Chapter 358: Learning and disappointment

Kyle stood his ground as the four clones rushed toward him, their attention still fixed on Blake. That alone settled one thing in his mind: they followed orders blindly. Genesis had merely filled their bodies with energy and implanted a command within them, and that command had become their sole purpose for existing.

Kyle drew Aquilla and leapt backward, narrowly evading the first punch. With a fluid motion, he released the bow. The weapon shot forward and pierced the head of the nearest clone, dropping it instantly.

Their artificial minds were their greatest weakness, and judging by Blake’s actions, it seemed he had realized the same thing. Unfortunately, he was already in a condition where he could barely keep himself upright.

Kyle surveyed the battlefield from a third-person perspective, taking in every movement around him. Two clones were closing in from opposite sides while another charged directly toward him, most likely serving as a distraction for the others.

He knew he couldn’t outrun them, but allowing himself to be caught in their enhanced grip would be a troublesome ordeal. He had no intention of letting the battle descend into a contest of strength.

He would keep his distance and end this from afar.

’Aquilla, rein in your excitement a little.’

At his words, the golden radiance surrounding the bow dimmed slightly.

{Sorry, Father... Aquilla was just happy to be able to help.}

Kyle understood her excitement. He had barely been able to use Aquilla recently due to his lack of Genesis, but things had changed. After absorbing a portion of essence, he finally had enough energy to draw the bow and launch a Genesis-fueled arrow.

The bowstring snapped.

SWISH!

The arrow streaked toward the central clone with lethal precision.

THUNNK!

Kyle’s brows elevated as a barrier suddenly materialized before the clone, intercepting the arrow and shattering its momentum.

So they had figured it out.

They knew he was targeting their vital points.

Thunk!

The clone on the left slammed its foot into the ground and came to an abrupt halt. A moment later, jagged crystal formations erupted from beneath the earth, racing toward Kyle in a rapidly advancing line.

Kyle launched himself backward just as the crystals tore through the space where he had been standing. He barely had time to react before the clone on his right closed in and swung a punch at him.

He ducked beneath it.

But the moment his feet touched the ground, Kyle realized the attack had been coordinated.

A rock lance was already surging toward the exact spot where he had landed.

His eyes darted across the battlefield. There was no time to evade it.

The jagged crystal tore across his skin as Kyle seized it with his bare hand. Ignoring the sting of the wound, he twisted his body and hurled the shard back at the nearest clone.

The clone immediately raised a hand to intercept it.

That was precisely what Kyle had been waiting for.

Its raised arm blocked its own line of sight, leaving its head exposed for a fraction of a second.

Kyle released another arrow.

The Genesis-fueled projectile shot forward, piercing straight through the incoming rock formation before driving into the clone’s skull.

THUNK!

The clone’s body went limp.

Another one down.

Meanwhile, Blake could only watch the confrontation from the sidelines, his brows drawn tightly together.

Under different circumstances, he would have admired the young man’s fighting style. He clearly knew exactly what he was doing. Despite being outnumbered, he remained utterly composed, moving through the battlefield with such precision that it seemed as though he had rehearsed every exchange a hundred times.

And yet Blake found himself unable to focus on any of that.

His attention kept returning to the boy himself.

There was something about his presence that made Blake’s heart beat faster, an inexplicable restlessness spreading through him. His mind was clouded, his memories little more than fragmented images, yet whenever he tried to picture the boy within those hazy recollections, everything seemed to fall into place.

Like a missing piece of a puzzle finally finding its way home.

Kyle, meanwhile, continued moving effortlessly around the remaining clone, evading every perfectly executed punch and kick. The creature fought with a frightening degree of proficiency, as though it had absorbed the knowledge and techniques of countless martial arts styles and could draw upon all of them without hesitation.

But Kyle was learning as well.

Every exchange revealed something new about the clones. Their speed. Their strength. Their techniques. Their limitations.

He was quantifying their worth with every passing second.

And as the battle continued, there was only one feeling left in him.

"Disappointment."

The clone thrust its palm toward him.

Kyle caught the incoming hand with his own.

Rather than retreat, he pulled the clone toward himself, using its own momentum to close the distance.

Then he drove his palm into its chest.

DHAM!

The impact erupted through the clone’s body with devastating force.

The strike was not particularly strong. It was nowhere near enough to cave in the clone’s chest.

But that had never been the intention.

A sudden surge of Genesis began pouring out of the clone’s body, flowing directly into Kyle and rapidly merging with his own energy.

The clone panicked.

Its identity seemed to be unraveling before its very eyes.

It tried to retreat and raised its other hand to attack, but the limb simply fell uselessly to its side. It never rose again.

Then its remaining hand went limp.

Its neck followed.

Its head lolled backward as the strength drained from its body. Its legs began to tremble and buckle, the flesh gradually losing its vitality until Kyle finally released his grip.

What remained collapsed before him.

Nothing more than a dry, withered husk.

Kyle exhaled softly.

’The quality is awful. But then again, a dead being is the one operating it.’

He shook his head and turned his attention toward the final clone.

This one was different.

It possessed the greatest concentration of Genesis among the four, and at that moment, it was completely focused on forming a spell.

Genesis coiled around its body like a thick, suffocating blanket. The sheer density of the energy distorted the air around it, making the atmosphere feel strangely light. Heat radiated from the accumulated power, intense enough to scorch the clone’s clothes and leave wisps of smoke curling into the air.

Blake’s expression changed.

Whatever the clone was preparing, it was going to be dangerous.

The bespectacled man immediately turned toward Kyle, intending to warn him.

"Watch—"

DOOOOOM!

A deafening crack suddenly erupted from his left.

Precisely where the clone had been standing.

When Blake turned toward the site once more, the entire area was empty.

He slowly approached, his steps cautious as he looked into the devastation left behind.

A massive crater had been carved into the ground.

And at its center lay the inhuman creature that had been giving him such trouble only moments ago. Now, there was barely anything left of it. Its body had been reduced to little more than a grotesque mass of flesh, yet, not a single droplet of blood stained the ground.

Blake could only stare in disbelief.

One of these creatures had been enough to give him considerable trouble when he fought it alone. Yet in the span of a few moments, several of them had been annihilated by a single person.

And that person had not suffered so much as a scratch.

Blake drew a slow, steady breath and turned to his right.

He was standing there silently.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Kyle finally broke the silence.

"Mind if we talk somewhere for a moment?"

Blake did not know the man. He had no idea who he was, where he had come from, or what connection he might have to everything that had happened.

Yet he did not hesitate for even a second before nodding.

He needed to talk.

More importantly, he needed answers.

.