A few moments later after Sunny spoke, the Spell whispered into his ear:
[You have slain an Ascended human, War Maiden Hilde.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
He took a step back and grunted, pain and exhaustion permeating his battered body.
"Why don't I feel happy…"
Sunny did not mean to say those words aloud. With a frown, he pulled his gaze away from the corpse of the valiant maiden, briefly glanced at the emerald amulet grasped in one of his hands, and hid it back under the scorched breastplate of the Undying Chain.
It was not every day that he achieved a victory in a battle against an Ascended. He should have been celebrating… but really, Sunny was not too fond of killing humans.
…At least those whom he did not hate.
With a sigh, Sunny leaned on the Cruel Sight and looked around warily. He was not in the best shape, and the battle was not over. It wasn't time to celebrate yet.
To his right, Saint was entangled with the red-haired Ascended, their weapons weaving a fearsome pattern of destruction across the remains of the great hall. The Patient Avenger was glowing with an angry orange radiance, and her stone sword was surrounded with flames — augmented by the [Cold Steel] enchantment of the shield, it was somehow resisting the scarlet odachi.
However, the blade of the sword was covered by numerous nicks and cracks, as if it was seconds away from falling apart. The body of the War Maiden, meanwhile, was washed in blood but free of any wounds, betraying the fact that she had been able to heal all the damage dealt to her by Saint.
To his left, Serpent and Nightmare were fighting the two identical Ascendeds. One, surprisingly, was already on the floor, the black steed stomping viciously on her chest with adamantine hooves. The sight of it was both disturbing and frightening, even though Sunny knew that the dreadful horse was on his side.
The second maiden was entangled in a furious battle with Soul Serpent, her enchanted spear flashing through the air and leaving deep gashes on the stygian scales of the giant snake.
Despite Serpent's advantage in size and might, the woman was too swift, cunning, and skilled to allow herself to be caught by its coils. What's worse, her weapon seemed to be able to follow the enemy into the shadows, striking at Serpent even when it dove into them to ensnare her.
The black-haired warrior was truly terrifying. To be able to resist both an Ascended Demon and an Awakened Terror at the same time, even after being damaged by the Strike of Thunder and the explosion of the chalice was something only the most fearsome Masters of the Waking World would have been able to do… if any.
However, her luck had run out.
As her spear aimed to skewer Sunny's loyal snake, the obsidian scales shivered for a moment… before morphing.
The War Maiden froze, her eyes widening as the familiar silhouette lunged out of the shadows. Serpent, now wearing Hilde's outline like a mocking veil, mirrored the dead woman's stance with uncanny precision.
For the briefest heartbeat, disbelief chained the living warrior in place. Then, before she could raise her spear, a blazing fist tore through her chest — the same fiery strike her comrade had favored. Shock twisted her face, blood catching the flames as her body collapsed, the borrowed shadow already dissolving into darkness as Serpent returned to its original form.
The Spell spoke:
[You have slain an Ascended human, War Maiden Gvenravyr.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
Feeling Shadow Essence replenish in his Cores thanks to Serpent's kill, Sunny glanced towards Saint.
However, at that moment, the voice of the Spell suddenly resounded once again:
[You have slain an Ascended human, War Maiden Kara.]
[Your shadow grows stronger.]
…What he saw was the War Maiden's decapitated body toppling to the floor, the taciturn knight standing above it with a shattered sword in her hand. The length of its stone blade — what remained of it, at least — was painted crimson, heavy drops falling down from it.
Saint remained motionless for a few moments, then glanced at her broken sword with regret. Her shoulders moved slightly, as if the Shadow sighed. Dropping the shattered blade, she then bent down and nonchalantly picked up the scarlet odachi that slipped from the Ascended's fingers.
Finally, the taciturn Demon brandished the odachi and turned around to look in the direction of the entrance to the great hall.
'What is she looking at…'
Sunny frowned, then suddenly shivered.
He spun, remembering that the two incompetents were battling against a dozen of powerful Awakened.
…Not too incompetent, it seemed, as most of the War Maidens were already dead.
Veliona was just about to finish off the last one, chained claws in hand. Strangely, she showed no sign of summoning any of the Memories he knew Seele had… which meant they all must have went to the latter.
March, who looked ridiculous covered in blood, seemed to have obtained some new leather armor. As for weapons… well, Sunny had tasted those tiny fists firsthand.
She wore a fitted cuirass of supple, dark brown leather, cut close to the body so it wouldn't hinder her movement when drawing a bow. The chest and back are reinforced with a few overlapping plates of hardened hide, stitched with pale thread in neat, visible seams. The shoulders are left mostly free, protected only by small rounded guards, while the arms are covered with bracers laced snugly around the forearms.
At the waist, a short leather skirt made of layered strips falls to mid-thigh, giving some protection without restricting her legs. High boots of the same leather reach her knees, with straps and buckles wrapping tight to keep them secure.
After a moment, Veliona's position suddenly shifted as strange illusory butterflies appeared. The top-half of the War Maiden's head suddenly slid off, her sliced brain spilling out of her now-dismantle skull as she fell to the floor.
'Yuck…'
Suddenly, the devastated hall of the Temple of the Chalice was enveloped in silence.
The three of them — Sunny, March, and Veliona — stared at each other with confused expressions on their faces.
It was all over.
Have they really… won?