and Suho?"
The doppelganger's face was filled with anger.
Even if it's not the real one, it's the first time I've seen Ha-rim get angry.
[Suho was stabbed to death! Eun-jeong was wrapped in a spider's web and suffocated! You killed them all!]
The anger in her voice stirred my heart.
A sense of guilt came up as if I had really killed the children.
Come to your senses, I've never killed anyone.
Ha-rim kept saying while angry.
[Therefore.]
But soon the mood changed.
[You will pay the price.]
"?!"
The doppelganger took a water bottle from her backpack and poured it on me.
'Holy water...!'
I reflexively dodged it and the holy water was scattered on the floor.
The amount was so great that the corridor was covered in it.
"I guess I missed it?"
Ha-rim took out an item again without even reacting.
What she held in her hand was a sunny doll.
It is the same item used to block the junk demon's acid rain attack.
'why now-?'
when the doll was activated, the holy water spilled in the hallway rose as drops.
Because it was scattered widely in the hallway, I would be damaged by the drops wherever I went.
Tsss.
When drops of holy water touch my body, it starts burning.
'I have to avoid this!'
The surroundings are full of drops.
It doesn't matter to me who moves between mirrors.
I never thought she would use the item in this way. It's surprising.
Coincidentally, there was a mirror that was just right behind the doppelganger.
I moved to it and aimed at her back.
However, Ha-rim turned around and swung the knife as if she had expected it.
"Urgh?!"
Blood flows from the knife.
[This mirror was installed by me. Ella, since you use mirrors, I thought you'd aim for this.]
"This!"
Damage is small.
I got out of the mirror again and swung the knife.
Nonetheless, none of the attacks were successful.
'Did you avoid it all?'
[Ella. You get angry easily. You seem calmer now, but because of your ingrained personality, your attacks are easy to read.]
"Don't make all sorts of claims about someone!"
[Right. Left. At the body if not in pain. And now-]
Ha-rim's knife grazed my cheek again.
Are you reading everything? Nonsense.
Doppelgangers are small puppets.
It's an existence that only relies on the ability of the target.
Is this really Ha-rim's natural skills?
Even if I try to push her by force, she reads me in advance and uses it against me.
When she attacks, she stabs precisely and inflicts small wounds.
It's like... Like I'm being "hunted".
As soon as I realized that, a chill went down my spine.
Of course, an attack that was wielded in haste would not hit.
If only one hit! One hit can take her down!
"This small rat!"
I slammed the floor strongly, shouting lines that anyone could tell were worthy of being said by a villain.
Crack boom! And the floor shook.
Ha-rim took shelter on the window sill as if she thought the floor would collapse.
Now it's a cornered rat.
"Wait right there!"
I ran because I wanted to end it now.
However, the doppelganger unexpectedly jumped out of the window.
"What?!"
An empty window.
I just stared blankly.
"What is that?"
[Luck]
At this moment, something round flew towards me from outside the window, drawing a strange trajectory.
I twisted my body, but I had no choice but to get hit because I missed my footing.
When I opened my eyes, I was falling.
It's probably the egg from the frog monster. It had the power to switch positions with the host.
I see Ha-rim looking at me indifferently from where I was standing before.
"You were aiming this from the beginning!"
Why are you using it like that?!
She opened a book in her hand and cast spells.
An artifact like Kyeong-min's magic notebook.
A chain protrudes from the asphalt floor and pulls me in.
It seems that it was judged that she would not be able to properly inflict damage even if I fell form this height.
Are you going to speed up my fall with chains?
"This kind of chain...!"
[Strength. Weaken.]
-Jingle.
Eun-jeong's bell.
Due to the purification effect, my strength was slightly relaxed and the chain could not be broken.
I fell to where chains and gravity lead me.
"Youuu!"
The floor is getting closer.
Boom-!!!!!
A cloud of dust from the impact rose up.
It's a bigger shock than you think. I got up, staggering.
"Cough! Cough! Urgh..."
I could just move to a mirror... I was so surprised that I didn't even think about it.
When I completely stood up, Ha-rim was standing behind me, holding a knife.
God damn it.
How do I get rid of her?
The doppelganger has a characteristic that appears close to the copied target, so even if I run away, Ha-rim will appear nearby.
"Will you stay silent?"
Still, I am in the top on physical ability.
However, since I had never successfully attacked before, I spoke in a annoyed voice without me noticing.
[Let's see if you still can speak even if your throat is slit.]
Be scared. Are you really Ha-rim's doppelganger?
She raised a knife to my throat.
I prepared to escape by moving to another mirror accordingly.
Clank!
[!!!]
A chain protruded from the floor.
The doppelganger jumps up and dodges it.
This is Kyeong-min's artifact.
There was a loud noise, so everyone would have noticed that it was an emergency.
The dust cleared and Kyeong-min appeared from the side to support me.
"Are you okay, Ella?"
"...Kyeong-min looks great today."
"Ahem!"
He tried to hide his blushing face and led me to where the kids were.
There were also the troops led by James.
Ha-rim waved her hand at me.
"Ella!"
Wow, the real Ha-rim. You were too strong. I was completely beaten.
"Prepare to shoot."
At James' command, the troops point their guns at her.
With this firepower, small techniques won't work.
With this, it's checkmate.
[What...? Why is everyone alive?]
The doppelganger was confused as if she could not understand this situation.
"...Ella, that's a monster, right?"
Suho asked me.
He seemed uncomfortable because she had the same appearance as Ha-rim, except for one dot.
Ha-rim, the person who got copied, also seemed unsure.
"That's right. Doppelganger. have you ever heard of it?"
Everyone nodded. It's a monster hard to not know.
[Why is everyone alive? What do you mean a monster! Ah! I don't know! I don't know! Everyone! It's me!]
Suddenly, the fake Ha-rim shouted.
Although it's a monster, it even imitates the mindset of the target.
An unfortunate monster who doesn't even know it's a fake.
Emotions that are neither real nor fake is shown.
[It's me! It's Shin Ha-rim! She's the fake! She's a monster called a doppelganger, and it's really annoying monster...!]
As the fake Ha-rim slowly approached, Eun-jeong hesitated and stepped back.
Suho got in front of Eun-jeong to protect her.
Shocked by the sight, fake Ha-rim appealed in a louder voice.
[Why are you doing this, Eun-jeong? Everyone is acting weird. It's strange to have Ella by your side in the first place! She is a monster!]
Eun-jeong spoke.
"But Ella is our friend."
[What the hell are you talking about? There's no way a monster and a human can be friends!]
"Don't say harsh things to Ella!"
When Eun-jeong got angry, fake Ha-rim stumbled. Eun-jeong looked guilty at that.
[That... But... Everyone is being fooled. That girl can't protect anyone.]
"The reasoning is poor... Ahem! Won't you slowly disappear? Of the two, the doppelganger is you. No one died here. And I won't let anyone die. The kids and I are close... It's a long relationship."
[I'm fake...?]
Strain.
Fake Ha-rim muttered as she grabbed her hair.
[I tried... Whenever I lost someone, anyone... I tried not to let anyone die...!]
Throwing up emotions.
[I went forward even though I was scared. I moved on even when I was sad. As long as you are alive... They said that the most beautiful thing is to try every moment to live! It's something that even appears in Faust!]
"..."
[But why is this the ending? Am I fake? The result I wanted to achieve is here, but I am an univited guest? Ah ah ah ah ah!!!!]
The doppelganger screamed and suddenly glared at the real Ha-rim.
[You there! You and I are not different!]
The doppelganger ran towards Ha-rim.
James tried to give order to fire, but I stopped him. Because I didn't want to end it this way.
The emotions expressed in the words of that monster are not real because they aren't the person itself, but they are not fake either.
I protected the children by blocking her for now.
"Don't go near the kids."
[...You! Why are you protecting the others!]
"How many times have I told you that we are friends? Please stop embarrassing me."
[...]
The fake Ha-rim was lost for words. My soft reaction was very awkward.
"Sorry."
I suddenly apologized to her.
[...?]
"I don't know if this will be comforting, but I'm sorry. From your point of view, I must be the enemy who killed your friend. I understand your mind to some extent. But as you can see it, the kids are alive and I am protecting them all because I am their friend. That this universe is different from yours. Were you scared? You worked hard, but I can't compensate for that. So I'm really sorry."
It's just an apology. There's nothing I can do for this kid. Rather, she's in a position to be eliminated.
However, at my words, the doppelganger's seizures subsided.
[...This is my first time receiving an apology. Even if it's just words, it's shaking my heart. Why? Is it because I meet an understanding person? Ah, no. I was just... Lonely.]
"...Are you crying?"
Drops of water dripped from the doppelganger eyes.
[...Are you really not lying? Do you consider everyone friends?]
"Yes."
[Actually, I was tired... Ever since Kyeong-min died, I've been exhausted. If only we could be friends when we first met... Would everything have changed?]
"...It may have been."
[I see... Can you be my friend too?]
"..."
I didn't answer.
The doppelganger convinced itself.
[Right. You are already friends with another me...]
It looked at Ha-rim.
[...There are no dark circles, no big backpacks, no tear marks, and no bandages that stretch one by one like barnacles.]
The real Ha-rim came to my side and squeezed my hand.
The doppelganger looked at it bitterly.
[You are different from me.]
After saying that, its body collapsed.
[Time is twisted. Be careful, everyone.]
The moment it admits that they are different from the target.
It lost its identity and was purified.
The smoke that was left was absorbed by me.
It's bittersweet.
They're a monster.
Even thought I knew they weren't real, I couldn't help but feel shaken.
"Ella..."
Seeing my expression, Ha-rim looked at me with concern. I'm fine, I said, and sent everyone away to rest.
And finally, I saw an item that fell on the floor.
"This..."
Doppelgangers do not drop special items.
However, it was not impossible for a item to fall.
Exotic item. Also known as the "M.P" series.
Drops from all monsters with a very rare chance.
It is commonly written as M.P, and it is a prank-like item from the developer that exists to trick the player.
This time, it's an artifact of "unhappiness" that has the opposite effect of Ha-rim's amulet.
If you hold it, you will have bad luck in everything that makes it difficult to progress in the game.
"..."
Items are something worth to use. Even if it's bad, it's up to you to use it like the doppelganger Ha-rim did.
So, don't throw it away...
"..."
I looked at the children returning.
It reminded me of my past
A senior came to mind.
I looked at the item.
Crack!
I trampled on the item and broke it.
I broke it down with a little bit of force to be certain! Because you never know. Yes, you never know!
I don't want to go back to that time again.
I thought so.
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