MMORPG: Rebirth as an Alchemist

"Listen up, everyone!" Ren called for their attention. "Nyxos has this ability called [Shadow Imprisonment], which he could use on only one creature at a time. I believe that he had used his ability to imprison Lorelai's shadow."

"Are you sure?" Desira asked, her brow furrowing in concern.

Ren nodded firmly. "Didn't you notice, Lorelai had no shadow."

The others exchanged glances, their expressions mirroring a mix of confusion and realization.

Malifira furrowed her brows, deep in thought. "Come to think of it, I did notice something odd about her," she mused aloud.

"You did?" Azazel tilted his head, his expression puzzled. "How come I didn't sense anything weird? She looks fine to me."

"That's because you were focused more on her face than anything else," Elena deadpanned.

"Here's the plan," Ren interjected, capturing their attention as he outlined their strategy. "Azazel, Evie, Elena, and I go after Nyxos and Lorelai. The rest of you, hold these shadows back, but don't kill them, or we'll meet the same fate."

The room fell silent as they absorbed Ren's instructions, each member of the group steeling themselves for the impending battle.

Ren pondered deeply, a nagging feeling tugging at his instincts. He believed that they needed at least Azazel to retrieve Lorelai, perhaps influenced by their close bond, though he admitted to himself that their relationship was somewhat . . . complex.

After all, it was Lorelai who had helped Azazel break free from corruption. Maybe this time, it would be Azazel's turn to repay the favor and rescue Lorelai.

Ren was betting on that idea, and he hoped that he was right.

Desira was the first to voice her protest. "Egh? But I want to go with Lord Azazel!"

Malifira grabbed her hair and hold Desira back.

"Hey!" Desira growled, her irritation clear.

Ignoring Desira's protests, Malifira turned to Ren and the others. "You go. We will take care of these shadows. Don't worry."

"I should worry if I were you!" Pamela exclaimed from the sidelines, her voice tinged with concern.

"Whoa! Help me!" she screamed as her shadow turned hostile and attacked her.

However, everyone else ignored her cries for assistance, and went on their respective task.

"Hey stop ignoring me!" Pamela barked out loud.

"Agh, you're so annoying," Iraelyn snapped, her frustration evident as she faced Pamela's shadow. "You're so weak, just punch your shadow. Like this." With that, she flexed her muscles and executed lightning-fast jabs on the shadow's face.

Pamela's shadow recoiled, her face now adorned with lumps and her nose bleeding from the assault.

Pamela shrieked in horror. "Aargh! Don't! What are you doing?! You're going to kill me if you kill my shadow, remember?!"

Iraelyn frowned, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Huh? What do you really want me to do? Help you or not?"

"Help me, of course! But don't hurt my shadow, or you'll kill me in the process!" Pamela pleaded desperately.

"That's unreasonable," Iraelyn muttered under her breath. Her eyes then widened in disbelief. "Ah. What happened to your face?"

"My face?" Pamela asked, bewildered, before tentatively tapping her cheek and flinching. "Ow. What's this?"

Rummaging through her bag, Pamela retrieved her mirror. To her horror, she discovered multiple lumps on her face, and her lip and nose was bleeding.

"What the!" Pamela gasped, her shock palpable.

"W-what's going on?!" Vivi asked, her gaze shifting from Pamela to her shadow in confusion.

Malifira crossed her arms, a troubled expression etched on her face. "This has turned troublesome. It seems that whatever befalls our shadows will also befall us."

"Well, this is a piece of shitty news," Desira remarked, flipping her hair in frustration. "We can't kill them or hurt them, but they're going to come after us with killing intent. What are we going to do then?"

Iraelyn clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Does this mean that I can't fight my other self?"

"You can if you want to risk killing yourself in the process," Desira sneered.

Iraelyn pouted and sighed. "Bummer."

"What are we going to do now?" Vivi asked, her voice tinged with worry.

Malifira chuckled. "Just hold them off while I cast a spell."

"Hey! You better not annihilate us in the process," Desira warned sharply.

Malifira's smile turned sweetly mocking. "Don't worry, you won't die from a simple spell. If you did, that would be laughable."

An angry flush spread across Desira's face, her fists clenched and her expression warped. "Huh?! What did you say?! Say that again, you wench!"

Malifira remained unfazed by Desira's outburst and began chanting her spell. "Hold them off."

"Don't order me around! I'm not your servant!" Desira barked, her defiance clear.

Despite her protest, she proceeded to cast a spell to restrain her shadow and the shadows of the others, following Malifira's instructions, while Ren and the rest hurried to face Nyxos.

"You're fight is with us!" Iraelyn roared as Ren and the other shadows came after them.

With adrenaline coursing through her veins, Iraelyn swiftly swung a giant club, causing Ren and the others' shadows to flinch back, preventing them from following Ren and the rest towards Nyxos and Lorelai.

"Ah! Lord Azazel!" Desira shouted in alarm. "Iraelyn, you idiot! You hurt Lord Azazel!"

"What do you want me to do?" Iraelyn snapped back, her frustration evident. "Just stand here and do nothing? Ren said to hold the shadows back."

"Hold them but don't hurt them!" Desira retorted.

"And how do you propose doing that?"

"Just restrain them without using your brute strength! You birdbrain!"

Iraelyn's expression twisted in confusion as she scratched her head. That was the most difficult order she had ever heard in her entire life.

"Do what I'm doing!" Desira pointed to the clump of shadow ensnared in twisted vines.

However, the entrapment didn't last long as the shadow broke free with ease using one of Desira's spells.

Iraelyn smirked at Desira. "Well, that didn't work."

"Shut up! And hold them back!" Desira retorted, her frustration mounting. "If you have a smarter idea, I'm all ears!"

Iraelyn fell silent for a moment, her brow furrowed in thought, before a light bulb suddenly lit up over her head.

"I got it!"