A Noble Voice

Diane was in a tough situation. She wanted to apply healing magic to Indigo's wounds right away, but the presence of her enemy wouldn't let her do that. As for Louis's condition, he was heavily wounded, However, Diane could still sense life in him, his soul wasn't out of this world just yet.

Ella greatly smiled and took a single step forward.

"You've held out pretty well. Let me show you more of what i can do. I just hope you don't die as fast as that guy with the big sword?"

Diane silently gasped at hearing those words, "What did you do to Leo?"

"Was that his name? Well, Leo is dead. He couldn't handle my clones?"

"Clones?" Diane asked.

Ella by herself was already hard to fight against, if she had the use of clones, it was apparent why Leo was defeated.

"Yeah, I have lots of them. Let me show you!"

Diane only blinked for a second, and yet, Ella had already multiplied into 13 versions of herself, all wielding daggers.

They each spoke the same sentence, simultaneously.

"Please last. Don't die on me like your friend Leo."

Scratttchhh! Scrape!

There was the sound of a heavy scrap of metal being dragged down the hall. Bleeding from wounds all over, Leo was limping. Still, it was surprising how he was still able to hold onto his heavy sword.

"I heard that. Don't kill me off from the story just yet! I'll make you regret not double checking to see if I was actually dead!"

Leo weekly dashed forward and swung his great blade, but missed his opponent.

Smack! Slam!

In two simple strikes, Ella had thrown him to the floor, where he reached his limit and became unconscious.

"No fun at all. Just stay down if you're that boring."

Her gaze shifted upon the only one left standing. Her eyes shut as she giggled.

Diane didn't know what to do beside guard the fallen body of Indigo.

If this foe had already defeated Leo and even snuck up and slashed Louis down, how could Diane herself win? She was doing decently in the 1 versus 1 so far, but Ella had multiple clones of herself now. It was hard to imagine winning against those odds. Ella's triumph was almost guaranteed. Still, Diane would never consider abandoning everyone.

She was going to fight until the very end, even if this would become her final resting place. She pulled out a spare combat knife, and held it tightly.

"I'm not running. There's always a chance to turn the tables, even in this predicament. Only one thing is assured, one of us is going down."

"Yes! Keep that fun attitude please!"

Diane stood fiercely as each of the clones dashed at her, all swinging their blades.

A strong woman's voice rang out. A voice that no doubt came from a noble individual.

"You've fought well. I'll take it from here!"

A figure leaped across the room. With one precise swing of a sword, each of the clones split apart.

Slash!

Now that this mystery woman was still, it became clear who she was. Long Cyan-colored hair, crimson eyes and a royal blue uniform. This woman was the well-known Royal Knight 'Estelle Amberson'

She was the very image of the word 'Beauty' yet everyone was aware of her skill and strength.

"I was unaware the Vangray family was under attack until just awhile ago. The guard station called on me when two of their platoon knight groups went silent. When I heard the news, I came as fast as I could. You can attend to the wounded now. I'll take it from here."

Diane gave a surley nod before rushing over to Louis, who was the closest one to death. His wounds were so severe that Diane was glad that she took time to learn advanced healing when she was younger.

Estelle pointed her sword in Ella's direction, vowing in the name of all the fallen knights.

"For every brave soul that met their end today, I, Estelle Amberson, vow to bring you inn!"

"You seem fun!" Ella shouted and many more clones appeared, all charging forward.

In the end, it was all a futile effort against the Knight. Estelle gracefully parried and evaded every clone, destroying them all in seconds.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Afterwards, she shot a bold stare at the enemy.

"If that's all you have to offer, then I'll be ending this shortly."

Ella's face broke into an expression, one that surprised Diane's gaze from the sideline. An expression that Ella hadn't shown any sign of ever having, her eyes widened in true fear.

"Y-You beat all my clones that easy? This..Isn't fun."

She backed up until she bumped against a wall, and was left with no way of escaping. Tears began to fill Ella's eyes as Estelle crept close and raised her blade, speaking.

"Don't worry. You may be demented, but you're still a child. I don't blame you, I blame the one who raised you."

Estelle placed her sword away in it's scavern, before whacking Ella unconscious.

Bonk! Thump!

Looking at the now defeated child, Estelle felt sympathy, even for her.

"A little girl, cursed with strength and put onto the wrong path. I hope she can change and become someone great."

Putting all that behind, she focused on the other's, asking about their condition. "How is everyone looking?"

Leo, Indigo and Louis, they would survive for now, but their injuries were great. They would need medical help as soon as possible and there was unfortunately a high chance of them succumbing to their wounds.

"They're stable for now. But I'm not sure how long they'll last like this. We should get them help as soon as possible."

"Consider it done." Estelle replied.