Sunny opened his eyes, a searing ache in his soul jolting him awake. The wind seemed to rush against him, and he felt quite the motion sickness.
His body felt weaker than ever, for some reason. It was as if something crucial was directly removed, and yet, he felt like he was still functioning properly… just not as well as he should.
Immediately, he found that he was being carried, and that he was being rapidly moved through a ruined wooden corridor of sorts. He craned his head to get a better look at the situation.
'…Oh!'
Both Noctis and Solvane seemed to have forgone the use of weapons. Neither had they assumed their Transcendental forms, preferring to remain in the shape of humans.
They were not even using their Aspect Abilities, unless Sunny simply failed to comprehend the scope and magnitude of what the Transcendents were doing.
Instead, the immortals chose the most direct, intimate, and brutal form of combat — they were fighting with their bare hands.
Or hand, singular. Noctis was carrying him, and Solvane's arm seemed to be brutally torn away by something.
Each strike was devastating enough to crush a mountain, sending destructive shockwaves through the vast cargo hold.
And Noctis seemed to be losing terribly.
He was covered in blood from head to toe, his face broken and missing an eye. One of his cheeks was ripped open, revealing white teeth and making it seem as though Noctis was grinning. The sight of it was both ghastly and disturbing.
Noctis looked more like a corpse than a living being.
And yet, he was still moving.
The speed at which the two Saints fought was almost too great for Sunny to discern anything, but he could still perceive the sorcerer deflecting some of Solvane's vicious blows and trying to dodge others.
Sometimes, he even succeeded.
…But mostly, he failed.
With each strike that landed on his body, more blood was spilled, more bones were broken with a sickening crunch, and more of what made Noctis himself was destroyed. There was almost nothing left of the beautiful and charming person Sunny had once seen on the surface of a golden coin.
Solvane, on the other hand, seemed almost perfectly fine.
Her tantalizing face was calm and slightly sad, her soft skin free of any blemishes, her simple red tunic flawlessly clean. The only indication that she had been locked in a furious fight with another Transcended was that her one of her arms were gone.
His thoughts darkened, realizing that he was holding the sorcerer back.
How had Noctis tore her arm away if she was so much stronger than him? What trick do he use?
Sunny waited, watching tensely and waiting for his chance to interfere. There had to be a chance, a single instance where a momentary delay in Solvane's onslaught would allow Noctis to turn the tables on the War Maiden…
But no matter how long he waited and how closely he watched, the moment never came.
Instead, after another blow, Noctis let out a terrible scream and fell to his knees, blood streaming from his mouth. He tossed Sunny's body back, allowing the four-armed Devil to harmlessly roll back to his feet.
Solvane calmly stepped forward and grabbed him by the hair, jerking the sorcerer's head up so that his mangled face could be seen.
With a solemn expression, she raised her bloodied fist to deliver the final blow and said in a voice that seemed to be more mournful than triumphant:
"Is this all? I… I expected more from you, Noctis… you should have left the little Shadow behind…"
As Sunny cursed and prepared to attack the War Maiden, the sorcerer struggled weakly in her grip. His gaze danced wildly across the cargo hold, as if searching for something to save him.
And then, for a short moment, he discretely held his hand out behind him.
Don't.
…And that he saw something moving beneath the immortal's skin.
Sunny only hesitated for a heartbeat, but by then, it was already too late to do anything. Solvane struck, breaking Noctis's ribcage and thrusting her hand into his chest.
But then...
The War Maiden suddenly flinched and jumped back, letting out a quiet yelp. Her bloodied hand was pressed tightly against her body.
Noctis, meanwhile, continued to kneel, staring expressionlessly at his broken chest.
…Then, he shifted slightly and let out a long, deep sigh of relief.
"Ah… this is so much better… so much easier..."
He looked up, his ghastly grin slowly turning into a sincere one.
"...This was almost worth ruining my attire!"