I looked up at the box for a heartbeat, and I could tell that Kalia seemed to already know what was happening. There was someone else approaching her from behind, but I couldn't tell who it was. Both Ysevel and Irun seemed shocked, as they were likely just as surprised as I was.
Noticing my confusion, my alternate seemed to chuckle with a guttural, joyless laugh. "I can feel your fear; the fear of not being good enough to beat me is swelling inside you like a water pouch ready to burst. I'm going to prove that bitch wrong about you," it said maliciously as it dashed in for a strike, forcing me on the back foot as it mirrored my own barrage of attacks.
I blocked and deflected repeatedly, even going so far as needing to quickly readjust my footing with a pirouette and a block behind my back before immediately having to parry one aimed at my gut.
Is it attacking faster? Shit, this isn't good, I thought, doing what I could to deflect the incoming attacks.
A flurry of blows came in rapid succession, but I repositioned myself to lead us away from the edge and back to the center of the arena. Once I felt comfortable enough with the distance from the wall, I began to counterattack, matching it blow for blow as we stood almost stationary in the center of the arena. It began to cackle at me as its confidence grew. "You're not very good at anything, are you? You can hardly even keep up with me, you little shit," it sneered before pushing me back a good distance with a strong blow aimed at my core.
I skid across the ashen ground, kicking up dust in my wake as I recovered. I barely caught the blade that cut through the cloud of dust, separating it as it sought its target. I ducked beneath the next blow and parried the chop that came from above soon after, sliding my alternate's blade off my own as I used the pommel of my blade to break its nose.
"Ack, damn you," it said as it reeled. "I figured you'd fall for that one," I said derisively before dashing in to hopefully catch it off guard. It parried my initial blow before we continued the barrage with each other, moving back towards the center of the arena.
It's as good as I am with a sword, but it's not good at noticing tricks, huh? I thought as an idea began to spawn in my mind's eye.
I continued my assault, pushing my body to its limits in terms of speed as I picked up the pace of my strikes. Each one was carefully planned and executed, creating a recognizable pattern for the alternate to follow.
"You're predictable. Weak. Slow. Is there any part of you that is worth a damn? I should be the one who is free to walk," it said between parrying my blows. "I should be the one who has the kataki. I should be the one who wields mana. I should be the one who holds the princess in his arms at night or speaks to queens as if they were my friends. It should be me!" it shouted angrily before counterattacking with a number of rapid strikes.
"Your arrogance and lust for power have already decided the outcome of this battle," I taunted, blocking and parrying each incoming blow, doing my best not to let my emotions get the better of me since it was vital to the idea I had in mind.
That's enough, I thought, seeing it charge a heavier strike than any that came before.
I stepped to the left to parry it with my right arm, but just as the blow was coming down, I released my sword into the air, moving my arm out of the way of the strike only to catch it again mid-air with my left. Its strong blow dug the point of its sword into the ground where my right leg would have been, and I could see a look of genuine fear on its face as I sliced its arm off with the momentum I still carried from my sidestep.
It screeched in pain but maintained enough focus to move out of the way of my next strike that was aimed at its neck, pulling its sword out of the ground in the process.
"You can't defeat me, Thoma," it said, backing away momentarily as it regained its footing and entered a single-armed guard. I got into my own guard once more, raising the hilt of my blade up to my cheek. "I've had enough of you. Give me your core! It's mine!" it shouted, dashing in brazenly as it easily telegraphed its next attack.
Parrying the slice aimed for my neck, I slipped beneath the blade and cut into the tendons in the pit of its remaining shoulder and left leg as it passed me. Without looking back, I could hear its sword and body tumbling to the floor of the arena in a wet heap of mass. "Agh!" I heard it scream as it writhed on the floor like a freshly beheaded snake.
"I thought I told you already," I said over my shoulder as I regained my posture. "The outcome of this battle was already decided," I continued, striking fear into the coreless creature with a single-eyed glare. The alternate spat a wad of black blood in my direction before the resounding cackle sounded more like it was gurgling.
"You couldn't even keep a relationship with a whore. You are, and always will be nothi-..." its voice cut out as its jagged teeth encountered the edge of my blade before any other words could leave its foul mouth. I squatted down beside it with a menacing glare in my eyes, grabbing its matted, steel-colored hair in my hand as I pulled its face towards me.
"You were born into this realm without asking to be, but I want to hear you beg me to take you out of it," I said, my tone dropping into the darkest abyss. I could see the fear in its eyes consume the consciousness that ruled its body as it began to grunt and writhe aggressively beneath me.
"Sunder," I said, pulling the top of its head towards me as I pushed and sliced with my blade, severing its head at the line of its jaw. I didn't even flinch as the blackened blood soared into the air, spattering my face in the process.