Chapter 46 - 45: For My Mother
"Six against three. Fair odds."
The ARES Guild Director’s smile widens as his soul-forged weapon pulses with internal light. The blade hums with contained power, its edge sharp enough to cut shadows from moonbeams.
The Echo Warrior skill transforms one man into duplicate moving with the fluid grace of the original. Their eyes hold the same calculating coldness. Their hands grip weapons with identical poise.
Leon studies the formation as all six figures spread across the corridor. The real Director disappears into the group, indistinguishable from his phantoms. Even their breathing patterns match perfectly.
"Clever parlor trick," Leon says quietly. "But tricks won’t save you."
His elite mage zombie shifts position, eye sockets blazing blue. The assassin melts into shadows along the corridor’s edge, becoming one with darkness that pools between oil paintings.
Leon remains perfectly still, conserving manna for what comes next. His broken ribs throb with each breath, but pain sharpens focus rather than dulling it. Mental commands flow to his undead servants like whispered orders.
The six Directors charge in perfect synchronization.
Their footsteps move against hardwood as soul-forged blades slice the air. The phantoms move with inhuman coordination, each one taking a slightly different angle of attack.
Leon’s assassin emerges from shadow behind the duplicate at the farthest left. Her blades seek the gap between helmet and gorget, but steel passes through the phantom like mist. An illusion.
She rolls away as another duplicate swings for her head. This one’s blade feels real enough, sparks flying where it scrapes the floor.