The duel between knight and Damen resumed, and it seemed fairly even, blade meeting other steel, and though one was enchanted with poison, there was no letting off the gas between them. It wasn't until the two pulled back that the knight unleashed a mighty swing, one that Damen rose his shield to block... only for the protective armment to break apart from the impact; leaving him with just a sword. Okay, things were starting to look bad for him, and Damen would have to think more strategically. Just avoiding the knight for a moment, he would clasp the blade with both hands; not as effectively as that of samurai or stronger warriors, but enough to give him a parrying chance to defend himself. He would take some steps back when the knight made a thrust... only to strike and get stuck in a tree that was right there. Damen would make an attack upon his exposed side; his armor took most of the blow, yet he was able to make a cut that made him bleed... and with it, the poison on his blade would seep into that very wound. The knight would cough a number of times and he pulled his blade free, and Damen could see he was starting to look green from it. The poison was doing its job, slowly eating away at him from the insides.<br/><br/>"Just give in." Damen told him, though the knight would make a charge at Damen again, swinging his blade swiftly, causing that blade to be knocked out of the acolyte's hands, and thrusting into the ground nearby. Damen was swift to pull his staff from off his back, raising it to block the incoming blow; the thick wax wood received a nick in it, but otherwise, stopped and caught the blow from splitting his head in two! Twisting his staff rather roughly, causing it to twist the knight's wrist incredibly, almost breaking it, it forced him to let go. The poison was making him incredibly weak relatively quickly, and it looked as though he may not remain standing for long. Rotating the staff, he would strike the knight with the heavier-weighted head, which hit home, striking with a loud *THUNK!*, and the knight laid there unconscious. The blunt force of the strike created a wound from his head; if he didn't get treated soon, he would surely die... but what honor would it hold? Damen knew he should die immediately, rather than slowly die painfully. Rolling the knight over onto his back, Damen would pick up the blade the knight used. "...May St. Ajora have mercy upon your soul." With this small, uttered prayer, Damen thrust the weapon into the unconscious man's chest, through his heart... and killed him immediately.<br/><br/>After all that, though, the fight was not yet over, and saw that the others were fending off the creatures of the deep, so he would run towards them, hefting his staff on his back, while drawing his blade from the ground, hoping to get the upper hand on one of the squidmen. Due to them having interest in Lydalia and Piero, Damen was able to get a back attack on one of them with a strike he enchanted with poison; fire would prove to be of little effectiveness on water creatures, so poison was the better choice here. Even of his slash wasn't enough to kill it, the poison would. Indeed, though, these weren't the Mindflayers; they were of their family, but these did not influence the minds of their enemies, to either turn them against each other, or attack recklessly without regard for self-preservation. After striking the one down, this seemed to draw another's attention to him, while the one he struck took most of the hit, yet Damen was unable to actually kill it. But, this surely would make things easier for Lydalia, anyways, by dividing the attention. There weren't too many of them left, and surely after striking enough of them down, the few remaining ones would surely flee... at least, that was the idea. He took a moment to look at the bag containing the moogle; his chocobo companion, Armos, seemed to figure out how to open it, and freed the small creature.<br/><br/>He wasn't a complete coward, but he seemed to understand that the moogle needed protection; that, or maybe the small creature was able to speak to it. Whatever it may be, Damen would have to learn later, but he could see the sun was already setting; when night falls, trying to head back would be dangerous; they were lucky these creatures showed up, instead of their stronger counterparts, though surely they would be lingering somewhere close, if not in the immediate vicinity. If they were able to finish this off, they would have to break up and make camp for the night; it was rough, but it was something they should do for safety purposes. For all they know, something larger and more dangerous could be within the woods between here and the fortress that only comes out at night...