Chapter 24: Heaven’s Splitter

In an instant, several iterations of Sarah materialized one after the other, numbering over fifty duplicates. This was her special ability—Life of the Party, which allowed her to produce exact replicas of herself. She drew a short blade with a reverse grip, and every clone mirrored the movement simultaneously, all pointing their weapons toward the towering beast.

Liam observed from his perch on the high-rise building, intrigued by the display. He almost couldn’t distinguish the real Sarah from her copies since they all possessed similar energy signatures. However, thanks to his Perception stat, the system granted him a form of extra sight that highlighted the original. In Liam’s enhanced vision, the real Sarah glowed with a distinct energy pattern that set her apart from the duplicates.

The beast seemed triggered by the sudden multiplication of targets. It opened its massive maw and released a deafening roar that sent visible sound waves rippling outward in circular rings toward the trio below.

“Incoming!” Amir shouted, placing both palms on the ground. Thick earthen walls, each over nine feet high, erupted from the concrete in rapid succession. Eight layers of stone barriers formed a defensive wall between them and the sonic attack. The howling wave crashed through the fortifications one by one, but the walls absorbed enough impact to protect the team from the worst of it.

Elaine dashed forward, a golden blur with her sword extended as she dashed toward the beast. Two of Sarah’s clones flanked Elaine, surrounding the creature to divide its attention. The strategy worked, the beast became fixated on eliminating the duplicates one by one, swiping at them with massive claws. The creature’s hand swept sideways, catching two clones and dispersing them into what looked like shimmering pixie dust.

But this distraction was exactly what Elaine needed. She leaped high above the beast, driving her blade downward with all her strength. Her sword met resistance, the creature’s hide was incredibly thick. The blade barely penetrated the surface, causing only a shallow wound. The beast roared in frustration and reared up, trying to shake her off. As it lifted its massive frame, Amir struck from below. “Rocky Barrage!” Amir commanded. Stone protrusions shot up from the ground, striking the beast’s chest and forcing it back a few meters.

Elaine used the momentum to flip away and rejoin her teammates. “That skin is incredibly tough,” Elaine reported, breathing hard. “I could barely pierce it with Galatine.”

“My attacks aren’t doing much damage either,” Amir added, wiping sweat from his brow.

“Okay, that’s troublesome,” Sarah said, though with so many copies scattered around, it was impossible to tell if it was the original speaking.

“Well, it is an A-level threat. I never expected less.” Elaine suddenly leaped backward, away from the frontlines. “Buy me some time!” She yelled, raising her sword skyward with both hands gripping the hilt. Golden energy began gathering around the blade, growing brighter with each passing second.

Sarah and Amir exchanged a knowing nod. All of Sarah’s remaining clones charged the beast simultaneously. The creature responded with another sonic howl, catching several duplicates and reducing them to magical dust, but it couldn’t eliminate them all. The surviving clones reached the beast, attacking from every angle—its sides, ankles, underbelly, anywhere they could find purchase.

Their blades left only minor scratches that the creature seemed to ignore. Instead, it released another devastating howl that swept away both the clones and the incoming rocks from Amir’s position. The beast’s intelligence became apparent as it began targeting Amir specifically, recognizing him as the source of the stone attacks. It systematically destroyed the remaining Sarah copies, dispersing them into sparkling energy one group at a time.

Then something changed. The monster’s gaze swept across the battlefield and locked onto the real Sarah among her few remaining duplicates as most had been destroyed.

“Oh no, it’s noticed her,” Liam muttered from above, his muscles tensing.

The beast began charging directly at Sarah with terrifying speed. Amir, positioned at Sarah’s flank, pressed his palms to the ground again. “Stone Fortress!” he shouted. Multiple earthen barriers rose in the creature’s path, but the beast charged through them like a raging bull, smashing each obstacle without slowing down.

Sarah realized the futility of the defenses and especially as she seemed to be the monster’s target, created more duplicates to harass the beast while she ran in the opposite direction. “Any moment now, Elaine!” Sarah yelled as she sprinted past her.

Liam was about to leap from his vantage point to intervene when his eyes caught the intensity of energy Elaine had gathered. He settled back and smiled. “Interesting.”

“Take cover, Amir!” Elaine commanded. Amir made the earth beneath him turn liquid, sinking below ground level like quicksand, just as Elaine brought her weapon down.

“HEAVEN’S SPLITTER!”

A massive wave of golden energy erupted from her blade, taking the shape of an enormous vertical slash. The attack stretched so far that even Liam, high above, could see it extend past his position. The all-encompassing strike came down on the wolf beast, which had no defense against such overwhelming power.

BOOM!

When the explosion cleared, everything in Elaine’s path; cars, roads, and finally the beast itself, had been cut cleanly in half. The slash mark extended over a hundred meters, creating a perfect divide in the landscape. Elaine collapsed to one knee, gasping for breath. She had poured all her energy into that single attack, her most powerful technique. Her ability, called “Sever,” not only made her one with her blade but allowed her to create devastatingly powerful slashes.

Even an S-tier would have to avoid an attack of that magnitude. The only drawback was the charging time required.

“Good job, Elaine,” the Director’s voice crackled through their comm units from the command center.

Liam smiled from his observation post, his respect for Elaine reaching new heights. Amir emerged from the ground, and Sarah’s remaining clones dispersed, leaving only the original. “Man, that thing nearly had me,” Sarah said, catching her breath.

Then she noticed something that made her blood run cold. The spatial breach that had brought the beast into their world remained open, its edges still crackling with unstable energy.

“Hey,” Sarah said, pointing at the tear in reality, “shouldn’t that thing be closed by now?”

All eyes turned toward the portal.

“Director, we’re getting new readings!” came a frantic voice from one of the analysts.

Space began cracking further around the breach, and the portal’s size expanded dramatically. Team C watched in growing dread and utterly confused at what the hell was happening.

Liam, however, observed with anticipation rather than fear as tiny streaks of lightning began coursing through his body in preparation for whatever was coming next. “Hmm…” he muttered.

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