Another attack hit Sean's Shadow and sent it crashing into a tree.

The Shadow grunted as if in pain.

It struggled to rise as Clara's Shadow fended off Lucas alone.

The ground beneath Clara Shadow:s feet cracked from the force behind Lucas' attacks.

Sean's Shadow staggered back to its feet.

Its face contorted.

The Shadow could see the exhaustion in Clara's Shadow eyes.

Clara's Shadow deflected another barrage from Lucas, its spear moving in an elegant dance, but its breath was becoming labored.

Lucas smiled as he noticed its weariness.

He raised his hand, and a portal opened above Clara, this one larger, darker.

The energy that crackled from it was different—dangerous.

Sean Shadow's eyes widened. He recognized the portal's purpose.

…!

It tried to warn Clara's Shadow only to realize it could not speak.

The dark portal released a vortex of raw power that hurtled toward Clara's shadow.

The Shadow eaped to the side, but the edge of the blast clipped its side and sent it sprawling to the ground.

The Shadow gasped, trying to push itself up, but the force had knocked the wind from its lungs.

Watching Clara's Shadow helpless, Sean Shadow's rage boiled over.

Exhaustion, Anger, Pain.

It experienced them for the first time.

"Hmm? Your synchronization rate is increasing?"

Lucas noticed Sean Shadow's expression.

The synchronization rate represented how similar a Shadow was to the original.

100% synchronization could be achieved only after the Shadow devoured the original.

Sean's Shadow charged at Lucas, swinging its sword with all its might.

Lucas merely sidestepped.

He opened a portal to redirect Sean Shadow's strike and caused the Shadow to stumble.

Using that moment as a chance, Lucas stepped forward, tightening his grip around the sword, ready to end it.

In that moment, something clicked in Sean Shadow's mind.

Impeccable teamwork.

Sean and Clara were not strong individually.

But together they were undefeatable.

The memories and experience were adapted into the body of Sean's Shadow.

Its synchronization increased.

"Clara, now!" the shadow, suddenly able to speak, shouted.

Clara's Shadow, barely standing, understood.

It didn't need the details.

Clara's Shadow focused all its energy, summoning what strength it had left, and hurled the spear at Lucas.

Not directly at him, but through a small portal Lucas used earlier.

Lucas smiled as he noticed the desperation of the Shadow's move.

But then his smirk faltered.

His eyes flicked toward the portal—and too late, he realized the trap.

The spear shot through the portal.

It emerged from a second rift that Clara had calculated precisely and struck Lucas' side with a powerful force.

He staggered, blood spraying across the ground.

For the first time, the confidence behind Lucas's gaze faltered.

He underestimated them.

They had been planning for this moment all along.

Sean's Shadow saw the opportunity and leapt forward. He slashed down in a brutal arc.

Lucas barely raised his guard in time.

He summoned a portal to deflect the blow, but it wasn't enough.

The sword grazed his shoulder, leaving a deep cut.

He stumbled back.

His portals flickered, unstable.

The tide of the battle had shifted.

Sean and Clara's Shadow regrouped, panting but determined.

Lucas was injured and weakened.

The confidence behind his eyes vanished, replaced by a look of serious gaze.

He pressed a hand to his bleeding side.

For a moment, it seemed he would lose.

Just for a moment.

"I can see why Arthur invited you two to his team.

"Neo was not exaggerating your abilities."

He smiled.

In an instant, the forest around them warped.

Multiple portals opened simultaneously.

They circled Sean and Clara, disorienting them.

Lucas moved with a speed and aggression they hadn't seen before, even while injured.

He vanished and reappeared with blinding quickness and stuck both of them from different angles.

The Shadows were forced to go on the defensive.

Sean Shadow's breath was caught as he realized what was happening.

Lucas wasn't playing anymore.

He was using his full power.

Before Sean's Shadow could react, a portal opened beneath him, swallowing him whole.

He fell through the void, tumbling into another part of the battlefield, disoriented.

Clara's Shadow tried to regroup with him, but Lucas was already upon Clara's Shadow.

He increased his attacks intensity while he still held the advantage.

Desperation flashed in Clara Shadow's eyes as it parried.

But the Shadow was too slow.

Lucas delivered a devastating blow.

Clara's Shadow was sent crashing to the ground.

It tried to rise, but Lucas' boot pressed down on its stomach and pinned the Shadow down.

"It's over," Lucas said.

He raised his hand for the finishing strike, but before he could bring it down, a dark flash of light erupted from the edge of the clearing.

"Let her go!"

Sean's Shadow, battered and bruised, returned.

His sword glowed with the last of his energy.

He threw himself at Lucas with a roar as he swung with everything he had left.

Lucas, surprised by the ferocity, was forced to step back, releasing Clara's Shadow.

For a moment, it seemed like Sean might turn the tide once more.

But Lucas, even wounded, was still the stronger.

He sidestepped Sean Shadow's wild swings and opened one final portal.

Lucas plunged his hand through the rift before Sean's Shadow could react.

He reappeared behind the Shadow.

With a single, devastating blow, Lucas struck Sean's Shadow down.

The clearing fell silent.

Lucas stood over Sean's Shadow.

He looked around.

Clara's Shadow was missing.

"The other shadow escaped."

He snorted.

"It wasn't in any condition to fight, so there should be no problem letting it go.

"Rather, this is better.

"If I kill that Shadow, it would just revive.

"It's better to leave it injured and make sure it can't join the battles."

Lucas crouched and picked the black crystal.

It was left when Sean's Shadow evaporated after his death.

He pressed his earpiece.

"I've secured one shadow elemental crystal. Where should I send it?"

"Send it to me," Neo's voice flowed through the earpiece. "I'll reveal my location in a few seconds. Be prepared."

"…?"

Reveal his location?

Lucas looked around.

Was Neo nearby?

Although he understood Neo was searching for his Shadow, he didn't understand how Neo would go about it.

Neo's words about him revealing his location confused Lucas further.