Luke's POV.
"What do you mean that isn't Nora?" I asked Kael but he kept his eyes on 'Nora' in front of us. "Just wait and you'll see" That's all he said and went ahead following 'Nora'. What the hell? He couldn't just say something so unexpected like that and tell me to wait and watch. Oh wait. He's Kael that's what he always did. I sighed and shook my head in utter disbelief. "We don't have all day" Kael said turning back to look at me and I rushed to their side. I stole side glances at Nora but it didn't look like she wasn't 'Nora'. The way she talked and got so worked up over Cecelia's death definitely made it seem like she was infact our Nora the Nora I knew so far but could it really be that she wasn't?
Like Kael said I'd find out soon enough.
"So are you just going to start attacking him out of nowhere?" I asked 'Nora' but she did not respond to me at all. Now that I thought about it. Her body was the same as the one Nora was occupying so it was quite possible that someone else took over the body but who? And why was Kael so chill about this? It's like he knew what was about to aspire but refused to tell me. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. It used to happen often back when he used to live with me.
As soon as we reached the top floor where she challenged out Master to a duel, she didn't even knock and just blew off the door with her punch. I was too flabbergasted to do anything for a few seconds but reacted as soon as Kael told me to snap out of it. The Master stopped what he was doing and before he could ask any questions or say anything she threw a punch at him which throwed him towards the window and the window broke which made him fall from the top floor of the building. That was certainly unexpected but that wouldn't have caused enough damage for the Master. Some damage? Sure but enough that she can win against him? Unfortunately Not. "Open the portal" Kael said to me in urgency and I immediately knew what he meant. I opened the portal to where Master landed. Me and Kael walked through it whereas Nora was already there. She probably jumped from the building too.
"You know you're gonna have to pay for the damages you caused back there. They cost a lot" Master said getting up and fixing some of his dislocated bones. I'm not surprised that falling from the tallest building didn't affect him much but this fight here is too sudden. "Does she even have a plan?" I asked Kael while Nora and Master were standing in front of each other ready to fight. "No idea" Kael responded in that nonchalant tone of his and honestly sometimes I want to punch him in the face. This guy can not show how he feels for the sake of his life. "Do you at least have any idea what kind of power she summoned?" I asked Kael again and he just shook his head with furrowed brows.
"So what you're saying is we're basically doomed if she doesn't have a solid plan" Kael didn't respond to me after that and I took that as a yes. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to ask Kael for help.
Nora attempted to throw another punch at Master but to no one's surprised he dogged it effortlessly this time. Nora turned around to attack again, this time with those swords of hers that were made of threads but it was useless. Master dodged every attack effortlessly. Before we could see what was happening Master drove a sword through her stomach in an instant making her drop to the ground. Kael and I started running towards her to help but Master gave a hand gesture telling us to stop. "This is a duel between us. You don't get to interfere or have you already forgotten all the basic manners I taught you?" Master said with a stern tone making Kael and I stop in our tracks. Nora did challenge him to a duel and it's true that according to the rules here we can not interfere. "Either she gets up and fights again or she dies right here. That was the deal. she also started attacking me out of nowhere catching me off guard which was cowardly and against the rules. She should already be punished for breaking so many rules so nothing you say will convince me to let you help her" Master said in that stern tone and sharp look on his face. He was angry. Really angry. "The body Nora is occupying here is weak and can not handle an attack like that." Kael said looking at almost dying Nora. "So if she dies here she'll go back to the world you guys came from but according to the deal you'll have to stay here" I said stating the obvious and Kael grit his teeth at the last part. "That won't be happening" Kael said whispering to himself but I heard it. It's commendable how much faith he has in her but considering the situation right now I think he's about to be disappoint-
My thoughts were interrupted when I suddenly heard a pained scream from Master. He had been attacked from behind. Someone had drove sword through his chest but we all could see that Nora was on the ground and suddenly she..... Disappeared? the person pulled the sword back from Master's chest making him stumble a little but he didn't fall. As he stumbled we finally noticed the person who drove a sword through his chest. It was Nora. Completely fine. Not bleeding. Not wounded. Completely fine. But how? She had just disappeared in front of our eyes. How could that be? "Kael what the hell is happening?" He smirked and I could tell he was a little proud. "I told you that person wasn't Nora" Right he did say that "but then who?" I asked and his response was just two words. "A clone" He said calmly like I'm supposed to already know how that worked out. "A clone? How?" I had so many questions and his short responses with no explanation weren't helping in quenching my curiosity. "Lucien is here" Kael said looking around but of course he couldn't recognize him because he would be in a different body than whatever body he was occupying in the world they just came from. From what Kael had told me about his teammates, I remembered there was a guy who could create clones of people so I assumed that guy was behind this. "So that is the real Nora attacking master right now?" Kael looked at the Nora who was fighting with the Master and dodging all the attacks while also counter attacking. "No. This one's also a clone" Kael said after observing her for a few seconds. "This one too? So where is the real Nora that we know?" I asked carefully looking at the 'Nora' fighting the master. She looked the exact same. You could never tell the difference between her and the real Nora. "I have no idea where she is but she definitely has a plan" Kael said crossing his hands and relaxing his demeanor. "You have that much faith in her?" Kael didn't look at me but I could tell he was feeling a little proud. "I have faith in the ability of my comrades to work together"
I smiled a little at that. "I see". I also felt a little hurt since there was a time it was me and him who used to be an unstoppable duo but he had other people now whom he cared about even if he didn't show. " On that note " He said bringing me back from my thoughts. "Would you like to join us after this is over?" He said and it took me a few seconds to process what he meant. "So you mean? You and your teammmates?" I asked just to make sure I wasn't hearing things and he nodded. It was a generous offer and I would want nothing more than to be with my childhood friend again but "can I think about it?" I asked and he nodded in response. I looked over to see how far the duel has come and despite Master being wounded Nora was still losing. She had also got multiple wounds again and cuts here and there. Her body was about to give out...again. The second clone also disappeared within next few moments.
"Master must have realised by now what's up and he will be even more pissed off" I said to Kael but he seemed to be looking here and there as if searching for someone. "Are you searching for Lucien?" I asked him but he didn't turn around. "Yes".
"I think you'd find him easily if he wanted to be found-" suddenly I felt a gunpoint behind my head and I rolled my eyes. "Can any of your comrades just come and say hello like a normal person? Is a dramatic entrance like this necessary?" When Kael heard my words he immediately turned around to look at my side but he wasn't looking at me he was looking at the person behind me which I guessed to be his Comrade Lucien but if it wasn't him then I was serious danger right at that moment. Kael looked at the person for a few seconds and came closer towards us. "Stop playing around. He actually has a faint heart. He might pass out" Kael said to the person who held me at the gunpoint and frankly I was offended. "Hey I'm not that weak" I said frustrated trying to defend myself and the person removed the gunpoint from my head. I turned around to look at the person and ... It was actually a woman. She had a cloak on covering her head. If anyone saw her from further they'd probably think it's a witch.
"Irene I didn't expect you to be here too" Kael said and the girl took off her cloak, she had brown hair and brown eyes with a sharp nose. She was beautiful. "I assume this isn't your actual body either" I said making her look at me suspiciously. "Oh I'm Luke. Kael's old friend" Her expression changed and she took a glance at Kael as if to ask Kael for confirmation. Kael nodded and she hesitantly took out her hand for me to shake. "I'm Irene and yeah you're right. I usually prefer being blonde" I shook her hand and I had a feeling she was still cautious of me but I let it slide.
"So where is Nora? We can't keep Master busy with the Clones forever" Kael asked Irene and I didn't expect what she responded next.
"She's back in our universe"