270 WORDS COMES TRUE
Damen wasn't worried about Liorea.
Not even a little.
She wouldn't have come here unprepared. In fact, she'd been preparing for this moment far longer than anyone realized. Letting her fight on her own wasn't negligence—it was necessity.
"She has to grow up sometime", Damen thought. "I can't protect her forever."
After Kail had nearly died during the Battle of Liberty City, Damen had learned a painful truth: no matter how strong he became, he couldn't shield everyone he cared about.
If they were going to survive in his world, they would have to become strong enough to stand without him.
"Good luck, Liorea. Kail," Damen said quietly."Happy hunting."
Then he turned away.
The Syndic members were no longer his concern.
Damen walked toward the altar.
The priest stood in his path.
"Move," Damen said flatly. "I'm taking the damn book."
"Not so fast," the priest replied, lips curling into a grin. "You'll have to ask my mirror."
Damen frowned. "What mirror?"
The mirror behind the altar vanished.
Reality rippled.
And then—
Someone stood there.
A man…. A Human…..
..… wearing Damen's clothes, Damen's maskand Damen's posture.
He was an exact copy of him, Damen Dark.
Damen froze.
"…Is that a bloody clone?" he asked slowly. "He's your mirror?"
The priest nodded with satisfaction.
"The Mirror of Life. It reflects anyone who seeks the Death Note—body, power, and skill."
The mirror clone was flawless. Even the subtle movements, the breathing rhythm—perfectly mirrored, as if Damen were staring at his own reflection… now given flesh.
"This is ridiculous."
Damen moved.
So did the clone.
They flashed forward simultaneously.
In a blink, they reappeared—now standing at opposite ends of the hall.
Damen's eyes narrowed.
"…It copies my abilities too."
The priest smiled."No matter how strong you are, you can never defeat yourself."
The mirror image struck again, flashing toward Damen with identical timing and precision.
But this time Damen was ready.
He countered.
His fist slammed into the clone's chest when he appeared, sending it crashing across the chamber and skidding to a halt.
Damen straightened.
"Tch. A perfect image or not," he said calmly, "a reflection is still just a reflection. It can never surpass the original."
The priest's smile widened.
"Oh?" he said softly."Then let's see how well you perform…"
He raised a finger.
"…once I change the rules of your contract."
Damen's gaze snapped to him.
"…What rules of contract?" Damen asked.
The priest's eyes gleamed.
The clone behind Damen smiled.
The priest snatched the Death Note and began scribbling furiously.
"What the hell are you doing?" Damen demanded.
The priest finished writing and spoke aloud, voice trembling with excitement.
"Kill him now."
The words ignited, blazing into the air above the altar.
Then a presence answered.A vast, indifferent voice echoed through the temple.
"Command rejected. Target exceeds executable Rank."
The priest froze.
"…What?" His face twisted. "Who—who the hell are you? How did you exceed the rank for a kill command?"
Damen let out a short laugh.
"So, this is what the Syndic members are afraid of," he said. "You write people to death with that book."
The Death Note was no ordinary artifact. By some unknown mechanism, words written upon it became reality—rewriting causality itself to fulfill the writer's intent.
"Words from the book comes true."
Fortunately, it was just not for Damen…. His Rank placed him beyond direct 'Kill Command".
The mirror image struck again.
This time it didn't repeat its mistake. It shifted angles, avoided Damen's counter, the retreated instantly after striking—learning, and adapting.
"Tch," Damen muttered. "This is ridiculous. I'm literally training my own reflection to kill me."
The priest laughed nervously."Even if the Death Note can't kill you directly… it can still change the rules of your contract."
"…What?" Damen frowned.
The priest wrote again.
The words burned into the air.
"Unleash gravity on target."
Reality lurched.
A crushing force slammed down on Damen—it was psychic gravity, dense and overwhelming. His muscles locked. His knees bent as if the air itself had gained weight.
"Hah—!" Damen grunted, nearly dropping to one knee.
But then—
He straightened.
And laughed.
"You think this is enough?" Damen said. "This trick won't stop me."
His eyes glowed faintly red.
He activated The Core of Blood- it could suppress any influence on the mind.
The psychic pressure shattered instantly, dispersing like smoke. Damen rolled his shoulders as if shaking off dust.
The mirror image lunged again, confident—believing Damen was still restrained by gravity.
Damen understood immediately.
I'll allow this once. "I'll fake it."
"ARGH—!"
The mirror's strike landed cleanly, tearing blood from Damen's lip.
The priest's eyes lit up."It worked! It actually worked!"
He didn't hesitate.
The Death Note flipped open again.
"Blockhis armor and force field."
"What now?" Damen snapped.
"I'm stripping you of your defenses," the priest said eagerly. "You brutes don't die easily—but without your armor, you're no better than an unawakened human."
A sharp, alien sensation ripped through Damen's body.
Something was being removed.
"…You've got to be kidding me," Damen muttered.
His Vision Connect flared.
Armor Stats: DRAINING
"…This isn't psychic," Damen realized. "It's actually draining my Armor stats. How is this even possible?"
The mirror image struck again.
Damen staggered, wiped blood from his mouth—and smiled faintly.
He wasn't worried about dying to his own image.
He was worried about what else that book could do.
"I need to end this now," he thought. "Before he writes something truly annoying."
Damen raised his hand.
Wind howled violently through the temple.
The altar cracked as a massive blade of compressed air tore forward.
"Sirrocco's Vengeance."
The altar split—
Then stopped.
An equal wind blade slammed into it from the opposite direction.The two forces annihilated each other in a violent implosion.
Damen's eyes widened.
"…Damnit."
The mirror image stood with its hand raised, wind spiraling around it.
"It copied my wind skill," Damen snarled. "Perfectly."
The priest smirked."I told you. You can never defeat yourself."
Damen clicked his tongue.
"Fine," he said casually. "Let's see how long your mirror can keep this up."
Wind blades erupted again and again, tearing across the hall.
Each one was intercepted.
Each one countered.
The clash continued—violently and relentless.
Then—
Damen noticed it.
The mirror's attacks were slowing.The wind it produced was thinning.
"…Just as I thought," Damen said calmly. "Your mirror can steal my skills—but it can't steal my power reserves. You can't outlast me."
The priest's smile vanished…. The mirror image was exhausting itself.
Then Panic crept in.
"There has to be something…" the priest muttered.
Then his eyes widened.
He wrote again.
"Blockhis meta energy."
The effect was immediate.
Damen's Command Points plummeted.
Meta energy bled from him unnaturally fast—ripped away by the Death Note's authority.
"…Ah," Damen exhaled. "So that's your play."
The priest laughed, relief flooding his voice.
"You see? In no time, you'll have no meta power left. And then your mirror will finish you."
Damen lifted his head.
And smiled.
"Interesting," he said quietly. "Very interesting."
Damen's mind thought of something… another way to play this game.
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