I Awakened My Game System! Now Three Great Houses Want Me Dead!-Chapter 113: Threes

***

"As expected, Xenos is the first to find a Daemon!"

Again, though Lothar liked hating on Xenos, that didn’t stop him from doing his job.

"And it’s one of the worst there is! Of the Mirror Element!"

For once, John Tzetzes decided to follow up on his words.

"Mirror Daemons are reflections. They replicate their opponent entirely. Most who face them never figure out the trick before dying. Let’s see if Xenos can..."

***

Xenos stared at... himself.

The Daemon stared back.

They were identical, with the same stance, the same expression, the same smirk tugging at the corner of their mouths, even the faint tilt of their heads matched.

Both had their Hands of Lethe equipped...

Both had their sword held in a stance...

And they both had their left eye flicker with the Fortune’s Wheel.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick—

DING!

—

{Plant!}

—

Xenos let out a small laugh.

...how poetic and how fitting was this?

Now, when he faced himself, was when he’d finally gotten the Element that his House was known for, the one Element that he should’ve picked if he wanted to live a normal life.

He flexed his fingers, watching pale-white vines curl up his arms.

Across the clearing, his double did the exact same thing.

White plants bloomed around both of them, rising high through the ashen soil, their petals softly shining.

Two men, or rather, a reflection of one.

A reflection that made two gardens in a graveyard.

And only then, when both were ready, did Xenos hear the sound he was waiting for.

Ding!

—

╔═════════╗

║ NEW QUEST!║

╚═════════╝

[Objective: Defeat Yourself]

—

’Yeah... figures.’

Eris hummed in his mind.

’Good luck, Wise Fool.’

’Thanks, I’ll need it.’

And then he moved.

Or rather, both of them did.

They shot forward at the same speed, their swords flashing white.

Their first clash sent a shockwave through the clearing, the air bending under the force.

Both had used [Wise Fool] at the same time, two perfect ’crits’ colliding.

The impact was so strong, both blades vibrated violently, but neither shattered.

"Cute."

Xenos shook his wrist before they clashed once more.

They went at it again and again, each blow ringing out.

Every movement was copied before it was even fully made.

And now that he understood that, suddenly, vines exploded upward.

White plants shot from the ground, stabbing out with their sharp tips.

Both Xenos and the Daemon reacted instantly, jumping back, the vines cutting where they’d been standing, before they landed and quickly re-engaged, wasting not a single moment.

This time, they didn’t attack with just their swords; thorny roots followed, each trying to impale the one opposing its conjurer, while thick stalks wrapped around their legs.

Both countered at the same moment, ripping their own plants from the ground and using them as whips to strike at each other.

"Stop copying me!"

Xenos slashed through his own vine, and the Daemon did the same.

’You realize that’s literally what it does, right?’

Eris giggled in his head.

’I know! But it’s annoying!’

If it wasn’t obvious by now, Xenos had a deep hate for copycats.

"Let’s see how I break you."

They clashed again, [Wise Fool] ringing loud while roots cut through.

But just before the Daemon’s Element could reach him...

Click!

He stole the spell with his Hands of Lethe, losing one Rune out of the ten.

The Daemon did the same, and they quickly returned the attacks to their conjurers.

Both dodged once more and stood straight, only for the Daemon to duck low and sweep its leg out.

Seemingly following Xenos’s words, it had initiated an attack.

He was about to defend like he always did, only to trip—completely on purpose.

Just as he hit the ground, he rolled and swung wildly upward.

It was a stupid and desperate move no swordsman would try...

Which was exactly why it worked, his blade scraping across the Daemon’s cheek, drawing black blood.

"Finally got you."

And it did him, kicking him straight in the stomach, launching him right into a tree.

The impact rattled his bones, but he quickly stood up and brushed the ichor off.

’Fine, let’s make it worse.’

He threw his sword at the Daemon.

The Daemon threw its sword at him.

Both blades spun and clanged together midflight before bouncing off harmlessly into the dirt.

"...Yeah, I saw that coming."

They dashed forward barehanded, punches flying.

Each hit met another, fist for fist, knee for knee, only for Xenos to, again, make a mistake, overextending a punch, deliberately leaving his side open. The Daemon took the bait, slamming a glowing white fist into his ribs.

"Ghk—damn, that hurts!"

But he used the pain to twist, grabbing its wrist to lock it in place.

Sharp roots left the ground on both sides, only to disappear, their Hands of Lethe activating once more, stealing each other’s attacks.

They returned the favor a heartbeat later, flinging each other’s spells at the other, only to then steal it for a second time as if nothing had happened.

It was beautiful and infuriating in equal measure.

A stalemate that he didn’t see a way out of.

Every reckless swing, creative maneuver, and "bad idea that just might work"—the Daemon copied it instantly or defended against it, usually with the same madness and precision.

Even when Xenos tried to deliberately mess up, to induce Calamity through chaos, the Daemon mirrored that perfectly.

They were both spiraling into absurdity.

In minutes, the two stood panting, wielding their swords again, identical grins curling on their faces. Around them, their plants swayed in rhythm, reflecting their shared heartbeat.

’No wonder most people die here. You can’t outplay yourself.’

Xenos, using his intuition and emotion, mattered not, nor did trying to do creative things mid-fight. It was all the same; they used the same ability, and no doubt it had the same Divinity reserves. This wasn’t a fight on emotion but fact.

The Daemon could predict free will; there was no way to outmaneuver it.

There was only one trick that remained to break the loop.

Though calling it a ’trick’ wasn’t true, for it was obvious...

And it wasn’t cleverness.

It was interference.

’Getting help from someone else.’

The thought lingered as he tightened his grip on his sword.

Maybe that was what this trial was for, or at least this Daemon.

Perhaps the Academy allowed this Daemon to exist here to force cooperation, to make them learn that no one could actually win alone, even though they’d lose out on the rewards.

After all, unlike the last one, there were no shared rewards here.

This was a lesson Xenos cared not for.

He challenged himself to do it alone, and that’s what he was going to—

"XENOS! I KNOW YOU’RE HERE!"

A voice echoed across the clearing, cutting off his thoughts.

’Oh, that’s new.’

Xenos immediately dove backward, summoning a wall of pale plants to obscure himself.

The vines spread out, wrapping around the dark trees while he crouched low, peeking through a gap in the foliage.

Footsteps approached fast, and then, out of the black forest, a fully covered figure appeared.

’Ah, of course, good things always come in threes.’

As he expected, it was one of the Fire assassins.

The third and hopefully last one.

"YOU’LL DIE TODAY!"

Without bothering to take a glance at his new surroundings, the assassin charged at the Daemon.

’Truly...’

Xenos chuckled, leaning against the vines.

’I love threes.’