A red pulse of light exploded from beneath Nami, washing over the broken stairwell and swallowing the Infantry that had been crashing toward Deon.

The first one’s arm broke apart mid-swing, gray eating up from its claws to its shoulders. The second collapsed from the head down, core dimming like a candle snuffed between two fingers. The third fell apart over the railing, scattering into gray dust before it could hit the stairs below.

And from deeper in Mihan Station, the remaining red lights vanished one by one, like someone had closed the mouth of a monster.

Deon breathed unevenly, staring at what just happened before sheathing his katana.

Hana stared at the empty stairwell, green light still wrapped around Nami’s stomach. "They’re...gone."

Mina looked down at her twin, then at the red glow beneath them. Her face crumpled immediately.

"Nami..."

Nami’s lips twitched weakly. "Told you..."

"That was stupid!" Mina cried, gripping her sleeve. "That was so stupid!"

Deon managed to make it to the three, inspecting Nami. With the fabric putting tension on the wound, Hana’s healing light had secured the worst of the bleeding.

[Basic Heal]...how is it not a higher rarity?

Still, he wasn’t going to complain about his luck. Nami was safe thanks to it, but probably unable to fight.

[Remaining Active Zones: 2]

[Flag Durability: 84%]

Tch...even with two Zones claimed, the Flag had already taken damage. The center was pressured while Hana was gone.

Deon turned, already starting to move towards the direction of the last two zones, only to be hit with another notification.

Ding!

[Zone M-3 Claim Progress: 100%]

[Zone M-3 Claimed.]

What? Already? Which side is M-3—?

Yet as he turned to look, the question had answered itself. But what shocked him most was the scene waiting there.

Standing there on the patch of grass...were two Vivians. One was standing idly within the circle that she’d just claimed, while the other had just jumped over the last Infantry and buried her knife into its core.

Crrrrack!

The monster dropped to its knees before disappearing in a cloud of ashes.

How the hell—?

But as Deon squinted, the answer was apparent. There, in her hand, was a shiny blue card. He could barely read it from this distance, but it wasn’t too hard.

[Clone]

"...No way."

His mind clicked through the implications almost immediately. It was the strongest Card he’d seen thus far. Levi’s [Fireball] was already insanely strong, capable of wiping out countless Hounds in one blast.

Yet that Card was an Uncommon. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Then...is that the power of a Rare Card? Is that how she got into Fifth Place despite not knowing about Levels?

And a non-consumable one too...

Deon couldn’t even begin to imagine how strong she was now that she was the same Level as him.

His hand unconsciously drifted to his back pocket, hovering over the two consumable Rare Cards of his own before looking back.

The Vivian that just slayed the Infantry disappeared in a holographic flick, while the original Vivian started walking over to the group nonchalantly.

"Oops, seems like the cat’s out of the bag!" she smiled as she saw him staring. "What do you think? Care to rely on your Big Sister now?"

But before he could answer, a comment from his chat caught his eye.

[AuraMonster: Ah...a True Holder.]

Deon’s eyes narrowed as soon as he read it out loud. "A True Holder? What is that?"

[AuraMonster: A True Holder.]

[AuraMonster: A contestant who has 100% compatibility with a certain Card.]

[AuraMonster: Basically, it recognizes the contestant as its rightful owner.]

[AuraMonster: And reveals its true name.]

Deon’s gaze snapped back toward Vivian and the Card still between her fingers. As he stared at it closer, the white letters on its surface began to peel away like cheap paint, revealing golden letters underneath.

Vivian stopped a few steps away from him, tilting her head as if she could tell exactly what he had just learned.

"What?" she asked lightly. "Did your little friends say something interesting?"

He could read it clearly now that she was right in front of him.

"[Doppelgänger]..."

"Hmm? You said something?"

Deon looked away just in time to not arouse any suspicion from her. Although, knowing Vivian, she probably noticed anyway.

"No...it’s nothing."

He turned and made some distance between them and pretended to check the system panel. In reality, his eyes went straight to the chat.

"What exactly is a True Holder?" he muttered.

[AuraMonster: Rare enough that many Miracle Royales end without one appearing.]

Deon’s eyes narrowed.

Many Miracle Royales? I knew that was a possibility, but having one of them confirm it...

He wanted to ask about that too, but the moment he opened one door, three more appeared behind it. One at a time.

"What happens if someone steals it?" Deon asked.

[AuraMonster: It returns.]

"What?"

[AuraMonster: Cut off her hand. Steal her pockets. Knock her unconscious and run.]

[AuraMonster: It will end up back in her possession.]

[AuraMonster: A True Holder’s Card cannot truly be taken.]

Cards in the Miracle Royale singlehandedly decided a person’s worth. But if Vivian’s Card couldn’t be taken...

Deon turned back to the chat panel, finally deciding to ask the question he’d been holding in.

"How...strong, is it?"

[LovesAGoodBargain: A normal [Clone] Card is not combat-oriented.]

Not combat-oriented?

He remembered the second Vivian vaulting over the Infantry and driving a knife into its core like she had done it a hundred times before.

[LovesAGoodBargain: Normally, [Clone] is used for scouting, decoys, misdirection, simple tasks, and limited distraction.]

[LovesAGoodBargain: The important point is this: ordinary [Clone] copies do not fight well.]

[LovesAGoodBargain: They are weaker, slower, and usually dependent on simple commands.]

[LovesAGoodBargain: They cannot perfectly reproduce the user’s skill.]

Deon’s jaw tightened.

"So that thing..."

[AuraMonster: [Doppelgänger] can mimic anything Vivian Queen can do.]

"Anything she can do, huh?" he muttered.

That really meant anything: fight, lie, sneak, negotiate...even kill.

His gaze returned to Vivian again. She caught him looking and gave a small wave with the same hand holding the Card.

Deon suddenly stared at his own Card, specifically at the glowing gray [Blade] Card in his hand. "Does that mean...I have a Card waiting for me, too?"

[ClownWithWifi: LOL! good luck buddy, keep coping!]

"Hey! Bargain-nim’s explanation means any Card can have a true name, no? That means my [Blade] Card could have a true name as well."

[AuraMonster: Correct, even a dull blade may become legend in the correct hand.]

[ChairGoblin_22: wait that’s actually too tuff.]

His fingers slid over the edge of [Blade].

The katana had saved him more times than he wanted to admit. It was simple, reliable, and didn’t ask weird questions like the Viewer chat.

Maybe that was why he liked it. For someone like him, maybe that was enough. But even so, the itch remained—the thought that it could become something more.

But before Deon could think any further, a roar tore through the south side of Mihan Park.

[Zone M-4 Claim Progress: 71%]

[Zone M-4 under heavy assault.]

Right as Deon started moving south, Jin came sprinting toward him through the stone path.

And his panicked voice...told him everything he needed to know.

"DEON! SOUTH SIDE—"

"SOMETHING MASSIVE JUST SHOWED UP!"