Transcendent Gene
Chapter 165: Anastasia [5]

Chapter 165: Anastasia [5]

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Each piece of sludge that was thrown away from the doppelganger’s main body turned into something like a shard of shattered glass that Gio had to fight against. It was fine when there were only a few, but his second attack destroyed its body down to its waist, creating a true storm around him.

He gritted his teeth as he looked around. He was encircled by tar that swirled like a tornado. Shards were randomly thrown at him from all sides, making blocking with a sword impossible.

He had no choice but to put up a holographic barrier with [Virtual Manifestation].

’Dammit. If I use my power too openly, it’ll definitely be sensed. If they send enforcers this way...’

Still, he had no choice.

It was obvious that the world had several systems made to police the citizens.

There were local police that operated from city to city, Federation police that controlled more important state matters, and external police from NEXUS and other large institutions that operated on matters that others couldn’t touch.

For matters related to Sequencers, one of NEXUS’ Enforcer Units would be mobilized. Disturbances were usually found within minutes and quelled within an hour within big cities. It was important to make sure that the public’s image of Sequencers remained mostly positive, after all.

’I can’t fight enforcers right now. After facing it directly, I’m sure I can defeat the doppelganger if I don’t encounter setbacks...’

And if he wanted to end things quickly, he had to use his Sequences.

’I just have to get out of here before they show up.’

Bang! Bang! Bang!

He glared at the tornado around him and summoned his power.

Sparks rose from the ground and swirled around him, becoming fiercer and fiercer until they’d formed into translucent blue winds. They turned into a storm much smaller than the one outside Gio’s barrier, but size was not a factor in this matter.

He removed his barrier.

Instantly, the tornado morphed. Several arms reached out of the swirling tar and clawed at him, but they were torn apart by the tornado swirling around him.

"Insolent."

The doppelganger spoke as if it was sneering.

"Weak human. Reveal yourself and die."

Whoosh!

The tar rose into the air and gathered. Mocking him, the doppelganger turned itself into a hammer much larger than any Gio had summoned and slammed down on his body.

Bang!

"Khhh...!"

His tornado was shattered. He rapidly threw a barrier over his head, but he couldn’t relax.

’Shit!’

He abruptly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the hammer that hit the ground next to him.

He turned his head away from it, deeper down the alley where a huge tar ballista bolt was levitating in the air.

’It mobilized its lower body. ’

And it was controlling itself as two different entities.

Gio rolled backwards, avoiding the shards that flew towards him.

He kept his eyes on the two halves of the doppelganger, questioning its movements in his mind.

’When are you going to–’

His question halted before it could be asked by the doppelganger itself.

The hammer morphed back into the person. The ballista bolt shortened into a spear and flew into that person’s hand.

"Rat. Do not scurry."

The tar that had been dripping to the ground hardened, turning into a material that looked like cooled magma. The doppelganger had materialized itself a proper physical body to fight Gio.

’Nice.’

That was what he’d been waiting for.

He brought his sword out again in a flash and created a crescent in the air before the monster could move. [Virtual Manifestation]’s energy flowed through the sword and came out as a bright blue moon that flew at the monster and exploded.

Boom!

The storm of energy raged on its body, forbidding it from moving forward. Gio wasn’t going to waste a moment of the initiative.

’Fire is hard because it’s a natural force rather than something I can construct, but hypothetically, I should be able to replicate anything if I can put it together mentally. I tested it with wind just now, so fire...’

Fire was only a bit more complicated.

While the doppelganger was stuck, he concentrated in his mind and put the elements together. He channeled energy into his sword slowly, embedding his visualization into it.

A virtual flame appeared, glowing with a bluish-white hue. It gave off no heat, but instead an icy feeling that didn’t match its appearance at all.

’Good.’

Looking at his sword, Gio nodded. He turned back to where the doppelganger stood just in time to see it appear in front of him.

Bang!

He raised his sword and clashed with its spear, feeling its power rattle through his bones. It looked at the flames around his sword warily, but after feeling no heat, it gave up its caution and continued the attack.

Hard hit after hard hit fell on the sword. The doppelganger forced Gio back into a wall, keeping him in its momentum. If he ever tried to break away, it used a part of its stomach as a projectile to force him in front of its spear.

’Just a little more...’

Gio slashed his sword, letting another arc of holographic energy slam into the doppelganger’s stomach.

It didn’t tear apart again but instead tanked the hit. Its current shell wasn’t nearly as weak as its tar form.

However, even that attack was a diversion.

Thud!

Gio felt his back hitting the wall as he continued to fend off the slashes. He wasn’t able to block everything. He accumulated several scratches on his arm, but those only existed because the other option was a spear tip in his chest.

It was true that he’d taken damage, but he wasn’t anywhere near injured enough to call himself injured.

Plus, by taking damage, he’d created the situation he wanted.

The doppelganger had become much wilder with its movements. It was fighting like it knew victory was only a step away, which also meant it left many more openings than ever before.

’If it realizes it’s going to burn, it’ll run as fast as it possibly can. Instead of letting it know I can burn it...’

The doppelganger raised its spear, turning it into a hammer. It seemed to have taken great offense at being bashed with a hammer.

It put all of its power into its arms and swung down at Gio’s head.

Only, the sight of him exploding into chunks didn’t reveal itself to the monster’s eyes.

At the very last moment, Gio pushed his body to the side and narrowly avoided the hammer. He stabbed with his sword, pushing it towards the monster’s side.

Shik!

The doppelganger didn’t have time to react before the blade impaled it.

Voom!

Gio ran his energy through the metal, letting his virtual flames run rampant. They ballooned in size, bursting into the monster’s body and up its side.

There was no heat.

The doppelganger was confused because it didn’t feel heat, but the iciness of hell.

Yet, it would never mistake the feeling of its own body being incinerated.

A bestial screech left its mouth as it hastily pulled itself off the sword and stumbled backward. In an instant, its back was turned from him. It didn’t waste a single moment trying to fight once it realized what he was capable of.

It wanted to run.

Gio also knew it wanted to run.

It couldn’t take more than three steps before Gio summoned a barrier of virtual energy and blocked the space ahead.

The only way out of the alley was behind him.

The doppelganger turned around. Its expression was so vivid that it could be seen through the tar; a twisted and disgusting expression of both rage and fear.

Gio grinned.

A cornered beast was said to be the most dangerous.

"If you want to leave, you’ll have to go through me."

However, the most dangerous beasts were also the most fun to hunt.

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