The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 62: Polaris – The Unknown Spark Ignite (3)

Irene’s heart sank into despair as she watched the duel unfold.

As she had feared, Violet was being utterly crushed.

When Violet first summoned dozens of clones, Irene had clung to a faint hope, thinking there might still be a chance.

But that hope crumbled in an instant, like a house built on sand.

The way Violet fought resembled a rabid puppy attacking a wolf.

The wolf could easily kill the puppy, yet the puppies, undeterred by the deaths of their siblings, could exhaust their foe by relentlessly charging.

Had it not been a duel, the fight might have ended in a stalemate, with the opponent walking away out of sheer exhaustion.

However, in a situation where a clear winner had to be determined, the sheer disparity in skill was an insurmountable wall that numbers alone couldn’t overcome.

No amount of effort could allow bare hands to destroy a tank.

‘I should’ve stopped her more firmly! I should’ve kept her from going, even if I had to use force!’

Irene blamed herself for not doing more to help.

After nearly 20 minutes of battle, the inside of the arena had become a bloodbath.

Other students who had been watching the duel wrinkled their noses or gagged as they left their seats.

The destruction of Violet’s clones looked disturbingly human-like.

It was grotesque to the point of discomfort.

Even Irene, who had grown somewhat accustomed to gore through her dungeon exploration experience, found it overwhelming.

And so, the duel neared its end.

Anyone could see that Violet was utterly exhausted.

She seemed incapable of using her unique ability any further, suggesting her mana was completely drained.

‘No…’

The monitor showing the inside of the arena displayed Violet holding her sword and laughing maniacally.

Martina approached her.

A single strike would incapacitate Violet.

That was when the unexpected happened.

The transparent barrier surrounding the arena began to turn opaque, taking on a milky-white hue.

The monitor, which had been broadcasting the scene, abruptly went blank, replaced by a “Connection Lost” message.

Students began murmuring at the sudden turn of events.

Irene, equally shocked, stood up from her seat.

The flustered members of the disciplinary committee were seen fiddling with the equipment.

‘What’s going on?’

Violet dispelled all her clones except for herself.

This provided her with some spare mana.

A dark, murky aura, as if tinged with soot, surged from the one-handed sword in Violet’s grasp.

The force was akin to a small volcano, causing Martina to flinch involuntarily.

‘Violet’ discreetly moved her left hand behind her back and formed a hand seal.

Mana flowed from her, manipulating a portion of the virtual reality system embedded in the arena.

She smirked inwardly.

The security system here was laughable.

With this adjustment, the arena was now completely sealed off from the outside.

It would likely hold for about 10 minutes.

She retraced the recent events.

There had been too many prying eyes.

With that Helios girl present, revealing her true self was out of the question for now.

And, for the sake of enjoying this rare amusement, it was necessary to block external interference.

But why did she need to avoid being exposed? Why was she even fighting?

A question mark floated in Violet’s mind.

Perhaps because only a fragment of her true self was here, her purpose and memories were fragmented and faint.

As a result, she wasn’t fully aware of what she was or why she was in this place.

The vague memories merely told her that she was sending herself somewhere, through uncertain means.

It didn’t matter.

One thing was clear.

Standing before her was an unresolved grudge from her brief and turbulent school years.

So, for now, she decided to enjoy herself.

Violet tested the circulation of mana throughout her body.

“Almost out of mana… No understanding of energy projection or reinforcement… How troublesome.”

“What the hell are you muttering about?”

Ignoring Martina’s sharp, slightly shaken gaze, Violet lifted her sword with a look of eager anticipation, like a gourmet about to savor a steak.

What she would wield was cruelty, and what she would savor was screams.

Mana coursed through her legs, soaking every muscle fiber with superhuman strength.

Her arms, joints, and muscles surged with a power unlike anything she had felt before.

Her visual nerves and pupils trembled as her vision expanded, her senses accelerated, and the world around her seemed to slow down.

Like a drawn bowstring, her muscles coiled, and Violet sprang forward from the ground with explosive force.

“…Kyaaah!”

Martina, startled by the unexpected speed, barely managed to swing her rapier in time to block the attack.

The newfound strength and speed behind Violet’s assault nearly caused Martina to lose her grip on her weapon.

‘What is this crazy girl? Is she on drugs?’

The arena filled with the sharp, crackling sound of sword aura and the piercing clang of metal.

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Thinking it was just a momentary lapse, Martina refocused on defense and attempted a counterattack.

She feinted, rotated, and struck again. Her rapier, imbued with white mana, aimed for Violet’s neck.

‘Got you!’

Violet deflected the strike with the handguard of her one-handed sword, her expression utterly unbothered.

In the blink of an eye, a crimson blade streaked toward Martina’s face.

A searing sensation spread across her left cheek.

“Ahh…!”

She immediately leapt back, touching her cheek to find blood trickling down.

Violet’s gaze swept over her face once before Violet let out a creepy giggle.

Martina had no time to be angry about it.

‘She’s fast…! Her skills suddenly improved!’

Martina denied the situation.

It couldn’t be possible.

That girl was just a first-year student.

This was merely a desperate last stand.

If Violet thought she could win, she would’ve already used her unique ability.

The fact that she hadn’t meant she wasn’t confident.

There was still a chance to turn this around.

“You can’t summon more clones, can you?”

Hoping to regain her composure, Martina taunted her. Violet tilted her head quizzically.

“Clones? For someone like you?”

“…!”

Violet felt utterly incredulous.

Know your place.

A mere B-grade hunter wannabe dared to speak to her like this?

She had no intention of wasting her precious, magnificent self on such a lowly girl.

A trash like her, even if she brought an entire brigade, Violet could wipe them out alone.

The fact that the current ‘me’ struggled against such a common awakened individual meant that she was truly a pathetic existence right now.

Violet resolved to finish things quickly before she ran out of time to have fun.

One step, then another. Violet dashed forward again like a bullet.

“What the hell!… You! Why did you hide your skills?!”

“Me?”

Amid the storm of overwhelming strikes, Martina screamed in desperation.

Now she could hardly breathe.

That thing wasn’t human.

Just minutes ago, the sword wielded by the girl before her had been no more than a swaying reed, exaggeratedly speaking.

Martina had simply mowed through the clones like a farmer harvesting wheat.

The current attacks were utterly unbearable to counter.

The ripping sound of air, the mastery of swordsmanship—this was not the skill of a first-year student or even a girl of her age.

Martina had no way of knowing where such a monster had come from.

-Clang! Clang-clang!

The sound of collision echoed, and her hands went numb.

It was coming.

She couldn’t block it.

She couldn’t avoid it.

The destructive power of the crimson blade aura was beyond imagination.

That wasn’t all.

The speed of the sword’s movements, the precision of its angles, and the poise of its wielder—everything was overwhelming.

If the weapon in her hands hadn’t been an expensive relic, her sword might have already shattered.

One step, two steps—the only steps Martina could take were backward.

And even as this unfolded, Violet was smiling.

She was enjoying herself far too much, smiling with the innocent purity of a child crushing an ant.

The strikes from Violet’s sword were simple but devastatingly precise, leaving no room for flaws.

The barbaric violence combined with a machine-like rhythm evoked the image of a massive, rapidly spinning meat grinder.

Martina gritted her teeth in frustration.

Once caught in its pull, there was no escape—absolutely none.

“Argh!”

Cuts continued to multiply on her face, both large and small.

Violet aimed exclusively for Martina’s face.

‘She’s doing this on purpose! She’s playing with me!’

Swallowing her humiliation, Martina accepted reality.

She didn’t know how Violet had achieved this, but the thing that looked like Violet had suddenly and drastically improved its swordsmanship.

She, too, had to use everything at her disposal.

As Violet swung her arm leisurely, she glanced at Martina’s rapier with curiosity and spoke.

“That sword… it’s been a while. One of the students from the scholarship committee used it, didn’t they? Huh? You probably don’t even know what I’m talking about.” ＲàNȯᛒΕş

“…Shut up!”

Martina made up her mind.

Despite its massive mana consumption, the only way to defeat her opponent was to unleash the power of the relic weapon.

They clashed once more.

The blade flew toward her face.

A burning pain seared her ear.

Was her ear cut off?

But there was an opening now.

She aimed at her opponent.

The crimson flames that had previously incinerated Violet’s clones surged from her rapier once again.

“…Take this!”

The wave of flames unleashed at close range was unavoidable.

Martina felt victory was within her grasp.

She should have done this from the start.

The emptiness left by her rapidly depleting mana was replaced by exhilaration, and Martina smirked.

But with an explosive sound, the crimson mana surged vertically, splitting the flames apart.

Violet charged through the divide.

“H-how?!”

“You can neutralize magic with mana. Don’t tell me you didn’t even know that—seriously?”

‘That wasn’t something that could just be neutralized!’

Martina’s eyes filled with despair.

She fought desperately.

A misstep caused her rapier to fly out of her hands, soaring through the air of the arena.

A spinning kick followed, but Violet caught it as if to embrace the attack and immediately spun to throw Martina away.

It was a perfect demonstration of a martial arts technique that deflected the force with ease.

Before Martina could regain her balance, Violet closed the distance in a blink, leaping forward to deliver a devastating knee strike to Martina’s solar plexus.

“Guh…!”

The impact felt like being struck by a battering ram.

Martina’s body was sent flying into the barrier surrounding the arena.

A dull thud echoed as her body hit the ground.

She couldn’t breathe.

She had no strength.

The pain was unbearable.

Martina, dazed, lifted her head and stared blankly at Violet.

Further resistance was pointless.

It was a clear and undeniable defeat.

“…Fine, I lost. I surrender…”

She barely managed to wheeze out the words.

All she could hope for now was for the barrier to lift.

But the barrier didn’t dissipate.

“…?”

She glanced around in confusion.

The announcement from the disciplinary committee, which should have come through the speakers, was absent.

More importantly, the barrier had turned opaque.

Why?

“…Taking two minutes to handle a trash like you? My skills must really be rusting.”

Shaking her head, Violet slowly raised her left hand.

Her fingers moved rapidly in the air as though she were typing on an invisible keyboard.

“Pain intensity setting: 70%. Let’s bump it to 100%. Add a few more values here… Hmm, 150% seems to be the limit. While I’m at it, let’s adjust the time perception. Maximum is… 50%. Perfect.”

Violet appeared satisfied.

Thanks to her adjustments, the arena’s internal time flow was now extended to 16 minutes.

That would do.

Muttering to herself, Violet walked over to the crimson rapier that had fallen nearby and picked it up.

The rapier disappeared.

“I’ll be taking this. Got it? Now, shall we have some fun?”

“W-what are you doing? That’s…”

“Could you stay still for a moment?”

Clones, which had appeared without anyone noticing, grabbed Martina’s legs and severed her ligaments.

“Agh…? Agh? Aaaaargh!”

Martina screamed in agony as the searing pain tore through her.

The torment didn’t stop.

The clones began cutting through the remaining tendons in her legs.

“Let go!! Agh! You’ll pay for this!”

“Huh? Don’t you understand? I told you—we’re just playing. Why are you making such a fuss? This is just virtual reality. Sure, the pain is amplified, but that’s all.”

Violet ignored Martina’s weak threats and mumbled to herself.

The sound of clinking echoed as a saw, screwdriver, wrench, scissors, and other small tools fell to the floor.

Violet carefully picked up a handsaw as though selecting a present.

Then she grabbed Martina’s tied-up hair and lifted her head.

Martina’s face was a mess, smeared with blood from her wounds and tears.

“Cry if you want. No one’s listening. See the barrier?”

Martina finally glanced around.

The barrier had indeed turned opaque.

“You’re so oblivious. The barrier and the internal broadcasting equipment have all been disabled. A simple application of spellcraft.”

“Ugh… How… How did you… What are you saying?”

“Nothing special. Just a little trick I learned while working under Sycamore. Hmm, I guess you wouldn’t know who that is.”

Violet continued to ramble.

Martina wouldn’t have understood a word, but Violet didn’t care.

This was simply part of Violet’s routine before tormenting her victims.

“This virtual reality training system is outdated. Its realism is incredibly high, but its functions are limited. The scale is too large to use anywhere but in the main building. Still, it was useful for certain missions and operations. For example…”

The clones began cutting off Martina’s fingers with scissors.

“…when interrogating someone you couldn’t physically injure. Just like this.”

“Argh…! AAAAAAH! AAAAGH!”

“Why the fuss? I told you, this isn’t real! Once the barrier lifts, everything will return to normal. Oh, right…”

As she listened to Martina’s screams, Violet seemed to recall something and suddenly smiled wide.

A faint memory from the past surfaced, and her crimson eyes glinted with renewed interest.

“Now I remember. You called me a freak, a whore, or something back then, didn’t you? That really hurt.”

“When did I…!”

“Don’t know? I don’t remember it too well, either! When was it again… Ah, who cares! It doesn’t matter. I just thought of something I really want to try right now.”

Martina, squeezing out the last bit of defiance, growled faintly.

“Hey..! Stop…! When I get out of here… I won’t let this slide! I’ll report you!”

“Really? Go ahead. Not that you’ll be able to once you’re out of here anyway.”

This time, a skewer pierced her spine.

The searing, electrifying pain coursing through her body made her lose all sense and thrash uncontrollably.

“Only about 7 minutes left now. Well, with the time delay, it’s more like 14 minutes in here… Not sure if that’ll be enough.”

Violet tapped the bridge of Martina’s nose with the handsaw she held.

The cold blade brushed against Martina’s forehead, jolting her back to her senses even amidst the pain.

“Ugh… ugh… Wait…! What… what are you going to do?”

“You’re still talking, so I guess you can hold out a little longer. What do you think I’m going to do?”

Violet playfully scratched the bridge of Martina’s nose with the saw, and Martina realized what was about to happen.

She struggled in despair.

“Ah…! Stop! Stop it! Stop, please! Aaaah!”

The saw moved.

The sickening sound of sawing filled the air, and warm blood flowed.

Violet savored the pleasant melody of Martina’s screams that lingered in her ears.

The clones on either side of Martina each grabbed a limb and focused on their respective tasks.

“In my experience, it takes about 30 minutes to drive someone completely insane. Maybe I can set a new record this time.”

“Aaaagh! P-please… No! Aaaaah!”

The sawing continued, the grating sound relentless.

For a brief moment, Violet regretted not having a planer.

Wouldn’t that have been even more entertaining?

It would have brought her work closer to the shape she imagined.

“Ahh… I was wrong! I’m sorry! Please! It’s my fault…!”

Even amidst her begging, the sawing didn’t stop.

The sound of sawing, over and over again.

The anger and exhaustion in her mind began to wash away.

When she turned her head, Martina lay collapsed in front of her.

What happened?

“I don’t know! We don’t really remember either. You fought hard after we were the only one left.”

“Ugh, I’m tired.”

Yeah, as far as she could remember, she had fought her hardest against that girl.

Martina had gradually weakened and eventually succumbed to a critical blow.

Was it a victory brought about by using the swarm tactic of clones?

The one-handed sword in her right hand felt unusually heavy today.

She was drained.

When she glanced back at Martina, she flinched without realizing it.

What the hell had happened?

Martina’s condition was a complete mess.

Her entire body was covered in wounds, and even her face was… so disfigured that it was difficult to look at.

Was this the result of her own attacks?

Had the clones, in their frenzy, torn Martina apart to this extent?

The barrier surrounding the arena had turned translucent.

At some point, it had become transparent again.

She could feel the people outside watching them.

“What the hell even happened…”

A muttering voice came from the speakers.

A moment later, the victory declaration came.

“…Duel over. Martina Perian has been incapacitated. Violet Rugilinn, winner.”

The barrier began to dissolve slowly.

The view blurred, and the space distorted.

Like a computer graphic breaking apart, the scenery before her eyes began to change gradually.

In the blink of an eye, she returned to reality.

The wounds on her body and her torn clothes had been restored to their original state.

“Ugh… ugh…”

Martina let out a short scream as she woke up.

She sat in a daze, rolling her eyes around before frantically touching and rubbing her face.

Was she checking to see if her face was still intact?

What’s her problem?

“Ugh… ugh! It’s… fine… It’s all there… I’m out… ugh… ugh…”

“…What?”

As members of the disciplinary committee entered the arena, Violet, still puzzled, walked over to Martina.

“Hey, I won. Admit it, right?”

“Uh…?”

The moment their eyes met, Martina’s face froze.

Just as Violet was about to press her further, Martina suddenly began trembling violently, like someone stricken with a fever, and started crawling backward in panic.

“A-ahhh! No…! Yes, you’re right…! No! Don’t come near me! Stay away!”

When Violet took a step toward her, Martina freaked out and tried to retreat further.

She kept attempting to stand, but her legs gave out repeatedly as if she had no strength.

Was she unable to accept her loss?

When Violet got close to her face, Martina suddenly broke into sobs.

She started rubbing her hands together furiously, begging for forgiveness.

The surrounding crowd murmured at the sight.

“Ugh… I’m sorry… I’m sorry! Please… I won’t say anything… I swear! Ugh…”

“Hey! What’s wrong with you?”

When Violet leaned closer to her face, Martina, terrified and on the verge of a breakdown, widened her eyes and started trembling uncontrollably.

“P-please…! Please! No!… Aaaaah!”

Martina screamed until her voice broke, then collapsed unconscious.

A puddle formed between her legs as she lost control of herself.

Violet was left speechless at the sight.

What the hell was this?

Was the loss so traumatic for her?

She had been much more confident earlier, at least compared to now.

The unconscious Martina was carried away on a stretcher.

Even the members of the disciplinary committee seemed bewildered, shrugging their shoulders.

After a few checks and signing off on some paperwork, Violet turned and saw Irene coming down from the arena stands.

“…Irene, I won.”

“Yeah, it’s a relief that you did, but… what the hell happened? What’s wrong with Martina?”

According to Irene, the barrier around the arena had been cut off from the outside for over 10 minutes.

When it turned transparent again, and the cameras and speakers resumed functioning, Martina was already lying collapsed in front of Violet.

“…I don’t know. I just fought like crazy, and when I came to, she was down.”

She was too exhausted to think clearly.

She had fought so frantically that she didn’t really remember.

Irene still seemed unable to understand but chose not to press further.

Violet had won the duel.

The disciplinary committee would likely be disbanded.

There were other responsibilities she had to attend to as well.

But for now, she was utterly drained.

This duel had taught her more than she expected.

“That was close…! She was incredibly strong.”

“Yeah, we almost lost. Do you know there are barely any clones left? We’ll have to start regenerating them from scratch.”

There was so much to think about.

But for now, resting seemed like the top priority.

The mental strain from this pseudo-virtual reality was immense.

Maintaining focus for over 30 minutes wasn’t easy.

Violet stepped out of the arena with Irene.

The chilly wind blew across her face, sapping the warmth from her skin.

It was already late September.

Three hours later, they received news that Daphne had woken up.