"Without your bodies, I can't even try and resurrect you."
With the dimension to Aria having collapsed, she wasn't even sure if there were any bodies to salvage. With their dimension having collapsed, it was already impossible to find it.
"Enough thinking, Aurelia. I must continue to work on these seals."
The disappointment of having hidden like a coward as her people died resurfaced, and the only way to squash it down was by drowning herself in seals and inscriptions.
[I have failed before. But not this time!]
.
|DxD|
.
Time Chamber: 5 years later (7 years after initial entry)
.
Deep inside the confines of the time chamber, Igor was standing still in the harsh weather only found when one ventured deep into the time chamber. Tossed aside were his weighted clothing which consisted of a black undershirt, armbands, and leg warmers. Left in only his trousers and sandals, the blonde had not moved an inch ever since he took off his weights.
Despite the blistering cold, his body was covered in sweat with visible steam wafting off his body. His hair fell down to his sides like a wet mop, his breathing steady despite his prior physical exertion.
Training, training, training, and more training. That is what had occupied most of Igor's time. As soon as his body stopped growing, he immediately dived into training with higher gravity levels, heavier weights, and somehow, even more intense training regiments.
With his body having experienced over three years in terms of growth, the amount of gains he could make in his training also increased. The well of potential that he had unearthed over his initial two years of training had been vastly expanded.
With his body being eighteen in terms of biology, he was already in his accelerated phase of growth. With his divine strand evolving, the benefits that were brought were considerable. Of course, Igor had never failed to train in his newly obtained transformation.
As time went on, his troubles of taking too long to enter both his suppressed form and full-power form gradually became nonexistent. As it stood, it took him just barely less than a second to power up to his suppressed state. It was not quite instant, but it was a satisfactory result no less.
Entering his full-power state still took him a good three seconds. He wasn't completely satisfied, but he was forced to accept that this was currently the best he could do. There was only so much ki he could insert into his divine strand before it became pointless.
However, he did come up with a way to compromise. Whereas in his full-power state he was 110x stronger than in his base form, he was able to find a stable state which was exactly at 100x his base strength. In this context, despite the difference only being a mere 10x, the results were obvious at first glance.
"Haaa!"
GRUUU!
Exploding with power, a red aura similar to a flame formed around him. His hair spiked up and turned red in an instant while blue eyes bled away to reveal ruby red. His transformation was controlled with barely an outward pressure that affected the winds around him. Apart from the initial outburst of ki caused by rapidly powering up, there were no further events, a showcase of the control he had over his ki.
But, he wasn't completely satisfied with that.
[More practice is needed.]
Having assumed his transformation, the blonde clenched his fists before he vanished from the spot.
Su! ...BOOM!
Appearing a few dozen metres away, the blonde let out a powerful punch that caused a massive shockwave. But he didn't stop there.
Su! …Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Constantly vanishing, Igor seemed to be fighting against an invisible opponent, Brief flashes of red could be observed before it vanished. The power from his attacks were like cannons. Each punch and kick packed a very powerful force behind it.
Su! Su! Su! Su! Su!
The minutes trickled by and slowly, half-an-hour had already passed. Yet not once did his momentum decrease in the slightest. Despite not resting for even a single second, Igor was still brimming with vitality and energy.
Su!
Finally coming to a stop, Igor stood on the ground with his aura still stably emitting from his body. His hair flowed in the wind while his eyes were closed in focus. With steady breaths, Igor slowly drew in his aura until there wasn't even a wisp remaining.
"Haaa…"
Letting out a deep breath, he gradually opened his eyes. Surveying his body, Igor was satisfied with this brief exercise. Bending over to grab his weighted clothing, he began putting them on one-by-one.
Starting with his undershirt, he had some momentary trouble trying to get his spiked-up hair through the hole. But after about ten seconds, he finally succeeded in putting on his shirt. Briefly levitating to put on his leg warmers, the redhead finally ended by putting on his armbands.
"I'll need to ask sister to increase the weights for me soon."
Having increased the weight of his clothing from one ton to five tons, he could feel that he was getting used to the current weight. In his base state, they were already starting to feel like normal clothing even in over 500x gravity. In his transformed state, they felt like nothing.
Putting his hands into his pockets, Igor took out two scrolls that he immediately placed on the ground and unfurled. With the scrolls lying open on his left and right, there were intricate circles with patterns linking them together.
He had no idea what the patterns and symbols meant…
"Sister Lia said I had to leave a drop of blood and also channel my ki into them."
…or what they did.
"She only said there would be a big surprise in store for me."
He was somewhat curious as to what these scrolls could do. Since it was her personal creation, it must be something truly amazing.
"One way to find out then."
The redhead brought his thumbs to his mouth and decisively bit on them. Drawing blood, he swiped them on the scrolls and at the same time, channeled his ki.
Doof! Doof!
The effects were relatively immediate. Not a short while later, there was a burst of smoke that cleared to reveal two Igors who had also transformed.
"Heh?"
These two clones looked exactly like him, dressed in the same clothes, and even released exactly the same aura and pressure. The only difference between the redhead and his clones was that their faces were blank, completely emotionless without that spark of life in their eyes. They were like dolls…machines with only one purpose-kill!
Su! Su!
Without hesitation, the two carbon copies of himself attacked him. Igor subconsciously raised his hands to block the punch aimed for the side of his head and the side kick aimed for his neck.
Clash!
There was a brief silence as several muscles worked overtime to overcome the three-way deadlock that had suddenly risen. The friction alone from the deadlock caused the area of clothing caught in the crossfire to burn away
Fortunately, Igor managed to get his head back in gear after this sudden surprise attack.
[I don't know what they are, nor do they seem like they're willing to talk.]
Gradually pushing away each offending limb, aura began emitting from his body.
"You must be the surprise sister mentioned."
The aura of flames around his body grew in intensity as his ki churned faster and faster throughout his body.
"I'll have to thank her. A fight is exactly what I needed."
He could feel from the aura his two clones were releasing that they inherited his current strength. It mystified him, but only briefly. The how's and why's did not matter at the moment. Just as a hungry man does not ask what ingredients were used in the food, so would he not ponder how these two clones came to exist.
Su! Su! Su!
In nigh perfect synchronisation, all three of them moved and began fighting.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
It was a two-on-one, Igor against his lookalikes. Streaks of red meshed against the aurora-filled sky of the time chamber as fast-paced combat ensued.
[I missed this!]
Despite being entangled in a seemingly unfavourable situation, his blood only boiled even more. Blocking one attack after the others, he was being pushed back. From the skies to the ground, Igor was continuously forced to retreat. The clones worked so well in synchronisation that he couldn't even squeeze in a gap to launch a counterattack.
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!
With his hands working to parry the continuous attacks issued by his clones, he barely had any time to charge a simple ki blast. But, if there was one thing Igor learned during his stay in the Heavenly Realm, it was that sometimes, resourcefulness was more important than strength. And having gotten used to being attacked by multiple people, he had picked up a few ways of getting out of an encirclement.
This time, instead of parrying or dodging, he began diverting the attacks of one clone towards the other in an attempt to disrupt the flow. He did not need long.
Even a single moment would be more than enough to build up ki for either an offensive such as a ki blast, a defensive move like an explosive barrier, or neutral techniques for escaping like the Instant Vanish.
With the clones constantly sticking close to him, he just had to create an opportunity.
Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! *GRAB!*
Realising an opportunity had presented itself in front of him, he grabbed a leg aimed for his waist and swung it towards the clone reeling itself to follow with a punch to his chest. The clone with its fist clenched noticed the leg of the other clone coming towards it and as such, was forced to briefly pause…and that moment was all Igor needed.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the redhead replied with a trick that had rarely failed him since day one.
"RAAA!"
Opening his mouth, he let out a red blast wave of immense power.
Kruuu!
The two clones were forced to dodge. Splitting from each other, the ki wave blasted towards the sky before dissipating into motes of red wisps of ki. In face of a threatening attack, their faces remained emotionless like a doll's. The two clones stood slightly apart from each other, their hands clenched and their outfits billowing in the catatonic winds.
They only stood apart by just a few metres, but it was more than enough for the blonde to start launching a counterattack with a technique that was very useful in this current scenario.
Placing two fingers on his head, he vanished…
Tswii!
…and appeared above one of the clones…
Tswii!
…before appearing beneath the other one.
Booom!
With a powerful horsekick to the chin, he sent the clone flying into the skies. Locking on to the energy signature of the other clone, he was about to vanish when he suddenly lost it.
[Wha-]
Tswii!
"?!"
BOOOM!
Caught offguard by the clone's ability to also use the Instant Transmission, Igor was sent flying to the ground by a powerful heel kick to his shoulder. Had he not dodged, it would've landed on his head. Fortunately, he was still coherent enough to stop himself from crashing into the ground head first.
Backflipping in midair, he gently landed on both feet before looking into the skies at the two clones who had just regrouped.
"Heh~. I admit. That was certainly a surprise. I never thought a lookalike could also use the Instant Transmission. This means you can use more of my techniques, right?"
""…""
Neither clone replied or even acknowledged that they heard his question. Their eyes remained locked on him, their gaze cold yet empty. Like dolls, their expressions remained neutral throughout the entire time they fought. Like husks, they were only puppets that had a purpose- to destroy the original.
Su! Su!
And they would be merciless in their task.
CLASH!…Gu! Gu! Gu! Gu! Gu! Gu! Gu!
Different from his excited state, Igor was serious. His battle-thirsty expression had been replaced by a calm demeanour. Even as he traded blows with the clones, it did not ease. Dodging what he could and parrying what he couldn't, the redhead remained on the defensive against the onslaught of his clones.
Their attacks were clearly aimed to kill, despite the evident lack of killing intent. This was not a normal spar, but a battle of attrition. Facing the onslaught from two of his clones in insanely fast-paced combat, it was normal to assume that Igor would tire out quickly, especially when not long ago, he had been training prior to this without rest.
But…assumptions could only be assumptions, not assurance.
GRUUUU!
Having long since primed his ki beforehand, Igor quickly deployed a burst of red aura around him in the form of an explosive barrier. Having successfully managed to repel the two clones again, the redhead didn't chase after them.
Instead, he started stretching his head.
"Mmm…thanks for that. Now that the cramps are ironed out and my body's fully warmed up…"
The clones didn't attack…because they couldn't.
FUUUUUSH
…because they were locked down by the heavy pressure he was releasing.
"...let's begin round two."
GRUUU Su Su Su Su Su Su Su Su Su Su
With a blazing red aura manifesting itself around him, the redhead was finally getting serious. There were absolutely no signs of fatigue anywhere on his body.
In fact, he was brimming with vitality.
Tswii!…BOOM!
The clones didn't attack…because they couldn't.
FUUUUUSH
…because they were locked down by the heavy pressure he was releasing.
"...let's begin round two."
GRUUU Su Su Su Su Su Su Su Su Su Su
With a blazing red aura manifesting itself around him, the redhead was finally getting serious. There were absolutely no signs of fatigue anywhere on his body.
In fact, he was brimming with vitality.
Tswii!…BOOM!
.
|DxD|
.
Stamina. If there was one thing Igor had the most in abundance, it was stamina.
Tswii! Tswii! Tswii! Tswii!
Decades of gravity training honed his body into a machine. With most of his techniques revolving around the use of stamina, his body had evolved to better handle the strain. Techniques like the Kaioken and Instant Vanish that rely primarily on stamina and endurance require strong physiques that can handle the strain of their usage.
Gu! Gu! Gu! Gu!
The scales had tipped and the previous battle of attrition had turned into a blitzkrieg. Utilising his Instant Vanish, Yin-Yang Breathing Method, and if possible, his Instant Transmission, Igor was able to turn the tables on his clones.
Tswii! Tswii! BOOOM!
One moment, he would seemingly appear committed to attacking one clone before suddenly vanishing and attacking the other. He did not hold back and had no scruples in abusing the Instant Vanish or Instant Transmission.
Unfortunately, matters became a lot more complicated when his clones could also use the same techniques he could. With the Instant Transmission…
Tswii! Tswii! Tswii! Tswii! Tswii! Tswii!
It would become an endless teleportation spree with one aiming to attack the other. As much as Igor enjoyed taking risks, the last thing he needed was getting lost in the Teleportation Zone due to having lost his focus.
So his primary attack method defaulted to the Instant Vanish. At the very least, he could see where he was rapidly accelerating to.
Despite both him and his clones having the same level of power, they lacked his mentality and combat awareness. No matter how much they tried to team up against him, they couldn't properly fight back…
Tswii! Tswi! …BLOCK!
…even if they could also use the same skills as him.
*Struggle…Struggle…*
He held their fists firmly within his grasp, his grip firm while their arms trembled.
"This is why I like fighting alone. You two prioritise protecting each other over attacking me, which makes it easier for me to exploit that weakness."
His words, while they didn't process in their heads, were true. The clones were only dolls whose basic parameters were to protect each other and kill the original. This severely restricted their means since protecting each other seemed to hold higher priority over killing the original.
The redhead managed to exploit this by rushing towards one clone before switching over to the other clone. The second clone would be in a relatively defenceless state due to rushing to the other. And without sentience, they seemed to lack the capability to adapt to this.
Having the fist of the clones firmly within his grasp, the clones tried using their other fists, but the moment they tried doing so, he flew down with their limbs still in his grasp. The clones were forcefully pulled down and before they could even react, they were slammed into the ground.
BOOOOM!
The ground in the time chamber was hard and certainly more durable than even the hardest rock on Earth. But at this moment, two massive craters had been created. The force that Igor threw them with was so powerful to the point that even after a few seconds had passed, the clones still hadn't gotten up.
The redhead remained floating up in the air. Despite the almost overwhelming advantage he had against the clones, he didn't get off without a few scratches. Despite a few minor wounds here and there as well as his clothes being slightly torn, he was still in a relatively good condition.
Compared to the clones that were lying on the ground, he might even considered to be in perfect condition. Their clothes were completely in tatters with one clone even having half of its shirt torn off. Their skin was more red than white with wounds covering nearly every single part of their body. Even the arms Igor held them with were completely broken due to the force of the throw.
But contrary to feeling excited, Igor had a slight trace of sweat on his face.
"I think…I went a bit too far."
Either he overestimated the strength of the two clones or he used too much strength in his throw. Regardless, it was a fact that those clones were Aurelia's results of painstaking research…and those clones were now lying crippled on the ground.
"Should I try and fix them?"
Despite the battle being rather short, he genuinely did enjoy fighting against them. Losing the two clones that could keep up with him in a fight wouldn't bode well for his battle-addiction. Not having something is much better than tasting it once and then having to survive without it. Having tasted a fight after so long, he truly did not want to endure a few more years without feeling that adrenaline rush again.
Gradually descending towards the ground, he was just contemplating what to do when all of a sudden, the clones released a white light before splitting into little motes of light that slowly vanished.
"Heh?"
*Confusion*
*Processes Images*
*Confusion Recedes*
*Realisation Surfaces*
*Realisation*
*REALISATION*
"?!?!"
The blonde was so taken aback by the sudden phenomenon that he couldn't even maintain his transformation.
"No…"
Like an alcoholic watching a bottle of wine being shattered before his eyes, Igor gradually descended into despair.
"No!"
He flew down to the ground in a burst of speed and began futilely collecting the motes of lights, but they always vanished within his grasp. His eyes were wide open with panic, his hands reaching out so fast that they left afterimages.
"Aaaa! Don't leave me! Don't leave me! I promise I won't beat you so much next time!"
Yet no matter how he pleaded, the motes continued to vanish until finally, not a single sliver was left. Looking at his empty palms, a single tear trailed down his cheek.
"Stupid. Stupid, stupid, STUPID!"
Collapsing to his knees, he began pounding the ground.
"Whyyyyyy! Why was I so harsh on them! If I just…if only I restrained myself a little…"
Gone was happiness. Present was sadness. His heart felt heavier than the tattered weighted clothing he had on. Even the blood splotches of the clones on his clothes had vanished, leaving him in a pit of endless sadness.
Like a gambler who had lost everything, he sat on the cratered ground with his hands on his head in silence. For a whole minute, he did not move. Resembling a person in mourning, there were dark clouds hanging over him.
He would've continued to brood had he not felt the magic circle of Aurelia manifest next to him.
Vwong!
With a brief flash of golden light, Aurelia appeared with her ever-neutral expression on her face. Despite being dressed in a simple dress, it did little, if nothing to diminish her beauty. Surveying the area around her, she finally turned around to face the blonde who looked at her with an empty gaze.
[What happened for him to be like this?]
Despite having been far away in the library, she had been paying attention to the battle. Knowing that the clones had lost relatively easily, she couldn't understand why he would be in such a state.
[He even defeated them just before the five minute mark was up. So logically, he shouldn't have been dissatisfied.]
The clones had a five minute timer on them before they would eventually cease to exist. If the clones had vanished in the middle of the fight, she would understand why he appeared so melancholic. Yet before she could ponder even further, the blonde suddenly jumped up and grabbed her by the shoulders.
His gaze was frantic like a thirsty man that had spotted an oasis.
"Sister! You can make more, right? You can make more me's, right?!"
"..."
Aurelia was…familiar with this sight. That begging expression, that tight grip on the helms of her skirt, and those quivering lips. She experienced them when he asked her to increase the weight of his clothing multiple times these past few years. She knew that when he made this expression, refusing him would lead to an hour long annoying begging session.
So wordlessly, the silverette manifested two more scrolls in her hands.
"?!"
Not willing to stand on ceremony, Igor snatched the familiar scrolls with a maniacal grin on his face.
"Haha! Thanks, elder sister!"
Jumping out of the crater, he sprinted for a few metres before he immediately unfurled them.
Fuush!
While the scrolls were still in midair, he quickly bit his thumbs and swiped them on the scrolls
Doof! Doof!
The familiar smoke. The familiar scent. The familiar…aura?
"Heh?"
What Igor expected to face were two clones that were transformed, not two clones who were like him in his base form.
"What the-"
Su! Su!
Without giving him a chance to process things, the clones charged towards him of their own accord.
"Wait wait wait! Transform first goddamnit!"
Swoosh…Swoosh
Igor dodged and parried the attacks of the two clones. But with his weighted clothes weighing him down in this heavy gravity deep in the time chamber, he was in a noticeable disadvantage. The clones did not stand on ceremony and took this chance to give him a good beating. With his armbands also having their own weight, the blonde wasn't quite fast at lifting his hands to parry blows. So he could only curl into a ball and protect his hand and other vital organs.
Gu! Gu! Gu! Gu! Gu! Gu!
The clones continued attacking him all the way without any scruples. With their attacks aimed at killing him, it was rather smart of the blonde to protect his mid-section and even the back of his neck by covering it with his palms.
Having been kicked around by the clones for over a dozen seconds, the blonde spotted an opportunity when one clone kicked him away. Fed up at being made a contemporary punching bag, the blonde exploded with power.
Gruu!
Bursting out with his Kaioken x10, he finally stood up straight with a murderous expression on his face.
"Damn bastards! I'll give you a proper beating as payback."
Su!
In a burst of speed, he rushed forward. Reaching them rather quickly, he grabbed them by their throats and pushed them to the ground. Using his aura to suppress them, he turned to look at Aurelia with slightly laboured breaths.
"Sister. Why won't they transform? Why can't they even use the Kaioken?"
He then turned towards the clones who were futilely struggling to escape his grasp, yet not a wisp of red aura emanated from them. This mildly frustrated him since he was hoping he could enjoy a two-on-one at his maximum power.
"Igor. These are just prototypes I've made. I still have a few more things to figure out before I can finally perfect the seals that can create replicas of you. Right now, they can only replicate your current state and nothing more."
"..."
Igor turned to look at the emotionless clones that were unable to move due to the pressure he was exerting on them.
"Haaa…-oh!"
Before he could finish sighing, he suddenly came up with an idea. Picking up the two clones by the neck, he reeled back his arm before throwing them away far off into the distance, one after the other.
Suuuuuuuu…
Not wasting time, he turned to face Aurelia, the aura of the Kaioken receding.
"Sister. Please increase the weight of my clothing by one…no! Two tons! Quickly! Before they come back!"
"..."
The silverette couldn't help but sigh at the sudden urgency he bestowed upon her. She was already regretting coming here or even creating these scrolls.
[If I knew this would've happened, I would've just focused on the second seal-]
Her tired expression was replaced by a dark glint. Feeling particularly mischievous, she hid a smirk behind the palm of her hand.
"Alright, Igor."
With a snap of a finger, she repaired his clothing as well as increased the weight of them to a total of two tons…times ten.
"What the?!"
Booom!
Falling to his knees at the sudden weight of twenty tons thrust upon him, the blonde barely had any time to spare a glare towards his dearest sister before two fists covered his view.
[Fuck your mother…]
BOOOOM!
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