The abomination, although indifferent, erupted with violent motions.

Its tentacles and tendrils slammed into its surrounding mirrors, smashing them apart in rapid succession. Reflections shattered, scattering fragments of light across the dark cavern.

Yet, the destruction achieved nothing.

The moment a mirror broke, another took its place, sliding out of empty space, locking into position, and restoring the endless field of reflections.

No matter how it struck, the creature just could not reduce their numbers.

Suddenly…

The reflections changed.

Adam began to appear in the mirrors. All of them reflected his bloody and battered figure wearing tattered robes.

At first, it was only a few images, with him standing at different angles, gripping the Staff of Calamity. Then more followed. Dozens. Then, hundreds.

Every mirror now held Adam, each one moving independently, each one facing the abomination with dark killing intent.

For a brief moment, the abomination froze.

Then, it quickly reacted. Its tentacles lashed towards one reflection, crushing it. The Adam in that mirror shattered on impact, his body breaking apart into mirror fragments that dissolved into motes of light.

But before the shards could fade, more Adams appeared in the surrounding mirrors, replacing the destroyed image without pause.

The abomination struck again and again, annihilating one reflection after another. But each time, the result was the same. Adam shattered, mirrors broke, and yet, new reflections formed almost immediately, each containing another version of him.

The creature's attack grew more rapid, but it failed to identify a true target.

Then… one Adam moved differently.

From within a mirror directly beside the abomination, Adam stepped forward and swung the Staff of Calamity.

BAM!!

The blow connected, slamming into the creature's shifting mass and forcing several tentacles to recoil.

The impact was real.

Adam's lips curled into a menacing grin.

As I thought, he mused.

You're not that powerful now, are you?

Despite being physically struck, perhaps for the first time ever, the abomination did not show a flicker of emotion. It remained indifferent.

But then, it reacted with a vicious counterstrike. A thick tentacle smashed into Adam's chest, but the next moment…

Crack!

Adam shattered.

His body broke into fragments of mirrored glass, scattering outward before vanishing. Yet even as that image was destroyed, more Adams filled the mirrors around the abomination, closing in on it once again.

The pattern repeated again and again.

An Adam would emerge from the mirror, closing the distance in a sudden burst of motion. The Staff of Calamity would strike, landing solid blows against the abomination's hulking mass.

Each time, the creature reacted instantly. But on contact, Adam would shatter into mirror fragments, his body breaking apart into tiny shards before vanishing.

Yet, the assault never stopped. The more he attacked the creature, the more he learned about it.

More mirrors came to life. More Adams appeared. From different angles, different distances, they attacked in rapid succession, forcing the abomination to divide its attention. Yet throughout it all, it never knew which was the real one until after it had already been attacked.

Tentacles lashed out constantly, smashing mirrors and reflections alike, but every destroyed image was replaced almost instantaneously. The dark cavern echoed with the continuous crash of breaking glass.

Suddenly, the rhythm changed.

One Adam did not rush in with the staff. Instead, he put it away, then weaved a series of complex hand seals. Mana surged from his core, compressing the air around him.

Rank 4 Spell: Storm of Wind Blades!

The wind spell detonated outward in a razor-sharp arc, screaming through the space between mirrors. It stuck a massive tendril mid-motion, slicing clean through it.

Black blood sprayed in the air, and the severed appendage fell away, thrashing violently as it hit the cavern floor, while the remaining tentacles and tendrils recoiled.

Adam quickly acted. Emerging from the maze of reflections, he appeared before the severed tendril, pressed his hand against it, and put it away inside his storage ring.

By the time he had finished this action, the abomination's appendage had already regrown back into perfect shape. And before he knew it…

BAM!!

A thick tentacle the size of a pillar viciously struck him. This time, he truly felt the pain and was hurled into the distance, spraying a mouthful of blood and pieces of internal organs.

He quickly willed the House of Mirrors to cover his real body, distracting the abomination with his countless reflections.

The abomination was quick to lash out again, destroying several mirrors. But the same thing happened over and over again. The more mirrors it destroyed, the more materialized from thin air.

Meanwhile, Adam, tucked away in the safety of his summoned maze, vomited mouthfuls of blood. His mind teetered on the edge of consciousness and wakefulness.

No! I must not pass out, he screamed inwardly.

The moment this spell is deactivated, I'm doomed!

He took a few moments to gather his senses. Ignoring the pain wrecking his body, he analyzed the fight he'd just had with the abomination.

Adam realized that this creature was not meant to be beaten by the conventional 'hit it until it dies' tactic.

He was now certain that no matter how many times he struck the abomination, it would simply regenerate. It didn't seem to lack stamina, and its regeneration ability was countless times more potent than the corrupted giant's.

Adam could not kill the creature, for it could never truly be killed.

Throughout my sequence of attacks, the abomination did its best to protect the glowing, arched gate at the center of its swirling mass, he thought.

That gate… it is a portal that most likely leads to the Beyond. I don't know what the abomination is planning, but the only way to defeat it is to deny its purpose!

In that moment, he knew… he knew that he had to exile the creature to wherever it came from.

And that was the gate.

He rose to his feet, his body trembling from all the attacks he had suffered. He used the staff to support himself as he violently vomited several mouthfuls of blood.

I have to do it, he thought.

This is the only way to win!

He turned towards his stalwart staff, and suddenly something clicked in his mind.

His lips slowly curled into a rueful smile as he thought to himself:

I see. So that's what it meant…

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