Deus Didymus: Rend

Pt2Ch9: Breakthrough II

Eunbi raised her head with furrowed eyebrows. She moved next to one of the many windows, pressing it against the glass.

"What's up, Unnie?" Yena asked.

"We're surrounded. There's dozens of them."

"What?" Yena rushed to a window. She scanned the forest, yet nothing appeared out of the ordinary. "I don't see anyone."

"Go alert the others. I'll cover you," Eunbi ordered. She turned toward Chaewon, "Hide somewhere."

Yena reluctantly started toward the door, "Uh... Okay."

While the duck flew off in the form of a bird, Eunbi closed her eyes. Dozens of footsteps crept around the forest. Some stopped, presumably to watch Yena fly away, but most continued on their path toward Eunbi. From the obscuring flora, Dahyun emerged. Along with her, a large entourage of women with the same face stared into Eunbi blankly.

Cloning?

Eunbi observed the clones: their posture, their equipment, and their numbers.

They're looking to rush me and beat me with sheer numbers.

She waited for the Dahyuns to draw closer before magnifying the rustles of their clothes. On impact, new clones sprouted from the older duplicates like buds. They continued rushing Eunbi, but to no avail.

They grow weaker the more there are.

An unrelenting barrage of soundwaves swallowed the clone congregation. Grunts, Shifts of the dirt, any sound they made, Eunbi weaponized against her aggressors. Past the crowd, and deeper into the forest, a faint sight reached her ears.

Found you.

She broke through the tofu barrier before taking off in the sigh's direction. She sprinted, causing the origin of the sound to frantically stand up. As soon as they did so, the clones of Dahyun grew more aggressive. Some combined with each other while others sacrificed themselves to grasp at Eunbi.

Slowly but surely, Eunbi enclosed the origin of the clones. She counted three people scrambling away from her. Then, a fourth person broke through the edge of her senses. They moved significantly faster than the others--faster than Y/n.

Shit-

Eunbi pivoted off her course and deeper into the forest. She continued until she ran out of breath, yet the Dahyuns remained on her trail. Fueled by a deep breath, Eunbi turned toward the hoard, letting off a resounding shout that tore through the clones. One by one, they turned to mush before seeping into the soil.

"What the heck..." Eunbi panted.

"And then the dude beat me anyway!!" Jisoo shouted. "Y/n sunbae is incredible! I think he's the best at martial arts on this mission."

"I think so too," Riwon nodded. "He's also really good with all kinds of weapons. I don't know why he only uses a sword."

"Maybe it's because-"

The warehouse door swung open. Dozens of Dahyuns swarmed the interior, quickly surrounding the two. Before they could reach the pair, Jisoo grabbed Riwon's hand. A chunk of the Dahyuns recoiled, causing duplicates to bud from their bodies.

"What the heck?!" Jisoo shrieked. "That's gross!!!"

While Riwon grabbed her staff, Jisoo watched the crowd close in on them.

"Any chance Y/n sunbae comes in like last time?" Jisoo chuckled nervously.

As the wave of women enclosed the pair--just an arm's length--the clones turned toward the door in stereo and took off.