Transcendent Gene
Chapter 166: Anastasia [6]

Chapter 166: Anastasia [6]

The doppelganger swiveled its head, looking for a way around Gio that wouldn’t involve combat.

The alley was small, existing only because there were building laws that forced them to be a certain distance apart.

There were a few feet of space on each side of him that it could move through, but that didn’t mean avoiding confrontation.

His sword was long enough, covering over half the space easily.

He had ranged capabilities, so even without the sword, he could attack.

The only option was to be as fast as possible.

’This is a matter of utmost importance. I must report this.’

Even if it was killed for its failure, it had to report the existence of humans who knew their plans and disguises.

Escape was not a hope, but a necessary outcome.

The doppelganger primed itself, lowering its body.

It now understood that battle was not the answer this time around.

In the end, as long as it survived, it could report back to its superiors and return to human society playing a new character,

Power coursed into its legs as its form changed. It concentrated all of its energy into making itself faster.

It prepared seriously, not noticing the white light coming from its enemy’s feet.

And then it disappeared.

Crack!

The air cracked as it shot forward like a speeding bullet. Gio could consult the [Memory Book] to see its trajectory, but by the time he looked back into the world, it would already be too late.

This time, preparation was the answer.

The monster dashed with its feet barely touching the ground, breezing by Gio’s right as nothing more than a blur.

It relished in the feeling of victory for only a moment before it realized that something was wrong.

The ground...

The ground felt too light.

When its foot tapped it the next time, the ground underneath its feet collapsed.

Rumble!

The sound of the implosion alerted Gio to the doppelgänger’s direction. He immediately swung around and threw his hand out, putting up a new barrier that blocked its way.

The one he set up previously disappeared, but that was fine.

Boom!

The doppelganger flew through the air and slammed into the barrier with its shoulder. It bounced off and landed on a knee, staring at Gio violently.

It raised its body to run in the opposite direction that had become open. Gio appeared in front of it before it could do anything of the sort.

"Go."

With a word, he released a flash of blue light that transformed into a swarm of blades.

Living beings were too much at the moment, but weapons were easy enough to create. He could remember vividly the feeling of creating fire the first time. Replicating it and imbuing it into weapons he materialized was a logical next step.

Flame-covered daggers whooshed through the few inches separating Gio from the doppelganger, cutting into its torso.

SKREEEEE!

The flames didn’t cause pain.

Doppelgangers only felt pain from one thing, and that was the deletion of their existence.

"You should have realized it by now," Gio said, walking forward a step every time it pushed itself back towards his barrier.

"You won’t be able to escape unless you kill me."

It was important for the doppelganger to see this as a "duel" that it "had to win."

"So stand up and fight me, or prove that the Monster Race is filled with cowards."

After all, Klyde needed a sample.

He couldn’t just incinerate the monster and call it a day.

It glared at him with fury in its eyes.

"Insolent human," it sneered.

"You seek death so badly?"

It had indeed understood that killing Gio was the only way for it to escape.

Therefore, it put away thoughts of leaving early and changed its form once more, finally entering the combat state that it knew best.

Long, claw-like nails grew from its fingers. Scales climbed up its grey, elephantine skin. Its legs bent backwards like a predator’s, allowing it to become a true chimera.

"If death is your goal, then I shall grant it to you. Such is my duty to your so-called humanity."

With a statement of confidence that completely opposed its cowardice from just a moment ago, it rushed at Gio.

He shook his head with a grin as he covered his body in blue sparks.

"People used to always make fun of Klyde for his bad taste in women. If they had known what you were like back then, he might’ve been forced to dig a hole for himself and die."

Boom!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Twin blades appeared in Gio’s hands and a flaming aura covered his body.

The doppelganger still approached without fear and attacked.

Its claws swung out, cutting past his blades and tearing into his flesh. He felt searing pain whenever they struck him, but it kept his mind awake.

The monster was fast. More importantly, its entire body was now prepared for combat.

Its legs contained the power of tornadoes and could become as sharp as swords at a moment’s notice. Even when it kicked at him, Gio had to beware of blades.

When it opened its mouth, it screeched at such a high pitch that he could feel his ears ringing. It was almost guaranteed that people had become aware of the fight by now, but nobody had appeared to watch it yet.

Only five minutes went by for it to reach this point.

Five minutes, which meant that in Gio’s estimates...

’The enforcer squad will be here in another five minutes or less.’

He gritted his teeth and fended off the doppelganger to the best of his abilities.

The searing pain from where he’d been scratched didn’t go away. It hurt far more than any of his other wounds. He faced several blunt impacts from its fists and elbows as well, but even they meant nothing in front of the heat coming from his left arm.

There was a frown permanently etched on Gio’s face, yet, he was still focused on his goal.

He fought the empowered doppelganger, returning its attacks whenever he could. He shot out several bursts of flame, only for them to miss and land on the surrounding ground.

The flames didn’t go out, however, they were useless. In such close quarters, he could only use close-quarters tactics.

’If I want to fight this out properly, five minutes isn’t enough.’

The plan was never to fight it out as equals. The plan was to kill the doppelganger and collect a sample for Klyde.

Despite doing barely any damage to the monster at all, Gio still grinned.

’Here is good.’

A shotgun suddenly materialized in his hand and he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The pellets slammed into the doppelganger, surprising it and pushing it back with sheer force.

Bang!

There was no need to reload a virtual gun. Gio shot again, forcing the doppelganger back several more steps.

Bang!

By the third shot, its shock wore off. It sidestepped and dodged the bullets, extending its claws to–

"Gotcha."

A single word hung in the air for a brief second.

A pair of fingers snapped, resonating through the alley.

The dark of night was filled with light.

The licks of flame left on the ground after Gio’s missed attacks abruptly brightened.

By nothing that could be called a coincidence, the doppelganger ended up right in between them all.

Vooooooom!

In the next moment, blue flames swallowed the whole alleyway...

...Gio and the doppelganger included.

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