I rushed forward and attempted to tackle myself, but it was for naught. My duplicate managed to recover from the shock and step on his heels, moving out the way, just before I could reach him.
I stopped myself and spun around, eyeing my duplicate warily. He had a complicated look on his face, a mixture of confusion, fear and feigned shock and anger. Before I could attack again, my duplicate opended his mouth and exclaimed;
"It's a doppelganger!"
But at that moment, both Isabella and zeke was wary. Not only of him, but also of me. They started backing away from us, exchanging looks between me and the fake. Frustrated, the duplicate spoke.
"What are you doing? Come hel—"
Zeke interrupted.
"How can we be sure you're the real one? I have been suspicious of you."
Isabella, meanwhile, looked absolutely baffled. Her eyes wide, as it was darting between me and the fake in astonishment. She kept silent, prompting the fake to grit his teeth in frustration.
"If I was fake, I had more than enough chances to attack and kill you! Why didn't I? Do you lack this much trust in me?"
Then, he turned towards Isabella spitefully.
"I thought you would know better, Isabella. After everything we have been through?"
Isabella narrowed her eyes, responding back defensively.
"All we have been through? Don't be naive, Morgan. I trust you as an ally, but we aren't nearly close enough to be considered friends or anything remotely close to it."
She pointed a finger at the fake.
"I only saved you and took care of you when you went unconscious because you did the same for me. All I did was repay a debt."
My duplicate's eyes widened, but then he slumped his shoulders, staring back at me with an unreadable expression.
"I guess I'll have to take care of this myself, then…."
I chuckled to myself, holding on to [Fool's Rapier] and getting into a familier stance.
"Can I speak now?"
I requested, letting my eyes roam over the dim tunnel at every present, they all gave brief nods.
"Well….all I got to say is that this guy is a fake. He planned on luring you both into some offering. You better take my side before it's too late."
Both Zeke's and Isabella's shoulders tensed. While my Duplicate widened his eyes.
"How— ahem, what lies! Do you truly expect them to believe you? We have to fight it out to gain their trust, doppelganger."
I fought back the urge to roll my eyes. I was hoping the duplicate might have a slip of his tongue, it was close, but it clearly went over everyone else's heads.
Isabella gave a brief nod.
"What proof do you have that you're the real one, Morgan?"
Zeke also seemed to be listening very intently to what I had to say— his gaze, or should I say mask, focused intently on my legs instead of my face. I knew what he was thinking. Turning towards the fake Morgan, I said.
"Take out the [Fool's Rapier], Morgan."
Mova didn't directly say that the copies received our weapons. He only mentioned that they received our memories and blessing abilities, that's all. So, if he refuses to take out the weapon out of fear of exposing himself, that would without a doubt help me gain the trust of both Isabella and Zeke.
However….
"Of course."
The fake smirked, holding out his hand in a similar stance to mine, a silver Rapier manifesting at his palm, he gripped the hilt and met my gaze.
'So, he can use my equipment too….'
I was disappointed, but not surprised by this change. I knew it wouldn't be that easy. If it was, it wouldn't have come to this in the first place. The thought made me wonder, was it really a coincidence we fell down here with Nico? Mova warned me about him, that infuriating skull never says something without reason— or atleast, gave off that vibe.
'I'm getting distracted.'
I shook my head and smiled.
"Good, let's not waste anymore time, then."
The two of us prepared ourselves, our muscles becoming tense, about to rush forward and attack each other at any moments notice. However, before we could, Zeke spoke up.
"I wish to ask you…"
He took a step forward, his 'eyes' locked on me through the mask.
"How did you manage to survive the fall?"
I wasn't surprised by this. Actually, I was expecting it. Smiling pleasantly, I answered nonchalantly.
"Oh, by some stupid luck, of course! How else? I managed to land right on my feet, absorbed most of the fall that way— but my legs were broken. I met Nico by chance, we got "along" and entered the mission together. That's where we met the fake you and Isabella."
Isabella's breath seemed to hitch. Zeke now more focused. The duplicate, however, feigned impatience to hide his nervousness.
"Stop talking! I won't to get rid of this impost—"
Zeke raised a hand stopping my doppelganger mid-sentence.
"And if you're telling the truth, this fake healed you? He used my blessing ability?"
I nodded seriously.
"He did."
Then, I shrugged.
"I don't have any proof of my claims, though. So, take them with a grain of salt."
Zeke didn't say anything else and turned away, making distance. It seemed he still wasn't fully convinced, but I have somewhat got him on my side. Chances of me being able to make them believe me isn't impossible now— Zeke is very reasonable, after all!
"Whatever that trick was, you still aren't gonna walk out of this alive, imposter."
I smirked.
"You think so?"
Without another word, I had rushed forward. My speed now was ridiculous. Almost at the apex of human physical capabilities, maybe even beyond it. So, I was able to reach my duplicate fairly quickly and swing the Rapier down without any hesitation.
The duplicate was shocked, but recovered quickly. Raising his own [Fool's Rapier] he parried my attack and jumped back. Activating [The Zone] without any delay. I knew from the way his muscles relaxed, but his eyes widened in fury and anger.
I didn't think twice and did the same, activating [The Zone] and getting into the right state.
Once more, we were on each other again. I had leapt forward and swung the Rapier, this time aimed towards his chest. But the Duplicate reacted quickly, blocking with his own. A moment later, the two of us was clashing with swords.
The sounds of metal clashing filled the dim tunnel. Both Isabella and Zeke had moved a fair distance away, observing the fight carefully. Especially Isabella, she knew my fighting style the best and would be able to pick up inconsistencies to realize which one is the real one.
But I can sense her confusion. She mustn't be used to seeing me fight using a sword, a sword like a Rapier.
Even I wasn't used to it.
My movements with the Rapier was clumsy and awkward. Most of it was guided by the [The Zone] and [Probability Pryer] but despite this, I was hardly able to match the skill Dorian showed, nor the level my duplicate was at. He was, somehow even though with my memories, way better than me at using the Rapier.
'Isn't this a dead giveaway?'
Isabella should of realized this by now. How could I have learned how to use a Rapier so quickly? I'm not that talented. Is my duplicate not even trying anymore? He can't be showing off things I literally can't do.
To make things worse, the duplicate was also using [Probability Pryer] but like Mova said, it didn't seem as potent as mine. He only used it when it came to dodging and being on the defensive, instead of the offensive. Which worked me fine.
After a few clash of swords, we both jumped away and began circling each other, enjoying the brief respite and reevaluating each other, carefully.
The duplicate was wounded. I managed to get a few attacks in, through his quick-paced defense. But none of them were slashes by the Rapier, all of it was done by my fists, legs or any other body part. So the injuries weren't that obvious, besides a bleeding nose and lips.
As for me, I had a slight cut on my cheek and one deep cut on my shoulder, that was bleeding profusely. The pain made me wince and normally, I would be worried. But with [Fool's Rapier] at hand right now and since i was bleeding, i felt [Crimson Crescendo] skill activate, a rush of power entering my veins. The bleeding was bad, but it made me stronger.
No words were exchanged between us. We just stared silently at each other and then was on one another again.
I was attempting to use this opportunity to learn a sword style for my Rapier, my own battle art. And by fighting with my life possibly on the line, was the best way for me to learn. That's how it's been ever since the beginning of The Mulligan.
Dodging another slash aimed towards my neck, I used the momentum of him rushing forward to my advantage. Without delay, I kicked my duplicate right in the stomach, grabbed the back of his head and elbowed him with enough force to send him stumbling backwards, snapping in and out of consciousness.
"What the fuck…."
Before he had time to react, I was in front of him, my Rapier raised high. Taking a risk, I allowed my innate spirit to flow inside it. Letting the skill [FeatherMountain] activate. Willing it to become as heavy as possible, I swung it down towards the dazed duplicate of mine.
I smiled, feeling that victory was so near. But to my dismay, the duplicate did the same. By recovering from the attack, his nose now broken and his face covered in wounds, he still managed to activate [FeatherMountain] and will it to become heavy enough to stop my blade.
Using all the strength he could muster, he raised it to block my attack. All of this happend within just a split of a second.
**Clang!**
The violent sound of two metals crashing was heard. But it didn't end there. I was still pushing, trying to break through using my enhanced strength by [The Zone] and [Crimson Crescendo] trying hard to break the Rapier in half and kill my duplicate with a single attack.
Isabella and Zeke watched. At the moment, Isabella seems conflicted. She knew one of them was gonna die. She also had a feeling that i was the right one, the real one. But what if she was wrong? Such thoughts entered her mind, worrying her, tempting her to save this Morgan.
"Bastard…."
I saw how much the duplicate was struggling to hold on. Sweat dripping from his forehead, his hands shaking— No, his entire body was trembling. He was running out of innate spirit to keep the skill [FeatherMountain] active for long enough too, while i was still rich of it.
That's when I saw it. A faint crack in his Rapier. It was about to break. Grinning widely, I kept on pushing, my entire focus on trying to break it half, so that my Rapier comes swinging down like an asteroid.
But this single-minded focus was my undoing. He was waiting for me to get closer. To let my guard down. When I did, the duplicate didn't hesitate to kick me right in the crotch, a gasp escaping my lips and my hand temporarily losing control over [Fool's Rapier], stumbling backwards.
My duplicate didn't waste to capitalize on this opportunity. Without wasting a second, he had rushed forward and had the Rapier in the air, ready to swing down for one last blow.
But before he could, I suddenly saw him halt and drop to his knees, choking. His chest was rising and falling, like he was breathing deeply— yet he wasn't able to breath in any oxygen. I took a step back, watching in confusion, as my duplicate suddenly began squirming and suffocating on the ground.
"What…."
Turning my head to the right, I saw Isabella. She had one hand raised. Taking a closer look, I realized that she has created some sort of wind barrier— No, it wasn't a barrier. She commanded the wind and air to not get close to my duplicate.
'How terrifying….'
I was suddenly very glad she believed that I was the real one, while this was the fake. I didn't say anything, as I saw Isabella take a step forward and glare down at the suffocating duplicate.
"These duplicates are a little to realistic. You can even suffocate them to death.. "
The duplicate continued struggling and struggling. While the three of us watched it callousy, waiting for him to die, so that we can examine and understand his body, to gain better insight to how this strange ability worked.
"Can you be anymore useless, Number 4?"
A voice suddenly sounded from the darkness. We all turned around towards the sound. When we saw nobody, our eyes instinctively went back to where my duplicate was.
But he was gone.