Duelcrest Academy

There was no time to think.

If there was any chance that this creature possessed Sophia's innate power, as well as her appearance, there was only one course of action I could take.

"I can’t let it move!"

«Gravity Surge!» I shouted, trying to concentrate despite the pain in my leg.

Sophia's copy was instantly forced to its knees by my spell.

"I kinda feel bad using this spell on her, even if it's just a copy... this thing really looks identical to Sophia, except for this strange silver colour. I wonder what kind of creature it is..."

I was aware of the existence of a magical creature, the Mimic, capable of assuming human form. However, they were rather weak monsters that used trickery to lure unwary adventurers into their traps.

"But this thing has silver skin, so it's not really trying to disguise itself. Maybe it's some kind of rare Mimic that the Academy found in this place..."

Whatever it was, one thing was for sure, I had to get rid of it as soon as possible. Concentrating even more, I split my mana and shouted:

«Help me attack it, Penny! Icycle Crush!»

Gravity Surge was an extremely taxing spell to cast with my mana reserves already almost depleted. There was no time to waste.

I watched with trepidation as my icycles and the fireball Penny had launched reached our enemy. With horror I saw most of my projectiles shatter against the creature's sword, as if they had slammed against an invisible barrier.

"It actually has Sophia's power... that's just crazy."

But I did not lose heart. Just as in my duel with the real Sophia, my opponent was unable to intercept all of my attacks. I could clearly see my icycles connecting with its exposed shoulders.

"I just have to keep this up and... hope."

There was something that could make this challenge completely impossible for us: Sophia's newfound ability to teleport.

But she had only managed to use it once so far, and it had almost killed her.

"Maybe if this... Mimic, or whatever it is, tries to use it, it'll take itself out."

But I didn't want to find out:

«Switch to a multi-projectile spell, Penny!»

«Alright!» she said, «Icycle Crush!»

Together, our spells kept Sophia's copy under heavy bombardment. To my relief, it stood still to take all the blows.

There was only one problem:

"Are we... damaging it at all?"

While I could clearly see that our spells were hitting it, I could see no marks on the creature's silvery skin, not even tears in its uniform. A normal human's body would have been covered in wounds after such an attack.

"Is this thing made of steel or something? This is bad... I can't keep it immobilised forever."

I was about to ask Penny to try attacking it with her sword when something seemed to change: the features of Sophia's copy began to lose definition.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched the creature lose consistency and begin to melt like a snowman on a sunny day. I still kept Gravity Rush active, just in case it was some kind of fake-out.

Soon, however, there was nothing left of the strange Mimic but a puddle of silvery goo that began to drip through the cracks between the uneven bricks of the dungeon.

It was at this point that I deactivated my spell, still wary.

"That was easy… way too easy."

Meanwhile, Penny had run to my side:

«Are you okay, Liz?»

«Yeah... I still have some mana left to keep going.»

«Wow, I didn't think you'd win so easily against a copy of Sophia. Your duel in December was insane...»

«You gave me a hand, it would've taken way too long with just one Icicle Crush and besides... the real Sophia would be furious with me if I was beaten by this cheap imitation!» I exclaimed as I watched what was left of the creature disappear.

The Mimic may have copied her looks and power, but without my girlfriend's sharp mind and unwavering determination, it couldn't hold a candle to the real thing.

"How did it even copy her... if its ability works like a mimic, it would've had to touch her. Is her path through the dungeons close to mine? Maybe this thing slipped through a crack to-!"

Instinctively, at these thoughts, my eyes fell to the ground. Then I saw it: a silver flash.

I immediately grabbed Penny's arm and shouted:

«Typhoon!»

The strong gust of air was barely in time to throw us backwards before a huge impact hit the spot on the floor where we had just been standing.

Had it been a tiny bit faster, I would have missed it. The silvery blob had leapt from the space between the dungeon bricks and, returning to Sophia's form, had attempted to strike us down with its sword.

"It may not have Sophia's intelligence, but it's not a mindless creature..." I thought, as Penny helped me to my feet.

Before I could even think of casting Gravity Surge again, the Mimic lunged at us at high speed.

«Typhoon!» I shouted, using the spell to send us far away again.

My earlier assessment could not have been more wrong.

"This thing… it’s even stronger than Sophia! And if I cast Gravity Surge again... I'll just faint!"

Not only did it possess Sophia's incredibly dangerous innate power but, unlike her, it also seemed to have superhuman strength and endurance.

I continued to use the momentum of Typhoon's currents to dodge its attacks as my panic grew.

"How can I defeat something like this? I doubt I could do anything even if my mana was full! This is just... wait..."

It was simply impossible. It didn't make any sense: if the Academy had such creatures under its control, what was the point of this competition?

"They could just create an army of super Sophias and conquer the whole world with it!"

There had to be a trick, and I had to find it quickly. Every gust of wind I summoned to dodge the Mimic's attacks was bringing me closer to the point of no return.

"Think, Elizabeth... there must be a catch... there must be something you overlooked!"

As I flew through the arena, Penny still clinging to me, my eyes fell on the small crater left by the Mimic's previous attack. Fragments of stone had flown all around the point of impact.

"Wait a second..."

I stretched my left hand towards the pieces of stone and made them converge into a small compact sphere, as I had done in the previous trial.

"Time to see if my hunch is correct..."

I waited for the Mimic to launch itself into yet another lunge and, after using the wind to take us far away, I directed the sphere at it.

My opponent noticed it and extended his free arm to parry the blow. The sphere shattered against the creature's hard body, leaving a small mark.

"So that's how it is..."

The fact that my blow had actually connected and that the projectile hadn't been cut in half before it could do any damage, meant only one thing: this creature didn't actually possess Sophia's power.

"I was just tricked into believing that it did... it probably just has an active barrier to protect its sword from weak spells..."

What had tipped me off was the crater on the floor. Sophia's power would've left a clean, straight cut on the stone blocks, whereas the Mimic had completely destroyed them with brute force.

Perhaps calling it a Mimic was not entirely appropriate. This thing was probably some other creature that Skylark had managed to give Sophia's appearance just to mess with me.

"And the bastard succeeded..."

But even if I had realised that... things did not look good.

"Even if it can't actually cut through spells, it seems to be extremely resistant to them. And looking at where my stone sphere hit it, physical attacks are not that effective either... I would use too much mana fighting it like I did with the golem."

I couldn't afford to use heavy magic on it either, or I would have risked passing out without even knowing if I had won or not.

"But I can’t keep dodging his attacks forever like this either…" I thought, as another slash from the Mimic missed us by inches.

But when it did, I noticed something.

"That was... pretty sloppy."

That sword move lacked the finesse I was used to seeing in my girlfriend's fighting style. It was a powerful strike, but awkward and clumsy.

"She would have cut us down already. Of course... this thing... it's not really Sophia. It doesn't have her skill with the blade. But then..."

After landing softly on the opposite side of the arena I let Penny go.

«Liz, what...?»

«I'm going to fight it, get away and stay as far as possible from us,» I said, drawing my sword.

«But...»

«No buts,» I cut her off, running my wand over my blade and reciting: «Shock Absorption.»

My sword began to glow with blue light, as it had in the duel with Finch, and as the Mimic launched another attack, I stood still, ready to take the hit.

I parried the blow effortlessly and countered with a lunge at its shoulder. The tip of my sword connected, but failed to pierce the creature's metallic skin. The mimic chose to strike downwards in retaliation, but I simply intercepted it, keeping as much distance as possible to avoid a possible kick.

"Seems like defending myself will be easy..." I thought as I sidestepped a lunge and and hit the Mimic in the neck, "but I can't hurt it either. Maybe if I change the enchantment to a more offensive one, I might be able to, but if I don't kill it in one blow, it will just cut through my guard with sheer force..."

The Mimic turned and threw a slash at my left side. I tried to dodge again, but my foot didn't move.

«Shit!» I cursed as I managed to parry the blow just in time.

That was another problem. The injured tendon wouldn't have allowed me to make any quick movements, which further limited my combat options.

I parried a blow aimed at my legs. I was right: the Mimic's skill with the sword was even worse than mine before Sophia had trained me.

"But as usual, I'm at a standstill. Why can't I ever win decisively in situations like this... if only I had an innate power I could use," I thought, my panic rising again.

The clock was ticking, and if we didn't win quickly, we'd be eliminated for being the last pair left in the dungeon.

«Penny, try hitting it with something!» I shouted, desperate for a solution.

The girl had run to the other side of the arena as I had told her.

«Fireball!» she shouted, aiming for the Mimic's back.

But the creature sensed the incoming attack and dodged to the right.

«Water Shield!» I shouted, intercepting the spell.

"This is not going to work!"

But as the smoke from the spell dissipated, I realised then that I had made a terrible mistake. One I had made before.

"Why am I so stupid?!" I thought as I watched Sophia's copy run towards Penny.

With my wound, there was no way I could catch up.

«FUCK! PENNY RUN!»

The girl obeyed with a terrified look on her face, casting spells at the Mimic who was inexorably moving towards her. Soon it would catch up with her and...

"NOT AGAIN! I will not let it happen again... not in front of my eyes."

«Typhoon!» I shouted, putting so much power into the spell that I threw myself at Penny with incredible speed.

Sophia's copy was now a step away from her, ready to drop the sword on her back. There was no time to control my momentum.

I breathed a sigh of relief as my hand touched Penny's back, pushing her forward, out of danger's way.

"This time... I was able to reach her..."

But then....

«AAAAAAH!»

I was suddenly hit by the worst pain I had ever experienced. Worse than the beating I had taken at the hands of Finch, worse than the injuries I had suffered in the fight with Aldric.

My mind almost shut down and I barely felt myself hit the hard stone wall of the dungeon. I could barely breathe as I tried to stand. As soon as I tried to open my mouth, a terrible nausea hit me and made me vomit.

Through what seemed like a thick red fog, I managed to see it: a bleeding stump where my left hand used to be.

The pain got a little bit better, probably thanks to the shock and I was able to see something else: immersed into a pool of my blood, on the dungeon's floor, my severed hand.

In front of it, the one who had cut it, who was approaching me.

I parried its blow at the last second and my weapon's enchantment flickered.

It was the second time that day that I had experienced déjà vu. This time it was not Finch who was trying to kill me, but a creature with the semblance of the person I loved.

I watched the empty eyes of the Mimic with a faint smile as the deep sorrow I had been hiding inside me seeped into my heart.

"I'm sorry, Sophia. It seems I will have to leave with you alone after all..."

But behind my attacker, through the light haze that clouded my vision, I saw someone move.

Penny was charging at the enemy, her sword ready for a lunge. But it would have been useless...

«B-boost s-sharpness,» I barely managed to say, pointing the bleeding stump in that direction.

Penny's blade glowed red just before it connected with the creature's back.

The girl screamed and put all her strength into the blow. It went in. I saw the tip of the sword protrude from the monster's chest. But the creature didn't even flinch.

In one swift motion, it used its free hand to deliver a powerful blow to Penny, sending her flying. Her sword fell to the ground, leaving a small hole where it had struck the mimic.

That hole was the key. But all I felt was pain, could I really cast a spell?

Pain, so much pain. It filled everything.

It burned, as if a fire had broken out inside me, threatening to consume everything I was.

But was it really the pain that fed this unbridled flame? No... it was something else.

But then... what was the core of that raging inferno? I could feel it... it was... Me.

My whole being was on fire. I was burning with a single desire:

"I want to live... so I can be between her arms again..."

It was a desire so intense that if it had been unleashed, it wouldn't have stopped at burning my body, it would have reduced everything before me to ashes.

"To stay with her... I'd let the whole world burn."

And so... I decided to let it burn.

Taking advantage of the my enemy's distraction, I let go of my sword and pointed my only hand at the hole penny had created for me.

But maybe... it wasn't even necessary. The beam of pure light that came out of my hand had no need for such a thing.

In what was left of my consciousness, I knew it wouldn't have left a trace of anything it came in contact with. Just like when he had used it.

My enemy was instantly vaporised before my eyes, just before they stopped working.

I felt something cold and wet touching my forehead. At the same time, pain began to torture my arm again.

"Am I dead?"

I tried to open my mouth, but the nausea hit me again. At the same time I heard someone calling desperately for me:

«Liz! Open your eyes, I beg you!»

And so, with great difficulty, I did. In front of me I found Penny in an obvious state of panic.

«Liz, thank goodness…»

I tried to give her a reassuring smile, but I felt too weak to even do that. The wet cloth that had been placed on my forehead fell into my lap.

I was sitting on the floor, my back against the dungeon's wall. My eyes dropped to my left arm. The stump was now bandaged with a piece of bloody cloth.

My eyes went back to Penny, she had torn off the right sleeve of her shirt.

«I've managed to stop the blood loss, but you've still lost a lot of it... we need to get you to a healer as soon as possible!» she exclaimed.

I followed her eyes to my upper arm. A tie was wrapped around it, with a piece of wood protruding from it. I recognised my wand, Penny had used it as a windlass to tighten the makeshift torniquette.

«I only had that on my hand, sorry... I'm going to help you get up, I know it hurts a lot but we have to move or you're going to die!»

As she said that, she moved close to me and put my arm over her shoulder.

«P-penny...» I tried to speak through my sour throat.

«Don't talk...»

«I-I'm o-okay...» I managed to say as I got back on my feet.

«How do you even have the guts to say that?» she said.

As my mind slowly adjusted to the terrible pain, I could feel my thoughts beginning to form again.

My eyes swept the room. A huge steaming rift ran through it: the stone blocks that formed the floor of the dungeon had melted and turned into hot magma. I had seen something like this before, though I would have preferred to forget it.

"I managed to use the same spell as Aldric... how did I do that?"

All I remembered was the burning desire to survive that had taken over at the moment when the Mimic was about to kill me.

"I’ll think about it later…"

«Penny...» I said as the girl helped me take my first uncertain steps towards the now open exit of the room, «I'm sorry.»

«Sorry? Sorry for what?» she asked, looking ahead.

«I could have hit you and killed you with that beam...»

«Oh that... what was that spell anyway?»

«I... don't really know...»

«I see... shut up now. If you faint again, we are doomed. I tried to move you before, but you are way too heavy for me!» she blurted out.

But there was more I needed to tell her.

«I'm also sorry for the way I treated you.»

«What do you mean?»

«I made you go far from the fight, thinking you would be in the way. But I only put you in danger and in the end you saved me...»

«What are you talking about? You are the one who killed that thing. And you even lost your hand trying to save me...»

But I barely listened to her. I could feel anger and disappointment rising along with the pain, all of it directed at myself.

«Sophia is right about calling me an idiot every time... I made the exact same mistake during the last battle. I left my best firend behind and she saved me in the end... I'm just incapable of learning, it seems...»

«I don't know about that, but... it seems to me that you like to take everything on yourself,» Penny said, poking her head into the dark corridor in front of us «isn't that why you lied to me before? You should rely on others a bit more, Liz.»

"I thought I had learned that, but... I guess I can't change who I am. I'm still trying to be the hero I wanted to be when I was little... even though I thought I had given that up."

«Take this with your... only hand, please. I have no idea how you can even talk with that wound, but it looks like you can manage to carry this while I make some light,» Penny said, handing me what looked like a wet bundle of cloth.

I recognised her corset, which she was no longer wearing.

«What is...?»

«There's your severed hand in there. I conjured some ice to try and preserve it. If we get out of here quickly, they might be able to reattach it.»

«Penny... you're a lot smarter than I thought...» I said, taking it.

The girl frowned at me as she lit her wand.

«I thought you were joking yesterday but... you really are a bit unpleasant.»

«Oh... sorry... I can't really think straight,» I said, as Penny started to support me again and we started to walk down the corridor.

«It's okay, I'd rather you behave like this than like before... Let's go slowly, I'm not as good as you at spotting traps.»

We continued down the corridor in silence.

I knew it would've been best not to distract her, but the pain in my arm was so bad that I was afraid I'd go mad if I didn't keep my mind occupied.

«Thanks Amy... you really saved me. I really should stop looking down on people, shouldn't I?»

«Amy...? I'm Penny, Liz...»

«Oh...»

My dizzy mind had automatically uttered that familiar name... but that was because:

«You kinda remind me of her... my friend who died in the battle. You may be weak, but you are very clever and brave in the face of danger...»

«I see... but... I am my own person, Liz. Sorry... but I'm not your dead friend.»

I wanted to tell her that wasn't what I meant, but... she was right.

I had just realised it. When I had moved to save her from the Mimic, I hadn't even thought about the fact that it would have been useless if I had lost my life in the process.

The only thing on my mind was something else: the desire to atone for the sin that still weighed on my heart. I just wanted to ease the pain I still felt for letting Amy die before my eyes.

Penny was right, I was projecting my lost friend into her as a mean for redemption. I... just missed her so much.

«I... understand. In the end, I'm just a very selfish girl, Penny... but... will you still want to be my friend, even though you realised how unpleasant I am?» I asked weakly.

«I'm starting to realise that your girlfriend is right. You are a royal pain in the ass. But... I still really like you. Now shut the hell up!»

"I'm also starting to realise that she's nothing like I thought. She seemed so meek... but she actually has an attitude. Maybe we can really be friends now..." I thought as I let her lead me.

It wasn't long before light shone again in the darkness of the dungeon. We rounded a corner and came to a large archway.

On it, in glowing letters, was written: "The Last Room".

"That's pretty on the nose..."

The writing was clearly the work of the Academy, not an old message left by the original creators of the dungeon.

"The fact that they want us to know that it's the last room... there can't be anything good behind it."

They probably wanted to give us a little hope before crushing us with one last impossible test.

"But... I want to believe that Penny can solve whatever they throw at us. I won't be able to help her much in this state."

As we got closer, I saw that the last room was fortunately not an arena like the last two we had passed through. It was a small room like the first one we had entered on our adventure through the dungeon. Apart from the solid stone door sealing the exit, the only thing of note was a pedestal in the centre of the room. With Penny's help, I got close to it.

On top of it was a hole in the shape of a human hand.

«Wait, don't touch it,» I warned Penny before she could even make a move towards it.

There was no telling what would happen if she did. My eyes scanned the rest of the room, looking for some kind of clue.

That's when I saw it: small engraving on the base of the pedestal, spelling out a terrible phrase.

"Only those who sacrifice something can go on."

Then it hit me. The words Skylark had spoken to us at the beginning of the dungeon echoed through my mind, even louder than the song of pain that was now playing inside it:

"Remember, if your partner dies before you reach the last room, you'll join them in death."

As usual, there was a terrible meaning behind those words.

"Before you reach the last room..."

I shot a sideways glance at Penny. The girl still hadn't realised: we were never meant to get out of this place alive together.