Frieren: Reincarnated As a Demon

Chapter 138: Clones

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Sense distributed the bottles in a businesslike manner, giving each of the little golems one and informing them that they were experimental escape golems developed by the first-class magician Lernen.

As long as the bottle was broken, the golem would automatically expand to protect them and take them away from danger. After all, they were all magicians, and if they had the protection of a warrior-type golem, their survival rate would be much higher.

"Is this something new made by Lernen?"

The magic Lernen was best at was golem magic, and he devoted his entire life to this kind of magic. Ash knew a little about this, but he just looked at it curiously and put it in his pocket.

Without waiting for everyone's reaction, he walked past Sense, who was still answering everyone's questions, and quickly stepped into the dungeon.

This scene surprised everyone, especially Fern and the others, who knew something about the King's Tomb because of Lawine.

"Master Ash...!" Fern subconsciously wanted to chase after him and dissuade him from his actions.

But Frieren raised her hand to stop her, and when Fern looked back in surprise, she slowly shook her head. "That guy must be going to get rid of himself. There is no point in you going."

"How could it be! At least..."

"The difference in magic power is too great. If he uses all his strength, he can deflect your magic with the overflowing magic power alone... To be honest, I have only seen such a situation in the previous Demon King and Serie."

Frieren tried hard to pick out objects that could be compared and ignored the astonishment of her companions, continuing, "Although Ash is not at their level, it is far beyond your limit. It is still very easy to deflect and offset ordinary magic, just like I told you."

"...If we encounter a large demon, we must flee without hesitation. I have no chance of winning now, right?"

"Yeah, and ordinary demons are not as exaggerated as Ash." Looking at the back that disappeared into the darkness, Frieren couldn't help but sigh softly.

"Why are you working so hard? The Demon King has been defeated. Are you trying to deal with the mastermind who is hiding somewhere?"

"Is the uncle so powerful?" Kanne, who had been listening quietly on the side, couldn't help but ask.

Lawine looked at the disappearing figure and couldn't help but mutter, "I know he's amazing, but is this person... so gentle?"

"...It's hard to say how gentle he is, but Ash has always had a strong sense of responsibility. He's really not a bad person."

In fact, Frieren, who still hoped that the relationship between Lawine and Ash could be normalized, spoke for him with a smile but added in a low voice at the end, "...Although he may have done some bad things."

"...Do you believe him or not?" Lawine was at a loss whether to laugh or cry when she heard this.

"At least I believe he will be fine... As a person, he is definitely trustworthy in big matters—at least that's what I think."

"...Really? Well, there have been some changes, but..."

Because at this point, if she frankly admitted the situation, she would feel like she was losing, which made Lawine a little irritated. Therefore, after wanting to say something but hesitating, she finally chose to say nothing.

A group of people gathered in twos and threes and began to discuss the strategy for conquering the King's Tomb, but most of them planned to wait for a while. Even if they didn't know the situation of the King's Tomb, it would always be good for someone to explore the way first.

After all, the goal was just to reach the deepest point, so it doesn't matter if it's a little late, right?

Sense, the examiner, kept her gaze fixed on the intersection with an expressionless face, leaving it unclear whether she was worried or simply indifferent.

In the end, she chose to trust Serie's judgment and didn't linger for long. As people began entering the King's Tomb in small groups, she decided to follow Frieren. After all, aside from Ash, this legendary magician who had once defeated the Demon King seemed trustworthy enough.

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On the other side, inside the King's Tomb:

The faint light of magic stone lamps and candles lit by someone unknown provided a dim glow in the dark and damp underground tomb.

The air carried a musty smell and a cold, oppressive underground chill.

The space was vast yet suffocatingly enclosed. Each step echoed endlessly, the sound bouncing off the tomb's silent walls.

At first, only a few gargoyles appeared. They were simple to handle— struck them before they could transform from stone statues into monsters. They shattered into pieces, and the problem was resolved with little effort.

But Ash after wandering carelessly for about an hour...

"What? Lawine and Kanne?"

Ahead, two familiar figures appeared. They looked just like the girls he knew, but their bodies were entirely made of stone.

Although they appeared to be crafted from stone, the replicas were intricately detailed, so vivid and lifelike that apart from the color, they were nearly indistinguishable from the real Lawine and Kanne.

The two stone clones didn't speak, likely because they lacked the ability to do so. Kanne raised her hand in silence, releasing a beam of ordinary attack magic. At the same time, several large ice cones materialized beside Lawine.

However, there was no one else nearby. Ash didn't bother to use defensive magic.

The immense magical power he had stopped suppressing directly interfered with the surrounding magic. The attacks distorted and dissipated upon contact with his presence.

The light beam and ice cones lost all effect in an instant, and Ash continued walking forward casually.

With a simple gesture of his hand, the two clones were cleanly bisected before they could even register the attack.

As the shattered stone figures fell to the ground, he paid them no further attention and moved toward the deeper parts of the tomb as if nothing had happened.

As he continued, more clones emerged from the depths, their strengths gradually increasing from weak to formidable.

The stronger the individual being replicated, the longer the process seemed to take. Ash, however, was too uninterested to bother. Each time he encountered one, he either moved past it at high speed or simply ignored it altogether.

Finally, he reached the deepest chamber.

In the last hall, numerous figures awaited him. Among them were Kanne and Lawine, the two he had recently eliminated, who had somehow appeared once more.

"They can actually be resurrected? How interesting." He smirked as he regarded the replicas standing before him.

The floor tiles of the hall were adorned with designs reminiscent of an ancient sun, and three particularly notable clones—those of himself, Frieren, and Sense—stood at the forefront.

Of course, while the term "many" seemed appropriate, the number of people wasn't overwhelming. Apart from these three, only Denken and Fern stood to the side, seemingly acting as supporters.

Excluding the resurrected Lawine and Kanne, the remaining figures were clearly the most capable participants in the second exam.

"Well, it's been a long time since I've had a challenge. Let's see how this goes!" Ash grinned as his body began to transform.

Already tall, his height increased steadily. His entire frame expanded proportionally, every part of his body growing in harmony. Bathed in a nourishing dark purple light, he swelled to an imposing height of about two meters.

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Note: Yay, we reached 1,000 power stones! I'm so happy (not). I've already started working on the chapters, and I feel like I should make another offer: for every 400 additional power stones, you'll get 1 extra chapter. That means you'll get 3 chapters a day, plus an extra chapter for every 400 power stones we reach—but starting next week, of course.