Acheron fell into a brief silence as Duke Inferno called her out by her true identity.
To be honest, it wasn't that surprising.
After all, back when they were fighting Phantylia, Acheron had already been right by Sylvia's side.
Plus, there was that overwhelming strike just now—a slash delivered while barely leaking any of the power of Nihility. With Duke Inferno's vast experience, he could naturally recognize that this was the very power he had been desperately seeking but could never attain.
Yet, Duke Inferno didn't care.
He knew perfectly well that today was his end. An Emanator had resolved to kill him; Duke Inferno didn't possess the delusion that he could escape.
And he didn't plan on running anyway.
It was just as he had declared to himself and his children: Destruction is a magnificent, fleeting moment. If one basely clings to survival, this life becomes far too long—
Acheron could feel the sheer force of Duke Inferno's will.
For his faith, and for his children, he was willing to use himself as kindling, martyring his life to achieve the ultimate Destruction.
The four fallen children were already past the point of speech. Only Constance remained conscious, and by the looks of it, she was gearing up to make a run for it.
Sylvia noticed this, but Acheron seemed to tacitly allow it.
Perhaps it was out of a sense of respect for a devout Pathstrider. Acheron granted Duke Inferno's plea to use himself as kindling to light the path ahead for his four children.
Except...
Sylvia glanced at the three who had already lost consciousness.
Even though Constance was dragging them along as she fled, it was hard to say if they would even pull through in that state. They might very well drop dead halfway to Penacony.
Then again...
Why on earth was Constance, a child of the Ever-Flame Mansion, a Memokeeper?
Was that the kind of person supposed to be born in a place like the Annihilation Gang? A dual-Pathstrider of Remembrance and Destruction? Didn't that combination sound completely absurd?
Well, whatever. Memokeepers were inherently unpredictable creatures anyway.
Up ahead, Duke Inferno began to unleash his final embers.
A dense, restrained fire started to erupt from his body. His sophisticated attire was instantly swallowed by the flames, and the condensed heat transformed into the roaring horn of Destruction:
"You will witness the most brilliant and explosive fire in this world. May this burning illuminate your bottomless dream."
At that moment, Acheron glanced sideways at Sylvia.
Offering Sylvia a small smile, she formally settled into a drawing stance.
"You have misunderstood one thing. This blade remains in its scabbard not out of mercy or disdain. It is a secret I wish to show no one, save for one person. But as a mark of respect..."
Click.
Acheron pressed her finger against the guard and gave it a gentle push.
Accompanying the bright, stark flash of the blade, an ash-white hue representing death began to gradually corrode the brilliant crimson fire.
"I will show you my blade."
"Ha-ha-ha-ha—!!!"
The exploding fire carried a heavy aura of Destruction, using his own body as fuel. Duke Inferno released his most dazzling and frenzied inferno!
Boom—!!!
Flames erupted from within Duke Inferno, tearing through his hardened skeleton and horns.
The howling wind merged with his unrestrained laughter and the piercing white glare of the fire. In a mere instant, it burned the entire city to ash, threatening to spread across the rest of Separius.
Yet right then—
A pitch-black, yet luminous long blade sliced through the sun that had descended upon the earth.
In a single heartbeat, the crimson fire was stamped with the ash-white color of Nihility.
The intense heat, the light, the death, and the destruction vanished into nothingness in the blink of an eye, as if they had never existed at all.
And within this deathly, empty void, Acheron's voice echoed softly:
"May death bring an end to your long dream..."
Sylvia stood to the side, bearing witness to it all.
Ignoring the lingering traces of Nihility, she reached out her hand and gently wiped away the crimson tear of blood falling from the corner of Acheron's eye.
"There was no need to draw your sword."
Sylvia pursed her lips, unable to help herself from speaking up, but Acheron only smiled at Sylvia amidst the barren void. Her crimson-stained palm lightly brushed against the corner of Sylvia's mouth.
"Are you worried about me?"
Her tone was lighthearted, entirely unlike a Self-Annihilator.
"Well, obviously."
Sylvia gave her an annoyed glare, then reached out to grab Acheron's hand which was still gripping the hilt, firmly forcing her to guide the long blade back into its scabbard.
The power of Nihility receded like a tide.
Leaving behind only a massive crater spanning nearly hundreds of thousands of kilometers. The aftershocks of the disaster rippled out, once again shaking the already shattered ruins of the Jepella Palace.
"I've been meaning to say this, and it was the same when it came to me—don't just draw your sword on a whim. Even with the ring, you shouldn't be reckless," Sylvia grumbled, unable to resist nagging a bit more.
Acheron, however, couldn't help but shoot her a playful look.
"...If a certain someone were willing to be a bit more well-behaved, I wouldn't have to draw my sword in the first place."
"What kind of logic is that?! You're the one who always draws your sword to threaten me, and now you're pinning it on me??"
Sylvia's eyes widened as she stared at Acheron. This was entering the territory of being completely unreasonable.
Acheron gazed into Sylvia's eyes, unable to look away. She adored Sylvia's eyes—those beautiful, sky-blue pupils that looked just like gems.
They always conveyed a rich spectrum of emotions; most of the time, just by looking into them, she knew exactly what Sylvia wanted to say.
Like right now.
Sylvia was using her eyes to complain about how unfair Acheron was being.
But in reality, Acheron wasn't truly being unreasonable. Nor was she genuinely blaming Sylvia. She wasn't the type to become more irrational just because she was close to someone.
Acheron only said it because she wanted to tease Sylvia.
She wanted to see more of Sylvia getting flustered because of her, pouting her lips to protest, or even rambling on with complaints. To Acheron, all of it was incredibly endearing and full of life.
Perhaps it was because Acheron herself had been devoid of emotion for too long, she genuinely loved the vivid, expressive side of Sylvia's feelings.
Whether Sylvia was happy or angry, Acheron loved it all.
Loved it so much, in fact, that—
"Acheron?"
Sylvia looked with a bizarre expression at Acheron, who had suddenly started caressing her cheek. That smiling face looked like someone sizing up a delicious treat, ready to take a bite at any moment.
To be completely honest... it looked a bit like a yandere.
"...Let's head back to the Express. We've got the music box," Acheron said, casually withdrawing her hand and smoothly taking the music box from Sylvia's grasp.
Though Sylvia desperately wanted to call her out on it, she decided to contact Pom-Pom instead. After confirming that no one had been foolish enough to provoke the Astral Express, she asked Pom-Pom to reel them back in.
"Even though you weren't gone for long, welcome back!"
The Conductor waved a hand toward Sylvia and Acheron.
Then, Pom-Pom added, "By the way, have you two checked the group chat yet? Himeko asked me to tell you that they received an invitation and plan to head back to Jarilo-VI first."
"Jarilo-VI?"
Sylvia raised an eyebrow. Could it be that Topaz had already arrived there?
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL