Chapter 193
"Hisssss!"
The Juggernaut released a piercing shriek.
Its prey had been snatched away right before its eyes, and it was furious.
More importantly, the intense threat radiating from Kiriya made it immediately change targets.
It would kill this human first.
"What a coincidence."
The corner of Kiriya’s mouth rose.
"I was thinking the same thing."
...
Meanwhile, his shadow clone let out a long breath as he looked down at Ryu in his arms.
He had made it just in time.
While searching through the collapsed tunnels, Kiriya had kept Energy Perception active at full strength.
From a great distance, he had sensed Ryu’s familiar presence overlapping with another powerful source of energy.
Worse, her life force had been fading rapidly.
Kiriya had immediately opened the Sixth Gate and rushed toward her at full speed, arriving only a moment before the Juggernaut delivered the killing blow.
His original body had remained behind to fight the monster, while the shadow clone carried Ryu to safety.
The clone looked over the elf’s injuries.
A massive hole had been torn through her abdomen, and each leg had been pierced as well. Blood covered almost her entire body.
After losing so much, her breathing had become almost imperceptible.
Without treatment, she would be dead within seconds.
Fortunately, Kiriya had arrived.
"Yang Power: Everflowing Vitality."
A soft green light gathered in the clone’s palm as he gently pressed it over Ryu’s wounds.
The healing technique immediately took effect.
Beneath the green glow, torn flesh knitted itself together at a visible pace. A little color gradually returned to Ryu’s deathly pale face.
She remained terribly weak, but her life was no longer in danger.
"Mmm..."
Before long, Ryu’s brow furrowed and a pained groan escaped her lips.
Her eyes slowly opened.
"How do you feel?" the clone asked with concern. "Any better?"
"You’re... Kiriya-san?"
Ryu’s naturally cool voice was faint and unsteady.
"Why are you here?"
"I came into the Dungeon to train."
Kiriya gave her a simple explanation.
"Then I ran into some people trying to frame you. Once I learned they were planning to kill you, I decided to come down and investigate."
He sighed.
"Good thing I did. Any later, and you would’ve been in serious trouble."
"I see..."
Ryu studied him.
"But the routes were destroyed. How did you reach this floor?"
"Me? I came down the Great Falls."
The clone answered as though it were nothing.
"You might not know this, but I’m unusually good at climbing cliffs!"
"Is... that so?"
Something shifted in Ryu’s eyes.
Kiriya had made the journey sound simple, but she knew the Dungeon too well to believe that.
From learning something was wrong, to reaching the twenty-fifth floor, and then descending all the way to the thirty-seventh—it would have been an exhausting journey even for her.
And that did not account for the countless unpredictable dangers along the way.
The Great Falls between the twenty-fifth and thirty-seventh floors were deadly.
So were the Water City’s flooded tunnels stretching down from the twenty-seventh.
Even a Level 5 could easily lose their life in either region after one mistake.
Yet this boy had descended without hesitation to save her.
"Why...?"
Ryu’s voice was barely above a whisper, but her gaze remained intensely serious.
"Why would you risk so much to rescue me?"
"Hm?"
The clone paused.
Then he gently took Ryu’s cool hand between his own.
"To tell you the truth, Miss Ryu..."
His voice softened.
"I was captivated by your beauty from the moment we met."
He smiled warmly.
"I suppose this is what people call love at first sight."
Ryu’s face turned crimson instantly.
Even after nearly bleeding to death, heat rushed into her cheeks as she stared at the handsome face so close to hers and listened to those tender words.
Her heart began pounding wildly.
"Wh-What are you saying?"
Ryu stammered and instinctively tried to pull her hand away.
The clone only held it more firmly.
Under ordinary circumstances, embarrassment alone might have made her faint.
"Still..."
Before she could continue, the clone leaned closer.
"Don’t worry. I’ll make sure everyone is happy—ow!"
A stone came flying across the cavern and struck him directly in the head.
The impact nearly caused the shadow clone to disperse on the spot.
"Who the hell threw that?!"
He carefully placed Ryu on the ground, then turned angrily toward the direction the stone had come from.
It was the battlefield where Kiriya’s original body was fighting the Juggernaut.
Their clashes were continuously shattering the nearby walls and rocky formations. Debris flew in every direction, some of it moving as fast as bullets.
The clone had been relatively lucky.
At least the stone had not split his skull open.
"Useless original."
The clone spat to one side and glared contemptuously toward Kiriya.
"He’s had several whole seconds and still hasn’t killed that ugly thing."
Then he rapidly formed hand seals.
"Looks like I’ll have to help after all."
"Water Release: Severing Wave—Fission."
A narrow jet of water shot from his mouth and split into dozens of high-pressure blades, each one curving toward the Juggernaut from a different direction.
"Are you an idiot?" Kiriya shouted.
"Hmph! You’re the idiot!"
The clone immediately shouted back.
"That was reconnaissance. Reconnaissance! Have you never heard of it?"
"You’re only making excuses because you’re too weak to finish the fight after several seconds."
"Moron! I’m using it to raise my Status!"
Kiriya parried another swipe from the Juggernaut while refusing to lose the argument.
"Sure you are. Maybe train harder instead of making excuses."
"Shut up! You’re only a clone. Stop interfering!"
Ryu stared at the two identical Kiriyas shouting insults at one another.
Her already exhausted mind struggled to understand what she was seeing.
’Why are there two Kiriya-sans?’
"Kiriya-san, that person is...?"
"Oh, him?"
The clone gave her a gentle smile.
"Just an idiot original. Sorry you had to see that."
Ryu fell silent.
Wasn’t insulting the original the same as insulting himself?