Sarah woke with a sharp gasp.
She was sitting on the cold floor of an enormous tower, a spiraling staircase winding upward so far that she couldn’t see where it ended.
Monster corpses littered the surrounding steps, their twisted bodies covered in black blood, much of it smeared across Sarah’s clothes and hands.
For several seconds, she simply stared at herself in confusion before slowly forcing her body upright.
Then she noticed the man sitting numerous steps above her.
Nikolai rested casually against the railing, a katana balanced across his lap.
Its blade was completely black, so dark that it almost seemed to swallow what little light reached it.
“Good. You’re finally awake,” he said calmly as he stood.
“Let’s get moving.”
Sarah looked around again, her confusion quickly turning into panic.
“What is this place? Where are we?” Her eyes snapped back toward him.
“Where is Iris?”
Nikolai adjusted his grip on the katana.
“Don’t know. She could already be dead.”
Sarah froze.
“Unless someone is extremely experienced or being protected by someone who is, surviving in a place like this isn’t possible.” Nikolai glanced toward the staircase above them.
“I’m not even completely confident I can survive here.”
He began walking.
“But I owe your husband a debt, so I’ll keep you alive. Come on.”
Sarah stared at him for several seconds before reluctantly following.
There wasn’t much of a choice.
Whatever this place was, the corpses scattered around them made it painfully clear that walking away from Nikolai alone would probably be worse.
They had only climbed a short distance before Sarah spoke again.
“Does that debt extend to my daughter?”
Nikolai stopped.
Sarah’s earlier panic had faded, replaced by suspicion.
“You showed up at my house out of nowhere. Wallace and Markus are suddenly in town too. And now you’re talking as if Iris dying wouldn’t matter to you.” Her eyes narrowed.
“Why are you really here, Nikolai?”
He looked back at her.
“Perceptive as ever.”
His expression barely changed.
“Unfortunately, your daughter’s life was already forfeit long before today. It has been for the past eight years.”
Sarah’s face hardened.
“What does that mean?”
Nikolai turned away again.
“It means there can only be one survivor.”
Slow clapping echoed from somewhere above them.
Deliberate.
Mocking.
Both of them looked up.
“As cruel as ever, Nicholas.”
Nikolai’s eye twitched.
A figure dropped from the upper levels of the tower, black priestly robes fluttering around him as flames erupted beneath his feet and slowed his descent.
Michello landed several steps below them without so much as stumbling, wearing the same cheerful smile he always seemed to have.
“But what he’s saying is true,” Michello continued.
“Of the nine Miracles born into this world, only one may remain until the end.”
Sarah stared between the two men, clearly understanding none of what she’d just heard.
Nikolai, meanwhile, seemed far more offended by something else entirely.
“It’s Nikolai. Not Nicholas.”
Michello smiled wider.
“I know.”
Nikolai narrowed his eye.
Then his expression changed.
The thing wearing Michello’s face tilted its head.
“You’re not nearly annoying enough.”
Without warning, Nikolai shoved Sarah down several steps.
She cried out as she fell hard against one of the monster corpses below, black blood smearing across her clothes.
Nikolai stepped between her and the imitation, his katana already raised.
The false Michello sighed.
“Yeah, you caught me.”
Its smile remained.
“We Remnants can imitate humans fairly well, but someone like Michello is a little more complicated.” It tapped the medical eyepatch covering its left eye.
“He’s only half-human, so copying him properly required me to sample both your memories of him and his memories of himself. I managed to replicate his abilities almost perfectly, but unfortunately…” Its smile widened.
“My personality came out a little wrong.”
Nikolai tightened his grip around his katana.
“Not that it matters,” the Remnant continued.
“There’s no need for trickery if I can simply kill you outright.” It chuckled.
“Let’s be honest, Nicholas. You’re not winning this.”
“Markus, Michello, and I are often called the Three Swords—the strongest Cursebearers of our generation.” Nikolai raised the black blade toward it.
“But you’re not Michello. You’re a half-baked imitation wearing his face.” A faint smile crossed his own.
“I think I’ll manage.”
His gaze briefly shifted toward Sarah.
“Hide somewhere. We’ll discuss everything else later.” Nikolai paused.
“And if you’re lucky, I’ll be injured badly enough afterward that I won’t be able to focus on my original plans.”
Sarah stared at him before quickly moving farther down the staircase.
The Remnant laughed.
“Damn tsundere. You really don’t want to kill the kid, do you?”
Nikolai’s expression immediately darkened.
“But you believe it’s necessary,” the Remnant continued, sounding almost sympathetic.
“It’s fine. I understand that feeling better than you might think.” Its smile slowly returned.
“After all, I have to kill all of you humans for the sake of my King.”
Nikolai’s grip tightened.
“The King?”
“He’ll arrive soon.”
For the first time, something almost reverent entered the Remnant’s voice.
“The one who will save us. The one who will cleanse our home of the blight Superbia has stained it with.”
Black liquid began leaking from beneath Michello’s medical eyepatch.
Nikolai’s expression changed.
The Remnant reached up and slowly removed the patch.
Thick black fluid poured from the socket beneath it, twisting through the air like something alive.
Within the darkness, countless purple symbols resembling eyes opened one after another.
“It’s only a replica, unfortunately, but when I copied Michello, I copied his Artifacts as well.”
The purple eyes turned toward Nikolai.
“Replica Grade 0 Artifact—Left Eye of the Gluttonous King.”
Something began emerging from the black liquid.
A long weapon slowly pushed its way from the darkness.
Its shaft appeared to be formed from twisted human flesh, while a massive chainsaw-like blade rested at its end.
The Remnant caught it with one hand and casually spun the weapon around its body.
“Replica Grade 1 Artifact—From Hell.”
The chainsaw blade roared to life.
The Remnant rested the weapon across its shoulder and smiled.
“Now then, Nicholas.”
Nikolai’s eye twitched.
“I told you. It’s Nikolai.”
“I know.”
The Remnant laughed.
“Let’s see how close a fake Michello can get to killing one of the Three Swords.”
The Remnant rushed forward. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Its chainsaw screamed as the weapon came crashing toward Nikolai, who raised his katana just in time to block.
Metal shrieked against metal as the impact forced him several steps backward, cracks spreading across the staircase beneath his feet.
Even incomplete, even missing part of Michello’s true strength, the imitation was absurdly powerful.
A chill ran down Nikolai’s spine.
‘If this thing is only a copy… just how strong is the real Michello?’
He leaped backward as the metallic scar running down the right side of his face began glowing green.
“Curse of the Iron Puppet.”
Thin iron strings poured from his dull gray eye, spreading throughout the tower like a web.
Everything they touched immediately began transforming into metal.
Stone stairs hardened into iron.
The railing twisted beneath their influence.
Even the monster corpses scattered across the floor stiffened as flesh and bone became metallic.
Dozens of spears formed around Nikolai.
He raised a hand.
They launched.
The Remnant moved effortlessly between them.
It twisted through narrow gaps, dodging one spear after another before they could connect.
Whenever Nikolai changed their direction, the imitation reacted almost before the movement occurred.
Nikolai narrowed his eye.
The prediction was accurate too.
Just like Michello.
Despite fighting on a narrow staircase, the Remnant showed no concern for the terrain.
It stepped over the edge and leaned backward into open air before twisting midfall, using the chainsaw spear to redirect itself.
“Is this really all you’ve got?” the Remnant shouted, laughing as it came crashing down.
Nikolai raised his katana.
The chainsaw slammed into the blade.
The staircase beneath his feet cracked from the force.
“You’re real, and I’m fake!” the Remnant laughed.
“So fight like a real human!”
It kicked away from Nikolai, flipped over the railing, and disappeared beneath the stairs.
Nikolai immediately turned.
The Remnant came from behind.
Its chainsaw swept toward his neck.
Nikolai ducked beneath it and stepped away, finally putting some distance between them.
He calmly raised his katana and ran one finger along the black blade.
“You’re relying too heavily on those replicas.”
The Remnant stopped.
Nikolai looked toward the weapons in its possession.
“Grade 1 and Grade 0 Artifacts possess something ordinary Artifacts don’t. A second state. Their true form.” His black blade seemed to grow darker beneath his touch.
“But yours are imitations. You copied their abilities, their appearance, even part of their power… but you can’t release what isn’t truly there.”
The Remnant’s smile faded slightly.
Nikolai raised the katana.
“Allow me to show you the difference.”
The black blade began to tremble.
A low vibration passed through the tower as something within the weapon awakened.
“Grade 0 Artifact—Fang of the Gluttonous King.”
For the first time since the battle began, the Remnant took a step backward.
Nikolai smiled.
“Your release word is…”
The entire tower seemed to go silent.
Even the chainsaw stopped sounding quite as loud.
Nikolai tightened his grip.
“Devour.”