My Auto Cloning System

Episode 57 – The One That Wouldn't Die

The clone didn't even flinch.

Not when the blade pierced his gut. Not when black, viscous blood erupted from the wound in thick globs, spilling down his chest like oil from a ruptured pipeline. And certainly not when the Fishman's glowing eyes widened in surprise just for a fraction of a second as if it realized too late that this enemy wasn't going down quietly.

Because Number Two this battered, hoodie-wearing, blood-drenched clone reached out with one final, shaking arm, and grabbed the monster by the throat.

He didn't say a word. He didn't have to.

His thoughts, raw and primal, echoed back into Kim Do-hyun's consciousness with the clarity of a knife scraping bone.

If I'm going down, I'm dragging you with me.

The Fishman hissed, claws raking across the clone's back, trying to break free but the grip only tightened. The clone's fingers locked like steel traps around the Fishman's neck ridges. His other hand, twisted and half-broken, began slamming into the creature's chest in a brutal rhythm. One strike. Then another. Then another. Not elegant. Not calculated. But each one packed with raw, suicidal force.

Thump. Crack. Thump.

Kim Do-hyun could barely breathe in his real body. The sync channel between them was bleeding static. Pain laced through every feedback loop. But still, he didn't pull away. He stayed locked into Number Two's senses, heart hammering against his ribs like it was trying to escape.

"This isn't about being noble," he muttered under his breath, knuckles white as he gripped the floor beside him. "It's because you're insane, aren't you?"

The clone didn't answer. Couldn't answer.

Because he was still punching.

Then came the shift.

The Fishman, fed up, reeled back, slamming both claws into the clone's chest to shove him off. But before it could finish the counter, another body crashed into the side of its skull.

A second clone Number One threw his full weight into the attack. His momentum came like a freight train. Shoulder-first impact. Steel toe boot slamming into the Fishman's knee to destabilize its stance. He followed with a vicious slice across its right flank, blade catching under the scales where Number Two had already softened the tissue.

But even with both clones hammering it, the monster didn't fall.

It roared and twisted, arms flailing, tail whipping out in a bladed arc of flesh and cartilage. One clone ducked. The other took the tail across the shoulder, spinning midair before crashing into a concrete pillar with a stomach-churning crack.

Do-hyun cursed out loud. "That was Number One. Dammit!"

The fight was starting to blur. The issue was simple his clones looked too damn similar in this light. Both wore identical combat-grade ninja suits: black, fitted, padded for knife encounters and blunt trauma. Only one of them had thrown on a sleeveless hoodie earlier that day, more out of habit than strategy. That was the hoodie clone Number Two. The same one currently limping backward with one hand pressed to his abdomen, blood trailing behind like a grim bread crumb trail.

The hoodie was the only thing distinguishing them now.

And unfortunately, it was also soaked completely through with black blood.

The Fishman noticed too.

Its head tilted slightly, those eerie glowing eyes tracking the movement of the retreating clone. Then it stepped forward.

Its clawed foot came down.

Hard.

THUD.

Directly into Number Two's gut.

The impact drove the clone backward into the sewage-covered floor, the air blasted out of his lungs with a soundless gasp. Water splashed around the cratered spot, bits of shattered concrete and shredded rubber pipe spraying outward.

Do-hyun flinched. His teeth clenched so tight he tasted copper in his mouth.

But even that wasn't enough to stop the hoodie-wearing clone. He rolled. Unsteady, breathless, but alive. Alive and moving.

Number One darted in again from the flank, blade arcing downward in a half-moon slash. The steel edge scraped across the Fishman's shoulder joint with a shriek of metal on bone. Sparks flew. The monster jerked back limping slightly now. Its armored hide was finally cracking in certain places. Slashes crisscrossed its torso. Bullet dents decorated its chest. The scales along its jawline were missing in strips.

It was weakening.

And the clones knew it.

They attacked again. A coordinated rush. Number One struck high, forcing the monster's arms to lift in defense. Number Two swept low, slashing behind the knee with a short combat blade. Their movement was brutal but efficient no flair, no wasted breath, just relentless violence. Do-hyun didn't need to give instructions anymore. The clones were syncing to each other, learning mid-fight.

The Fishman staggered back. A snarl tore from its throat. It tried to strike again but its reaction time had slowed. The blood loss was catching up. Whatever regeneration it had was no longer keeping pace.

And then, the final blow landed.

Number One his hands raw and caked with soot stepped in past a clumsy swipe, twisted his blade into a reverse grip, and stabbed upward beneath the creature's chin.

Straight through the mouth. Into the skull.

CRACK.

The Fishman collapsed.

Not fast. Not gracefully. It dropped to its knees with a heavy thump, head hanging, body swaying like it was drunk on pain and rage. A second later, it pitched forward and slammed into the ground, unmoving.

Do-hyun felt the silence before he heard it.

No more footfalls. No breathing. No snarling.

Just the soft, grim sound of Number One dropping his weapon, letting it clatter beside him as he slumped down on the floor.

Number Two was leaning against a wall, hoodie shredded, holding his side like he was trying to stop his soul from leaking out. Both clones were still operational. Barely.

Inside Do-hyun's head, the clone channels pulsed faintly. Signals were coming back. Combat experience, pain resistance stats, minor skill recognition for dagger mastery and multi-target coordination. All flowing into his real body like a USB download of trauma.

But then he thought of something else.

"...Item drops," he muttered aloud.

Still synced to Number One's vision, he had the clone limp forward, stepping around the creature's corpse. The red sword was still glowing faintly beside it its aura flickering as if flicked by some invisible wind. Do-hyun studied it closely through the clone's eyes, then began scanning the rest of the body.

There were shards of armor here and there. A few scales had hardened into a metallic sheen. Maybe they could be refined into plates or light gear. But everything else

"Crap," he hissed, realizing it. "Everything's trashed."

Whatever loot the monster should've dropped was either embedded in the muck or cracked into useless pieces from the prolonged fight. The weapons? Barely intact. Gear? Melted. The only valuable was that sword and even that seemed cursed or unstable.

Still, it was worth something. He had Number One reach toward it slowly.

Then he froze.

The body was gone.

"...What?"

Do-hyun felt his stomach tighten. Through the clone's eyes, he watched as the space where the Fishman's corpse had been was now empty. No mist. No light burst. No formal system confirmation. Just... absence.

He scanned the room. Number Two turned sharply. Both clones turned together.

And then they saw it.

The Fishman. Alive.

Its leg was dragging. One eye was shut. Blood was still pouring from its mouth.

But it was standing.

And it was running.

Not toward them. Not toward a weapon.

It was running in the other direction.

Toward the dungeon portal.

Kim Do-hyun's heart dropped.

"...No. No, no, no don't you dare."

---

Author's Note (Dictated, Chaotically, by Clone 1):

Okay, okay listen up! Before anyone asks why the last chapter cut off mid-stabbing or why I've been MIA for three episodes straight, I have an announcement so important that I stopped chasing the office rat (it knows what it did) just to write this.

THE CHARACTERS ARE NOW VOTABLE. Yes. That's right. You yes, you, the one sitting there with snack crumbs in your shirt can now scroll down and vote for your favorite characters. You don't have to spend anything. No premium crystals. No life savings. Not even a kidney. Just look below the book, and you'll see a shiny little list where you can throw points at whoever you love most (or whoever traumatized you into loving them).

Want to show some love to the OG himself, Kim Do-hyun? Smash that vote.

Think Number One deserves therapy and a medal? He's down there too vote before he throws another punch at a Fishman's ear fins.

Han Jin-woo? Vote for him before his blood pressure spikes again. Oh Min-joo? Girl's been dealing with clone drama since chapter two give her a break and a ranking.

Even the Fishman might be down there, I don't know. I stopped checking after I accidentally voted for a sewer pipe. (Long story.)

The point is this is your chance to help shape the future of Clone Hunter. Top-voted characters might get bonus POV chapters, side quests, accidental merchandise rights, or maybe just an emotional breakdown with extra narration.

But hey. No pressure.

Also, if you find anyone trying to vote for Clone 7, report them immediately. That guy tried to fry an egg with lightning magic. We don't even have lightning magic. Or eggs.

Anyway, that's it. Clone 1 out. I'm going back to training. Or sleeping. Or staring dramatically at a wall. I haven't decided yet.

But you yes you. Vote. Scroll down. Click. Rank. Repeat.

Clone 1 (Unranked, Unstable, Unapologetic)

P.S. If you vote for me, I'll do a cartwheel off the bookshelf. Probably. Maybe. Actually, don't vote for me. My knees are weak.