Neo was standing alone, the blood below was about knee high.
He had no clue where Chase and Poppy had gone.
'Damnit all...'
Looking down at the blood bath around him, he noticed just how terrible he looked.
He was completely soaked in crimson, and his lazy T-shirt had been ripped and torn in almost every area.
His eyes were bloodshot, and he was about as tired as someone of his caliber could be.
Then he spotted a faint reflection in the far reaches of the blood.
"It's not you..."
He spoke, thinking he sounded a lot calmer then he truly was.
But in reality, his voice had trembled slightly.
He was still panting from his previous actions.
"Oh, but it is!"
The terribly familiar voice called out, clawing at Neo's very heart.
"Why are you here?"
He asked the muffled reflection with indigo hair, trying to sound as if he could win the fight he had prepared his entire life for.
The reflection's face was swallowed by a twisted grin, that was followed with a ground shaking laugh.
"Only to play a game, dear brother..."
Neo felt his body tremble, and then he turned and launched himself at where the voice had come from.
And sure enough, all hope was lost when he met his older brother's eyes.
He naturally hesitated, and found himself in the clawed grip of the man with scars all over his once human face.
Neo's voice was muffled by the scaly grip of the inhuman hand that was squeezing his entire face.
He felt blood trickle down from his cheeks, and for a second thought about stabbing himself in the heart: Knowing full well that if he didn't he would be tortured for quite some time.
Then out of sheer terror, he lashed out with his free hand.
Grabbing his elder brother's face with his own, and squeezing it equally hard.
His brother Nero, let out a terrible hissing noise.
Neo used the opportunity to send a strong forward kick into the man's face.
Freeing himself from the grip, Neo fell to the ground and let out a low gargling-like yell.
He had wished that Poppy or even Chase had been there to fight by his side, maybe it would have made things easier on him.
Then he realized that Nero couldn't possibly be here.
And then the true situation had dawned on him.
"Fears..."
Now praying to the gods that his new friends could face whatever demons lived within their heads, he readied his blade and shot forward at his the creature pretending to be the man who had tried to take his life once before.
The King of Serpents reacted quicker than Neo had originally thought he would, but luckily he had indeed thought before attacking.
His feint somewhat worked, and the scales of Nero's arms scraped swiftly against the jagged blade of Neo's sword.
Then sliding it across his arm, he tried to drive the sword directly into his brother's dark blue eye.
Of course the attack had been dodged, and now a large Ōdachi was soaring down to meet the top of his skull.
Neo threw himself to the side, narrowly avoiding the familiar blade.
"Damn mimics..."
He growled, as he lifted his own blade into a more fast paced version of his combat style.
Surely the mimic couldn't be as strong as a paladin, or at least he hoped it couldn't.
If it was the true strength of his brother, he would stand zero chance...
But he refused to believe that, simply because he had decided that he didn't want to die.
'Not today...'
Neo charged forward, slashing rashly with the blade that had been designed to kill snake-like monsters.
Remembering the claws that had slit his throat once before, he slid underneath one of the attacks.
He swiftly swung the blade upward to meet his brother's throat.
The sound of flesh ripping echoed through the air, and then a terrible metal on metal sound followed.
Nero had grabbed the blade with his off hand, and was not gently massaging the jagged blade with his claws.
"Would you like to play a game I made up?"
The serpent king hissed, completely amused by the entire situation.
Neo growled in response, trying to use his Axis ability to rip the blade free.
"Come on brother! We should play it... I've been waiting so long to see who's neck breaks first..."
Neo let out a terrible scream in response to the wicked man before him.
He felt his very bones tremble, and his mind grew filled with nothing but pure rage.
The blade slashed straight through Nero's fingers, sending a couple of them flying in random directions.
Neo shot himself even closer to the mimic, launching a quick horizontal slash at the man's throat.
Critical thinking had completely left his head, and he was now fighting with nothing but the intention to kill this deformed monster... Be it a Paladin, or not.
The jagged blade shot directly into the mimic's throat, ripping into it like some gruesome version of a lumber axe.
Green blood splattered all over Neo, as he scream with a terrible fury.
"I'LL KILL YOU DAMNIT!"
His sword dug into the flesh of his brother's throat, and a gargling hiss escaped the lips of the mimic.
Then what followed was the worst sound he had ever heard.
The sound of laughter, that was been drowned in a sea of blood.
'How...?'