Kurt could see why everyone was so afraid of a Lich now, if anyone else was fighting this thing they would already be dead. It was a miracle he had avoided the worst attacks. He was thinking he was making progress. There was definitely an effect of taking out the special skeletons he was finding. But the main lich was still a force to deal with. He had barely made a mark on it.

Kurt had managed to move him and Boris close enough for Boris to distract the Lich and for Kurt to take out another one. Two left. But they started to get crowded.

"You think that will save you?" said the lich.

Kurt swung at the creature with an illusionary barrage of his blade, only one being the real blade, and he was blocked again by one of the lich's four arms. He had too many to figure out. Kurt led back to avoid a punch. He had to attack more directly now though, only two skeletons he could switch to, then hope one and none.

"Boris tells them to blast the ground on the side away from me, I'll handle him."

The lich had a sword and two open hands. Kurt began to swing fast, using his magic, the power from Layla was pulsing through. But the lich didn't change this time it blocked and parried, and won the match again. And landed a thrust into Kurt's shoulder.

"You still have to beat me in the end," the lich laughed. "And you're slow and weak and lack my arms."

In the next round, Kurt took a sword hilt to the face, he was better than Kurt. Even after all those lessons the lich could fight without the tricks. Even his crescent waves were getting blocked by some weird power the lich could wave into existence. But he heard a loud boom and one of the lines disappeared again. Boris had done it.

A large tree sprang up into the air, swinging back and forth widely, crushing the skeletons as it whipped past them, swinging widely, then another a few meters away. Sara's traps were starting to spring. Taking out whole sections of the army. The battle was raging onwards.

Kurt went flying through the air from another punch, and Lich was right there with him. Kurt tried to swing but he missed its target. A punch to the gut and Kurt coughed out some blood, as he was flung to the ground. There was only one line left but it seemed the Lich didn't care about it anymore anyway.

Every swing Kurt was making was being blocked by one sword, and another counterattack was coming from his other sword, or a punch, or both. A four-armed opponent has so many more options. He could switch his blade hands freely. Grab two-handed on top, with kidney punches on the side. He seemed to switch sword hands freely, a slash from one hand would be taken back by another, sometimes on the same side sometimes not. His form was unpredictable, unnatural, and unattainable with two arms.

Kurt was thrown out in front of his forces, and his body rolled and slid along the ground. Kurt slowly tried to get blood everywhere, trying to find that pulse. The other power, Layla must have seen him and pulled more of her power into him. He felt the red power merge within him.

A clear focus came over him, he began to swing stronger and faster, the connection to the illusion grew real, and Kurt suddenly appeared next to the Lich, the illusion had switched with Kurt, copying the Lich's idea. A new way to get closer, and confuse him.

"Ohh," said the lich, "that's not enough," he took the blade into his shoulder and Kurt received another four quick punches to his body and face.

Kurt pushed back breathing heavily, he was going faster and stronger than he had ever gone before. And it still wasn't working, the lich couldn't switch bodies and it simply didn't matter. Kurt used his new ability to switch between his illusion and himself. But the lich was able to block all of them.

They exchanged another flurry of blows, and Kurt's leg was kicked and broken. The pain ran over him like a truck, and he made a wild swing at the Lich again, but was shoved back. Kurt tried to stop but his leg seared in pain and gave out and he fell to the ground. The armies of skeletons made way for the Lich.

It appears the lich wanted to show Kurt's own army what he had done to him, alone. That the creature didn't even need the army's and all their effort was in vain. They would all walk with him in their bones in the end.

"You see you can't win," said the Lich, "none of you can win, you will all be mine."

Kurt used all the mana and all the red energy swirling in his body to create a wiring of slashes at the Lich, but it managed to block them and pushed through. Stepping past Kurt and he was thrown to the ground hard. That shouldn't have been possible. He was swinging so fast, faster than ever that was all of it, how did he walk through it like that? Kurt's head slammed into the ground.

Kurt's forces looked at his body, some had to turn away. It was a mess, and they all saw what Kurt and the Lich were like.

The lich walked up to Kurt's bruised and bloody body, Kurt was done. It hurt to breathe to move his legs, and his arms. Even all that mana through his body can only do so much. Then Lich picked up Kurt by his collar, and his sword dropped out of his swollen hand. "And this one is the strongest, can't even take me alone."

A streak came from a position in their forces, it was so fast, a beam of fire came out behind it, Kurt's swollen eye could see it coming right at him. The Lich turned, but it was too late the flash was upon him, and a sword pierced the Lich right through his head, and pushed past Kurt as he was dropped to the ground. He saw Arthur's back.

"Now die already," Arthur shouted.

The lich's body seemed to be lifeless as Arthur kicked his sword out of it being lodged into the lich's skull.

"Thank the gods that worked," Arthur sat down on the ground courting his sword down as well, breathing heavily, "I don't think I could do that again." He turned towards Kurt, "Sorry I thought he'd switch if he wasn't holding you, I thought it was my only opportunity to catch him off guard, I had to try." There was a trial of fire leading up to where Arthur had struck. "If he were any further away I think we'd all be dead."

"No," Kurt groaned, "thank you, I just need a second to rest." And tried to find a comfortable position and failed. He had definitely lost that fight. His shoulder was bleeding, and his leg was broken. His whole body hurt. And in the end, he didn't even really hit it, sure he got two or three hits in but, really Kurt was outclassed.. His head was beating hard and painfully.

Around them the skeletons all started to fall, a small number stayed up, It was around the last special skeleton, but Harvey had run up to the remaining skeletons, breathed fire, and smashed them all. Kurt was trying to just not to think about the pain. 'Someone, get me to a hospital or a doctor', he thought as he passed out.

When Kurt awoke he was in a familiar pool with pink liquid Layla's well. Once again he'd woken up here. Lifting his head, he saw Talia. That was strange.

"What are you?"

"Thank the gods you're awake," said Talia, she had tears running down her face, "when I first saw you."

Layla's fountain was still in its strange moving pattern almost like a four-dimensional object folding in upon itself. Its form was always changing, but still somehow recognizable.

"I feel great actually," said Kurt. His leg appeared to be healed his shoulder didn't have any pain.

"You've been in here a while, a few days."

"Yeah, that's sort of normal."

"Normal?" said Talia, "It took me a lot of time demanding to get in here Kurt, and this well is not normal, why is the water pink?"

"I never got an answer to that question."

"Anyway, it seems to heal you a lot, I've never heard of someone doing this Kurt."

"Huh, I thought it was normal."

"Not really, I mean I've never been wounded like that before but, I don't think Justin would have me in the pool the entire time. I might drink. But I would be in a normal medical bed. I asked him and he seemed to think it was odd, but not very weird. I don't get it."

"Well, I'm okay now."

"I know but," said Talia, with tear marks running down her face, "I was worried."

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