Once the group noticed what had happened and Anastasia’s body vanished, the group stood on their guard, glaring at the white-haired girl stepping out of a pond of black goo. “Where did this woman come from?!”

Serenity glanced at her surroundings with a smirk on her face. “Such a lovely, vivid town, huh,” she giggled, sending chillings through the group.

“Come on, everyone!” Mayor Dominguez cried. “If we all attack her at…” She looked down, noticing that the ground had turned black.

“Alan Warden, you understand I can not let them go,” Serenity said, as black humanoids crawled out of her shadow. One dashed to the closest Unus’ resident and submerged him into the blackness as he cried for help.

“What the hell?!” Major Dominguez shouted while the rest of the group equipped their weapons. The dark humanoids did the same, changing their arms into blades.

When both opposing teams clashed, the sound of metal and flesh pierced came to Alan’s ears. “We can’t fight them, Clara! Let’s retreat!”

He looked at her, releasing wind spells able to cut the enemies, but those regenerated in a couple of seconds. The black mass can be attacked again, but I bet Serenity is still incorporeal. He ran away from the dark silhouette, trying to embrace him. He shot his pistol twice, but the bullets were absorbed. So only magic attacks work on them.

“Retreat! Retreat, everyone!” Major Dominguez cried after losing two more citizens.

“Hey, do any of you know ice magic!” Alan asked aloud. “It might slow them down!”

“You hear them, guys! Let’s channel together!” Clara stopped in her tracks, turning back, like seven others. “Minor Ice Crafting, Chill!”

A freezing breeze manifested out of the palms of the Users, successfully freezing a third of the enemy, but the rest charged unafraid.

“Amelia II, a fire barrier, please!”

“Fire Crafting, Firewall!”

The Fire Clone created a defensive wall in half the time the others cast the basic ice spell. Some humanoids charged anyway, getting burned and turned into black goo.

“This won’t stop me!” Serenity could be heard in a festive tone as the reach of her shadow extended forward, getting below the firewall.

“Jump, to the rooftops!” Alan’s boost allowed him to jump 30 feet in the air, but being his first time, he did not stick the landing, crashing into a nearby second-floor house. “Dammit.”

“Out of the way!” Major Dominguez shouted, falling over him. “Thanks for catching me!”

“Get off, you’re too heavy!”

“Rude!”

“Come on, to the rooftop,” Alan said, pulling her from the arm. They quickly got upstairs, from they could see a dark sea swallowing everything within a 1500 feet radius. Alan could see entire houses sinking and another User being dragged into the nothingness. If this fight continues like this, Unus Town will cease to exist.

“This is so strange,” Clara muttered beside him while consulting her User Interface. “I saw Simmons, Henderson, and Griff being swallowed by that thing, but their status is still online.” She made her window visible and pushed it towards his face. “Why are they still alive?!”

Alan pursed his lips while looking at the screen. “Major, please!” He grabbed her by the shoulders. “You may not be an experienced warrior, but you have seen countless battle streams, right?”

“Y-yeah…”

“Then think! What kind of power is she using?”

“W-well,” she stuttered while adjusting her glasses. “This is obviously Shadow magic, but the way she uses is it’s totally unconventional. Unless… it’s her Unique Skill. Do you know Kathleen Maher?”

“Unfortunately…”

“Her Unique Skill is Cryokinetic Construction, which allows her to use Ice Crafting beyond its limitations. I’m a huge fan of her.”

“So are you saying that Serenity has a Shadow variant of it?”

“It might be. Although any Shadow Master could be able to do what she has shown, I haven’t seen her channel once.”

Alan looked at the enemy in the distance. Serenity looked like a divine presence among the darkness.

“This house is about to sink, let’s go.”

Both jumped from rooftop to rooftop, while Alan thought of his chances. “It seems that only magic works against her. What could we use to overturn this battle?”

Clara sneered. “You would need someone with powerful Light magic, but good luck with that! Paladins and Priests are uncommon, and Light spells can only be learned after level 40.”

“Protect Alan Warden,” the Fire Clone said, flying towards him. Bella also jumped over the building, with Amelia’s slime resting in her hands.

“Master Alan.”

“Squeeeak!”

“Hey, Amelia II, Bella, Sloochie, you’re still kicking.”

“Is this a Replica? So cool,” Clara said, getting closer to her to examine her gestures. “This is high-level magic, you know. As expected from a Max Leveler.”

Yeah, we have her help, but it’s not enough. He looked down at the street, finding Ashley carrying an injured citizen out of the area. What have we learned about Serenity? She’s impervious to physical attacks. Although we haven’t tried elemental magic directly on her, I bet we would get the same results. Her Shadow can be enlarged or take the shape of something huge, but no two things at the same time.

He exhaled and sat right on his spot, crossing his legs and arms.

“What are you doing?” Clara asked.

“Master Alan, is not safe here,” Bella said, grabbing his shoulder, while Sloochie jumped down and sat between his legs.

“Give me a minute.”

Is difficult to think of Serenity as the Singular. She has shown equal signs of raw emotions as any human and cold ruthlessness as that genocidal AI... Maybe Ashley was right, and the Singular is trapped inside a User’s Pod. That would mean that she’s bound to the System’s rules.

“She can be defeated.”

“Alan?” Clara muttered, watching a black tentacle rise, towering over the building. “Alan!” Before she could start casting, Amelia II stepped in, releasing a burst of fire out of her palm.

“Dragonbreath.”

“Clara, a couple of questions,” Alan said, eyes shut.

“Can’t it wait?!”

“What’s the possibility of our enemy having low Vitality?”

“Um… Well, it’s not unlikely for high Spirit Users to be physically weak…”

“Would you describe our enemy as such?”

“Maybe? To do all this, she must have a very large mana pool, neglecting her physical attributes. But! This kind of Users usually have a backup plan in case some high Vitality brute picked a fight against them.”

“What about being incorporeal?” Alan opened his eyes and stared at her.

“There has to be a catch, right? There’s always one.”

Alan gave a voice command: “Party Chat, call Ashley.”

“Alan, are you okay?”

“Yes. You mentioned having the ability to detect presences, right?”

“Yes. I can also sense any threat coming our way.”

That’s why she tried to warn me when the Shooting Stars kidnapped me.

“Have you felt Serenity’s presence?”

“Of course, Alan. Why would you ask that?”

“Because the Serenity we see with our eyes is not the real one.”

Ashley took a brief silence. “If I find the real one, will I be able to attack her?”

“Yes, but…”

While Alan privately chatted with Ashley, a distant explosion startled Clara. She looked at the distance, watching the release of energy coming from the mountain at the town’s back. “Oh, god…”

Ashley landed over the rooftop in front of Alan. “I understand the situation, and you are right.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, but she slightly shook her head.

“It is alright. My primary mission is to protect you all.”

Clara stared at her, getting moved. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but you’re so sweet!” she cried, hugging her. From over Ashley’s shoulder, she noticed Serenity strolling to them. “G-guys, the crazy bitch is coming our way.”

“Amelia II, you have already buff us, but it’s not enough,” Alan said, carrying Sloochie and standing up. “Is there anything else you could do for us?”

“Amelia Laflamme’s Unique Skill is Pyrokinetic Construction. I could replicate a weapon for you from the User’s memory.”

“That sounds cool as heck! Would the weapons be limited by level?”

“No. But they will disappear after half an hour.”

“Craft something for Ashley first, please.”

The Fire Clone reached out her hands, releasing a controlled burst of fire, which started to take shape. In front of Ashley appeared a shiny black bow. “This is the most suitable weapon for you.”

Ashley grabbed it, studying its stats and description. It has a double function, she thought.

“Guys?” Clara called while watching down the street. “Hurry up.”

“For Alan Warden,” Amelia II said while crafting the next weapon, but as the fire took a metallic shape, the clone disappeared.

Is this bad news?

The slime jumped down from Alan’s arms and squeaked where the copy of its master had vanished.

“A-Alan?” a weak-sounding Amelia called him through Party Chat.

“Amelia, are you okay?!”

“Alan... D-do you remember what you say to me back in t-the Drinking Banshee?”

“Drinking... Is that Kathleen’s place?”

“Yes. What you said to me before confronting Marco…”

“I…”

“If you have never met Astrid Bradford, you would have asked me out… And, well... Things didn’t work out between you two, right?” She chuckled.

“What are you?”

“Let’s have a d-date after this battle is over…”

I’m having a weird sense of Deja Vu...

“I... I would love to.”

“It’s a promise then…”

“Water Boost, Overflow,” Ashley cast at his side while locking her eyes with three shadow tentacles that quickly took the shape of dragon heads. A System message notified her that her mana pool had increased for five minutes. “Quick Drawing Style, Lightning Shot!”

Three consecutive arrows charged with electricity were shot at the same time. Alan witnessed how the three dragon heads exploded and a blinding light made the necks retreat.

It’s not Light Magic, but… He glanced at the bow created by Amelia II, which looked charged with energy.

“Alan,” Ashley called, giving him the back. “The enemy’s priority is to capture you. Could you help me get her out of the town, please?”

“Sure.” He rushed to pick Sloochie and handed it to Clara. “This is Amelia’s precious mascot. Take care of it.”

“But guys…” she said, frowning. “You’re level is too low to confront that bitch...”

“So?” he asked, as Ashley stood beside him. “Do I lie on the ground and whine about it?”

A purple whip cut the building in half, making them lose their balance. That’s the same technique she used before.

“Let’s go, Alan!” Ashley cried, jumping down.

“Protect it, Major!” Alan said, following her partner. “Come, Bella.”

As Clara looked at the group getting the enemy’s attention, she exhaled. “What should we do, cute little slime? Even though he called me Major, I don’t feel like one at all.” The slime only squeaked back at her. “Since the moment I quitted my sister’s guild, I’ve done nothing but watch others fight. Hmm...” She looked down at it while smirking. “So let’s do what I do the best. Shall we?”

“Kyu?”