In the darkness, the teachers were at a loss as they faced several clones of Yi Yeoreum.

Following the commands of the Watershadow Knight, they exerted their power, but they appeared to be Yi Yeoreum, now in the form of experimental subjects, wearing otherworldly garments made of interdimensional fabric.

These teachers were neither foolish nor lacking in abilities to be deceived by appearances.

The problem was that the clones of Yi Yeoreum were far more numerous than expected, and their abilities were stronger than anticipated.

'As Yi-shin predicted, the situation is unfolding as expected. This is troublesome.'

Im Yeon-hwa analyzed the situation with her insight skill, hiding her expression behind the crow mask.

Jo Yi-shin had anticipated the cloning of Yi Yeoreum and the possibility of an ability similar to Jared Lee’s being used, and he had communicated this in advance.

The teachers had prepared and braced themselves as best they could.

In the worst-case scenario, they would have to confront the clones of Yi Yeoreum, who could wield powers similar to those of Jared Lee, with the added complication of hostages being held.

This was precisely the situation they now faced, but the severity was much worse than expected.

‘According to the testimony of the Watershadow Knight, cloning multiple beings at once is difficult and time-consuming. But these clones are being made easily and in large numbers?’

Im Yeon-hwa didn’t think that Jared Lee would lie when family safety was at stake.

Therefore, she deduced two possible scenarios.

The first was that the achievement obtained by the Watershadow Knight was far greater than anyone had anticipated.

The second possibility was that Yi Yeoreum was actually more suited to cloning than Jared Lee.

Im Yeon-hwa leaned toward the second conclusion.

‘If the Watershadow Knight really had such great power, he wouldn’t have gone down such a dangerous path just to obtain a good experimental subject. Yi Yeoreum must have possessed far more potential than anyone realized!’

Ssssss.

The darkness expanded, surrounding the teachers in crow masks.

Before the darkness could touch her, Im Yeon-hwa wrapped her body in her energy field and moved to avoid it.

She didn’t even have to close her eyes figuratively, as she could physically navigate through interdimensional zones without trouble, so the darkness was nothing to her.

But the power Yi Yeoreum was wielding was not just any ordinary darkness.

"We must not let it touch us. Our minds will be corroded."

"Is this a mental attack ability?"

"Yes."

Thanks to the voice modulation feature built into the crow mask, Gong Cheong-hyeon’s voice sounded oddly distorted.

Gong Cheong-hyeon pulled a strand of hair and buried it into the darkness, but the blue energy light was being corroded, turning dim and blurry.

This was one of the effects of a mental attack ability.

Not only was manipulating darkness rare, but having a mental attack ability made one a highly sought-after player, often traded in dream auctions, where prices reached unprecedented heights.

Moreover, without the Watershadow Knight, it would have been meaningless, but Yi Yeoreum had been born with an innate ability to clone easily.

If her parents had known this, they would have been devastated by the fact that she had lost her abilities, as it could have meant an immense opportunity for them.

'Yi Yeoreum was one of the many who lost their abilities and had been forgotten. But at the center, they crushed all these possibilities.'

The moment of regret was fleeting.

With a bubbling sound like water boiling, new clones of Yi Yeoreum began to emerge one after another.

At first glance, it seemed as though someone was emerging from a deep, dark swamp, but it was clear that more clones were being created continuously.

"The cloned ones are enemies, right? We need to eliminate them before they multiply further."

"...Yes."

Gong Cheong-hyeon calmly declared, and Je-gal Jae-geol responded with a voice that seemed to swallow his pain.

They had to avoid the darkness and quickly wrap their bodies in energy to minimize exposure to it, but their main concern was to ensure the real Yi Yeoreum remained unharmed.

The battle among the teachers began, with many constraints.

The only fortunate thing was that the Watershadow Knight didn’t participate in the fight and didn’t attempt to restrict their movements by holding Namgung Gyu-yeon hostage.

‘Is the Watershadow Knight really just observing? I can't tell what they’re doing because of the darkness.’

Perhaps the terrible deeds they should have stopped were happening beyond that darkness.

Im Yeon-hwa’s anxiety surged, but now it was time to reduce the number of enemies.

The clones of Yi Yeoreum were using their powers recklessly, but they were not physically trained, so if they could close the distance, subduing them wouldn’t be difficult.

Although it took time to confirm whether the clone had the WR symbol engraved on their body before delivering the finishing blow, the teachers’ powers and abilities allowed them to quickly reduce that time.

‘The rate of subduing them is faster than the rate at which clones are created. But...’

The darkness slowly started to erode the teachers.

Their stamina, concentration, perception, and output of energy began to decline bit by bit.

Still, the teachers seemed unlikely to lose.

The real problem was that, at this rate, it would be difficult to distinguish between the real and fake Yi Yeoreum.

Wiiing!

At that moment, a loud mechanical sound echoed.

The teachers briefly checked the source of the noise before continuing their fight against the darkness.

They stopped the newly emerging clones of Yi Yeoreum from spreading more darkness, while keeping an eye on the speaker that had emitted a screeching noise.

Soon after, a spark erupted, and amidst the noise, Namgung Gyu-yeon’s voice could be heard.

[The intelligence control device has malfunctioned! If we don’t fix this, the uncontrolled intelligence will spread the darkness to the surface!]

The laboratory, where the fierce battle was taking place, was assumed to be in the control room beyond the partition, where both Namgung Gyu-yeon and the Watershadow Knight were likely located.

Something had clearly gone wrong in the control room as well.

If the uncontrolled intelligence mixed with the darkness and spread to the surface as Namgung Gyu-yeon warned, a disaster would occur.

Today, there were external games like Chess and PlayerZ, but there were also games held inside the military academy, and families of students or visitors from the Silver Light School were present as spectators.

While strong players could protect themselves, the fate of ordinary people facing this darkness was uncertain.

‘What should I do? If I use Gwanglim to blow everything away, it would solve the problem, but Yi Yeoreum would be severely hurt.’

If Im Yeon-hwa used the Gwanglim 'Mighty Warrior's Armament' to call forth equipment strong enough for this crisis, she could destroy the entire research institute.

But doing so would surely cause injuries, and at worst, deaths, leaving no evidence behind.

Then, she and the other teachers would be labeled as crazy individuals who inexplicably destroyed the Ministry of Defense Research Institute.

They could escape right after the destruction, but that would completely ruin the meaning of their infiltration.

Before she could deliberate further, the partition opened.

Im Yeon-hwa thought Namgung Gyu-yeon had opened it for help, but it wasn’t her.

"I thought you’d be hiding, but you’ve come out."

Just as Gong Cheong-hyeon had subdued a clone of Yi Yeoreum with Taehogwon, he recognized the Watershadow Knight. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The knight, who had been rendered immobile by a tiger’s paw on his vital point, glanced at Gong Cheong-hyeon.

"I never planned to hide. I had to see what kind of power these children possess, and I had to keep my promise to them."

"I have many questions about that person. It’s good that you’re here."

Gong Cheong-hyeon spoke softly, seemingly knowing who the knight was referring to.

It seemed like a calm conversation, but the atmosphere was far from peaceful.

Rather than speaking more about that person, the Watershadow Knight said what he needed to.

"I’ve seen what kind of power they have. Now, I intend to use that power."

"But you’re already using it, aren’t you?"

"You’ve stimulated their power with intelligence, but you haven’t used anything beyond that, have you?"

The Watershadow Knight spoke cryptically, but when combined with what Namgung Gyu-yeon had said, the answer became clear.

Gong Cheong-hyeon asked, knowing the answer.

"So you’re the one who damaged the intelligence control device."

"I didn’t break it. I pushed its output beyond its limit to unlock its potential. Now that I have such a great experimental subject, I wouldn’t have another chance to test it unless I do it now."

The Watershadow Knight seemed quite ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) pleased.

Having performed dangerous experiments deep underground, they were now attempting to extend their reach to the surface.

And they were preparing to personally intervene to stop the teachers from interfering.

Meanwhile, the energy of Yi Yeoreum and her clones continued to surge, and the darkness they released thickened.

As the teachers gathered their energy to resist, Je-gal Jae-geol asked.

"Why are you standing so calmly in that darkness? Is it because of your armor?"

"It might be because of the armor, but I’d be fine even without it. I found that corrupt darkness quite pleasant."

At the mention of "corrupt darkness," Je-gal Jae-geol's eyes widened.

Although no one had signaled, the teachers all rushed toward the Watershadow Knight, breaking through the darkness.