1898-1900 eng

1898 Chewing on Glass

Inside the ancient Citadel, a terrifying battle was drawing close to a grim conclusion. The interior of the great hall was devastated, and although smoke had not reached here yet, the dark expanse was permeated by sweltering heat. The shattered floor was awash in blood.

The battle had not gone well for the Saints of the Sword Army. Most of them were already dead — only four remained, each struggling to stay alive.

Saint Roan was battered and bloodied, his white mane painted red. His lightning had been extinguished, and although his enchanted armor — a gift from his daughter to celebrate his Transcendence — had served him well, it was now a shredded mess of torn metal, a blow or two away from crumbling into a river of ethereal sparks.

Sir Jest was surrounded from all sides. His Transcendent form was that of

a demonic abomination with goat—like horns and malevolent eyes, his gaze overflowing with terrifying malice. He had fared well against the Saint of Sorrow, dealing grievous wounds to his stone opponent, but as his fellow champions of Valor fell one after another, the situation changed for the worse. Saint Helie was severely injured, as well. Her sides were wet with blood, torn apart by terrible claws. Her beautiful face was pale from pain and fatigue, and her powerful bow had long been destroyed. Even her shield was on the verge of breaking apart, while her spear already had several cracks on its long blade. The fourth surviving Saint was slumped on the wide back of the Transcendent form, barely conscious from losing too much blood. He was the one who had been struck by Silent Stalker's arrow in the ambush — ironically enough, others were dead, but he still clung to life. Despite that, he was of not much use in the battle.

Their enemies, meanwhile...

Two dreadful great wolves were circling Roan, preparing to finish him off — they were Lonesome Howl and one of her Reflections, both in much better shape than the winged lion.

The second Reflection was pursuing Helie, barely kept back by her spear and shield.

The corpse of the Great Terror had been destroyed, and so were two of the risen Saints. However, three more had been taken by the Queen of Song — now, they surrounded Sir Jest, attacking him to assist the Saint of Sorrow.

The situation was bleak, and none of the Saints of Swords saw a way out. Even Sir Iest did not seem that amused anymore.

His malevolent eyes narrowed, and a deep, inhuman voice resounded in the devastated hall, sending a chill running down the spine of the Saint of Sorrow: "How troublesome... how frustrating. At this rate, I won't get to see if your intestines are also made of stone..."

His monstrous mouth twisted into a snarl.

Sir Iest threw one of the living corpses aside and lunged at the stone gargoyle, ignoring dead hands tearing at his flesh.

At that moment, however, the great wolf that had been pursuing Helie suddenly spun and leaped at the monstrous satyr, its maw opening to tear the sinister Saint apart.

Saint Helie swayed and staggered, on the verge of succumbing to her wounds. Lonesome Howl was already lowering her graceful body to the ground, snarling as she prepared to lunge and sink her fangs into Saint Roan's throat.

Then, however...

There was an eerie sound, and every living being in the ruined hall lingered for a moment, turning their attention to the dark portal of the shattered castle gates. Nothing happened for a split second, and then, a massive silhouette flew from the darkness, crashing into the floor with a pitiful groan.

It was an enormous black panther, her sable fur torn apart and soaked in blood — she was still alive, but just barely.

Lonesome Howl froze for a split second.

And in that split second, an infernal figure of twisted black metal silently appeared from the shadows in the middle of the hall.

Fiend did not waste any time before plunging the already chaotic battle into a state of absolute carnage. His four hands moved at the same time — the lower pair slashed at two Transcendent corpses, instantly reducing them to two piles of bleeding meat, while the upper pair reached forward and grabbed the head of the longing Reflection.

His dagger-like claws seared the thick for and easily pierced the wolf's skull. A moment later, he squished the Supreme Beast's head like a rotten pumpkin and tore it apart.

...Having learned a bitter lesson, Fiend did not try to take a bite out of the deceitfully appetizing Reflection.

That was not meat! Instead, it was tasteless glass.

With his arrival, the flow of the battle instantly changed.

****

Somewhere above, Saint grasped the heart of Revel's Reflection and crushed it in her armored fist.

There was a sound akin to a mirror being broken, and the dark creature froze, the light of life slowly disappearing from its beautiful eyes. Then, a strange ripple spread across its body, and a net of thin cracks revealed itself on its alabaster skin.

A moment later, the Reflection shattered into a rain of silver glass. The glass shards scattered on the floor and then dissolved into a stream of light, which was then devoured by the flowing darkness.

Saint lowered her hand tiredly.

Sunny only knew what had happened after hearing the faint sounds of breaking glass. Fused with Serpent, he was in the middle of a fierce brawl against the true Revel — both the beautiful demon of darkness and the bestial monster Serpent had turned into were on the floor, their bodies entangled, trying to rip each other to shreds.

Lightslayer was winning.

There was a disgusting crunch, and a wave of blinding pain sent Sunny into a daze. Dire Fang‘s lower jaw was now almost torn off, hanging askew on several shreds of: mangled flesh, a torrent of blood pouring down on Revel's arms and chest

Serpent shuddered and reeled back, involuntarily weakening its grasp on her body. That gave Lightslayer enough room to push the massive creature away and pull her leg up, placing it between its body and hers.

Then, with a powerful kick, she sent the monstrous body of Dire Fang flying back.

Still disoriented, Serpent crashed down a dozen meters away, making the floor quake from the force of the impact.

'Ah...'

Sunny pushed down the excruciating pain and tried to access the situation... which wasn't easy to do, considering that he was still blind.

Saint had to have destroyed the Reflection. So...

What was happening now?

1899 Mirrored Darkness

Sunny knew what was supposed to happen.

In fact, it was very simple — the answer was nothing.

Mordret's Reflections were strange creatures, after all. They were neither dead nor alive, neither divine nor profane. A long time ago, when he killed the Mirror Beast on Reckoning Island, the Spell had announced the kill, but did not whisper anything about his shadow growing stronger.

Sunny was banished from the Nightmare Spell now, but the result would be the same. Killing Reflections did not grant him fragments, and no shadow would appear in the silent stillness of his soul.

Therefore, Saint was unlikely to receive any reward for slaying the Supreme Reflection, either. Even its darkness was merely a reflection of Revel's own — now that the living mirror was gone and there was nothing left to reflect it, the false darkness would most likely disappear, as well.

...Which was a real shame. Sunny really felt that Saint deserved to receive a boon after fighting a battle as dreadful as this one had been — especially considering that she had forged her path to Transcendence by taking the essence of Nightmare Creatures wielding powers over true darkness.

Sunny had never been clear on how exactly Saint was able to increase her Class. He did not know how to help her reach a new Rank without the assistance of the Spell, either. So, he had hoped that defeating a being of true darkness, even if it was a Reflection, would grant her some kind of reward.

But it was not meant to be...

Or so he thought.

Even though Sunny could not see anything, he still felt a sudden shift in the atmosphere of the ancient castle.

If he could see, though, he would have witnessed the dark splendor of what was happening around him and Serpent.

Saint stood motionlessly, her unshaken hand still making a fist. Glass sand slowly poured from between her fingers, and at the same time, the fluid darkness around her stirred.

It flowed like a vast whirlpool around the graceful stone knight, whose ruby eyes continued to burn with cold crimson flames in the surging darkness. The ethereal vortex spun faster and faster, pulling more strands of darkness into its silent torrent.

Some distance away, Revel was rising to her feet. Sensing something, she threw a sharp gaze at Saint.

Saint met that gaze calmly, no emotion betraying itself on her inhumanly beautiful, flawless onyx face.

At that moment, the torrent of darkness came alive, and poured into her body. The darkness entered her chest like a raging flood and was absorbed into her fiery heart.

But that was not all.

Suddenly, Sunny felt a hint of a faintly familiar, terrifying chill.

If he could see, he would have seen the mirrored darkness start to change in the absence of the slain Reflection. Some of it dissolved into wisps of an eerie, chilling white mist...

He knew that mist all too well.

However, Saint was unmoved. Still staring at Revel silently, she remained motionless... and eagerly absorbed the wisps of the white mist, as well.

All of it happened in the span of several heartbeats, and by the end of it, the sphere of true darkness enveloping the hall of the ancient Citadel had shrunk a bit.

It still drowned their surroundings, though, trapping Sunny in its cold embrace. Revel smiled coldly.

"...So full of surprises."

As she rose to her feet and looked around in search of her sword, a cold voice suddenly responded from the darkness:

"Don‘t be shocked just yet."

The voice belonged to Sunny, who had separated himself from Serpent and manifested his avatar into a corporeal form once again.

Without the enhanced perception of Dire Fang's Aspect, he suddenly felt deaf and lost. The true darkness enveloped everything around him, making him blind. It was an uncomfortable position to be in.

But it had to be done.

Serpent was more fragile than Saint and Fiend — it had already received plenty of gruesome wounds, so Sunny silently dismissed the bleeding Shadow.

Saint, meanwhile, was mangled even more terribly. He would have recalled her into the nurturing haven of his lightless soul... however, it was not time yet. Instead, Sunny spent more of his essence to take control of another incarnation —- one of the three shadows that had remained fused with the graceful stone knight, augmenting her battered body.

Instantly, he had returned to the previous state of unity with his taciturn Shadow. He could see the ruined hall through her eyes... including his own back, which stood between her and Revel.

He could also feel how weak and broken her body was. The flowing darkness caressed it softly, helping the terrible wounds heal — but they weren't healing fast enough, and the damage was too dire.

Saint was in no condition to continue the fight.

There was something else, as well...

Something about her had changed, but he couldn't quite tell what it was.

It wasn't an evolution to a higher Rank, and it wasn‘t an evolution to a great Class, either.

However, there was definitely a deep, unfamiliar power taking root both in her body and in her soul — or rather, in the vast shadow that served as her soul. For now, it did not matter. Saint's inability to support him in the battle against Revel did not matter, either — now that the princess of Song was without support, Sunny was confident enough to face her alone.

Especially because he wasn't blind anymore.

Of course, seeing himself from Saint's perspective was a bit strange, as if he was observing himself in the third person. Being robbed of shadow sense left Sunny feeling dazed, too.

But he was nothing if not supremely adaptable. Even in this weird state, he could still fight... and win.

Defeat was not an option, and honestly enough, he had quite a burning desire to make Revel pay for hurting his Shadows.

Smiling viciously behind the mask, Sunny looked up at her.

'Now...‘

First of all, he had to prevent her from reaching her sword. Serpent was gone, after all, and there were no shadows around to manifest into a weapon — so, Sunny was unarmed.

If Revel did manage to pick up her sword, or lived long enough to dismiss it and summon it back, things could become... problematic.

Commanding Saint to retreat, Sunny clenched his fists and dashed forward.

1900 Vanquishing Light

Amidst the flames consuming what remained of the pinnacle of the garden temple, Nephis was fighting against Moonveil and her two Reflections. Countless wounds were littering her body, and she felt a strange, nearly forgotten feeling of growing weak from losing too much blood.

Transcendent bodies were tough, but they weren't indestructible. She had accounted for her miraculous physique when calculating how much punishment her body could take without sacrificing too much of its functionality... and that limit was approaching swiftly.

Nevertheless, her expression was calm, and her movements were just as fluid and unrestrained as they had been before. Her hands never wavered on the hilt of her sword.

The battle was ruthless and unrelenting. Triumph and defeat were separated only by a thin, brittle line.

Monnveil was strong... but Nephis was stronger. Moonveil wielded her saber as if it was an extension of her body, her skill both beautiful and polished to a state of near perfection... but Nephis was a much better swordsman, and had a much deeper command over the cadence of battle.

Even without her Aspect, she could have defeated the proud princess of Song. But precisely for that reason, there were two Supreme Reflections aiding Moonveil... and dealing with them was much harder.

Someone had evaluated the strength of: the Sword Domain champions very well. Nephis was using Shaping to control the surrounding flames and keep the Reflections at bay. Sometimes, she managed to slow them down, and sometimes, she failed. When facing two or more enemies at the same time, she followed her perilous strategy — to disregard everything in pursuit of killing Moonveil, even if it meant sacrificing her blood and bone.

As a result, the beautiful princess was forced to defend herself without having a chance to launch a counterattack Her Reflections, however, made up for that with a vengeance.

'Ah. It hurts...'

Both Nephis and Moonveil were bloodied... however, Nephis was bleeding more. Her wounds were more dire, and more plentiful. It was already starting to become a detriment to her strength and mobility — not because she was paralyzed by pain, but simply because her muscles were cut, her tendons were damaged, and her bones were cracked.

She had managed to avoid receiving truly debilitating damage, but the harm done by countless small wounds was slowly mounting.

Moonveil could see that, as well.

Therefore... she grew a little more confident.

Nephis would have smiled if it didn't seem like a lot of effort.

'Got her.‘

She remembered being a fairly straightforward person, a long time ago. But somehow, over the years — she couldn't quite remember how — Nephis had come to value deceit and misdirection, even if it was not something she was naturally good at.

She must have learned how to use lies to her advantage by quietly observing people around her. If so, she had been blessed with good teachers.

Shifting her weight from one leg to another, as if preparing to launch a new strike, Nephis grimaced and swayed. It looked like her right leg, which had been cut gruesomely by one of the Reflections before, finally betrayed her.

The Reflection itself was a dozen meters away, pushed back by a torrent of flame. The other was just behind Nephis, since she had just evaded its attack and sidestepped the creature.

It would take it a little time to spin around and renew its assault.

So, the only one who could use her momentary loss of balance was Moonveil herself.

Strangely enough, Nephis was a good actress. Her act was subtle, but convincing. The grimace she had made was just small enough to look involuntary. The nature of her misstep was reasonable and believable, since her right leg was indeed damaged quite severely. Her eyes even widened slightly, selling the moment of realization more.

If Moonveil hesitated, she did not show it.

Instead, she decisively lunged into a swift attack, her white hair fluttering in the wind.

Neph's gaze instantly turned cold and heavy.

'...Too honest.‘

Who would have thought that the fearsome princess of Song would be a little naive?

Abandoning all pretense of weakness, she righted her stance and sent her longsword into a simple thrust.

Her attack was simple and unadorned... however, that did not make it any less deadly.

Because, even when two Transcendent champions fought, the fundamentals of combat still played a significant role in the outcome of the battle.

Speed, mass, force. Time, movement, and space.

In this instance, the fundamental principle that doomed Moonveil was rather obvious, something the importance of which most humans of the walking world learned as children.

It was the simple fact that Neph‘s sword was longer than her elegant saber.

And therefore...

Before Moonveil could behead Nephis with a decisive slash, the Kinslayer pierced her chest, penetrated her heart, snapped her spine, and exited from her back. Blood spilled on the floor. The saber clattered as it fell.

The delicate woman stared at Nephis in disbelief, her beautiful eyes widening in horror.

'I won.‘

Nephs had achieved her goal... however, she did not feel any joy or elation. All she felt was regret.

Because humanity had lost a powerful Saint — one of many that would die in this appalling, senseless war.

It was such a waste.

But then again, the battle wasn't over yet. She had no time to...

Pushing her mangled body as hard as she could, Nephis reeled back to avoid the Reflection's saber.

The creature moved past her, the sharp blade whistling past her neck. In the next moment, a small hand struck her in the chest, sending Nephis flying back — she hit the floor a couple dozen meters away and rolled awkwardly, her vision blurring momentarily from the terrible surge of pain.

By the time she staggered back to her feet, both Reflections were near Moonveil. One was holding her in its arms, while the other was standing between them and Nephis.

She pushed some air into her burning lungs.

'Now... what happens next depends on the nature of Moonveil's Aspect.‘

Either the geas placed on her would disappear with Moonveil‘s death, unsealing her Aspect... or it would not.

If it was the former, she would be able to deal with the Reflections quite easily. If it was the latter... things would turn really ugly.

However, in the next second, something unexpected happened... something Nephis had not anticipated, even though she should have.

Moonveil was dying, but her eyes regained their sharpness for a split second, piercing Nephis with a heavy gaze.

And then...

Nephis felt the seal binding her Aspect suddenly fall apart. Moonveil had released it.

At the same time, the Reflection holding the princess of Song in its hands shimmered slightly. And changed, assuming a new form.

Silver hair, fair skin, and calm grey eyes.

A face that could have been beautiful if it was expressive and lively instead of being cold and motionless like a lifeless mask.

A lithe and slender body.

It was her own face, and her own body.

The Reflection had mirrored Nephis.

She belatedly understood her mistake.

A moment later, a soft radiance enveloped the hands of the Reflection, pouring into Moonveil's body.

And Moonveil‘s terrible wounds miraculously healed.

...Nephis stared at her from a distance, feeling dismayed.

'What a cheat.‘

The princess of Song was as good as new.

...Of course, now that Nephis had been given back her Aspect, her wounds were also healing, and a raging flame was rising in her soul.

For a moment, nobody moved. Moonveil was panting heavily, looking at Nephis with a hint of wariness.

Nephis, meanwhile...

Smiled a little.

'On the other hand... that works, as well.‘

Moonveil and her two Reflections wore somber expressions as they readied themselves to continue the battle — which would grow infinitely more devastating and terrible now, without a doubt.

But Nephis was about to surprise them, as well.

She unleashed the suppressed power of her Aspect, assuming the incinerating form of the radiant spirit. At the same time, she called upon the sea of flames surrounding them, wrapping it around herself like a mantle.

However, she did not direct all that fiery power at her enemies.

...Instead, she aimed it at the wooden floor beneath her feet.

Surrounded by blinding light and a raging tide of immolating fire, Nephis fled from the battle and rushed down, piercing one level of the ancient Citadel after another like a falling star. Countless layers of mystical wood parted in front of her, crumbling into ash, as she burned a scorching path into the depths of the castle.

Lower and lower...

And lower still.

Until she plunged into a sea of impenetrable darkness, vanquishing it with her light.