Chapter 114 — The Other Kael
Kael stared at the figure standing across the simulation arena.
For several seconds, neither of them moved.
The figure looked exactly like him.
Same black hair.
Same face.
Same height.
Even the sword in its hand was identical to his own.
But there was something wrong with it.
The simulated Kael’s eyes were empty.
Not emotionless.
Empty.
Like whatever stood inside that body wasn’t pretending to be Kael.
It had simply taken everything Kael was and stripped away the unnecessary parts.
Kael slowly raised his sword.
"So that’s what you came up with."
The other Kael raised his sword as well.
No answer.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"You’re not going to talk?"
The simulated Kael took one step forward.
Kael’s expression changed.
A familiar darkness began crawling across the other version’s right arm.
Kael immediately recognized it.
His eyes widened.
"Wait."
Darkness mana wrapped around the simulated Kael’s forearm.
It didn’t spread wildly.
It didn’t consume the arena.
Instead, it compressed tightly around his muscles.
Then the darkness moved down his arm.
It covered his sword.
Mana emphasization.
Kael’s face went blank.
"...You can use it too?"
The simulated Kael disappeared.
Kael’s instincts screamed.
He raised his sword.
CLANG!
The impact sent him sliding backward.
His boots scraped against the ground.
Kael stared at the blade in his hand.
The vibration had traveled all the way into his shoulder.
That wasn’t normal.
The simulated Kael stood several meters away.
Its sword remained lowered.
Kael swallowed.
"So that’s how this is going to be."
The other Kael moved again.
Kael immediately stepped forward.
Both swords collided.
CLANG!
They separated.
Both attacked again.
CLANG!
Again.
CLANG!
The two figures moved almost identically.
Every step.
Every turn.
Every adjustment of the wrist.
Every change in stance.
It was like watching the same person fight against his own reflection.
Except there was one major difference.
The simulated Kael wasn’t holding back.
Kael swung toward his opponent’s shoulder.
The other Kael moved exactly as he would have.
He dodged.
Kael immediately rotated his sword.
The simulated Kael did the same.
Their blades collided again.
Kael’s eyes widened.
He already knew what was coming next.
So did his opponent.
They both kicked at the same time.
Their legs collided.
Both were pushed backward.
Kael landed first.
The other Kael landed at exactly the same time.
"...This is ridiculous."
The simulated Kael charged.
Kael met him halfway.
Their swords crashed together.
The sound echoed through the simulation room.
Outside the arena, Raphael watched the readings climb.
His expression slowly changed.
"That’s not right."
Lyra turned toward him.
"What?"
Raphael stared at the monitoring screen.
"The simulation is adapting too quickly."
"Isn’t that what it’s supposed to do?"
"Not like this."
Another impact shook the room.
Raphael looked toward the arena.
"Those two are mirroring each other’s combat patterns."
Lyra’s eyes narrowed.
"And?"
"And the system is being forced to calculate both of them simultaneously."
Another collision.
The lights above them flickered.
Lyra turned sharply.
"How bad?"
Raphael’s expression became serious.
"Getting worse."
Inside the simulation, Kael was beginning to understand the problem.
He couldn’t surprise himself.
Every technique he knew...
The other version knew.
Every habit...
It knew.
Every weakness...
It knew.
Kael attacked with the First Form.
The simulated Kael answered with the First Form.
Their blades crossed.
Kael changed direction.
So did his opponent.
Kael stepped back.
The simulated Kael stepped forward.
The two swords struck simultaneously.
Kael was forced backward.
He gritted his teeth.
"This isn’t a fight."
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"It’s a mirror."
The simulated Kael raised his sword.
Darkness mana intensified.
The pressure increased.
Kael’s expression became serious.
"You’re really going to push that?"
The simulated Kael vanished.
Kael barely blocked.
BOOM!
The impact cracked the floor beneath his feet.
Kael’s knees bent.
His right arm trembled.
The simulated Kael pushed harder.
Kael’s teeth clenched.
"You might look like me..."
He forced the sword upward.
"...but you’re still not me."
Kael twisted.
The simulated Kael was thrown off balance.
Kael followed with a slash.
The other Kael blocked.
A burst of darkness exploded between them.
Both were thrown backward.
Kael rolled across the floor.
He immediately got back up.
The other Kael did the same.
Kael looked at his opponent.
Then at the sword.
He suddenly smiled.
"Fine."
His stance changed.
The simulated Kael changed with him.
Kael’s smile disappeared.
"...I really hate you."
He rushed forward.
The two collided.
This time, Kael stopped thinking.
He simply fought.
The Celestial Sword Art flowed through his body.
First Form.
Second Form.
Third.
Fourth.
Fifth.
The simulated Kael followed every one.
The arena shook with every collision.
The simulation struggled to keep up.
Outside, warning symbols began appearing across Raphael’s monitors.
『WARNING.』
『STRUCTURAL STABILITY: 74%.』
Raphael stood.
"Stop the simulation."
An operator immediately tried.
"Professor, the system isn’t responding."
"What?"
"The simulation won’t terminate."
Lyra’s eyes widened.
"Disconnect it manually."
"We’re trying!"
Inside the arena, Kael suddenly felt something.
The ground beneath him shifted.
He glanced down.
Cracks had begun spreading across the simulation floor.
"What the hell?"
The simulated Kael attacked again.
Kael blocked.
Another shockwave exploded outward.
The cracks spread farther.
Kael looked around.
The walls of the simulated arena were beginning to distort.
The sky above them flickered between the artificial battlefield and pure darkness.
Kael’s expression hardened.
"This thing is breaking."
The simulated Kael didn’t care.
It raised its right arm.
Darkness mana surged.
More than before.
Much more.
Kael’s eyes widened.
"You’re using more?"
The darkness wrapped around the simulated Kael’s entire arm.
Then spread across his shoulder.
The sword became almost completely black.
Kael immediately recognized the danger.
"That’s too much."
The other Kael attacked.
Kael blocked.
BOOOOOOM!
The entire arena shook.
Kael was sent flying.
He crashed into the ground and rolled several times.
He stopped himself with his sword.
His breathing became heavy.
The simulation’s walls were now visibly cracking.
Raphael stared at the readings.
"Forty percent."
Lyra turned.
"What?"
"Structural stability."
Another alarm sounded.
『Thirty-eight percent.』
Lyra’s expression changed.
"Get everyone out."
Raphael nodded.
"Everyone, evacuate the observation room!"
Inside the simulation, Kael stood.
He looked at the other version of himself.
The simulated Kael’s darkness mana continued spreading.
Kael clenched his sword.
"If you keep doing that..."
The other Kael rushed toward him.
"...you’re going to destroy everything."
Their swords collided.
Kael was pushed backward.
He dug his feet into the ground.
The darkness around his opponent’s sword grew.
Kael felt the pressure.
His own darkness mana instinctively responded.
The two forces collided.
For one moment, the simulation froze.
Then—
CRACK.
The entire arena split.
A gigantic fracture ran from Kael’s feet toward the horizon.
Kael stared.
"...Oh."
The simulated Kael attacked.
Kael raised his sword.
Darkness exploded.
The entire simulation room went black.
Outside, Raphael was thrown against the wall.
Lyra grabbed onto one of the pillars to keep herself standing.
"Raphael!"
"I’m fine!"
The room shook violently.
The operators screamed as monitors shattered.
Warning lights flashed everywhere.
『CRITICAL FAILURE.』
『SIMULATION CORE DESTABILIZING.』
Raphael looked toward the sealed simulation chamber.
"Kael is still inside."
Lyra’s eyes widened.
"We’re going in."
Raphael stared at her.
"If we enter while the simulation is collapsing—"
"Then we stop it before it kills him."
Lyra opened the chamber door.
The moment it opened, darkness poured through.
Raphael raised his arm.
A barrier appeared between them and the darkness.
"Stay behind me."
Lyra nodded.
The two entered.
Inside, there was no longer an arena.
The artificial environment had completely collapsed.
Pieces of simulated terrain floated through the darkness.
Fragments of the floor.
Broken walls.
Fragments of light.
Everything was being pulled toward a massive black sphere forming at the center.
And beneath it—
Kael stood.
His clothes were torn.
Blood covered his face.
His sword was still in his hand.
Across from him stood the simulated Kael.
The darkness around its body had become monstrous.
Kael looked toward the two figures who had just entered.
"Professor..."
Lyra’s expression changed when she saw him.
"Kael!"
Kael looked back at his opponent.
The simulated Kael raised its sword.
Darkness erupted from the blade.
Raphael’s face went pale.
"That’s not mana emphasization anymore."
Kael tightened his grip.
The simulated Kael vanished.
Lyra shouted.
"KAEL!"
Kael turned.
Too late.
The simulated sword came down.
Kael raised his own.
The two blades collided.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
The simulation core shattered.
A wave of darkness ripped through the entire chamber.
Lyra and Raphael were forced backward.
The lights exploded.
The walls cracked.
The monitoring systems died one after another.
The simulation room began collapsing around them.
Raphael threw up a barrier.
"Get Kael out!"
Lyra looked through the darkness.
"I can’t see him!"
Then she heard it.
A sword scraping against the ground.
Kael slowly emerged from the smoke.
His knees were bent.
His sword was planted into the floor.
He was barely standing.
Across from him...
The simulated Kael was still standing.
Its darkness mana continued to grow.
Kael lifted his head.
A tired grin appeared on his face.
"So you’re still standing."
The simulated Kael raised its sword.
Kael raised his.
Behind them, the simulation room began collapsing completely.
Raphael’s expression hardened.
"We’re out of time."
Lyra stepped forward.
"Kael!"
Kael didn’t look back.
"Just give me..."
He tightened his grip.
"...one more second."
The darkness surged.
The simulation room disappeared beneath a wave of black.
And the last thing Lyra saw before the entire chamber went dark—
was Kael charging straight toward himself.