As Lars stared at the brutal damage he had inflicted, a burning sensation lingered in his unblinking eyes. The act of killing wasn't unfamiliar; he had killed many, as a direct consequence of his actions, and a lot more indirectly. However, he had never committed such a violent act, fuelled entirely by rage and a strong desire to inflict pain upon the other person.
Vanessa laid silently, like a wilted rose bed, rooted to the ground, or like a life-like doll that had been cast aside the moment it wasn't needed. Lars felt the origin of his rage. It wasn't as if he had suddenly developed feelings for her, sprouting after her life was ripped away by a cold steel blade, but he would be heartless to say that there was no affection or sentiment when someone met you each and every day with devoted, loving eyes.
Siegfried wasn't even to blame. Everything was crystal-clear: the voice directed him, bringing Lars closer to her so that they could trade fates. The blade that was meant to skewer him ended up plunging through her. But even while this thought settled in his mind, the raging torrent and ferocious crashing of waves didn't quell in the slightest.
If only he had listened; if only he didn't jump to conclusions; if only he hadn't committed to killing me, reducing my choices; if only he wasn't so strong; if only I could end his life when I had countered him, striking his jaw and kicking him back; if only I wasn't weak; if only I wasn't in a position that necessitated Vanessa's death to save my own life!
If only you were dead—! Lars gritted his teeth, raising his arms into a steadfast guard. Siegfried's eye twitched momentarily. It was as if he was saying, 'You think yourself my match because of this mere flesh wound?' Perhaps he was being conceited, thinking he was in a position to fight back. Lars recognised that; but at the same time, he couldn't resist the thought: For someone so keen on their strength, do you think you can afford to be so arrogant in your state?!
Lars threw himself forward as he delivered a powerful jab. Siegfried reacted accordingly; but of course, he couldn't resist fretting when it was on his right side—the punch was practically invisible!
He wanted to use his superior strength and agility to overwhelm Lars quickly, surpassing the petty punch in an instant, but his decision had been too swift—too desperate. Lars reeled his arm back and shifted his weight, switching to a sharp right hook in an instant.
Siegfried scowled, finding the trick to be meaningless. This showed how greatly Lars had underestimated the abnormality, 'abyss walker', and the inhuman changes it brought. His reaction time far surpassed human levels, so the swinging arm was nothing but slow. Preparing to block it and deliver a crushing blow, to end it then and there, to put an end to this farce, he raised his arm in defence until—.
Siegfried felt an impact knock him asunder. He was confident in his swift response, finding an ordinary attack that relied on a feint to be useless. But before he knew it, Lars' knuckles slammed hard into his jaw and knocked him further off-balance. He only realised what happened a moment later.
'The… change in… depth perception—!' Siegfried's eyes widened as he hurriedly tried to regain his balance and watch out for his opponent's next move. It wasn't as if he didn't know his depth perception would change, suddenly losing an eye as he had—but to such an extent? He had hardly moved his arm before Lars was touching him.
Realising his mistake, Siegfried was quick to accept his loss and paid no further mind to it. Even if Lars, who was obviously proficient in combat, used this dishevelled state of his to score a few hits, he simply needed to adjust and kill his target in the next moment. Adaptability was an inherent strength of his as a hunter and something that the tenacious demons who walked the abyss possessed. There was no reason to lack confidence.
Siegfried directed his gaze forward, readying his sharp clawed hand to tear into Lars' flesh and give him his own flesh wound to worry about it. However, his target had disappeared, as if suddenly vanishing into thin air. He reacted quickly and spun on his back leg to reveal his blind spot; Lars must have raced into it, trying to remain invisible.
His expectations were to repeat the previous sequence, in which Lars would attack again while using the blindness in Siegfried's right eye and the affected depth perception to his advantage.
Surprisingly, he wasn't there. Lars was not occupying that space and neither was he preparing or issuing an attack. Siegfried saw something else through his shaky vision. The dead mistress of the old inhabitant of this household seemed to slowly rise from her deathbed. Considering his previous observations and the way Lars thought, it was his belief that this man didn't possess an offensive abnormality, to use directly in battle as he did.
However, he was seeing something which couldn't be explained by normal means. The deceased woman was rising like an unholy, reanimated corpse. The shaky vision and muddled mind that Siegfried held due to the repeated head trauma made it difficult to see the truth. Beneath Vanessa, Lars was propping her up gently, with a solemn air of respect, as he unsheathed the sword from her flesh.
Lars had picked up a weapon. He decided, if the bones in his bare knuckles lacked the force to deal significant damage, then he would rely on sharp steel to do so! This was a spur of the moment decision with the alternative being another direct attack. But an ominous premonition came to him: that repeating the same ineffective attacks would only allow his opponent to adjust and win victory in the end.
Although that was enough for him to take the risk, choosing to turn Siegfried's own sword against him, there was another slim hope he wished to actualise. Lars hoped that, like his older self's strong attachment to his family had crossed over, allowing him to recall the names of his wife and children, the arduously-learned sword skills would shine through—by instinct and reflex.
Everything that belonged to the other Lars, culminating inside of him, would guide his sword and aid him in striking down his wife's killer. This wasn't borrowed strength; it was his own.
Siegfried kicked off the ground and lunged at Lars, pointing his fingers to emulate a sharp dagger. This strike would pierce flesh easily and result in the hand going straight through anything that came into contact. In another situation, Lars would have been forced to evade it; but he needn't do so now.
The sword clashed against the hard claws. Sparks flew as the impact sent both sides recoiling back, before they engaged each other again. Lars pressed the attack with swift strikes while deflecting, parrying, blocking, and evading Siegfried's flurry of claws. Occasionally, he would feel his skin tear and blood seeped out.
Gradually, it was actually Siegfried who was the one getting pushed back. Each time Lars purposely aimed at his blind side, it was nothing but his keen instinct from abyss walker that let him block the attacks effectively; but more often than not, he was forced to retreat backwards and escape the sword's attack range if he wanted to avoid amassing injuries.
The superior vitality granted from abyss walker allowed him to endure the damage incurred so far; anything further, even a single additional injury of similar severity, would drastically affect his ability to fight. Siegfried knew he had to be patient. A little longer, and then his new eyesight wouldn't be a hindrance. Lars was the one who was living on borrowed time.
There was only one issue: what was Lars' abnormality? He assumed it was the power that caused this situation, in which he assumed the identity of another, the war-veteran Lars Wold, and replaced the original. But then there was the voice, which seemed to assist Lars for whatever reason. Was it an extension of his abnormality? A second one? An evil entity that watched over him?
The most important question was, of course: how would that great being influence this battle? 'It may even be providing assistance right now, guiding him on what to do…' Another thought had passed his mind, too, that Vanessa's interruption had been too coincidental. If not for her, then that first strike would have been fatal! It wasn't a conspiracy to claim that the occurrence was set up by the voice too!
Siegfried calmed himself, keeping a watchful eye out. Nothing that Lars attempted or did would go past him. As far as his abnormality, abyss walker went, he hadn't exhausted his trump cards yet; its use wasn't limited to physical enhancement.
Lars himself wasn't aware yet that something was happening to him throughout the battle. His rage, although genuine, wasn't at its appropriate level. It was progressively getting stronger and would consume him eventually; he would soon lose himself, only thinking about killing his opponent and nothing more. In the end, a simple counterattack would spell his demise.
'Abyss walker includes the ability to infect the mind and manipulate desire… It's the most dangerous trait of a demon, and it's clear you haven't taken it into consideration—that's why you will suffer defeat, Lars!' Siegfried waited patiently while inwardly mocking Lars.
It was in the next moment that something unexpected happened. Siegfried felt his movements be restricted, or more accurately, an obstacle had blocked his retreat. His eyes widened in astonishment; he hadn't done something so foolish as forgetting about the space around him, accidentally running into a wall, so what was it?!
When he noticed a pair of arms tightening around his arms and shoulders, grabbing hold of him with an iron grip, he immediately realised what happened. Someone had snuck up behind him and wrapped their arms around him. Meanwhile, Lars did not relinquish his ensuing attack.
Lars saw this development and quickly capitalised on the opportunity. He swung, finally putting every bit of force he could muster into it. His opponent couldn't dodge, and his arms were stuck, unable to block the attack, so the sword carved through Siegfried's flesh; it entered from his shoulder, cutting a line across his chest and down towards his hip. His torso tore apart like a gaping mouth as blood spewed out.
This was only possible thanks to the surprise intervention of a maidservant. Most unexpectedly, the one holding Siegfried was none other than Isabel—who he had enlisted the help of through seduction. Even though he told her not to get involved, it seemed that her intervention was inevitable as soon as she bore witness to her master fighting to the death.
Of course, this small, weak girl lacked the strength to hold Siegfried still. Lars himself stood no chance in doing so. But for this short moment, which enabled a successful hit, the abnormal toughness and strength that seduction granted was enough. It was the same phenomenon as when Carl had shown exceptional fortitude during his attack with the steak knife.
"Get away from him, Isabel!" Lars quickly demanded as soon as the blow had been delivered. He couldn't risk performing a more fatal attack when his maidservant was right behind Siegfried, so the abyss walker wasn't finished yet. Isabel had to retreat before he retaliated.
Listening to the orders from her master, she backed away immediately. There would be no further hesitation when Lars directly issued a command.
This quick thinking proved to be necessary. In the next instant, as if unveiling the last of his capabilities, the hallway was shrouded in an intensely bright light. It was as if the sun itself descended in humanoid form to burn and purge the world of sin.
The burning man spoke in a grave tone, "In a dark abyss, only the inner flame can illuminate the way and open a path to walk upon."
"I will turn you to ashes, Lars, using my life as fuel!"
Blood instantly evaporated, burning away all signs of weakness. The devil walked towards Lars and its intensity only seemed to increase.
At that moment, Lars was truly astonished and lacked ideas on what to do. He had expected some final show of strength from Siegfried, but this was beyond anything he could fathom; his ideas evaporated one by one. Think, Lars! He grimaced. He said he was using his life as fuel, so that must mean this state is literally burning his life force away. If that wasn't the case, then he wouldn't have waited so long to use it. He wouldn't wait until he was about to die. That means I just have to stall…!
As Lars was bracing himself to flee, so the flames that wreathed Siegfried would dwindle over time, a voice spoke to him: "Don't run, end it now!"
This was the loudest and most dire way he had heard the voice speak so far. It told him to do the exact opposite: to strike Siegfried down right away, while the fire was freshly kindled. Despite his trepidations, with it causing the death of Victoria, the voice still hadn't failed him so far; he took a step forward and then dived into the fiery hell.
His sword aimed true and pierced straight through Siegfried's neck. He spun around, using the handle to lift the blade upwards and sever his head in two. The fire demon fell backwards and slammed against the ground. As if following him to the afterlife, the blazing inferno that covered his body quickly diminished, leaving a burnt and bloody body.
Lars felt his grip on the sword weaken as he too fell down. Noticing the sheer fatigue and aching all over his body, he finally realised why the voice instructed him to attack. That was the last of his energy before he reached his limit.
The flames continued to rage on around the two, devastating the corridor with bright flames. Both were silent amidst pools of blood.