"Hmm... So what do I call you?" Regal asked, already having his composure back.

"...Feral." The dark being simply said.

Regal was already thinking of a plan on how to beat his evil counterpart while he got into his fighting stance.

"Do you really want to attack me. Regal?" Feral asked in a surprisingly soft voice.

The question made Regal lose his train of thought. His eyes widen as he looked at Feral. It was odd for Regal that such a being would even ask that kind of question.

Feral gripped his hands together behind his back while blinking once. "Well?"

Regal, trying to not show he was caught off guard by the previous question, clear his throat. "Yes, I do. You are the embodiment of the corruption and evil in me. I must dispel you from my body and mind."

Feral remained silent and simply stared at Regal.

"Why doesn't he attack me..? He just standing there and he isn't even guarding himself." Regal thought to himself.

There was a somewhat awkward silence that loomed in the ballroom. This silence was getting unnerving to Regal as he remained in his fighting stance. Feral, on the other hand, didn't seem bothered by the silence.

After ten seconds of not a single noise being heard, Regal suddenly got a sense of fear and upcoming danger. His heart was pounding hard in his built chest. His throat felt dry and parched, as if he didn't have anything to drink for two days. "What is this overwhelming sense of fear?! It's like... I already know he's going to beat me..." Regal said in his mind. His eyes still somewhat wide, trying his best not to show his state of mind was weakening.

Feral finally spoke again, which spooked Regal a little. "Regal... I know about the desires, dreams, and temptations that go through your mind on a daily basis. You haven't... 'satisfy' yourself ever since Alicia died. You know that isn't good for your mental health."

Regal was taken back even more by what Feral stated, he then asked. "And why do you care about my mental health?"

"I may be the embodiment of evil that you have, but I do care about the body that we share. Well... the body I will take after I defeat you. As a matter of fact, I am already beating you." Feral simply stated.

Regal retorted quickly. "Mental mind games will not determine the battles' outcome."

Feral slowly shook his head. "Regal, it seems like you have lost touch with your fighting spirit. If you can play and manipulate your opponent's state of mind, then you can make them feel something that will make their focus split."

Regal couldn't believe what he was hearing, because Feral was actually right and telling the truth. This shock of realization was hindering Regal from fully concentrating on the matter at hand. Feral soon stopped talking once again and simply stared back at Regal. The unsettling silence returned in the ballroom.

Outside of Regal's mind, the group was watching Regal tremble. His breathing was fast and deep while sweat droplets formed on his face, as if he got done training.

"What's wrong with Regal? Why does he look like that?" Marta asked, clearly being worried about Regal.

Tenebrae studied Regal and his tail stiffen straight up. He could sense a flood of pure darkness within Regal's mind. He then asked Colette. "Do you see what I see, Colette?"

Colette nodded to the question. "The darkness... it's so horrible and so strong. I don't even see Regal's normal mana anywhere" Just being able to see how much was inside Regal's head gave Colette deep chills up and down her spine.

Lloyd looked towards Tenebrae, "So does that mean he's losing?!"

Tenebrae gave a slight nod to Lloyd.

Lloyd slightly bit his bottom lip before stating. "But his body isn't showing any kind of damage."

Mithos soon spoke up. "The being must be mentally fighting Regal."

Everyone looked towards Mithos.

"Care to explain what you mean?" Kratos asked of Mithos.

"Well, I mean... Regal is very strong-minded. So maybe the evil side of him is also strong minded too. It's trying to play mind games with Regal. I remember people saying the phrase 'Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.' That phrase is a lie... words can do far more damage than any punches and kicks could do." Mithos said.

Genis added on after Mithos. "He's right. Physical damage can hurt yes, but when someone says something to you that they know will affect you mentally, it's far more damaging."

Presea, who wasn't one to show much emotion, was starting to get heavily worried about Regal. Her eyes got slightly red from trying to hold back tears.

Raine saw Presea getting stressed about the situation and slowly placed her hand on top of the girl's head. "Don't worry everyone. Even if the evil side of Regal is strong-minded, Regal will overcome it all and will be victorious. Do you believe that Presea?"

"Yes, I do believe that." Presea said, feeling a little better already.

"Why don't I attack him now? Why is this overwhelming fear holding me back? I have felt fear before and used it as fuel to defeat my opponents. Why can't I do it the same to this opponent?" Regal asked himself.

Feral started to talk once again. "I never understood why you didn't move on from Alicia. You could have started a relationship with Presea. You know this, yes?"

"I could never be in that type of relationship with Presea. I love her as a sister, nothing more or less. Now enough with all of this. Prepare yourself for battle." Regal had his serious demeanor once again.

"Very well." Feral simply said but didn't move an inch.

Regal wasn't going to let the silence come back to haunt him. He rushed towards Feral. Before he knew it though, Feral was right in front of him.

"U-Urgh... what is t-this pain in my stomach!" Regal said loudly and his eyes moved down. To his shock, Feral's left knee was pressed deeply on his stomach. Regal was confused as to how this being could have moved so fast.

Feral slowly closed his eyes. "Regal, I have already beaten you. Your mind is weak now because of my questions and the silence. A weak mind will never win this kind of battle."

The dark being then drove his knee deeper onto Regal's damaged stomach. This caused Regal to cough of blood.

Before Regal could even think about moving away, Feral backhanded him to the ground.

Regal landed on the ground. To his dismay, it seemed like the attacks did more damage than it should have. His cheek that got smacked had a red, shiny lump. He placed his hand on his cheek, only to be greeted with a boot that came down to his face. His head slammed through tiles of the floor. Feral began to grind the bottom of his boot onto Regal's now bloody and bruised face.

The group watched in horror at how quickly Regal was getting deep bruises and cuts on his face.

"What the hell is going on?! He shouldn't be losing this badly at all!" Emil said out of fear. He felt so helpless as he watches his blue hair friend cough of blood once again.

"..He's going to lose if he doesn't make a come back." Tenebrae closed his eyes, in disbelief at how the darkness was spreading all around Regal's body so quickly.

Presea just stood there, trembling with tears falling from her eyes and down her cheeks. Her hands clutched together on her chest. She felt an unbearable sense of sadness and fear in her heart as she was basically watching Regal lose a battle that she thought he would easily win.

"You have never fully moved passed what you did to Alicia. That's very weak of you on your part. But don't worry, I will help you get passed it. And in the process, I going to have fun with Presea." Feral watched as Regal's hands gripped his legs and heard a loud muffled scream of rage emitting from the male.

Regal lost it when hearing what Feral was going to do with Presea. He finally managed to lift the boot off his face but a pair of hands gripped his neck and lifted him off the floor.

Regal landed powerful kicks and punches to Feral's face, but it seemed like the attack didn't do much to the being. Feral soon slammed Regal onto the floor with full force. The floor cracked and caved in slightly from the impact. Regal grunted out in pain but took this chance to drive his knee onto Feral's stomach. The knee hit its mark but Feral didn't release his grip on Regal's neck.

Regal's attacks seemed very weak. Feral lifted Regal from the ground by his neck and once again slammed the blue hair male to the floor. At this point, the tiles on the floor were in pieces. Regal, though being in intense pain, would land knock out inducing punches onto Feral's face. Though the being's face was now leaking dark red blood and had bruises as well, he didn't seem to be affected at the least.

"You attacks do hurt but it's not enough to make me let you go. Don't worry, I will end all of this now." Feral's thumbs deeply pressed upon Regal's Adam's apple while his fingers curled around the male's neck with unimaginable strength. Regal's eyes widen and he made choking noises.

Regal had his hands open palmed and aimed towards Feral's face. Blue energy gather on the palms before a huge wave of pent-up mana ripple out of his hands and blasted onto Feral's face. After five seconds, the blast died down.

To Regal's horror, Feral's face had third-degree burns, with skin peeling off in different areas, his hair completely gone. But even after all that, Feral didn't seem to register the amount of damage he just took. It was as if he was immune to feeling pain.

"An honorable effort but fruitless results at the end, Regal." Feral said as he ran forward, having Regal's neck in his hands. He slammed the male onto the wall and continue to choke Regal with no signs of letting go.

Dark handprints were around Regal's neck and the group saw this. They then heard him choking as his body fell onto the dirt floor.

"Regal!" Lloyd said loudly as the group gathered around closer to Regal.

Colette began to cry, seeing a dark pair of hands having a grip on his neck. Her voice caught in her throat a few times as she spoke. "It's s-starting to c-choke him!"

Mithos was getting mad, having the sense of helplessness wash of him like everyone else, "Dammit, isn't there anything we can do?! We're going to lose him!"

"Regal has to go through this alone.." Yuan remorsefully said.

Zelos thought for a second and then asked. "Does this mean we'll have to kill Regal? I am sure his dark side will take control of his body if it wins.."

"No!" Presea yelled out as she placed her hands on Regal's shoulder and began to shake him, trying to wake him up.

"Presea no!" Raine was the first one to grab Presea by her hips and soon everyone got a hold of the distressed woman.

"We are Apocalypse now!" Feral voice echoed.

Regal's red, watery eyes got a glimpse of Feral. His heart sank when he saw the once near-expressionless face of Feral change. He saw Feral's lips have an inhumanly wide smile that stretched from cheek to cheek, his eyes went pitch red and his body turned black before dispersing and covering the entire ballroom.

It took the group a few good tugs on Presea to break her strong grip on Regal's shirt. Presea could be heard crying and screaming as she tried to get out of everyone's grip. While this was happening, Regal's eyes slowly opened and he blinked a few times before sitting up quickly.

Everyone heard the movements that Regal made when sitting up and turned to look at him.

Presea broke free and got to Regal first before anyone else and asked urgently. "Regal, are you okay?! Did you win?!"

Regal slowly looked at his hands before looking down at Presea, giving her a reassuring smile.