CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 55: ANOTHER DEMON KING

I ran without stopping, following the blinking dot on my map. Desperation mixed with adrenaline, forcing me to go faster than I thought possible. Finally, I reached the top of a hill. At the summit, in the moonlight, was a shadowy figure searching for something, moving back and forth like a predator. My map didn’t reveal its name; it only showed the red dot with no information. I forced myself to stay calm and just kept observing it without attacking.

I activated my [Lunar Senses] ability to get more information, but it was useless. It was as if the being wasn’t real, just a black shadow, a lifeless void. It was the first time I had seen a completely black body, apart from the soulless corpses I had seen while killing lizards.

"What the hell are you?" I thought, as I activated [Temporal Evaluation]. What I saw chilled me to the bone.

[Doppelganger Lvl 9]

"Shit...," I thought. According to what I had heard during my time in the kingdom, only beings that had reached level 90 or more could have abilities of this level.

The shadow stopped abruptly. It turned, stared at me and tilted its head, as if it were confused. Slowly, it began to walk toward me, stopping a few meters away. I remained calm, pretending that nothing was happening to prevent it from suspecting anything.

"I see... you are a hero, and a very powerful one," the Doppelganger spoke, its voice sounding like a whisper of a thousand voices at the same time, causing me a slight headache from listening to that cacophony.

The shadow began to sniff me like a dog, its body trembling slightly. After a moment, it backed away while screaming at the top of its lungs as if it were terrified of seeing me.

"You killed one of us... Impossible..."

"Who did I kill according to you, Doppelganger shadow?" I asked, maintaining my firm and arrogant tone.

"Well... you were able to recognize me on sight, worthy of a demon king killer. You have their scent. When a demon king dies, it leaves a mark on its killer to alert us of their danger, and you have a high-level mark."

The revelation surprised me, but I quickly understood why it was afraid of me. It didn’t know that my level had been reset and that I was now at my weakest point. If it realized that, it could easily kill me. I puffed out my chest even more, adopting an even more dominant posture, and walked toward it at a slow pace, trying to pressure it. The shadow backed away, visibly trembling.

"I see... and what the hell is another demon king’s shadow doing here?" I asked.

"That’s exactly my question for the hero. Don’t think that because you killed another demon king we are afraid of you... If you came to pass the time, we won’t bother you, but if you interfere with our plans, then we will have to kill you."

A sarcastic smile formed on my face. "The last one who threatened me died tragically, so you’d better reconsider your position, scum. Killing you would be too easy, so tell me what the hell you want in this place."

The tension in the air became unbearable when Manaia arrived at the hill, followed by her former guards, Zyra and Vira. Upon seeing the shadow, all three knelt down without daring to say a word; their bodies trembled with fear.

The shadow seemed to smile. The terror in their eyes was proof that this thing was more than just a shadow being. I saw the scene and my face went dark with fury.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing? Why are you kneeling before this shit?" I roared, my voice echoing across the hill.

The three of them realized their mistake and stood up, staying behind me, still trembling, but in a less obvious way.

The shadow sniffed the air again. "I see, these women are yours... they smell of your seed. I suppose that’s why you’re defending this place. It’s a shame that I need them to keep harvesting these fruits for me."

Hearing its words, I turned my head and realized it was talking about the fruits that Manaia had once told me they harvested here, what they called [Snowdrop]. I observed them closely and my system gave me the information I needed.

[Condensed Mana]

I discovered that its real name was not "Snowdrop." This was a fascinating discovery, since mana was incredibly difficult to convert into edible potions to be able to restore or increase it. According to the description of this item, consuming it increased total mana by 5%, and each time it was used, its efficiency would decrease.

Now I knew what this thing was doing here. Everything seemed to indicate that the clash between us was inevitable.

I needed to act fast and take advantage of the fact that a double like this should be quite weak compared to its true form, I thought. Still, I had no way of harming it; I had never faced one or known its weaknesses. But this double was nothing like the one the King used to visit me with; it didn’t have the abilities I have now, like [Lunar Senses], but I would bet my life on this action. What would happen if I used my ability on a being that had no life? With a smile on my face, I knew what I had to do. I walked directly toward the shadow, my gaze fixed on it, without fear.

I stood face to face with the demon king doppelganger and activated the divine ability [Sanctuary of Life].

A blinding, silver light filled the area again. The doppelganger began to scream and writhe, as if it were in the middle of a lake of boiling lava. I could see the double’s health bar beginning to drop precipitously.

The double, which a moment before had been an imposing and arrogant figure, began to scream and beg for mercy. "Please! Stop! Have mercy, I beg you!"

But I didn’t stop. Ignoring its pleas, I took out my bow and began to mercilessly bombard it with lunar arrows. Each arrow passed through the shadow, causing brutal damage. For the first time since its creation, the double felt the need to flee from me, and fear completely took hold of it.