On the other side, Liam’s clone entered Another World after Dyphon. Though she looked like no more than a cute girl on the outside, she was the dragon who’d been fighting Lardon to the death just moments ago. He braced himself for a hard battle ahead—
“Oh, darling!”
“Huh?”
“My daaarling!”
—but it immediately proved unnecessary.
Dyphon rushed to Liam’s clone, running just a bit faster than an ordinary girl would, and jumped onto him. The clone caught her in a panic, taking two steps back to regain his footing as the girl wrapped her arms around him.
To Liam’s clone, however, this hug hadn’t surprised him as much as Dyphon’s bright mood. “Are you...okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, uh... I thought you were still worked up,” he said, carefully choosing his words.
Arms still wrapped around his back, Dyphon leaned backward to look up at him. “Psh. Darling, you don’t get me at all.”
“Huh? Um... What do you mean?”
“I wasn’t just blindly rampaging. I was trying to kill her, and only her.”
“Oh... I see now.”
Lardon, Dyphon, and Paithon were enemies. Actually, that was an understatement. They were sworn nemeses. They threatened to kill each other at every chance they got, and Liam’s clone knew—especially after that catastrophic battle—that none of them were bluffing.
This intense malice made their bond special...in a bad way, of course. While Dyphon was dead set on killing Lardon and Paithon, she was utterly ambivalent to everything else.
“Darling, you’re amazing.” Dyphon giggled sweetly. “You’re the only human who could stop our fight. Nobody’s ever done that, not even in the past few centuries.”
“Oh... Really?”
“Say, darling... Was I able to help you?”
“Ah... Yeah. You helped a lot.”
Liam’s clone swallowed the “probably” right at the tip of his tongue. He couldn’t know for sure until he actually tried putting that new material to use, but Dyphon had given her all and even cooperated with Lardon just to help him out, so he was sure it would turn out just fine.
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Then, I want a reward... Hug me! As tight as you can!”
“Oh...” Liam’s clone cast a glance at the entrance. If this was to be her reward, then she’d be happier getting it from the real him. A fake shouldn’t be deceiving her after she lent them a hand. “You should ask the real me later.”
“No, I’m fine with you.”
“Hmm?” Liam’s clone blinked. It sounded like Dyphon had already seen right through him. “Wait... Did you know from the start?”
“Uh-huh. You’re a magical version of my darling, right? Made with a new, original spell, no less!”
“Wow. You can tell that much?”
“Of course!” Dyphon’s lips curled into a smug grin as she nuzzled against him.
Liam’s clone looked down at her in shock. “So, you asked me for the reward while knowing?”
“Yep! Because you’re real, aren’t you?”
“What?”
“Sure, you’re a clone. But your life force, mana, memories, and knowledge are all drawn from the same place in the present.”
“R-Right... Huh? You know that too?”
“Duh!”
Liam’s clone stared at her, stunned. He hadn’t been expecting her to analyze the details of Covenant Summoning so quickly. But perhaps he shouldn’t have expected any less of Dyphon.
“With that many similarities, you’re practically the real thing—just like a severed arm!”
“I’d prefer a less gruesome metaphor...” Still, Liam’s clone thought her reasoning was sound, so he went ahead and gave her a tight hug, just like she wanted.
“Eheh heh...” Dyphon smiled blissfully in his arms and hugged him back. Her grip was only as tight as a human’s. It was almost hard to believe that she’d been wielding the power to blast mountains off the map just moments ago.
“Is this enough?”
“A bit longer.”
“Sure.”
“By the way, darling... How many kids do you want?”
“Huh...?”
“I took on a human form because I love you a whole lot. So, I can bear around ten children for you. But if you want more, you’re gonna have to ask someone else too.”
“More...? You think I’d want more?”
“Huh? The number of kids shows off a male’s strength, right?”
Liam’s clone fell speechless.
“And darling, you’re suuuper awesome, so I think you should make at least a thousand kids.”
“Uhh... I’ll, um... I’ll give it some thought next time.”
“Really? All right, then. Ten is my max, okay?”
“Ah... Okay. Noted.” Liam’s clone wore an awkward, exhausted smile.
Dyphon looked no different from an ordinary girl. Her warm body, her soft skin, and her sweet smile were all very human. But at the end of the day, this girl giggling innocently in his arms was undoubtedly a being beyond human comprehension.