The beast had transformed into Samuel completely, missing no details in replicating him. Blinding white energy had transformed into pale flesh, long black hair, and glowing violet eyes. As it opened its eyes and looked back at Samuel, it even smirked in the same way that he did. The white mana it had drawn from Samuel in the previous encounter flowed smoothly through the copied body.

Samuel, though surprised, was sure that this didn’t change anything. He raised his free hand and fired a War Strike at point-blank range. It almost hit the creature’s face when an invisible barrier formed, blocking the attack completely. Staring blankly in shock, Samuel raised the crystal blade and tried to strike it down, but his clone produced an identical blade and parried the blow easily. It cut back with vicious speed, and Samuel only barely managed to leap away.

“What the devil?” He asked, of nobody in particular, parrying another attack. “A little help, Tobi?”

Tobi was there in a flash, his naginata whirling in a wide circle. The chaotic clone of Samuel was forced to jump back to avoid the ki-infused spear, but it regrouped at once, diving forward to jab its sword at the apprentice. Tobi knocked the blade to the side with ease, then struck the clone in the head with the butt of his spear. It staggered back, clearly stunned by the blow.

Samuel capitalized on the opportunity, stepping in and swiping twice with the crystalline blade. It may have gained new abilities by taking on Samuel’s form, but it had also gained the weaknesses of a physical body. It managed, barely, to block Samuel’s first strike, but the second sliced open a long gash across the clone’s arm. It opened its mouth and gave a shriek of pain, an endless sound of agony that hurt the ears.

In a flash, the clone retaliated. A burst of white energy flashed out faster than anyone else could react, slamming into Tobi, Samuel, Sivarn, and Zerial and sending them flying back. They flew more than twenty feet and hit the ground with grunts of pain. His head spinning madly, Samuel looked up to see the creature rushing their three support mages.

The clone’s form shifted and changed as it ran, growing stronger in the arms and legs, with a slightly broader chest. The blade became thinner and longer until its shape was unmistakable. A perfect copy of Tobi, wielding his long naginata, struck out left and right in a flurry of blows, cutting down two of the mages in quick succession. Zerial recovered first, and, with a shout of rage, punched the air with his arm several times. Great balls of fire formed from his fists and slammed into the clone of Tobi.

The creature was sent flying back, but it didn’t seem to be badly hurt. With a grimace, Samuel stood. That last attack from Zerial had considerable power behind it, so he couldn’t understand how the beast could take it and not even be winded. Then he realized that, like the actual young Nihon-Jan warrior, it was extremely durable. So it hadn’t only taken their forms, then. It was also able to copy their characteristics.

The clone rushed Zerial now, jumping first to the left, then the right, as it avoided each shot Zerial sent at it. It caught up quickly, the naginata a blinding blur of white steel as it cut Zerial across the chest. Samuel staggered forward, determined to stop it before it caused more carnage. With a supreme effort, he pulled his mana forth and forced it to coat his body.

He teleported across the field in an instant, ending up in the air right above the clone. It lifted its head at once, and Samuel was shocked to see Tobi’s face making such an angry, hungry expression. The creature leaped up to meet him before he could think, the naginata reaching out to pierce him. He swiped it aside with his own blade, then fired a War Strike, slamming the creature back down. Then his own momentum took over, and he fell, allowing his blade to lead the way, and piercing the beast through the chest.

Another screech of agony, and the clone disappeared, shattering into wisps of mist. Almost at once, however, the wisps began to drift away in a single direction. The clouds of mist that were once the wolves were drifting away as well, and Samuel instinctively knew where they were going. He glanced around him quickly, seeing everyone but Tobi laying on the ground, seemingly lifeless. Even Tobi was weak, his hands on his knees and head bowed. They were finished. Even if they were not yet dead, they were in no condition to continue fighting.

“Look after the others, Tobi!” he shouted, and ran off after the drifting mist. “I’m going to finish it off!”

He heard Tobi shout some protest as he ran out of sight, but he paid it no mind. The traces of chaotic mana were hard to see in the dim lighting under the forest. He was certain they were returning to the main body. If it was able to reclaim the energy it had expended, then all would be lost. They’d all expended a great deal of energy already, in an effort to finish the fight quickly. But he remembered the gift he’d received only the previous night and knew that, if he could reach it in time, he might just have a good chance of killing it.

He forced as much Ki into his legs as possible and felt a little refreshed. He ducked under branches, vaulted over fallen trunks, and whipped around trees as he gave pursuit. He made a mental note of the chaotic mana’s direction and shot past it. He could beat it back to the source without issue. The problem, he knew, would be defeating it before it reformed.

Without warning, he broke out from the cover of the trees and into the familiar landscape of their last fight. He could see the remnants of that battle with a quick glance, the craters that had formed as he and Tobi had struck with all the power they could conjure. The beast was in almost the exact same position, already turning to face him as he came into view.

More prepared this time, Samuel had already prepared himself, jumping high into the air as the mass of mana lunged. He flew high over it, firing off two more War Strikes. The creature was split into three by the force of it, and Samuel landed safely behind it, stumbling slightly with the exhaustion. He fell to a knee, then jumped aside as one of the parts lunged at him. It crashed into a tree, devouring it in an instant.

Samuel used the remaining dregs of Ki he possessed to activate the runes inscribed on his back and immediately felt them come to life, washing a great amount of power back into his body. In an instant, his depleted reserves were filled, and he let out a long breath as he felt the aches and pains in his body recede. Rising to his feet, he stood his ground, ready.

Two of the masses lunged at him instantly, and he knocked them back with a blast of solid air. Strictly speaking, that spell had used mana, which they had absorbed, but they were still sent flying by the sheer air pressure. The third piece surged forward to slam into him, and he brought the blade down. It was infused with more Ki than he’d ever used, and cut through the beast easily, like a knife through butter. The lump of chaotic mana dissolved into more of that mist, and immediately moved towards one of the other clumps. So that one was the core, he thought.

Two War Strikes were enough to finish off the other piece, leaving only the core behind. He sent it flying back with another blast of air, then hit it again, forcing it further and further away from its own essence. Don’t let it heal, he told himself, lunging forward and swinging the blade. The core chunk created more of those white flames in an attempt to hold him back, but he blew the energy away. It was even smaller now.

And now came the moment Samuel was trying for. The mass of chaotic mana, now only as tall as Samuel himself, began to glow brighter. He knew from the wild mages’ descriptions that this was the beginning of its self-destruction spell. It would soon use its last-ditch attempt at victory. He felt a fierce flare of pride as he saw the buildup. He’d been meticulous to never use his counter in front of it so that it couldn’t learn from the spell.

The mana hesitated slightly as he made no attempt to strike it or run, then the glow became even brighter. Samuel paid close attention to the swell of energy, watching it draw inward, waiting for the critical moment. Then, when the energy reversed direction and flew outward, he moved in a flash. His own mana closed the distance in an instant, slamming into the spell and reversing its flow once more.

Just as when he’d fought Neratas, there seemed to be that sliver of time where nothing seemed to have happened. The air was still, the energy frozen in place. Then, with an almighty roar of sound and a flash of light, the energy slammed back into the beast with nearly double the force. He caught a brief glimpse of it before it was shredded into nothingness. It was over in an instant.