A roaring flame shot out about Elmo, leaving a strong smell of brimstone in the air as he fell to the floor, hoping that it would give him enough time to launch out his own spell. So far he'd only been able to get that one off.
The only light he had to see the doppelganger at the moment was one of the walls that was burning a little from one of the previous Brimstone Fire spells it had sent his way. Elmo's lamp had long gone out, from the first time he'd barely dodged a Brimstone Fire spell from the doppelganger. Which meant that Elmo couldn't be sure what would happen if the fire on the wall burned itself out. He couldn't be sure that the doppelganger couldn't see in pitch darkness. He only knew that he himself couldn't.
Maybe he should have done what the doppelganger is doing now, launching out spell after spell, not allowing him a chance to react. Regardless of anything else, it was tiring trying to dodge all of the attacks, most of which he was sure he'd failed to do, given how hurt his body was at the moment.
However, one spell he hadn't seen used so far was the one he had been the most worried about: Absorb. He wasn't sure why the doppelganger hadn't used it, but he was confident that the doppelganger knew all of his spells and could use them freely. Although, if it was restricted by MP, it wasn't showing at the moment.
"Dark Impact!" Elmo cried as his body hit the ground and immediately rolled to the side, where another ice spear struck a second later. His thoughts were where he'd last seen the doppelganger, hoping that it hadn't moved from where it had last been and he'd hit it.
The constant stream of spells stopped and Elmo scrambled to his feet. The fight hadn't gone on for even a minute yet and he was already out of breath. His mind was struggling to keep up with the pace of the battle, not so much trying to keep one step ahead, but rather trying to keep up with his opponent so he didn't get buried in the onslaught of spells being thrown at him.
The Dark Impact spell gave him a moment of time to collect his bearings again before the doppelganger recovered from the spell. Although, as he thought about it, the doppelganger hadn't used Dark Impact on him either. He couldn't help but wonder if there was some significance to that fact or if he might just be overthinking things.
It could be that the doppelganger didn't consider Dark Impact or Absorb to be very useful in combat, or maybe that the doppelganger couldn't use them. Regardless of if it was one of those reasons or another one altogether, Elmo forced himself to focus again on the task at hand. If he allowed himself to get distracted, then he was likely to find himself in the same position he was in a moment ago. Only this time, he might not get out of it alive.
"Brimstone fire!" Elmo cried, hoping that he wasn't going to do what the catapults were originally supposed to do before he'd destroyed them under Jonas' direction.
Flame burst all around the other Elmo, making Elmo feel even more confused. When the doppelganger cast that same spell, it always shot out like the frozen missile did. Yet, when Elmo cast the spell, it came into existence directly wherever he was focusing on.
Elmo felt like he was on the verge of understanding something, only he had no clue as to what that might be or what significance it might hold. Only that there did seem to be a difference in the spells both of them cast.
"Dark Impact!" Elmo cried again before the doppelganger could recover from the burning of the flames.
Elmo was hesitant to continue using his Brimstone Fire spell as freely as the doppelganger did, mostly because he didn't want to start a massive fire. Not only because he didn't want to burn the manor down, but also because he didn't have any spell to actually put it out.
As the doppelganger turned to Elmo again, still looking like it hadn't been hit by anything, Elmo cried out, "Frozen Missile!"
His own spear of ice soared through the air, and looked like it was going to skewer the doppelganger when it easily sidestepped the attack. As it did so, Elmo felt like something had just grabbed a hold of his heart and was squeezing hard.
Elmo gasped, falling immediately to his knees. He couldn't say what was going on, only that it felt like his life was dissipating like the pixelated form of some bosses in some video games he had played did when they were defeated. Like they were disappearing into ash or something.
Suddenly Elmo realized this was his Absorb spell. He hadn't realized this was how it would feel, but as he stood back on his feet and felt the same grip clawing at his heart again, he forced himself to remain standing this time.
From what he could tell, the absorb spell was one that didn't allow itself to miss, while his frozen missile did. The Brimstone Fire spell the doppelganger used had the same effect while Elmo's didn't. The Dark Impact spell was the same, but Elmo couldn't guarantee the doppelganger couldn't use it either or that it wouldn't be the same as Elmo's.
Elmo glanced at the walls in the hallway, uncertain as to what could be done about that circumstance. Even as he felt the doppelganger use an absorb spell on him again, this time making Elmo's vision grow dark for a moment.
"Absorb!" Elmo cired, hoping to ease the sensation of being hit with the absorb spell while he tried to figure out what he should do. It wasn't like he didn't know which spell would give him the best chance of victory, but rather he was worried about doing his enemy's job for them. Such as burning the manor down.
The doppelganger might have been working towards that at first, but it seemed to be more concerned about actually defeating Elmo, which he wouldn't complain about. After all, if it was worried about Elmo, then that meant it wouldn't be trying to burn the manor down instead.
Elmo shot out another Absorb spell as he felt himself be hit by that same spell again. Unless their spells didn't have any loss of HP, stamina, or MP, then this could go on forever. A perpetual stalemate. Elmo didn't think that would be the case, but he suspected that even if it was, he was likely to lose in the end. Something needed to be changed or he'd be dead sooner or later.
As Elmo thought about that and threw out another Absorb spell, he barely had time to register another spout of a Brimstone Fire spell shoot towards him again. This time Elmo was sure that the spell did more damage than any of the other times, despite having dodged most of it, as now not only did he feel part of his face burning, but he couldn't see out of his left eye.
As the realization hit him, he felt a momentary burst of panic. Was this what was going to happen if he didn't figure out a way to end this fast?
As his thoughts turned to that, he nearly tripped over something and as he glanced down to see what it was, he saw it was the lamp. Which meant that if he needed to run, he would at least be able to use a quick Brimstone Fire spell to light it.
The only problem with that idea was the fact that he couldn't be sure he'd have enough time. Not considering the fact that if he ran, he'd either need to be ducking into rooms and such as much as he could, but also he wouldn't be able to see where the doppelganger was if he didn't look back and if he looked back, he might miss something ahead of him and end up in a worse position than he was right now.
Maybe he was overthinking this, but he decided that he couldn't afford to run. Maybe getting outside of the manor somehow would be the best thing he could do, but right now he had to assume it would be a suicide run if he tried.
Oddly enough, as he thought about those things, he didn't feel panic well up inside again like it typically had in the past. He felt oddly calm, almost like he'd become detached from everything around him. Kind of like in movies when all the sound stops and everything starts going in slow motion as everything continues to happen around him.
He suddenly realized what he needed to do. He had to make this a point blank fight. The doppelganger really had the advantage here with the distance, but the problem with fighting that close was the fact he wasn't likely to be able to dodge the spells as quickly.
However, Elmo was sure that if he closed the distance, that he'd be able to end this quickly. With maybe two or three spells. As if he himself couldn't dodge the doppelganger's spells, then it would stand to reason that the doppelganger wouldn't be able to dodge either.
So after another Absorb spell, which made Elmo's face feel less burned a little and his eyes to see very dark shadows, he launched himself towards the doppelganger, completely inadvertently dodging another Brimstone Fire spell in doing so.
"Absorb!" Elmo cried as he halved the distance between them, his sight in his left eye improving slightly, but still not to an extent that it would be useful.
Elmo noticed the doppelganger's expression took on one of fear and confusion as Elmo continued to close the distance. A mage had always fought from a distance, simply because the typical mage needed to be away from physical attacks, since they tended to not have much, if any, armor to protect them from those.
However, when fighting another mage, distance wasn't that big of a worry, since both would benefit from the distance. That aside, Elmo focused his attention on the doppelganger, knowing if this gamble failed, that he wasn't likely to survive much longer. Not that he expected to survive for an extended for much more time if he didn't do this.
Not allowing himself to think, he was barely six feet away from the doppelganger as he called out, "Frozen Missile!" His focus was on the chest of the doppelganger, hoping the spear would strike straight through the doppelganger's heart, ending this with just one spell. If it didn't strike it, then the doppelganger would probably manage to get off a spell before Elmo could send out another spear.
As the spear of ice launched out towards the doppelganger, Elmo saw a brief flash of understanding go through the other Elmo's eyes as what Elmo's intentions were became clear to it.
Then as the spear skewered the doppelganger, the life fading out of its eyes, Elmo suddenly felt himself shaking. Not from the pain he still felt, but from the fact that it felt like he was watching himself die. That he had killed another person.
True, he had only been defending himself and it was a kill or be killed situation. Yet, he couldn't stop his body from reacting to it. He couldn't say how long everything took, as it felt like time stopped having all meaning from the moment the eyes of his double glazed over.
He first fell to his knees, his legs no longer willing to support him. Then what he'd eaten at the party came back up with explosive force. Then lastly, he realized he was laying on his side, as his vision dimmed.
Am I dying myself? Elmo couldn't help but wonder as he felt consciousness slip through his grasp.