Chapter 52: Mirror Queen (1)

“Weren’t we supposed to wrap this up peacefully here?”

“Looks like the Mirror Queen has other ideas…”

Exina shook off the blood from her sword with a few flicks.

It seemed like a strange comment—

Until the loud, booming thuds started echoing endlessly from up ahead.

Where was it even coming from?

The corridor leading to the next room wasn’t even that long—

-That’s way too many mobs, wtf lol

-Is she trying to start a war inside the Demon King’s Castle?

-All of them are mid-tier beasts or stronger…

-Breaking: Mirror Queen’s Castle threat level raised to 11…

The hallway was short in theory—

But in reality, it had become physically impossible to move forward due to the sheer number of beasts packed into it.

Elian spaced out for a bit, then suddenly tapped my shoulder like something clicked.

“Irene. That’s the audience chamber.”

The gold-colored doors did look pretty fancy…

But seriously? That’s the audience room all of a sudden?

Thinking about it… he might be right.

I remember seeing doors like those on Elian’s stream before.

And if the audience chamber is right up ahead,

Then the ridiculous number of monsters suddenly makes a lot more sense.

“Guess we’ll have to carve a path.”

Naturally, Exina and Elian stepped forward without hesitation.

Luna began gathering mana—

Most likely to launch a large-scale spell.

No sooner had we finished preparing for battle,

Than the violet beasts came rushing in like a wave.

“They’re coming!”

They looked just like the illusions from when we fought Luminil.

So… are these also illusions?

No. That’s not quite right.

These guys had real bodies.

“It’s quality over quantity. These beasts aren’t even gonna leave a scratch!”

As her sword clashed and flared with sparks,

Exina swung mightily, sending a massive wave of sword energy straight ahead.

“…You’ve had that kind of power this whole time and hid it?”

Elian stared at Exina in disbelief.

She just chuckled and kept cutting through the remaining monsters.

Well, if that’s how it is—I’m not about to fall behind.

If I jump in too, this’ll be over in no time.

…Or so I thought at the time.

***

“Something’s wrong!”

Luna’s sudden cry broke the party’s silence again.

The first to respond was Exina.

“I know! Why do they just keep coming?!”

Considering she had cut down the most monsters, It made sense she’d be the first to notice something was off.

Just based on what Exina alone had killed, They had already gone way past the number of beasts they’d initially seen—

And yet, they still weren’t running out.

At first, they’d figured, “Well, it’s the Mirror Queen—of course she’d have a lot of monsters.”

But the numbers were just… absurd now.

“Does the Mirror Queen have infinite mana or something?!”

“No! It wasn’t like this the last time I fought her!”

After all, summoning and maintaining beasts costs magic energy.

The more beasts there were, the weaker the Demon King’s influence became.

In other words, for the Mirror Queen to be controlling this many beasts…It wasn’t just reckless—it was incredibly inefficient to the extreme.

No matter how powerful she was as a Demon King, there was no way she could maintain so many at once.

“This has to be a trap, right?”

Luna fired off her charged spell.

The unleashed magic split into countless branches, sweeping through the corridor and wiping out all the beasts in an instant.

“Just as I thought.”

Of course.

No sooner had the monsters fallen, more violet beasts sprang out from the walls, ceiling, and floor.

Irene quickly cut down the ones in front of her, then turned to Elian and Exina.

“Can we break through?”

Exina shook her head.

“It’s fine now, but the moment we push into that sea of beasts, we’ll be surrounded on all sides.”

“What if we cleared them all out at once and rushed through?”

This time Elian shook his head.

“They’re regenerating faster than we can clear them.”

Irene hesitated, thinking.

It was true.

The beasts were respawning at an absurd pace, endlessly.

But if you asked whether it was physically impossible to push just one person through…
Not quite.

If it came down to it, that one person would be Irene.

The real problem was the rest of the party.

They were still holding out for now, but it was only a matter of time before their mana ran dry.

To make things worse, the concentration of dark energy was so high that even barrier magic wouldn’t fully deploy.

About three more minutes passed with everyone slicing down monsters—

Suddenly, Exina smiled.

“…What’s with that grin?”

Irene asked, but realized the reason almost immediately.

“So much for ‘I won’t interfere.’ Looks like someone’s been lurking in the shadows, watching the whole thing on stream?”

“Lurking? Now that’s a rude way to put it. I didn’t come here to be insulted.”

With that voice, the corridor was suddenly bathed in light.

Not from lanterns—

But from the lingering glow of a radiant golden sword that had filled the hallway.

-???

-?

-Huh?

-?

-Holy—

[LIVE]

[38,193 viewers]

[Mirror Queen Subjugation Raid]

Before the monsters could reappear, the entire hall was filled with knights in golden armor.

“A true Emperor must always keep watch over struggling citizens.”

Everyone else froze in shock.

Everyone, that is—except Exina and Irene.

Exina even looked bored.

“So… before we go, care to explain what made you change your mind?”

And it was an unexpected move on Tania’s part.

The Emperor herself—along with the Empire’s strongest sword— was appearing live, on a public broadcast.

That meant exposing the very symbols of the Empire’s strength— which practically handed the Emperor’s political opposition an opportunity.

The Emperor paused to consider, then finally answered.

“There were many reasons. But this is something I would’ve had to do eventually.”

Then, raising one finger, she pointed directly at Irene.

“To repay a debt, you could say.”

Tania’s words left Irene even more puzzled.

A debt… to the Emperor? What debt?

Of course, she meant Irene’s broadcast.

But the Emperor didn’t bother to elaborate.

“I don’t exactly have time to waste. Let’s end the chit-chat.”

The corridor looked like a royal audience chamber, lined with knights on both sides in orderly rows.

This time, even Exina and the rest paid proper respects to the Emperor before they all rushed toward the end of the hallway.

Only once the streaming devices had fully vanished did the Emperor finally recall the knights.

“Sigh… now I’ll have to spend the whole day answering complaints about ‘unauthorized use of imperial military force.’ Again.”

***

“Mirror Queen!!”

The first to kick open the door was Elian.

No matter what, Elian had personal scores to settle with the Mirror Queen.

The Mirror Queen rose from her throne and descended slowly.

Next to her stood a familiar figure in a white robe.

“I knew you’d get in the way. Should’ve gotten rid of you earlier. Actually—if you hadn’t gone off on your own, I would’ve.”

“Oh, please. This coming from the one who killed Elian and sulked about it all day?”

Right.

She had forgotten about El.

She thought she’d show up in some different outfit, but no—

She was still dressed as the Saint of Salvation.

“There’s a lot I want to say, but I’ll keep it short.”

The Mirror Queen addressed everyone, as if making an announcement.

“I’m not in the habit of talking to corpses. And I’ve got no reason to keep hiding anything anymore.”

As the Mirror Queen unleashed her mana, I felt it—It really was… my mana?

From Lumineel, it had only been a faint trace.

But this one…

It was practically a perfect copy.

Even more bizarrely,

this wasn’t the same energy I’d felt before.

Still, one thing was clear—it wasn’t demonic energy.

El was also radiating energy.

But there wasn’t a shred of divine power in it anymore.

It felt entirely foreign. Alien, even.

Either way, with the enemy making the first move,

I had no choice but to draw my sword as well.

“I really don’t want to do this…”

“You have to. Who else but you could?”

Before El even finished speaking, she swept her hand over the group.

The meaning was obvious.

“Everyone but me, go all-in.”

“Irene. I’ll kill you and bring back my Irene.”

The Mirror Queen launched forward with explosive speed.

Whoa.

That’s fast.

I blocked her once with my sword, but she immediately recovered and unleashed a barrage of attacks.

Was she holding back until now?

It would make sense—

She’d been hiding her mana.

Still, even if she was using the same power as me, there’s always a difference in skill.

Once I adapted to her swordplay, it didn’t take long to start pushing her back.

And now, the Mirror Queen—she was using my sword techniques.

If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was me from a parallel universe.

She used my mana, just like Lumineel.

She wielded my sword.

She even used styles that only I should know.

But Lumineel said that the Irene from this world was already dead.

…Then is she some kind of moving corpse?

I had to know.

I had to confirm it.

I spotted a gap in her defense—

“…!”

And instead of striking anywhere else,I slashed her hood and mask clean off.

Apparently, she hadn’t reinforced them.

Her face was revealed almost instantly.

The Mirror Queen swept back her long golden hair.

“…This is awkward, Irene.”

It was Elian.

“…Wait… it’s you?”