I pointed my dagger at Líf, hoping that I would be able to make my stand. I could feel my entire body tremble and quake. I must've looked pathetic and pitiful to him. Even so, I knew that even if I had very little practice with my dagger, it was better than nothing at all. I told myself that I must stand my ground and that this time, I am not alone. Even if Cynthia has two left feet, by the gods, I think that it was better than nothing at all. I had a little more going for me in this confrontation with Líf than I did last time.

I didn't need to win, I just needed to survive. Tears were starting to form and while I didn't know why, I also felt a sharp pang of sadness that threatened to permeate my entire being.

Líf made the first move. Somehow, I was able to dodge the first swing of his dark sword just in time. Had I not reacted one second sooner, I would've been a summoner shish kabob.

"I see that you're slowly improving. If I was not in the predicament that I am in right now, I would've congratulated you. If I had been strong enough… no… It does not matter now."

"It matters to me! I'm not dying here, not if I can help it!" I say as I dodged another swing of Sökvabekkr.

"How long are you going to be able to keep dodging like that?"

"Long enough to keep my promises."

"You're unbearable."

"Speak for yourself, jello man. That was the weakest insult I've heard come out of your mouth. You're aren't even trying! Just give up and admit that you are wrong."

"Some things never change. You always liked to be the 'right' one in our arguments. Stubborn and prideful almost to a fault."

"Stubborn perhaps, but prideful? I don't think you know me as well as you thought you did."

"Liar. Your Alfonse might not know how to spot when you are lying, but I do. You might not be my summoner, but you have all of her habits and mannerisms."

Líf swings his sword at me once more, only for his attack to be blocked by Cynthia's lance.

"I'm afraid that I wasn't able to make a flashy entrance this time, but a hero of justice must always help a friend that's in danger. That's a promise!"

"Thank you." I nodded with approval.

"Leave her alone! Just because your world died, it doesn't give you the right to hurt my friend!" Cynthia lunged at Líf with her lance. Líf skillfully blocked her attack with his weapon. Parrying a lance with a sword was something very few swordsmen were capable of. I knew that we had to create an opening for our escape, because as a novice with a blade, going against a master swordsman was asking for trouble. I was lucky to have Cynthia with me, but it wouldn't have taken very long for us to tire out.

There was one problem… I had no idea on how I'd go about doing that. All I had were my words and a knife. Oh and I also had Breidablik with me, but I knew that summoning here would be way too dangerous for me.

"So um… lovely day we're having. It's a shame that I couldn't give this village the proper respect. If nothing else I hope that some of them managed to pass on to a more peaceful afterlife than this place." I rambled on nervously.

"Nice try Summoner, but stalling for time wont work. My Kiran would do the same exact thing that you are doing right now. Surrender now, and I will make sure that you won't feel anything. Yours will be quick and painless."

"I can't Alfonse. I have too much to live for."

"I'm not Alfonse. Not anymore. That person is long dead. I'm just a shell of what once was."

Líf lunged at me once again with that sword again. Cynthia jumped in to block the attack and she even managed to land a hit on him even though her footing was very obviously shaky. It was then that I remembered something very important. Cynthia's pegasus. If I could just reach Andromeda and then stall long enough for Cynthia to mount her, then Cynthia's clumsiness would be a non issue.

I rushed towards Andromeda in a panicked frenzy. I needed this to work and I needed to get away from Líf. Or at least far away enough to where I could throw pot shots at him with my throwing knife without having to worry about getting absolutely bodied by him. The only way I would accept being bodied by Líf is… no wait, that's necrophilia.

Now is not the time to wonder what he would look like in that armor if he were alive. Even if it shows off his chest and almost reveals his… lower areas. Yeah lets just go with that. Seeing Al in that bunny outfit a year ago did things to me ok? It's not my fault that he's hot!

"Where do you think you're going, Kiran?"

"Um… to Hel if I don't change my ways?"

Líf looked like he was suppressing the urge to facepalm himself. Maybe if I embarrassed him enough, he'd… Líf. Yeah, that's probably wishful thinking on my part… though I do know how to press all of his buttons.

"Kiran, we are already in Hel."

"Ew. She's not my type. Too dead and murder-y for my liking."

"Are you even taking this seriously?" Líf demanded.

"No duh! Of course I'm taking this seriously. I'm obviously trying to run away from you!"

Líf proved to be a lot faster than I had anticipated when it came to running. The former prince turned general of the dead gave chase and was quickly gaining up on me. Cynthia followed suit in an attempt to cut his pathway.

He eventually backed us into a corner where we would have a much harder time escaping him. Líf moved to unsheath his blade to make another attempt on my life. Cynthia, who was behind me at this point, tried to move to intercept the attack once more, but lost her footing in the process instead. She ended up pushing me while trying to regain her sense of balance.

Before I knew it, I was falling. I pushed Líf while trying to regain my footing but instead, I ended up toppling him to the ground. I fell on top of him soon after that.

"Summoner, get off of me."

"Hmm… I have a better idea."

I then asked Cynthia to… confiscate his weapon for me while I kept him pinned down. It had occurred to me that I could milk this awkward situation for all it's worth. This was Alfonse we were talking about after all, and it would be a shame if I were to let him go scot free.

"I quite like this change of pace, don't you Líf?" I teased. I chastised myself for doing this when he was trying to kill me moments earlier but… I couldn't help it. I couldn't fully separate Líf from his old identity in my mind. No matter what I tried, I couldn't help but go back to my old routine of teasing Alfonse.

"This is hardly an appropriate thing to be doing to your enemy." Líf reprimanded.

"You say that, but you're blushing. We've done this before, haven't we?"

"Th-that's not the point! Do you not have any sense of self preservation at all?"

"My sense of self preservation is a bit more relaxed around Al." I said as I placed my right hand on his glowing chest. I was curious about it I suppose. Anyway, his chest felt cold and yet… solid? It was really weird. It was almost like touching a department store mannequin that got smuggled into Nifl and was never returned. Weird analogy, I know, but that was the best that my mind could come up with to describe what I was touching.

Líf shuddered at my touch, and looked away from me. I was starting to feel a bit worried. Something about this felt very wrong. I ran my fingers through his hair just like what I like to do with Al whenever we were alone together. Logically, I should be plunging my dagger into his chest but I couldn't help but try to ease his pain.

"You're cruel, my love." Líf choked back.

"I am not yours, but I'm afraid that my heart cannot differentiate between the two of you very easily. Forgive me, for indulging in my own selfish desires."

"I wish that you would stop teasing me like this. You and I both know that you can't give me what I want. I can't have you."

"I was teasing you at first but now… it doesn't feel right. You are right, Líf. I cannot give you what you want in a meaningful way. You deserved better than me"

"It was I who was undeserving of my Summoner. She made a gamble and we lost. But she wouldn't have had to, if I weren't such a useless fool."

"I don't know what happened exactly, but I know enough. Enough to say that you aren't a useless fool."

I kissed his forehead, which felt cold to the touch, and ruffled his hair. It still felt soft, like silk, but it looked duller than his counterpart's. While part of this felt right to me, I knew logically that I really was being cruel for toying with him like this and what I was about to do… was going to hurt the both of us. I unsheathed my dagger once more and pressed the blade's edge against his throat. For a moment, Líf scowls at me.

"I've lost yet again. Do with me what you will. If you plunge that dagger into my body, I will only disappear temporarily. You cannot kill that which has already been killed."

"Then I will see you next time on the battlefield." I then buried my dagger deep into his glowing chest. Líf began to fade away from underneath me just like he had promised. I collapsed onto the ground and Cynthia had to help me back up. Sökvabekkr had disappeared along with Líf. She hugged me and I began to ugly cry on her shoulders.

Cynthia tried to cheer me up and reassure me that all would be fine, but I couldn't get over the fact that I had turned my blade against him. Sure he was my enemy but in my heart, he would always be Al.

I only stopped crying briefly when I started to hear the sound of hooves approaching us.

"Kiran! Thank the gods that you are alright!" Alfonse rushed to my side

I hugged him tightly and I didn't want to let go. The waterworks resumed leaving a bewildered Al to try to calm me down.

"Please… don't ever die on me." I whispered hoarsely

"I won't be leaving you anytime soon. I promise. I'll protect you."

I hugged him even tighter and I cried even harder. I wondered if I would ever have to do something like that again but to Alfonse instead of Líf. I am thoroughly terrified of the fact that I was even able to do such awful things. First Gustav, and now Líf… I could only hope that I won't turn into some cold and unfeeling monster, killing with no thought at all.

A/N:Finally! I finally finished this chapter! Admittedly it is a bit shorter than the more recent chapters that I've put out but I think I managed to balance the action with all the emotional stuff. Was it weird? Maybe a little considering that Kiran went from fighting Líf, to teasing him, to shoving a dagger down his chest, but emotional whiplash my thing now I guess?Anyway, I am writing a short for an idea that I originally thought would be cool for TMH but I decided that it wouldn't quite work for this Kiran. The fic is basically a "what if the Summoner's dad was actually Fafnir?" sort deal. The thing is, Kiran's dad, Thane Knight looks nothing like Fafnir in my head. I made a different summoner named Aurora to be a separate thing from the TMH... Universe? Anyway Aurora will have her own thing going for her with the whole Fafnir thing. I plan for it to be a one off so idk I'll do anything else with her. I will cross-post it here and on AO3 when I finish so I hope you guys look forward to it.