You'd think Edwill would react faster with all the stats he gained from killing Zyrig and Belrick, but he wasn't able to do a thing when I closed the distance and slamd my fist into his jaw.
"Agh!" [Edwill]
He reeled back, turning invisible the mont he processed the attack.
"|Imbue Alarm|." [Solace]
I used a skill I practically never touched. I placed the alarm all over the room, just waiting for it to trigger.
("...There.") [Solace]
An alarm rang behind , causing to turn around and grab Edwill by the throat.
"Urk!" [Edwill]
"That's enough of your stupid antics." [Solace]
I tore off his invisibility cloak and burned it by summoning a |Fla Cannon| on it.
"My cloak! You'll be punished for this!" [Edwill]
Maybe I would've cared a little before. Unfortunately, I sincerely could not give a fuck.
"I'll rip your damn heart out." [Solace]
I could see panic begin to settle in Edwill's eyes. It must be because he lost his crutch of an invisibility cloak.
"S-Soone! Do sothing!" [Edwill]
I imdiately felt sothing drive into , separating Edwill and I by a few ters. Thankfully, it wasn't sothing that could really injure . It was like a shove if anything.
("What now?") [Solace]
I saw more people appear out of thin air. People I recognized.
"Ah, so the whole party's here." [Solace]
It was the rest of Edwill's party. The dwarven |Heavy Knight|, the elven |Archer|, the blue skinned |Mage|, and Edwill the |Hero| had co together.
"Stand down, there's no need for us to fight. We're all on the side of justice here." [Heavy Knight]
The burly dude, if I recall correctly was nad Ulgar, tried to negotiate with or calm .
"Justice? You think I care about that?" [Solace]
The entire purpose of my journey was ruined by Edwill. Did he think I was fighting for peace and prosperity?
"There's no sense speaking to him. He's deranged." [Archer]
The elven archer imdiately drew her bow.
"Wait- no! We can talk this-" [Wilharrow]
"He sides with the demons! Kill him!" [Edwill]
The archer let loose her arrow, sending it straight past as I tilted my head to avoid it.
"I prefer it this way anyway." [Solace]
Casting |Wise Walk|, I closed the distance in an instant.
"|Castle|!" [Heavy Knight]
Stepping in front of , the dwarf bunkered down with a large silver shiny shield. It appeared that the whole party got new equipnt after the beatdown I gave them last ti.
"|Piercing Blow|." [Solace]
I slamd my fist into the shield, sending the force of my punch directly to the dwarf.
"Wha-?!" [Heavy Knight]
Nearly all of his armor shattered from my skill, yet he seed to remain unscathed. If it wasn't for that, there probably wouldn't be much left of him.
"You think this shield will stop ?!" [Solace]
Be it a show of strength, or a matter of pride, I drove my hands into the dwarf's shield before tearing it apart.
"|Piercing Light|!" [Edwill]
"|Dragon Slayer|!" [Archer]
"|White Ray|!" [Mage]
Three of them attacked while the |Heavy Knight| was stunned by my actions.
"Ridiculous." [Solace]
I only paid attention to the only one strong enough to barely pose a threat. I caught Edwill's spear mid-thrust, let the |Archer|'s arrow bounce ricochet off my chest, and face-tanked the |Mage|'s laser beam like I was bathing in sunlight.
"You-!" [Edwill]
"Shut up." [Solace]
I punched him in the jaw before he could say anything else. As he reeled back, I quickly released his spear and grabbed his wrist to keep him from running. Continuing on, I started beating on him with one hand.
"Ugh...! Agh...!" [Edwill]
He attempted to shield his face, but I ended up breaking his arm as I bashed his face in.
"S... Soone...! S-Stop him!" [Edwill]
The archer and mage unleashed a torrent of arrows and spells, which still left unscathed. At so point I paused because I was so baffled that the mage actually tried smacking with her staff.
"For a mage, you're not that smart." [Solace]
To retaliate to her skills, I backhanded the mage. Even though she tried to block it, my hand shattered her staff before striking her ribs. I could've sworn I felt sothing break as I watched her fall, clutching her side.
"Stop it, you monster!" [Heavy Knight]
The dwarf finally got his bearings. He leapt onto my back, wrapped his arms around my neck, and attempted to strangle . It was odd for since I once did it to Leon.
("So this is what it feels like to be on the receiving end.") [Solace]
As a dwarf, his muscles may be strong, but my neck was stronger. I was in no way getting asphyxiated.
"You really want this? Fine, I'll bite." [Solace]
I let go of Edwill before prying the dwarf's arms off . As I turned to look at him, I could see fear in his eyes. Why?
"Are you scared? What for?" [Solace]
The dwarf faltered for a mont. I could see contemplation, confliction, and eventually determination cross his face.
"|Bold Arts: Crushing Fist|!" [Heavy Knight]
He struck dead center, sending a shockwave throughout my body. I could even feel the vibrations in the air. Even so, he and I both knew it did nothing the mont our eyes t.
"Ah... I..." [Heavy Knight]
"Alt, don't do it!" [Wilharrow]
Without another word, I thrust my hand into his heart.
"Ack!" [Heavy Knight]
"Ulgar!" [Archer]
I ripped out my hand, bloodied and icky. I tried to flick so of it off, causing so of it to hit the elf's face.
"Sorry about that. Now, where were we?" [Solace]
I turned back to Edwill, who was beaten and bloodied from my earlier actions. It was until here that Wilharrow stepped in front of .
"...What are you doing?" [Solace]
Wilharrow had a torn expression on his face.
"I'm... I'm stopping you." [Wilharrow]
I was at a loss for words.
("He's... stopping ?") [Solace]
It was so stupid that I could laugh. In fact, I did.
"Hah...! ? You? Heh... Hahaha! Ahahaha!" [Solace]
I began to laugh hysterically at the situation. It wasn't funny to because Wilharrow didn't possess the strength to hold back. It was because he was defending the man who took what I needed from . Once my laughter had died down, I was filled with rage.
"Wilharrow! You can't be serious!" [Solace]
I yelled so loudly that my voice shook the halls.
"He took what I NEEDED! What Fina NEEDED! She's going to die! Do you understand that?! You're betraying !" [Solace]
I could see Wilharrow's eyes wander over to Fina before returning to .
"This isn't the only demon lord that exists. We can get another one." [Wilharrow]
"You idiot! Do you know how long it took to get to this point?! Fina might die before we can get another heart!" [Solace]
"Then what are YOU doing here?! Why are you trying to kill this foreign hero?! It serves no purpose other than self satisfaction!" [Wilharrow]
"He NEEDS to pay! His life for Fina's! I'll make sure that she won't have to die alone!" [Solace]
I then felt a hand on my shoulder. I peered over, surprised to find Fina there.
"...Alt. You don't need to do this. I'm fine." [Fina]
For once, I hesitated. In my mind, I knew it would be best to let it go. Maybe there was ti to get another heart. Master might know another way too. However, the wrath burning deep in my heart was too hot to extinguish. I gently took Fina's hand and brushed her off.
"I'm sorry." [Solace]
With one mighty push, I closed the distance on Wilharrow.
"Damn it, Alt!" [Wilharrow]
He drew his sword to block my strike, causing sparks to fly.
"You're really going to defend this man?!" [Solace]
He slipped a foot back as I tried to kick his shin. Then, he angled his sword so my fist would slide off, leading to him attempting to smack with his poml. In turn, I caught it.
"Do you know how many problems will arise at the death of a hero?!" [Wilharrow]
He blinded with a |Holy Ray| from an open hand, forcing to back away.
"We could just say that the demons killed him! Why are you defending him so much?!" [Solace]
I engaged once again. Aiming low where his sword wouldn't reach.
"Our countries would go to war! If a hero dies, their god will retaliate! Everyone would know!" [Wilharrow]
Wilharrow's defense was nearly impeccable. Maybe that's how he was about to consistently parry Zyrig. I had to switch from low strikes and mix in a few attempts to snatch his sword.
"You think I would care?! YOU brought here! YOU brought Fina here! YOU knew what we ca for!" [Solace]
Good as he was, Wilharrow didn't have infinite stamina. I wore him down until his moves beca sluggish, allowing to take his sword.
"Alt, you don't have to do this." [Wilharrow]
While Wilharrow stared at with desperation in his eyes, I could see Edwill slowly picking himself up in the background.
"No, I do." [Solace]
Moving faster than Wilharrow could react, I chucked his sword at Edwill, resulting in a lethal puncture of his throat in addition to pinning him against the throne room wall.
"ALT!!!" [Wilharrow]
As if shocked by my actions, Wilharrow called out my na to bla .
"You think it would end like this?" [Solace]
I watched as Edwill's body regenerated, pushing out Wilharrows sword during the process.
"I... I died...?" [Edwill]
He rubbed his neck in disbelief.
"No... I-I can't die here...!" [Edwill]
Edwill imdiately sprinted towards the exit.
"Get back here!" [Solace]
I gave chase, only to be grabbed by Wilharrow.
"You're not going anywhere!" [Wilharrow]
He latched onto like so kind of leech. It's like he abandoned the idea of stopping and had leaned more on delaying .
"Learn when to quit!" [Solace]
I threw him off in order to continue my pursuit. The problem was that Raon decided to latch onto as well.
"Raon?! You too?!" [Solace]
"As heir to the tus dukedom, I can't allow you to cause a war between countries!" [Raon]
I was about to throw him off too, but I found it difficult with Wilharrow reattaching himself to .
"You traitors! All!" [Solace]
I watched as Edwill made his escape. He was almost halfway to the exit while I had made nearly zero progress with these two burdening .
"Get him, |Doppelganger|!" [Solace]
Doppel appeared next to , promptly activating |Wise Walk| to close the distance with Edwill.
"You-?! How did you-?!" [Edwill]
By the ti he realized Doppel was there, Edwill's path of escape was cut off. Doppel threw a punch hard enough to send Edwill back over to , shattering the hero's arms in an attempt to guard against the strike.
"Agh!" [Edwill]
"You're kidding!" [Raon]
"Get up and run!" [Wilharrow]
Edwill scrambled to his feet. He knew that running was the only choice, and it was only a matter of ti before I got loose. Unfortunately for him, I had just managed to squirm my way out of Raon and Wilharrow's grasp.
"No!" [Wilharrow]
The two leapt at in an effort to recapture , yet were unable to due to a sudden magical bind holding them back.
"A seal?!" [Raon]
It was a familiar looking magic. There were several layers of circles trapping their limbs, similar to what happened to Zyrig.
"Fina?! You're taking his side?!" [Wilharrow]
"I'm sorry for this!" [Fina]
With that small opening, I caught up to Edwill.
"I've got you now." [Solace]
"Eek!" [Edwill]
Yelping like a dog, Edwill flailed his broken arms at . Of course, it was nothing more than an annoyance as I grabbed him by the face.
"Wh-Why?! Why fixate yourself on ?!" [Edwill]
"Is your mory that bad? I've ntioned it several tis already." [Solace]
I raised my hand, intending on making good on my promise to rip his heart out.
"I-I know! Was it because of those demons?! N-No? It must be leaking your identities to the public!" [Edwill]
I froze.
"What?" [Solace]
"They were poisoned by you, right?! I'm sorry I stole your |Experience|! I needed it! I'm sorry I didn't step in sooner when you were fighting that demon on the stairs too! A-And destroying the demon lord's heart!" [Edwill]
It was like he was spilling all his misdeeds like he was in a confessional.
"Go back to the leaking of our identities. What was that?" [Solace]
"A-A demon gave us your location and i-identities! We publicly spread your information to demons so that they could focus their military strength elsewhere!" [Edwill]
That must be how all those bounty hunters kept finding us after eting the First Hero. That leaves only one problem, which demon leaked our information?
("...The one Nakros introduced us to.") [Solace]
"Please! Lithik is already hard to get into as it is! You have to forgive !" [Edwill]
That was the most likely. They probably wanted to get rid of us after getting the job done.
"I won't say a word of this to anyone! I know I got greedy for fa and power! I'll say that your party slayed the demon lord! There'll be no trouble! I'll swear on it! Just...! Just spare , please!" [Edwill]
It felt like I couldn't hear a word he said. So many things ran through my head. It was like dots disconnecting and connecting. It sohow felt like sothing was missing. It wasn't until I heard Wilharrow's voice that I snapped back to reality.
"Alt, just let him go!" [Wilharrow]
I stared at Edwill, tears and snot running down his face. It was very unpleasant because so of it stuck to my hand gripping his skull.
"...Alright, I'll let you go." [Solace]
With a heavy heart, I released Edwill.
"Yes...! Thank you! You won't see again!" [Edwill]
Wiping off the tears and snot, Edwill turned to leave.
"You're right. I won't be seeing you." [Solace]
Before he could process my words, I pierced through Edwill's chest with my hand and crushed his heart.
"Y-You...!" [Edwill]
"ALT!!!" [Wilharrow]
I made the mistake of letting Edwill go once. I will never let it happen again.
"Ngh... Urk...!" [Edwill]
Sohow still clinging onto life, Edwill grabbed my arm boring through his chest. Fury filled his eyes as blood erged from his mouth.
"I... I'll curse you in death...! Rember my words, Solace!" [Edwill]
A golden light enveloped him, causing my gar senses to tingle.
("He's gonna explod-!") [Solace]
"Alert: |Blooming Undying| activation confird. All debuffs have been dispelled. Health and mana have been restored. All stats increased by fifty percent. Sanity has dropped by ten percent. Warning: Sanity has reached |Critical| levels." [Spirit Guide]
By the ti I ca to, the entire castle had been leveled. When I an the entire castle, I an the ENTIRE castle.
("What the...?") [Solace]
The throne room, the barracks, the cafeteria, the storage units, the servant's housing, and the gated entrances in the cardinal directions were all obliterated. The rubble was set afla by golden fire, so of which stuck onto . It was strange because it didn't seem to hurt , nor feel hot to the touch.
("The entire castle is a sea of fla...") [Solace]
It was then that I heard movent behind . I spun to see who it was, and my eyes widened with shock.
("Edwill...?! He's still alive?!") [Solace]
He erged from the rubble nearly unscathed. All he had on him were tattered clothing, and Wilharrow's holy sword in hand.
("He really is a thief through and through.") [Solace]
My rage resurfaced as if this was the first ti experiencing Edwill's transgressions.
"|Wise Walk|." [Solace]
Closing in quickly, I ant to deliver a fatal blow.
"What're you-?!" [Edwill]
"|Explosion Arts|!" [Solace]
Reacting quickly, Edwill parried my fist with Wilharrow's sword. An explosion erupted from my fist, turning most of the rubble in that direction into dust or charred rocks.
"You're more skilled with the sword than the spear!" [Solace]
I twisted my body to get a kick in.
"|Enchant Fla|!" [Solace]
Setting my leg ablaze, I forced him to be cautious of the fire. This led to being able to sneak in a solid punch.
"Agh!" [Edwill]
I felt my fist sink into his side with a crack. Strange, he's more durable than I recall.
"Just get out of my sight!" [Solace]
I forced him down to one knee, allowing an opening to take his head. Even so, I was unable to grab the opportunity due to soone else striking my arm with another sword.
"Again?!" [Solace]
I expected Wilharrow or Raon to show up, but it was neither.
("...A second Edwill?") [Solace]
A perfect copy of Edwill stood before , defending him with a blade in each hand.
"So you've got a |Doppelganger| too." [Solace]
"What are you talking about?" [Clone]
For reference, I started calling the second Edwill "clone" from here.
("Two Edwills? Shouldn't be too hard.") [Solace]
I fired a |Fla Cannon| at Edwill, forcing the clone to step in to defend. Then, I punched straight through the fire to catch the clone off guard.
"You were blocking my vision?!" [Clone]
The clone's reaction was fast enough to avoid my punch and counter with a thrust. Unfortunately for the clone, I caught his wrist mid-thrust before headbutting him.
"Urgh!" [Clone]
Blood seeped from his nose as he reeled back.
("Not enough!") [Solace]
I yanked his wrist for another headbutt, but was forced to retreat when a large sword almost struck .
"Another one?!" [Solace]
A third Edwill had appeared, wielding a greatsword.
("I'll have to start calling them by numbers at this rate.") [Solace]
Matter of fact, I did. I called them Edwill1, Edwill2, and Edwill3 by the order they appeared.
"What's going on here?" [Edwill3]
"I don't know, he suddenly attacked ." [Edwill1]
"Not too surprising at the mont." [Edwill2]
They spoke oddly, as if they weren't clones. Did each one believe they were the original or sothing?
"Let's take him down for now." [Edwill1]
"Agreed." [Edwill2]
("Really now...?") [Solace]
It was insulting that the person who was begging to spare them now believed they even had a chance against .
"Bring it on, then." [Solace]
I let them surround , each cautious of my movents.
("I don't need to worry about Edwill1. He's injured. Edwill2 must still be feeling that headbutt from earlier, so he's not likely to attack first. Edwill3 just arrived. Chances are, they'll co at the mont I turn my back.") [Solace]
And turn my back I did. I gave Edwill3 the opening to strike, in which he took it.
("The idiot!") [Solace]
I spun around to see a greatsword a foot away from my face. Sothing I had already calculated.
"|Revolving Shell Arts|!" [Solace]
Redirecting the sword to the side, I summoned |Thunderbolt Lance|. With a thrust, I pierced his abdon and let him drop.
"Ugh!" [Edwill3]
("Damn, I could've sworn I aid higher.") [Solace]
Although I would've used |Grygand| to just one shot him, I had to preserve mana. I had no idea how many more clones there were.
"Stop it!" [Edwill 2]
Edwill1 and 2 charged at . A dumb choice given the circumstances.
"I'll be taking this." [Solace]
I grabbed the greatsword and swung. It had a lot of heft to it, so I was ninety percent sure I shattered both the clone's arms the mont they tried to block.
("All three are pretty much immobilized. Now, I just have to finish them off.") [Solace]
It took a lot of work. It felt like I went on twenty sidequests and hundreds of setbacks just to get to this point.
("I swear, if I get stopped here again... I'm gonna crash out.") [Solace]
I lifted the greatsword over my head, feeling suspicion as I was about to split Edwill3 in two.
("Really? Nothing? No one's going to interrupt?") [Solace]
I paused for a bit before finally going for a swing. It wasn't until I committed to the swing that I felt sothing obstruct my arm.
"..." [Solace]
Peering over to my arm, I saw several magic circles trapping it.
"Huh." [Solace]
My eyes combed the area, eventually eting a fourth Edwill using magic.
("This better be the last one.") [Solace]
Letting out a grunt, I strained my arm against the magic sealing my arm.
("This is...! Nothing...!") [Solace]
With a mighty tug, I shattered the magic.
"How did you...? Impossible!" [Edwill4]
I dragged the greatsword along with as I approached.
("Let's just get this over with.") [Solace]
Then it hit . Literally. A fist struck out of nowhere. One so powerful that it threw into the floor and rattled .
"Agh... Shit...!" [Solace]
I struggled to shake off the blow, eyes darting to find the cause. It wasn't hard to pinpoint, but I was more than surprised by who it was.
"...Doppel?" [Solace]
Of all things, it was my very own |Doppelganger| stopping . He stood between the fourth Edwill and I with body language telling he won't give in.
"Why... Why...?! You're betraying too?! Why?!" [Solace]
Enraged by this I picked myself up and lunged at him with a greatsword in hand. Doppel deflected it with |Revolving Shell Arts| so I let go of the sword. This led to an exchange of blows of just fists and kicks.
"Why?! Answer !" [Solace]
It was like there was an unspoken agreent to not use |Skills|. We'd sotis go blow for blow, throwing each other into the debris and pulverizing the foundation in our scuffle.
"I know you can speak! Say sothing!" [Solace]
I grabbed a broken chunk of stone twice my size and threw it at him.
"..." [Doppel]
Shaking his head, Doppel redirected the stone sowhere into the distance. He then pointed at Edwill4 with great emphasis as if to say:
("Look at them.") [Doppel]
"I am looking. It's Edwill." [Solace]
Doppel shook his head, making a show with his hands in even greater emphasis.
("What is he talking about...?") [Solace]
I looked more intently, focusing on the finer details. It wasn't until then that my view on Edwill shifted, revealing Edwill4 to be Fina.
"...What?" [Solace]
Feeling a sense of panic, I turned to look at the other Edwills.
"No... No no no..." [Solace]
Wilharrow lay slumped over clutching his side, Raon lay crumpled with both his arms bent in odd directions, and Leon was trying to deal with my spear lodged into her abdon.
"Wha... What have I done...?" [Solace]
"Alert: It has been detected that you are no longer in combat. Comncing retrieval of |Sanity|." [Spirit Guide]
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