Chapter 183: Ch183: The Last Mimic

A fierce bolt of lightning struck the space between Daniel and the fake Zero, unleashing a violent explosion that blasted them in opposite directions.

"Ahh!" Daniel screamed in pain.

Although the impact saved Daniel from certain death, the force of the blast sent him crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.

His vision faded into darkness.

...

*Zap*

"Hah!!"

Daniel gasped as a sudden jolt of electricity coursed through his body, wrenching him awake from unconsciousness.

He quickly scanned the battlefield.

Bernard was locked in combat with the fake Zero.

Zane continued clashing with the centipede, while Helen crawled toward him, each movement slower than the last.

"Helen!"

Daniel rushed to her side and tried to help her up, but she weakly shook her head.

"It’s... no use. I won’t survive this."

*Cough!🩸*

Blood spilled from her mouth.

"I’m sorry, Da... niel. It all happened because of me. I hope... you’ll will forgive me," she said between ragged breaths.

*Cough!🩸*

"No! No! You can’t die! Stay with me! Tell me this is a joke! Why are you apologizing? What did you—"

"Zero... is in Cinder Town. Tell Zane... Klaus won’t kill him... until they meet alone."

With those final words, her body went limp.

Helen’s eyes lost their light.

Daniel froze.

For a single heartbeat, the battlefield fell silent in his mind.

Then something inside him snapped.

He rose to his feet, every muscle tensing. His jaw clenched until it ached, eyes sharpened with killing intent, and he sprinted toward Bernard.

As he ran, Daniel channeled lightning into his palm and fired a crackling spear of electricity at the fake Zero.

The clone slipped aside with ease, avoiding the attack as though it had sensed it coming.

"What the hell is going on?" Bernard asked, his tone tense as lightning crackled around his palm.

"It’s not the time for questions," Daniel replied. "Right now, we have to combine our powers and kill him."

*Whoosh🔥*

A wave of flames swept toward them.

Both of them answered with lightning, tearing through the flames before moving in unison.

"What’s the plan?" Bernard asked.

Daniel kept his eyes locked on the fake Zero. "My attacks aren’t landing. It keeps dodging them somehow."

Walls of fire burst from the ground, but Bernard shattered them with a relentless barrage of lightning.

"My attacks hit," Bernard said, "but they aren’t doing any serious damage."

Daniel’s eyes narrowed.

"Wait... yours hit?"

"Yes."

"Hold on, I’ve got a plan," said Daniel.

...

The two stood side by side at the center of the battlefield, unmoving, their eyes scanning every direction.

The fake Zero also halted its advance, watching them in silence.

The instant Daniel began channeling his Third Form of Lightning, the Zero lunged forward with a torrent of flames.

*BZZT!*

Bernard intercepted it with his First Form of Lightning, forcing the fake Zero to halt.

The fake Zero took a step back as the thought of retreat crossed its mind. It knew a direct hit from Daniel’s Third Form would kill it instantly, just as it had killed the other mimic summon.

But fleeing wasn’t an option either.

If it returned to Klaus defeated and empty-handed, death awaited it all the same.

So it chose to stand its ground and fight.

However, it was the greatest mistake it could have made.

"Now!" Daniel shouted.

Bernard thrust both arms forward.

*BZZZZT!*

Chains of lightning burst from his palms, spreading into a wide electric net that engulfed the fake Zero.

The crackling strands wrapped around its body, locking its limbs in place and paralyzing it like a fish caught in a giant net.

The fake Zero struggled with all its strength, trying to break free, but the paralysis left its body unresponsive.

Its eyes flashed white as Daniel’s fully charged Third Form crashed into its body, instantly charring its flesh and frying it from the inside out.

"M-Master!"

The creature cried out one final time before its body dissolved into countless wisps of black smoke, vanishing before it could hit the ground.

"Huh? Where did it go?" Bernard asked, glancing around with his guard still up.

"It’s gone. We defeated it," Daniel replied. "But there’s still the—"

*BOOM!*

Someone came hurtling through the air and slammed into a nearby tree before crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.

"Agh..."

Zane groaned as he clutched the side of his head and struggled to push himself back up.

"It’s... no use. Its shell is far tougher than I imagined. My attacks aren’t strong enough to break through it," Zane said through gritted teeth.

*Rumble...*

The ground trembled.

The centipede burst from beneath the earth and whipped its massive tail toward them.

*Crack-BOOM💥*

A stone wall rose in its path, absorbing the impact before shattering into countless fragments.

The three scattered in different directions, unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks in an attempt to overwhelm the creature.

Rocks hammered its shell while bolts of lightning rained down from Daniel and Bernard.

Yet it refused to fall.

Suddenly, the centipede pulled its body inward and curled into a tight ball.

"What is it doing?" Daniel asked.

"Its... uh, I don’t know. But every time it curls up, its charge gets faster and stronger," Zane warned, hurling boulders toward it in an attempt to interrupt the attack.

The rocks slammed into its shell but failed to stop it.

Daniel’s lightning struck its hardened shell and reflected back toward them.

"A creature like this can only be killed from the inside," Zane said, his tone grim. "Or we have to injure it so badly that it’s forced to retreat. But even then, it’ll only leave for a while before returning once it’s healed."

"From inside? It can only be killed from the inside?" Bernard murmured, his expression lighting up as a memory surfaced. "Daniel, remember when Master killed that armored dungeon boss? He pierced straight through its metal armor."

Daniel’s eyes widened. "I remember...

The Fourth Form of Lightning."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Zane shouted. "Use it!"

Suddenly, the centipede unfurled its body.

*SWOOSH!*