As Finn's mana poured into the mannequin, glowing lines that hadn't been visible before suddenly flashed to life on the doll's body, starting with the center of its face and working its way all around its body. The glow was blue for Finn, but for the others, it was different depending on the Angelica they had. Iris's was a bright golden yellow, while Octane's was lime green. Fanatic and Reaper, who didn't have Angelicas, had their iFrames glow white, the color of neutral.
Then, to their surprise, the dolls suddenly began changing shape — molding and morphing like water as they shifted into the desired form — the form of the one who had activated them.
The iFrames became perfect replicas of Finn, Iris, Octane, Fanatic, and Reaper, copying their position as well as their appearance. They also copied the five's clothing and armor, along with weapons for Finn, Iris, and Reaper. Octane and Fanatic didn't wield weapons, the former because it slowed him down, and the latter because he wasn't a frontline fighter.
"What is this…" Fanatic's eyes widened in shock as he stared at his copy, who didn't say anything in return. Speech wasn't part of the replica, it seems.
"This is iFrame technology, exclusive to S-Class Squadrons only," Elder Hua explained with a smug grin. "They are the perfect training partners — after all, the first step to becoming strong is to overcome yourself."
Given this context, Finn could assume what was going on even though he was blind. He was going to fight an exact copy of himself… but did this replica possess the Ghost Blood as well? That was the question at play.
"Now then… your other selves are ready," Elder Hua chuckled evilly, folding her arms and preparing to watch the show. "Are you?"
The five nodded firmly.
"There's no backing down from this," Fanatic said, tightening his fists. "I am not a frontline fighter by any means, but I have seen the others in action before and know the basics. I'm ready, Elder Hua."
"Good. Then you can be the example for your friends here. Everyone else, back off."
Finn, Iris, Octane, and Reaper all backed away to the edge of the dojo, giving Fanatic and his copy the space they needed. Their respective copies followed them to the other end of the dojo, forming a line of spectators.
"You can start whenever you like," Elder Hua said with a grin. "Show me what you have, D-Class Hunter."
She purposely said D-Class to invoke the fighting spirit in Fanatic, and it seemed to have worked. Fanatic gritted his teeth and eyed his copy in hatred.
"I am not… a D-Class!"
Shouting in anger, he lunged towards his replica with everything he had. Unfortunately for him, his copy did the same.
"G-Gah!"
Fanatic was blown backwards with ease by his copy, who also fell backwards even though it didn't actually receive any damage.
"Tch… what the hell… its fist is so hard…" Fanatic groaned as he struggled to his feet, the copy mimicking his movements.
"Of course. These dolls will copy everything you do, but don't forget — in the end, they are dolls made out of pure titanium, while you are nothing but human," Elder Hua chuckled as if she was thoroughly enjoying her student suffer. "There would be no challenge otherwise, no?"
'If that's the case, then just trying to brute force it won't work,' Finn thought in his head. 'But since the dolls perfectly match all of our movements, outsmarting it is essentially impossible… which leaves just one question:
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Could the iFrames use Angelicas as well?'
As Finn contemplated this in his head, Fanatic dashed towards his copy once again, this time going for a hook to the right temple. Naturally, after the first exchange of blows, he now knew what to expect. He ducked just as he threw his own punch to avoid the iFrame's counterattack, but in doing so, the iFrame also dodged his attack and ended up emerging of the encounter unscathed.
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"Damn…" Fanatic muttered as he slowly backed away from his copy; the latter doing the same. "This is annoying."
"If you give up, just say so," Elder Hua taunted. "Might as well let your friends have a try if you can't do it."
"Give up?" Fanatic chortled, reading himself in a combat stance once more. "I'm just getting started."
"Hya!" He yelled as he went in again, this time starting off with a side kick aiming for the stomach. Unfortunately, his copy also launched a kick at the exact same time, causing the two's legs to collide violently.
"Ngh-!" Fanatic groaned from the pain, body trembling a little, but he suddenly reached down and grabbed the iFrame's legs in a desperate attempt to balance himself.
The Frame also grabbed his legs and the two of them just stood still for a moment there, holding the other's limb. Then, Fanatic's lips curved up into a psychotic smile.
"Heh… take… THIS!"
He suddenly swung right as hard as he could, sending both the mannequin and himself crashing to the wooden dojo floor. Everyone's eyes widened at this, not expecting the suicidal move.
Fanatic got up from the ground with some struggle and inspected his replica with a triumphant smirk on his face. But after seeing that the iFrame took no damage at all, his smile vanished, replaced by an uncomfortable silence as he tried to figure out what to do next. He had already used up all his moves… he really couldn't think of anything more.
"Stop," Elder Hua suddenly said, interrupting his thoughts. "That's enough."
"Elder Hua, I'm not giving up just yet-"
"I know. I was merely testing your spirit and attitude just now. Your actions have told me you are worthy of being taught," Elder Hua responded calmly.
"Ah… I see," Fanatic murmured quietly, clenching his fists and gazing down at them uncomfortably. "But… I still don't understand. How is it possible to defeat one of these iFrames…?"
"Oh, that," Elder Hua chuckled. "You still haven't figured it out? The iFrames aren't meant to be beatable by someone without an Angelica in the first place."
"…"
Fanatic stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the short girl who was their master.
"… You're kidding me, right? Why didn't you tell me beforehand?"
"If I told you beforehand, you wouldn't have tried as hard, no?" Elder Hua giggled evilly. "I wouldn't have been able to tell just how strong your will is."
"That's…" Fanatic trailed off, clearly dissatisfied but not wanting to argue any further.
"Now then… Reaper, your weapon is too dangerous, so you'll sit this one out. It's time to witness the power level of your Angelicas."