Sunny stared at the little girl, trying not to lose his composure.
'...What is wrong with these people?'
He had two horns, a mouth full of sharp fangs, long claws, and four damned arms… and yet, one of the first things that March and Veliona reacted to was his height. Was he not allowed to be tall, for once?!
Continuing to pretend to fight the monstrous child in earnest, he pointed to his chest instead of an answer. March, too, slowed down her relentless assault a bit — just enough to give him some breathing room without making her changed attitude obvious.
A few moments later, when they were close to each other, she hissed cheerfully:
"You're here to rescue me? Finally!"
Sunny spun, avoiding her fist, and raised two fingers.
The girl frowned.
"Two? People? You have someone else with you? Dan Heng? Seele? Your friend from that movie…? Oh, so it's Seele."
Sunny had made a 'kinda' gesture with his hand when she asked if it was Seele.
She deflected his dagger to the side, grimaced when it slid over a barely healed laceration on her forearm, and then squeaked in her childish voice:
"See what these so-called ladies do to a pretty girl like me? Jealousy is pretty dangerous, so… I am really, really glad that you came… I kind of thought you of all people would just ignore me."
Sunny thrust his greatsword forward, narrowly missing the girl's head, and then let out a low growl.
March grit her teeth.
"Just so you know, they won't let us leave this place, and will definitely kill us if we don't kill each other."
She caught his sword with one hand, then brought her fist on its blade, shattering it and making Sunny stumble.
"…So you've got to have a plan, right? I'll be pretty angry if you don't…"
…The problem was that he did not have a plan. In fact, he didn't have the slightest idea about how to survive this mess.
Well, besides killing everyone in the sect, but that hardly constitutes a plan, right?
So, he simply shook his head, making March pale and grow silent.
As they continued to fight, Sunny thought feverishly. He didn't see any chance of escaping the Temple of the Chalice without a bloody battle against the War Maidens, as well as any way for the three of them to come up on top in that battle.
March was strong and fearsome, but she was not Solvane. She would not have been able to fight her way out of the sect as that fiend had. With Veliona and Sunny added into the equation, however…
Things still didn't look too good.
Out of the three, Sunny was the powerhouse. Even though his physical might was equal to the walking cotton candy, overall, he was a much, much deadlier creature. Added to that were his three Shadows, two of which were Ascended Demons, while the third was an Awakened Terror.
Sunny alone was most likely enough to contain two out of the three senior War Maidens, at least. March would have to handle the third one… which would leave Veliona alone against dozens of Awakened warriors gathered in the hall. That wouldn't work. No matter how Sunny moved the elements of the theoretical battle, nothing gave them a good chance of escaping alive.
However, there had to be a way… the War Maidens had been defeated in the future, after all, so they were not invincible…
Thinking of the future, he hesitated for a moment, and then glanced at the massive stone chalice towering in the center of the hall, full of furious white flame. Unlike in the future, it was still whole and imposing, the complex enchantment that permeated the ancient stone holding the mass of divine fire contained inside.
His hearts skipped a beat.
'I've really lost it now…'
Indeed, he was not happy with the seed of a plan that suddenly appeared in his mind. Not only because it would be extremely dangerous and hard to pull off, but also because going through with it had broader, far-reaching implications he didn't want to think about.
But no matter how hard Sunny thought, he couldn't come up with anything else to do. If moving the elements did not work, the only way to achieve his goal was to change them.
With a deep sigh, he concentrated for a few moments, and then gestured March to keep close.
At the same time, several things happened.
Outside of the circle of runes, Saint lowered the Soul Serpent and then outstretched one hand, which suddenly became shrouded in a swarm of white sparks. She took a small step to the side to shield Veliona with her body. Both actions caused the War Maidens surrounding them to grow tense, their hands gripping the hilts of their weapons.
Within the circle, Sunny had become surrounded by countless white threads that ensnared his body. One of his four hands was enveloped by a swarm of scarlet sparks, one in a black fog, one shrouded by an amber blaze, and the last in a swirling mass of dancing sparks of white light.
The three senior Maidens overseeing the fight frowned when they saw the four-armed Devil undergo a strange transmutation. Although just a little, their stances shifted, revealing their readiness to intervene should a need arise.
But they didn't move yet, reluctant to intrude upon the duel without an undeniable reason.
'…That was your last chance.'
A few seconds later, a kite shield forged out of dull steel appeared on Saint's arm, while the odachi she held silently slid into the shadows. Sunny was suddenly clad in heavenly steel armor, holding a somber spear in one of his lower hands and an austere tachi in another.
Finally, a black bow with a scarlet string and a strange arrow that seemed to be made out of a bolt of lightning appear in his upper hands.
[Patient Avenger], [Cruel Sight], [Morgan's Warbow], [Strike of Thunder], [Undying Chain] augmented by [Memory of Fire]… and the Lance of Preservation.
He had summoned all these Memories — save for the last — at the same time, knowing that he might not have a chance to do so later.
…And there was one last Memory that he had called upon.
As the light around him suddenly dimmed, the shape of a small black lantern started to manifest itself in the air.
Spinning around before the senior War Maidens reacted, Sunny nocked the Strike of Thunder on the string of his bow. Then, he poured a massive flood of Essence into the bow and drew it, activating the [Death Dealer] enchantment.
…[Unbending] Enchantments Description: "This adamantine bow demands a giant's might to be bent. Because of that, arrows shot from it travel as far as the eye can see, and strike with terrible strength, piercing both armor and flesh."
[Death Dealer] Enchantment Description: "This bow is able to consume a large amount of Essence to deliver an obliterating strike."
And, finally:
[Caged Lightning] Enchantment Description: [This arrow strikes as fast as a bolt of lightning, and chains its devastating damage to several nearby creatures.]
Feeling his reserves of Essence instantly diminish by a vast amount to activate a Transcendent enchantment, Sunny gritted his teeth and released the string. At the last moment, his three remaining shadows slid off his fingers and wrapped themselves around the Strike of Thunder. The Haughty shadow was too busy augmenting himself.
And so, this Ascended arrow of the Second Tier was sent flying from a Transcendent bow of the Fourth Tier, its power augmented manyfold by the three shadows and the obliterating influence of the [Death Dealer] enchantment.
A shot like that… would easily be enough to kill a Master, and may even kill a Saint — not that he'd know. The arrow was too fast to be intercepted, as well.
However, Sunny had not aimed at any of the three senior War Maidens.
Instead, he aimed his arrow... at the stone chalice. And not anywhere on it, at that. No, he sent the Strike of Thunder at the exact spot on the ancient stone surface where the weave of invisible runes was the most intense and elaborate.
Sunny doubted that even this combination of powers and enchantments would be enough to deal real damage to the stone vessel. However, if he could destroy a small, but important part of its enchantment… the divine flame contained within would do the rest.
…As the bolt of lightning streaked through the air toward the chalice, he grabbed the little girl and dashed behind one of the columns, then knelt and hugged her with all four arms, covering her little body with his.
At the same time, Saint pushed Veliona back and raised her shield, covering them both.
Before anyone could react, the furious lightning struck the side of the giant stone chalice…
And then, everything became white.