Chapter 59: [59] Everything Breaks
The first Mirror Man lunged at Cassandra, its arm stretching like taffy to twice its normal length. She ducked under the strike, her daggers slicing through the creature’s midsection. Instead of blood, shards of crystal scattered across the floor, each fragment containing tiny galaxies of purple light.
"They’re fragile," Cassandra called out, spinning away from a second attack.
Thalia knew better. "Don’t be fooled."
The scattered crystal shards trembled, then flew back to the Mirror Man, reforming its body. The creature tilted its head, examining Cassandra’s daggers. Then its arms transformed, hardening into identical twin blades.
"They copy weapons too," Thalia noted, stepping forward to intercept the creature before it could reach Cassandra again.
Her spear thrust caught the Mirror Man through its chest, the weapon extending mid-strike to add unexpected reach. The creature shattered, crystal fragments exploding outward. This time, Thalia kept moving, her spear sweeping in wide arcs to scatter the fragments farther apart.
"Keep them separated when they break!" she ordered. "They need proximity to reform!"
Vince’s arrows whistled through the air, pinning crystal shards to distant walls. "Got it!"
Two Mirror Men converged on Eliot, who spun his staff in tight circles. "They’re learning our movements."
Thalia saw it too. The creatures now moved with more purpose, mimicking the team’s combat stances. One of them copied Eliot’s staff-spinning motion using its elongated arm, creating a makeshift shield.
Ryan kept filming, backing away from the fight. "This is why the reports classified this as a false Tier-2. These things should be Tier-3 at minimum."