Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 191 - 178 Unlucky for You

The Duke of Hamlet was now like a snake with its venomous fangs removed, hissing coldly as he dodged the Spine Wheel, maintaining a distance neither too close nor too far from Lyle.

Temporarily losing the ability to control his comrades, he could only act on his own, and he was also wary of the short gun in Lyle’s hand, leading to the current situation becoming a protracted battle.

Lyle was controlling the skeletons in an attempt to hinder the Duke, while the Duke was biding his time, waiting for the decayed puppets to awaken, or seeking an unexpected way to deal with Lyle.

The situation maintained a strange balance, with both sides waiting for the final weight to tip the scales.

While Lyle was wholeheartedly manipulating his creations, an unusual noise came from behind him.

Turning his head, Lyle saw the disintegrating skeleton and a bone held in Kevin’s hand.

Their eyes met, exchanging mutual surprise.

"Uh... I didn’t expect your skeleton soldiers to be so fragile, I was just looking for something to use as a weapon..."

Lyle’s expression then returned to normal.

"That’s the keystone, the hardest part of the skeleton because it’s hard to destroy, and it usually acts as the core of the Resurrection Spell. I’m not at all surprised that you picked the best one," he said.

"But thanks to you, our fighting ability has decreased. So, Mr. Lucky, can you make our enemy share a bit of this misfortune?"

Sensing Lyle’s mood, Kevin realized that if he didn’t perform well, Lyle might not hesitate to eliminate the backstabber.

Swallowing hard, Kevin threw the newly acquired bone weapon at the Duke of Hamlet as if gambling.

Watching the toy fly towards him, the Duke let out a disdainful snicker. He swung his tentacles to swat the bone away, and as it spun in the air, its comical posture seemed to mock the two foolish boys.

The Spine Wheel, by a stroke of luck, moved towards the Duke, and the dancing bone struck its sloping edge. The tremendous kinetic energy, like a rocket’s second stage booster, caused the bone to fly back like a sword, piercing through the ceiling.

Cracks formed in the ceiling, large chunks of the wall began to fall, one of which just happened to be gripped by the Duke’s tentacle.

Like a person slipping on a tightrope, he lost his balance and fell into the path of the Spine Wheel.

A loud collision of bone echoed in the empty room, accompanied by the Duke of Hamlet’s screams as blood spurted out.

He was cut in half, the long tentacles, bereft of their brain, struggled in their death throes on the floor, thrashing no more. The upper body lay on the ground, the waist and abdomen a bloody mess. Having narrowly missed a fatal injury, the Duke’s body was relatively intact, escaping a lethal blow.

But no matter, he had lost his main means of movement, his tentacles, and was like a helpless bug tied to the tracks, waiting for the final blow. Just one more run under the Spine Wheel would suffice.

Lyle casually summoned the bone wheel to charge at him, thinking the end was certain.

Who would have expected that the Duke would use the strength of his upper body to leap up, bringing the already short distance between them even closer with this jump. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Lyle watched his fierce claws, saw the blood gushing from his waist, and tightly gripped the tree branch short gun in his hand.

The Duke of Hamlet chose a cunning angle, one where, if Lyle recklessly moved the Spine Wheel, all three would suffer severe fractures—likely, Lyle and Kevin would be even more shattered.

The Spine Wheel halted its movement, and Lyle thrust the short gun towards the Duke.

The intense impact of the collision sent Lyle flying, with smoke shrouding the center.

Clutching the tree branch, Lyle nervously peered into the dust.

"Kevin, are you okay?"

"I’m fine!" "I’m fine!"

The smoke cleared, and the Duke of Hamlet’s figure had disappeared, leaving behind two Kevins, identical as twins. Their appearances, clothing, and even the extent of their wounds and the dust on them were the same.

The difference was that one Kevin was by a far wall, while the other had been blown to another spot.

One of the Kevins was the seriously injured Duke in disguise.

The two Kevins looked at each other, both clearly aware of the gravity of the situation.

The Kevin closer to the center of the room immediately shared a secret between him and Lyle to prove his identity.

"At Eiffel Academy, Lyle, you once poisoned Philer to avoid a test! You used the Dorubo Pathogen, and the next day’s dissection test turned into Professor Bogdan’s sudden epidemiology test, and you almost failed!"

"I am the real Kevin!"

Lyle, reminded of his dark past, manipulated the Spine Wheel to crash into the other Kevin, embedding it into the wall.

The Duke of Hamlet’s scheme was easily seen through by Lyle.

Kevin dusted himself off, approached Lyle with a smile, completely unguarded, still boasting about his cleverness.

"I’m smart, aren’t I." Kevin’s face wore a sly smile, just like when they used to play pranks together.

This battle was a joint victory for Lyle and Kevin.

Lyle smiled as if to embrace, opening his arms wide toward Kevin.

Kevin also opened his arms in understanding.

Just as they were about to embrace, Lyle thrust the withered branch spear into Kevin’s chest, smiling as Kevin coughed up blood.

"Lyle? Are we still in an illusion? Why are you doing this to me?"

Lyle’s face was impassive, "Is there any need to keep up the pretense? Your Grace, Duke of Hamlet?"

"I am Kevin. Our shared memories, I’ve already proven my identity..."

Lyle’s face showed no surprise. "So what? Who said we have to reveal a secret to identify the truth? Even if you do, how can you be sure you are right? Hamlet’s illusions could delve into our memories. Those past secrets count for nothing."

"Your actions, indeed, that’s exactly the tactic I would expect, if I had to decide, telling shared secrets would be the best way to confirm one’s identity. But I’m not Kevin, and he wouldn’t answer questions the way I would. Your argument is like reading my mind."

Kevin’s body started to weaken, his skin turning pale.

"That’s just your assumption. You would hurt your friend for a mere hypothesis in your mind?"

Lyle spoke with righteous indignation, "That’s right, it’s an assumption, and I just felt like stabbing you, especially since you were in my face about it. Even if you really were Kevin, I would still stab you just the same."

Looking at the Duke of Hamlet, shriveling and returning to his original form, Lyle shrugged his shoulders.

"Just bad luck for you, Mr. Hamlet."