*WOOSH* *CLANG* *SWISH*

Chloe and Deborian continued their battle flasheing around the room at high speed, and zipping between and around the various pillars so quickly that one could barely make out their blurred forms.

After taking blow to the head, and exchanging dozens of blows, it was apparent that where the Demi-God had her beat in raw power the Cat had a reasonable advantage in speed and maneuverability. This was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one for Chloe who figured that her only way to defeat the Demi-God was to abuse this gap in maneuverability.

*FWISH* *BANG*

"An agile one, aren't you?" Deborian commented on her speed and dexterity as the two backed off from each other after having collided moments prior. "However, while you might be quick on your feet it's only a matter of time until that speed fails you!"He said as he channeled more power through his glaive, wreathing it in flame and flicking it, creating a whip-like stream of flame that reached Chloe in an instant.

*CRACK*

"Ack!" Chloe cried out in pain as the whip smacked her across the face, nicking her cheek and drawing out blood while also burning part of her face due to the heat.

{I didn't even see that coming!} (Chloe)

"While your martial skill is commendable it's clear that you aren't magically gifted. A fatal flaw in this world!"Deborian as he swung his weapon, creating several flame glaives in the air around Chloe that dove toward her at high speed.

{What?!?} (Chloe)

Still reeling from the whip attack, Chloe was slow to react to the high-speed magical glaives, and while she managed to dodge most of them by acrobatically diving and twisting in the air one managed to partially hit home and pierced her in the shoulder.

*STAB*

"Ahhhh!" Chloe screamed as the flaming glaive slammed into her shoulder, searing her body with intense heat and pain as blood gushed from the wound. The blow was a severe one and Chloe was sent flying to the ground by the force of the strike. "Get... Get off!" She roared as Greater Ability Boost was activated, allowing her to toss the glaive away and roll to avoid the stomp from Deborian's boot that would've crushed her skull to paste had she been a moment slower.

*BOOM*

"Heh-Heh-Heh..." Chloe heaved as she landed, her shoulder still searing with pain. Her wound was not fatal but had she been even a fraction of a second slower it would've spelled her end.

{I... I got careless... Dammit...} (Chloe)

"I guess I need to use one now. Dammit..." Chloe said as she raised her uninjured hand to her wounded shoulder and activated one of her gear's abilities. "Greater Heal..." She said as a green magical circle formed around her shoulder, healing her injury, though not entirely since Greater Heal was nowhere near as potent as higher-tier healing magic.

Imp and Imperial had tried and failed to incorporate magic higher than tier five into the Ninja's gear. However, they found that it either required too much power to activate or destroyed whatever they bound it to due to the sheer magical energy involved. Greater Heal was a fifth-tier spell, and while it was good at what it did, healing, its effects were not powerful enough to fully repair Chloe's injuries instantly. It didn't help that magical healing was nowhere near as efficient as it was in FWO, and the gear Chloe had equipped could only use it a few times before it ran out of power, much like her hard time limit on using Greater Ability Boost.

{I'm not going to have a choice. I need to keep Greater Ability Boost active from now on. I somehow got out of that one alive, but there's little chance I'll get that lucky again.} Chloe thought to herself as she wiped blood from her mouth. {My body is going to hate me for combining Supreme and Greater, but I don't see any other way of winning. This guy is too strong!}

"Interesting..."Deborian hummed as he slammed his glaive into the floor, cracking it open and sending a blast of flame toward Chloe who leaped out of the way. "Recovery magic will slow this battle, but I'm sure you realize it won't turn the tide."With those words, his body began to shimmer and blur before splitting into four identical copies that stood side by side. "Now come, let's end this farce."The four Deborians said as they lowered their glaives, pointing them at Chloe as if they were making a firing line, causing the Cat to gulp.

{Any chance he divided his power four times to make those copies?} (Chloe)

"If you think I'll be intimidated by your multiplication then you're wrong!" Chloe hissed as she threw several smoke bombs at the Deborians, who simply ignored them as they exploded, covering the room in white smoke.

"Trying to blind me is pointless."The Deborians said as the copies spread out through the smoke, each keeping a close eye on the Cat's magical energy to track her location. "I can see you through any smokescreen or Darkness that you can create!"He roared as one of the bodies swung at the magical signature that was within range, expecting to destroy the Cat, but found that she was not where he expected as the glaive passed through nothing."What?!?"He yelled in surprise as he began scanning the room, only to find dozens of instances of Chloe's magical signatures scattered around him, each appearing to be the real deal. "I know not what this is but pointless tricks will do nothing to save you!"Deborian said as each copy began to attack each energy signature in an attempt to find the real Chloe, but continued to come up short with each swing.

{This is absurd. Masking one's magical energy is certainly feasible, but creating duplicates that completely replicate it with no variation would require a level of control and expertise that goes beyond what's possible for a mortal. Not to mention that it would put considerable strain on the body to maintain such a thing during combat. Even I couldn't do something like this for very long. There must be some kind of trick to this.} (Deborian)

"What's wrong? I thought you were a bit better than this?" Chloe said as she slashed at the side of one of Deborian's copies before slinking back into the smoke, vanishing.

"You're doing nothing more than delaying the inevitable."Deborian said as the four copies swung their blades and blew away the smoke. “Stop wasting my time!”

{Where did she go?} (Deborian)

With a quick serious of slashes Deborian had cleared away the Cat's distraction but still could not pin down her location. The room was filled with magical signatures that perfectly mimicked hers, and even with his vision restored, he had no idea where she was hiding. His weapon may have burned away most shadows from the room, but that didn't mean it was impossible for Chloe to use her Dark Step, and there was nothing stopping a bit of good old-fashioned hiding behind pillars or in the platforms that flanked the hall.

"If you intend to flee, know that this entire facility is on lock down. There is nowhere to run. If you wish to live, the only way out will be through me." Deborian said as his copies fanned out throughout the room, searching each location thoroughly, wary of a surprise attack. "What's this?"He said as one of his copies noticed a small object on the floor. It was the size of a grain of rice and black like soot. He'd only noticed it due to a small glare coming from its surface and when he bent down to pick it up he could tell that this object was what was creating the magical energy that Chloe was using to deceive him. "A magic artifact?"He said aloud as a shock flashed through his mind as one of his other copies was struck down via a blade to the back of its head, killing it instantly. "What?!?" He spun around just in time to see Chloe leap away from the disintegrating body and into a nearby shadow.

"Just as I thought, your consciousness isn't entirely tied to those other bodies." Chloe spoke from the shadows. "They're only semi-independent, and you can't control them fully, though it appears you're aware when something happens to them." She'd discerned this weakness due to copies more meandering movements in the smoke and presumed that he hadn't actually split into multiple bodies like Akagi could do. Rather, she guessed, Deborian's technique was merely a higher form of illusion magic that, while powerful, was nowhere near as dangerous as it otherwise could've been if she'd truly been facing four full autonomous copies of the Demi-God.

{Its good thing too. Otherwise, I'd've been doomed. Luckily for me, this guy is not familiar with magically augmented electronic gear and never even thought something like this was possible. Having to fight him in four bodies at once would've been a nightmare!} (Chloe)

*BOOM* *BOOM* *BOOM*

As she pondered her next move Deborian unleashed a series of small but quick flaming blasts from his bodies. Annoyed with her constant hiding, the Demi-God unleashed attacks in all directions in an attempt to smoke her out while also making sure to destroy the small devices she'd planted to hide herself.

"Enough! I've grown tired of this game!"Deborian roared as his three bodies unleashed flaming hell around the room. “You will face me! And you will DIE!”

{Not good!} (Chloe)

Chloe began to sweat nervously as the blasts exploded around her, getting closer each time and forcing her to move if she wanted to maintain her hidden status. Unfortunately for the Cat, she was not immune or resistant to damage while in the shadows and would likely suffer greatly if hit. As the flames closed in around her, Chloe decided to leave the shadow knowing full well that such an action was what the angered Demi-God wanted but seeing no alternative since staying would only result in her taking a direct hit.

"There you are! Now burn!"Deborian and the clones turned tossing three glaives at Chloe as she descended from the wall, which the Cat gracefully dodged or deflected with her blades.

*TINK* *CLANG* *CLINK*

{I need to get rid of those copies quickly. They might not be as dangerous as I first thought, but they could quickly overwhelm me if I'm not careful. This fight... I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to enjoy myself.} (Chloe)