Soul Eater but it's Sonic

Chapter 34

"Two meisters are catching up to us,"

Infinite spoke while running further into the crypt with Shade. She looked back with concern.

"What should we do?"

Infinite weighed his options, then gained an idea once the tunnel opened up into a larger room. The crypt seemed older and more run down the further one proceeded into it. This room was filled with rubble and cracked pillars. Old wires and piping wove through the mess, likely out of use.

"I can buy us some time, but you might hate me for this"

Blaze and Tails entered the room full of rubble. They quickly noticed that the room was also filled with copies of a certain jackal.

"That's Infinite!" Tails pointed at the crowd.

Blaze recalled the report Tails had submitted based on his last witch encounter. "So these copies of him are solid as well?"

"Most likely,"

"We don't have any time to waste. They've been sending their most skilled fighters to attack and delay us, so that means they've likely sent their weakest offensive member to awaken the kishin. I'll focus on clearing a path for you to go on without me,"

Tails ignored the implication in Blaze's statement. Infinite's doppelgangers waited patiently for the meisters' approach. Tails scanned the crowd with his soul perception

"A lot of them are emitting a distorted signal. I can't tell which is the real one,"

Both meisters moved in towards the crowd. Each of the illusions adjusted their position to keep a distance. Tails caught one copy with a quick strike. The image faded quickly without any resistance.

'Not all of them are solid!" Tails yelled.

Blaze threw fiery attacks at two different copies, erasing them. "But we can't risk getting hit by any of them until we know which ones are a threat. Clearing them all out will take too long. Let's focus on getting you through,"

The exit was teeming with duplicates of Infinite. Tails and Blaze approached a thin cluster of projected enemies. Each of the duplicates responded by moving away from them. The attacks the meisters threw out were avoided without follow up. Tails and Blaze wove through the room to avoid larger concentrations of the duplicates, but ended up being pulled in different directions as the copies shifted their formations.

"Blaze, this is a trick!"

"What do you mean?"

"The copies aren't fighting, they're avoiding us. Because of their large numbers and the fact that they aren't alive, they shouldn't waste time on self preservation,"

"So he's bluffing,"

Tails nodded. "The magic in this wavelength feels a lot like the spell encasing the party. If he's the one maintaining that powerful prison, it's likely that he doesn't have enough strength left to beat us here. These illusions aren't made for fighting, all their magic is focused on diluting our soul perception,"

Each of Infinite's duplicates growled at Tails's conclusion. They began fading.

"Hurry Miles," Blaze dashed away. Tails hastened after her.

Shade ran down a decrepit hallway with the briefcase in one hand. Her other hand was gripping the collar of Infinite's jacket. The jackal was floating in the air behind her, encased in his own magical wavelength, projecting his form to the other room.

"You were right. I do sort of hate you right now," Shade muttered.

The increased burden had slowed their pace some. Suddenly, Infinite stopped floating and landed on his feet.