Battle of the Black Skull (16)
Somewhere else on the battlefield, a sword made of pure darkness pierced a figure made of blinding sunshine. The radiant knight staggered, while the tenebrous knight stood calmly, looking at him with two indifferent crimson eyes.
Saint twisted her sword, and the darkness contained within it seemed to expand, hungrily devouring the shine of her enemy. The Reflection of Summer Knight grew dimmer and convulsed, as if trying to scream. However, no scream could be heard. The radiant figure grew bleak and translucent. A moment later, a net of cracks suddenly appeared on the surface of the dying light, and then, with a faint sound of breaking mirrors, the Reflection exploded into countless shards of silver glass. Saint indifferently retracted her sword and shifted her gaze, searching for a new opponent.
***
Separated from her by a vast distance, a gargantuan worm brought its monstrous weight down and then twisted, catching something invisible in its maw. The countless creatures comprising the Echo slithered, grinding the invisible foe into dust.
***
In the heart of the battlefield, obscured by rain, a beautiful demoness screamed as her face was cut by an unseen blade. She staggered back and fell, crimson tears rolling to the ground. In front of her, a vague silhouette was suddenly outlined by the streams of falling water and the brilliance of flashing lightning.
A cold, ruthless voice came from the rain: "Stupid girl... you should have stayed sweet and innocent, like you were before..." Beastmaster gritted her teeth. "I'm... I'm not done yet, old man... you haven't won yet..." The rain laughed. "Die, now... this little scuffle of ours was fun..."
***
[You have slain a Transcendent human, Dire Fang.] [Your shadow grows stronger.] [You have received...]
The towering monstrosity swayed, the spark of life disappearing from his eyes. Sunny, who had driven the Sin of Solace into the Saint's skull up to the hilt, was perched precariously on the beast's snout, holding onto the grey fur with one hand. He froze for a moment. 'I... won?' The body of Dire Fang tilted, and then toppled. Since the Saint's Transcendent form was quite high, there was considerable distance to the ground. Sunny rode it all the way down, still holding on to the hilt of the Sin of Solace. The giant beast crashed, causing the ground to tremble. Still in shock, Sunny retrieved his sword and stood up, glancing at the battlefield from atop the felled giant. 'I won...' Then, he lost his footing and rolled into the mud. The mud felt cool and pleasant to the touch. Behind him, the massive carcass rippled and shrunk, slowly turning into the corpse of a man. Sunny lingered for a few moments, trying to comprehend the fact that he, Lost from Light, had really slain a Saint.
It was so strange.
He could still vividly remember the day when the Night Temple had been destroyed. Back then, the appearance of Saint Cormac had filled his heart with indescribable dread... the following battle between Cormac and Sky Tide was even more terrifying. He felt like an ant that had gotten stuck in the middle of a clash between two gods.
The entire island had been destroyed by their ferocious battle. It all had seemed... apocalyptic.
And now, Sunny had killed a similar being himself.
He had killed a Saint with his own two hands in combat.
...Of course, he didn't do it alone.
'Nephis!'
Suddenly startled, Sunny jumped to his feet and dashed to the spot where he had seen her last.
She was still there, struggling to stand up. Her helmet was gone, and he could see drops of blood falling from her ears, her nose, and even her eyes. Her face was pale, with damp hair sticking to it in thin strands.
"Neph!"
He slid on the mud and fell to his knees near her, placing his hands on her shoulders. She let out a raspy breath, and then shakily rose to her feet with his help. Sunny felt the warmth of the white flame flowing from his body into hers.
Slowly, her skin ignited with radiance, and wisps of white flame escaped from beneath it. The scratches on her face disappeared, and the streaks of blood evaporated, leaving it pale and pristine.
A pained groan escaped from her lips, and Nephis swayed. He supported her.
She remained silent for a bit, trying to contain the pain, and then asked:
"...We won?"
Sunny let out a relieved sigh.
"Yeah. He's dead."
She winced.
"....Good."
He wanted to laugh.
"Good? Good?! That's all you have to say?"
Nephis looked at him for a few moments. Her face was too close, but Sunny didn't mind.
Then, a corner of her mouth slightly curled up.
"...Why make a fuss? It was... just a Saint..."
He stared at her, feeling a sense of triumph flood his heart.
But then...
The smile slowly disappeared from Sunny's face.
***
Separated from them by the wicked havoc of the battle, a blind girl was standing in the middle of a vast circle of corpses, drops of blood falling from her rapier and her armor. Behind her, a woman with golden hair and amber eyes was leaning heavily on a spear.
Suddenly, the blind girl shivered and lowered her sword. Her shoulders fell.
Turning around, she ignored the rushing enemies and looked up, at the cloud-ridden sky.
Her exquisitely beautiful face was solemn.
***
Mordret raised his sword, ready to strike his sister down.
But then, he froze.
His strange, mirror-like eyes trembled.
As if forgetting about Morgan, he slowly turned around and looked at the sky with a grim expression.
***
The smile slowly disappeared from Sunny's lips.
The wind was cold.
In the flash of lightning, he suddenly looked paler than a ghost. His face fell.
Nephis frowned.
"Sunny? What's wrong?"
He looked frightened.
Without answering, Sunny slowly turned away from her and looked up with an expression of utter terror.
"I... I don't... I don't know... something is wrong..."
His voice drowned in a deafening thunderclap. Neph hesitated for a moment, then traced his gaze and looked up at the sky.
There didn't seem to be anything there.
...Except for a strange, rippling darkness.
For a few moments, the battlefield seemed to grow still.
And then, the sky crumbled and split apart, devoured by an abyssal rift that seemed to be leading to the very depths of hell.
A gargantuan Nightmare Gate tore the world into pieces, dwarfing the battlefield as it cut through the sky and manifested itself into existence.
