The hall was packed with people.

Dozens of students stood shoulder to shoulder, whispering nervously to one another.

Professors lined the sides of the massive room, some with folded arms, others with grim faces.

The large circular stage at the front, usually reserved for ceremonies and academic announcements, was now occupied by one person everyone knew… Silas Vega.

They had all been gathered here five days ago to welcome the new first-years.

Back then, the hall had been filled with excitement and laughter.

Now, that same hall felt suffocating.

The difference was like night and day.

He had called a "Summon."

It was one of the most serious alerts an Academy Representative could issue.

A Summon could override every schedule, pulling every student, professor, and even the principal into the central hall.

It was only meant for emergencies and right now, it seemed that this was an emergency unlike any other.

Silas walked across the stage, his younger sister following close behind.

She was carrying something in her arms… a metal box about the size of her torso, and the top was glowing.

When Silas reached the center of the stage, he took the microphone and looked over the sea of faces before him.

His green hair looked slightly messy, and a few bandages were visible across his jaw and cheek.

Yet, despite the rough look, he still managed to appear confident.

"Thank you all for responding to my summon," he began, his voice echoing through the massive speakers. "I didn't want to use this command… but it was a colleague's idea."

He let out a light sigh, brushing a strand of hair away from his eyes.

The motion made him look effortlessly composed.

A few girls in the crowd couldn't help but sigh dreamily while several of the boys rolled their eyes or muttered under their breath.

Silas smiled but quickly returned to a serious tone. "We're here to talk about the clones."

That one word silenced the entire room.

Hundreds of eyes stared up at him.

Every whisper died down instantly.

"Some of you might think it's fake," Silas continued. "You might've heard rumors and brushed them off as another Academy prank. But I'm here to tell you that it's real. The clones exist. They're dangerous. And they're already among us."

A low murmur started spreading through the hall again.

Some students turned to look at their friends.

Others frowned or crossed their arms, clearly unsure of whether to believe him. They still believed the regular students were the ones that did it…

Silas raised his voice slightly.

"We've discovered the truth. The one responsible for creating these clones is none other than Professor Drake. He's been using the blood samples collected from both students and professors… samples that were given out willingly during medical research. Every single one of you who gave blood might have a clone walking around right now."

A few students looked pale.

Silas's expression darkened. "Professor Drake has gone missing. We don't know where he is, but what we do know is that his clones have started to move. They're blending in, acting as if they're one of us and because they look exactly like us, it's almost impossible to tell the difference."

"Impossible?" someone shouted from the crowd.

"No way, that can't be true!" another voice yelled.

Silas raised his hand for silence. "I know it's frightening. But we're not defenseless. We've been working on a countermeasure."

He turned to the side and gestured for his sister to come forward.

She was quiet, but her hands were steady as she placed the metal box beside the microphone.

The light from it illuminated her face.

"This here," Silas continued, "is the machine that my sister and the other representatives helped develop. When activated, it will send a powerful current through the academy… an electrical wave that will detect and disable any clone within its range."

Silas smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. The current will be harmless to real humans. It will simply make you feel a bit lightheaded. But any clone hit by it will lose consciousness immediately."

He nodded at his sister.

Her expression stayed calm, but inside, her thoughts were like a stormy sea.

She had tweaked the device earlier under Azel's orders, increasing the power output far beyond what her brother expected.

The current wouldn't just knock clones unconscious… it would fry their brains and kill them.

'I'm sorry, brother,' she thought, her thumb hovering over the main activation switch. 'If we only knock them out, Some might escape and come back stronger. I can't risk that.'

She pressed the button.

The machine started to vibrate, its blue glow turning brighter.

Silas nodded, turning back to the crowd. "Everyone, please stay calm. The energy wave will start in—"

He stopped.

Screams suddenly erupted from the crowd.

Dozens of students began shaking violently, their eyes glowing bright red before turning black.

Their mouths stretched unnaturally wide, releasing bone-chilling screeches that didn't sound human.

Silas couldn't help but wonder why the clones looked like this when they were about to fight… was it some sort of design flaw?

Panic spread through the hall like wildfire.

"They're here!" someone shouted. "The clones—!"

Silas's heart pounded nonetheless.

He had expected chaos, but not this soon.

"Jewels!" he yelled over the screams. "How long until it activates?"

"About two minutes!" she shouted back, adjusting the controls.

A deep rumble echoed through the hall, and the temperature suddenly spiked.

Flames burst from the center of the crowd, swirling upward into a massive vortex of fire.

Students screamed and ducked, some fainting from the heat.

The flame spiraled, forming a shape… a tall figure stepping out of the blaze.

"Professor Luke?" someone gasped.

But it wasn't him.

The real Luke was off-campus.

This was a clone.

His eyes burned with crimson light, and when he raised his hand, multiple magic circles appeared behind him, circling and glowing around him.

Even though his blood sample had been limited, he still carried terrifying strength.

He smirked cruelly. "So, you finally found out."

The clone raised both hands, summoning a storm of fire and lightning that spread through the room, tearing through furniture and burning banners to ash.

Silas cursed and raised his palm, unleashing waves of green sound magic that clashed against the fire.

"Jewels! Hurry up!"

"One Minute, Thirty seconds!" she yelled back.

Suddenly, something silver cut through the air… a beautiful bone sword spinning like a flash of light.

It struck the clone's magic shield, sending ripples across the barrier.

The sword vanished.

Then reappeared in the hand of someone walking calmly through the chaos.

Azel.

He stepped forward, unbothered by the heat or the screams.

'I'm crazy,' he thought, gripping the weapon tighter.

The clone's gaze shifted to him,.

Students scattered out of his way as he climbed the stage steps.

Azel said nothing.

He raised his sword, its tip pointed directly at the clone.

"You…" His voice was deadly calm. "…will die here."

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