I Died and Received an SSS-Rank Unique Ability-Chapter 63: More Doppelgangers

Somewhere else, deep within the labyrinth of ice, a girl with violet hair moved cautiously through the twisting maze.

She squinted into the shadows, barely able to see through the dense fog and the creeping darkness.

"Where is everyone?" she murmured—no louder than a whisper.

She remembered the turn she took when the others vanished. Desperately, she tried to find that same corner, but retracing her steps was impossible. The maze felt alive, constantly shifting. Every turn led somewhere new, somewhere wrong.

Frustration built with every single step.

Then—just as her patience wore thin—she saw it.

A figure, half-concealed in the thick veil of fog.

Her heart jumped. She hurried forward, unwilling to lose sight of the silhouette ahead. The shape grew clearer with each step, increasingly familiar, until she finally recognised who it was.

"Vale?" she called out, a hopeful smile flickering across her face. "Finally! I thought I’d never find any—"

But before she could finish, Vale moved.

The blade of Hellfire sprang to life in his hand, cutting through the air with a whistle.

Ayla’s instincts kicked in. In a flash, she activated her unique ability, her body turning almost weightless as she narrowly evaded the attack.

"What the hell, Vale?!" she shouted. "What are you—"

He lunged again.

No words. No emotion. Just a relentless barrage of empty, mechanical attacks.

With her mass manipulation active and both daggers drawn, she met each blow, gritting her teeth against the crushing force behind every strike.

"What is going on?" Her mind raced for answers, but there was no time to think—only to survive.

Hellfire ignited. The blade erupted in searing orange flames and came screaming toward her.

But before it could reach her, she vanished.

Her movements became a blur of precision and speed. With perfect manipulation of both her own and her attacker’s weight, she began to outmatch him. Blocking and evading, she was weaving through the air like a phantom.

Then, mid-exchange, her blade sank deep into his arm.

She froze for a split second.

There was no blood. No wince of pain. Just a void beneath his skin, hollow and unnatural.

Her heart dropped. Realisation dawning on her—This isn’t Vale.

A cold wave of grief was quickly replaced by steely resolve. She shifted from defence to full-on assault.

Strike after strike landed. Wounds began to accumulate across the doppelganger’s body, shards of icy flesh flying from each cut. But it came at a cost. Hellfire tore into her just as many times, blood painting streaks across her slender frame. She barely felt it. The adrenaline dulled everything but the burning need to end this.

Despite the injuries, the relentless creature kept coming.

But before she could succumb to her injuries, she finally found it—an opening.

She lunged forward, her dagger slicing through the frozen air and plunging deep into the doppelganger’s neck.

A loud crack echoed through the corridor.

The imposter shattered into a thousand glittering shards of ice before it even hit the ground.

Heavy silence fell inside the narrow corridor.

She stood motionless, panting from exhaustion.

A sudden wave of relief crashed over her like a wave.

It wasn’t the real Vale.

She exhaled shakily, dismissing her weapons with a flick of her thought. The blades vanished into mist.

Blood dripped from her wounds—deep gashes were still weeping, while the smaller ones had begun to close.

With the doppelganger defeated, she pressed on, limping down the icy corridor, every step slow and painful. Her breaths came ragged, each inhale stinging like frostbite.

But she kept moving, hope of finding someone—anyone—still burning strong in her heart.

Minutes passed. It felt like almost an hour had passed since she finally saw something.

A flicker of light.

Dim and barely there—yet unmistakably visible.

She pressed forward, pushing through the pain stretching across her entire body, determination etched into every strained movement.

The dim glow grew brighter with each turn. Each step drew her closer to its source.

Finally, after one of the maze’s many twists, she saw it—a person in the near distance, walking slowly, holding a glowing artifact.

"Klein?" she called out, recognizing the figure ahead of her.

Klein came to a halt. Then—with almost mechanical precision—he turned to face her.

Her eyes widened at the odd behaviour. She already knew what was happening, but before she could react, Klein’s doppelganger cast his debuff.

The last of her strength drained instantly, her legs trembling.

And then—another shadow moved in.

Herself.

Her own doppelganger dashed forward, her dagger tearing through the air, aimed straight for Ayla’s exposed torso.

She stumbled backwards, too weak to evade in time.

Clang!

Ayla’s eyes snapped open wide. But then, her surprised expression softened into a wide smile.

Standing above her, Vale blocked the strike.

She didn’t need to ask. She could feel it—this was really him.

"Took you long enough," she said.

"Sorry," he muttered, already shifting his stance. In one fluid motion, he struck at the false Ayla.

At that moment, Klein, the real one, came from around the corner, casting his own debuff onto Ayla’s doppelganger.

With the weakening ability in place, and Vale’s blade now wreathed in dark flame, he tore through her double with brutal precision. The ice body shattered into countless shards before being consumed by the ravenous flame.

Vale’s eyes flicked to the second threat—Klein’s doppelganger.

"Another one?" The thought surfaced in his mind. He had already fought his double once.

"So there’s more than one of each of us."

Without hesitation, he lunged forward.

The fake Klein tried to sidestep the attack, casting a debuff on Vale mid-motion, but he was far too slow.

Blade of Hellfire tore through the air once more.

With a single, decisive swing, Vale beheaded the doppelganger. The body shattered, crumbling into lifeless frost before vanishing entirely.

Ayla watched as Vale stood above the nonexistent remains of his kill. He lingered there for a moment, unmoving, as if lost in thought—then he turned on his heel and hurried toward her.

"You okay?" he asked, extending his hand to help her up.

"...Yeah. Thank you."

Their eyes locked. A heavy silence fell between them, unspoken emotions churning just beneath the surface.

Then, Klein’s voice broke through that very same silence.

"Any idea where Dain is?"