Aziz gazed at the child solemnly. Is this an enemy who has taken the shape of my regrets? Do I harbour some inner shame about how a child defeated me during one of my training sessions? Why am I facing someone who looks suspiciously like that kid?

The data he’d received had matched up the current scene to some extent. Most of them were challenged by a kid-sized shadow, although the shadow’s gender — if that was an appropriate word to use for this enemy — wasn’t constant. Some people reported facing a shadow that was modelled after a little girl, while others a little boy.

But since the only indicator was hairstyle, there wasn’t really much point to it. The most popular conclusion was that the shadow’s form was meant to emulate one’s regrets, but if that was the case…

Unsheathing his sword, Aziz dispelled his thoughts. Lowering his centre of gravity, he shifted to a two-handed grip.

He narrowed his eyes a moment later.

A sword had also appeared in the shadow’s hands. It was half the height of the shadow itself, and it too used a two-handed grip. For some reason, the colonel had the feeling that the shadow was copying whatever weapons he was using, and a tiny flame of disbelief lit up in the pits of his stomach.

“Are you mocking me?” Aziz asked out loud. He wasn’t expecting an answer, but simply vocalising that question was more than enough for him. Strength welled through his right leg, and like a spring, the colonel pushed off the ground hard.

Aziz was intending to make use of his superior physique to overwhelm the shadow with a rapid offence, and a moment later, sparks flew as the two blades smashed into each other. A tremor ran down his hands, passing through his arms, but before the shockwave could shake his organs, qi pulsed outwards, scattering the remnant force.

He narrowed his eyes at the familiar attack. Long ago, when that kid sparred with him, his fists had been laced with a nebulous force. Simply blocking his attacks wasn’t of any use; each and every punch carried a sinister tremor that shook the body. The injuries it caused were small, but they added up rapidly. Over time, his overall combat ability would fall, and he would lose.

“Are you really him?” Aziz asked. “Or are you somehow able to read through my memories?”

The shadow replied with a set of slashes so fast that Aziz instinctively retreated by a step, and a moment later, he understood why he acted that way. Blocking or even clashing with such an attack would shatter his sword, and maybe even send a few fragments flying his way.

It would seem that the monstrous aspects of Gaius had somewhat reproduced itself in the shadow.

He responded with an upwards cut a moment later, slashing from his lower right in an attempt to force the shadow back, but a solid thunk had shattered his blade. Aziz glanced at his broken sword, and then at the unarmed shadow in disbelief.

His opponent had tossed aside the sword in favour of a good, solid punch. And instead of cutting through the fist, the unfortunate sword in his hand had been destroyed.

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Stars exploded in his vision as the shadow punched into his stomach, but Aziz resisted the pain. His left leg whipped out a heartbeat later, slamming into the shadow’s side and sending it flying.

The colonel winced slightly. That kick of his had come from an angle that was debilitating to a certain set of joints, but he had little choice in that matter. Without waiting for the shadow to land, Aziz ignored the pain and drew out the Straight Shot on his back. The artefact jerked rapidly, sending a small hail of projectiles that barrelled towards the shadow.

Smoke rose as most of the shots smashed into the target, creating a minor crater at the far side of the room. In a practiced motion, Aziz tossed out a whole bunch of Quagmires, artefacts designed to slow down anyone who was in three metres of them.

The smoke scattered abruptly, revealing a figure that was wielding the exact same Straight Shot. As both fighters began to fire, Aziz felt for the Palisades he had on him and activated one of them. His accurate marksmanship was taking a toll on the motionless shadow, and after a few rounds, huge holes had appeared on his opponent’s misty form.

It seemed that his opponent was immobilised for some reason, but when he thought about it, it was understandable. Replicating that monstrous kid, who apparently had a body tougher than most others, was probably taking a toll on the trial itself.

This was the result.

The Straight Shot in his hand continued to spit out projectiles at a mind-numbing rate. That said, the shadow was beginning to meet each of his shots with its own, and before long, every shot Aziz fired was met by the shadow’s own.

Mini explosions filled the air as shots collided with each other. Aziz gritted his teeth and continued to fire out, but he was well aware that it was the other side that was preventing his fire from dealing anymore damage. He wasn’t sure if the shadow could heal or not, but if it could…

Discarding his thoughts, he pulled down on the trigger once more, only for a clack to resound around the room. The symphony of fire coming from the other side ended immediately, and wind howled as someone rushed towards his current position at an insane speed. The colonel, however, had already discarded his Straight Shot. The knives he’d prepared earlier were now in his hand, and the Palisades were entirely activated.

Screens of energy shattered one after another, while a brilliant net of white light shot out. A black knife slammed through every single defence he’d called up, and even the Shell his Dynamo had called up had fallen apart, but the deadly knife had stopped an inch or two away from his head.

The shadow twitched, tied down by brilliant strands of light.

Tens of qi strands had shot out to bind the shadow, from the Quagmires he’d tossed out earlier. It wouldn’t last long, but for someone like Aziz, a second’s opening was enough to perforate any nearby enemy with a whole bunch of knives.

Aziz’s hands burst into motion a moment later, turning the shadow into a bed of knives. The strands of qi shattered as he forced the last knife through the shadow’s throat, and the foggy figure dropped onto the ground.

A cold sweat ran down his spine as the colonel came to understand just how close he was to death. He’d done everything perfectly; he’d baited the opponent over before it could recognise the numerous traps he tossed out earlier on by emulating a lack of energy for his Straight Shot. At the same time, he had prepared for it as much as possible by activating every single Palisade he had on hand.

And yet, he had nearly died. Every single defensive measure he’d called up had been destroyed. His Palisades were unusable now, and even the Quagmires had overloaded from the sheer strain of restraining the shadow.

He stared down at his trembling hands, and then at the dissipating shadow. His heart was doing the equivalent of a parade march now, but above all, the colonel couldn’t help but marvel at the fact he’d defeated a shadow of that monster.

The sounds of machinery grinding entered his ears as Aziz picked up the now-useless Quagmires, the knives and the Straight Shot he’d discarded earlier. A pedestal sitting on a raised platform appeared, and the colonel walked over to it.

It was time to see his reward.