Erold rose from his bed to look at Argus and Luce beside him, both deep in sleep. He hurried out to check on Jasmin in the other tent and found her sleeping peacefully. He muttered in a faint voice: "Fine then, you won't come here… you are sending me signals to come to you, aren't you, Karl?"
He steeled his resolve and moved to head toward the source of the call, but stopped for a moment by Utma, who was watching him in silence. Erold said with a smile: "I might not return, Utma…"
He stepped forward, but Utma followed with steady steps. Erold turned in surprise and said: "What are you doing, Utma? I might be walking toward my death, and I don't know if there's a chance to win."
Utma approached him and tilted his head, placing it between Erold's hands. Erold reached out and patted his head, saying: "So that's it… as you wish, Utma."
Erold mounted him, and the horse shot off toward the place where Erold felt the pressure. There, Erold stood alert and said: "So… here you are, Karl."
Karl turned toward him, his yellow eyes gleaming in the darkness, and said in a deep voice: "I know this isn't the scheduled time for your test, but you have become stronger than before."
Erold took a step back, saying in amazement: "And how do you know? Have you been watching me?"
Karl smiled mischievously: "Erold… you haven't left my sight for a single day. Now is the time you might defeat me, but I promise you… I will not go easy on you."
Erold said calmly: "I haven't trained enough yet! Only three months have passed since the beginning of my training!"
Karl replied: "True… but your battle with the King of Thieves made you stronger than you think. You don't realize it, but I see it clearly."
Before Erold could finish his question, Karl lunged with immense pressure. Erold shouted, trying to stop him: "Wait! How can you tell me this and then attack me directly?!"
But Karl did not stop; he attacked with silent gazes and a face as steady as a mountain, while his black horns and thick hair flared in the wind.
Erold drew his sword, Thorn, and lunged to parry the attacks. They exchanged blows right and left, then Karl attacked from above using fire magic. The sword clashed with the flames, and the place ignited.
With enthusiasm, Karl said: "This fight will be for our souls, Erold, as I promised you."
Erold shouted: "And how will I get my answers if I die here?!"
Karl laughed mockingly: "If you kill me, you will find them… and if I kill you, you will never know them."
The attacks continued relentlessly, then Karl shouted: "Illusion Matrix!"
Ten identical copies of Karl appeared before Erold. But to his surprise, Erold saw eleven figures, and he muttered in confusion: "I see many… and I feel that one among them is real."
Karl's voice echoed among them all: "Here I come."
The copies lunged from every side; they were untouchable. One of the illusions almost cut Erold while he was parrying them. He attacked them one after another, but they did not disappear; they returned in a strange way until they all lunged at Erold. Karl seized the opportunity and said: "This is my chance!"
With incredible speed, Karl directed his sword toward Erold's face. Erold felt it at the last second and dodged. Karl stood and clapped, then said: "Second Pattern."
Erold felt the presence of ten people around him and said: "What is this? There's one person missing… the real Karl has suppressed his presence."
The copies lunged from every side, and one of them stabbed Erold, the sword piercing his stomach. The real Karl stepped forward, saying coldly: "That's right… this is the power of the Matrix. What applies to them does not apply to me, and what applies to me does not apply to them."
But Erold, despite his wounds, shouted and lunged to sever Karl's hand with immense speed. Karl cried out in pain and retreated, saying: "Impossible… how are you still moving?!"
Karl held his wound with his other hand and released fires to cauterize the blood. He looked with glowing eyes and said: "I have closed it… but now, this is the end, Erold."
Then he grabbed his horns firmly and tore them from his head, which shattered before Erold's eyes. Erold said: "Why did you do this, Karl?!"
Karl answered with a grim face: "This is the Sacrifice Oath… if I sacrifice a part of me, my power increases, Erold. It is one of the unavoidable conditions."
Strange fires began to rise from the place of his shattered horns, forming a flame that wrapped around him. He raised his flaming sword, shouting: "Either I live, or I die here! But I will not regret it… Now, Erold, this is our final fight!"
Erold whispered to himself in astonishment: "I am stronger than I expected. Why was I hesitating?"
Then, he gripped his sword, Thorn, and pointed it toward Karl, saying in a firm voice: "Then… there's no time to waste, Karl!"
He lunged at him quickly, striking with a sharp side-blow. Karl raised his arm like a shield, and a strange metallic sound erupted even though his body was bare of any armor. Karl smiled with disdain and said: "Is this your seriousness?"
Erold lunged again, this time with a sequence of rapid strikes, as if his body moved with the lightness of the wind. But Karl was parrying the blows easily, as if his eyes were reading every movement in advance. In a fleeting moment, Karl extended his fist and punched Erold's face with a force that sent him rolling two meters on the ground.
Erold wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth as he rose, and said, sighing: "If this is the beginning… the fight will be enjoyable."
Karl laughed in a deep voice: "You will soon discover that pleasure is but a cover for death."
Karl raised his hand toward the sky, and a massive ball of flame ignited, expanding until it almost scorched the air around them. Utma began to neigh to flee. Then Karl threw it suddenly toward Erold. Erold was stunned by the sight of the giant ball heading toward him. Arthur shouted: "Move, you fool!"
Erold ran at his maximum speed, falling and rolling away, but part of the flame touched his shoulder and burned him. He screamed in pain, but his voice overlapped with Arthur's scream within him: "Let me take control, Erold! Now, or we will die!"
Erold cried out while pressing his chest: "Not yet, Arthur… not yet!"
He lunged toward Karl, his sword radiating a faint light, and performed a rapid spinning motion and a sectional strike directed at Karl's chest. The latter smiled as if the strike meant nothing, but he was surprised for a moment when the tip of the sword pierced his skin, revealing a thin line of blood.
Karl took a step back, licking the blood from his finger, smiling: "Good… very good… but, can you continue this?"
Suddenly he disappeared from before Erold and appeared behind him, slapping him with a force that made him crash into a tree trunk, scattering the bark around him.
Erold's body shook, and he almost fell, but Arthur shouted within him: "Enough is enough! I am taking control now!"
At that moment, half of Erold's chest lit up, and his right eye began to turn into a brilliant white, while the other remained as it was. His body stood with a strange balance, and Karl heard two overlapping voices speaking at the same moment: "Let's go."
Karl smiled in amazement, muttering: "Two minds in one body… this will truly be an amusing battle."
The three set off in another round. Erold attacked with sharp strikes from the left hand, while Arthur controlled the right side to parry Karl's attacks. Their movements seemed so synchronized that Karl himself retreated, laughing: "Hahaha! It's as if I'm fighting two people… no, an army in one body!"
Karl jumped high, surrounding himself with swords of fire encircling his body, then descended from the sky toward Erold. Arthur focused, shouting internally: "Now, Erold! Strike from the left!"
Erold's body swerved with lightning speed; Karl's attack passed beside him and struck the ground. The ground shock resonated, but Erold seized the moment and jumped, driving his sword into Karl's shoulder.
Karl cried out in pain for a moment, then grabbed the sword Thorn with his bare hand and began laughing like a madman despite the blood flowing from him: "Well done! But you haven't yet known who is the hunter and who is the prey here, boy…"
Suddenly, the flames around him vanished, and black veins began to glow in his body, his eyes burning with a terrifying purple color. He shouted: "This… is the Sacrifice Oath! My true power begins now!"
The air around them trembled, and nearby trees fell from the pressure of the energy. Erold and Arthur stood with difficulty, sweat pouring, the sword trembling in their shared grip.
Erold smiled despite the pain and said: "No matter your strength… you will fall today."
Arthur cheered: "And I will make sure this is your last battle."
Erold wondered for a moment and said, looking at his sword: "Thorn is glowing… how did you do this, Arthur?"
Arthur answered in amazement: "I didn't do anything… even this time, Thorn is half-glowing and the other half dark."
Karl smiled a serious smile while watching them: "My God… it is the power of Balance."
Erold asked in surprise: "The Balance…?"
Karl said sharply: "The Balance has chosen you, Erold, and you must accept your mission in this world."
Erold growled, tightening his grip: "My mission is only one… separating the two worlds."
Karl cackled mockingly: "And who knows? Perhaps this separation is the Balance!"
But Arthur interrupted him angrily: "Stop this nonsense! Let's finish this idiot first."
As Erold was about to reply, Karl lunged suddenly, driving his strike into their unified body. They fell to the ground, while Karl said coldly, raising his sword high: "Your fusion is an advantage, but it is also a flaw. You are distracted… and this will be your end. Sorry, Balance, your host is weak."
He was about to deliver the finishing blow, but suddenly Luce appeared before him like a human shield, blocking the attack. Karl froze in his place, his body trembling as he muttered: "How… you… you…?!"
In That moment, Arthur took control of the body and shouted: "Obey me, Time!"
Time stopped for a short moment; Arthur jumped high, his sword gleaming, and then severed Karl's head with a decisive strike. Time returned to its course, and the body shook for a moment as it fell to the ground, exploding with blood.
Arthur panted and said in a tired voice: "Thank you… Luce."
Luce approached with a calmness closer to a reproach, his eyes filled with concern and curiosity: "Why did you move alone? Why didn't you wake me? And who the hell is this?! I heard Utma's neigh and I felt you!"
Karl's body began to crumble, but instead of vanishing into the air, his energy flowed as black smoke into Erold's body. Erold trembled, shouting: "This is what he meant… that I will become stronger after every battle…!"
He raised his head toward the sky, shouting with deep pain: "Luceeeee!"
But his voice faded, his strength failed him, and he fell into darkness, closing his eyes.