Chapter 459: Mutually Benefiting Each Other

Michael’s mimic was forced to call back Devil and Angel’s imitation.... As such, it was only natural that Michael would do the same.

While his body slammed against the replica of the fox, his eyes shone brighter, his two soul weapons obeying his call.

In the span of a second, two more silhouettes materialized next to him, one radiating a graceful presence, another emitting a repulsive aura.

Unhappy that his battle with his own mimic had been cut short, Devil threw a glance at his master.

His grimace deepened when he noticed the two conjured light swords Michael was using to climb aboard the colossal creature.

"What the hell is this?!" Devil spat in outrage. "You dare wield not one but two swords behind my back?! How could you?! Without a doubt, this has to be the biggest betrayal of my life!"

Overhearing his shout, Angel couldn’t help but smirk.

"It turned out that you weren’t as irreplaceable as you thought."

"Shut your mouth, wench!"

Unfortunately, the bickering of the two weapons was interrupted when the mimicked fox turned sharply to the side, sweeping with her tails as though to crash into Michael’s body.

Naturally, Angel responded in a heartbeat. She placed one hand over her master’s shoulder and extended another, creating a lustrous shield before them.

Upon coming into contact, the protective veil managed to hold. However, the momentum was too much, sending them off the replica’s body.

Falling to the ground, Michael stood up, staring right at the imitation of the fox that walked through the air, unbothered by the twisted gravity.

Letting go had not been favorable. Nevertheless, as long as his teamwork with Devil and Angel remained harmonious, victory was possible.

Though the creature was clearly unhappy about being pierced by Michael’s swords, she conjured fire at the depth of her maw, ready to fire.

Amused, Devil pointed upward.

"You think we can keep her as a pet?"

Michael scoffed.

"The mimicked version? No chance. The real deal?... Who knows?"

BOOM!

Separating, the three dodged the fox’s inferno.

Using her wings, Angel soared high, letting loose light swords in the form of rain.

Devil, meanwhile, charged forward. Reappearing under the belly of the mimicked fox, he leaped and took hold of her hind leg, preventing her from getting away.

Simultaneously, Michael dashed straight at her snout, eagerly searching for the inner core that needed to be destroyed.

Wincing, the creature responded. Rather than running away, it met Michael’s charge, recognizing him as the leader, and opened its jaws, ready to devour him in a single bite.

Given the natural wickedness the real fox held, Michael wasn’t surprised by her fast response.

Yet the moment he peeked inside her open mouth, he noticed a sphere in her throat that radiated astonishing power. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"The core." He murmured.

Just before the jaws snapped shut, the cooldown of Riftstep ended, allowing him to teleport out of harm’s way.

"Keep her still!" Angel ordered Devil, having grown genuinely worried for Michael’s safety.

"It’s not as easy as it looks!" Devil barked back.

He had pushed his shapeshifting ability to the limit, climbing to a looming ten meters in height, yet even then, he was surpassed by both the mimic’s frame and primal might.

Although Michael and his soul weapons were capable of annoying the fox’s replica, they were too weak to actually deliver a lethal blow.

The way things were going, it was clear the fox mimic was going to emerge victorious.

Sure, there was always the possibility of activating a Demonic Form, yet if Michael were to use his strongest trump card, there was no guarantee anyone could pull him back from that state.

"Devil, Angel, to me!" Michael’s voice echoed, a plan forming in his mind.

Since individually they weren’t able to stall the creature or kill it, their best chance was combining their strength.

The soul weapons didn’t ask questions. Angel coiled around his body, morphing into armor, while Devil assumed his sword form.

As for the two light weapons Michael had used so far, he threw them toward his foe, since their sharpness wasn’t satisfactory.

HOWL!

Enraged that the human had survived for so long, the mimic lunged forward.

Unraveling its mastery over light and fire, it spared no effort in turning Michael into charcoal.

However, Michael remained undeterred. Angel’s pristine armor proved more than capable of lessening the damage to manageable levels.

And every injury he sustained only made him stronger with Archwarlock activated.

Threading dangerously close, he threw Devil straight into the creature’s open mouth, perfectly targeting the core.

Unable to act fast enough, the mimic could only shudder when the tip of the blade collided with its core.

A fracture ran down the fragile sphere.

Yet it did not shatter.

Michael’s eyes narrowed, genuinely surprised that the mimic’s essence had turned out so tough.

After all, Devil’s sharpness was not to blame, since he was of the Supreme Rank. Meaning the fault ultimately lay with Michael for not throwing the soul weapon forcefully enough.

Not all hope was lost, however. The fracture didn’t seem capable of regenerating, severely weakening the replica.

Regardless, that wasn’t enough to stop her from using her paw to slash.

The blow didn’t pierce his pristine veil, yet it sent him flying far away.

"Not good." Michael cursed, rising to his feet.

Having failed to break the core in one go, his foe was certainly going to grow more cautious. From now on, it would choose to slowly weaken him rather than killing him in a single strike out of caution.

While he was busy debating the best course of action, a figure blurred past him.

The real fox, realizing that Michael had managed to weaken her mimic, didn’t hesitate to charge, capitalizing on its weakened state.

Truthfully, the fox could have killed Michael’s mimic by now. Yet doing so would have sent him to the core ring of the Light Kingdom, leaving the fox to deal with her own replica, effectively screwing her over.

"So... I got taken advantage of." Michael chuckled, not condemning the fox’s actions since he would have done the very same in her place.

Turning, he got ready to face his mimic once more, only to notice that its head was severely damaged, leaving a cracked core exposed.

As it turned out, the fox had helped him in the end. By damaging the core of his mimic, she had reduced its fighting and regenerative capabilities, giving Michael a real shot at victory.

"Well, well, well... What do we have here?"

Michael cracked his neck, resting Devil on his shoulder and taking slow, steady steps forward.

This time, his mimic wasn’t oozing with confidence like before.

"Let’s dance."