Chapter 748

“Aaaah!”

“Gyaaah!”

Two Berics simultaneously collapsed backward, clutching their heads. They must have hit each other hard—these guys aren’t exactly known for giving up easily.

The mages, on the other hand, frowned as if they themselves were in pain and approached the Berics.

“You okay? Not dumber than before, right?”

“Ugh! Cut it out!”

“Yeah, yeah. Good to hear.”

“Why are you asking him that, idiot?”

“Oh ho, look at this sly one.”

The mages swarmed one of the Berics, grabbing him by the collar, banging his head, and pinching his cheeks. It didn’t matter whether he was the real Beric or a fake. If he was real, fine; if fake, well, they could deal with that too.

The Beric pushed them away irritably, and Ian snapped his fingers sharply.

“Enough. That’s enough.”

Ian glanced at the mages who had lunged at the Beric. Judging by their behavior, these must be the real ones. No matter how well the monsters copied memories, they couldn’t replicate reflexive actions perfectly.

Ian sighed softly as he looked over the mages standing there, somewhat dazed.

“I’m going to ask some questions now. Answer quickly.”

“No, Ian, why are you treating us like this?”

“Ah, so you’re suspicious?”

“I’ll ask each of you one by one. It’s just a matter of order.”

The mages scowled but pressed their lips together and nodded reluctantly. They had no choice.

Ian needed to find out the limits of what the monsters could copy.

‘Or maybe Kanchi, who was rattling off information earlier, is the real one.’

He pondered what to ask next. Suddenly, one of the Berics, still clutching his head, blurted out:

“Nakina!”

“What?”

“Be honest—haven’t you ever wanted to beat up Captain Hail really badly?”

Nakina hesitated for a moment. This wasn’t about information but feelings. Then she grinned and gave a thumbs-up as if it was obvious.

“Of course! I want to beat him up every single day!”

“Shut up!”

Bang!

Another Nakina rushed over and kicked her in the face.

Violence erupted in an instant. The mages gasped, unsure who to side with, but the situation quickly resolved. The Nakina who got kicked jumped up, furious.

“Damn it, you’re dead—!”

“Oh… my goodness.”

Half of her face was melting away like clay being smashed. She must have kicked with all her might.

The unharmed Nakina pointed at the ‘Hails’ and said:

“Captain Hail, look! I’ve never thought that way. No matter how much the captain’s a chain-smoker! Or sometimes silent and frustrating! How could I ever think about cracking his skull?”

“…Alright, calm down.”

“C-Calm down, senpai.”

“Tommy, you trust me, right? Huh? You trust me?”

“I do, so please do something about those crazy eyes.”

Nakina huffed, catching her breath, then glared at the monster imitating her. Who does it think it’s framing—?

“I’ll tear you apart!”

Ziiing! Ziiing!

Boom!

Both Nakinis unleashed their magic simultaneously, their powers clashing in midair.

But the outcome was decided in an instant. No matter how well the monsters copied abilities, how could they possibly beat mages who were close to divine fragments?

The distorted Nakina’s form began to melt away, turning into a thick, black liquid.

“Ugh. I feel sick.”

“Puppeteer’s skill? Didn’t Lady Darshi have the same?”

“Nakina! Clean it up yourself!”

“Why don’t we just go one-on-one?”

“Yeah, that makes sense!”

The mages’ eyes sparkled with realization as they unleashed their magic again. Sparks of power exploded everywhere.

Ian lightly pressed his forehead and sighed.

“Die already! You bastard!”

“You die! You monster!”

…It was noisy, but not chaotic. Why waste energy on these things, really.

They aimed their magic at each other in midair, shouting battle cries. Then Ian snapped his fingers and ordered:

“Stop.”

“Huh?”

Despite the deafening noise, his voice was so small yet the mages immediately understood.

At once, the group split—half stopped reflexively, the other half kept attacking.

“Good.”

Now that he knew who was real and who was fake, Ian didn’t waste a moment. He quickly formed a magic circle.

“Many Leaves.”

Whoosh!

Thud!

From Ian, a world tree’s branch shot out, piercing the fake ones’ hearts in the blink of an eye. Instead of red blood, black liquid spilled out, and they began to melt away.

“Aaaah!”

“Ian! No! That’s not true!”

“They held out until the end—!”

The monsters screamed and cried openly, staring Ian straight in the eyes.

Ian frowned, and the world tree’s branch thickened, slicing their bodies in half.

Squelch!

The black blobs that had been bodies just moments ago fell to the ground. The mages looked at Ian with complicated expressions.

“Ian, are you alright?”

“Of course.”

“Sorry. I should have done it myself.”

It must have been unpleasant to witness. Ending the lives of your own subordinates—even if they’re illusions—is an unsettling experience.

Ian waved his hand as if to say it was done. One remained.

“Beric.”

Beric was a different case. Both had stopped fighting at Ian’s command, glaring at each other and pointing fingers.

“Ian! This one’s a bit different!”

“I’m the one who should say that! This guy’s head is rock solid!”

Thanks to Beric, the mages could roughly tell who was real and who was fake. But how to tell between the two Berics? What could distinguish them?

Ian approached them, resting a hand on his waist.

“Beric, I’m going to ask you some questions.”

“Don’t make it too hard.”

“I’m a blockhead, so I might answer wrong.”

“Who are you calling a blockhead?”

“Hey, that’s funny. Me calling myself that—”

“Shh.”

Ian smiled and signaled for silence. The Berics obediently sealed their lips. Then the mages behind took the chance to ask:

“Beric! Be honest—are you and Barsabe… you know?”

“Cut it out! That’s creepy!”

“Oh, this one’s the real deal.”

“Then you’re the one who flooded the kitchen on Thanksgiving, right?”

“No way!”

“Both denying it the same way. Ian, they really are a bit different.”

“When Ian made you count, you honestly counted everything and stood up, right?”

“…Why are you asking that?!”

The Berics answered alternately, but their reactions seemed plausible. They stared each other down, pursing their lips. Damn them!

Nakina shook her head as if those questions were pointless and stepped forward.

“You should act like me. What’s everyone doing?”

“Uh, can you handle it?”

“So what? You want to walk back-to-back with a fake and get stabbed? Beric! Have you ever wanted to beat up Ian out of frustration?”

The Berics hesitated at Nakina’s question. One couldn’t say easily; the other spoke cautiously.

“Y-Yeah, I’ve been pissed off. But never really wanted to hit him. Honestly.”

The stammering Beric suddenly grabbed Nakina’s collar in frustration.

“No, if I’m gonna die, I’m dying alone, damn it!”

“Wow, what a temper. Ian, this one’s the real deal.”

Nakina chuckled and bumped her forehead against Beric’s chin. Maybe she planned this from the start…

The mages kept firing questions, but none yielded sharp results. Finally, Hail suggested to Ian:

“Ian, why not bring both of them forward? If the situation changes, they’ll surely reveal their true intentions. Then we can decide.”

“Ian! Why don’t you recognize me!”

“I’m really hurt! Huh?! You mages act all high and mighty but can’t do anything right!”

Ian stared at the stubborn Berics, then finally nodded. There was no other choice. Unlike the mages, who were quickly sorted out by fighting, these two couldn’t be distinguished even by a genuine headbutt.

‘And I can’t exactly ask them to clash swords.’

It would be a waste of energy, and if one was a monster stronger than Beric, it could be disastrous. These seemed different from the monsters who just copied the mages.

“Beric. Lead the way.”

“Ha! Seriously! Okay! Let’s go.”

“Just look at him. I’m the one who’s gonna kill him.”

The two Berics glared at each other but then walked side by side, shoulders almost touching.

It was a strange sight. The mages couldn’t lower their guard but couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity.

“Vanusa, where do we head now?”

“Oh, the king’s residence is north of the palace’s center. The path was blocked earlier because of the incident, but—”

Paths stretched out in every direction. As Vanusa pondered which way to go, twirling her finger in the air, the Berics naturally split left and right, each taking a different path.

“Then it’s this way!”

“Yeah, this way for sure!”

Huh? The two looked at each other, clearly confused. It was north, so why head that way?

The mages seized the moment and glanced at Vanusa. Her finger hesitated, then slowly tilted to the left.

“Left is north.”

“Left is north…?”

“So that means…”

A spark lit up in the mages’ eyes. They exchanged meaningful looks with the Beric standing on the left and began to close in.

“W-why are you all acting like this?”

“…You know, I’ve never once seen a Beric find the right path on the first try. Not even once.”

“Huh? But you said left is north.”

“Exactly. And you’re standing on the left.”

“Wait, hold on!”

The Beric on the left flailed nervously, mouth opening and closing. No way they were going to use something like this against him, right?

“Yaaaah!”

The mages lunged instantly, grabbing the Beric’s head, clawing at his face until it was a mess.

But just then—

“Wait! Sorry, it’s the right that’s north.”

Vanusa’s finger snapped to the right with a sudden realization.

“Huh?”

“Right, right is north! You idiots!”

The beaten Beric thrashed about, clearly protesting his innocence.

The mages glanced back and forth between the standing Beric and the one sprawled on the ground, then shrugged as if it didn’t matter and resumed punching and kicking. Yeah, this guy’s the real deal! If he’s the real one, that’s good enough.

Bam! Thud!

“Ian! Ian! Somebody stop these lunatics!”

But Ian calmly walked toward the Beric on the right. The awkward smile faded as the Beric cocked his head, then suddenly turned and bolted away.

Pat-pat-pat!

Ian immediately unleashed a magical attack, but the Beric had already slipped around the corner, barely grazing him.

“Ian, should we give chase?”

“No need. They won’t scatter anymore.”

“Understood. Besides, we were going that way anyway.”

The mages surrounding the Berics dispersed, brushing their hands off with satisfaction.

“But why did they leave Ian out of it?”

“Yeah, Ian was the only one alone.”

“Would it even work? They’d be found out immediately.”

“Right? Even if they can’t replicate magic, they can’t fake an Idgal either. It’d be obvious.”

Ignoring all the speculation, Ian rounded the corner toward the direction the Beric had fled. The mages followed closely but stopped dead in their tracks after just a step.

“…Ugh.”

There, just around the corner, stood two Ians. They looked at each other with blank expressions.

The mages and Berics froze, blinking in disbelief.

“Wow.”

Two Ians.

In a way, it was really…

‘Killer.’

‘They’re deadly.’

‘We’re screwed.’