Battle of the Black Skull (1)

There were a lot of startled glances directed at Sunny. Of course, it couldn't be helped — even though he was a Master, thus receiving a certain amount of respect and veneration from all Awakened, the warriors of a great clan still tended to treat government soldiers with a bit of disdain.

Watching a mere government envoy, no matter how distinguished, pull out two Transcendent Devils and a Terror out of nowhere must have been a bit of a shock for them. Especially because of how unlike the retainers of Valor Sunny looked — he was neither tall nor physically imposing, and in fact appeared more slender than athletic. In addition, while pretty much everyone around him was clad in a suit of heavy plate armor, he wore only a light tunic and a pair of dainty silk shoes.

It was almost as if Sunny was not taking the situation seriously.

…Or was powerful enough to be able to disregard the protection of durable armor despite the dire danger of the situation.

There was one intangible quality, though, that convinced the warriors of Valor that it was the latter rather than the former

Presence.

space around her.

Presence was often hard to describe, but it was It was not a secret that Saints possessed a certain presence about them, and the most powerful of Masters did, too. Like Jet who emanated an illusory aura of cold, or Nephis who sometimes seemed to illuminate the space around her.

Presence was often hard to describe, but it was unmistakable. And the feeling Sunny gave off when he got serious was of the dark, cold, and deeply frightening variety.

Like staring into the eyes of your killer, or maybe even of death itself.

So, the warriors of Valor were more than a little surprised.

Obviously, Morgan was surprised the most.

He stared at Sunny for a few long moments with a somewhat comical expression, then slowly shook her head and turned away.

"You are a man who is full of surprises, Master Sunless. This is a good thing… we might need to pull off a miracle or two today, in order to survive."

No matter how amused and curious she was, now was not the time to engage in these kinds of emotions.

The battle was about to start.

In fact, it was already starting…

The government forces had withdrawn, but remained at a distance to observe the clash. The two armies were moving now…

On the side of Song, a tide of Nightmare Creatures surged forward, and, shielded by it, the Awakened followed. Sunny could not see the Reflections and the Saints, but he knew that they were out there, somewhere. Ready to strike.

On the side of Valor, the mounted warriors shook the ground as they moved forward, gaining speed for a devastating charge. The phalanx of Awakened marched forward behind them, in perfect synchronicity, their formation like a wall of steel.

Whispering Blade suddenly seemed to disappear. Saint Tyris rose into the air, assuming the form of the steel-winged thunderbird. The wind roared as she flew forward, and lightning danced around her body. Summer Knight was at the tip of the wedge formation of the charging cavalry, his lance shining with resplendent light.

Saint was galloping atop Nightmare side by side with him, drawing her bow with calm grace.

'Gods…'

Sunny was pulled forward, as well, following Nephis and Morgan. Jet and Cassie were near them, both with grim expressions on their faces. Only Imp seemed unaffected by the dreadful scale and meaning of the scene in front of them, scurrying forward with a wicked grin.

'We are really doing it, aren't we?'

As soon as he thought it...

The world shook.

Not too far ahead, a cloud of arrows rose from the ranks of Song's Awakened, followed by a swarm of winged abominations. All of them shot toward Sky Tide, aiming to intercept her.

At the same time, the charging cavalry clashed with the sea of Nightmare Creatures. Just as it did, a swift black silhouette suddenly emerged from the mass of them and descended on Sir Gilead. In a flash of claws of crimson eyes, Sunny made out the figure of a giant, monstrous panther that had swiped at the Saint's Echo mount with her claws…

Silent Stalker had finally shown her Transformation Ability.

Then, there was only chaos.

A battle between Awakened could not be controlled, simply because of the nature of the people participating in it. Each of the soldiers possessed unique Abilities and skills derived from them — no general, no matter how talented, could truly calculate and effectively guide such a great number of unpredictable variables.

It was as though two thousand devils were unleashed onto the desolate plain, burning with the murderous desire to destroy each other.

All that the leaders of the two armies could do was set certain tactics in motion and hope for the best.

...And fight.

In the war of Awakened, the personal valor of the combatants was much more important than in a battle of mundane soldiers, or even in one against Nightmare Creatures.

Which meant that a single individual's contribution could also exert great influence on the outcome.

This was what Sunny hoped for, at least.

However, watching Valor cavalry collide with Beastmaster's thralls, he was suddenly not sure if anything he could do would make a difference.

'Of course, it can. There aren't that many Masters here, and among them, only Nephis and Mordret can be compared to me. With my Shadows, I am almost as valuable as a Saint… so… I need to throw these doubts away, and fight…'

As the havoc of the bloody melee drew nearer, threatening to swallow the battle formation of Valor, Sunny suddenly heard the exhilarated voice of the Sin of Solace laughing in his ear:

"...Fight, fight, fight… all you ever do is fight, but what have you achieved? Nothing! You failed your soldiers, you failed the people you wanted to protect, and on top of that, you even ended up in the exact place that you had wanted to escape. Pitiful fool… do you really think that today will be any different?"

Sunny could even see a shadowy figure following him, its features more distinct and pronounced than ever.

He smiled crookedly.

'Ah, it's you. You're just in time… come on, bastard. Watch me…'

Then, there was no more time for idle thoughts.

The cavalry had cut through the river of thralls and drowned in the ranks of Song's Awakened. The tide of abominations, meanwhile, was already mere meters away…

Gritting his teeth, Sunny brandished the jade sword.

…And called upon the shadows.