Chapter 30
The Dead Do Not Speak (4)
“They’re aiming for the main body, right?”
The main body wandered between its clones, scattering soul stones to summon more of them.
It was obvious that unlike the clones, the main body would focus on survival rather than offense.
That meant someone had to ignore the clones and chase down only the main body.
‘That job can only fall to me.’
Chester’s ability was perfectly suited for handling the swarming clones.
By process of elimination, it was natural that Sehyun would take the remaining role.
“You just shut up and wipe out the clones.”
“Simple. I like it.”
Kwa-ru-rung──!
With a thunderclap, Chester soared into the air.
Paaang──!
At the same time, Sehyun darted ceaselessly among the clones, eyes darting everywhere in search of the main body.
“Catch him!!”
The clones frantically reached out for Sehyun.
But every time they got close, he propelled himself forward with explosions, keeping just out of reach.
And then──
Kwaa-jijik──!!!!
A bolt of lightning came crashing down on one of the clones chasing him.
“Graaahk!!!”
The clone was pierced clean through by the lightning spear and disintegrated.
“Hey, runts! Over here!”
Hovering in the air, Chester drew the clones’ attention, extending his hand to recall the spear stuck in the ground.
The lightning twisted into a spiral, concentrating to its maximum.
“Now die quietly!!”
With a golden flash, the spear plummeted vertically.
Kwa-rung──!!
The thunderous crash split into dozens of arcs of lightning, sweeping through the clones.
The firepower was so overwhelming that not even soul stones remained—everything was burned to ash.
And yet, many clones were still left.
“Tch. So that’s not enough, huh?”
Chester retrieved the spear, then raised his hand high.
Lightning gathered in his palm, layering upon itself in all directions until it formed a sphere.
[Morning Star]
It resembled both the starlight of dawn and a spiked mace.
Chester grasped the golden sun-like orb and swung his arm down.
Kwa-jijijijijijijijik──!!!!!
The sphere of lightning struck the ground, sparking violently as its radius expanded outward.
The clones within its range barely had time to scream.
“W-what is this!?”
“Let go! Uwaaaahhh!”
The sphere collapsed back into a single point, dragging all the clones into its pull.
Their screams echoed as spiraling lightning surged upward, whipping the air into a storm.
The sudden turbulence hurled the remaining clones off the ship.
“Hoo…”
Chester exhaled long and slow, as if relieved.
But then he clicked his tongue bitterly as he looked around.
“Damn, they just don’t stop.”
Between the shipping containers, more clones crept out—far more than before he had unleashed his lightning storm.
At this rate, there was no telling when it would end.
“Nam Sehyun! How much longer…!”
“Almost there!”
Dodging the attacks of the new clones, Sehyun leapt atop a pile of containers, scanning the area.
With their numbers greatly multiplied, it became harder to pinpoint the main body. But ironically, that was his chance.
‘Summoning this many at once makes it impossible to stay hidden.’
Summoning clones required stellar force.
The more clones, the greater the stellar force consumed.
“…!”
Sehyun’s eyes caught on one spot.
Between two containers, he sensed an abnormal concentration of stellar force.
Without hesitation, he launched himself toward it.
Paaang──!!!
He tore across the air in an explosion.
The overuse of his ability created a heatwave that even slammed back into him.
“Kh…!”
He gritted his teeth and endured.
If he missed this chance, there wouldn’t be another.
Each ability engraved into Dead Ringer had only twelve uses.
Even if divided sparingly, it wasn’t much.
Especially since explosions were his only ability that allowed both mobility and offense simultaneously.
The risk was high, but he had to use it decisively.
Fwoosh──!
Suddenly, more clones appeared in front of him.
They had realized he was after the main body and rushed to block him.
“You’re in the way!”
Another explosion.
Blasting past them, he soared higher into the air.
From above, he spotted the main body desperately trying to flee.
‘Going somewhere?’
Paaang──!
Using the rebound of another midair explosion, he dived straight down.
“W-what the…!”
The main body’s eyes went wide in shock.
Kudangtang──!!
Sehyun grabbed him by the collar, tumbling together across the ground.
Without pause, he mounted the figure and drew his weapon from his belt.
Kwakk──!!!
“Ghhk!!”
The rough stone blade of the tomahawk sank deep into the main body’s shoulder.
The Collector groaned but smirked at the same time.
“You think killing me will solve anything? I can always just—”
“You won’t have the chance to summon clones again.”
“…What?!”
Crunch──
From the shoulder where the tomahawk was buried, petrification began to spread.
“W-what is this…!!!!”
He struggled in panic, but Sehyun poured in more stellar force.
This petrification didn’t merely immobilize.
As long as the blade remained embedded, it also blocked the flow of stellar force.
No more summoning clones. No transferring his ability to another vessel.
“Uuuurrghhh…”
The Collector’s final scream froze as his entire body turned to stone.
“Is it over?”
Chester landed and asked.
Looking around, Sehyun saw only soul stones littered across the scorched deck.
With the main body gone, the clones had all reverted to stones.
“More or less. But…”
Sehyun’s gaze lifted to the sky.
That other moon still hung high above.
Even with the main body subdued, the glowing orb endured.
“…Damn, I forgot about that.”
“And also… this guy.”
Originally, someone of this rank couldn’t just be killed. Petrification should have sufficed.
Crack──!
But with a light kick, Sehyun shattered the Collector’s stone body into fragments.
The pieces scattered into the wind.
“Hey! You can’t just kill him like that—!”
“This one wasn’t the real body.”
“What…?”
Chester looked bewildered, but Sehyun clicked his tongue.
He knew someone of the Collector’s stature wouldn’t wander around so carelessly.
But to think he’d actually imbued a clone with part of his own power…
‘Come to think of it, there were plenty of oddities.’
The Collector never relied on brute force like this.
He preferred to treat everything like a puzzle—predicting his opponent’s moves, engineering situations to corner them, and in the end, obtaining exactly what he wanted.
He reveled in the despair of those who realized they had been dancing in the palm of his hand all along.
That was possible because he could wield a variety of abilities to his liking.
He called it his “elegant method.”
Disgusting to be on the receiving end, of course.
‘Guess this really was his only option.’
The fact that his tactics were different this time meant he hadn’t been able to use his usual methods.
Meaning he hadn’t had many choices left.
‘Even so, he still tried to counter both Phantom and Chester. Typical of him, but he hit his limits.’
All of his schemes had been unraveled by Sehyun.
In the end, summoning waves of clones with low-grade soul stones was the only way to erase the evidence.
Likely, he had even dipped into his reserves meant for drug production.
But now things were complicated.
If this “main body” had only been another empowered clone, then more were out there.
“Guess it won’t be over until we catch the real one.”
Chester realized it too, sighing wearily.
Especially since he had burned through immense amounts of stellar force using [Astrapē], another fight would be tough.
“I’ll go track him down myself if you’re tired—”
“No. Beating a weakened enemy is nothing to brag about.”
Pride wouldn’t let Chester back down.
The two moved forward once again.
“…To think it would shatter.”
The real Collector, clutching the succession stone, watched from hiding.
“I used a fine soul stone for that one. What a waste.”
The “main body” Sehyun had defeated was no ordinary clone.
To share his [Doppelgänger] ability, it had been crafted far better than the rest.
Inferior to himself, of course—but not something that should’ve gone down so easily.
Luckily, one of his other bodies still held the succession stone as insurance. Otherwise, things could have been much worse.
“Anyway, that’s the end of it.”
He had played every card. Now all that remained was escape with the stone.
…Or so he thought.
“That one is no ordinary opponent.”
Sehyun’s image rose unbidden in his mind.
He used ice powers, then explosions, then petrification?
Just how many abilities did he possess?
“…Could it be an ability akin to my own?”
The thought was strange.
But instead of fear, laughter bubbled up.
This was a situation he should avoid at all costs—and yet.
‘I’m curious about him. That power.’
And if possible, he wanted it for himself.
Whether it was possible or not didn’t matter.
Reason had never guided him anyway.
Only one thing did.
Desire.
If there was something he wanted, he would claim it no matter the cost.
That was who he was—the Collector.
“I didn’t expect to have to use this myself.”
He no longer had soul stones to summon clones, but there was still a way.
He looked down at the gem in his hand.
The succession stone of the House of Wales.
The [Doppelgänger] ability rapidly consumed stellar force from its medium.
Ordinary stones lasted only a few hours at most.
But with a succession stone, it was different.
It was a peerless medium, incomparable to common soul stones.
The resulting clone would be on an entirely different level—physically, mentally, in every way.
“A little loss is nothing compared to the gain.”
He would even seize Sehyun’s soul stone.
And once the obstacles were gone, he could reclaim the lost successor.
Two birds with one stone.
The situation could still be overturned in an instant.
His eyes burned with desire as he gripped the stone without hesitation.
Kwaaaa──!!!!!!
“Ghhk…!!”
The immense stellar force within the succession stone surged, shaking his arm violently.
It resisted being drawn out by force.
Succession stones could only be used by rightful heirs.
But to him, this resistance was nothing.
He had done this many times before.
He couldn’t care less about the lingering will of some long-dead heir.
“You’re all corpses already—how dare you resist!!”
He focused harder, pulling at the stellar force.
Incomplete though it was, the stone began to yield.
Kwaaaaaa──!!!!
A pillar of light shot into the sky.
His entire body was reforged as stellar force restructured his core, replacing the old soul stone with the succession stone.
Even this body had been just another clone.
“This is nothing like borrowing stellar force.”
Now, he had become the stone itself.
He had even sacrificed his own backup to forge it into a weapon.
If he lost, he would lose everything—yet the power was worth it.
“Amazing…”
The sheer force was intoxicating.
He had stolen only a fraction of the stone’s power, yet it felt overwhelming.
When he stretched out his hand, a halo of pale light gathered in his grasp.
With this strength, he felt he could seize and control every photon in existence.
“This is more than enough to bring you both down.”
When Sehyun and Chester rushed toward the glowing pillar, the Collector smirked.
“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Chester swore instinctively at the sight, while Sehyun narrowed his eyes sharply at their opponent.
