The fight continued for several more exchanges, but Rook’s patience was running thin.
Every time he damaged one of the clones, the others covered the opening. Whenever he focused on one, another appeared at his blind spot. Milo was managing to keep two of them occupied, but even with his enhancement trait active, he couldn’t maintain that pace forever.
Rook stepped backward and glanced toward the clearing where the golden stones remained.
He had already spent enough time figuring them out.
The clones weren’t going to give him an opening willingly, and if he continued fighting at this pace, sooner or later one of them would land a serious hit. His Perception and Agility could keep him alive, but neither could guarantee that he wouldn’t eventually make a mistake.
More importantly, he had no reason to fight fairly.
Rook’s expression hardened.
’Enough.’
He stopped retreating.
The nearest Kael noticed the change immediately and charged toward him with his sword raised. Rook didn’t move until the last possible moment. When the sword came down, he stepped aside and placed his palm against the clone’s chest.
"Flame Burst."
The explosion erupted at point-blank range.
The clone was thrown backward through several trees, its body disappearing into the flames. Before the fire could settle, Rook turned toward another.
"Vacuum Slash."
The invisible blade tore through the air and struck the clone across the torso. It staggered, and Rook immediately followed with another slash from the opposite direction.
The clone’s body was cut apart before it could recover.
Rook didn’t stop.
He raised both hands, and the ground beneath the remaining Kaels violently cracked.
"Bulwark Fang."
Stone erupted from every direction.
The jagged formation swallowed two clones at once, crushing them beneath layers of rock. Another attempted to leap away, but Rook had already anticipated the movement.
"Stone Lance."
Several lances shot from the ground and pierced through its legs, pinning it in place.
Rook turned toward Milo.
"Get back!"
Milo didn’t argue. He immediately disengaged from the two clones he was fighting and sprinted toward Rook.
The remaining Kaels charged after him.
Rook waited until they were close enough.
Then he released everything he had been holding back.
Mana surged through his body as he raised both hands. Fire gathered in one palm while water spiraled around the other. Wind compressed around his body, and the earth beneath his feet trembled as he forced multiple elemental skills into action almost simultaneously.
"Flame Burst!"
A massive explosion erupted through the clearing.
The first Kael disappeared inside the flames.
"Vacuum Slash!"
An invisible blade tore through the fire and struck another clone before it could escape.
"Bulwark Fang!"
The earth exploded upward, crushing another beneath a massive formation of stone.
The remaining two attempted to move around the destruction, but Rook’s Perception tracked them both.
"Wind Blade!"
One fell.
"Stone Lance!"
The other was caught before it could reach him.
For several seconds, the clearing became a storm of fire, water, wind, and stone. Trees shook violently from the impacts, branches snapped, and clouds of dust filled the air.
Milo shielded his face with one arm as he watched the destruction unfold.
When the attacks finally stopped, silence returned to the forest.
Rook stood in the middle of the ruined clearing, breathing heavily. His mana had dropped dramatically, but he didn’t care. His eyes remained fixed on the scattered remains of the clones.
None of them moved.
Then one of the bodies twitched.
Rook’s eyes narrowed.
"Not yet."
He immediately grabbed Milo’s arm.
"Run."
They didn’t waste another second.
The two of them sprinted back toward the clearing where the golden stones had been left. Rook pushed his enhanced Agility as far as he could without losing control, while Milo followed closely behind.
They reached the clearing within moments.
The golden stones were still there.
Milo slowed as they approached.
"We’re actually taking them?"
Rook shook his head.
"No."
He looked around the clearing carefully.
That was never his plan.
If the crude arrows had been fired from somewhere nearby, and the clones had been created to chase them away from this location, then someone had to be controlling everything from the shadows.
The stones were bait.
The clones were the distraction.
And whoever was behind it had probably expected them to either fight the clones or run away.
Rook crouched beside the pile of golden stones without touching them.
"Something doesn’t make sense."
Milo looked around.
"What?"
"The real Kael."
Rook’s eyes slowly moved across the surrounding trees.
"We’ve been fighting copies this entire time."
Milo’s expression changed.
"You think the real one is here?"
"I know he is."
Rook stood.
The forest remained completely silent.
He remembered the moment they had first seen the stones. There had been no one around them. No guard nor visible trap mechanism. The arrows had come from somewhere deeper in the forest, but none of the clones had carried bows.
And when the clones attacked, they had never once tried to protect the golden stones.
That meant the stones weren’t their objective.
They were Rook’s.
Someone wanted them to come here.
Rook slowly turned toward the trees behind the pile.
"You’ve been watching us this entire time."
Nothing happened.
Milo tightened his fists.
Rook continued staring into the forest.
"I don’t care about the stones. I care about the person who put them here."
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a branch moved.
Rook’s expression sharpened.
A figure slowly stepped out from behind the trees.
Red hair, Ashline uniform and sword in hand.
Kael Draven looked at the two of them with the same calm expression he had worn.
Rook smiled faintly.
"Found you."
Rook didn’t answer immediately. He stared at the golden stones for a moment before turning his attention back to Kael.
"Drop yours," Kael said coldly.
Rook’s expression darkened. He had expected Kael to demand the stones, but hearing it after everything that had happened irritated him more than it should have.
"This is an evaluation, not a war," Rook said. "I don’t know what kind of ego you have that makes you think you can order people around, but I honestly don’t care."
Kael remained silent, his expression unchanged.
Rook’s lips slowly curled into a grin.
"You know why?"
He stepped forward, his eyes narrowing.
"Because I’m damn egoistic too."