No sound penetrated my mind deeper than the three breaths echoing faintly through the dusty dance hall.
Sharp metallic smell pierced my nostrils. Whether they came from the scraped metal or blood, I didn’t bother to think about it much.
The marble floor was littered with fallen knights. Their armors dented, most blades broken. Their groans had faded into silence. Whether they were unconscious or paralyzed, they could not rise anytime soon.
Leila lay crumpled beside them, unmoving.
And in front of me stood Mother.
With her sword in hand, she raised it steadily, pointing it straight at us.
“Drop it,” she commanded.
Her voice no longer trembled with rage. It was colder now, almost how she would always talk. But beneath that coldness, I could sense it.
She was straining herself.
I shook my heads in denial. Not of her command, but of my own choice.
I didn’t know why I picked up these swords. I knew how strong she was. Against me, who was basically an amateur who only ever fought bandits through dirty tricks, what could I possibly do against her?
The thought of running away crossed my mind. In fact, my mind was telling me it was the only choice I had. Maybe I could slip past her. Maybe even use some sort of distraction to escape without getting chased. Even Leila had told me to run…
It would’ve been the most logical choice.
That would be stupid.
I couldn’t just run away. Especially now.
My eyes flicked to Leila once more. Her chest rose and fell in shallow, agonizing breaths. Despite being unconscious, her face was twisted in pain. If she didn’t get treated immediately… I couldn’t bear finishing the thought.
And still, she wasn’t the only one I had to save.
My gazes flicked forward. Glaring at the one pointing her blade at both of us.
Mother. The rıghtful source is 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹~𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮~𝚗𝚎𝚝
To the one who had raised me.
To the one who had trained me.
And who now stared back at both of me, with eyes that had lost their light.
I shook my heads once again, resolutely. I tightened my grip on the hilts in both pairs of my hands. They felt heavier than I remembered, but still, I held them firm.
“I won’t let you fall further, Mother,” I said as her daughter.
“I will protect you, even from yourself,” I said as her student.
Her eyes shifted slightly, narrowing before relaxing. Mother’s blade stiffened, then… it slowly lowered. It fell by her side, her grip on it still firm.
But I had known her for too long. Too long to know—
—that she wasn’t giving up.
An audible tap reached my ear. Mother stepped forward, letting her body glide across the marble. Her blade raised in a swift motion.
Seeing it in motion, I jumped back, both of us.
I landed side by side with myself, nearly tripping over each other. Mother didn’t let up, and I could tell she saw it as a chance. She threw her body forward to seize it.
Feyt’s ears warned me of the moment she moved. Carine’s eyes warned me of the direction. Utilizing both my bodies, I knew where she was aiming. The moment I felt stable on both bodies, I rolled to both sides, narrowly avoiding a slash.
Both of my bodies landed hard, but still steady.
Now, on both of her sides, I had managed to split her attention.
I kept my body ready, my senses focused on her, seeing which one of me she would target first.
Mother reeled herself from the swing. Then, her head turned towards me, Carine.
I saw it in her eyes. The same eyes that once looked at me proudly as I got dressed for a party. The same eyes that greeted me when I woke up from a fever. The same eyes that greeted me… when I was born into this world.
Memories of Mother flooded my mind in a clear, vivid haze. Each of them was making me feel doubt over my decision to fight her.
But the eyes that were staring at me now were nothing like the ones that gave me warmth despite their cold surface.
Her eyes now saw nothing but obstacles in her way.
I couldn’t afford to look in those eyes any longer.
That’s why I needed to snap her out of it. She had to be stopped before she continued to do things she would regret.
My eyes flicked to a certain knife. One that lay beside Leila. The paralyzing agent still fresh on its steel.
As Mother lunged at me, her hands stretched out to grab me. I ducked away as Carine and then tackled her from behind as Feyt.
She stumbled forward, caught off guard. But that wasn’t enough to stun her. Without missing a beat, she slammed her foot on the marble floor and spun around, her blade out.
I tilted Feyt’s head back as far as it could. The tip of the blade grazed the tip of my nose. Had my ears not caught her foot tap, I would’ve lost one of my heads.
But my move was a success. Her lifeless eyes were now locked onto Feyt’s.
I steadied myself as Carine and sprinted towards the knife, all the while keeping my eyes flicked to the side to help me anticipate Mother’s attacks.
She shifted her stance and pulled back her hand.
She brought her blade down, and I managed to block it in time. The impact nearly drove me to slip on the marble floor. She was committed to killing me—Feyt. Of course. In her eyes, she must’ve seen me as nothing more than a boy who intrudes on family matters.
I pushed her sword away and took several steps back. Mother stepped forward and struck again. With Carine’s eyes still on her movements, I could anticipate and block any of her attacks.
But each block sent shocks through my bones. I didn’t know how much longer I could take it.
I managed to get to Leila’s side. Before I picked up the knife, I took a quick look at her wound.
Blood was pooling around her chest, soaking her black and white dress a deep, menacing red. An average eye probably couldn’t make out how deep her would really was. But fortunately, I didn’t have an average eye.
As I took a closer look… things began piecing itself in my mind.
The slash ran diagonally from her upper chest to her collarbone, ending shortly before reaching her shoulders. Her muscles were exposed, but the damage to them seemed minimal. The bleeding had slowed, so the slash hadn’t severed any major arteries somehow.
Was this luck? Or was this intentional?
I didn’t have time to debate with myself. Several seconds had already passed, and I was already blocking Mother’s fifth strike.
But at least I could fight with my hearts slightly at ease, knowing Leila would most likely be okay.
I gritted my teeth, both of me. What I wanted to do next needed perfect synergy. After steeling myselves, I surged forward and grabbed the knife in one motion. At the same time, I pushed back Mother’s attack, pushing her back to where I wanted her to be.
Mother’s breath hitched as she stumbled back. The effects of the agent were still there, but it was fading by the second. Thankfully, it gave me an opening.
I held the knife by its blade, about to throw it. Then, I felt weirdly at ease. My arms moved back as I charged a throw, but it was smooth, fluid, almost done out of instinct. It was like I was built for throwing this knife.
I snapped my arm down. The knife slipped free of my fingers. Air whistled around the tip as it flew.
Then, in a split second, Mother eased her resistance, allowing herself to be pushed back. I caught it in my eye, but my body failed to listen in time. The knife whizzed between our faces, grazing our swords on its way. The knife hit the glass window, crashing through it cleanly, leaving a small hole. Fresh air began to seep in.
That was my only solution for ending this battle quickly. What do I do now?!
I staggered a step back, nearly slipping. Mother’s eyes snapped to the window, then back to me—Carine. She knew what that knife meant and where it came from.
Even if I still had the knife, I wouldn’t have another chance.
She turned her head back to Feyt, the one closest to her.
She rushed forward. Her blade cut the air with a whistle.
I raised my sword to block, but she shifted at the last second. Too used to blocking at the last moment, my body couldn’t keep up with what Carine’s eyes already saw.
I braced myself as Mother twisted her body.
Her foot slammed into my gut.
“Ack—!” I choked as air left my lungs. I was flung back, skidding across the floor. My shoulder slammed into a fallen knight’s body. I felt the pain across bodies, Carine’s body locking up momentarily.
Mother advanced slowly, her blade twirling on her palm. She was aiming to finish me off.
Feyt’s body was still reeling from the pain, just standing up proved to be a struggle.
Move! Move, damn you!
I moved as Carine, dashing in from the side. I raised my blade, fully expecting her to shift and block. I needed to shift her focus away from Feyt, no matter what—
—But that was only what she wanted me to think, and I fell for it.
Mother shifted to me before I even got close to her. She moved forward, her blade angled low. I, who was mid-motion, couldn’t move away in time. I had to watch in perfect detail as her blade made contact with my thigh-high.
Sharp searing pain echoed from my thighs as a line of red began to appear.
I stumbled to the side, but I couldn’t afford to fall.
I kept my grip firm as I frantically moved away, using Feyt’s line of sight to make sure she wouldn’t chase me.
We kept our distance neutral. Mother stood still, her sword lowered as if she was opening up her defenses. She was provoking an attack.
I was running out of time.
Both of my bodies might have more stamina than hers, but it was clear that tiring her out proved easier said than done.
If I were to finish this battle in my favor, I needed to do more than just be defensive.
I took a deep breath, and time seemed to slow. I listened to my own heartbeats, my own breaths. Deep inside, I tried to calm my nerves.
If there’s anyone who can save Mother. It would be me.
I exhaled it all in one breath. I shifted the grip of my sword. One meant for offensive swings, the same grip Mother was employing. I ignored the pain inside Feyt’s chest. I used my sword to gain bearings.
Both of me stood tall on either side.
Carine at the front, a line of blood dripping down my leg.
Feyt at the back, pain still lingering in my stomach and muscles.
But in the end, I had two blades and one mind.
I’ll bring Mother back to her senses.
Even if I had to slap them into her!