AN: Couldn't fix it, will try tomorrow.

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"Tsk. I guess my idea of making warp bullets and suicide rounds will have to wait."

[… My lord, the things you come up with are just as, if not more, heinous than the Lady's.]

"Never mind. It's coming."

Having made my choice to beat the coming threat's into submission, we all braced ourselves for the coming fight. The ceiling rumbled as the silhouette came closer. Its soul signature was close to a Specter. But it didn't feel like a Reaper.

"Just what the hell are you?" I couldn't help but blurt out.

The floor above us finally opened, but my squad and I weren't the type to just wait to be attacked.

"OPEN FIRE!"

It resembled a Japanese rhinoceros beetle, if that beetle had fused with a mech suit and grown to the size of a small car. Four arms, jagged carapace, glowing compound eyes—an abomination that looked fit for a fantasy novel.

Beetle guy crossed its four arms as we unloaded everything we had. The sharp chink of metal resounded as our rounds bounced off him.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"

All at once, over a dozen rockets screamed through the air on their way to the enemy. The larger 99mm rockets slammed against it hard armor and brought it down. I could confirm with Friday's eyes that the thing was still alive.

'Tsk. Still alive.'

"Thursday," I called out.

"On it. [Arsenal] M107."

Our entire group changed our weaponry. As 7.62mm rounds were not enough, we raised the caliber. We stowed away the M134Ds and each dual-wielded .50 caliber Barrett M107s. Thursday held two, but had thirty floating around him.

"Vanguard, use Red. Middle, use White. Friday, keep him pinned. Thursday, pump him full of lead," I commanded using Sunday.

"Understood!"

Despite our immense firepower, the best we could do was shoot down the monster, causing it to crash violently.

'If the .50 cals did not work, I would have to use Burger or send Switchblades.'

[You could just bash it on the head with a Faker mace and {Fast Forward}.] [Maestro] interjected.

"Wouldn't that put me at risk? My real body is the only one that can use both soul and {Entropies}. Why do you think I put him in the middle?"

[That's why you are falling behind.]

"Huh?"

[Ever since you got the Discipline system, you have been playing it safe. Overwhelming opponents with guns is good. But we have become complacent. The Sirens never do, as they compete against each other every waking moment.]

[Maestro] was a personality I created to offload tasks too. It gave me a point of view that was objective and leveraged my brain power. Although he was an ass most of the time.

My second personality's rebuke caught me off guard.

I knew just how hard the Sirens worked for their power. Although they did get some help from me, they had homework, studied each other's powers, and constantly updated their tactics.

As I looked at my own battles, I couldn't help but agree. While the Soul Avatars were me, I wouldn't die if they perished. I felt their sensations, but I knew in the back of my head I was safe, thus I used them liberally.

I often used them as bait, grunts, footholds, and just recreated them if they took too much damage. In contrast, Sunday, my real body, was the one who really mattered. In terms of power, he was the same, but only he had access to both soul and malice.

I used to fight with Sunday aggressively, as the other avatars could only use guns. Ever since they could use the Disciplines, I saw no reason to use Sunday on the front line. Often, I gave him [Maestro] and kept him in the back.

'When was the last time I fought with my life on the line?'

Despite gaining {Entropies}, I used it for targets I knew couldn't fight back. I had yet to use them in an all-out brawl. In that moment, the realization hit me.

The uneasy feeling I had was my losing my edge. Whatever battle senses I cultivated on my own were supplemented by the experience of my harem. It cheated my lack of combat ability but gave me skills I didn't earn.

In contrast, my own combat style slowly withered.

'I see. That is why, despite being able to use so much, I felt like I grew weaker.'

[Indeed. Among your seven bodies, only one can use the entire {Rewind} {Fate} family and the {FastForward} {Entropy} family. Yet he always remains at the back, while the rest of us try to fight opponents we cannot defeat with guns.]

I looked at the guns in my hands and felt a bitter feeling in my gut.

"Sigh, my own identity got lost in all the chaos, huh? You agree with him, Exa?"

[I apologize, my lord. I cannot hear what [Maestro] says, so I do not know what to answer.]

"He says, I grew weaker and complacent since I benched my strongest player on Sunday in the command role."

[Yes. I agree. The limit of your guns is showing because you have been relying on nothing but them. The {Rewind} family, the core of your combat philosophy, has stagnated all because you have yet to be pushed to the brink as you normally would.]

"Sigh, if even Exa is saying so, then it must be true. No wonder I felt stuck. I can't even remember the last time I used {Rewind}."

[It was during your fight with Nomvula. You used it as a shortcut to the ground.]

Hearing the pathetic way I used my {fate} made me smile wryly. In the beginning, I relied on {Rewind} for everything, but the more tools I had at my disposal, the less I did. Unlike me, the {Sirens} had access to {Limitless}, but each still grew their own {Fates}.

When I began my journey as a Reaper, only {Rewind} my own {Fate} was by my side. Knowing absolutely nothing, I used my body as fodder and rewound, usually on the brink of death. Yet now I use it as a means of transportation.

{Rewind} was my identity. It was who I was and why I came to be called Limitless. And yet I forgot it as I grew stronger. Ashamed that I had taken my partner for granted, I touched the gem on my neck and whispered.

"You must have felt lonely, huh, buddy? Sorry for ignoring you all this time. Won't happen again, I promise. Time to grind again."

I had always believed that my {Fate} was stronger than anyone else's. Yet for some reason, I praised the abilities of others and grew ashamed of my own. And I had the gall to complain that I had been left behind.

'How idiotic,' I rebuked inwardly. 'Being proud of my girls is fine, but I should not forget what got me here. I am not a Siren.'

Using Sunday, I dropped the two M107s I was holding. Instead, I summoned a Faker morning star on my right and an Milkor M32 multiple grenade launcher on my left.

'I am Limitless.'

"Exa, load Sacreds on my gun. Light the fuse if I use it in close quarters. Swap it out or something once I run out."

[Affirmative. Disabling the safeguards for the priming charges. Note that just slamming the M320 against a wall will detonate them; please be careful]

"Got it, thanks."

[Good hunting, my lord.]

"{Day by Day}. [Gladiator]."

At my command, the Six Soul Avatars surrounding me all vanished. Left alone, I felt the souls in my body rearrange themselves as I shifted disciplines from [Maestro] to [Gladiator.]

Without [Executioner], [Sky Sentinel], or [Ninja], I couldn't see in the dark. But that didn't matter. It was a good thing this realization arrived before I met Hannibal.

"Thank you, you bastard. It's time to get serious."

I could hear the loud footsteps of the enemy as it lumbered forward. It didn't open its wings to fly and just charged like an animal. But that was fine with me.

Raising my left hand, I fired. A 40mm Sacred detonated and bathed the entire space with dazzling golden light. Beyond the first flash, the brightness persisted; I was farther from the Sacred explosion while the monster was to its left.

Our shadows warped and stretched out as we stood. Locking eyes on him, I moved. The monster similarly saw me and ran forward. Although it had the appearance of a beetle, it ran on two legs and raised its fist for what looked like a punch.

Channeling both soul and malice into my body, I gritted my teeth and roared.

"{Replace.}"

I vanished from in front of the monster and appeared behind him. He turned to either side trying to find me. {Replace} was instantaneous; there was nothing to detect, I just appeared.

Without minding ethics, I swung my Faker morning star toward its back.

"{Fast Forward}."

The weapon made of anti-soul slammed onto the beetle's back. A wave of malice surged and buried the weapon deeper. With a loud, continuous bang, my {Entropy} hammered my opponent like a jackhammer, 999 times all in the span of a single second.

Like a volcano, the beetle's tough-looking carapace exploded violently as if something bit off over 90% of its body. The once-proud specimen collapsed on the ground in disarray like a limp noodle.

"I am so back…"