The corner of her mouth curled slightly upward — just as she expected. This was the mindset needed to survive and triumph.
Sunny really was a fast learner, wasn't he?
Glancing at the cathedral in the background, her eyes danced: windows, doors, architectural structure… She etched it all into memory. The cathedral was dark, silent, almost… safe — a truly mysterious building.
Mysteries — true darkness —- threat. She remembers, her clan's teaching reverberating in her head. Can be killed by light
But where there was darkness, light thrived. If she and Sunny worked together, a dance of shadow and light, of distractions and assassinations… It would definitely be possible to kill it with their powers.
Creatures of darkness despised the light, she remembers, and shadows are another side of light, supporting it, strengthening it.
True darkness wouldn't be terrifying with them; killing it was possible, even with their limited capability.
And the cohort will be with them — a team of battle ready assailants with their own positions to cover. With them, it will be enough. Not easy, but not impossible.
"Just a Fallen Devil?" Caster said, his voice piercing through her thoughts, "Did you say j—"
They had no time for this.
"This is acceptable," She cut him, shrugging.
She was met with silence. Effie and Kai were looking at her with bewilderment, and Caster… well, his face turned pale.
Sunny nodded, his eyes shining — could they even shine? With that shade of darkness? — saying… "Don't be so quick to judge. We won't be going to that battle unprepared. I spent months studying the bastard. I know his every ability, every trick, and every weakness. More than that… if you can't even handle someone like him, how are you going to challenge Gunalug? Isn't that what this expedition is all about?"
Her heart beat quickened, eyes shimmering with all kinds of possibilities — he was right once again, they needed every kind of power, experience possible. They were young compared to Gunlaug, less experienced. To win is to survive; and to survive they needed more. They wouldn't win today, they wouldn't kill him tomorrow. It is only human to fail.
But who was to say when it was a thousand days later? Each hour filled with monotonous training, all to sharpen their wings, to one day soar and reach the skies.
To kill the sun.
The Devil of the cathedral was simply a test — a test of power; a test of teamwork; a test of will; A test of spite.
"I want you to help me kill it," He had said, "It's just a Fallen Devil." The same fire she has now burns in his eyes, and she just knew he believed in the fall of Gunlaug.
The corner of her lips curled upward, a fine deal.
She nodded.
"Sunny is right. It's not impossible to kill a Fallen creature. In fact, both Gemma and Tessai had done so in the past, not to mention Gunlaug himself. It just takes a lot of preparation and a little bit of luck. By the end of this, we should be able to take on a single devil and win, provided that we learn its secrets in advance."
Sunny smiled, all danger and bite — sharp and cunning was all she sees. She thinks of the metallic taste of blood on her tongue, of a sword pierced in the devil's heart, of gold burning and falling under the sun.
"Exactly!" He continues, "Oh, right. Speaking of preparations…"
He took a rucksack off his shoulders and placed it on the ground. Then, he opened it, revealing the soft shine of numerous soul shards.
"Welcome to Sunny's Brilliant Emporium! This here is around fifty soul shards…" He continued, a glint in his eyes, "...The rules are rather simple. You give me Memories, and I'll give you shards. I don't care how powerful or useful the Memories are. Any useless junk you have gathering dust in your Soul Sea will do."
—
As they completed their exchange, the cohort powered themselves, clenching their fists as if getting used to the new power in their hands. Nephis too releases her flames, watching as a new shine of luminosity burns from it.
But her mind wasn't on Sunny's stint of an Emporium, instead, she thinks about that brief glint she sees in his eyes — forget it, she wanted to — but the gaze she had seen was almost perfect, the perfect mix of warning bells and soothing dreams. A dangerous little thing.
This scout of hers… he was indeed like a dream, an almost perfect companion for her; but every time they crossed blades, warning bells rang in her head, ringing, ringing, ringing.
He's like a siren, Nephis thinks, Odysseus' journey playing in her head, luring poor sailors to their doom, sweeping them up in a storm. Sirens appear as a long lost dream, putting your soul in two, but their voice steals your mind away. How many had fallen into their trap?
Sunless was growing too fast, spiraling out of her control — unpredictable.
"He has an ability, a secret that he desperately needs to hide— his true name." Her seer whispered, Lost from Light she says. The noose around his neck hung in her hands, and it was a new burden, a new secret that dug into her skin.
A sinner, she thinks, a person who transgresses against divine law by committing an immoral act or acts.
Was holding the key to your comrade's freedom a sin?