The only clear path to victory in my mind is taking advantage of the destructive properties of Demonic Energy and the raw power of my mana-imbued strikes, buffed by the Red Hydra's aura, to obliterate the grey energy-filled defenses and land a clean attack right on the main body of the Sector 2 leader.

From what I've heard him yell, he's proud of his creations. So much so, that it seems like he's fully reliant on them.

If I'm only the second person to ever even hit him through his armor, I'm sure he won't see what I have in store for him next. This blind confidence of his will be brought down by a sprinkle of chaos.

He won't expect me to do what I'm about to do next. There's no planning for an attack like this.

I start air-stepping downward, keeping my eye on the glimmering black dagger below me. For maximum speed, I switch my long sword out for my wind dagger and only block with a pink and red mana shield while dodging attacks and sending back small wind blades to deter him from following too closely.

The man yells out as I zip down past him.

"Giving up the high ground so easily? You've made your final mistake..."

He laughs as more of my mimicked wind strikes rain down on me from above.

Even the amplified attacks are easily blocked by my Red Hydra's Aura. The Sector 2 leader may be adding his own energy into the attacks before sending them back, but the mana he's absorbing is still only that of my base form. So, the buffed strength of my full power easily defends this.

The man now towers above me high in the sky.

"Now let's finish this..."

Waves of static fill the air as he propels himself down toward me.

At the same time, I'm falling down to the ground with immense speed, with eyes only targeted on one prize.

Hitting the sandy floor with a thud, and picking up the glossy blade, I reply under my breath.

"Let's."

Now with a wind-imbued dagger in one hand and a Demonic weapon in the other, I jump up off the ground toward the man swinging his sword down at me.

Through the rippling swirling waves of white and grey magic, each one of my previous strikes with the Hydra's Soul energy fully imbued in it has managed to leave small scratches and dents behind.

This isn't nearly enough.

Checking my item storage, I find that the crate of mana crystals I've been draining MP from to power up my stat-boosting buffs and mana-imbued attacks is running low. There's less than a few thousand MP worth of crystals remaining.

A few high-powered mana attacks are all I have left to throw; I need a clear shot without this shielding to make them count.

"It's now or never..."

The Sector leader comes down at me as I accelerate, air-stepping faster and faster into the sky.

I recall Ember telling me that truly wielding Demonic energy takes a lot of time and practice. If Demons and high-powered, ranked-up monsters can wield it while also using their normal mana-imbued skills, then it must be possible for me too.

The conversation between the two Sector leaders flashes in my mind as the perfect imagery of the 25th-floor Black Knight's armor comes soaring down toward me.

He mentioned that those guardians were creations of a mana-born Demon. This further confirms my theory that it's possible but also makes me frustrated at the fact that there is so much I don't know.

"Demonic Energy Manipulation," I mutter under my breath with gritted teeth.

Mid-airstep, still covered in the blood-red aura of the hydra, and charging up a blade of wind in my opposite hand, I activate my Demonic Energy ability.

It instinctually feels right, but the sensation that follows is far from pleasant.

My vision shifts to black and white but flickers back to color in an instant. A sharp pain moves through my body, and the skill is deactivated before I can even summon any refined energy from my core.

"Demonic Energy Manipulation," I repeat the words, still air-stepping up to my attacker, closing in, and relying on my final trump card to work.

My vision flickers to black and white again, this time for a moment longer. I know what I'm about to do will most likely lead to my own demise, but this being a copy of my true form and considering the risks that allowing this man to fight my teammates poses, it will be worth it.

The cool sensation of refined Demonic Energy gushes out from my core and starts to move down my left arm, solely headed toward the black blade in its grip. I push out a full 5 units, saturating the blade before the sharp pain cuts my vision back to full color.

The Sector 2 leader is nearly within striking range, and things are moving far too fast for me to second-guess any of my actions. I swipe the black dagger across my body, following the movement with my wind blade wrapped in mana and the Red Hydra's soul energy.

The moment I release the two, I watch sparks fly and immediately dive away to avoid the reaction that takes place.

The increased speed and agility my buff grants allow me to dodge the incoming long sword, but not with ease. Even with all my items, abilities, and buffs, this man's base stats are close to my own right now. His level could be over double mine, but all of his status data is still unable to be seen.

The grey barrier around his whole body goes up in a sea of sparks, and the wind blade I threw out after soars through without a hint of resistance.

To my surprise, the white wind-imbued mana within my attacks goes up in sparks too, but the Red Aura around it flies through unharmed.

A loud metallic crunch is heard and through the violent golden display of sparks, fragments of black armor fly into the sky too. The frustrated static yell of the man calls out, this time sounding less robotic and a bit more human than it did before.

The armored Sector leader falls to the floor as I take the higher position but turn to make another attack. There's no time to waste.

A pair of frightened eyes peer at me from a cloud of sparks, red aura, and disappearing white and grey energy. The full right side of his black armor has been cracked and sliced through, and part of the man's helmet is broken too.

As the sparks start to vanish, the man's eyes turn more stern, and the fragments of black armor start to grow back piece by piece. The red aura is being left behind as we both fall toward the floor.

I mutter to myself.

"That wasn't good enough... I need to-"

What I was about to say was I need to send out a stronger attack, but this brings a much more urgent matter to my attention.

As the sparks disappear on the man's armor and are replaced by a new white and grey mist, the exact same golden crackles of energy on my own left wrist carrying my demonic dagger become much more apparent.

I knew this was a risk, and quite honestly thought it'd be worse... but I thought the damage to my opponent would be worse too.

"I need to finish this."

I air-step down at the falling suit of armor faster and faster, using every last drop of MP from the crystals in my item storage to charge up my wind dagger. More importantly, the Red Hydra's Aura grows deeper and darker red around my blade, amplifying the base energy waiting for the attack to be pushed out.

At the same time, the sparks grow on my opposite hand, and I wait patiently for the ground to get closer.

"Closer..."

"Just a little closer..."

Finally, I air-step within range and activate my Demonic Energy.

My black-and-white vision appears, and it's much more stable this time around.

At least, for a moment.

I take less than a second to channel another 5 units into my dagger, but in doing so, I momentarily lose speed in my fall. To continue air-stepping in rhythm, the skill needs to erratically switch my vision back from black and white to normal color. This is the only way I'm capable of using both at once...

There must be a better way, but this is how I'll have to do it for now.

Every time my vision goes black and white, it's nearly impossible to feel the mana flowing through my body, much less see the mana attacks at all. When I use my normal mana abilities, sensing Demonic Energy is an impossible feat.

The only thing in common with both is that the Red Hydra's Aura can be sensed and manipulated by me in both states of mind.

Still, this conclusion hardly helps as I'm less than 10 meters from my target, and we're both less than 20 meters from the flaming town and the hard desert floor below.

I grit my teeth and power through; slashing both blades across my body as I get closer to my enemy and the ground.

The closer the ground gets, the faster the swapping of black and white vision to full color gets. The more I concentrate on one, the less effective the other becomes, but I need to use both right now for maximum damage.

Violent golden sparks grow larger and larger on my left arm, moving toward my shoulder, but I pay them no mind. What's done is done, I need to focus.

There's a loud crack as we both hit the desert floor.

A rippling shock wave blasts all of the remaining houses out of the way, creating a crater in the sand.

On impact, I stab the armored man through his center with both my Demonic Dagger and Crimson Colored Wind Blade.

The shielding around him is instantly evaporated by the overflow of tens of units of Demonic Energy from my core, and the armor is shattered by the amplified power of the Red Hydra's Wind Blade imitation.

The man within the suit is sliced in two, and the eruption of mana energy and sparks flies high into the sky.

With no regard for my own safety, I hit the ground with equal force. At the last moment, I instinctually brace myself, but the speed at which I hit the ground makes me lose over half my HP.

Even through the immense pain, and the sparks beginning to take over my body, all I can do is grin as a few ringing sounds fill my head.

__________________________________

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[...]

[Level Up] x46

[48 Levels Transferring to Main Body...]

[Level Transfer Complete: Success]

[Body Double Level Adjusted: Success]

[Body Double] Rank Up

[YES] [NO]

[Use Absorption]

Skill: Craftsmanship [Mythic Grade]

[YES][NO]

[Use Absorption]

Stat: Mental Strength

Points: 377

[YES][NO]

__________________________________

My vision is distorted by the violent explosions of energy and fragments of burning village all around me. On top of that, the sparks on my shoulder have now traveled down to my chest and are starting to spread even further.

With all the adrenaline coursing through me, plus the sparks growing toward my neck, the only logical decision to choose is yes on everything and hope for the best.

[Begin: Craftsmanship [Mythic Grade] Transfer to Main Body]

[Craftsmanship [Mythic Grade] Transfer: Success]

The sparks engulf my full body, and my HP begins to fall very quickly.

[Begin: Mental Strength Stat Point Transfer to Main Body]

[Mental Strength Stat Point Transfer: Success]

My Red Hydra's Rage Buff Deactivates. The extreme fatigue makes my limbs feel too heavy to move and my eyes shut.

[Begin: Rank Up]

My body starts to glow white, but my mind is in a daze.

[Rank Up: Success]

My HP bar hits 0 before I can see the final result.

[You Have Died]