"What the hell is even that?!" Persephone bellowed, pointing at Michael’s mimic, which observed them in silent delight.

This was the first time she had ever encountered such a foe, and the novelty only fueled her excitement.

"A clone?" Nicole murmured, unsure of herself.

Michael’s copy had replicated him so perfectly that it unsettled the Lords, a shudder running down their spines.

"No matter." Michael’s stoic voice echoed. Without an ounce of hesitation, he charged. Whatever the light-born creature was, it didn’t carry good intentions.

Sadly, his strike never connected.

The Mimic began to glow akin to lightning, its form blurring as it repositioned far away from the squad.

Michael’s eyes narrowed.

"Lightning Surge!" He realized somberly.

Not only had the mimic copied his appearance masterfully, but it had gone as far as to duplicate his techniques!

While he was still processing the revelation, the Mimic raised a hand, wagging its finger in a clear "no" gesture.

That prompted a system notification to flash before Michael’s eyes.

[Quest: Triumph Yourself]

[Difficulty: Insane]

[Task: To reach the core ring of the Light Kingdom where the Iskra Titan resides, you must face a perfect copy of yourself. This replica knows every thought, habit, and technique you display and adapts accordingly with the goal of killing you and taking over your place. Prove your strength, overcome the trial, and defeat the imposter!]

[Reward: 10,000 Skill Points, you are granted an entrance to the Core Ring of the Light Kingdom]

Michael’s mind raced.

Reaching the Core Ring required defeating a mimic that copied your very being.

It made perfect sense in hindsight. With the nature of the twisted district, it had seemed nearly impossible to reach the edge by brute force alone, let alone enter the deepest parts of the Light Kingdom.

If the outer ring of MSAP-8’s domain had been created to challenge the physical strength of its subjects, then the inner region was meant to test their psychological capabilities.

A trial, which, unlike the last one, could hardly be cheated, since everyone would also have to face their own replicas to pass. Meaning he couldn’t rely on outside help.

’But then why was only I mimicked?’ He wondered, reaching the answer a heartbeat later.

The two bears they had seen earlier, in actuality... had been one illusion fighting against its own replica!

By pure, unfortunate chance, Michael had killed the real light-born creature. In turn, the mimic must have started tracking him instead, creating the current predicament.

No sooner after the revelation struck him, the mimic opened its jaws wide and let out an ear-splitting scream that echoed throughout the entire vicinity.

Immediately, the ground shuddered.

Several fights, happening between replicas and the real illusions, rushed toward the Lords, putting them in a dire situation.

Michael frowned. Mimics of Nicole and Persephone sounded too dangerous to be allowed to manifest.

His lips parted in urgency, about to warn the Lords not to intervene in the duels.

Too late.

Their combat instincts flared at the first opportunity, not allowing the creatures to gain the upper hand as they struck.

Unsurprisingly, the mimics, aware of the power gap, used the real illusions as shields, resulting in their demise.

The battle grew silent.

Only for more of the frames to shudder, replicas of the Lords emerging to life one by one.

"Preposterous!" Francesca’s heart stopped.

"How?!" Elina paled.

"Game on!" Persephone smiled.

Cursing inwardly, Michael called out. "The key to proceeding further is to defeat your replicas! Don’t let your guard down!"

Fortunately, the Lords were all experienced enough to grasp the meaning of his words. With the trial of defeating the Guardian in the outer ring still fresh in their minds, they were fully aware that this challenge was going to prove much tougher than the last one.

Naturally, there was no such thing as an uncheatable trial. The idea that they could trade mimics with each other to ease the potential struggle surfaced.

However, there wasn’t enough time to formulate any kind of plan. The mimics pounced on the Lords with killing intent.

Michael gritted his teeth, feeling the double barrel of a shotgun pointing at the back of his neck.

Narrowly avoiding the blow, he lowered his head, forgetting his other teammates and focusing on himself.

A second later, a sword headed for his torso.

[Riftstep activated!]

Unleashing the technique, Michael teleported out of harm’s way.

Yet the mimic had predicted his actions perfectly. Copying the technique, it teleported right where Michael repositioned, the sword still falling down with the threat of delivering a fatal strike.

Michael didn’t want to call on the true form of his soul weapons, certain that the mimic could copy them as well. Yet in the current situation, he had little choice.

Reaching deep into his soul, where Devil tugged to be summoned with palpable excitement, he called forth the soul weapon in its true form.

The towering humanoid silhouette blocked the strike effortlessly. The ground fractured,, creating distance between Michael and the Mimic.

"Finally, a real challenge!" Devil chuckled with oozing bloodlust.

Amidst the slowly settling dust, two radiant frames emerged.

One a perfect copy of Michael, another of Devil.

’Master, I beg of you!’

Before the battle could escalate further, Michael heard Angel’s pleading voice.

She wanted to be summoned as well, determined to help him turn the current situation in his favor.

Although reluctant, Michael obliged. No better option came to mind. Perhaps calling on Angel would negate the downside of a replica of her being created.

As expected, the shotgun the mimic held liquefied, reshaping into Angel’s replica.

Given her already radiant nature, her copy bore the closest resemblance to the real deal.

"To think that I would come to witness a brother!" Devil laughed, seeing the light-born replica of himself.

Angel glanced at Michael with an expression of gratitude before her eyes settled on her copy.

"You will not be disappointed in relying on me, Master. I will not let you down."

Devil’s tendency to be chaotic came into play, breaking the three-way standoff as he dashed to the side, prompting his mimic to follow.

Angel moved in the opposite direction, drawing her own copy away.

Once again, Michael was left alone against his mimic.

"Now... how do you come across killing an enemy that adapts to your every move?" He smirked.

As bizarre as it sounded, he found it weirdly amusing that this wasn’t the first time he had stood against himself.