A few hours had passed since I fought Shiro and the others, and I had barely moved at all, my mind occupied by how it went. In a way, my imposter had been right...I have grown soft, especially compared to how I'd been when I first came to this world. Two and a half years ago, something like this probably wouldn't have bothered me at all, I would have been able to shrug it off without a problem.

But now, I had too much to lose...and if I die, everyone I care about will be at the mercy of my imposter. I can't say for sure what his plan is if he wins this battle and kills me, but I highly doubt he'd live the same way as I did. He clearly had no emotional attachment to those I held dear to me, despite having all my memories. If I think about it this way; what if I had been given my current level of power as soon as I reincarnated? Honestly, I'd have probably done whatever I wanted impulsively and without a second thought.

​​

Back then, I still preferred being alone, and if I'd had this level of power back then, I would have probably thought something along the lines of 'I'm strong enough to do as I please and no one can stop me', especially since I'd have been many, many times stronger than anyone else in this world at the time. In other words, if he manages to kill me, there's no one else around strong enough to stop Shiro from doing as he pleases.

I need to come up with a way to kill him, but as things stand, my options are limited. Going into the Rustlands was far too risky, my Vampire God Mode only lasts for a minute, and regular Vampire Mode wasn't going to be enough if the others joined in...first off, I don't want to fight them at all if I can help it, and second, they were strong enough to beat me with a numbers advantage in my Vampire Mode form...it wasn't just Persia and Az, Fuo and Ekai were also strong enough to hold their own against that form, and if I had to face all of them along with Shiro, I'd almost definitely lose.

I nearly managed to kill him earlier today, but failed by the narrowest of margins...that might have been my best shot, he'll be a lot more cautious now that that happened. What should I do? Maybe I could use my remaining King's Decrees to get the help of the Vampires? No, too risky, since they'd be aware that I was controlling them, that's the whole reason Lazarus had to use a Decree to make them forget that he issued the previous Decrees.

I could keep hunting down the monster kings, I guess. I don't know, I was finding it difficult to put any energy into planning at the moment. I have to admit, it's not easy to get myself motivated right now, I'm feeling pretty damn hopeless as things are.

Hey, Lazarus, got any ideas on how I should proceed? I'm open to suggestions.

"Well, there are still ten monster kings left, you could go after one of them."

Wait, only ten? I'm pretty sure there are way more monster types though.

"True, but most of the kings rule over multiple types of monsters. I am, or was, one of two exceptions, the other being the Demon King. If I remember right, the Undead King commands the most number of monster types, nine in total. I believe the Reptile King commands eight types. After myself and the Demon King, only one of the other kings commands two or less types, that's the Were King, who commands two types."

Wait, hold on...some of them are in command of upto eight or nine types?

"Yes, they are. And while I can say that all of them are weaker than I was, some are strong enough that you cannot defeat them without using Vampire God Mode. Well, I say that they are all weaker than I am, but some of them were close enough to my power that they could have defeated me. The Dragon King is the strongest now that I no longer have a physical existence, he commands all Dragons and Wyverns. The Demon King could also conceivably defeat me, but only depending on their host. You see, Demons do not have physical forms of their own, they are ethereal beings. In other words, their natural forms are corporeal."

Wait, what? So, then, are they like ghosts and can possess people.

"Exactly. Demons can possess humans and the other races that went into hiding, as well as animals. Once possessed, the vessel will have a drastic increase in power, but their consciousness will no longer exist. That is, unless they have the will to resist, of course. There is only one way to kill a Demon, and that is if they fail to possess their target's body and end up trapped inside them...exactly the same situation I am in right now. Once that happens, the Demon will die with the host. If a Demon does manage to successfully eradicate the host's consciousness and possess their body, then if you kill the body, the Demon's corporeal form will simply escape and look for a new host."

Hey, that sounds bad...can they attempt to possess whoever they feel like possessing, is that how it works?

"Yes, that is correct. But there are not many Demons remaining in existence, I do not remember the exact number, but it was a lot less than the number of Vampires. However, the fact is that Demons may well be the most difficult type of monster to kill. Anyway, it does not matter for now, the Demons are trapped in their Forbidden Zone."

Yeah, that's true, no point worrying about them now. Which monster kings are closest to this location?

"None that are too close by, but there are a few that will not take more than a couple of weeks for a round trip. Good, it seems like you are finally regaining your senses."

Huh, you're right, I feel more motivated now...heh, who'd have thought that monster king trivia was just the distraction I needed? So, then, which one's closest to-...hold that thought, looks like my Goblins have spotted a human in the cave. Let me see who it is...

Wait, is that Fuo? She's standing by the hole I drilled into the ground last night. What's she doing there? It looks like she's peering into the hole, I don't think she's noticed the two Goblins I'd kept posted near that spot yet. Why is she here? She then entered Vampire Mode and flew into the hole, using as small Light Crystal to illuminate her surroundings.

I switched my sight to one of the Goblins I'd stationed in the maze...looks like she's going down to the lowest level. I again switched my sight, to a Goblin in the lowest level, right as she flew in through the second hole and halted, looking surprised to see so many Goblins. Oh, I wonder if I can...

I then began shifting the positions of the Goblins, rearranging them in three distinct shapes...F...U...O. Let's see how she reacts to th-.

"Wh-what is this? How d-do they know my name!?"

Oops, looks like I just freaked her out. She looked really horrified...actually, now that I think about it, I can't really blame her, I'd probably feel pretty unsettled if dozens of monsters suddenly positioned themselves so that they formed my name.

"Kuro, you should bring her here and try to convince her that you are the original. We can prove it too, have Atticus ask you questions that only I would know, Shiro will not be able to answer the same questions because he does not have me inside him."

Hey, good point, I just might be able to make this work...someone on my side, an ally, even if it was just one person, makes a big difference. Wait, but...how do I get her here? We're kinda far from where she is right now.

"Well, when you summoned those Ogres before, you had them bring you food...if you have a Goblin latch onto her and then summon that Goblin..."

...she might be brought here with it! It's definitely worth a shot. I took control of a Goblin that was in the maze, near the spot where the hole was. I then made it leap down towards Fuo silently, as she let out a panicked scream as it latched onto her back.

"G-get off me!"

Before she could kill it, I swiftly summoned it...in an instant, it appeared before me, along with Fuo, who looked flustered and bewildered.

"You can go now," I waved away the Goblin, who scampered away somewhere, before looking at Fuo, "Sorry to scare you, but it was the only way that I could bring you here."

Atticus then took over and replied...

"Kuro! What is going on here, who is that Shiro!?"

Wait, did he just...

"You remember who I am? So you're memories weren't altered?" I remarked in surprise.

"Altered? I see, so that is what this is...but why is this happening? It is so bizarre."

"Well, about that...actually, I can't talk about it. And I don't mean as in I don't want to tell you, I mean it as in I LITERALLY CAN'T talk about it."

"I don't quite follow..."

"Okay, let's see if I can explain it without actually saying it directly...alright, do you know what Rai, Selesa and I have in common? Don't say what it is out loud, though."

"What you all have in common? Ohh...yes, I do."

"Right...well, all this is happening as a sort of punishment for talking about it...and since I was determined to be the main instigator after Valaque and Lagusa, who're both dead now, I'm the one bearing the brunt of the punishment. I can't say who's doing the punishing, that's the whole reason I'm in this mess, after all. Anyway, here's the bottom line...if Shiro, my imposter, kills me, his artificial soul will become a real one by absorbing my soul, and since my soul won't exist anymore, neither will I, I'll be more than just dead. I have till midnight on new year's to kill him...if neither of us manage to kill the other by then, we'll both die. Try not to ask me any questions about it if possible, even saying this much is risky as it is."

"Okay, I understand...well, I say that, but it is a lot to take in," Sighed Atticus, looking overwhelmed by the info I'd just dropped on him.

"In case you've got any doubts, I can prove that I'm the original...you can ask me questions that only Atticus would know the answer to and-."

"No need. Since my memories and Fuo's did not match up, and I did not recognize Shiro, we followed him using a Stealth barrier, saw him fighting you, and then confronted him about it in the Rustlands. He responded by trying to kill us...after that, I was certain that you are the real one and that we should trust my memories over Fuo's memories, so we came looking for you."

"Oh, so that's why you were in the Goblin cave."

"I have a lot of questions, but perhaps we should go outside first? It is rather musty in here," Remarked Atticus, scrunching up his nose a bit.

"Sure, that's fine but..."

"But...?"

"...I don't know which way is out."

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