The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City-Chapter 77: Violet in the Deep and Dark City (2)

After tightly tying up the Rose-Tattooed Bald Man, the black-clad Violets moved out into the hallway, forming a line.

As gangsters swarmed up the stairs, Violet No. 1, who temporarily took command, issued instructions.

「Report your status, everyone!」

「Ten of us, from No. 110 downward, are currently on standby on the fourth floor of the deal site building. The enemies are coming up.」

「Three of us, from No. 66 downward, have secured four injured people on the second floor. These seem to be the intermediaries we were supposed to meet.」

「Five of us, from No. 91 downward, and another five from No. 12 downward, are stationed on the rooftop of the building across and in the alley. We’re ready to fire!」

This was a kind of self-suggestion.

While we don’t necessarily need a commander since we’re all equal, the act of giving orders helps us review the situation collectively.

「Can you see clearly? About five of them are coming up now!」

No. 66, who was observing from the opposite side, shared her field of vision with us in real-time.

The building we were in was a small office space with windows on the right side overlooking the outside and doors leading to offices on the left.

Most of the gangsters on the third floor, still trying to grasp the situation, wandered out in confusion, but a few sharp ones began rushing up the stairs, visible through the windows.

「No need for covering fire. Let’s deal with them directly and head down.」

The hallway was only wide enough for two people to pass side by side.

The Violets, armed with round shields and one-handed swords, formed two lines and headed for the stairs.

“Nechi, sir! Are you okay?”

Two of the fastest gangsters entered the hallway but froze at the sight of their comrade’s headless corpse.

“Damn it! Are you cops or what? S-screw it! Willie’s dead!”

When one of them immediately drew a handgun, No. 110 instinctively swung her sword, imbued with sword energy.

-Swish!

The blade sliced diagonally through the air as smoothly as cutting through soft butter.

The gangster’s head and left arm fell off along with his shoulder.

“Huh? Huhhh? M-Mills…?”

The remaining gangster, shocked by his comrade’s horrific state, stuttered in disbelief.

No. 75 struck the gangster’s head vertically with her sword and then kicked him toward the stairwell entrance.

No. 75’s expression stiffened slightly.

“Ah, sorry.”

She had misjudged her strength.

The gangster, split from his crown to his navel, tumbled down the stairs, scattering blood everywhere as his nearly bifurcated corpse fell.

The gangsters following behind screamed in terror.

“Aaaaagh! AAAAAHHHHH!”

“S-screw this! It’s an Awakener! An Awakener!”

As the Violets stepped into the stairwell, the gangsters, realizing the situation, pulled out guns from their coats.

-Bang! Bang! Bang!

In their panic, the gangsters fired wildly while retreating, their gunfire echoing noisily in the stairwell like beans being roasted.

The Violets in the lead immediately switched their round shields to riot shields and advanced downward.

-Clang! Clank!

The handgun bullets struck the magic-enhanced riot shields feebly.

As the Violets descended cautiously, the gangsters, facing heavy resistance, retreated into the third-floor hallway.

“Call the boss! He’s with the fixer, isn’t he? Call him, quick!”

“They’re coming! They’re coming!!”

-Ratatatat! Ratatatat!

The Violets descending the stairs encountered intense gunfire and grumbled briefly.

“Ugh! They’re firing like crazy, even though they know it won’t work!”

No. 75, annoyed, pulled a bullet out of the skin on her left arm.

The gangsters, now armed with submachine guns, sprayed bullets chaotically.

Some stray rounds struck the Violets on the shoulders or legs.

Under normal circumstances, these would’ve been debilitating injuries, but things were different now.

We’ve become somewhat accustomed to physical enhancement through rigorous training under our instructor and multiple clone technique exercises.

In this process, the ether shielding we learned provided some resistance against handgun bullets.

“We still need more training.”

As we entered the third-floor hallway entrance, an even denser barrage of bullets greeted us than before.

Seeing them hold pistols with both hands like characters in Hong Kong action films was almost amusing.

“Don’t back down! If we shoot enough, even an Awakener will die! Hold out for a few minutes, and the guys and the boss will be here!”

The one who seemed to be their field leader shouted a rough pep talk, and the gangsters, regaining their courage, calmly unleashed a rain of bullets.

The Violets temporarily retreated to the side of the stairwell entrance.

「They know how to deal with Awakeners. They’re not complete fools.」

While an Awakener’s ether shielding is sturdy, it could be penetrated under the concentrated gunfire in a confined space like this.

「Prepare to break through!」

「No. 91 and the others, are you watching? Take that guy’s head off.」

「Affirmative.」

The five Violets stationed across the street aimed at the scene inside the third-floor window.

The bolts on their bows, infused with mana, glowed red.

“Whoever you are—cops or some other fixer—come on in! Come in, you idiots…”

As the field leader gangster boasted, a glowing bolt lodged itself in his head.

At the same time, four other bolts struck the vital points of his comrades.

-Thwip!

“Aaaaaaah!”

“Gahhhhhh!”

“Burk? A-are you…okay…?”

“Arghhhh!”

The hallway descended into chaos as the first bolt detonated like a firecracker, blowing apart one gangster’s head.

Right after the volley of shots, the Violets holding shields charged into the hallway.

Thanks to the mana flowing through their legs, their bodies felt as light as feathers.

Violet No. 110, who sprinted ahead, kicked the stomach of a wannabe Hong Kong movie star armed with dual pistols.

“Ughhhhh!”

The man flew across the hallway.

The scarred man next to him aimed his submachine gun at No. 110’s head.

It was too late.

No. 75, who had been following close behind, sliced off the scarred man’s arm with her sword.

Before he could even scream, her blade seamlessly pierced his heart, and she retreated.

Wrists flew off, necks rolled on the floor, and torsos split in two.

I was the one doing this, but from an objective standpoint, this wasn’t a battle—it was a massacre.

“Aaaaargh!”

The gang members, who had lost their will to fight, began to flee.

“Run! Aaaaah!”

“Mom! Mommmmy!”

Knives and hammers embedded themselves into the backs of those running away in tears.

We leisurely walked after them, hunting them down.

<Critical hit!>

[Attacking from behind activates the synergy trait: Back Assault. Damage increases!]

A few terrified gangsters locked themselves in a room, bolting the door.

The ones who were too late to enter screamed and clung to the door.

“Shiiit! Open the door, you bastards! Open it! Let me in!”

“Don’t leave me! Save me, you idiots! I said open the door!”

“Sorry! You’ll have to die instead of me! Sorry!”

The men, desperately pounding on the door, sensed our presence and turned their heads toward us.

Despair filled their eyes.

“P-please, spare me!”

We sighed briefly and swung our swords without hesitation.

Clearing away the bodies, we turned to face the door.

After a few strikes of demolition using sword energy, the office door was shredded into pieces.

“Aaaaaah! Please spare us! We were wrong!”

The men hiding inside the room turned to look at us and desperately tried to escape through a single window.

A few swift sword slashes later, silence returned.

“…Damn it!”

As I was scanning the room, a man suddenly charged at me from a corner holding a machete.

To my mana-enhanced senses, the man’s movements felt as slow as a jellyfish.

No. 75 easily grabbed the man’s wrist.

“Aaaargh!”

I simply tightened my grip, and the man screamed in pain, dropping his blade.

This was the difference between an Awakened and a non-Awakened.

「Should we kill this one too?」

「No, we need to keep a few alive for interrogation! What’s the point of killing them all?」

When No. 1 scolded us, we nodded, knocked the man unconscious, and tied him up.

We gagged his mouth with a rag and dragged him back to the fourth-floor room where the Rose-Tattooed Bald Man was.

The hallways of the third and fourth floors were a mess, smeared with blood and littered with corpses.

I wasn’t sure how we’d explain this to the building’s owner later.

「How are those people doing?」

「We treated them with healing potions on the spot and did some first aid. But they looked terrible. I can’t imagine how much they were beaten.」

While some of the Violets cleaned up the interior, others had already escorted the bound brokers out of the building.

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「No. 66, about three buildings to your left from that position, there’s an unmanned hotel. Head there and wait for us. Oh, right, have you talked to those people?」

「The unmanned hotel? Got it. As for talking, I tried, but they fainted before we could say much. They’ll need to go to a hospital eventually, even if it’s not urgent.」

「If Daphne were here, she could heal them. It’s a shame she isn’t.」

「Don’t be ridiculous! If Daphne saw us right now, she’d bawl her eyes out and scold us to no end!」

That wasn’t an unreasonable assumption.

The scene alone, with blood staining the ceiling, walls, and floor, was horrific, and our blood-splattered appearances were downright filthy.

「How many are there in total?」

「Excluding the two on the fourth floor, let’s see… One, two, three…」

「About fifteen.」

We searched the rooms where they had stayed and collected various items like weapons and phones from the bodies.

Suddenly, urgent news came in from No. 12, who was waiting in the alley.

「Attention, everyone! Some vehicles are approaching the deal site!」

「How many?」

「About seven, and three of them are large vans. That’s dozens of people in total.」

「Emergency! About twenty people are coming down the alley from the opposite side! They’re armed!」

Reports came pouring in from all sides.

Looking out the window, I saw that vehicles had already surrounded the building.

Under the glare of the bright headlights, armed people disembarked and moved around.

No. 98, who had been guarding the prisoner on the fourth floor, urgently woke up the Rose-Tattooed Bald Man and the captive.

“Hey, a bunch of people have shown up outside. Are they your guys?”

The captive smirked.

“Of course! The boss has arrived! You’re all finished now!”

We knocked him out again with another hit to the head.

The situation was clear.

In the short time we had, we exchanged ideas quickly.

No. 1 spoke up first.

「Let’s retreat. If we reverse-generate now, we can leave without any trouble.」

No. 2 hesitated for a moment before opposing.

「That’s an option, but we’ve already killed these gangsters and rescued the brokers. It’s only right to see this through since it’s our mess.」

「But why? They’re strangers. We’re just customers here. Why does it matter what happens to them?」

「I don’t care! These gangsters deserved to die! Did you see the way they looked at us? They were going to do something vile!」

「We’ve already come this far. Let’s finish it and leave no loose ends!」

The Violets each passionately shared their opinions.

A phone from one of the dead gangsters rang.

I picked it up and answered.

The smartphone screen displayed the name <BOSS> in bold.

Burke! There’s talk about cops or troubleshooters—what the hell is going on? Are the guys okay?

I stayed silent and listened.

Sensing something amiss, the boss on the other end fell silent before speaking again.

-Who is this? From what I can see outside the window, you’re still inside.

-Do you have any idea who’s here? Aramis’ crew is all over the place. Even the Tusk Detective Agency people are here! If you’re a troubleshooter, you should know who Tusk is.

-I don’t know why you’re siding with those broker bastards, but you’ve messed with our Calamity Gang. Don’t think you’ll get away unscathed. Not answering? You son of a b—

I hung up.

Everyone’s decision solidified in that moment.

「Looks like it’s too late to get out cleanly, huh?」

「Let’s end this and move on!」

From the first-floor staircase, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed.

The Violets checked their weapons and created additional clones.

The second round of the underworld fight was about to begin.