(Author's rant: Here's Chapter 17! Chapter 18 is in progress! Enjoy!)

When Kris opened his eyes again, he was in a black room.

As he scanned his surroundings, he noticed only his body was visible in the darkness.

“Why are you here?” (-)

Suddenly, a voice resounded throughout the room.

“I need power.” (Kris)

“Wrong.” (-)

The booming voice flatly denied his answer.

“You do not need power. You want it. You desire it.” (-)

“That’s not true. My friends are in trouble and I need more power than I have to save them.” (Kris)

“NO.” (-)

The unknown voice rejected Kris’s defense again.

“You always had power. Power that your comrades could never achieve. Power that could make you the strongest Human that has ever lived.” (-)

Before Kris could respond, the voice continued.

“But that was never enough for you, was it? You wanted more. Though you would never admit it, you sought power that was greater than your own.” (-)

As Kris looked around for the owner of the voice, he sensed movement in front of him and directed his attention to the floor.

A black mass formed from the ground and rose into the air.

Once it reached Kris’s height, it stopped growing and began morphing into a humanoid figure.

As soon as it finished, Kris could not hide his astonishment as he gazed at the person who appeared in front of him.

It was an identical copy to himself, only instead of blue eyes and brown hair, this clone had crimson eyes and snow white hair.

“...Who are you?” (Kris)

The Clone smiled at Kris and replied with the same voice that had spoken earlier.

“I am you.” (Clone)

“Me?” (Kris)

“I am the embodiment of your wants and desires.” (Clone)

“Wants and desires?” (Kris)

“Yes, I represent all of the power you could have.” (Clone)

At the end of his sentence, the Clone reached his hand out to Kris.

“I can give you that power too. You can have the power to save everyone you care about. All you have to do is kill me and the power will be all~yours.” (Clone)

“...I refuse. I will not take power if it means I have to deprive the lives of others first.” (Kris)

Following Kris’s disapproval, the Clone showed a kind smile before answering.

“Your friends are in trouble, yes? Wouldn’t you like to save them? All of them?” (Clone)

“Of course, but I will not kill for power. That is not who I am.” (Kris)

The Clone lowered his head while keeping eye contact with Kris, his face warping into a sinister expression full of evil and malice.

“You’re right. That’s not who you are...and that’s why you’re so weak.” (Clone)

He then began circling Kris who remained motionless.

A chill went down Kris’s spine as he tried to remain calm, but the Clone’s next words sent his head spinning.

“You weren’t able to save your friends last time remember? It’s been almost a year since that incident in the dungeon. You couldn’t protect them, but it’s not entirely your fault. They died because they were weak. Just. like. you.” (Clone)

“.....” (Kris)

Since Kris remained silent, the Clone continued talking about Kris’s past, a past he had hid from his fellow Saviors.

It’s a past he’s tried many times to bury in the back of his head, but to no avail.

“You were once a member of an all swordsman adventurer group. Didn’t you call yourselves the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Hehe, such a silly name, but you were kids who could boast of your own strength after all.” (Clone)

“.....” (Kris)

“What were their names again? Oh yes, now I remember.” (Clone)

“...Shut up.” (Kris)

Kris finally responded, but the Clone ignored him.

“First was Nicky, right? An excellent swordswoman and the only Demi-human of your group. Called herself the Horseman of Conquest, if I remember correctly. She was killed facing the final floor boss. Wasn’t she slashed apart trying to cover you? Some of her blood stained your armor so badly, you had to get them replaced. Hahh, she had so much potential. A shame, really.” (Clone)

“Shut up.” (Kris)

“Then there was Damien, the Horseman of Famine. His large physique made him perfect as the tank of the group. He stayed in the boss room to hold off the monsters so that the rest of the raid party could escape. When you looked back and called his name as you retreated, he gave you a thumbs-up just before the doors closed behind him. But there was something else you saw, something you didn’t realize until after you had left the dungeon. Something that you swore you would never tell another soul...but I know what it is. Do you remember?” (Clone)

“Shut up. Now.” (Kris)

“When he gave you the thumbs-up, you had noticed his arm was shaking miserably. Even though he had prepared himself to die, he was still afraid of death at the end. Truly pitiful.” (Clone)

“Shut. up.” (Kris)

Kris’s entire body was trembling as blood streamed from his clenched fists.

“There were two others, right? Weren’t they twins? Ah, yes, Susan and Dylan. One was a druid and the other was a mage. Both joined the Guild two years after you did. Though they weren’t members of your party, you knew them as good friends. You even gave them advice from time to time. Unfortunately, they died in each other’s hands, before you could fight your way through the monsters to save them. Two more lives lost because you were weak.” (Clone)

“Shut up. NOW.” (Kris)

“Oh, I haven’t gotten to the most important person yet. You know who I’m talking about, right~?” (Clone)

“SHUT. UP.” (Kris)

The sound of teeth grinding against each other could be heard in the dark, but the Clone kept talking as if he didn’t hear it.

“A swordswoman who suddenly appeared at an Adventurer’s Guild one day and registered herself. An interesting looking woman with black hair and black eyes. She had on what she called a ‘school uniform’ that was made of strange materials. She carried a unique single-edged, curved sword that could slice through almost anything. In less than 2 years, this young woman reached Rank A adventurer status, a feat that hasn’t been broken, not even by you. 3 years ago, she formed the party of the Four Horsemen, a name she said she had remembered from her home country. The Four Horseman became well known as one of the best among the youth adventurer parties. Sadly, it was not meant to last, was it?” (Clone)

The Clone did not wait to hear Kris’s response before continuing.

“With half of her group dead and the raiding party in shambles, she choose to stay behind and hold off the approaching monster horde. She argued she had the best chance of stalling the monsters long enough for the wounded to escape. You wanted to stay with her, but she ordered you to protect the group.” (Clone)

“Sh-shu...shut...u-up...n-now…” (Kris)

Kris could no longer talk correctly since his teeth were shaking too much.

“You had time to share a first kiss with her before separating for the last time. What were the final words she said to you before she raced to her death?” (Clone)

Kris directed his gaze at the floor, his body trembling so bad it seemed he would fall apart.

“Oh that’s right! ‘I~love~y--” (Clone)

“I said SHUT UUUUPPPP!” (Kris)

Before the Clone could finish talking, Kris delivered a solid right punch to his face.

The force of the punch caused the Clone to do a 360 degree spin before falling onto his back.

As soon as he touched the floor, Kris was already on top of his duplicate and began mercilessly beating him.

All of the terrible memories that Kris had tried so hard to forget had been bottling up inside him for over a year, and now the pain and sadness of those memories were translated directly into his fists.

From the sounds of bones hitting bones and flesh shredding flesh, Kris’s anguished cries could be heard.

“It’s your fault! It’s all your fault! Why couldn’t I have been stronger!? Why couldn’t I have saved them!? Why couldn’t I have been more powerful!? WHY!? WHY!?” (Kris)

Kris continued his assault, blocking out the pain of his knuckles aching from constantly hitting solid flesh and bones.

“Nicky! Damian! Susan and Dylan! Yuki! Why did they have to die!? Why!? Why!?” (Kris)

“...an!” (-)

Once Kris had finally stopped, the Clone’s face was bruised and bloody, but not enough that he couldn’t speak.

“AHAHAHA! Yes! Yes! That’s it! Kill me! Kill me! Kill me and gain my power! Become so strong that no one will ever hurt you again! Do it! Do it!” (Clone)

“...-san!” (-)

The words of the Clone beckoning Kris to kill him sounded like music to his ears.

He slowly raised his hand, aiming at the bulge of the throat so that the Clone would suffocate.

Before he was aware of it, a smile had formed on his lips, and he brought his hand down towards--

“KRIS-SAANN!” (-)

Kris froze upon hearing that voice, a voice he thought he’d never hear again.

He turned his head slowly to find a beautiful young woman standing behind him.

Dressed in a beautiful white dress that covered her whole body, she gave off a radiance that could only be described as divine.

Her straight black hair flowed down her back, past her waist, and her black eyes that looked like pieces of pure obsidian stared directly at Kris.

Slowly getting to his feet, Kris turned his body to face the woman.

Finally, he managed to call out her name.

“...Yuki? Is that you?” (Kris)

“Hai, it’s been some time hasn’t it, Kris-san?” (Yuki)

She looked up at Kris with warm eyes, but she furrowed her eyebrows after a few moments and walked up to him.

“Ara, have you gotten taller this past year? I swear you’re growth is really abnormal!” (Yuki)

“Look who’s talking. Your records at the guild have people calling you the Demon of the Sword even today. You’re a legend, Yuki. A true hero, not a fake one like me.” (Kris)

Yuki started to pout in embarrassment after hearing Kris’s praise.

“Mou~, its so embarrassing when you call me that, Kris-san~!” (Yuki)

She then reached for Kris’s hands and as she touched them, a white light shined from her hands which started healing his bruised knuckles as well as cleaning the stained blood.

“Don’t think so low of yourself, Kris-san. You’re a hero too. You’re a Savior now! Even I never got that privilege, so be more proud of yourself, baka!” (Yuki)

“If you hadn’t...left, you would have been chosen, not me.” (Kris)

“We’ll never know what could have happened, but what has happened is more important, as well as what will happen.” (Yuki)

Once she was done, Yuki took hold of Kris’s face in her hands and brought him close to her’s before speaking.

“You have new companions now, Kris-san. Comrades who care for you as much as you care for them, and right now they need you. They need the Kris who gains power through hard work and determination, not by taking other’s lives.” (Yuki)

She directed a cold gaze to the Clone who was still lying on the ground, watching the scene before him in utter amazement.

“So come on! We need to get you back! Hurry!” (Yuki)

Yuki grasped Kris’s hands and they began running towards the light in the distance.

As they were leaving, they could hear the furious shouts of the duplicate who was left behind.

“NOOOO! THE ONLY WAY TO GAIN POWER IS BY SACRIFICING OTHERS! YOU WILL NEVER BE STRONG IF YOU DON’T REALIZE THIS! YOU’LL ALWAYS REMAIN WEAK, KRIS! YOU HEAR ME!? WEEEAAAKKK!” (Clone)

However, the Clone’s words fell on deaf ears as Yuki lead Kris to the blinding white light ahead of them...