White smoke erupts from the demon's body, wrapping around him like a cocoon. After a few seconds, it dissolves into thin air, including Loki. However, less than a second after he vanished, the familiar lunatic laugh reverberates throughout the space.

"Even if it's just a mirror, I'd like to congratulate you on killing me. Good job! Now it's my turn," Loki exclaims, his hand is wrapped around Raia's throat, while his other hand is holding an oval-shaped mirror.

Raia's face turns pale as she struggles to free herself from his firm grip. Her sword is laying on the ground, the silver blade visible with an orange flame burning around it. Raphael has reverted to its standard form.

"Raia!" Raiden yells as he sprints toward them, clutching the hilt of his broadsword in both hands, poised to attack.

Loki smirks and throws Raia into the bar counter before charging at Raiden. He slams his mirror against his wounded stomach, and a powerful force hurls the boy against the wall. Raiden grunts as he lands hard on the ground.

Raia clenches her teeth in frustration, her breath quickening. The mana that is now circulating within her body is less than their chances of overcoming the strong demon. She can no longer release her Blessing; if she does, she may lose consciousness.

She pulls herself up from the shattered glasses, her body quivering. She rubs her nose after smelling the aroma of the spilled wines.

The Blood Demon smiles as he looks at them. He tilts his head from side to side as he looks in the mirror. "Don't you think I'm a looker?" He then clears his throat and lowers the mirror. "So, this fantastic mirror is my Curse. Looking at your Blessings, your weapons are nothing compared to mine."

He laughs and places his hands on his hips. "My Curse has the ability to duplicate and multiply. Just like the one Raiden killed. That's just a clone of myself. Do you want to experience more of my power?"

Raia is already aware that his mirror's ability to imitate things around him. But she had no idea it could also make a clone of a human body.

What a troublesome mirror. Though, this makes his Curse a weapon-type. Perhaps if it's destroyed . . . .

Loki raises his mirror over his head without waiting for them to respond. "Duplicate thyself and multiply."

Oval-shaped mirrors of varying sizes appear all around the tavern, encircling the entire surface. The floor, walls, and ceiling are all covered in gold mirrors. Raia attempts to destroy mirrors on the floor under her, and they turn to smoke.

"Hey! My game has not yet begun. Again!" Loki blurts out, and then more mirrors appear, filling all the empty spots.

"Well, well, well. Come and find me if you want to live." Loki's voice echoes around the tavern as if it were emanating from all of the mirrors. He's vanished from their sight.

Raia summons her Blessings and walks toward Raiden. The boy is still laying on the floor — on the floor of golden mirrors.

He has blood on his lips and is clutching his stomach. His uniform is ripped and torn. Raia notices a deep cut in his stomach when he moves his arm, and thick red liquid is leaking from it.

"Dammit, Kara. Lay still," Raia hisses, gently placing her palm on his bleeding wound.

Raiden sighs with pleasure as Raia's palm radiates warmth. However, as his body begins to heal, Raia lowers her head and grits her teeth. Her stomach clenches with sharp burning pain. As the pain intensifies, she clutches the hilt of her sword, as if sharp claws are digging into her flesh.

The ache in her stomach rushes up into her head, sending jolts of pain as if someone were hammering on her skull. But then the pain goes away, and she feels something warm on her hand. She raises her head and meets Raiden's gaze. His brow is furrowed in a deep frown.

"What the heck was that? Are you bearing my pain?" He's holding her hand to keep it away from his wound, preventing her from healing it.

He's . . . rejecting my healing?

Raia's confusion turn into frustration, and her eyes glow in anger. "Damn it, Kara! It's not the time for sympathy; I need to heal you so that we can fight the Blood Demon."

No one rejected this damn power before.

Raiden's face contorts in rage, and he lets go of her hand before rising to his feet. "And I don't want anyone to heal me if they have to bear my pain instead. I hate that. I don't want to be burdened with any more guilt. Besides, I can still fight, so save your energy for yourself."

Loki materializes in front of Raia before she can respond.

"Yow, duplicate and multiply," he says, and ten clones of Raia appear.

"Now, kill the original," Loki says with a smile before disappearing again, leaving the clones staring at Raia.

The Blood Demon appears in front of Raiden. "And I'm your opponent, boy."

Loki kicks him in the chest hard before he can react. His partially healed wound reopens, and he crouches in agony.

"Damn it!" Raia hisses as she turns her gaze away from them and toward her clones.

They are mirroring her movements and wielding the same weapons as she does, making it difficult for her to land an attack. They're even imitating her facial expressions. It's pointless to attack them if they're going to do the same to her. When Raia tries to walk away from them, they will shut in on her. Escaping from them is also pointless.

Raia tightens her jaw in frustration.

They're mimicking me, but if I try to escape, they'll attack me. What the hell are these clones?

She narrows her eyes as an idea surfaces in her mind.

I'm not sure if it will work, but it's the only thing I could think of right now.

Raia closes her eyes. She can hear her clones breathing in and out the same way she does. She grips her sword's hilt and places the blade in front of her. Mentally counting from one to three, she stretches her arms and points the blade to her abdomen. She deactivates the Divine Power of her Blessing, and the fire surrounding the blade fades out.

Her longsword becomes a normal weapon.

She takes a deep breath and thrusts the blade into her flesh.