But before Kane could leave, two strangers attacked him.
«Haha, so that one was a liar too?»
Dodging a flying attack to the head, Kane could not fully dodge, and a small scratch formed on his cheek, which brought him amusement.
Attacking in response, he noticed that all his attacks were perfectly blocked.
Whoosh.
Before he could rejoice, his shoulder was pierced by an arrow.
— Now that's what I'm talking about, ahah!
With every second of the battle, his thirst only grew, and so did his pleasure. Casting a fleeting glance at the one who had loosed the arrow, the enemy took advantage of his confusion and dealt a blow from above, which he could only block halfway.
— Hey, hey! I just found these clothes!
Leaping back from them, Kane understood that no one would let him regroup so easily.
Whoosh.
Kane dodged the arrow, but did not fully dodge the sword blow, and a second cut appeared on his chest. Both cuts were shallow, which allowed him to stop most of the blood thanks to his muscles.
— Now they're only good for the trash… What a pity. – Looking over the clothes as casually as if he were not in the middle of a battle.
Whoosh.
Kane rushed into the attack, aiming for the head.
Clang.
But his opponent easily deflected the blow. He had expected this.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
He began delivering rapid blows, which his opponent blocked without trouble. But Kane's tactic was different: while he was too close, the archer did not shoot, which meant one thing — his close-range archery skills were not that good. Besides, the terrain played to his advantage.
However hard he tried to push his opponent towards the archer, the archer simply kept backing away, until he fully disappeared into the forest.
— Don't get distracted.
Clang.
— Hahaha, look who's talking! I thought you were mute.
Whoosh.
Crack.
Clang.
— Almost hit. Hah.
Breaking the flying arrow with his sword, Kane managed to deflect the sword flying at his neck at the last second.
— Ahaha, without hesitation, you want to take the life of such a cute boy as me! What a villain you are!
— Hah, a cute boy? Your appearance says otherwise. Monster!
After these words, his opponent sped up, and Kane could barely defend himself, changing his tactics: now he only deflected blows aimed at vital points.
Blow.
Seeing blood pouring from his wound, he felt ecstasy. Even if it was a minor wound, the point was that during their whole fight, he had landed his first successful blow, and it gladdened him.
Clang.
«He got faster.» — Kane thought, beginning to understand that his opponents had been holding back all this time, which saddened him a little.
Whoosh.
An arrow pierced his leg through.
«So fast.» — he thought, finally understanding where he had seen these two before, and involuntarily his smile grew wider.
— How is… that one-armed fellow doing?
Hesitating for a moment at Kane's words…
Blow.
— Hahah, one more!
Crack.
Kane tried to deflect the blow, but his sword could no longer withstand it, and it shattered. Before he could step aside, a sword pierced his chest.
— Damn… I lost. – not believing his eyes as he looked at the blade piercing his chest.
— And I won.
Pulling out the sword, his opponent watched as Kane, no longer able to stand, simply fell, clutching his chest.
— It's done, captain.
Running up to him, Rein examined Kane's lying body.
— Yes, done.
Wiping the blood from his sword and sheathing it, he turned to Rein and, looking at his pale face, spoke:
— Ah, I told you not to use magic in morning training.
– … What a pity he died like that… – Ignoring the captain's words, he said, casting one last glance at the boy and turning away to head to Orario. — I'm so tired. Let's go, captain, why are you… frozen? – He turned back to the captain and could not believe what he saw.
– Kh, kh.
Rein's eyes widened at what he saw. He was in such shock that he could not even move. The captain's neck had been pierced through by the broken sword. He could not believe it. Behind the captain, he saw Kopii's smiling face. He finally came to his senses, and a feeling of anger filled him.
Whoosh.
— Captain!
Rushing forward, Rein understood it was useless; he saw the captain beginning to choke rapidly on his own blood. In his eyes, one thing could be read: "How?"
Bang.
But before he could do anything, Rein saw the captain's head fly into the air. He could not believe what he was seeing. All his fury evaporated, and in its place came pain and emptiness. For him, time seemed to slow down. He remembered everything he had been through with the captain. Tears began streaming from his eyes.
Thud.
The head rolled right to his feet. Picking it up with trembling hands, he saw the face, frozen in a silent question: "How?"
— Capt…
Before he could finish, his own head also flew into the air after his captain's.
— Hahaha, almost died! Hah, but even so, it was fun! Ahah!
Bang.
— Annoying.
Crushing the archer's head and taking his clothes, Kane headed to Orario, hoping it was the right direction, but first he searched the corpses. Finding a couple of healing potions…
— I want more. Ahah.
Running, he already saw the Tower of Babel, feeling Kopii taking over his body.
Some time later.
Bleargh.
Kane was sick from the memories when he regained control, but unlike other times, he remembered everything perfectly: every moment when he tore out guts, gouged out eyes, broke arms and necks. Every moment he remembered so clearly that he felt more and more disgusted.
— What, like a child?
— Shut up!
Bleargh.
— You wanted to kill them all yourself. Didn't you?
— SHUT UP!!!
— Whoa, whoa, how angry we are.
— SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!! SHUT UP!!!
Bleargh.
— What are you even throwing up anymore? Digestive juices?
— Shut…
Bleargh.
— What beautiful faces they had. Simply magnificent, magnificent! And especially the last ones. I would have liked to see the face of the one who pierced us through. But what a pity… Well, actually, whatever.
— Shut up!
Kane said, muffled, but Kopii paid no attention and continued:
— How lucky we are that he missed the heart. You should pray to luck that you were born like this… How good that your heart is on the right side, not the left. We're just lucky ones.
Kopii collapsed weakly onto the bed. He wanted to forget it like a bad dream, but the scenes flashing in his head would not let him forget for even a second. And on top of that, the culprit of it all chattered without pause.
— So all this time, it was you.
At last, he asked the question that had tormented him since the very beginning of his awakening.
— Yes. Didn't you know?
— How?
— What, how?
— How can you talk to me? I always thought you were just my madness, that's all, but yesterday's incident changed my mind. How can a feeling I copied gain a mind?
— Why do you think you copied the feelings of monsters?
— What?
— Speak, why do you think so. Who told you that you copied feelings?
— …
— You imagined to yourself that when you were betrayed, you copied the feelings of monsters. If that were so, then you would be able to control yourself! I have my own theory about this.
— … Well, what is it?
— You didn't copy feelings, but an essence. In other words, I am a monster, only I evolved and gained consciousness… Probably. But that fits better than your nonsense.
After his words, Kopii fell into thought. However hard he tried to say that it was nonsense and impossible, his theory sounded much more convincing and explained the moments he could not understand.
— If it is as you say… How is it possible? How can my skill copy an essence itself?
— How should I know?
— … I see.
— What do you see? You stupid creature.
Clutching his mouth with his hands, he ran to the toilet.
— Are you mocking me?
Bleargh.
— How, ha, am I supposed to, ah, forget this?
Bleargh.
– Damn idiot.