Faraam stood next to the other four lieutenants wearing his [Nightfall Armor]. Changing Star has challenged the Golden Serpent for the freedom of Athena.
Gunlaug, clad in his golden armor of an echo, stood from his throne and walked toward Nephis.
The liquid gold flowed forward and assumed the shape of a heavy battle axe, which Gunlaug then grasped and leisurely put on his shoulder. The polished mirror of his mask reflected the slight frown that appeared on Nephis's face.
"Any last word, Changing Star?"
Nephis tilted her head a little and remained silent for a while. Her helmet weaved itself from strings of light, hiding her face completely, with only calm grey eyes visible through the crack of the visor. Finally, she answered with only one word, her usually even voice full of furious contempt:
"...Traitor."
A wave of whispers spread through the crowd. People were guessing what exactly she meant by that.
Neph wasn't accusing Gunlaug of betraying his fellow humans or causing the deaths of numerous young men and women. She was accusing him of betraying the true duty of the Awakened and submitting to the Nightmare Spell instead of fighting it to the bitter end.
In her mind, that was a far greater crime.
The only crime, even.
The Bright Lord laughed.
"That's too bad. I heard that one before…"
And then, without wasting even a fraction of a second, he suddenly exploded forward in a terrifying, lightning-fast lunge.
Nephis shifted her body and deflected Gunlaug's giant axe. Unfortunately for her, the giant axe was made from liquid that turned solid, and thus it can also go back to its original form.
And so, the giant axe passed through her long sword and then turned solid again.
Nephis gritted her teeth and jumped back before the giant axe cleaved her in two pieces.
Gunlaug didn't let her rest and attacked like a wild beast. Nephis dodged, blocked, or deflected her opponent's strikes. Even though she didn't leave unscathed, as shallow cuts appeared all over her body. Her starlight legion armor was broken in many places.
As Faraam watched the battle, he clicked his teeth.
'Even though Changing Star is a better fighter, Gunlaug is simply overwhelming. With how things going, she will eventually lose.'
But Faraam believed otherwise. Why? He trusted her luck, or more like her fate. The girl was simply too lucky; when she was summoned here, everything she needed to escape the Forgotten Shore was given to her like some kind of divine intervention, and what solidified that from him was when she came back from the Hollow Mountains.
Changing Star seemed willing to receive many shallow wounds to get a chance to land a strike on her opponent. More bloody lacerations appeared on her body, the Starlight Legion armor barely holding together.
But she achieved her goal, in the end.
Catching one of Gunlaug's daggers between the blade of her sword and her body, she forcefully twisted the sword sideways and caused him to turn his torso. Then, Nephis sidestepped and suddenly appeared behind the Bright Lord, with a fraction of a second left before he could turn around and defend himself.
Her incandescent sword finished its arc high above her head, and, changing back to the standard grip, she brought it down with all her strength on Gunlaug's shoulder.
The radiant white blade flashed through the air and bit into the golden armor.
...And then, it slid fruitlessly off its bright surface, not leaving even a scratch on it.
Gunlaug had seized this chance and delivered a terrifying blow to her chest; Nephis felt her ribs break as she was sent flying toward the throne.
The helmet she wore shattered from the shock of her falling, revealing a pale, bloodied face with bits of metal piercing the skin.
The gem of the Dawn Shard shone gently right above them, illuminating Neph's wounded face.
A moment later, she dismissed what little remained of the helmet and stared at Gunlaug with resentment, blood running from the cuts on her cheeks.
The Bright Lord laughed and made a step toward Changing Star, his voice echoing under the roof of the great hall like a death sentence.
"What? That was all?"
Nephis did not answer. Instead, she placed both hands on the blade of her sword, holding it with its hilt and crossguard up, like a makeshift mace.
The radiance of the silver sword spread to encompass all of it.
But it didn't stop there.
The furious white flames spread from the sword to Changing Star's hands, arms and then devoured her figure completely.
But they weren't burning in the white, cracked metal of the Starlight Legion armor.
Instead, the brilliant radiance was emanating from her skin.
Somehow this changed the tide of the battle as Changing Star became equal to Gunlaug.
Nephis launched at Gunlaug and brought her flaming sword on Gunlaug; the latter blocked with a shield he had already created.
The two of them became locked in a ferocious battle, dozens of attacks flying at each fighter. Changing Star was fighting with abandon, more and more wounds accumulating on her radiant body. However, she also managed to land several more blows, each striking at the golden mirror of the Bright Lord's face.
Slowly, a hint of a crack started to appear on its surface.
Seeing this, Faraam glanced at Seishan, and the latter did too, both nodding at each other. The time for their act was near.
A few moments later, it seemed as though Gunlaug was slowly starting to lose ground. More and more strikes landed on the golden armor, and although it seemed to hold, for now, it was clear that the continuous blows were taking a toll on both the Bright Lord and his Echo.
…However, the Golden Serpent had a few tricks up his sleeve, too.
When the momentum of the fight began to favor Nephis, he suddenly chuckled and turned his face to catch her reflection in the mirror mask.
A second later, the sound of muffled groans could be heard escaping from the mouths of hundreds of people. The psychic pressure emanated by the Bright Lord suddenly increased manyfold, throwing some people to the ground and making others stagger. People bleed from their eyes, noses, and their ears.
Changing Star, who was at the center and the true target of the mental assault, let out a pained yelp and staggered.
…That was the moment when Gunlaug stepped forward and stabbed her through the chest with one of his daggers.
As the long blade pierced the lithe body of the young woman and exited from her back, he said in a calm and friendly voice:
"There, there. That's enough. Go die now, stupid girl."
Then, he twisted the dagger, making her scream once again.
Nephis stared at him, blood flowing from her mouth. Then, she raised her sword and hit him in the face with the pommel, again and again, until a small crack finally appeared on the surface of the mirror mask.
But the crushing wave of mental pressure did not go away. Instead, it only increased.
Gunalug laughed.
"Are you done? No? Well, let me help you then…"
His second dagger flashed through the air, slashing Nephis across the wrist. With the tendons cut, the silver sword fell from her hand, its radiance dimming.
Nephis used her other hand to push the Bright Lord away and slid off the blade of the dagger, then staggered away, eventually falling to her knees. The white radiance emanated from her body grew brighter, and the wound on her body began to heal. A low groan escaped from her lips.
Gunalug approached the kneeling young woman, laughing.
"Did you think I wouldn't know about that little trick of yours? Go ahead and heal. See where it gets you."
With that, he grabbed her by the neck and stabbed her again, reopening the terrible wound that had just closed once again.
"How's that? Come on, heal it again!"
With a ferocious growl, he continued stabbing her, over and over, his hand quickly becoming painted red with blood.
"Oh, this is really fun! But a bit tiring. How about I just cut off your pretty head right now and end this?"
Nephis spat some blood and turned her head to face him.
And then she… closed her eyes.
With her eyes closed, Changing Star raised her hands and grabbed the Bright Lord that was strangling her by the shoulders. Then, she used her whole body to deliver a devastating blow to his face, the gem of the Crown of Dawn hitting Gunalug right where his nose should have been.
Finally, the surface of the golden mirror cracked and shattered. Through the small breach, a blue eye full of murderous joy was revealed. Shocked by the sudden blow, Gunlaug staggered away.
"You bitch!"
The daggers were instantly absorbed into the golden armor, replaced by the heavy battle axe again.
…But he didn't get the chance to use it.
With her eyes still closed, Nephis swiftly turned to the sound of his voice. Then, she raised her hand, opened her fist… and blew on it.
In the next moment, a cloud of red sand shot from her palm and enveloped Gunlaug.
Faraam knew what that red sand was; she had told them what it was.
He quickly gave a signal to the hunters who follow him, and make them cover the throne with their bodies so no one can see what will happen.
With the already summoned [Sword of Despair], he moved behind Harus quietly, who had his focus on the battle. Faraam then, with every power he had, stabbed the sword through Harus's chest.
The blade passed between Harus's ribs and stabbed his heart. The Executioner coughed blood and looked behind. While he looked at the man responsible for this, he felt an endless despair that made him lose the will to fight back.
[You have slain Dreamer Harus.]
[Your soul devours.]
As Harus's body went limp, the Nightmare Spell confirmed he was dead.
On the other side, Seishan held the Sunlight Shard and struck Tessai's head from behind; his skull shattered, and his brain turned into a paste instantly.
Kido, who saw this, covered her mouth, her eyes filled with fear. Seishan walked toward her and held her face in her bloody palm.
"Can you not tell anybody about this sweetheart?" She said with an innocent smile.
As for Faraam he quickly disposed of both bodies in the basement.
With that their work was done.
As for the battle, the red cloud enveloped Gunlaug, seeping through the crack in his helmet. A second too late to react, the Bright Lord reeled away… but not before inhaling the pollen of the nightmarish flower.
Bending over in a fit of violent coughing, he growled:
"What? What have you done to me, bitch?!"
As Nephis healed herself from her wounds.
A chorus of whispers rolled through the crowd when they witnessed the ghastly wounds healing themselves. Be it the members of the Host or the slum dwellers, all of them had two words on their lips:
"Immortal Flame!"
"Immortal Flame!"
And then someone shouted, their voice full of stunned awe:
"This… this is the blessing of the fire!"
Deaf to all of it, Changing Star moaned and slowly rose to her feet. Then, she struggled to look at the Bright Lord and said, her voice shaking from pain:
"I... I killed you."
Through the crack in the golden mask, Sunny saw Gunlaug's blue eye first narrow, and then suddenly open wide. In the next moment, the Bright Lord began coughing again.
This time, a suppressed scream escaped from his lips.
Gunlaug, meanwhile, staggered and groaned. There was blood dripping from beneath his broken mask.
Then, a shaky laugh resounded in the throne room of the ancient castle.
"Ah… did you really? What a… surprise…"
He dropped his battle axe, which then turned into a puddle of liquid gold and merged with the strange armor. He took a step toward Nephis, but then swayed and fell to one knee.
For a few moments, the Bright Lord remained motionless. Then, his body convulsed, more blood spilling through the cracks in the visor of his golden helmet. A muffled scream could be heard once again, full of torturous pain.
Hundreds of people were watching him, stunned, their eyes full of disbelief, anger, and terror.
The Bright Lord raised his head and glanced at Nephis, then hissed:
"What a… joke! I can't… can't die like this!"
Changing Star looked down on him, her face cold and motionless. There was no triumph or gloating in her eyes.
But there was also no mercy.
Turning away, she hesitated for a moment and then said, her voice strangely gentle:
"...Rest easy now. Your nightmare is over."
Gunlaug stared at her in disbelief, and then suddenly laughed. There was a disturbing, gurgling sound coming from somewhere deep in his throat, as though he was drowning in blood.
"Good… this is too good. Yours is… only starting, though…" He coughed, and looked at her, his eyes bloody, "You... have walked to the trap of the beast... and you shall now... bear the consequences..."
Nephis frowned at his words. But she was too tired to think about it now.
With that, he slowly rose and then turned away. Swaying, the Bright Lord took one step forward, then another.
The crowd watched silently as he arduously made his way to the steps that led to the throne of white marble and climbed them, blood spilling from the cracks in his helmet, his golden armor flowing and swirling around his body in a state that resembled panic.
Finally, Gunlaug reached the dais and fell on his throne, looking down on the great hall of the ancient castle with a strange, wistful expression.
Faraam walked to him, and whispered, "I told you didn't I? You will die today... that is what fate wrote for you."
Gunlaug remained silent for a moment, then spoke, "Will you do what you have promised?"
"Hmm? Why, do you feel regret now? Don't. Look at them, they all want you dead to be freed from your tyrant role, they hate you, despise you... but what they didn't know that this image of a tyrant and everything you done was to protect them."
Gunlaug remained silent, then the golden armor covering his body and face, reviling his face. He had a short beard and long blond hair. One of his eyes was nearly gone being eaten by a red flower.
Then Faraam heared a whisper...
[You have received an echo, Formeless Ichor ]
Faraam grined behind his helmet, and walked away. Leaving the Bright Lord alone in his final moments.
In the end, he just whispered a few almost inaudible words and leaned on the back of the throne, his body relaxing.
"I... tried. In the beginning… I really did…"
This was what Gunlaug had whispered.
And then, he grew still.
The Bright Lord of the Dark City was dead.
And the Bright Castle turned to chaos.
***
Author Note:
What a great character Gunlaug is, my favorite character in the Forgotten Shore, I'm really happy he got a second chance in the novel.
Anyway this is 2.5k words, another chapter today too. I want to end this volume as fast as possible before my finals