Chapter 277: Know Thy Self, Know Thy Enemy.

"Hahaha well... Hello there handsome..." Ares couldn't help but laugh in a situation like this as he stood opposite a direct copy of himself. Of all the final hurdles, he himself had to show up and be a nuisance. His prowess for annoying people as a revenant had transcended logic and could even affect himself now. Of course the truth of the matter was that Mako's Ersatz art was behind all of this and could create a near identical clone of... Anything? Was that it? It sounded about right. Ares had his big art, his Perish Wheel, which was the current pinnacle of destruction. So this was Mako's? The pinnacle of creation was just to create someone stronger than you and have them do all the dirty work? Ares couldn't tell if he was impressed or insulted by this end. Was he even really fighting Mako at this point or had the pitiful elf just given up and caved in, indirectly admitting Ares was his better and this was the only way out for him? Such a massive cop out... Ares was honestly a little indignant. If he had to guess, aside from personal belongings, bloodlines, and contracts, so his treasures, artifacts, and Astraeus' summon amongst a few other things, this Ares clone was going to be able to do everything he could. All his arts, all his weapon mastery, all his pressure, and all his combat savviness was ingrained deep into this clone and Ares could tell it was roughly between 95 and 99% as strong as he was at full strength. Ares had been put through the ringer and so, logically, there was no way for him to win this duel. If he'd been at full strength himself then he would be able to cinch out a victory by exploiting the clone's imperfect nature but here? Now? The word 'impossible' was the only one that came to mind to describe this current predicament. The only solace here was that Mako could only imbue the clone with the knowledge he possessed of Ares, which must have been why the damn bastard had been acting like a stalker since the very beginning and trying to gather information on him, so there was still one or two things left in Ares' toolkit that Mako might not have foreseen. There was a non-zero chance Ares could come out on top here but timing was key so he was going to have to grin and bear this situation on his own for a while. 

Ares let out a small chuckle as a small realisation dawned on him. How many clones of him were there going to be at this rate?! First the pagoda clone, then the one he saw in the Timeline Splice, and now this? Ares was going to be everywhere at this rate! Future historians were going to have a field day discovering long lost Ares and unearthing his shit eating grin in every nook and cranny of the dimension. Although, on that note, Mako's clone was more like a summon so that one wouldn't see the light of day too often. Mako was unconscious right now so the damage he took from casting this art was severe and he likely couldn't use it all too often save for it being a last resort. That or whenever he needed Ares destruction magic for whatever reason. Annoyingly, although the elf could copy just about anyone, he was almost definitely going to keep using Ares in the future because why the hell wouldn't he? The clone, when summoned, had it's cultivation base automatically match Mako's so cheating with an abominably strong matriarch clone wasn't possible and, at that point, who else was stronger than Ares when everything was equalised? It was almost flattering in a way that Mako's best option was him but Ares also kind of wanted to file a restraining order. Hounding him, and people around him, like a puppy for information was cute and all but a portable Ares? Now Mako was just being a creep! Even his own wives only had a body pillow! Ares almost felt pity for the slave labour his clone was inevitably going to be used for in the future. Also, this damn shmuck better not use his face to do evil deeds and ruin his reputation! Sigh. Ares couldn't help but be reminded that Mako was a fundamental champion just like him and so something completely unfair like this was par the course. This art had really made it hit home that he couldn't just sweep Mako's existence under the rug and treat him like an annoying younger brother who was looking for attention all the time. Whether Ares liked to admit it or not, Mako was a challenge... Although right now it was more like Ares himself was the challenge... And what a challenge it would be at that. This really was going to be the hardest fight he'd ever been a part of and there was no two ways about it. He wasn't just fellating himself, he was damn good ok?!

Ares understood he was going to have it rough here but he was also kinda excited. He'd never had a chance to go toe to toe with someone like... Well someone like him! Somebody who's weapon mastery was just as proficient as him. Someone who's magic hit like a truck like his. Someone who could cleverly navigate a fight like him. He'd heard that there were some Training Fields that could simulate combat against oneself but that was not the kind of thing Ares would be able to get his hands on for a long time coming so this was actually quite invaluable! If Mako didn't have his own adventures to go off on after the tournament Ares would have loved to have the elf stick around, wilfully or otherwise, and just keep summoning himself to spar with. It was a great way to improve because the clone would always be only slight worse than him, enabling him to win in any given scenario if he fought perfectly. Plus the clone would constantly improve as he did and its raw strength was always a little higher than Ares' own due to the cultivation advantage. There wasn't a better sparring partner in the world! Just not right now damn it! Of all the states Ares just had to be in, half-dead was the one that he got stuck with now that he was meeting such a cool guy for the first time! Was his hair ruffled? Were his clothes out of place? Though he joked internally about such matters it was worth mentioning that if some random passer by stumbled into the coliseum and saw this whole mess they would think 'Ares' was being attacked by some monster mimic that had been beaten back and pummelled to within an inch of its life. Ares, the real one, did not look like he was the original right now as his bloodied and bruised look did him no favours.

There was only thing for it, to attack the clone and try and give it what for. The other thing in Ares favour here was that the clone had to protect Mako and it couldn't let the real Ares slip by otherwise he would win regardless of who was weaker right now. Ares held no hope for magic here as the clone could cast Not Even Light and swallow up just about everything Ares could throw at him. Ares had tested it before and Not Even Light was actually capable of stopping even a Perish Wheel to some degree so, honestly, maybe Not Even Light was his strongest art? If it was capable of stopping a Perish Wheel it was definitely in the running. Not fully, mind you, but it could stop it enough such that Ares using it here was pointless and a waste of mana. If Ares was going to use an art, he would be wasting his time if he threw it at Mako unless his sole goal was to distract the clone for whatever reason... But that wasn't a viable strategy in the long run. The clone had full mana reserves whereas Ares did not. The last thing Ares wanted was to get hit with a Grim Cessation because he was careless with his remaining mana. That would well and truly be a disappointing end to this match and he would much rather go down swinging than dying in such a boring way.

First things first, do not pull out a sword under any circumstance. Swords were Ares' most comfortable weapon and so the same would be true of the clone. If Ares had to guess, his own creativity was a notch above the clone's and so using unfamiliar weapons would be to his benefit way more than to the clone. They would both be new to a lot of the arsenal they were about to wield, having only touched most other weapons once or twice here and there, but Ares was willing to bet he could do more with them than the clone could because the clone did not have Dominus inside his head. Yes, that was one measure Ares still had that the clone did not. Dominus could switch in at a key moment, push an opening that Ares forged with blood, sweat, and tears, and win the duel. There was one other trick, technically two, that Ares had up his sleeve that he'd never shown before but everything else needed to come first before he could piece this victory together one move at a time. He had a long term goal that he'd shared with Dominus and now it was just a matter of reaching it without faltering early in the process of getting there. There was a heavy burden on Ares but knowing that this situation could have been a whole lot worse was uplifting in its own way.

If Mako's last art hadn't been something that could be overcome with weapon skill, which is where Dominus would be able to save Ares' hide, then Ares would have likely lost already with no way out. Sure Dominus was resourceful but an injured body against magic, and not a living creature, meant Dominus' usefulness would be limited. Thankfully, although this situation wasn't exactly great either, it was still optimal for Dominus. Ares honestly couldn't remember if Mako knew about the full extent of Dominus and how he could take over but the answer was likely no otherwise Mako might not have looked so confident summoning this clone. He might have even opted to pick someone else, someone like Enyo who could stall out the Dominus switch in. Sure Ares wouldn't die if he took a more defensive approach but Mako was only temporarily unconscious. He would be coming back soon enough and would still be in a better condition than Ares, especially after forfeiting his body to Dominus in its current state which was invariably going too put a ton of strain on him. It would be an easy win after that... Although that depended on whether Dominus would be able to get past an Enyo clone and that was up in the air. He'd already shown off that one technique that allowed him to bypass Enyo's barriers by turning himself into a living mental attack so maybe Mako was just screwed here after all? It would have been the perfect art to end this fight had it not been for the complication that was Dominus and Ares was incredibly grateful to have the guy leeching and freeloading around in his blood stream right about now. He could even hear him raring to go despite the fact that the body he was going to take over was... Rough, to put it gently. That was just Dominus being excited for a good old challenge though, especially after getting riled up watching Rox overperform earlier, so Ares thought little of it.

What to choose, what to choose. Ares sized up the clone sizing him up and opted for a spear. There was no rhyme or reason for this pick, he just went with the first thing he found in his Primordial Blade and decided that it would do. There was no predicting what kind of fighting style his clone was going to stick with so being just as unpredictable himself, and putting basically no thought into any of this, was the right way to go about it. Your enemy can't know what you're doing if you don't! And, right now, there were two spear wielding idiots with no clue what they were doing so everyone, including the spectators, couldn't possibly understand what was about to happen! "So, uh, you visit this place often?" Ares' small talk was met with silence as the two cultivators circled one another like hawks waiting for the right time to strike. Either the Ares' clone didn't have half real Ares' personality or Mako wasn't yet capable of making it speak much if at all. There was definitely still room to upgrade this art for Mako which was yet another form of relief for Ares as it gave him that much more leeway. That was part of why he kept speaking, to try and figure out what kind of limits this thing had. It might have seemed inconsequential but if this thing had to give up, or struggle with, basic functions like speech then there were going to be a few other corners cut when it came to the more important stuff. Ares wasn't just trying to start a conversation because he was annoying! Give him some credit!

Ares was in a position wherein he had to make the first move. He didn't know how long Ersatz lasted, or how long Mako would remain clocked out, so he had to take advantage of what he knew for sure; he was on a time limit. He would only get weaker before his regeneration powers could start to properly fix anything and the longer he waited the worse it would get. He hated having to be the one to aggress but, after he'd essentially forced the Genesis to do the same earlier, this could be considered karma in a way. And thus, Ares kicked things off against his clone with a straightforward thrust of the spear. There was no glamour here, he wanted to gauge what calibre his clone was at before committing to riskier attacks so he stuck with a plain approach that was easy to back out of... And yet his clone still tried to pull the wool over his eyes! The rat tried to replicate the thrust and meet it head on. If he'd been successful then Ares would have been overpowered and had his weapon flung out of his hand. If he wasn't able to bring another weapon out in time his clone would then run him through and that would be game over already. Ares saw this coming from a mile away, probably because it was exactly what he'd do if he were in the clone's shoes, and gave up on the attack. He could have tried converting it into a something else but he was worried the clone would have already predicted that. And thus, the stalemate was back and nobody had moved even an inch since it first 'ended'... This was going to be hard... The clone was in a position where all it had to do was copy Ares' attack to the letter and it would win each and every single time... Ares had to think outside the box and go for longer back and forths in which his ingenuity could outpace the clone's. The issue now was figuring out how to launch an attack that could catch the clone off guard and allow Ares to get into the groove without making it obvious he wasn't feinting an attack off the get go. He couldn't commit to his first attack, and the clone knew it, so it would be keeping an eye for fake outs...

Ah fuck it.

Ares started walking forwards towards the clone... And that was all he did. He was banking on the idea that he might come up with a plan on the fly the nearer he drew to his opponent. This was unbelievably stupid but the clone was pretty dumbstruck by this casual walk and had allowed Ares to get surprisingly close off the back of this stunt. The two were at poking distance with their spears but neither of them were sure what to do because Ares was still just meandering towards the clone like he was taking a pleasant stroll. The fight had become so high level that it wrapped around and became an absolute farcical joke to everyone else. The spectators were watching the culmination of this entire match go up in flames as neither the clone nor the real Ares were taking this seriously at all as far as they could tell. Even the experts were baffled by this strange turn of events. Of course, nobody here was more confused than Ares who's brain had just shut down and refused to come up with an idea worth using... or maybe his brain was doing this on purpose? He'd gotten unreasonably close to the clone as of right now via this stupid method so either his brain was working overtime and Ares didn't realise it or this was just a massive stroke of nonsensical luck. At this point, he'd walked up to the clone's face and could literally breathe on him if he wanted so, no matter how weird this approach had been, it clearly worked in one way or another! Neither Ares nor clone wanted to launch an attack because this was just who Ares was; he utilised his dexterity, footwork, and speed to counter attack a lot more often than he initiated an offensive of any kind so this was the natural conclusion. Just staring at each other until the other person did something. As soon as one of them raised their arm even an inch all hell would break loose and not even Dominus, the almighty expert, could tell where this was going. Dominus liked inventing methods of winning on the fly but even he'd never done something like this before so his expertise was completely irrelevant. It was just two Ares about to do... Something? Both Ares were hatching their own plans whilst they stared each other deep in the eye and it looked like things were about ignite and kick off soon as both were taking subtle actions that were not lost on the foe in front of them.

The real Ares slowly lowered his right hand into one of his pockets while the clone shuffled its right foot on the spot and repositioned itself multiple times, each by no more than an inch. Ares placed the but of the spear on the ground and angled it forward near the tip while the clone partially leaned back. Ares opened his mouth, ready to chant, while the clone mimicked him and readied itself to do the exact same. So many small moves were made, each with their own nuance, but they allowed each other to do it because, within the multiple layers of combat preparation forming every second, they'd each prepared counter measures upon counter measures for what they could tell the other person was doing. This was all one convoluted mind game that would kick off a series of events that would put one of these two opponents into an advantageous position by the time it was done and, from there, they could begin their assault on the foe standing opposite them properly. In other words, everything they were about to do was simply a greeting of sorts that would pave the way for actual combat to kick off for real shortly thereafter. 

Ching

The clone had shifted its feet around in order to plant Shock Beads that had now all risen up out of the destroyed arena floor, acting as the catalyst for chaos and becoming the spark that would begin the showdown. Ares could see this happening, the clone planting the Beads earlier, in real time thanks to Omniscience so his method of dealing with this was to summon a few Block Rocks into his hidden hand resting in his pocket. He'd held onto them and waited patiently for this attack so, now that it was all going down, Ares flicked the Block Rocks up and out of his pocket, perfectly sniping the Shock Beads with them like they were pool balls and forcing them to ricochet away from Ares. Even if the clone detonated them the Block Rocks would follow suit and protect Ares. Making the Shock Rocks blow up was pointless and, besides, the clone had a much larger issue to deal with as Ares' spear was hurtling towards its head, and showing no signs of slowing down, so it just let the Beads fly off into the distance.

Ares had positioned his spear earlier such that he could launch it off the ground via an Echo. He sent the Echo down through the spear's shaft and had it detonate on the floor, causing it to propel the spear forward like launching a miniature rocket. Just like how Ares predicted the Shock Beads, the clone predicted this Echo and spear combination and, so, the small lean it did earlier allowed it to dodge the spear with relative ease without leaving him in a perilous position. And now this was where things would get interesting. Both of the combatants actions up until this point could be reasonably predicted given ample thought but... What next? Any single art could come out of their mouths so now it was time to settle who would be walking away with an advantage and could lump on the pressure consistently without backing down. There were some small context clues that allowed the two Ares to rule out some arts off the bat. Slow arts, like Perish Wheel or Grand Annihilation were not happening ever, there wasn't enough room to cast these without getting decked in the jaw. Esoteric Compression was pointless because, although Ares had his bloodline, the clone possessed enough pressure to make the art nearly meaningless with proper defences. Real Ares wouldn't use Annihilation Echo because the clone could just use a regular Echo and then the trade would be hideous for an already injured Ares even if the clone sustained more damage outright. The clone couldn't use Voidwalk because it would struggle to exist in the void even temporarily. One or two quick trips might be fine but prolonged exposure would result in its death at the hands of an overwhelming crushing force. It could Shift once or twice but having Voidwalk up and running would basically be suicidal as the clone didn't possess an affiliation for the pillar like Ares did. So many options, and yet so few valid ones... What were they going to choose? Well, the clone was first to start chanting regardless! As a side note, this chant, or attempt at it anyway, proved that the clone could speak just not very much. Again, not important, but still handy to help gauge how advanced a clone it was. Anyway, as for the art...

"Black Blosso..."

"Spike."

Spike?! Why on earth does he know that?! These were the thoughts of the spectators who'd been thrown for a complete loop by Ares who was currently casting a darkness pillar art that he had no business casting in the first place! Wasn't he using dedication cultivation on the destruction pillar?! Since when did the darkness pillar become an open pillar?! It seemed these spectators had forgotten about the Nyxian Prowler from Aejaz' match which had yet to make an appearance this fight. It was coming in handy now as Ares had stealthily pulled it out earlier when he put his hand in his pocket. The Block Rocks weren't the only thing he pulled out of the Blade and now the Prowler was doing its assassin / ambush job extraordinarily well. Ares had learnt Spike after watching Aejaz' match because a quick art, good for interrupting people at range, was something he didn't really possess. It wasn't supposed to kill anyone ever but it was a fantastic tool to add to his already expansive arsenal. Point in case, not only did the clone not have access to the darkness pillar, and therefore had no access to Spike giving Ares a versatility edge, the short chant of Spike was unmatched by anything the clone could fire off that would matter. Spike was a quick, one syllable chant and son regardless of what art the clone picked, it was going to get interrupted.

Ares knew his own art pool like the back of his hand and the only option that would have been quick enough here to not get interrupted was a plain Echo... But what was the point of that? The clone would have to be playing 4d chess, predict an art it didn't know Ares could even use, and perform a ranged Echo flick as it leapt out the way of the incoming Spike in order to outdo Ares here and win this interaction. Ares was good but he wasn't psychic so, naturally, the clone had fallen prey to this devious trick, that even Ares himself wouldn't have seen coming, and been run through in the stomach. Although neither of them knew what art the other was going to cast, Ares' treachery had struck gold and earned him a guaranteed win in this art face off before it had even started. The clone was good but it was evidently not as inherently despicable as Ares was, that was just something it was going to have to learn first hand and boy was Ares in the mood to teach! Ares was really feeling the mojo rev up in his system and, despite the fact that he should have been in losing territory due to his poorly body, he felt ecstatic at the chance to develop his skills against such a worth while opponent. His brain and body would be pushed to their limits here and he was starting to feel that thrill again. So what if he was disappointed in Mako for taking the easy way out? He had a far greater opponent here and this was not an opportunity he would come by frequently. He was going to enjoy teaching himself a lesson or two and, hell, maybe even getting taught a lesson here and there himself. It was Ares vs Ares time and this town was not big enough for the both of them!