A thin layer of frost spread across the concrete beneath Shoko's feet.
Mezo glanced at her.
"...You're really going to freeze this place?"
She gave a small nod.
"I am."
He nodded back, already planning his escape.
"I'll get out of the way, then."
Instead of forcing his way back through the web-covered entrance, Mezo sprinted deeper into the first floor.
His footsteps quickly disappeared down the hallway.
On the rooftop...
The sniper clone tracked him through a nearby window.
"Hm."
It lowered the rifle slightly.
"I think it's time to get serious."
Two nearby clones rose to their feet.
They pulled their masks over their heads.
Ready to move.
The sniper took aim once more, following Mezo as he climbed toward the upper floors.
Click.
Another vial of web fluid slid into the rifle.
BANG!
A web round streaked toward a nearby side entrance.
SPLAT!
The doorway disappeared beneath another thick layer of sticky webbing.
Inside the building...
Mezo bounded up the staircase two steps at a time.
His ears twitched constantly.
"...Still twenty-four."
"They haven't moved."
His brow furrowed.
They're just... waiting?
Why?
He reached the second floor.
A hallway stretched before him.
Silent.
Empty.
Too empty.
Rather than approaching the first window overlooking the ground floor, Mezo headed toward the opposite side of the building, away from the sniper's line of sight.
If I can get out from the far side...
I should avoid being pinned down.
Outside...
The Aoyama clones had already anticipated exactly that.
Twip!
Twip!
Two clones leapt from neighboring rooftops.
Their web-shooters fired simultaneously.
White web lines anchored to opposite corners of the building.
Both clones swung around either side at incredible speed.
Closing in.
CRASH!
Before Mezo could even reach the corner...
A blur shot across the windows.
Glass exploded inward.
A black-and-blue figure crashed through the opening.
Fragments scattered across the hallway.
The clone landed in a low spider pose.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Mezo immediately planted his feet.
All six arms expanded.
Each hand curled into a fist.
"So you've come to pick me off first."
"I should've expected that."
The clone rose smoothly.
"Maybe you should have."
Blue mana glowed faintly across his gloves.
"Now then, hero..."
He lifted one finger.
"Why don't we wrap this up as fast as possible?"
Mezo answered with action.
Six fists exploded forward simultaneously.
Left.
Right.
High.
Low.
Two from behind.
A coordinated barrage.
The clone slipped between them.
One punch skimmed past his cheek.
Another was redirected with a forearm.
A third glanced off his shoulder.
Twip!
A web struck one of Mezo's wrists.
The clone yanked.
Mezo's own momentum pulled him forward.
A fist rushed toward his face.
Mezo crossed two arms.
THUD!
The blow slammed into his guard.
The force behind his punch was completely negated by his forearm muscles.
The clone smiled.
"So you can take a hit."
Blue mana surged around his knuckles.
His next punch came even faster.
BOOM!
Mezo barely avoided it.
The fist smashed into the concrete wall behind him.
Cracks raced outward.
Dust filled the hallway.
He increased the power.
That blue energy...
It's reinforcing his strikes.
Another punch.
Another dodge.
Then another.
Mezo quickly realized something.
I can't block those forever.
I'll have to evade them.
The clone laughed.
"You're adapting already?"
"I expected no less."
The fight erupted into a blur.
Punches.
Counters.
Web shots.
Sweeping kicks.
Mezo's extra limbs let him defend from impossible angles.
Yet every time he tried to gain ground...
Another strand of webbing dragged one of his arms aside.
Or pulled him off balance.
The clone fought like every movement had already been planned.
Meanwhile...
Outside the building...
The second Aoyama clone continued his mission uninterrupted.
Twip!
Twip!
Twip!
He swung around the office building at high speed.
Every accessible second-floor window...
SPLAT!
Covered.
Every third-floor escape route...
SPLAT!
Sealed.
Window after window vanished beneath layers of reinforced webbing.
By the time he completed a full circuit around the building...
There wasn't a single practical escape route left.
He landed beside the sniper.
Mission complete.
The sniper clone smiled beneath his mask.
He tapped the communicator by his ear.
"Spider to Ghost."
A soft crackle answered.
"Go ahead."
"You can move down."
"Shoko's making her move."
"She hasn't heard from Shoji."
"She's coming to help him."
A brief pause.
Then Toru's invisible voice answered through the earpiece.
"Understood."
"I'll head to the next floor."
The transmission ended.
The sniper rested the rifle against his shoulder.
Below...
A growing sheet of frost continued creeping through the lower levels of the building.
Shoko stepped away from the now web-covered entrance.
Half annoyed.
"...I wanted to end this early."
"...but I'm forced to put in more effort."
Cold mist curled around Shoko's feet.
Without another word, she stepped into the building.
Each step she took left a thin sheet of frost across the floor.
The temperature steadily dropped.
---
Second Floor.
BOOM!
Mezo ducked beneath another mana-enhanced punch.
The clone immediately followed with a spinning kick.
Mezo caught the leg with two hands while the other four fists drove toward the clone's chest.
Twip!
A web shot into the ceiling.
The clone swung upward.
Mezo's punches passed harmlessly beneath him.
Before he could recover—
The clone dropped.
Blue mana flared around his elbow.
BAM!
The strike slammed into Mezo's crossed guard, forcing him back several steps.
The hallway shook.
Then...
Crunch.
Both fighters paused.
A layer of frost crept beneath their feet.
The clone's masked face turned toward the stairwell.
"...She's here."
The air became noticeably colder.
Ice spread across the walls.
Across the ceiling.
Across the windows.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Shoko appeared at the end of the hallway.
Her expression hadn't changed.
She simply looked between Mezo...
...and the masked Aoyama clone.
"I found you."
The clone sighed dramatically.
"I was hoping to finish him first."
Shoko ignored the remark.
She looked toward Mezo.
"I'll handle him."
"You need to find another way outside."
Mezo hesitated.
"But—"
"Go."
Her tone left no room for argument.
"I'll create an opening."
The clone rolled his shoulders.
"Well..."
"I guess introductions are over."
Blue mana surged around both fists.
Shoko raised her right hand.
Instantly—
CRACK!
A jagged wall of ice erupted between Mezo and the clone.
The clone sprang backward just before it reached him.
More ice followed.
Long crystalline spikes burst upward from the floor.
The clone twisted sideways.
One spike narrowly missed his leg.
Another shot toward his shoulder.
Twip!
A web latched onto the ceiling.
The clone swung over the attack.
Landing lightly.
Only for another forest of ice spikes to explode beneath him.
CRACK!
CRACK!
CRACK!
The hallway transformed into an icy maze.
The clone smiled beneath his mask.
"Now this is more like it."
Shoko extended her left hand.
The frost spread even faster.
Ice raced along the walls in every direction.
The floor disappeared beneath a thick frozen layer.
Another wave of razor-sharp spikes erupted toward the clone.
He fired two web lines.
Twip!
Twip!
The webs anchored to opposite walls.
He vaulted between them as the spikes collided beneath him.
Chunks of ice exploded apart.
Behind the frozen battlefield, Mezo looked toward the opposite hallway.
Shoko didn't take her eyes off the clone.
"Hurry."
"I won't be able to keep him occupied forever."
Mezo gave a firm nod.
"Right."
Without wasting another second, he sprinted deeper into the building, searching for another route outside while the clash between ice and webbing intensified behind him.
The clone watched him leave from the corner of his eye.