Not wasting a moment Connor dashed into battle. He was targeting the copy who had slain his companions and the one who he punched; she was bound to be more exhausted.
He moved even faster than he had inside the shop. His plan was simple: overpower the heir before she could adjust. Not because his father's gift made him reckless or fearless, but because his father's enhancements made him capable.
He brought his blade down in a vicious downward slash. The dazed copy stumbled back, barely avoiding the strike. The sword still tore through the yellow dress she wore.
Connor didn't let up. He pressed forward with ruthless precision, slashing and stabbing in rapid succession. She could only evade, her movements frantic and uncoordinated.
"That's not nice, you were holding out on me." She didn't sound angry or displeased, just exhausted from the constant weaving.
Of course he had. Connor hadn't shown his full strength against Greed. It not only would've been unnecessary, but also wasteful. And it would've revealed too much to any watching eyes, and this time there had been eyes watching.
His deceit was serving him well as the copy was taken so far aback, she could only evade, not even trying to fight back as she did not know how strong he was now. Connor imagined the original was studying him carefully, trying to reassess his true capabilities.
Jokes on you I won't be needing to catch my breath anytime soon. Once I'm done here I'm coming straight for you.
Connor had always trained diligently, so his movements had already been refined, and he had always watched his breathing. Both of these required focus, but now under his fathers influence these things came like second nature.
The copy stumbled, her arm flailing. Connor swung, fully intending to sever the limb. She twisted in a way that surprised even him, reaching for the blade—clearly trying to shatter it like before.
Her fingers wrapped around the steel.
They didn't slow it.
They didn't even resist.
They were severed cleanly.
This time, Connor wasn't suppressing his will.
If the East had the ability to gain powers from coming into contact with the super plain, the West had powers deriving from their wills. The power of wills reinforced their bodies and armor, making their skin stronger than steal. Besides that, will could also make there blades so sharp they could cut anything. Of course, the effectiveness of wills depended on the driving force of the wielder. If the wielder had a weak will, they had weak benefits. If the will was strong, the benefits were incomparable.
Connor had not found a strong reason to fight; he hated killing others and would rather take them alive if possible. He hated bloodshed but went to battle regardless because it was a necessary step to defend his family and territory.
This being said, Connor wanted to defend what was his, and considering he considered anything the East did not own his own, he had to have a decent sized will to fight back. He had been working on finding something that made his will stronger, but had unsucceeded, it was as if he had plateaued.
Although somewhat confident he stood a chance against an heir, he was unsure how he would fare against two. Connor was unsure if their power was split between them or if there were two full powered versions of this woman here. That's why Connor had unleashed his father power, knowing it would drain his father and limit his siblings supply if they also needed it.
His plan was to quickly eliminate one, end his power surge, and finish off the other with his own capabilities.
This plan was on the brink fruition as the woman yelped in pain, fell and looked up just in time to watch as the blade sink into her chest. It slid between ribs, pierced through, and exited her back.
Connor knew he hadn't actually snuffed a life like he feared, just an imitation sent to kill him.
Connor, hearing thundering footsteps approach him from behind, spun and raised his sword just in time to block another one of the woman's spear like strikes from her hand. The blow was so tremendous it forced him to half sword, gripping both the blade and pommel for support.
Connor now put an end to his father's power and felt as the exhaustion settle in. There was obvious rage in her stormy blue eyes, and the woman now looked a little less pale.
"Shouldn't have let me fight her alone," Connor said with a dark smile.
How could I have forgotten she was behind me, that was dangerous.
But because of that brief exchange, Connor now felt he had a strong understanding of this woman's powers.
"I understand how you work. You split yourself into multiple pieces, becoming weaker the more of you there is. You can only mask what will not interfere with me."
It was a shorter run down of her true powers, bad had the gist. Connor was positive that his gut was right, after killing the copy the original had more color in her face, so even after killing a copy did not mean that she lost that strength, only a portion. It had also become apparent that presences, and memories at that, disappeared when they disengaged their target. But when confronting someone it looked as though they had to reveal themselves.
No more surprises. That's something, at least.
The two of them looked each other up and down, not circling but shifting from foot to foot looking for any openings or gaps in their defenses.
"The name is Connor, yours m'lady?"
The woman let out another one of her soft smiles. "It's Daisy."
She said nothing more but seemed to enjoy the attention. She didn't let her joy live long though, her expression cooled, her eyes sharpening. Connor understood the meaning; she was ready to fight once more but was waiting for him to make the first move.
He obliged; he had promised to lead after all.
Dashing forward, slower than before but sword poised ready to strike. Daisy ran forward to meet him. Connor was now holding his sword in two hands, which meant faster and stronger strikes, more control, and easier to maneuver.
Her hands were a flurry, all ready to impale him at a moment's notice. Connor had used the brief reprieve to refocus himself and focus all of his will into his sword, confident that his basic speed could keep up with her. He was on the defensive once more, eyeing her and waiting for an opening to reveal itself to his waiting blade.
They maneuvered across the smooth stone street in a deadly dance. The bright sun overhead lit Daisy's features with an almost ethereal glow, while Connor's armor gleamed beneath it.
Neither of them backed down, this engagement too important to be interrupted. Connor began slipping in a few counterattacks as he grew more familiar with Daisy's rhythm.
Sweat rolled down his face, but he ignored it. Battles weren't fought in the cool of night after all, they were fought under the sun, where heat and exhaustion tested a warrior's resolve. Under the sun was where everything could be seen, where your survival was judged.
Connor was now able to hold his ground, and he believed that he now could turn the tables on her.
As if reading his mind, she gave him a dangerous smile and redoubled her attacks. Now her hands were moving faster than they had before and unable to block them all Connors armor began to shred like paper.
The saving grace was that she was using the same pattern. Throwing a kick when her side was unguarded Connor used that moment to disengage once more and was pleased to see that it connected.
Wiping sweat that was now covering his face Connor looked at his hand and seeing that it was stained with blood, he realized at some point she had cut his forehead. The cut seemed shallow due to the lack of blood but assumed that due to the adrenaline he was not feeling as much pain as he should.
Daisy, by contrast, looked barely winded. A sheen of sweat touched her brow, nothing more.
Ripping off what remained of his armor, Connor was happy to shed weight, now able to move faster than before. Connors armor was not overly extravagant, just covering his chest and torso and light armor for his arms and legs.
He noticed Daisy's dress had only grown slightly dirtier during their clash. Besides a long tear that revealed one of her legs, and she tapped the spot where his kick had landed. An acknowledgment that he'd at least made her feel something.
"Where have you learned to control your will?"
Will was not meant for the East to use as it only came easy to those from the West. It was also a Western technique, just as access to the super plain was meant to be an Eastern exclusive. And an easy tell that Daisy was from the East was her blonde hair, a giveaway trait.
Daisy was rather amused by the question. "Well, if the West is using our abilities, is it not fair we return the favor in kind?"
Connor was not one to complain about fairness, but it still made little sense how she had learned. Knowing she would not answer his questions Connor readied for another clash now expecting her speed from last time.
He wasn't prepared for how much faster she became.
It took Connor by surprise when she still ended up moving faster, raising his sword for a parry she faked a jab and grabbed his wrist.
Realizing he gave her control of an arm Connor began to throw blows, both punches and kicks in combos, but realized they were dealing less damage than his surprise kick had done before.
It took little time for Connor to realize that this was because his focus had broken and as such his will had dissipated.
Focusing his attention back his left hand, the one that was still free, he went to land a punch to her gut.
She also caught his hand but visibly flinched in pain. Connor took this as a sign that their wills were evenly matched. It was just that Daisy was a seasoned veteran. That was the reason why he was struggling so much.
Lifting his head up, he brought it down intending to headbutt the woman who had both his arms under control. Connor was betting on the idea that she was not expecting this. His wager paid off as she stumbled back releasing her holds.
Running forward once more as he thrusted his blade intending to run her through. Still dazed her form suddenly shifted into a blurry haze and her figure became unclear. Confused as what was happening Connor switched a diagonal slash.
The diagonal slash connected with Daisy, or at least now one of three of her. The blade landed from the bottom of her last rib and down to her hip. Removing his blade Connor turned and noticed as both remaining Daisy's had collected themselves and were once again waiting for his next move. The one he had just cut would not be doing much.
His exhaustion pressed down on him like a physical weight. His breath came ragged, his sword felt heavy in his hands. Will might have been inexhaustible, but his body wasn't.
"Good to see that you're learning from past mistakes," Connor breathed, recollecting himself.
There was one last thing that became apparent during their fight, and that was that Daisy was already partially drained from what appeared to be an earlier fight.
Maybe she had another copy that was eliminated somewhere else in the city, or she got into a fight and won but was unable to fully recover before this one.
Connor had taken into account for his guards that were still nowhere to be seen.
This time the Daisy's did not wait for Connor to take the lead as they both ran forward. Connor could only focus on defense this time, unable to look for an opening.
If his will was endless, then so was hers. Both copies carried the same strength of will as the original, but their physical forms were weaker, as if her strength had been diluted. Even so, a single clean hit from either would hurt far more than any blow from any soldier.
The fact that Connor did not take the lead meant that Daisy was nearing her limit and was beginning to panic. Unsure if Daisy herself realized this Connor continued to defend and could tell that with each block her blows were doing less damage, from the both of them.
Noticing one of them stagger, Connor took advantage and landed a clean punch to the gut and watched as she soared into a nearby clothing shop.
The same moment however, something clamped around his legs. Connor looked down to notice the Daisy he had cut down had grabbed onto his legs.
I completely forgot about her.
Connor new she was not dead; he left her alive on purpose to stop Daisy from gaining the power back. He had meant to debilitate her but forgot about her second power.
The power to make people forget they existed unless they were actively engaging the opponent. This meant that he had been pushed back to where he cut her down.
The momentary surprise worked as the last Daisy once again began to turn hazy and another copy formed. Together the two of them peeled away Connor's arming sword.
Connor tried to stop them, but pain exploded through his leg as the Daisy clinging to him stabbed her spear like hand straight through his calf. His leg gave out beneath him, and he crashed to the ground.
Landing a blow so powerful that it not only shattered this Daisy's skull but the stones beneath, Connor watched in horror as his blade was shattered by the two standing in front of him.
To make matters worse, the one he had sent flying was making her way back to the street, limping sure, but they had just gotten stronger by him eliminating a copy.
Pressure was piling on his shoulder once more to the point he was unsure what he felt more. The emotional pain of losing his sword from a dead relative, the pain of his calf being stabbed through, or the weight that has been piling on his shoulders since his birth.
Three on one. Still salvageable. Connor though as he stumbled to his feet.