Chapter 1278: Fight Against The Doppelgängers

[Meanwhile]

'Damnit... this is much more difficult than I thought!'

Ana's thoughts echoed as she glared at Maria's doppelgänger, the one she had been struggling to fight with for some time now.

The expressionless doppelgänger merely stared at her calmly, as if looking down on her in pity.

'It'll attack me soon. I have to think of something.'

The problem with Maria's doppelgänger was that it countered her own abilities.

'Cancer's Representation allows me to create anything of choice. It can take on the properties I ascribe to it as well. But...' Gritting her teeth, she glared at the doppelgänger.

'... None of that matters when facing this one.'

Maria's doppelgänger had all the abilities Maria possessed—including the [Wish] Representation, which could simply counter her own power.

'When two equally powerful Representations clash, a null effect is established.'

That meant she couldn't get the copy with her Representation, but it also meant it couldn't affect her with [Wish].

'Thankfully that's the case...'

Unfortunately, it didn't change much in their clash—especially since there were other factors besides Constellation Representation.

'Maria still had her Original Magic, and I'm left sitting ducks!'

The only reason she had managed to survive this far was due to her strategy and superior battle prowess.

'Ciel didn't mimic our personalities, so that's a relief.'

Still, she was in a pickle.

'My offensive measures are countered, and my defense can be broken down if I'm hit since a clash with her Representation will nullify my armor's effects, leaving me vulnerable for her to strike.'

As a bead of sweat dripped down her face, she resolved to keep going.

'Just a little more...'

Maria was currently fighting her doppelgänger, and Ciel was watching them with a big smile on her face.

'Even if I manage to defeat the doppelgänger, there's still Ciel to worry about. I have to be careful about this...'

If her Representation wouldn't work, and conventional Magic was insufficient to take down her target, then Ana figured she had to think outside the box.

'Since I'm out of options, I might as well try that out on her as well...'

It would take some time, but Ana was confident she could continue evading attacks for a while longer.

'A-ah! Here she comes again! She's using Purple this time!' Ana's thoughts echoed as she stared at Maria's doppelgänger grabbing the purple blade from her floating arsenal.

She had memorized all the colors and their effects, and Purple was related to poison.

'She wants to slow me down or wear me out slowly, huh? Seems she wants to play the long game too.'

At this point, it was still uncertain who would emerge the victor.

However, one thing was for sure.

'I'm not going to lose to you!'

************

~SWOOOOOOOOSSSHHHH!!~

Maria rushed at Ana's doppelgänger, two blades in hand as she sliced through the air.

Within the fraction of a moment, she had closed the gap that the doppelgänger had created just earlier.

~VWUUUUUUUUMMMM!!!~

The black blade on her right hand descended, its dark streak trailing down in a perfect arch.

Ana's doppelgänger, now cornered with no other path of escape, offered the only resistance she could give.

Generating her own blade, she slashed forward, hoping to counter Maria's black blade.

Unfortunately for the doppelgänger, her tricks weren't going to work this time.

'[Wish]'

Maria's utilization of Virgo's Wish—which was to completely eradicate the sword of her adversary—allowed her to at least nullify whatever effects it had.

As a result...

~CLANG!~

... The moment their blades collided, the sword of her adversary shattered into obscurity.

With her Black representing disintegration, everything that it touched would suffer the same fate.

With the sword out of the way, Maria pressed on, further strengthening her muscles as she brought the blade down with unyielding fervor.

~SWOOOOOSHHH!!~

The glorious strike sliced through the dense armor that the adversary wore, ripping apart most of her arm—almost past the shoulder.

"G-gurk!" The doppelgänger groaned, now shifting back in recoil.

"You won't escape!" Maria yelled, now brandishing the second blade in her grasp.

It was White.

'I'll perfectly freeze her, and then hack her down with Black.'

It was the perfect way to ensure the adversary wouldn't squirm.

As the white blade shone in majesty, ready to send forth a burst of icy fog that would freeze anything in its path, Ana's doppelgänger did the impossible.

~SQUELCH!~

She sliced through her own body with a blade she summoned, and thrust herself away in order not to be caught in the ice blast.

"W-what?!"

While Maria was still recoiling from this, the doppelgänger remade her entire body—even the parts that Maria had disintegrated—thanks to her Representation of Creation.

'I was careless!' Her eyes widened in surprise as she observed the good-as-new opponent she now had to face.

'It's like what Cancer did for Master Serah and Kuzon.'

If she wasn't decisive enough, it would continue wasting her time like this.

'I was conserving my energy for after the fight, since I still have to deal with Ciel, but I can't keep going around in circles.'

The sooner she dealt with this doppelgänger, the better.

'Which is why...'

She released the two blades that were in her grip, allowing them to return to their spinning position around her.

With nine swords of different colors. She had a vast arsenal to choose from—or even all of them.

"[True Light: Final Array]."

The spinning blades around her suddenly vanished, now appearing around Ana's doppelgänger.

"...?!"

Even though the doppelgänger's face was well covered behind her helmet, Maria could tell that she was flustered.

"There's no escape!"

The spinning blades, now permanently encircled around Ana's doppelgänger, all shimmered in their respective colors.

"Burst." Maria declared.

And so, the combined effects of ice, fire, poison, disintegration, and all the other colors, merged into one glorious explosion.

... An eruption of true fireworks.

~KAAABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!~

The sparks that radiated all over the area were devastating, and the colors they displayed lit up the darkness of space.

Within seconds, the one known as Ana's doppelganger had ceased to exist.

"Haaa... all done!" Maria sighed, though her gaze made it clear she wasn't done yet.

'Next is Ciel! Or should I first go and back up Ana?'

Right as she was having these thoughts, she noticed something in the distance.

Three silhouettes slowly approached her, floating in a straight line as they neared her.

'I-is that...?!'

Right there were Ana, Ciel, and Maria's doppelganger!

'Were they able to defeat Ana? No... that can't be!' Maria's thoughts echoed.

It was probably another doppelganger.

But that didn't make matters any better, did it? That meant the challenge was about to get more intense.

As Maria still deliberated on this, the three finally closed the gap, with only a small distance of a couple dozen meters.

"Stand back! I'll—!"

"Don't be so tense, Maria! It's me! I was able to beat Ciel and your doppelgänger!" Ana's response oozed with excitement as she yelled out everything.

"E-eh?"

Maria was confused, and rightfully so.

How was Ana able to defeat her doppelganger and Ciel in such a brief period? It made more sense to think this was a trick.

However, it wasn't!

The Ana who was speaking was genuinely the real deal, and thanks to her plan... she had won flawlessly.

"Hehehe! Want to hear all about it?"

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading, everyone!

I still wonder who would win in an all-out fight.

Ana or Maria