Chapter 39

"So this is it."

Kiyotaka looked at the crowd and mentally prepared himself. Regardless of how the fight between Nephis and Gunlaug would unfold, an all-out war was bound to happen. There were also prospects of Nightmare creatures assaulting the castle once the number of humans dwindled in internal strife.

As he closed his eyes, he concentrated on the feeling of bloodlust that enveloped the hall. His own bloodlust from his Flaw resonated within. He could feel who was emanating killing intent at whom. By this, he could somehow picture the near-future chaotic battle that was fated to start.

Sighing deeply to himself, he summoned the Abyssal Reaver, immediately gathering the attention of many. His action seemed to have a ripple effect as many people who were only standing with their armor summoned their own weapons. Immediately, the atmosphere turned deadly cold.

Gunlaug looked at Kiyotaka briefly. Although Kiyotaka couldn't see it, he felt that the guy smirked under the armor.

Returning his attention to Nephis, he spoke.

"Alright, I accept your challenge."

Two people were standing opposite each other there. One was a tall man encased in a strange golden carapace that followed the lines of his mighty body. The other was a young woman in an elegant plate armor forged of white metal.

There was a subtle similarity between them. Both were emanating a striking, compelling sense of power and confidence that very few people ever possessed. Both were fearsome and deadly. Both were at the apex of their kind.

Nephis looked at Gunlaug, who molded his armor's one part into a golden sword. This "armor" of his was, in fact, a Transcended Echo, so both his weapon and armor were of Transcended quality now. Nephis didn't falter and summoned her own longsword.

As she prepared herself, the Bright Lord spoke.

"Any last words, 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, but Kiyotaka suspected that he was the only one who knew...maybe Sunny too.

Nephis 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 barely reacted in time, shifting her body and raising the sword to deflect the killing blow to the side. However, then something unexpected happened.

The shaft of the battle axe suddenly elongated, the liquid gold comprising it flowing forward to assume a new shape. As a result, her deflection ended up being almost useless.

With an awkward stagger, Changing Star reeled back. The very edge of the battle axe's blade bit into the helmet of the Starlight Legion Armor and effortlessly cleaved through it, leaving a shallow cut on her cheek. In the next moment, Gunlaug's foot crashed into her ribs, sending the young woman flying through the air.

Nephis landed in a roll and used one hand to stop herself from sliding on the marble floor. As drops of blood fell from beneath her helmet, merciless white flames ignited in her eyes.

A moment later, she jumped forward and met the onslaught of the Bright Lord with an equal amount of fury.

Changing Star's sword suddenly flashed with brilliant radiance. Removing one hand from the hilt, she grasped the incandescent blade with her armored gauntlet at the middle to better control its tip and raised it to shoulder level. With Gunlaug's ability to change the length of his weapon at will and his almost impregnable armor, this grip was more advantageous.

The Bright Lord absorbed the battle axe back into his armor. Then, two straight blades grew out of his forearms, creating weapons that resembled long, heavy punching daggers.

Nephis seemed to abandon a lot of her defense, willing to take much bigger risks to obliterate the enemy. The reach of her sword was much shorter now, but the silver blade also grew much more agile and unpredictable. Gunlaug's daggers were a true menace to resist, however. They flew at her from all sides, either in tandem or in a staggered rhythm, making it hard for the young woman to predict and deflect each blow.

But she wasn't trying to.

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, her Starlight Legion Armor barely holding together.

But she healed her wounds immediately with her burning White Light, ignoring the strain and pain on her soul that was accumulating with each second.

However, her efforts weren't enough as the Bright Lord delivered a blow to her stomach, sending her flying for several meters.

She rolled several times and came to a stop, then rose to her feet with some effort. The white flames dimmed a little, and there was a dark, disoriented emotion in her eyes.

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.

Kiyotaka's eyes shone for a second.

'...Another Monster.'

The furious white flames spread from the sword to Changing Star's hands, her arms, and then devoured her figure completely.

The brilliant radiance was emanating from her skin. She augmented herself with it, just like Kiyotaka could augment himself with red aura.

Here, in the accursed place known as Forgotten Shore, only two people understood what was happening...one shadow and one warrior.

Nephis became much stronger and dashed furiously at Gunlaug. Her blows carried more strength and speed as she masterfully struck at the Bright Lord.

Gunlaug was the Bright Lord for a reason, but against the augmented Nephis, his reaction speed lacked, and he couldn't prevent certain blows as his armor started sustaining damage.

The situation was getting bad for Gunlaug, but he also had his trump card. 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. Kiyotaka saw blood flowing from people's noses, eyes, and mouths. He himself was slightly affected by the mental attack but shrugged it off with his Flaw's bloodlust.

At the center of it all, Nephis should have been affected the most...however, she wasn't.

When Gunlaug perplexedly looked at Nephis, he saw her eyes closed. After all, one had to "see" his own reflection. With her eyes closed, Nephis couldn't see anything...but she didn't need to.

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 sharp end of her longsword hitting Gunlaug right where his mouth 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!"

The molten gold was 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 shoved a small flask of blood into Gunlaug's mouth, making him swallow it.

In the next moment, Kiyotaka's eyes glimmered as he used his blood manipulation.

The blood inside of Gunlaug was set ablaze, crimson flames burning his insides. Gunlaug screamed madly, his armor unsummoned and revealed a scene inside that made everyone, no matter their affiliation, shudder in fright.

The crimson flames could be seen from the eyes, nose, mouth, and ears of Gunlaug. The next moment, the Bright Lord staggered and fell...and looked in the direction of Kiyotaka with his almost fully melted and hatred-filled eyes...and then died.

The hall became deathly silent before they saw Changing Star fully healing herself, making it seem as if the fight never happened.

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 they shouted.

"Changing Star! Changing Star!"

---

Among the crowd stood Kiyotaka,listening to the whisper of Spell

[ You have slain Dormant Human , Gunlaug ]

[ Your war spirit grows stronger ]