After killing the other two replicas, the one that had turned on them seemed to lose all its strength and collapsed to the ground again...
Su Yuan looked at that replica with a complicated expression.
Why? Wasn’t it his enemy? Why would it help him instead?
He thought about it for a long time but still couldn’t figure it out.
However, seeing that the large door ahead was still tightly shut, Su Yuan guessed that he probably had to deliver the final blow to this clone in order to complete the stage.
"Even though I don’t know why you decided to help me, I still want to thank you..."
"But to clear this stage, I have no choice but to kill you. I’m sorry..."
As Su Yuan said that, he struck the clone one last time.
The moment he did, the sealed door finally opened.
"Phew..." Su Yuan finally let out a deep breath of relief.
"At last, I’ve cleared the twelfth floor. If there had been another infinite clone loop or something, I’d be done for..."
After passing through the door, Su Yuan entered another space.
The area was vast, filled with all kinds of daily necessities and experimental instruments — clearly, someone had been living here.
In the center of the room sat a man in a chair.
As Su Yuan approached, the man stood up, turned around, and smiled wickedly.
"Su Yuan," he said, "since our last farewell in Fontaine, we meet again."
Su Yuan stared at him seriously — there was no mistaking it.
It was Aji!
"Aji," Su Yuan demanded, "what is the purpose behind everything you’ve done?"
"Purpose?" Aji smiled faintly.
"Merely to satisfy my little fondness for hiding things, that’s all..."
"Su Yuan, look down by your feet."
Su Yuan lowered his gaze and found a delicate-looking box lying at his feet.
He bent down, picked it up, and opened it — only to find half of a brain inside!
"This," Aji said with a grin, clapping his hands slowly, "is the final missing piece of the Darknight Hero."
"Congratulations, Su Yuan. You’ve successfully completed my challenge — you’ve gathered all of the Darknight Hero’s body fragments and earned the right to meet me."
"So now, as promised, I shall let you meet the Darknight Hero himself!"
Su Yuan stared at the brain in disbelief.
His brain’s been taken out... could this ’Darknight Hero’ still even be alive?
Then, as Aji spoke, a large object covered with a black cloth and shaped like a cross slowly rose from beneath the floor.
"Go on, Su Yuan," Aji said excitedly.
"Lift the cloth — and you’ll see the true face of the Darknight Hero!"
Su Yuan glanced at Aji’s expression, swallowed nervously, and stepped forward.
With trembling hands, he gripped the corner of the black cloth and slowly pulled it away.
He didn’t know whether the person beneath the cloth would truly be Diluc, nor what kind of state that person would be in.
As the cloth was lifted, Su Yuan realized the cross-shaped outline had been because — underneath it — there was an actual cross.
And on that cross... was a figure Su Yuan recognized instantly.
But it wasn’t Diluc.
It was — Dottore!
"Hahaha! Su Yuan!!!"
Dottore burst into laughter, breaking free from the cross’s restraints.
He lunged forward, grabbing Su Yuan by the neck and slamming him to the ground, grinning with twisted delight.
"Su Yuan! You didn’t expect me to be the Darknight Hero, did you???"
"Surprised? Shocked???"
Su Yuan was utterly dumbfounded.
He had imagined countless possibilities — if the Darknight Hero wasn’t Diluc, who else could it be?
But never — not once — had he thought that the Darknight Hero would turn out to be Dottore.
After all, Dottore and the word "hero" couldn’t be further apart.
"Su Yuan, I bet you’re dying to know where the real Darknight Hero, Diluc, actually is..."
Dottore smiled coldly and continued speaking:
"Indeed, I admit it — Diluc is currently in my hands. He’s one of my hostages."
"The Darknight Hero you saw that evening in Mondstadt — that was the real Diluc."
"But after dealing with that small band of Treasure Hoarders, Diluc happened to run into me."
"The once-calm and rational Diluc completely lost his composure when he saw his old enemy again. And just like that... he fell right into my trap."
"That’s when I conceived this plan — together with Aji, step by step, leading you straight into my web."
"And this time, no one will come to save you. You have no chance of winning."
Su Yuan, unable to comprehend, shouted, "Why would Aji obey your every word? Wasn’t he already corrupted by Eerie power? He’s not even under your control!"
"Heh... the answer is actually quite simple," Dottore chuckled darkly.
"It’s because I can satisfy Aji’s desires — again and again."
"Aji enjoys dismembering people and hiding their body parts in all sorts of places..."
"But ordinary people, once dismembered, die immediately."
"I, however, am different. My body has been modified countless times. Even after being dismembered, I don’t die so easily."
"As long as I’m reassembled, I can fulfill Aji’s twisted hobby over and over again."
"Su Yuan, haven’t you realized it yet? Do you know why you and your companions always happened to find those body fragments so conveniently? It was all by design! Aji and I were guiding you from the shadows — every step of the way — leading you right into my trap!"
"Under normal circumstances, because of Aji’s Eerie rules, the body parts he hides would never be that easy to find."
Dottore’s expression grew more arrogant and delighted as he continued:
"Su Yuan, it doesn’t even matter if I tell you all this now..."
"Do you know why — whether it was in Fontaine, Inazuma, Liyue, or Mondstadt — not a single skilled individual or organization ever detected any trace of my movements?"
"Weren’t you all curious about how I managed to infiltrate so easily?"
Seeing Su Yuan’s dawning realization and shock, Dottore’s grin widened with satisfaction.
"That’s right... it’s all thanks to my partnership with Aji!!!"
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