Chapter 38

The Dawn of Glory [the Half-breed]



Chapter; Thirty-eight



Theme: Telepathy and pain, 2



As soon as the voice subsided away, all the clones arranged themselves. Each group consists of ten people, excluding those that seem to be their leaders.



Slowly, Joy dropped her dog, cracked her ankles, and walked toward the clones. The sound of her boot made a loud clicking sound as they came into contact with the inflexible bridge.



The determination in her eyes was visible. She was ready to fight all these clones with her last strength. She was tired of the awful place. She examined her dog for the last time, and she could see her wiggling its tail and moving beside her.



Seeing that she was closed, two beings emerged from each group, making them six against one. Nonetheless, Joy was unfazed. The only things that kept echoing in her head were telepathy and pain. That means if she hits a clone, it will affect the rest of its group.



There is just a little difference between the cursed bond and this telepathy and pain. The difference is that Joy gets affected when she hits her clone. Letting out a great cry of atrocity, Joy lunged at the incoming clones.



Even though the bridge was narrow and worn out, it still did a great job of accommodating all of them. Joy slid down to duck a spear that was thrown at her. She braced herself up with her right hand, swivelled her body in the air, and kicked the clone that threw the spear at her chest.



The force of the kick threw the clone several metres away, and she was lucky not to fall over the edge. Just like the unknown voice had told her earlier, the rest of her clone, which was holding a spear, felt the impact of her kick. Seeing this, Joy knew she stood a chance against them.



She gave ground to lunged and parried a whack from the rapier's holder, then retaliated by jabbing the clone in the throat. Before she could balance her body, the clone that was holding a shield slammed it into her face. Joy felt a loud bang as the shield collided with her face, and blood filled her mouth.



She paused to examine her mouth, but another whack from the rapier's wielder brought her back to reality. That's when Joy knew that they were going to kill her if she didn't kill them. Not only that, but she also takes the cognitive note of not stopping to check a wound in the battle, just like Dan had always warned her.



Her clone attacked her with a rapier again, and Joy quickly stepped aside to circumvent it. In the same motion, the shield holder attacked her, and Joy narrowly fled the sharp mouth of the blade that was directed at her chest. It was a narrow escape.



From the corner of her eyes, she could see the clone that she kicked earlier dashing at her. Instead of acting harshly, she waited for the last seconds while blocking the blow from the shield and rapier's wielder at the same time.



The spear holder thought that she was distracted. She threw the weapon straight. The spear went spinning in the air and aimed straight at Joy's chest. Joy bent short and the spear struck home. It pierced the heart of the clone which was holding the shield. 



The clone let out a gasping breath, her eyes were wide open in shock. She could also hear the painful gasping that escaped the mouth of the clones' group at the same time. Before the clone could drop down to the ground, Joy reached out with for her shield and blade.



She slammed the shield on the rapier's clone's face and then threw the blade at the incoming clone. She watched in amazement as the sword went spinning end over end before it penetrated itself into the clone's stomach. Slowly, the clone and her group dropped dead.



She heard the loud clamouring of people behind her, and the sound sent a cold shiver down her spine. Before Joy could blink, she felt sharp objects piercing her back from behind. She was yet to recognize that when the same being stabbed her in the rib cage, the blade narrowly missed her vital organs.



Gathering her strength, she turned back and pushed the clone that punctured her away before dropping to her knees. She heard the wooden bridge shaking violently, and the wailing of people increased in her ears. 

Joy forced herself to look up, and the sight in front of her made her know she was doomed.



The remaining clones with rapiers were now running at her. The one that stabbed her stood in front of her with a nasty stare. If eyes could kill, Joy was sure that she wouldn't last a minute here again.



That's when she remembers the male voice's warning before they begin their fight. He had warned her not to kill any of the clones. However, she didn't do it on purpose. She did it to protect herself. It's self-defence.



"You have failed," Joy heard her inner voice mocking her. "Now you are stuck here forever."



"Hell No!" Joy thought. She wouldn't go down like that. She couldn't allow ordinary clones and unrealistic beings to overcome her.



The whining of her dog brought her back to reality. She directed her gaze to the spot, and she could see that her dog had just bitten the same clone that stabbed her. She had been so lost in thought that she didn't know what was happening. Now the same clone is about to stab her dog.



Hell No! Joy thought. She couldn't allow that. That same dog had suffered enough because of her. That dog had been through the worst, and the last thing she expected was to see the dog dying.



The sight sparked her rage. It serves as an oar that drives her boat further into the middle of the ocean. Like an anchor, the dog pulled out something in her. It pulled out the power that was lying down in the depths of her body.



Summoning all her strength, she hopped up and dived her body at the clone. As Joy's body collided with the clone, the force made her lose her target and the being stabbed the wooden bridge instead. Her dog barked in excitement, wriggling her tail around Joy. 



Not wanting to be distracted again, Joy didn't spare the dog a glance. She only pushed the little being aside with her leg, and then faced the angry clones in front of her. Bingo, also sensing that a great battle of fate was about to occur, moved away from Joy.



At once, all the clones attack Joy, and she charges back to meet them. She leapt up and then hit a clone on the temple with her leg. She stepped aside to evade a rapier, and then slammed the shield she took from the previous clone on her face. 



She was slow to avoid an attack, and a clone slashed her from behind. However, she didn't allow that to slow her down. She wheeled back, and then kicked the clone in the chest. Joy yanked her up with all her might and threw the clone over the edge. Now she was left with ten clones.



Another clone whacks at her, and she quickly raises her shield. The blow collided with her shield instead, and the sound echoed throughout the bridge. She bent low and then used the shield to hit her attacker's leg. 



She leapt up, performing acrobatic skills. She was spinning on her enemy's body before she finally threw her down the bridge. She could hear the painful wailing of the clone as it tumbled down from the bridge into nothingness.



She quickly rolled out of the way as a rapier came descending on her head. At the same time, she used her shield to push the clone down the bridge, and the handrail that was supporting the bridge broke in the process. 



As Joy fought amidst the remaining seven clones, she felt herself getting lost in the intensive battle. She allows her body to do the hacking, jabbing and whacking. She felt the wind pulling her in different directions to evade her enemy's attack. Another force was controlling her.



Even though she had expected the remaining clones to die as she killed one of them. Yet, they were still standing. However, that didn't bother her. Whether they die telepathically or not, she was determined to end their life.



Finally, Joy felt at peace. She felt all the anger in her body fading away. Her rage is now diminishing. She didn't know how long this fight would last. But when she finally got a glimpse of her environment, all the clones were lying down dead. 



"Congratulations, Bildad Joy, you can now proceed to the portal. Joy heard the same male voice again. "You have just passed the battle of strength and endurance."



The joyful look of triumph changed to puzzlement immediately. People in her realm are calling her Darius Joy. Yet they are calling her the daughter of Bildad the Shuhite here. 



"What the hell is happening?" She forced herself to ask. 



"Why are you calling me by a different name? Who are my biological parents?"



Laughing out loud, the voice replied, "That's not my duty to tell you. I was assigned to monitor your endurance and strength tests. You will find out when you return to your body."



Not waiting anymore, Joy made her way toward the portal. She was almost there when the voice said, "Beware, nothing is real. Don't get distracted by them because they are all an illusion." With that, everything went silent.



Joy wants to think about what she just heard. But she shrugged it off with another thought. She knelt, picked up her dog, and entered the portal.



Immediately after Joy entered the portal, it closed back. All the bridges crumbled and turned into rural fields. It was like she hadn't fought there at all. The bodies have also gone.



T.b.c