“Hey.” Christoph spoke between flashes of steel and glistening crystal. “Henry spared my life, you know? Are you just going to ignore that?”

Claude’s expression remained passive at his opponent’s taunt, the darting of his swords the only reply he gave. Pushing through the latest wave of attacks, Christoph glanced between the four bodies arrayed against him. The Paladin’s plain white tunics and trousers had long since been dyed bright crimson, and Christoph’s blade was the only one that shone clean, although not through lack of use.

“Actually, the only reason I beat him is because he spared me then,” Christoph said, leaping out to vanquish one of the Claudes and buy some time to regenerate. He could only take in so much mana from each clone before it vanished into the air and was replaced, but it was just enough to keep him in good form. “So in a way you could say that Henry died sparing my life. Are you really going to let him die in vain?”

“I thought I told you to be quiet.” Claude stepped back for a moment, replenishing his clones in mimicry of Christoph’s own actions. “You have no right to speak that name.”

“No one regrets what happened that day more than I.” Christoph’s smile tilted into a smirk at the knight’s response. “Henry’s mana really didn’t settle well with mine in the end, you know? Like when you drink a whole jug of water, and you can feel it sloshing around in your stomach when you walk, something kinda lik-”

“Close your mouth!” Launching himself at the world traveler, Claude discarded his four shields, focusing his attention on his swordplay. Shifting his stances between one and two-handed attacks, the four knights began a series of synchronized maneuvers that sought to wear down his enemy’s defense.

“So many shields!” Several heavy clangs sounded almost at once, the equipment dropping to the dense forest floor as Christoph fought to fend off the simultaneous attacks. “Actually, back home there was a guy who used to-”

Because it came from behind, Christoph almost missed the attack he had been waiting for. The sword to his right, he deflected with his own. The sword to his left, battered from his shimmering crystal shield. The sword before him, he kicked off course before it could stab into his thigh. Judging from the movements of Claude’s bodies, the attack from behind could only be a horizontal slash. Leaning back into his kick, he had planned to duck under the blade as it passed over him at head height. That isn’t what happened.

“Oof,” Christoph said, his rune-engraved sword ringing where it had caught the Paladin’s latest blow. “That was a close one. You know it isn’t a given that I’ll die from beheading, right?”

“We’ll have to find out,” Claude replied, stepping away as the fugitive made his retaliation. One of Claude’s bodies was lost in a flash of mana, and the knight clenched his teeth in disgust. “Your words before were not a bluff then, I assume?”

“Oh, no.” Christoph shook his head, glancing around at where Emilia and Dane was still trying to get the best of their own battle. “I really have fought someone just like you in the past. Two people, actually. You wouldn’t have met them, though.”

Although the simultaneous attacks were no doubt a great strength of those with multiple bodies or a linked consciousness, a pattern was a weakness. Christoph had been changing the facing of his body with each movement, the rapid re-positioning serving to limit Claude’s ability to strike from his blind spot with any accuracy. In this regard, the Paladin’s synchronized movements only served to let Christoph know when each attack was coming. This time, it was different. Instead of the anticipated swing, Claude had simply moved a step closer, raising his sword for a downward strike that would have severed Christoph’s head had he not moved to intercept it.

“Two people?” Claude’s faces distorted further. It was not often that an opponent of his would see through the staggered attacks on their first time. “What wretched hole did you crawl out of?”

“None for your information and anyway,” Christoph said, “let’s get back to the shields. Back home, you see, there was this guy who used to go around with pair of them all the time, and… wait, you haven’t heard any of this? Didn’t Liam and Ginger tell you anything?”

Withdrawing his sword, Christoph instead urged the crystal to form another shield, long triangle shapes covering his forearms as the jagged edges protruded out before him. Although the weapons sacrificed maneuverability by ignoring the movements of his wrist, he hoped they would more than make up for it with sheer blocking potential. Swinging his arms, the world traveler tried to drag up any memories he had on subject, either his own or what Liam had transferred to him in the past.

“Hmmm…” Ignoring the Paladin for a moment, Christoph readjusted his shields. “It’s too bad I can’t control the rest of the crystals on my body. Well, the Guardian couldn’t even do this much so I guess I should be thankful for what I have. Health, wealth… a unicorn horn and a half-elf’s soul worth of mana to spare.”

“Don’t bother.” Claude said. “I’m not some simple squire, to be baited by your taunts.”

The Paladin’s swords flashed with a shine of mana, and Christoph basked in the warm blue of a light that only he could see. His face warped into a manic smile as he rushed forwards to meet the group of knights, his shields slicing through one of the four clones before the others could close the gap. Turning back, he tried to push Emilia and Dane’s frantic struggle from his mind so he could focus on the enemies surging against him. The cat-girl could hold her own, and this was not the time to be distracted.

Holding the shields together, Christoph rammed into the three bodies as a fourth appeared, combining attack with defense to smash through Claude’s attacks with raw, sheer strength. He might have barely survived his last fight with the Paladin but he had no doubt that were this a one-on-one duel he would have emerged victorious long ago. Still, Claude’s ability was an intrinsic part of his fighting power. You couldn’t make an accurate judgement without considering his clones, and it was his clones that were turning this into a battle of attrition.

For each Claude that Christoph destroyed, another would appear nearby. Careful to keep the knights from surrounding him, the adventurer prioritized any that tried to split from the group as best he could. Not content to let Christoph control the pace of their fight, Claude began to make ever wilder attacks, his bodies moving off beat in order to catch his opponent off guard. Each time one of the Paladin’s forms perished, he was soon rewarded by the heavy feeling of his sword on flesh, cutting into Christoph’s body with every casualty.

But Claude was only human in the end. Each time the gemstone blades met with his flesh, he felt the cold touch of the grave, and every clone he produced was lesser than the last. His enemy, too, didn’t seem to be weakening at all. Despite the blood that lay slick over the forest floor, Christoph’s movements still hadn’t dulled at all.

“I thought this would be harder,” Christoph said with a frown. “You’re wearing thin already, and it’s not like I’m going to run out of mana if you keep feeding me clones like this?”

“Wearing thin?” Claude asked. “Is that what it looks like to you?”

A low thump of mana sounded, and Claude’s clones vanished as one. Narrowing his eyes, Christoph reverted his weapons to a sword and shield, staring over at where a single Paladin was shining with mana more dense than any one of the clones had been.

“Oh?” Christoph asked. This hadn’t happened last time he had fought the knight. Had that been due to Diana’s influence on their fight? “Is that your real body? Do you even have a real body, or is it just whichever are alive? Did you just absorb the energy of the others, then?”

“You should be worrying about yourself,” Claude replied. Holding his empty left hand out towards the adventurer, the Paladin made a sudden grasping motion. “Let me show you who’s wearing thin.”

“I-” Christoph stumbled suddenly, a wave of force crashing over him. Careful not to lower his guard, he swallowed his saliva as a feeling of vast nausea settled into his stomach.

“Christoph!” Emilia’s cry pierced through the ever-present clash of blades, her strikes growing frantic as her lover staggered backwards. She had still been keeping an eye on his fight from where she was? Catching the blows upon his shield, Dane stepped between the lovers, driving the beast-woman away from the two men behind him.

“What did you do to me?” Christoph asked. Snarling through his teeth, the bloodied world traveler launched himself at the unarmored knight. He had to end this now, before whatever Claude was doing could take him down.

“Like oil and water,” Claude replied, fending off the crystal sword and shield alike. “That is what you said, isn’t it? I wonder how much damage I can do to your very being from the inside out.”

“Your mana…” Concentrating on the state of his body, Christoph quickly gathered the offending energies in his sword. Flicking his wrist, he blasted it away in a wave of pure mana that flowed harmlessly back towards the smiling Paladin.

“The true nature of my ability is this,” Claude said as his opponent fell to his knees. “My mana will always remain my own, no matter how I choose to wield it.”

“I should have known.” Shakily returning to his feet, Christoph tried to ignore the deep hunger welling within. With that one single move, Claude had effectively removed all of the mana he had gathered from his clones so far. “I have to say, that was not what I was expecting.”

“How’s this, then?” Claude’s body flared with mana, his sword blazing with blue light as he made his next attack. Blocking the backhanded sweep with the edge of his shield, Christoph jerked his torso away from the beam of light as it was launched towards him. Disengaging momentarily, he was dismayed to see the mana dissolve into the air and return to its original owner.

“Unlimited mana?” The adventurer made a face. “At least your pool as a whole isn’t incredibly large.”

“A sacrifice I made willingly,” the Paladin replied, moving into another attack before retreating once more. “I am at least thankful the Ouroboros hasn’t seen fit to grant you a gift of your own.”

“That makes one of us.” Looking past his opponent, Christoph was reassured by the fact that Emilia was holding her own, even if Dane was preventing her from coming to his aid. Returning his gaze to the man before him, the adventurer stabbed out at the knight, testing his guard. “Not that I need a gift of his.”

Absorbing his shield and gathering the last remnants of his power, Christoph took a stance. As this point, there was still one option left for him to take. He had been holding out on using it so far, but if there ever was a time it would be now.

“Taking a last stand?” Mirroring his opponent’s pose, Claude channeled energy into his sword. “Very well, I’ll humor you in this.”

“I wouldn’t have.”

Dashing across the gap, Christoph reclaimed as much mana as he could from his sword, leaving an impossibly thin blade to counter the knight’s final strike. Successfully landing his parry, he shrunk the blade down further, pouring the energy from maintaining his weapon into his body instead. Gripping the crystal dagger in his hand, Christoph ducked under the wave of mana from Claude’s attack… and sprinted away before the Paladin could react.

“Wha-”

Dane’s cry was cut off as Christoph slammed bodily into him, plate armor crumpling on impact. Reaching over the knight’s shoulders, the adventurer swung his arm downwards, dagger punching directly through the silver breastplate and into his chest beneath. Slipping on the damp forest floor, the two men lost their balance and tumbled down onto the decaying leaves below.

“Don’t.” The first to regain his footing was Christoph, his weapon returning to its former length as he drained a portion of Dane’s life force away. Raising a hand at where Claude had taken a step forward, he looked between his two opponents with a disparaging look of disgust. At his feet, the younger knight still lay impaled on the end of his crystal blade.

“Claude.” Dane’s pitiful call was half-lost in the blood bubbling out of his visor, his chest heaving within his ruined silver plate. “Finish him.”

“I don’t think so,” Christoph replied, leaning slightly on his blood-stained sword. Looking back up to where Claude stood immobile, he shook his head. “Really, you only have yourself to blame.”

Rushing forwards, Claude’s desperate slash was interrupted by Emilia’s twin blades, his second strike deflected to the side as Christoph turned towards the knight’s brother. Even in the midst of the blows he was exchanging with the beast-woman, Claude could see Dane’s face as Christoph kicked his helmet free. For just a second, Dane’s eyes shone with hatred. Then, with light. Then, with nothing at all.