As soon as the group noticed that one of them had fallen, they stood their guard, glaring at the white-haired girl stepping out of a pond of black goo.

“Where did this woman come from?!”

“I can’t see her level! She must be the Max-Leveler!”

Serenity glanced at them, giggling. “Such a lovely, vivid town, huh? It’ll be a shame if something ever happens to it or its citizens.”

Her eyes glowed, full of magical energy, making everyone step back.

“Come on, everyone! Don’t panic!” Mayor Dominguez cried to her nervous companions. But before she could start rallying her people, she noticed that the ground had turned black and sticky.

“Alan,” Serenity called, innocently smiling. “Let me be the first to say that what’s coming… is on you. Tee-hee.”

With that said, several black humanoid silhouettes crawled out of Serenity’s shadow. One dashed toward the closest Unus’ resident and submerged him in what seemed to be a fastly increasing swamp-like terrain.

The victim did not even have time to scream for help.

“Get ready!” Clara cried.

The town’s defenders equipped their weapons, and the dark humanoids did the same, changing their whole arms into blades.

When both opposing teams clashed, the sound of metal and flesh being pierced rang in Alan’s ears.

Can we make it? he asked himself, watching Clara Domínguez release wind magic, able to cut the enemies’ limbs with ease, but they regenerated just as quickly.

The black mass can be attacked again, but I bet Serenity is still incorporeal.

He shot his pistol twice at the nearest specter, but the bullets were absorbed.

“It’s useless! We can’t fight them, Clara!”

“True! Retreat! Retreat, everyone!” Major Dominguez cried after losing two more citizens.

“Do any of you know ice crafting?!” Alan asked aloud. “It might slow them down!”

“Good idea! Let’s freeze them, boys!” Clara stopped in her tracks and began channeling as seven others mirrored her hand gestures. “Minor Ice Crafting, Chill!”

A freezing breeze manifested out of their palms, successfully turning a third of the enemy into blocks of ice, but the rest charged forward unafraid.

“B-Belphy!”

The Fire Clone stepped forward and cast, in a third of the time the others could: “Fire Crafting, Firewall!”

Flames burst out of the ground as if they had been sent by hell itself, establishing a new division of the battlefield, and yet, some humanoids stubbornly charged forward, getting incinerated and turning back into goo.

“This won’t stop me!” Serenity could be heard in a festive tone as the reach of her shadow extended forward, passing below the firewall.

More of those things will spawn again!

“To the rooftops!” Alan shouted, instinctively leaping towards the nearest building. What he did not expect was that his temporarily increased Agility sent him flying 30 feet in the air. Seconds after, he got inside a second-floor house, crashing through the window. Fortunately, his increased durability also helped him mitigate the damage.

This… was awesome! Now I get why people obsess so much with leveling--

“Out of the way!” Major Dominguez cried, falling over him. “T-Thanks for catching me!”

“Get off, you’re too heavy!”

“R-Rude!”

“I crashed like this because I’m not used to this kind of power, what’s your excuse?!”

“I’m terrified! I don’t want to be caught by that black stuff!”

“Fine. Quick, to the rooftop,” Alan said, pulling her from the arm.

Upstairs, they found a dark sea swallowing everything within a 1500 feet radius. Entire houses sank one after another, and unlucky Users got dragged into that void while helplessly reaching out their hands to the air.

Will I have to sit here and watch how another city is destroyed by this woman?

“This is so strange,” Clara murmured beside him while consulting her User Interface. “I saw Simmons, Henderson, and Griff getting swallowed by that thing, but their status is still online.” She made her window visible and pushed it toward his face. “Why are they still alive?!”

Alan pursed his lips before swiping the window away and grabbing her by the shoulders. “Major, please! You may not be an experienced warrior, but you’ve watched countless Battle Streams, right?”

“Y-Yeah…”

“Then think! What kind of ability is she using?”

Clara’s nervousness faded away after concentrating on his lit eyes.  “W-Well, this is obviously Shadow Crafting, but the way she uses it’s totally unconventional! Unless… it’s her Unique Talent. Do you know a guilder called Kathleen Maher? Very famous.”

“I do, unfortunately…”

“Her Unique Talent is Cryokinetic Construction, which allows her to use Ice Crafting beyond its limitations. I’m a huge fan of hers.”

“Are you saying that Serenity has a Shadow variant of it?”

“That’s the best I can think of! Although any Warlock and Witch could be able to do what she has shown, I haven’t seen her channel even once. As if this magic was as natural as breathing for her.”

Alan glanced at the strolling enemy in the distance. Serenity’s silver hair and white as ceramic skin made her look like some kind of divine presence among the black terrain.

“We have to keep moving. This house is about to sink too.”

They resumed their escape, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, as Alan thought of his chances. “Does this magic have a weakness? Amelia fought her once, and her fire worked.”

“Not as effectively, I bet!” Clara sneered. “Only Light Magic would do the trick, but good luck with that! Paladins and Priests are quite uncommon, and Light spells can only be learned after level 40.”

“Protect Alan Warden,” the Fire Clone made itself heard, flying towards him. Amelia’s NPC also jumped over the building, with Amelia’s slime resting in her arms.

“Master Alan.”

“Squeeeak!”

“Belphy, Bella, Sloochie! You’re still kicking.”

“Is this a ‘Replica’?” Clara murmured, getting closer to the Fire clone, recognizing Amelia’s facial features. “This is high-level crafting. As expected from my rival.”

Her… what now? Anyway… Let’s review the situation… 

He looked down at the street, finding Ashley carrying an injured citizen out of the area. 

We have plenty of help, but it’s not enough.

He let out an exasperated grunt before sitting right on his spot, crossing his legs and arms.

What have we learned about Serenity? She’s impervious to physical attacks, and from what I’ve seen about those regenerating specters, I bet magic other than ‘Light’ would also be ineffective… What else? Her Shadow can be enlarged and spawn all kinds of monstrosities, but there’s a limit. I’ll think of it as if it was a blanket that cannot expand infinitely.

“What are you doing?” Clara asked.

“Master Alan, it’s not safe here,” Bella said, grabbing his shoulder, while Sloochie jumped down and casually sat between his legs.

“Just give me a minute, guys.”

Serenity holds tremendous destructive capabilities, as she has already shown by destroying half of Londorus all by herself. And yet, a debuffed Amelia defeated her by catching her off guard. So… By underestimating us, Serenity is repeating the same mistake. The fact that she’s playing Cat and Mouse all over again with me will be her downfall. 

“She can be defeated.”

“Alan?” Clara muttered, watching a black tentacle rise, towering over the building. “A-Alan!”

Before she could start casting, Belphy stepped in, releasing a burst of fire out of her palm. “Dragonbreath.”

“Clara, a couple of questions,” Alan spoke, eyes shut, as the light of the explosion in front of him illuminated his face.

“Can’t it wait?!”

“What’s the possibility of our enemy having low physical strength?”

“Well, it’s not unlikely for Elemental Masters to be physically weak…”

“Would you describe our enemy as such?”

“Maybe? To perform all this, she must have a vast mana pool, neglecting her physical attributes. But! This kind of User usually has a backup plan in case some musclehead depletes all of her magic reserves.”

“What about the fact that she seems to be incorporeal?” Alan opened his eyes and stared at her.

“There has to be a catch, right? There’s always one.”

Alan nodded, and called Ashley: “You have the ability to detect presences, right?”

“Yes. I can also sense any threat coming our way.”

That’s why she tried to warn me when the Shooting Stars kidnapped me… I’m sorry for not trusting you, Isabella II.

“Have you felt Serenity’s presence all this time?”

“Of course, Alan. Why would you ask that?”

“Because the Serenity we’re seeing with our eyes may not be real...”

Ashley took a brief silence. “Are you saying we have been fighting an illusion? Makes sense. If I find the real one, will I be able to damage her?”

“Yes, but…”

While Alan privately chatted, a distant explosion startled Clara, coming from Caeruleum Mountain, where the Renovatio Caves resided. “Is nothing sacred anymore?” she murmured as Ashley landed over the rooftop and crouched beside Alan.

“I understand the situation, and you are right,” she said, looking him in the eyes.

“I’m sorry. That’s the best I could come up with.”

“It is alright.” She offered him a half smile. “I cannot feel fear, anyway.”

Clara observed their interchange, getting moved. “I don’t know what you’re up to, but you’re so sweet!” She suddenly dashed to hug Ashley tight, before watching Serenity strolling toward them. “G-Guys, the crazy bitch is coming our way.”

“Belphy, you’ve already buffed us once, but it’s not enough,” Alan said, finally standing up. “Is there anything else you could do for us?”

“Amelia Laflamme’s Unique Talent is Pyrokinetic Construction. I could replicate a weapon for you from her memory. Something according to your levels. They would disappear after 30 minutes, though.”

“That sounds cool as heck! Craft something for Ashley first, please.”

The Fire Clone stretched out her hands, releasing a controlled burst of fire, which took shape before their eyes. Ten seconds later, a shiny red bow was given to Ashley. “This is the most suitable weapon for you.”

Ashley grabbed it, studying its stats and description. 

“Guys?” Clara called, keeping an eye on the street below. “Hurry up.”

“This is for Alan Warden,” Belphy announced, crafting the next weapon, but as the fire started to take a metallic shape, the clone suddenly disappeared.

Is this bad news?

The slime jumped down from Alan’s arms and squeaked where the copy of its master vanished.

“A-Alan…” a weak-sounding Amelia immediately called him through Party Chat.

“Amelia, are you okay?!”

“Sorry, but I had to take Belphy out--”

“Never mind that! Where are you?! I’d go as quickly as--”

“A silly question first… Please… What would you do if The Singular is really trapped inside a User’s body?”

“I’ll… try to reason with them.”

“Of course you’d say that. But if that doesn’t work? If they don’t listen? We’re speaking about a genocidal machine, Alan… Merciless… Cold… Even sadistic…”

Alan swallowed hard. Something in Amelia’s voice told him that she had surely witnessed the horrors of the Synthetic Army firsthand.

While I was safely locked at Kintech, with no blood relatives left to be fearful of losing…

He exhaled before replying: “And yet… This Singular can’t be the same we escaped Earth from… Because it now has a human heart, whether it planned it or not. So they can be reasoned with. I truly believe it’s possible…”

“What an utter fool…”

“I know.”

“Let’s have a drink after we kick these assholes’ butts, then. This time, something from my original region. I’ve been saving a bottle of ‘Briennes Rosé’ for a while, that I want to share with you.”

“All right. Count me in.”

She faintly chuckled. “It’s a date, then…”

“Come again?”

Alan’s little break ended when Ashley shot two mana-charged arrows in front of him. The sound equivalent to a firing rocket startled him, and the resulting blazing explosion blinded him for a second. Two gigantic serpent-like heads were about to smash them to a pulp, but Ashley’s attack managed to decapitate them.

It’s no use. They’ll regenerate at any moment.

“Alan…” Ashley turned to him, looking determined. “The enemy’s priority is to capture you. Could you help me get her out of the town, please?”

“Sure! Give me a second.” He rushed to pick Sloochie and handed it to Clara, nodding. “This is Amelia’s precious mascot. Take care of it, please”

“But guys…” Clara said, frowning. “Your level is too low to confront that bitch...”

“So?” he asked, shrugging. “I’m not going to make it easy for her.”

Before Clara could comment, the twin shadow dragon heads regenerated, uttering a chilling cry. 

“Let’s go, Alan!” Ashley urged, jumping down the building.

“Protect it, Major!” Alan yelled, following her partner.

As Clara watched their cat-eared NPC leave too, she loudly sighed. “What should we do, little slime? Although he called me Major, I don’t feel like one at all. It has been always the same since I quit my sister’s guild. I’ve done nothing but watch others fight.” The slime only squeaked back at her, seemingly replying. She pondered for a bit, before smirking. “G-Good idea! I’ll just do what I do best! Shall we? He-he!”

“K-Kyu?”