My System: An Evolved Computer I Made With My Unique Ability—

Chapter 302 Representative: Copycat

"A Representative? Are you sure about this?" Satoshi exclaimed as his eyes widened. Now that Dex gave him the interesting news, his urge to not look behind him grew stronger. Without flinching, Satoshi stayed in place, holding his breath for fear that the Representative behind him might lash out out of nowhere.

In haste, Satoshi summoned Ghast and integrated with him, teleporting a couple of hundred meters away from the place. But even when he desperately attempted to escape the Representative, he still somehow felt the Representative's presence behind him.

When he turned around, he saw a familiar face... it was too familiar in fact that Satoshi helplessly fell backward. He couldn't believe that the entity behind him had the form of a person. And even more so than that, the person that the entity assumed was none other than him.

"Haah?" Satoshi asked as another Satoshi stared right at him. There was something about this Satoshi which was weird though. But even then, Satoshi could tell that the entity replicated him pretty well. From his small gestures to his looks... even  the way he brushed his hair... everything was identical.

"Dex, do I need to know anything?"

[This is another one of us... we call her the Copycat... but other than that I have no information regarding her. I'm so sorry Satoshi, but I won't be of help to you this time.]

For the first time, Satoshi didn't have any information regarding the beast in front of Satoshi. But then again, it's not like Satoshi could rely on Dex all the time. This was one of those times and he intended to learn everything he could out of the opportunity.

"So... no weakness... no nothing? All right, I'll handle this one." Satoshi muttered to himself.

[I'm sorry, Satoshi... but we Representatives don't really know each other that well... I do know that Copycat can freely transform into anyone or anything. Would that suffice as additional information?]

"Yep. I don't need much. Based on her name...  I can already more or less tell what's going on here." Satoshi responded.

Satoshi summoned Sera and Sain (his chainsaw familiar) this time, and he decided to perform a Trinity Beast Integration. Satoshi appeared as half Ghast and half Sera, but his clothes were made out of metal, and there were chainsaws shooting and retracting from his skin. He looked like an overpowered last boss in an MMORPG but Satoshi wasn't complaining. Right now, he needed to do everything he could to not lose against Copycat. It's not every day that he gets to encounter a Representative so he fully intended to catch it.

"All right, here we go again." With his lips curving upward, Satoshi extended his hands and chainsaws came out of them. This was one of the reasons why Satoshi really liked Sain as his familiar. It gave him a somewhat menacing form whenever he integrates with him.

As soon as Satoshi found his chance, he strained his ankle and charged forward, pointing one of his chainsaws at Copycat. While he felt a little bit of discomfort since he was about to attack himself, he still went through with the attack. There was no way he'd miss such a good chance as this one.

Surprisingly, Copycat didn't react at all. She just stood there, looking at Satoshi while tilting her head like a confused dog. This didn't shock Satoshi at all though. And by the time he covered the distance between him and Copycat, he struck at her with no reprieve, bringing down the chainsaw as if he fully intended to kill Copycat.

Fwip!

Clang!

Grzzzt!!!

In a split second, Copycat changed into Satoshi's current form, blocking the chainsaw with her pair of chainsaws. Satoshi had no idea how Copycat rivaled his physical strength, but right now, he put the thought at the back of his mind since another chainsaw flew towards his side.

Sidestepping, Satoshi turned around and aimed the chainsaw at Copycat's head. Copycat dodged and then tried to deliver a low kick to trip Satoshi up. It didn't work though since Satoshi jumped up and tightened his core. He then twisted as he did a screwdriver motion in the air, bringing down both of his chainsaws in a spinning motion.

The chainsaws hit the ground with a thud, but Copycat was nowhere to be found. Somehow, she managed to dodge Satoshi's strike and also appear behind Satoshi as if she just teleported.

"That's impossible... how was she able to do that?" Satoshi asked, dodging another strike from Copycat. Left with no choice, Satoshi teleported somewhere to gain distance from her.

But to his surprise, she appeared right behind him just when he teleported into the air.

"What the—" Satoshi was about to exclaim a bad word but before he could do so, he ducked his head to avoid the chainsaw teeth closing in on his neck— this caused him to bite his tongue, making it bleed.

"Dex, what was that about... I thought she could only copy someone's appearance?" Satoshi called out. It didn't take long before Dex spoke in his mind.

[Satoshi, you have to get out of there... I didn't know that Copycat was this strong.]

[If she can copy you while you're in a Trinity Beast Integration... then it is highly likely that she's as powerful as you are, Satoshi.]

[We have to retreat, for now, otherwise, she might kill you.]

'Isn't it a little bit too late for you to be saying that?' Satoshi screamed in his mind. He couldn't take anymore since he was too busy dodging the forceful chainsaw slashes that Copycat unleashed upon him. It took all of his concentration and utilization of his integrated familiars to stay on even ground against the formidable Copycat.

Even with Ghast, Sain, and Sera, Satoshi could barely keep up with the Copycat. And he could tell that if he were to integrate with another beast, Copycat would only replicate it as they continued fighting. This would be disadvantageous for him since he would just expend more energy. As long as he didn't subtract or add to his power, Copycat wouldn't change either. That's why Satoshi stayed at an impasse as the fight wore on.

But there was another reason why Satoshi didn't use Quadra or Penta Beast Integration... and it wasn't because he was worried that he'll run out of energy before Copycat did.

The reason why, was because he was busy preparing a counterattack... one that would snag him the win he needed most.

Right behind Satoshi, there was a small spark of blue flame that emitted a faint blue glow. This spark of flame was the very essence of his superpower, and he continued to feed it his energy. As mentioned before, Satoshi badly wanted to capture Copycat right then and there, and that's why he was preparing this trick up his sleeve. As soon as he fed the blue flames enough energy (preferably as much energy as he used on the Statue of Captivity when he first tried to capture it)  he would then attempt to catch Copycat off guard and strike her point blank with the blue flames.

In order to do this, however, Satoshi had to feed off the blue flames behind him as slowly as he could so Copycat won't be wary of him. And for this plan to work, Satoshi needed as much time as he could. That's why a Trinity Beast Integration was the limit for this fight.

Satoshi continued to dodge, but he also engaged in the fight as much as he could. Even then, he found it hard to keep up with Copycat. As minutes passed, Copycat got even faster, and her moves became even more precise. She was getting used to Satoshi's form and power... even Satoshi felt like he was fighting against himself.

Dodge. Attack. Dodge. Dodge. Satoshi repeated the cycle as the blue flames in his back grew hotter. He kept the flames as compact as possible so Copycat wouldn't notice it at all. There were times when she would suddenly appear in Satoshi's blind spot but even then, she didn't notice anything.

Exhaustion slowly crept into Satoshi's system but with it came the feeling of victory that was almost in his grasp. He was almost there... just a little bit more.

For the last time, Copycat lunged, increasing her momentum towards Satoshi while she pointed the chainsaw at his neck. Satoshi leaned sideways in order to dodge the attack. This was the moment he was looking for. He watched as the teeth of the chainsaw held by Copycat lightly touch his cheek. It's as if everything was in a slow motion. Satoshi could've sworn that he saw his reflection at the chainsaw that grazed his cheek.

'Now!' Satoshi thought to himself as he grabbed the lick of blue flames behind him.

Before he could act though, Copycat's arms seemed to bend in a weird manner and before he knew it, Copycat was already behind him, hugging him close while the chainsaw she wielded was pressed against his neck.

Satoshi gulped as Copycat licked her lips. She pressed the chainsaw closer... almost touching the delicate skin right above Satoshi's adam's apple.

It was Copycat's win.